African Feather Headdress

I recently found a fabulous and reasonably priced shop on Etsy and thought I'd share with you all. The shop is called African House. It is based out of North Carolina, although all of their items are African or African vintage. Their African Headdress's are my favorite and come in a multitude of colors...

    

Priced at $315, I think they are a great buy compared to what I've seen elsewhere. In fact Jonathon Adler sells identical feather headdress's for $725.  

I think they add a great punch of color and interest on walls...

Elle Decor

Fab K

Home and Interiors

Marie Nichols

Moss Eclectic via Flik'r

Unknown

Real Living Magazine Cover

Varnish

Melanie Acevedo via Domino

Do you agree? 

Local Artist: Sabrina Cabada

I had the pleasure of meeting Sabrina awhile ago at a local art/gift store, unaware until recently she was an artist herself and an incredible one at that. I love to support artists in general, especially local ones, so I couldn't wait to share. She lives in Arlington, Virginia where she creates her masterpieces and recently became the art director of a new art gallery, Artspace 109. She also created a blog, An Artful Nature, where she catalogs her interests in art, decor, fashion, food and creative living. 

Below are just a few examples of her paintings...

"Bad Call'     12" x 18" Acrylic on Canvas

"Beach II"    18" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas

"Apples"     20" x 20" Acrylic on Canvas

She uses vintage wallpaper for the background below...

"Day Dream"     10" x 10" Acrylic on Canvas

"Doorway II"     12" x 18" Acrylic on Canvas SOLD

"Don't Get Caught"     18" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas

Another with vintage wallpaper in the background...

"Morning Tea"     10" x 10" Acrylic on Canvas

Beautiful aren't they? I love her use of color and can envision a nice grouping on a white wall above a comfy sofa. If you're interested in purchasing any of these and want to see her other creations please visit her website at SabrinaCabada.com. 

Fridays Finest Finds on Monday

Since I missed last Friday, I thought I'd share just a few items that I find design worthy on Craigslist in DC today...

Georgian Style Sofa $300

Lacquered Cabinet $139

The cabinet above is already painted and ready be extra storage as in the one below...

Inspirational Image: Juliet Totten

Low CB2 Dresser $100

Barcelona Lounge $6500 (Very pricey, so be sure to verify that it is an original.)...

Lucite Table $600 (Expensive, but so beautiful.)...

MCM Bar Cart $50 (Great price)

Italian Gilt Wheat Table $400 

 

Here's a lovely inspirational image for the side table above...

Woodson and Rummerfield

Pair of Orange Ginger Jar Lamps $160 (Great color and shape.)...

Union Jack Nightstand Table $65 (Kinda sweet for a kids room.)...

MCM Sofa/Chair $150

 

How about make a pink slipcover for the sofa above, so it could look a pretty as the one below...

Inspirational Image: Lonny

Venetian MCM Lamp $250 (Love this lamp.)...

Bamboo Chair $20 (Incredible price.)...

Vintage Dresser $220 (Unique.)...

 

2 Dressers and a Mirror $150 (I would snatch these up so quick if I could.)...

 

 

Vintage Lamp $220

Velvet Sofa $250

Remember the image from last week? The sofa above reminds me so much of the sofa that was in it below...

Inspirational Image: Whorange

And for those that want to spend a butt load of money on something butt ugly...

Gilded Coffee Table $1600

Hope you all have a great week!

Before and After: A Rental Redo

A few months ago a friend asked me for assistance in redecorating her living room.  In telling me what she would like to do and after seeing the room, I realized we had to overcome the following challenges:  she is renting the property;  the room is painted a surprising dark navy blue; and she wants to stay within a fixed budget.  

Here is the before:

Living Room

So, I began the decorating process with my usual go to place, Craigslist and other second hand shops in the area.  In these resources, I found a rather battered console that had beautiful lines--a coat of coral paint fixed that problem.  A  pair of ordinary dark wood lamps turned attractive with, again, a coat of paint.  A good thing to keep in mind when redecorating is to always use what you already have and my friend had some lovely pictures, some vintage, some modern.  These changed the look of the room by simply gathering them together on one wall.  A low budget black and white striped rug helped ground the sofa and coffee table (both Craigslist finds).  The photos below illustrate the end project--a beautiful living room that is an excellent example of what you can do without breaking the budget, using second hand and by recycling what you already own.    I want to extend my sincerest appreciation to Peter VanderPoel, for photographing this room with such skill and artistry.  Please check out his website at the following link: VanderPoel Architectural Photography. 

After:

Photo Credit: Peter VanderPoel

Photo credit: Peter VanderPoel

Photo credit: Peter VanderPoel

Photo credit: Peter VanderPoel

I will provide an itemized list of the costs associated with this re-do in a future posting. Hope this may encourage or inspire you all to buy second hand! 

Nursery Color Inspiration

Herge

My husband being of French descent grew up reading 'Les Aventures de Tintin,' of which he had every copy written by Herge and thankfully saved by his father. When my son turned 3 his dear Papi gave him the whole collection creating another avid reader of Herge. Although I may not have grown up reading Tintin, I have enjoyed the gorgeous comic illustrations especially the covers. Years ago I copied the most appealing covers to frame for Charlie's room, but sadly I never got around to actually completing my project. So, when I found out I was having another boy I thought of my original plan right away. Not only am I framing these beautiful images, but I'm using the 'L'ile Noire' cover as my color inspiration. Note that the ocean is a lot darker with a tinge of green on our cover than in the image above. 

The room is currently a the warm shade of cream, which matches the cream above to perfection. So I plan on using the stencil pattern below...

Image of Stencil Pattern from Cutting Edge Stencils

In this color to match the color combination of the sky...

Riviera Azure Benjamin Moore Paints

The white of the stencil above will be cream and the the inner sections blue. That is all I have for now, so onto bedding, chair upholstery and possibly a new color for the dresser...

Blue Lake Benjamin Moore Paints 

Hope you all had a great weekend!