Friday Finds ~ Set the mood

Set a mood with the Gilded Glass Candle Holder from Luna Bazaar (a great place for all sorts of fun stuff!)

Design Tip of the Week (1.10.11): The Key to Decorating

I have been seeing keys lately incorporated into home decorating accessories and I must say that I love that they are so trendy right now. Vintage keys are so interesting both in their design and what they symbolize. A key means access to something to locked away, its so wonderfully intriguing! Here are some fun key designs that you can bring into your decorating. And be sure to check out Wednesday's post for a DIY project using vintage keys.

Decorate your table or dresser with them, like these Garden Key Plates from West Elm.


Use over sized keys as wall art, like these by John Richard from Lighting New York.


Find paintings with keys as the muse, such as Art Zodiac's Deep Blue Skeleton Key on Old Book Pages available through Etsy.


Stick it on your wall! Love the key wall decal from Grey Wolf Graphics on Etsy.

Holiday Must Haves! ~ Silhouette Stockings

So the holiday music has commenced in the shopping world...and while i want to fight it, December is JUST around the corner. So here is a holiday must have to share.

Your family's silhouette on a stocking! Available through Etsy, The Silhouette Shop has some unique things for the season.

Art Smart (11.11.10): Customized Coasters

Hand painted scrabble tile coasters from Terrill's Tiles on Etsy are a great holiday gift. Pick and choose the perfect letter combination!

Design Tip of the Week (8.16.10) ~ Start a collection

Start a collection of candlesticks as an affordable and elegant decorative accent. Search for similar or eclectic candlesticks of all different heights to group together. For example, find different color glass candlesticks or stick with one color and play with sizes (mix skinny with pillar candle holders). Or go for a more antique look and collect brass or silver ones. Display with or without candles. Showcase your new collection on a mantle, dresser, side table, or a shelf.


{Photo from Style at Home}


{Photo from Design & Renovate}


{Photo from Country Living}



{Photo from BHG}


{Photo from Your Home, Only Better}




{Photo from Real Simple}

Friday Finds ~ Anchors away

Do you have a wandering door that likes to slowly close when your not looking? Well don't lose your anchor, a good sailor's knot will do the trick! My love of nautical has found a new level with the Knot Doorstop by Two's Company. Available from Haus Interiors for only 45 bucks!

Don't forget to enter our giveaway here of the perfect summertime accessory ~ a gorgeous ice bucket/wine cooler!

Our Faves!: Poof...and its gone

Love this Round Rattan Pouf from Pier 1 Imports. Its on C-L-E-A-R-A-N-C-E, our fave! So grab one before they disappear (poof).

DiY Tips & Tricks ~ Tiny Terrariums

This Tiny Terrarium tutorial (try saying that 3x!) over at Readymade is such a fun idea for an inexpensive housewarming gift, or something fun on a Saturday to do with your kids. You don't really need to look much further than your own backyard!

This really irks me...

Restoration Hardware is peddling antique unbound "book bundles" as objets de art. Firstly, I despise the idea of buying books as purely decorative items. Certainly, bindings and covers can be -- and even should be -- beautiful (see the new Penguin Classics series HERE), but I'm a firm believer that books you display in your home should be books that, you know, you've actually read and enjoyed. Secondly, the idea of filling your shelves with packages of mistreated, long forgotten literary works to achieve some monochromatic, industrial "style" strikes me as incredibly sad.

Salvaged Wood Kitchen Island ($2695) + {Reproduction} Vintage Barstools ($295)

On a related note, can Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, Wisteria, etc. just stop with the "found" and "antiqued" furniture and accessories? I'm all for vintage and antique, but can't we just buy real vintage instead of faux? Decorating your home with items that look like they have history (but in reality either don't or, if they do, said history has no particular meaning to you) strikes me as incredibly fake. 

Burlap sack turned tablecloth, for a mere $69

I don't really understand spending the big bucks just to decorate your home with discarded soda boxes and burlap. I know that many antiques are (quite rightly) expensive, but why is 50-year old trash suddenly a design statement worthy of a mark-up befitting its newfound trendy status? If you're going to decorate with inexpensive, "humble" materials, then the prices should reflect that. It's like buying a plain white tshirt for $100: just plain stupid. Beyond the absurdity of these prices, the idea of elevating the ordinary and everyday (of the Great Depression!) to designer status strikes me as bizarre and even a bit condescending: We aren't poor, we just decorate like it.

