Adopting the "new" Aztec Style!

I just got done resetting a small space at Unlisted and I love how it turned out!

I've been seeing so many great Aztec prints and styles, that I just knew the gorgeous Equipale table I had in stock would be the perfect base for a new look!

Wait, what's Equipale? It's a kind of furniture generally made in Mexico with tanned pigskin and cedar wood strips. Each piece is handmade and has its own character! The tables I've found online retail around $490. We've got ours priced at only $99!

I've seen cool barrel chairs before, but I'd never seen a table like this one. Especially one with great large nailhead trim!

So how do you complete this look? To me, it's all about blending the somewhat rustic Mexican style with more modern Aztec or Navajo fabrics.

As soon as I found this mission oak rocker, I knew exactly what to do with it! The black and cream upholstery is perfect.

Complete the look with some woven baskets, natural elements like twigs and sticks, and maybe even some industrial style artwork.

Check out these looks for inspiration!



Via The Nest

 


Via West Elm

 


Via Design Sponge

Have fun playing with these looks in your space!
Karli

How to Use Leopard in Your Home

I, come to find out, have inherited quite a few things from my Grandma Doris Lee (she's my mom's mom). From her I witnessed the joy to be found in hosting a great party. I love jewelry and glitz. I like to pour through magazines and recreate looks for myself. And I love leopard.

My grandma started wearing and decorating with leopard and has never looked back. I don't blame her. Leopard print can often times be considered a neutral!

When I saw the two great chairs (shown below) at The Vintage Vine, at an amazing price by the way, I knew a blog post was brewing.

 

 

You might be thinking to yourself...leopard doesn't fit in my decorating style. Well, I hope this proves you wrong.

Let's start small. Consider leopard pillows as an accent. Here, we're shown how leopard can add some graphical interest in a peaceful, neutral setting. Keep it simple.

Photo Courtesy of Arianna Belle

Or in this case, the pillows are in a very bright, cheery space. Somewhat industrial and vintage in nature. They provide the eye with a soft place to land amidst the shocking orange. (PS orange and leopard is one of my favorite fashion combos too!)

Photo Courtesy of Niagara Novice

Now let's move into furniture upholstered with leopard fabric. Again, starting small, this lovely little frenchy chair has been painted green and the seat has been given a fun leopard fabric. Look how this is paired with simple wood floors, a white hutch and a large print rug. This adds just the right touch of whimsy in the simple space.

Photo source unknown

Now let's get a little bigger. This is a fully upholstered chair in a preppy, feminine space. This homeowner is not afraid to have some fun with her décor and doesn't take herself too seriously. I love the orange bench, all the wood tones and the touches of black. Again, if you really look at this picture, the leopard almost recedes in the space and just reads as a neutral color in the corner of the room.

Photo Courtesy of My Domaine

Let's end this leopard party with two of my personal favorite examples. I think these are probably the most realistic ways to use leopard chairs based on how I decorate my own home and the style I know many of my friends are going for.

The first is an example of how you'd use two leopard arm chairs in a seating area in a living room. The beauty of the two chairs we have at the store right now is (besides the price!) that they are a matched set. They are begging to be used together. Imagine the space below with the second chair and perhaps a little loveseat in your front sitting room. All that white is the perfect backdrop for some really funky chairs!

Photo Courtesy of Harper's Bazaar

And finally, what if you put the two chairs in your bedroom?! Have some fun and get a painted dresser. Make the room a little bit eclectic and boho. Like I said before, the leopard and black chairs will be a neutral in the room, so you can add orange or plum or green. Go feminine with light pink. Go bold with turquoise.

Photo Courtesy of Yes Missy

I hope this provided you with some inspiration! Now seriously, go down to the store and buy those chairs before I do. I think writing this post has just about convinced me to do so.  

All the best,
Karli

Searching for Family Room Furniture

My husband loves leather. He loves big recliners. I prefer stylish chairs and upholstery. What's a family to do?!

A couple years ago we upgraded from Brent's hand-me-down sofa and loveseat. The pic below is how we had this set up when we moved in in 2012.

I had my heart set on a sectional for our long narrow space. We ended up with a lovely gray two piece from Macy's. We special ordered it to be extra long. I love it because the whole family (me, Brent and the dog) can all stretch out on it! The pic below is a smaller version of our current sectional.

via Macy's

But Brent still has his heart set on a recliner and I decided I didn't love the chaise in our space. We all make design mistakes, right? I remember my mom's big curtain mistake...this was mine. I didn't think it through very well. So now, the big gray sectional is for sale on Craigslist and we started the hunt for replacements.

