Fabulous Black and White Chair

We're loving these side chairs. Upholstered in black and white, it really adds some jazz to an otherwise neutral room.

Images via Traditional Homes.

The fabric on this chair is from F Schumacher--it's a little expensive, let us warn you. Fortunately for a small chair like this you should only need 3-4 yards. The pattern is called Gordian Weave and it comes in three different colorways. It is a little bumpy though, as the knot pattern is raised quite high.
You can find it in our F Schumacher fabric section.

Dreaming of A Modern Beach Home

Are you summering somewhere this summer? Not us! We're stuck here at work, trying to make a living.

But indulge in fantasies we must. So let's look at some really, really pretty modern beach houses today...

In case you are wondering, this house is in Alys Beach, Florida. Don't you just love how simple and neutral it is?

Modern and Glamorous-Chandelier from Barbara Cosgrove

We are loving this new chandelier from Barbara Cosgrove. It's so chic, don't you think?

The chandelier is priced at $925 including shipping.
The shades can also be replaced with parchment shades. The best thing is, it can be painted with any Benjamin Moore paint color. How clever!
You can find this chandelier in our Barbara Cosgrove Lamps section.

Five Ways to Make Your House Younger

Did you see "Hot In Cleveland" last week? We didn't either, mainly because we don't even know how to find TV Land on our TV. If you miss it, you can see the full episode here.

Anyway, the reason we mention it is because reading a LA Times review on the show we saw one funny line-- "To think we spent all that time and effort and money trying to look 10 years younger and 10 pounds lighter," says Malick, a recently unemployed soap star now being offered grandma roles, "and all we had to do was crash-land in Cleveland."

You'll have to be at that age to know what we are talking about! You know, the age where we look at younger women more than our husbands do? The age that we keep saying to ourselves, man, if I can only have my old body back with my current brain?
Which leads us to this point, do you know your house can look 10 years younger too? Most people don't realize this, but the way we decorate our house is very much like the way we dress, it literally can add or subtract a few years.

Here are five ways you can instantly update your home:

1) Use fresh and happy colors via use of wallpapers, paints and fabrics.

Wallpapers are so in now. We love, love it. Not as much to wallpaper every room like they did in the sixties, but by wallpapering just one wall or a small bathroom or dining room, you can instantly freshen things up.

Thibaut.com

2) Get rid of things that are outdated.

You know how mom's jean just add 10 years to your age and 10 lbs to your butt? Outdated things like ivy silk plants, sofa arm covers, oak furniture, shabby chic sofas (so 80s!) are the equivalent of mom's jeans. Worse yet, it screams "grandma"!

3) Update your furniture

Furniture is like fashion. It changes with time. You probably notice that furniture are not as heavy as they use to be. The heavy, ornate look for furniture (think Real Housewives of Orange County/New Jersey/Atlanta) are as out as McMansions. Rather, look for furniture that are modern and clean-lined with fresh designs. If you have upholtery pieces with good bones (say, a very comfortable sofa), consider re-upholstering it with new fabrics. The fabric choices nowadays are amazing.

4) Get small little things that count.

Sometimes things are so tough that shopping is not an option (2008-2009, anyone?). But you know how sometimes a little thing can make us feel much better, say, a tube of pretty lipstick? It's like that for the home too. We spend so much time in our home, it's ok to treat yourself a little bit. Little things like dressing your bed with really good sheets, make your bathroom like a spa etc. goes a long way. You see this with a good hotel--it's the little details that make all the difference.

So consider buying a new rug, a couple of pretty pillows--it doesn't have to be expensive. Homegoods is a good store for bargains like this. Buy lots of books secondhand. They make you look smart (and great accessories too).

Note: A good source for hotel things is American Hotel Registry. They sell actual hotel sheets, pillows and mattresses and from what we can see, the prices are pretty good and that you can buy directly from them. (We are not affiliated with this site in anyway)

5) Go contrarian.

The problem with trend is that after a while everything looks the same. Remember how Juicy Couture was all the rage just a couple of years back? What happened now to those velour tracksuits?

Home trends are like that too. After a while everyone's house look the same. Enough with the granite counter already. Enough with one paint color for each room. And please, do we need 10,000 square feet home?

The best styles are the ones that buck against the trend, stay true to the classic, and retain its integrity.

Go with your personality and your style, unless, of course, you have no style (in that case, consider hiring help).

Just remember that simpler is better, and less is more.

Crazy for Stripes...

We're so in the mood for stripes lately. It's modern. It's striking. It's fun. It makes your eyes pop.

Here are some great designs using stripes with either wallpapers, fabrics or paint:

Images from Elle Decor

Images from MyHomeIdeas

Some pretty striped wallpapers:

Source: Matthew Patrick Smyth Wallcoverings for F Schumacher wallpapers.

A great source for interior design pictures...

With so many decorating magazines closing lately, we find ourselves starving for pictures of amazing rooms. A good alternative is interiors designers' and photographers' web sites. Often you can view their portolios as a source of inspiration.

Below is one of our favorites, Pieter Estersohn.

PS For more pictures, visit DiggingDecor-it's full of interior design pictures (well, not quite full yet, but it's on its way :) It's a social community network for people who love to decorate. The site is new so we'll need all the contributors we can get! If you love decorating, come join so you can show off your portfolio, share resources and make some friends.

We hope to see you there...

Fabulous Beatles Chairs from Andrew Martin

Have you seen the work of Andrew Martin? An UK -based designer, he has that really cool, quirky, crazy English taste that we love.

Here are some new fabrics that just came out for Lee Jofa. Wouldn't they be fabulous as pillows too?

Love them!

PS We apologize, we don't have the pricing for these yet as they are so new. We'll be posting them on our Lee Jofa Fabric section as soon as they are available. In the mean time, if you need it right away, drop us a line. To see more of Andrew Martin's products, click here.