On a final note, prices and subtext aside, the Belgian/industrial look is just too damn depressing for me. I'm a big fan of gray, but we've taken the whole gray, linen, limed wood look way too far. A piece or two here or there (or gray walls) is one thing, but when its thrown altogether (as staged by Restoration Hardware in particular), a monochromatic color palette in gray tones makes a room look like it's had all the life sucked out of it. When used en masse, gray is just as blah as beige. Where's the joy?

Lest you think I've got something against the big name retail stores (which I really don't -- much of my own home is filled with PB, RH and C&B), here are two items that I'm drooling over:

Weathered Zinc Single Fex Mirror ($849)

I adore the quatrefoil shape of this mirror. And, while I think I'd prefer the frame's finish in something a bit more glamorous (silver leaf, perhaps), I don't even mind the weathered zinc. As it is though, I'll be waiting for this piece to go on sale before I consider making the purchase.

Lafayette Chandelier ($399)

I was absolutely shocked when I saw this chandelier in the latest Pottery Barn catalogue. It's so chic! So Pieces, etc.! The red faux coral is the perfect hit of color for a breakfast room or den. I'd maximize the beachy feel of it by pairing it when blues and turquoises -- and speaking of turquoise, wouldn't this be fabulous if there was a turquoise version? [Are you there, Pottery Barn? It's me, Averill. Bring back your Summer 2008 collection!]

Dachshund Bookends at any Budget

As a bibliophile and a dachshund owner (and lover), I am naturally drawn to just about any pair of dachshund bookends. But even if a wiener dog hasn't stolen your heart and/or taken over your home, these bookends bring a nice dose of levity to your decor: As your book collection grows, so too does Fido. Above is a shot of my own pair of dachshund bookends (a Christmas present from my sister-in-law) framing my small collection of Penguin Classics in my office. [By the way, I'm trying to decide what color to paint out the back of the bookshelf -- any suggestions.

If you're in the market for your own set of playful bookends, there are dachshund bookends at just about every price point:

Source list: 1. Platinum: Dachshund bookends - brown (acrylic, $265) available at Barney's. 2. Gold: Dachshund bookends (stonewear and wood, $150) available at Jonathan Adler. 3. ATM: Jonathan Adler Dachshund bookends (white resin, $39.95) available at Barnes & Noble.

Our Faves (4.7.10): Its Flippy Floppy Time

The warm weather has hit DC in full force, a nice 90 degrees....time to break out the Flip Flops! Or keep them out all year round with this Flip Flop Door Mat from VivaTerra. Made from the leftover flip flop rubber, its cushy and colorful! They come in all different sizes, runners too and start at $24.

Our Faves!: Buddha Time

Needing a little more tranquility in life lately, I came across this great buddha sculpture. Doesn't it make you just want to sit and be calm, even if for 2 seconds? :)

Friday Finds (3.19.10): Clothes Pins and

Love these French script clothes pins from The Shabby Chic Cottage. Only $7 for 10! Use them to hang pictures or if your really fancy, hang your laundry ; ). I'm buying them for my newest DIY project...stay tuned for the finished product on our DIY Tips and Tricks.

Friday Finds (3.12.09): We Heart the World

Buy a bunch of these Decorative Globes from Crate and Barrel and put them in a huge glass vase for the study! PERFECTION.

Friday Finds (3.5.10): That's a Hoot!

Love the Owl Letter Holder from Urban Outfitters. For only 24 bucks you got yourself a new letter carrier!

Art Smart (3.4.10): The Art of a Redwood

The Exotic Redwood Burl Decorative Vessel from JustAGoodTurn on Etsy is mesmerizing. Your eye is just drawn to the patterns in the wood. Redwoods are awe inspiring, this piece really maintains the wow factor of the material that it is created from.

I even loved a quote from their profile, "I turn wood to reveal the hidden natural treasures within a tree as it is said that the Divine is reflected in things created by Nature."

Artistic Christmas tree interior decorating

To make beautiful our home interior we can decorate with choose Christmas tree collection. You can remodeling and decorating your room interior with Artistic Christmas tree. This is artistic and unique Christmas tree collection. Its environmental friendly...source architechome.com

Friday Finds (2.26.10): A Serving Plant?

Check out Blum and Black's salad servers that are uniquely stored in a terra-cotta colored pot to give the illusion of a plant! This is very inventive - who'da thunk to do that? Get your own at Arrango Design.

Friday Finds ~ Save the Whales

The Maine Float-Rope Company re-purposes float-rope, which is no longer allowable in the fishing trade as it is a harm to marine life, and makes these wonderful and colorful doormats. These doormats are durable and support a good cause!

Friday Finds ~ Pucci like pillows!

The Bangles Pillow Cover from West Elm makes me feel warm and fuzzy as they remind me of Emilio Pucci's fun and colorful designs. Happy Friday!