Archive for the ‘decorating’ Category

BASKET

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

A few weeks ago I grabbed this handwoven vintage basket from a junky consignment shop that seemed more lunatic swap meet than viable retail store. Even though the basket was mostly hidden by a pile of fast food toys, the little visible bits of lumpy weaving and sweet triangle pattern had me sold as well as making plans to shove a large cactus inside it.

Well, eventually shove.

Neglect and certain death are about the only things a house plant can expect around here.

Despite that, I’m fairly committed to using a few chunky handwoven baskets as planters around the house and accept that many plants will be murdered in the process.

Otherwise, I’m very enthusiastic about Bowie and his bedroom eyes

Rawrrr. Gratuitous.

FILED UNDER: bedroom, decorating, vintage

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HIGHBOY

Wednesday, November 30th, 2011

OK. Auction-wise what did I win?

Turns out my big splurge of the evening was a matching pair of Lyby Møbler Danish highboy dressers.

That’s right. Not one dresser, but TWO.

Whoops.

Problem is, I don’t need two of these teak lovelies, but still somehow stupidly fell in love with the set. The auction house wasn’t selling each one separately, so obviously why not go a little nuts and buy the pair.

I’ve had that super cute and thrifty Swedish highboy in the bedroom, which is nice, but I always carry around a ‘someday must have’ list of vintage pieces in my head. You know, those amazingly awesome or super nice and usually expensive perfectly classic designy pieces that are so dreamy it hurts.

This list always included the quintessential mid century danish modern style highboy dresser for the bedroom. Until now, I just never came across one that I loved and could also afford.

So, when I spotted this Danish set at auction it was kind of like falling in love. I had to have one.

Didn’t help things that, during the course of the auction, I kept being beat out by the same dealer dude for $20 or $50 on stuff I also liked. When these came up on the block? The time had come to throw down and win.

And I did. And it cost me some money.

These things happen. I knew what I was doing, I had the cash and I ponied up despite my cheap little heart.

But I love this dresser. LOVE love love it.

Its the perfect scale and one of those forever pieces – classic, functional and gorgeous. Funnily, and hard to admit, but it felt kind of great to splurge and get something perfect instead of a stand-in piece. Somehow weirdly satisfying…

Good thing I bought this vintage wool camp blanket for like $1 at the thrift store, since that’s how I prefer to roll.

With the addition of the new dresser, I’m really loving the teak / olive / white / black palette happening in the master.  Things are finally getting to a good place. Now for a bedframe, a few plants and the right accessories and maybe we might be done?

Otherwise, I moved my Eames rocker in here after getting that black safari chair and then threw a kilim pillow in for extra fun. I’d like to get some larger art and maybe a giant cactus to happen at some point, but our next big DIY is going to be a bedframe.

Anyways.

Since I had my big auction splurge, it looks like I need to sell a few things. Things like : the matching twin to this Danish highboy, my thrifty Swedish dresser, the Arkana safari chair and then many many other awesome vintage goodies. Holidays are always the worst time to turn my inner dealer on to try and sell stuff, so I’ve been going nuts trying to figure out what approach makes the most sense. Wait the holidays out? Big sale? Ebay? Big Cartel? Craigslist?

I don’t know! I’m busy! It gets dark early! Shipping is hard! Also, the dark thing!

FILED UNDER: auction, bedroom, decorating, furniture

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DUVET

Monday, November 14th, 2011

Long I have pined for the perfect gray duvet and by some strange bi-coastal internet twitter miracle, this enduring quest seems to have come to an end.

It’s really all thanks to Daniel, wonderful (and similarly duvet obsessed) splendid man about town Daniel, who twittered with Anna from Door Sixteen and I about our initial hopes in finding the perfect gray duvet and then our ultimate disappointment when the CB2 Coast Bed Linens ended up being a bust.

But…because they are in New York, where shops besides JC Penny exist, Anna and Daniel just popped into Muji and stumbled on this great warm gray linen duvet…that is unfortunately nowhere to be found on Muji’s website.

I got a flurry of texts and pictures of what looked like a fantastic (and affordable!) duvet and proceeded to beg for them to purchase and ship one of these lovelies to the west coast to live in my house.

By the way, we don’t have Muji in Hemet. Shocker.

Then Daniel, even though he’s in college and working like crazy on projects and busier than a rabid squirrel, was kind enough to grab me one of the last duvets and mail it out to me like a goddamn sweetheart. Like a completely perfect and lovely human being.

That gray duvet longing runs painfully deep. Daniel gets it. Oh yeah, he gets it real good.

Apparently though, I took my sweet time posting about this, since it all went down in what? August? What happened? Is this not summer still?

Anyhow.

Besides the greatest duvet ever, there are a few new things around the guest bedroom that I’ve been meaning to post about.

Like these sort of brutalist studio pottery things. Someone got all crazy with that ceramic knife. So angsty.

Feel that powerfully emotional thrift store ceramic turmoil.

You knew that some kilim pillow style action would leak into the rest of the house. Say what? There are some actual colors in here besides black, brown, gray or white. Crazy.

I don’t believe I’ve mentioned this fine Craigslist procured vintage safari chair.

Awwww yeah. Awwww boy.

Sling that thing all up in here.

Hold on, I got distracted by that devilish safari minx. I cannot forget to mention that after months of use, I really dig the new duvet. It gets better with every wash and sort of shifts color in different light; sometimes the color feels warm and sort of taupe and then shifts to cool and silvery gray. It’s like a magical creature that transforms day to day.

I love it and can’t thank Daniel enough.

Possibly worth noting, this thing above? This is about as ornate, flowery and “fem” as I can get.

That’s just a detail shot of the vintage brass Moroccan lamp that I can never photograph properly in the guest bedroom, which – surprise surprise – I still really love and don’t want to get rid of. Unlike everything else I own. I’m possibly going through some weird, “WHY NOT START FROM SCRATCH” phase that is really unproductive. Stupid dark wintertime.

And these bright things down below…

…these are luxurious flowery yellow billy balls. The only flowers I’ll own.

Wait, are these flowery? I don’t know and apparently am too lazy to google, but these last forever and thrive on neglect.

Just like my grudges.

Come on, I just can’t resist you. Work it you hot thang. I’m liking what I see and the way you move? Regal. Confident. Sexy. Frugal. I love safari and I don’t care who knows!

Oh, wait. Oh, craphole.

Now that I’m thinking about it, I probably should have bought two Muji duvets. Since…I never want to give you up. I never want to let you go.

FILED UNDER: bedroom, ceramic, craigslist, decorating, furniture, guest bedroom, hemet, links, thrifting, thrifty, vintage

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