Introducing....

Max!

Photo Credit: Sweet Lime Portrait Design

He was born in early January at just under 8 lbs with a full head of hair. Big brother, dad and I have been madly in love with him ever since.

Photo Credit: Sweet Lime Portrait Design

The photos above were taken by Michelle at Sweet Lime Portrait Design, which I will devote an entire post on soon. 

Hope everyone has been well and hope you all have a had a wonderful new year so far!

Please VOTE: My Nursery

Hey everyone, I submitted our nursery to the Small Kids, Big Color 2011 Contest on Apartment Therapy's Ohdeedoh site. Here it is...

Felix's Tintin Inspired Nursery 
Small Kids, Big Color Entry #41

Voting will be active 1pm, Dec. 6 - 1pm, Dec. 8. And yes I would love it if you all voted for the nursery! Click here to vote. Thanks so much for your support! xx Danielle

Nursery Complete

Well, as of last week I'm finally finished with the nursery and I couldn't be happier with the outcome...

My good friend, Valeria, made the red poufs for my baby shower decorations and I thought they made a fun splash of color above the crib...

My favorite wall in the room with our vintage French Tintin book cover prints...

I made the banner using copies of Tintin pages and enlarged letters from Tintin covers...

Felix's library - thanks to the generosity of my husband's coworkers and my dear friends...

My second hand lamp with a new coat of color...

An enormous thanks to my husband, Seb, for stencilling the entire room. And a huge thanks to my friend Peter Vanderpoel of Vanderpoel Architecture Photography for taking the gorgeous photos. Now I just can't wait to meet my little guy!

Craigslist This Space

via Skona Hem

December is finally here...I have just a few more weeks or maybe not before sleepless nights, crying and a massive increase of love in my home. Can't wait! Anyway, I thought the image above was one of the most gorgeous winter inspired living rooms I've ever seen. The tone on tone white with splashes of gold give it an ethereal feeling, while still being cozy with the mixture of textures. Because this space is so unattainable right now with a baby on the way, I thought why not dream. So onto Craigslisting this space...

Sofa:
Large White Sofa $50 (a good cleaning should brighten it up)

Chair:
Scalloped Back $5 (paint legs and arms Benjamin Moore Dove White)

Reupholster Chair in:  Robert Allen Sensuede Snow, $104.30/yd 

Ottoman: 

Tufted with Storage $50

Reupholster Ottoman in:  White Velvet, Online Fabric Store $25/yd

Coffee Table:  To recreate the coffee table above I would have wood logs cut evenly for the height of a coffee table. Then I would connect them using double sided screws. After everything is tight and level, I would spray paint bright gold and add a round glass top. I have never tried this, but if someone did I would love to know if it worked. 

Free Chopped Wood

Spray Paint: Krylon Gold

Candlesticks: (these are so easy to find at second hand stores for next to nothing)

5 Hand Carved Wooden Candlesticks $50 (spray paint gold)

Lamp: 

White/Gold Lamp $15

Now onto items that I could NOT find on Craigslist:

Lampshade:

Oversized Cone Drum Shade, Hi-Gloss White from Shades of Light, $69

Lighting:

Gold or White Star Pendants, PBteen $19

Curtains:

Alvine Trad White Sheers, Ikea $14.99

Rug:

Flokati, Ikea $79.99 x 4 (to make a large rug sew multiples together)

Extra Rug:

LIVELIKEYOU Gold Zebra Printed Cowhide, $699

Pillows: 

Mongolian Lamp Pillow, West Elm $54

Gilded Grasscloth Pillow, West Elm $39

Faux Suede/Linen Pillow, West Elm $16.99

Blankets:

Sheepskin Throw, Ikea $29.99

Ribbed Faux Fur, PB $139

Wow, sorry for the long post. The room required layering upon layering of texture and I hope I achieved that. This is my ode to a White Holiday! 

Family Photos

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving last week! Having been with family made me appreciate how blessed I am to have them all. I then thought about how to honor them in my home interiors. And this quickly led to photos of my loved ones...what better way to express your love than to have their images on your walls. Here is a compilation of images to achieve this in a stylish way...

via homesweet style

via Skona Hem

via Lonny

I wish I could remember where I saw this chic image and give credit where credit is due...

Family photos in a nursery...what better way to to honor loved ones...

via house of turquoise 

via Lonny

via decorpad

You could even go for more abstract images...

via little green notebook

If you want high quality large images, I highly recommend hiring a professional, either in an outdoor setting, your home or even a studio. Wouldn't that be a great gift instead of another pair of pjs?

Nursery In Progress Update

We...okay, okay my husband is almost finished stenciling the nursery and wow has it been a learning experience. I, of course, chose a difficult allover stencil by Cutting Edge Stencils...

Here is a work in progress image from my cell camera (have no clue where my camera is)...

And here are my Top 5 Allover Stencil Tips:

1. Start the Stencil on the first wall you see in the room. As the stencil gets inundated with paint the lines begin to blur because they have crevices to bleed into from the dried paint...

2. After using the stencil 2-3 times wipe the wet paint off the stencil front and back to prevent Tip #1 from happening. If you don't do this, you'll end up spending 45 minutes scraping the paint off the back of the stencil like I did yesterday...

Or, worse yet, you may turn into a delirious lunatic after scraping for so long...

3. Don't underestimate the amount of time it will take. So far it has taken my husband over 13 hours to complete the task and he is enjoying every minute ;). His tip #3 is DON'T DO IT...hahahaha!

4.  If you want to do the stencil yourself, don't start the process 8 months pregnant. But, on the other hand if you want to pawn the work off, then go for it and begin when you are too huge to do anything. My master plan is working ;).

5. Enjoy because although it isn't as perfect as wallpaper, it is unique and handmade from the heart!

Craigslist This Space

Living Etc. 

I recently saw this warm and inviting image on my friend Ashley's blog, Meet Me in Philadelphia, and thought what a perfect fall inspired room to use for Craigslist This Space. So here it goes...

Sofa: MCM $?

Upholster above sofa in: Robert Allen Velvet Straw...

Chair: MCM $? (Two are better than one and cushions more comfy than none.)...

Upholster Chairs in: Monaco Cotton Ikat Silver/Grey...

Coffee Table: Modern $90

Side Tables: MCM 2 tiered tables $220/pair (Although the inspirational image doesn't show the sidetables, I thought these would work nicely.)...

Lamps: White Table $20 (Spray paint lamps Bright White and add gold stripes with Metallic spray paint.)...

Wall Unit: MCM Danish Modern $600

Or.. 

This Wall Unit: Danish Credenza Sideboard $800

Now onto the items I couldn't find on Craigslist...

Lamp Shades: Kraft Paper Shades $49.91, LampsPlus

Rug: Jaipur Printed Dhurrie 5x8 $199, West Elm

Wall Print: Rhinoceros Print Etsy (I like the print of the man in the inspirational image used, but I'm always drawn more to animals and landscapes.)...

Wall Color:  Benjamin Moore Norway Spruce...

Hope you all have a warm and lovely weekend!