Travel by Design - El Carligto

This week we are traveling to El Carligto, located in the mountains of Spain and overlooking olive groves and luscious farm land. The villa has a warm Mediterranean feel to it with terracotta floors, exposed wooden beams, Suzani tapestries, and Spanish antiques. I would love to spend my vacation here - sipping Sangrias, eating tapas, and taking siestas every afternoon. Wouldn't this be a lovely place to visit?

Things that make me smile...

Sources: Photo 1 / Photo 2 / Photo 3 / Photo 4 / Photo 5

August Ideabook on Houzz

My latest Ideabook is up at Houzz. Check out some of my favorite picks for creating a cozy living room infused with style.

Blog Love - The Glow

I stumbled upon a new blog over the weekend and ended up spending the rest of the afternoon pouring through it.  The Glow is a glimpse at inspiring, creative mothers and life at home with their children. 

Interior of the Week

I spotted this week's interior in the August issue of Elle Decor and had to share.  It is such a refined and elegant mix of styles - mid century meets rustic with a hint of industrial. The loft is filled with an amazing collection of art and mid century pieces and the rustic wooden beams and brick walls bring such a warmth to the space. 

Favorite Things

Sources: 1. Leather iPad case via Jepsen Leather Goods / 2. O-check for Top Hat desk pad and Delfonics for Top Hat pencils via Madewell / 3. Three Feather sycamore wood plate via The Blackbird Sings / 4. Bali Stud wrap watch via Shopbop / 5. Deer Glass via Seraph

Room Planner

I stumbled across this room planner on Urban Barn over the weekend and I've been obsessively creating room layouts ever since.  It's such an easy to use tool, it doesn't require any software downloads and if you create an account you can save your work.

I started playing around with a rough sketch of our living room layout. We actually just ordered a new couch which is scheduled to be delivered on Saturday.  After a lot of debating we decided that the 1960's re-upholstered couch just didn't fit the style we ultimately wanted in the space and it was not comfortable!  The whole room was starting to go way too mid century and after we sat in our new couch at Crate and Barrel, we were instantly sold.

I was able to put the dimensions of the new couch which is significantly deeper and a little bit longer into the room planner which gave me a good idea of fit.  We have quite a bit of open floor space so getting a deeper couch will just move everything else forward a bit.

We are considering building a wall of bookshelves on the far left wall that will wrap around to the parallel wall so I added the assumed dimensions to see what affect they would have on the overall feel of the space.  This is a very rough plan but it allows me to see how everything will work together.  What do you think?

Things that make me smile...

Fall is definitely approaching because I am feeling inspired by the color orange which to me is so reminiscent of the coming season...What's making you feel inspired today?

Sources: Photo 1 / Photo 2 / Photo 3 / Photo 4 / Photo 5

Fashion Files - Sexy, Nerdy, Chic

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Sources: 1. Vintage Kenzo Tortoiseshell Eyeglasses via American Apparel / 2. Vintage Business Model Blazer via Modcloth / 3. Mac Red via Mac Cosmetics / 4. Nailpolish in Heather Blush via Scotch Naturals  / 5. Grey Floral Print Snood via Topshop / 6. Gomez Tan Brogues via Topshop / 7. Le Mont St. Michel Skirt via La Garconne / 8. Chocolate Buckle Satchel via Topshop

Interior of the Week

This week's interior is an amazing converted airstream trailer turned into a fabulous home for an artist and her son.  I would love to park an old airstream in our backyard and use it as a studio, wouldn't it be such a lovely and cozy little escape!

Travel by Design - Postcard Inn

I'm embarrassed to say that this hotel is literally minutes from my house and I've never even stepped foot inside but I've been wanting to ever since I saw an article about it in Travel and Leisure a couple of years ago. 

Postcard Inn is located on St. Pete Beach in Florida and reminds me of a hip, bohemian beach inn you might find in the Hamptons.  I'm thinking of booking a weekend getaway for Mike and I.  Doesn't it look amazing!

Images via Interior Design

Retail Therapy - Aura

Looking for a little mid week pick me up - check out these amazingly styled photos from Aura, an Australian based textile and home accessories shop.  I'm planning on using the photo of the table with the red linens as the inspiration for my Christmas decor this year! 

Things that make me smile...

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Reno Diary - The Screen Porch

I want to give my screen porch a face lift. It currently is sort of a dumping ground for the grill and various other lawn/outdoor things. We have plans to enclose the porch and make it into an office/guest room at some point but not anytime soon and we're about to enter that time of year in Florida where we can finally be outside and enjoy the weather. I don't want to spend a lot of money since eventually the space will be converted but I would like to make it into a cozy and casual outdoor escape. 
Here is a quick pic of the space - there is currently some hideous red terra cotta tile that I would like to cover up with an outdoor rug and I would like to paint the green space between the screen and the floor white.

I would love the space to have a Moroccan feel with really great ethnic textiles and accessories.  I love the couch in picture number three, I' hoping to find or build something similar and I can easily use it outdoors on our patio once we convert the screen porch. 

Inspiration Sources: No. 1 Livet Hemma / No. 2 via Creating a Quiet Mind  / No. 3 Irideeën via Lolalina / No. 4 Decor8 via Pinterest  / No. 5 via House of Turquoise  / No. 6 Haus Maus

This is a tentative floor plan I created for the space.  It's a tiny porch, about 75 square feet, but it should be able to comfortably fit a small cafe table and chairs for al fresco dining, a small couch and I'd like to be able to build a small bench seat to go along one wall for additional seating when we entertain. 

Sources: 1. Tripod Table via West Elm / 2. Java Ikat Pillow via Burke Decor / 3.Java Ikat Pillow via Burke Decor  / 4. Samar Ottoman via Crate and Barrel / 5. Glass Greenhouses via West Elm / 6. Oleander Stoneware Platter via Terrain / 7. Paisley Votive Holder via Terrain / 8. Hex Votive HoldersJayson Home / 9. Lakehouse Navy Outdoor Rug via Dash and Albert / 10. Lantliv Plant Stand via Ikea  

Interior of the Week

I love the dramatic impact this all black room has and the complementing artwork resting on the mantle.  We have a couple of black and white sketch pieces coming back from the frame shop this week that I can't wait to pick up.  I love the look of art pieces resting on the floor or a shelf rather than hanging on the wall, it gives the room a casual and unpretentious feel, don't you think?

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