Modern Furniture for a Much Needed Makeover

The nasty carpeting has finally been pulled up in my former dining room and I have what is essentially a blank slate for William's future toy room (when I last wrote about this, the room was to be his bedroom, but we decided to have him share a room with his big brother and create a space for toys, coloring books, crafts, and learning).

I've been thinking that it would be great to decorate with a bit of a Mid-Century Modern vibe to echo the architecture of the house. And I turned to All Modern, a branch of the wonderful CSN, for aome fabulous Modern Furniture to and set to dreaming.

Right now, there is a coach style lamp that hangs down too low into the space. I Love the George Kovacs Bling Bling Pendant. It has all of the clean lines that I'm looking for at the reasonable price of $200.

The walls will be a very pale blue grey and the floor is going to be painted brown. The room will need and area rug and the Soho Blue and Brown Accent Rug by JoJo Designs fits the bill, should hide toddler stains well, and comes in at the great price of $34.99.

These Eames Storage Units by Herman Miller are fantastic! They address the storage needs of a kid's playroom, have classic lines, and can grow with William. Herman Miller also offers a matching desk, and both the desk and storage units can be bought in all blond or dark wood. Starting at $449.

The Arper Catifa 53 Four Leg Stackable Chair is available in White, Light, Black, and Sand with a frame of Brushed or Stainless Steel. Better yet, it is made of Polypropylene, aka amazingly easy to clean stuff for a kid's room. The chair comes in a set of four only, but is priced amazingly well at $244. I think they'd look great in a dining area as well (and my dining chairs are on their last creaky legs.

Right now you can share in the love as CSN is giving me the opportunity to give away $40 to any of it's wonderful stores. To enter, leave a comment telling me what you'd love to have in your home from All Modern.

For a second entry, become a subscriber to my blog and let me know in a separate comment. If you are already a subscriber, just leave a comment letting me know that you are.

If you blog about the giveaway, you'll get another entry (just let me know in another comment). If you Twitter about it, you'll get another (you can use the following entry: $40 CNS Giveaway at Dropped Stitches! http://tinyurl.com/4f2vzld )

You have until Wednesday, February 9th to enter the giveaway. Good luck!

Fantasy Christmas List

My friend Relyn posted her fantasy Christmas list yesterday and I am copying her! You know I want peace and love and all that stuff; this is going to be a totally self-indulgent list of fantasy items that I really love.

A Rose Festooned Cottage

This one would do

The Inside of which is a Perfect Shabby Chic Paradise

Whoever designed this can do my house!

Surrounding the House

an amazing, lush, English garden

Inside the Garden

this amazing garden room

And in the back 40

this incredible field which looks like this the entire growing season

And while we're at it

I wouldn't turn down this Cartier Love Bracelet

or this hot pink, lizard Hermes Birkin.

And that's my fantasy!

I Want a Gustavian Home

I'm thinking I want a classic Swedish home. I love blue and white, especially the icy blue of Gustavian design.

Who wouldn't want to live in a home so light and airy?

I love the mix of newer antiques with the classic colors. I could live here; go on, twist my arm.



When I saw this picture of a coffee shop in Sweden I thought "That would be a beautiful kitchen."



These living rooms are sublime.





Wouldn't you love to see these spaces in your home?







I'm afraid if I had these bedrooms, I'd never leave them.




(Aren't these headboards beautiful? They are $749 each on Wisteria.)

Check out this site for more beautiful Gustavian design.

Photos from Google.

My Inspiration Book

If you are looking for the yarn Give Away, it's here.

I love magazines. Love them. One day a few years back, I noticed that my pile of magazines in the corner was getting unmanageable, so I came up with the idea of cutting out the pictures that I liked and recycling the rest. I've been doing it ever since.



I have fun with my Inspiration book. Sometimes I make little collages and other pages are sentimental. Mostly, it is full of images that strike me in some way.





I have this daydream about my book. It is that someday some famous designer will move to Marysville (yup, it's a daydream) and they will become great friends with me and want to decorate my house. I will be able to pull out my book and say "this is what I like" and I will have the most amazing, unique house!





I do think it's important for people who are artistic to keep something like this. It helps us to understand what our true aesthetic is. Before I started keeping this book, I really didn't know that I was such a fan of muted colors (blue in particular) and that I loved primitive pieces and things that remind me of the Heartland so much.







So that's a little look into my Inspiration Book. If you don't already have one, start one of your own. Over on Bloom there is a great post about her scrap books. Get thee a book and start to paste!