July 2011
50 posts
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Weekend inspiration: the lake house
Another weekend, another bachelorette party. This weekend I’m heading home to Pennsylvania as a bridesmaid to celebrate my friend Lauren’s bachelorette party. We’re spending the weekend at our friend’s lake house, which inspired me to look at lake house decor.
My mind instantly went to a photo of Bravo’s Million Dollar Decorator, Jeffrey Alan Marks’, master bedroom. He suspended a vintage...
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Put a frame on it.
This post is inspired by the iconic frame on Monica and Rachel’s door in Friends. That purple door with the funky gold frame stood out to me every episode. That set designer really made a statement with that door.
While you can obviously try to replicate the peephole frame there is a new frame that can help you make a statement in your home - the television frame. I love how these tvs...
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Home envy: Ralph Lauren's "Double RL Ranch"
I’m still kicking myself for forgetting to DVR Oprah’s interview with Ralph Lauren at his 17,000 acre “Double RL Ranch” just outside of Telluride, Colorado. Lauren has only granted a hand full of interviews in the past couple of decades so this one with Oprah wasn’t one to miss. And I missed it.
Lucky for me (and for you), oprah.com posted photos of the ranch home...
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The Man Cave
The lockout is finally over! Football season is upon us! In celebration of this development I’m going to take some time to focus on an important room that just is not in enough homes - the man cave.
While visiting Art School with my parents this summer the admissions representative told us about a course that tackles different kinds of spaces such as tour buses, limos, the man cave,...
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Next life stop: Interior Design School
Today I am so excited to say that I am officially an interior design student! I was accepted to the Art Institute of Washington’s Interior Design program and I could not be more excited about this next stage of my life.
I have a Bachelors in English with a Concentration in Journalism from the University of Delaware and have been in the journalism/social media field for the past 5 years. A...
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Who knew: my recent love of navy
I’ve been a little surprised with myself lately. I’m usually a big fan of light colors, especially white, inside of the home with pops of color. But lately I’ve been gravitating towards navy, especially navy walls. Maybe it’s because white accents look so chic with it, but I’m head over heels with navy lately.
The photo above is from J.K. Place Capri Hotel. The...
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Friendly inspiration
I am going to Ocean City, Maryland this weekend with my girlfriends to celebrate my dear friend Hammi’s (Jessica Hamilton to be exact and grown up) bachelorette party. I am so excited for her big day this November - she and her fiance Jim are one of my favorite couples ever.
They also recently purchased a home and are slowly renovating it and making it all their own. I’ve seen the...
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Rachel Zoe: "I dream in jewelry"
Me too Rach, me too.
I was flipping through some old magazines (In Style is one of my favorites) and came across this article featuring Stylist Rachel Zoe from the April 2010 In Style. First thing you should know about me, I DIE for Rachel Zoe and her show, The Rachel Zoe Project. Second thing you should know about me, I DIE for my jewelry (check out my blog post “The storing of the...
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There's always time for wine.
Sometimes a glass of wine is just what I need after a long, stressful day. Sometimes a glass of wine brings old friends together to laugh about fun times. Sometimes a glass of wine is the perfect way to celebrate a special occasion. And sometimes after all of these glasses of wine you have a lot of leftover wine bottles. So why not use them to decorate your home?!
As you’ll see from the...
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Art that speaks for itself
I think Billy Joel said it best in Piano Man when he said “Sing us a song, you’re the piano man, sing us a song tonight. Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody, and you’ve got us all feelin’ all right.” Music just makes us feel right. So why not use it to decorate our homes?
Check out the do-it-yourself tutorial for wood stained painting from Nicole Davis...
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In love with: subway tile
I’m a sucker for subway tile. I think it’s such a fresh way to decorate a room. I fell in love with the above picture when reading Daniela Schuffler’s blog, Aesthetic Oiseau. She has some great advice for buying glass subway tile, so make sure to check it out if you’re interested.
While I do want to focus more on subway tile as a back splash in a kitchen, I found this...
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Weekend inspiration: the bar
I’m visiting my gay husband and his boyfriend (what? it’s an open relationship haha) this weekend. Our email discussion of cocktails that we should mix has inspired me to delve into the important issue of home bars. Long gone are the days of red solo cups, cheap vodka, and ping pong balls lining your beer soaked bar. It’s time to class it up a bit. Lucky for you, it’s not...
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The storing of the jewels
I admit it, I have a jewelry fetish. Necklaces are my drug. And I certainly don’t have a shortage of bracelets, earrings, and rings either. I’ve never been a huge fan of a traditional jewelry box, I like my jewelry to be out on display. Check out how I’ve made my jewelry a piece of art in my bedroom.
I use these colorful dishes for my earrings and rings. The purple bowl stores...
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A short affair: West Elm pop-up shop in Georgetown
Today is the opening of West Elm’s pop-up shop in Georgetown. It will be a short affair for the Georgetown store, as it will only be open for 6 months. So if you’re local to DC, don’t wait to get in there!
