Visions of Easter

See these candies, peeps? All gone already. Amazing!

Some pretty tulips that brightened our Easter morning.

Envisioning...

I've got a few pieces I've been thinking about putting together in the library. Remember, I want a happy, vintage, Hawaiian type library bar, with Jack Johnson music echoing and mai tai mix nearby. Picturing these on the soon-to-be-found vintage Hawaiian rattan lounge chairs.

Pillow: Thomas Paul, Velocity Art and Design, $94

How is this very cool Jack Johnson poster by Tad Carpenter? I happened on it the other night and am purchasing it with another art print for the baby's nursery. I like the happy colors! & hellurrr, Jack Johnson is from Hawaiiiiiii. We must represent.

Tad Carpenter poster, 18x24, $20 hand signed and numbered through 150.

Since Bessie, my cowhide, will be moving along for greener pastures (Ha! I crack myself up), I've recently come upon Dash & Albert cotton rugs at Pacific Home in Honolulu. I have a major home crush on Pacific Home, but I digress. Let's dish about the cotton rug. I like this color and think it would go with my inspiration Thomas Paul pillow and the happy times-invoking Jack Johnson poster.

Dash and Albert Birmingham Stripe Rug in Green, Velocity Art and Design, 6x9, $208

The library isn't the only room I have on my mind. I've got a nursery to plan, too and I can't forget about that! I spied this Tad Carpenter art print at Land of Nod for $59, framed. But Tad Carpenter's website has the 11x14 unframed version in all its adorable awesomeness for $12. Hubby loves this thing and wants it for the baby's room. Anytime my husband likes something I like... I have to get it.

Tad Carpenter Art Print, $12, signed and numbered

Now to find pieces that coordinate....

Getting Retro and Colorful in the Library-Bar!

New Idea for the libary/bar -- How about some color?? I know right, why didn't I think of this before? The room right now is blah and just doesn't fit in with the rest of the downstairs and I need it to flow, peeps. There's no flow. & no color, either. So to solve that, I've got to re-think the room a bit. Here's the room in its current form. Blah, blah and more blah. Issue #1: Bessie. Bessie just has to moooove along.


Now, this being Hawaii and all, I'm going with something I'm going to call, Vintage Pacific. That's my fancy-pants way of saying I'm going to be on the look out for 1950's vintage, hawaiian style rattan chairs and re-cover them with something more modern that goes with our (very basic) current color scheme. If you remember, I have lavender/violet Thomas Paul throw pillows on our sectional in the family room, so I need the library bar to be cohesive with that. I think a chartreuse green would go great against that color and still play nicely against the white walls and dark wood floors. What do you think of these Thomas Paul samples below?

Here is the type of vintage rattan chair I'm looking for. Again, very Hawaii, very Where's My Mai Tai. But with a modern fabric, I think a pair of these chairs would create the Pacific vibe I'm going for, without guests having to ask where my vinyl record copy of Tiny Bubbles is. I'm partial to the first and last print. What do you think?

The black chair that's currently there, my Don Draper chair, is probably going to go. But I'll keep the couch and the mid-century modern mango wood coffee table. I'm envisioning a clean looking area rug to lighten up the space, and a white ceramic garden stool in the middle of the two rattan chairs. A tropical cocktail or two for guests (mommies-to-be will refrain, bien sur), and we'll be good to go!

Losing Followers is no Fun!

Since switching subject matters, I've seen a number of followers fall off lately. Boo! I hate that! :0( Of course I'd be happier talking about houses and furniture and have lots of followers, but if it can't be, then it can't be. Hoping that you'll consider staying!

House Tour - Progress!

Thought I would share some updated photos of our Hawaii house. It's coming along and I have to say we've made some progress with decorating this week. If you remember we bought in a newly developed neighborhood, chosen from a number of different models. The exterior is cookie cutter, but I was hell bent on making sure the interior was not. So we chose floors, counters, etc through the developer's extensive design house choices and I was pretty excited with getting the bones right, but I've been waiting to get the furniture pieces to my liking, and I think I'm getting close. Below, a small tour in recent photos...

Living room and kitchen. We just got this great, huge and WHITE washable sectional. The couch pillows are Thomas Paul. Those big, wood screens are actually antique doors from China. The table is also a Chinese antique.

The Library/Bar comes along, but still needs work. I need more shelves, more books, more barware. & I especially need more color in here. It's pretty monotone right now, so I need some cool accessories to keep the feeling young and also to tie the room to the rest of the house.

The kitchen, with a view of the french doors in the library/bar.

A view from the main hallway/entryway.

I'm super excited to have the house come along so far! What do you all think?

The Vintage Mid-Century Modern Sofa is Mine, All Mine

Hello! Just a quick line I wanted to drop with some up-to-the-minute photos of the library/bar. My hunt for a vintage mid-century modern sofa has come to an end with this awesome brown vinyl/pleather/not-really-leather sofa below with the great lines and awesome wooden legs. The room needs fun things in it now to keep it from feeling stodgy, but the bones are to my liking!

Have a great day!

Do you think Don Draper would approve?

Sofas are a crazy thing. Vintage Mid-Century Modern ones even more. For whatever reason, I have to have the real deal - must be vintage, no recently made lookalikes. Which means I must live with imperfection. But you know me, I find the beauty in that. Here is the latest sofa find I'm thinking about for our library/bar. I am in love with the lines and the legs on this thing! Worst of all, Hawaii is so, so small that finding a vintage piece is not the easiest task. I'd rather wait than get something I won't really love, but I think this piece would look great with the right touches. We're still in the dating phase, so I can't get my hopes up completely because she is technically not mine, but I think she'd look fabulous in the space. What do you all think?

I'm planning to put together a board that would combine the pieces for the library/bar. I'd like to keep my other mid-century modern find in the room with it. This is the chair I wanted to re-cover in cowhide, if you remember from a previous post. I spoke with an upholsterer after getting nervous about doing the job myself and the cost seems a little high for two cushions. Alas, the chair will stay as-is for now, but I have hope! It would look great either way, and if I can't cover the chair in Bessie, the cowhide can live on the floor and would still look great in the space.

By the way, I'm seeing cowhide peak out everywhere, most recently at my favorite source of inspiration, Restoration Hardware. Here are some pieces that I'm ogling at the moment. But alas, usually with Restoration Hardware, I can only ogle from afar. Their prices freak my wallet out more than the J.Crack ever did.

1950's Copenhagen Chair Hair on Hide Front, Restoration Hardware

Brazilian Cowhide Pillow Covers, Restoration Hardware $69 - $99

I'm picturing some book cases, preferably a thin tower version, on either side of the Don Draper sofa, to be filled with bar accoutrements and books to complete the theme. I like the two shelving units here.

Vintage Industrial Tower, Restoration Hardware

Reclaimed Elm & Iron Leaning Shelving, Restoration Hardware

Must go now and get the Little Guy ready for school, but drop me a line and let me know what you think so far of the bar/library? Is it the vintage feel I'm going for?