wedding dress

I love this bright yellow bathroom storage piece. Now I want to paint my bathroom cabinet. Who wants white when you can have yellow?

via shiny interior

When my husband and I were registering for our wedding he was fairly indifferent to the process, until we got to the cutlery. You can imagine my surprise when we ended up spending 30 minutes pouring over various knifes, forks and spoons. They had to fit well in the hand, be able to scoop up the right amount of cereal, have a balanced weight, etc. I was shocked, I had planned on looking at the style and really only that. That was the first I learned of his deeply rooted opinions on some household items.

Now as we get ready to start the search for a new sofa these deeply rooted opinions on household items are resurfacing. As he told me, "I spend a lot of quality time on the couch, it's important." I have been throwing around the idea of a leather sofa, when I told him this he had immediate concerns about the temperature of leather when you first sit on it. He brought up the idea of sectionals and ruled out the idea of a high backed couch (it does not meet his primary comfort standards). If his strong preferences came out more often I probably wouldn't enjoy them as much. As it is, I find them hilarious. So here are some sectionals. Any recommendations on a good couch color?

I saw this blue table on Little Green Notebook, I love it. My friend Rachel has been trying to decide what color to paint her side tables, this is my vote! It makes me want to repaint all my black tables!

P.S. this is what I want to do to my oak desk!

I will be in the market for a new couch in the next 18 months. In my dreams I like these options...

via greige
I love the look of this high backed couch and chair.

I have four bar stools that look similar to these two. I have been throwing an idea around in my head, what if I painted them blue?

The more I look into it the more I like it. I feel confident in saying my husband will likely strongly oppose the idea. Luckily I have eight different weeks where he will be on rotation, starting next week.



Maybe a gray instead of a blue?

via target, polyvore, chow down atlanta

via Martha Stewart
I was at a friend's house last night and she told me that she doesn't like the legs of her chairs. When I saw this suggestion on how to makeover a chair (paint the legs a fun color) I immediately thought of her. The same color as the side tables perhaps?

I was reorganizing my bookcases last night desperately searching for more room for my new books. I saw this on Ikea's site and the thought came to me that I should try to sell my non-matching book cases and my tv stand for this beauty. I think it would be amazing.

When my husband and I went to pick out patio furniture a few years back I learned something new. While I really wanted the cute bistro set my husband was right, we wanted something that is comfortable enough to make you want to sit outside for hours to eat and play games. I haven't once regretted choosing comfort over style.

Our set will likely last us a few more years but hopefully the next time around we will be able to pick something that meets both criteria, beautiful and comfortable. I like these options.


via pottery barn
I love this series from Pottery Barn. My only concern would be how well the wood would weather and what the upkeep would be.

via outdoor garden furniture
The great thing about metal furniture is that it won't start to sag or splinter. Put some awesome pillows on it and you are good to go.

via pottery barn
I went through two different lighting strands last year. The first one was solar powered, which admittedly was pretty cool. The problem was it didn't let off much light, so back it went. The second was a strand of bistro lights that I love. I might even see if I can find another strand this year. I love these lights from Pottery Barn, utilitarian and completely fun.


via Martha Stewart
For a little more ambiance I love this idea from Martha. With enough candles you should get enough light and it is gorgeous.

Naomi asked me to look for a "living room with a leather couch that looks cool and not like a men's club (not that there is anything wrong with that, it's just not what I'm going for). I want something clean, comfy, lovely, and I need decor that will warm it up, you know? I am thinking a fabric chair, a rug that is not the typical oriental rug and window treatments that make it not look like too much leather."

I spent the weekend looking for rooms with leather couches, not as easy as it sounds. I came away with a couple of rules of thumb:
1- Use bright neutral colors on your walls
2- Be careful with using too much leather i.e. only leather

A mixture of light and dark furniture as well as various fabrics and textures.

This is the only one with only leather seating that I chose to include. I think this one works because of the simple and modern lines on the sofas as well as minimal furniture and light colors on the walls and rug.

Yet again there is a mixture of light and dark and textures. Apartment Therapy also has a great post entitled "How to decorate around a leather sofa"

They used primarily light colors here with dark accents but they also didn't use a light colored rug to off-set the wood flooring.

The bottom right picture is the one to look at, they have paired leather with fabric chairs and tables with simple lines.

Bright colors found on the walls and the pillows paired with light colors in the rug and walls and a mixture of light and dark furniture.

Any other suggestions for decorating with a leather sofa?

I know I've talked about my couch before so if you already know this, bear with me. My Mom got new couches for her living room a while back. She offered me the couch that had sat in the living room for 20+ years. It looks almost exactly like this green one but it is cream.

via EmilyStyle
My parents are keeping the couch in a storage space until my husband and I are done with graduate school (much to my Dad's dismay, he tried to get rid of it this week but my sister went to bat for the couch, thank heavens!)

via little green notebook
I am continually throwing ideas around in my head about what kind of fabric to have it recovered in. I love the look of the stripes on this love seat. I think this might be a winner!

Have you ever seen a courting chair before? I saw one on my trip to Kentucky, they are pretty awesome. I think I want one someday. Preferably with different fabric.

photo found here