So what is a pop-up shop? My best guess is based on the lease time frame and the size - at 3,300 square feet, the store is significantly smaller than a typical West Elm,...
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Lush it up: wallpaper your cabinets
Wallpapering your cabinets is such an easy way to add some pizazz to what can be a pretty boring piece of furniture. Wallpaper comes in so many different designs - so have fun with it! This may be your chance to use something a little more daring then you would if you were wallpapering your entire wall.
This green geometric print brings some life to the white cabinet and white plates.
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Multipurpose look: the tray
A tray is a fantastic decorative accent, that lucky for us can take on many roles. You can throw your keys in a tray in your entryway, you can use a tray on an ottoman to organize your books, remote control, and other living room essentials, you can even declutter your bar with a decorative tray.
Bathrooms can easily become a hot mess. Let’s face it, our bathrooms accumulate a lot of...
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The door headboard
A door is a such an easy way to give your bedroom a unique twist. I actually have a door headboard in my room that I grew up in. I will definitely take a picture to share next time that I’m in Pennsylvania. The door headboard above is a shabby chic take on this look.
Better Home and Gardens took the door headboard on its side (literally) and added a splash of color. They also added a...
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Bedside Manner
Bored by the traditional side table? Spice it up a little and do something different. While the tabled above is more on the traditional path in terms of shape, the distressed mirror adds a very fun punch.
This long, narrow table allows you to decorate your bedside to your liking. Add some flowers, books, decorative vases and you’ve got quite the unique accent.
Suitcase stacking is...
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This week's forecast: summer's going STRONG
Here in Washington, DC things are HOT. We’re going to be in the 90s and even break 100 degrees this week! The hot summer weather has me aching to be sitting by the pool (or more realistically, IN the pool) instead of behind my office desk.
How amazing is the pool bar pictured above?
Check out some poolside inspiration I’m having - anyone else care to join me in my poolside fantasy?...
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Weekend inspiration: the beach house
Another weekend is upon us and I’m longing for the beach. It is one of my goals in life to own a beach house that I can escape to every weekend (or for longer periods of time). I’m my happiest at the beach.
So in celebration of Friday here is some weekend inspiration, beach house style. Let’s start with this whale pillow. It just makes me smile.
I love love love the framed...
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Mix it up with chalkboard paint
Chalkboard paint is such an inexpensive way to have some fun in your home. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves - but it’s pretty obvious that the options are limitless!
You can paint a whole wall with chalkboard paint. And the best part? You can erase and change things up whenever you want!
Add a little edge to your immaculate bathroom with a chalkboard painted door.
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The sliding barn door
Pinterest has done it again, pulled something out of the woodwork (ha! see what I did there?) and made me fall in love with it. Check out my new love for the sliding barn door - in your bedroom!
While I’m a HUGE fan of the yellow barn door seen above, as done by Dana of House Tweaking, I couldn’t help but fall in love with this traditional wooden door. It looks so great in this room.
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Full length floor mirrors
I’m a sucker for a fantastic full length floor mirror. No, it’s not because I love to look at myself all of the time, but because it’s functional while making a bold statement.
I know that I always need to see the full picture of what I look like when I put an outfit together, and what good is it if you need to stand on a chair to see how your shoes look with that great outfit...
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It's the little things.
I truly believe that it’s the little, personal things that make a house a home. Your house can be designed immaculately but if it doesn’t look lived in or have any personal touches it’s really just a very nicely decorated, empty shell.
Here are some little things that have inspired me lately to have in my future home. Those little touches that make you smile.
I really love...
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My newest obsession: Pinterest
My latest obsession is the new social network, Pinterest. And I don’t use the word obsession lightly. Pinterest has become like crack to me. Well, obviously not really like crack - but just as addictive as crack haha.
What is Pinterest? Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can “pin” any picture that...
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Striped Curtains
A few days ago I fell in love with these black and ivory striped curtains. They add a perfect punch to a room. After drooling over these curtains I was pleasantly surprised to see that I share the same taste with Million Dollar Decorator Mary McDonald.
Mary used these same curtains when decorating her client Jill Roberts’ office. I gasped when I saw the curtains, thinking they would...
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Anthropologie Flamenco Shower Curtain
I recently spent my July 4th at the shore, and was overwhelmed with amazing design inspiration everywhere I turned. Which of course was not limited to the ocean, as this amazing shower curtain from Anthropologie shows.
I love the ruffles and colors, however, this shower curtain does have a steep price (at $118). Luckily, this photo is great inspiration for a do-it-yourself project (if you have...
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Jeffrey Marks retweeted one of your Tweets!
As a current social media professional (that is, until I find out if I was accepted to design school and can quit my job) I preach every day how important social media is to building a brand. So when I created Life Made Pretty I also created a twitter account (check me out at @lifemadepretty).
I knew instantly what I wanted one of my first tweets to be about - a blog post that I read last week...
