Adventures in Shabby Chic

In my quest for the perfect comfy-cozy bedroom, I’ve turned to Shabby Chic as my inspiration. I love the softness of the colors, the clean look, and most of all the ultra femininity of it all. I picture Marie Antoinette’s Royal décor meets a breezy seaside bungalow on the shores of the Carolina Coast.

Shabby Chic seems to have its roots in the vintage and antique. The decor's signature look often revolvles around distressed white furniture, vintage chandeliers, and plush bedding. It can be delicate and simple, vibrant and full of pattern, and even seductive and romantic. It allows for the use of almost any color and color combination, using graceful décor of its past, while keeping progressive and modern if one so desires. It offers vintage but not “old”, what I would picture like walking into my grandma’s guest room that hasn’t been used in decades, with lace doilies, crochet afghans, gold four-poster bed perfectly made, and all you can hear is a clock ticking...

First, I'll tackle the bedding. I’m obsessed with a cozy bed! I am quite partial to the beige, white, and rosy pink color combinations in the first picture, as well as the subtle use of the lace borders on sheets and pillows. I absolutely love eyelets, in moderation though. Another theme in Shabby Chic designs is the use of flowers by the bedside. Mostly soft rose colored flowers, (or really whatever color is most dominant in the decor) perhaps even dried, and the use of a mason jar as a vase completes the look.

Here are a few other color/design combinations and ideas:

Very seaside, with shabby accents. