What I Heart Today: Rug Resources

I was chatting with a mom friend of mine last week about where to find great rugs when you have no free time to do it. I shared some really great online resources that I thought you might also enjoy. Here's where I look when I'm rug shopping.

Shades of Light (I just ordered this rug from them)

 

West Elm

Overstock

 

Calypso 

 

Urban Outfitters

These are just a few of my go to resources, and a few of my favorite picks. Are you trying to source a rug you've seen online? I'd be happy to help, email me (whatiheart@gmail.com) and I just might know where you can find it.

What I Heart Today: Living Room Update

It's official, my living room update has begun. But before I share my first update with you I wanted to share my living room before pictures with you (bear with me there's quite a few pics). Keep in mind one of the challenges in decorating is often times having to work with some of what you already have. For instance the couch and two chairs are staying whether I like it or not. The media console is definitely up  for replacement.

 

Just bought the "LOVE" print from Made By Girl

 

Well that's my living room in all it's mis-matched glory. Time to put the design smack down on it! I bring to you my first update, which I literally spent hours trying to decide on, two new pillows!

I think they look great. I also ordered this rug but unfortunately it's on backorder until 11/31!

 

Now to tackle two more pillows, window treatments, media console styling, a desk in place of our "bar," and something on the wall with the flat screen TV. And all before baby is born in January. I have my work cut out for me.

  

What I Heart Today: More Shopping Finds

Just wanted to share a few more things I picked up yesterday on my shopping trip.

This is one of my favorite finds yesterday, great Dwell Studio pillow from Goodwill (don't worry I washed it as soon as I got it home).

 I also forgot all about the halloween decor I picked up at Pier 1. Aren't these spider webs cute? They're placemats that I got for $2.95 each but I hung them on my door.

I also picked up this cute little pumpkin (still working on the console vignette).

That's all my treasures from my shopping trip!

What I Heart Today: Successful Shopping Trip!

I did some fun shopping today without my little one in tow (which makes it that much more fun!). It was a pretty successful trip so I thought I'd share a few of my finds with you.

I just ordered these pillows off of etsy from KimoleyDeco:

 

and when I was at Joanne's today I found 18x18 pillow inserts on sale for 50% off, $12.49 each which I think is a total score.


While I was at Joanne's I browsed the home dec fabrics and found two really great prints in consideration of my daughter's big girl room:

 

The first fabric reminds me of something you'd see by Jonathan Adler, whom I absolutely love! The second fabric has me thinking about this great DIY headboard tutorial from Danielle Oakey Interiors:

 And last, but not least, I came across this great chair at Pier 1 for $269, unfortunately it didn't come home with me :(

What do you think?

What I Heart Today: Good Design - Lace in Home Decor

This week my good design post wasn't hard to come by, that is if you believe in majority rules.

Good design means something different to everybody, my personal design style is simple with pops of color and pattern. Alot of people prefer something more traditional, like a page out of the Pottery Barn catalog. But if you're a Pinterest user apparently this is the style you prefer:

This image, from the Roost blog by Marissa Waddell, is my single most repinned image and it still continues to be repinned daily. What do people love so much about this image? I think there's something really inviting about the way the photo was styled, it's not one of those sterile images from a home dec magazine of a room that looks like nobody lives in, this looks lived in. I also think the focal point in the room, the large lace art, is bold yet still soft and feminine and that's pretty hard to achieve with a piece that large and commanding. It doesn't hurt that the color scheme is simple and easy on the eyes.


I'd love to know, what do you think is so appealing about this image?

What I Heart Today: Banquette Seating

Someday I'm going to gut my kitchen and start all over from scratch. And when I do you can bet there is going to be some form of banquette seating involved.

I heart banquette seating, there's something about it that's so inviting, it makes you want to sit and sip espresso for hours on end. I don't know about you but in my house our guests all inevitably end up in the kitchen, and we have one of the world's most uncomfortable kitchens (someday I may even share it so you can see what I mean). Right now we have a tall, oblong table with bar seating, but it is so uncomfortable and sterile feeling. This is what I'm dreaming about...

 

(via sketch42)

 

(via made by girl)

 

(via elledecor)

 But the two I love the most are these.

  

(via bhg)

 

(via palmer weiss)

For now there's no gutting of my kitchen in the near future. So you know what they say, fake it till you make it. I've thought of getting a round table and adding this settee.

 

(via urban outfitters - no longer available)

Oh and I would for sure pair it with this rug.

 

(via urban outfitters - no longer available)

Anyone else out there dreaming of banquette seating?

What I Heart Today: Love

Just a little something I whipped up this weekend as a wedding gift for my cousin.

Happy Monday!

What I Heart Today: Marissa Waddell Interiors

Are you as crazy about this inspiration board as I am? Well it could be yours. Marissa Waddell just announced on her fabu blog that she is giving away a free e-design board for one lucky winner in honor of announcing the opening of her interiors business. I've been following Marissa for a while now and find her style to be very similar to mine, I just love her eye for design. I also love following her boards on Pinterest. Best of luck to Marissa in her new adventure!

What I Heart Today: Soul Searching

Do you ever feel like you just don't know which direction to walk in? You don't know what you want to do, what makes you happy. I think it's part of being a new mother, what a huge adjustment! It's one of the parts that people don't talk about a lot, the way your life gets turned upside down and you have to find your way to the new normal. One day I had a free afternoon while my husband was taking care of our daughter, "what are you going to do today?' he asked me, "you can do anything you want," and you know what, I couldn't come up with a thing to do with my free time. I'd become so wrapped up in being a mom that I didn't have anything outside of it. I That's where I was at when I started to do a little soul searching.

What makes me happy? I love creative outlets, I sew, I've designed handbags, I've designed stationery, I've designed parties, I love being creative. One of the things I've always loved is design, and especially interior design. I started taking interior design courses at a community college about ten years ago but my work took me to Montreal, Canada for three months and I had to drop out. I've decided I'm going to go back. For those of you who don't know, I have a degree in Political Science and Russian language. After graduating from college in 1997 I went to work for Boeing and was traveling to Russia quite a bit. After three years at Boeing I wiggled my way into the dotcom boom and worked for a company called RealNetworks. I worked there four years and then actually ended up back at Boeing until I started my own stationery design company in 2006. And now you know everything about me :)

I've really become interested in interior design as I work on my own house, and there's so much to do! So join me on my journey back to school and decorating this house!