Anthropologie's Marbled Swing Stool Table

Anthropologie always has unique and interesting home items. Most are great additions to a room but some you actually want to design your room around. Like this table, for example.

So cool and with such pretty details. How would you use this in your home? As a casual eating spot, a cards/games table, or for something else?

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Anthropologie's Marbled Swing Stool Table

Leather Pulls

Check out the leather pulls that were featured in this month's House Beautiful magazine.

Aren't they just lovely? Simple, yet cool, I think they would look great on clean-lined cabinetry or on a dresser like Ikea's Malm.

I certainly have enough of those Malms in my house. I think I may give this one a try!

Wisteria's White and Gold

Lately I've been drawn to the combination of white and gold. Wisteria has a bunch of great options.

Clean and bright with a bit of sparkle. Such a nice combination.

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clockwise from top left
gold leaf collection console
gilt moroccan mirror
gilt trim chest
grecian gilt key table

My Spicy Granny Chair

A couple of weeks ago, I also posted about my current color crush: Habanero Chile. I included a screen shot from Real Simple featuring this quote "In a glossy finish, it will make a grannyish chair look cool and modern."

Well, with some TLC, fun fabric, and this awesome paint color, my estate sale find has gotten quite a facelift!

Unfortunately I don't have any "before" photos to share with you (what was I thinking?) but I can give you an idea of what it looked like when I found it: very dark stained wood with a needlepoint seat cover. I actually found something similar here. Very granny, right?

Here is a close-up of the floral detail on the top of the chair. So nicely crafted.

While I was busy painting, my mom and sister-in-law recovered the seat cushion with this black and white ikat fabric. (Thanks, guys!)

I'm not sure if it's cool and modern, but this piece is definitely spicy. I love how cute my granny chair is now!

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photos by The Pink Chalkboard

Wisteria's Ghost Table

I have long been a fan of acrylic furniture (owning two pieces from CB's Peekaboo series), and my heart went pitter patter over the weekend when I spotted this new beauty in Wisteria's Fall catalog.

I love this curvy style of furniture reinterpreted with modern materials. I actually have a version in metal that I bought from Pottery Barn several years ago and a similar version makes an appearance in the Maltese vacation home I posted about last week. 

But, I have to say, this table looks even more amazing in acrylic!

As if that isn't enough, this piece is currently on sale. How can I possibly resist?

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Traditional Ghost Table via Wisteria

Top Picks: Restoration Hardware

I recently received a collection of enormous catalogs from Restoration Hardware in the mail. To be honest, even I, who loves home design, furniture and decor, thought it was excessive. Then I started going through it all and of course fell in love with a bunch of items. Here are some favorites:

A pretty bed and bench but I'm particularly taken with the collection of art behind it. Restricting the subject to figures and the medium to pencil would already have unified the works, but the simple black frames and white mats perfect the look.

This chandelier is gorgeous and would be pretty over a long dining room table.

Here's a different shape but just as nice. I would change out the candle-shaped light bulbs for round ones.

 This settee

and this chaise are my favorite leather items.

There are lots of leathers to choose from but their Vintage Cigar color is my favorite. It looks so rich and soft and yummy.

Have you seen the massive volumes from Restoration Hardware recently? What are your favorites?

Master Bedroom Redo

Last week, I showed a sneak peek into my bedroom and today's post has more images.

I don't have too many before images. (This has happened so many times before – I get an idea and quickly want to try it out, not thinking that it will be a big deal or enough of a transformation that it will merit a "before" photo to be taken. Of course when I'm done, I wish had taken that before shot.) Oh well, this pic will have to do.

The room is a bit of an awkward shape and we were limited with where we could put the bed. I always like walking into a room and seeing the bed in front of you so in this case, that meant tucking the bed into the window nook. Luckily it was a perfect fit. My painted dressers then went across from the bed, a desk and chair was to the left of the bed and an empty space was to the right. It wasn't a lot of furniture for the size of the room but it was all we needed. An upholstered chair for a reading nook would have been nice but I knew that all it would become was a place to pile clothes. It would have been a waste of money and it just wasn't necessary.

Moving the furniture around turned out to be all that was needed. Now the first thing you see when you walk up the stairs and into the room is the desk and upholstered chair. It's much more welcoming than the empty space that was there before.

The bedding is all new. West Elm's stripe sheet set and the yellow and white graphic pillows make the bed feel fresh and new. Unlike my original bedding plans, I decided against the gray blanket and lumbar pillow. But the beauty of this bedding is that it's simple to change up. Maybe come fall I'll want an extra blanket. Or a different color throw pillow. The gray and white palette is so easy to work with.

The dressers moved to the wall to the left of the bed and the Franz Kline inspired art moved with it. The canvas is leaning on the dressers for now but in this location, I think it will look better hung on the wall. It's on my list of things to do.

