Before and After

Guest Blogger: Allie

Does everyone know what this wednesday is? Its chalk paint project reveal time! After my initial post on the miracle paint, I ended up salvaging and painting a total of three pieces, one dresser and two nightstands and boy, what a difference a fresh coat of paint makes! I have yet to find the perfect hardware for the dresser, honestly, I think I’ve tried 6 different types of knobs! Bear with me, I have faith I’ll find the right ones, but until then, the nightstand photos will have to do.  My original thought was to change out the hardware, but once they were painted, I actually liked the original pulls on it. So without further anticipation, I give you the

Before…

And after…

Sorry about the crooked iphone photos, I really do need to start using a better camera. But you get the idea. Some difference, right? For the dresser, I’ll make sure to take some close ups so you can see the naturally distressed look that makes chalk paint so good!

 

Anatomy of a Nightstand

Guest Blogger: Allie

Remember a few weeks ago, my post about night stands? Well in that post, I promised to write a follow-up on the components of what makes a functional and aesthetically pleasing bedside table. So without further ado…

A handy little cheat sheet compliments of Pintrest

Like most flat surfaces in the house, the nightstand too winds up collecting clutter. But luckily, the bedside table is a very manageable size and usually only gets junked up with things you were using the night before. To help keep you and your nightstand on track, I’ve dissected the key components of one so that you can stay organized and keep only bare necessities out and on display.

Let’s start with a lamp, both highly functional and the visual anchor of your nightstand. Like the actual table, there are a plethora of options and styles: table lamp, floor lamp, sconce, chandelier, pendant, etc. For the purpose of this particular post, we’ll stick with a table lamp.

For me personally, I’d go with something neutral and natural like this one. I change my bedding so much (I’m a bedding guru, post to come later) that I have to keep everything else fairly neutral. This lamp is from Shades of Light, a great source for a whole range of lighting options. They honestly have a lamp for everyone.

Everyone is different and different components will hold various levels of importance. But for me, the next most important thing is a caraffe for water. I wake every night parched and in immediate need of water, so this adorable container is the perfect solution to my middle of the night thirst.

And since we are on the subject of cups, let’s move right along to flowers. In my opinion, a critical component to a nightstand. It adds a certain softness and ‘lived in’ quality to your space. A  favorite container of mine would be the mint julep cup. We have a tradition in our family to gift them on special occasions with your initials and the date engraved, so I love filling one with the season’s latest bloom and putting it next to my bed. I smile at the fresh flowers and the memory the date on the cup evokes.

If you’re like me, you have a tendency to wake up and be desperately curious as to what time it is, even if it’s the middle of the night? Enter Pottery Barn, with their wonderful collection of pocket watch clocks. We just used the oversized one in a client’s bedroom and my god, what fun!

Then, for ambiance, we’ll add a Lollia candle. One of my favorite brands, not only for scent, but how adorable are their containers?

And because all great ideas strike in the middle of the night, a cute little journal to write down your brilliant realizations. Some of my favorite come from Riffle Paper Co., I seem to collect notebooks (weird, I know) but they make great ones!

Last, but certainly not least, a little jewelry receptacle to catch your most precious possessions as you slip them off before bed.  Both Anthropologie and Cost Plus are wonderful sources for pretty little jewelry dishes.

Hope this was helpful and that you look at your nightstand in a new light!

Josie: 10 Weeks

Hi All,

It’s Thursday again, which means that Josie is now ten weeks!  I figured I should give you an update since her 8 week birthday.

We checked out JCP where we got her some adorable new clothes -

We spent the weekend at my mom’s beach house where Josie soaked up the rays (in the shade)

We survived Graham’s first business trip by having a ton of fun staying with Grandma Kaky and enjoying the sunshine, napping and of course stretching…

Josie has become more and more expressive.  Sometimes she is very serious -

Other times she is all smiles and coos -

And then there are those times when she wants to cry and cry and cry.  Now she’s looking at me, like, who me, cry?…

She is so cute!  And we are having the time of our lives with her!  Until next Thursday, I’m off to capture more sweet moments with my handy phone.

Your Kids as Art

Graham and I had beautiful newborn pictures taken of Josie when she was just six days old by the very talented Nicole Paulson!  They came out so sweet and fun.  We have one shot framed on a side table and we’ve given some framed pics away to her adoring grandparents.  But, of course, I want more of the adorable newborn shots printed and on display.  So, why not go big?