Because our room is a bit narrow but long, I think we'll have room to do this:

I used the Room Planner from Ballard Designs. I love the easy-to-use tool when I need to space plan.


We spent a couple weeks driving from store to store, reading other blogs who experienced the same search, and we sat in LOTS of sofas and chairs.

We had almost settled on a deep sofa from Arhaus based on Thrifty Décor Chick's experience, but then we remembered Ethan Allen. Boy I'm glad we stopped in. We found the Retreat sofa to be the perfect fit for both of us and we could upholster it in a perfect Pewter gray fabric that looks great with our paint.

via Ethan Allen

Then we started looking for leather recliners. UGH!!! Why do recliners have to be either a) stylish and stiff or b) ugly but pillowy?!

Store after store. It was the ultimate Goldilocks tale. And then we found it. When we sat and both of us murmured "ahhh," I knew it was the one.

We're skipping the nailheads and we're getting it in a yummy caramel leather called Dorado Toast:

Now we wait 8-12 weeks. And just as I've been writing this post, I think I've sold our sectional. So we'll be sitting in miscellaneous chairs for the time being. Actually what we should be doing is working out instead of sitting...Maybe this whole debacle will accomplish several things.

Until next time,
Karli

Master Bedroom Makeover Progress: Part 4

The never-ending bedroom makeover...well I do have progress to share. See previous posts here, here and here.

I finally got to go to the City (yeah).  I got to shop in stores other than WalMart and I got my pillow, which was a gift from Karli. That pillow which I was building my entire room around...the pillow that I had not seen...that vital pillow...the inspiration for fabrics needed to complete this project.

Pillow
Here is the pillow Karli got me and I love it.  It really looks great with my paint color and is just the right amount of traditional/modern to mix it up in this bedroom. Yeah daughter!!

The trip to Denver was worth the wait. I needed drapery rods, draperies, and fabric for the bedskirt and recovering a chair seat...Mission Accomplished.

Here is the progress...........


Drapery Rods
Drapery Rods from JoAnn's Fabrics, Home Inspirations Signature Series, Oil Rubbed Bronze Finish, 50% off sale, $29.00 each.

Draperies
White Draperies from Ikea, Ritva, Cotton, Backtabs, Machine Washable.
Loved the fabric with a linen look.  Also loved the price, $24.99 per pair.

 

Fabric
The gray-print fabric I found at JoAnn's Fabrics, Waverly brand, 1/2 off.  Had to stand in line for it, but since I also found those curtain rods, it was all good.  I had to recompute the yardage since I had figured it to be 42" wide instead of the wider upholstery fabric I ended up buying. This décor fabric is always more expensive, but it may be 15 years before I redo this room.  It was still an investment at $29.00 a yard.

Bedskirt
I made the bedskirt in sections.  I've made them before using part of a sheet to cover the foundation.  It can still be challenging to move the entire mattress, lay the bedskirt, then put the mattress in place.  This time I made it in three sections, still using an old sheet. 

I cut my gray fabric 19" (the height of the foundation plus some to go under the mattress).  I made two sections 82" length (for the 2 sides) and one section 62" long (for the bottom of the bed.)   I have a Queen size bed.  I then cut the old sheet into 15" tall pieces the same lengths as the other sections.  I sewed the sheet pieces to each section.  It was then so much easier to slide these three sections in place under the mattress, instead of one big one.  It also accommodated the footboard. 

 

 

Chair
Recovering the chair was a simple fix.  Here is what it looked like before. (also seen in my post about my favorite old chairs!)

I just turned the chair upside down, unscrewed the seat and then had the huge task of removing all the staples I had put in the last time I covered this seat.  I decided I wanted the cushion thicker so I cut a new piece of foam, then cut the fabric and restapled it all.  

 

 

 

 

 

  


Now that all of that is done (the rods, the drapes, the bedskirt, the chair seat, the new pillow)......the old comforter doesn't look that great.  Isn't that always the way it goes? 

So, this bedroom makeover isn't complete yet.  Now I have to deal with the bedspread/comforter.  Keep checking...I'll get it finished some day!

Kandy