As for the wall opposite the bed, it is big and gray and just asking to become a gallery of art. I've wanted to start my own collection for a while now. I have admired many artists for years but haven't actually purchased any pieces for myself yet. So now is the time. I'm excited.

P.S. Want to see some of the art we've blogged about lately? Click here.

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photos by The Pink Chalkboard

Wisteria and Material Culture

Remember this post about Material Culture? A few days after I went there, I was flipping through Wisteria's catalog and I can across a bunch of items that looked awfully familiar. Take a look!

Wisteria's Vintage Chinese Butcher's Table has slightly different proportions than Material Culture's but it is very close.

The next one isn't as exact but certainly similar. I didn't photography the whole piece but the inlay details were gorgeous. I remember Material Culture's being expensive but then again, Wisteria's Moorish Chest is pretty costly, too!

And then there is this Sunburst Armoire. The top half of the piece is nearly identical stylistically. Just look at those details!

Strikingly similar, don't you think?

*****

Material Culture photos by The Pink Chalkboard
all other images via Wisteria

Gold Leaf Coffee Table

The latest Wisteria catalog just introduced me to my new favorite furniture item. This gorgeous gold leaf coffee table.

I want it. And it's so pretty that I want to design a whole room around it.

Alas, it's not in the cards for me now. I just don't need it. But I can't help thinking how lovely it would be in my home. Gold and white is such a great combination.

Arhaus

How many times do you look through catalogs and get stopped in your tracks by the beauty of an item you see in front of you? For me, it's not that often. Sure, I see lots of pretty things but everything usually tends to be somewhat similar to something I've seen before.

Have you heard of Arhaus? I recently started getting mailings from them and now I just got my first catalog. Take a look at this beauty.

So unique and interesting-looking. I'm hoping it's comfortable to sit on. I definitely want to go to their store and test it out.

Other items that caught my eye are this ottoman

and this pendant.

Factory carts are all the rage these days but this tv stand and that console table are two slightly different takes on the style.

And then there is this tv console that is industrial in style but is more clean and streamlined than those items with big wheels on them. Chances are something like this will be a little less trendy and a bit more timeless.

Viva Terra's Versatile Items

I love a good multifunctional piece. And while perusing the latest issue of Viva Terra, a found a bunch.
 

Items like this aluminum stool. I have 3 silver stools similar to this in my home. They are surprisingly versatile – as a side table next to the couch, as movable outdoor furnishings, even as extra seating. (I actually have the medium size hammered drum in my family room. I found it a year or two ago at Home Goods before I had even heard of Viva Terra!)

This clean-lined foldaway desk would be lovely in an entryway. The top of the desk opens to reveal a writing surface and secret storage space. The stool is perfect for the desk but when placed in an entryway is also a great place to put on shoes before you walk out the door.

This wooden easel was designed to hold a tablet and would be great mounted in the kitchen. Equally lovely, though, would be to use this as a perch for a small framed image or as a little rotating gallery for kids artwork.

What versatile home items have you found lately? Please share!

Vintage Funk

I'm a fan of Emily Henderson's style. Her blog is always filled with interesting vintage finds that look amazing after they've been styled or sprayed with a fresh coat of paint. It's those unique pieces that really make a home but where to find them? Emily finds these things for what seems like pennies and I've never been able to – until now.

Enter Vintage Funk. My sister-in-law told me about this place that happens to be minutes from my parents' house. So many great things there. Some are ready for the home as is. Other items could use a some love (and paint). So let's play a little game. What would you do with these items?

First off is this Jenny Lind inspired headboard/footboard set. With a little wood filler and raspberry spray paint, it would look an awful lot like this Land of Nod bed, don't you think? Possibly even better.

This frame reminds me of one I bought at a House Sale a few years ago. It's one of those really old, really heavy mirrors that makes a statement when painted a fun color.

I painted mine chartreuse for a pop of color in my entryway.

Wheels would be a fun addition to a wall. A whole collection would be amazing either in an organized pattern or in a random bunch scaling a large wall. 

I bought a metal box like this last year at Habitat for Humanity's Restore. I thought it would look great painted orange and put in my son's room.

I have a few ideas for this frame. Spraypaint for starters and then it could become a few things – add cork behind for an instant corkboard or maybe some fabric and a little batting for a cushioned pinboard.

A basic mirror, but at $30, this is cheaper than most decorative mirrors you'll find.

And then there is this. Perhaps it's my most favorite find. A pair of these chairs.

The owner was asking $28 or $40 per chair. I don't remember which but honestly, it didn't matter. An amazing price. I would spraypaint the frame white and reupholster the cushions in a solid color like a rich, dark blue. Then decorate with a patterned throw pillow and put in a living room, facing the couch.

So what do you think? What's your favorite find and what would you do with it?