A Liveable House Tour

One of my all time favorite house tours featured on Design Sponge last July was the home of photographer and blogger Raya Carlisle. The mix of bright and pastel colors, with ample amounts of white, make this home feel so airy and cheerful. Every room welcomes you to take a seat, and make yourself comfortable. I love how absolutely liveable this home is. It is refreshing to see an environment that is well styled but can handle the impact of children and day-to day wear.




I'm thinking this accordion peg rack has a DIY future in my tiny entry way! I love how unassuming and charming this is, setting the tone for the rest of the home.



The slip covered sofa and Lucite coffee table make for quick clean ups if a stray Popsicle makes it out of the kitchen. Speaking of the kitchen.....



  How cute is that? And now for my favorite room of the house, the dining room:


Eek!! Those pink vinyl original Thonet chairs are to die for! The lucky girl got them on Craigslist! I am always amazed at what treasures can be found on there! Especially if you live close to a big city, Craigslist can be a gold mine. The pops of yellow from the vintage dishes and that darling little vintage oil painting make this (in my opinion) the cheeriest room in the house!



They converted their formal dining room into a play room. What lucky kiddos! That awesome rug is from Rugsusa. Sadly, it's sold out. It gives this room great personality and ties the drapery, lockers, and couch together.



I am coveting these lockers! How great are they for storage!



This wardrobe is killer. I'd love to have something like that for my bedroom!

What do you think? Wouldn't you love to come home to this quaint abode?

Friday Find & A Giveaway!

I'm currently crushing on Furbish store & design. Founder & designer Jamie Meares is a genius at mixing patterns and bold colors. However, her designs are not for the faint of heart! All of her designs & goodies she sells at the Furbish store are packed with so much color and personality, and I love that!

Jamie & her baby, Furbish, were recently featured on one of my favorite sites, The Everygirl. Make sure you stop by and read her interview! 

Here are some of Jamie's fabulous rooms she has designed:

The store is located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The next time I'm there visiting family I will definitely be stopping by! For those of you who don't live in North Carolina, there is a wonderful selection of goodies online as well.

I'm giving away a $25 gift card to Furbish this week!  To enter, you just need to become a follower of my blog:) The winner will be drawn as soon as I have 25 followers!

Stay tuned next week for some awesome items under $25 from Furbish (that can be yours as well!)

All images courtsey The Everygirl & Furbish website.

Friday Find

Josie Maran Argan Oil. I. LOVE. THIS. STUFF.

                                                   
                                                                            Sephora


My recent trip to Sephora resulted in this lovely little bottle of oil. I use it for my night-time moisturizer, a cuticle treatment, and to make my hair feel oh so soft. And I can't get enough! The smallest bottle of oil sells for just $14, which should last you for a long time. Do your winter skin a favor and pick some of this stuff up!

In other news, I recently signed up for a "Biggest Loser" weight loss program at work. Although I'm just wanting to lose those 10 pounds I gained since getting married (happy=fat I guess:), I will be doing it the healthy way! The challenge lasts for 8 weeks so I will need to lose a little over a pound a week.

Each week, over the next 8 weeks, I will be focusing on a different part of my healthier lifestyle, and how it's helping me to get closer to my goal. Stay tuned over the next several weeks for posts geared towards getting healthy, and maybe even a giveaway!:)

Have an awesome weekend!

Tiny Spaces

My husband and I are both fascinated by "tiny houses." For example, those 365 sq. feet fully furnished Ikea houses in their showrooms, the only part of the store that he doesn't hate with a passion. But they don't seem that real. Especially when we come back to our ample sized town home at the end of the day.

Today I stumbled across the inspiring blog, Reading My Tea Leaves, about a couple who lives in a 240 sq. foot apartment. They not only live there, but thrive and blog about life in this beautiful little home.


                                                                         <via>


I enjoyed reading through their "survival tips" for people living in tiny spaces. It definitely gave me perspective as I perused through the tips. I come home from the grocery store and grumble about not having a pantry. And think, gee wouldn't it be nice to have a medicine cabinet in our bathroom. But today I'm amazed at the possibilities my 1200 ft town home has to offer. If someone can make a functioning household in a space 1/6 of mine, there is no reason we all can't!

Color me inspired! When I walk through my door tonight I'm going to see a great big space brimming with opportunities! Make sure you stop by Reading My Tea Leaves and see their darling little space!

Friday Find

I believe if West Elm and Anthropologie were to have a "style child", it would live in my house. I love how modern and crisp West Elm is, and the vintage and colorful flair Anthro has.

Today my Friday find is a the random sparkle pillow from West Elm, shown in Taylor Sterling's house on Glitter Guide.





I am loving gold accents lately (who isn't) so I would definitely pick the gold version of this beauty. Right now it is on sale for $29.99! Snatch one up quick, I'm sure they will go fast.  Have a great weekend everyone!

My Dream Office

Keeping with the theme of this week's earlier post, I made a mood board for my dream office! Althought I'm grateful for the office I do have (some people in this economy don't even have a job!) I'd still love to spend my time in a space that was more me.

Splurge on the West Elm Parsons Desk; sit stylishly in this affordable Louis Ghost Chair; add some style & light with Pantone's Color of the Year Lamp; must have Sheepskin rug to warm your tootsies or drape over the chair; keep track of the days with Rifle's Botanical Desk Calendar;  rest up against this adorable pillow; every room needs a splash of pink, use this lacquered box to corral loose items; rest your pencils & pencil holder on this fabulous gold tray; keep track of inspiration in this preppy emerald notebook; what a pretty tape holder!

Happy Thursday! Just one more work day left!

Pretty Offices

Although my 9-5 office is perfectly lovey, I dream of a more colorful and chic work space. Pretty and well-organized desks or offices spaces, big & small, are trending in the design world.

Here are some of my favorite trends I've been seeing lately:

Tables instead of desks, which are great for creating multipurpose spaces!


   
                                                                       via, via

Patterned walls, either painted or wallpapered. Working in spaces like these two would make even the most unpleasant tasks a breeze!


    
                                                       via, via

Non-traditional office chairs. I LOVE the use of beautiful upholstered wing-backs, faux bamboo chairs, and Louis Ghost chairs to name a few!

 

  
                                     via, via, via, via

Did you notice how almost all of theses desks have gorgeous non-traditional office style lamps? Love!

Happy 2013!

I am excited for a new year! A fresh start feels wonderful.

I've spent months trying to find the perfect blog name, perfect format, make everything perfect, and it's gotten me a big fat no where.

Instead of obsessing about perfection, I'm just going for it! Life, and its many aspects, does not have to be perfect to be wonderful. This is my mantra for the 2013.

Interior design in my passion. Although I work a finance oriented 9-5 job, I want more than anything to be a part of the amazing, changing, ever-growing world of design. This blog is hopefully my start into that world!

Happy 2013! May this year be filled with success for you and the people you love. And hopefully me too!:)