Here is what I’m thinking…

I think the trick for making kid pics look more like art is to blow them up extra large and to choose a shot that is a little unusual or humorous versus the typical posed shot.  Perhaps something like this…

I won’t be blowing up this shot because the last thing I want to see is a 20 x 30 image of myself.  However, I did insist for Nicole to take this photo to play off of our funky vintage portraits behind.  Do you know how hard it was to keep a straight face for this one?  Oh newborn photo shoot humor…maybe I was still loopy off of the c-section drugs when I thought this one up.

Ikea Kitchens

Hi everyone, Kate here.  I have missed all of you so much and I’ve missed my daily ritual of writing a blog.  I hope you won’t mind that I’ll be popping back in more and more.

My brother and his lovely wife are nearing completion on remodeling their home.  It is bananas beautiful and it has me dreaming of owning and putting my own stamp on a home.  Graham and I briefly toyed with the idea of stretching as far as we could financially to buy a complete and total tear down in Woodside.  We’d then live in said tear down for years until we could afford to rebuild.  When toying with this idea, we knew we’d have to give the untouched 1940′s ranch style kitchen a little face lift and I would’ve gone to Ikea in a heart beat.  If ever we do re-do a kitchen ourselves, I’m think we’ll go Ikea for cabinetry and splurge on appliances and countertops.  I would build an Ikea kitchen in a heart beat.  In fact, I just used the Ikea butcher block counters in a small kitchen facelift for a client and it turned out fabulous.

Ikea cabinets

Love the Ikea kitchen island

Sarah Richardson design – the buttery yellow really makes the Ikea furniture feel custom

via House and Home – that penny tile floor makes my day

Do you have an Ikea pieces in your kitchen?

Happy Friday

Guest Blogger: Allie 

Exciting news…Our much missed, Kate, is going to reappear on the blog scene! Baby Josie has decided to start sharing her Mom with the rest of us, so the days I guest blog, I’ll put my name at the top of the page. That was the official business for the day, now lets get into the fun stuff: weekend plans!

Tomorrow I’ll be attending a wedding at the Carmel Mission. I can’t wait to see it again! The last time I was there was for my mission building project in 5th grade; needless to say its been a while.

Can you image? Its like a fairy tale. Walking down the isle in a place like this…

The reception is at Clint Eastwood’s, Tehema, a golf club/private residence set on top of the hills of Carmel Valley over looking the Monterey Bay. I’ve never been, but the site looks stunning.

So what do you wear to such an occasion, you ask? It’s a fairly formal, late afternoon wedding, so I think black is appropriate (at least I hope because that’s what I’m wearing!).

I adore this little go-to number by Joie, its easy to wear and you can dress it up or down depending on your accessories. Speaking of which….

For shoes, I’m breaking in my birthday present (thanks Mom)! A classic nude pump by the one and only Jimmy Choo.

And a sweet, compact Nancy Gonzalez clutch to tote all the evening’s necessities.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Hope yours is filled with love and laughter.

~Allie

Sweet Dreams

The nightstand (or bedside table, whatever you want to call it)…its the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning and the last thing you see before you go to sleep at night. Needless to say, it should be a clean, clutter free environment, that houses not only useful objects (alarm clock, lamp, books, etc.) but makes you smile and gives you an overall sense of calm.

There are many routes you can take when choosing a nightstand. Modern, traditional, whimsical, romantic, the list goes on. Not only should you decide on what style you would like to have, but what your needs are as well. There are a plethora of dual function pieces out there, so if your space just “isn’t quite right” for a traditional bedside table, don’t limit yourself! Lets start with the idea of using a dresser instead.

It’s functional storage and are typically the correct height to double as a bedside table. Another dual purpose idea is going the vanity/desk route. It creates a great space to collect your thoughts in the morning over a cup of coffee, or a place to unwind and jot down the day’s ideas or events before turning in at night.

 But remember not to get to0 excited on the double function train and clutter it up, try and keep it simple! If you have a long, skinny space, but aren’t enthused about the desk/vanity idea, a console table usually fills the same space.

 Typically thought of for entry ways or behind sofas, but not anymore! Not that I encourage more storage next to the bed, but if you have a big lamp or sculpture you’d like to display, this could be a great option. Speaking of storage, there is the “stacked vintage luggage” nightstand.

Clean, cute, unique, and a great way to stash to visually unpleasing clutter. Then for the almost zero clutter design aesthetic, there’s the modern nightstand.

It all comes down to personal preference really. So, now that we’ve discussed the different styles of nightstands, stay tuned for when we dissect the components of what makes a great one!

~Allie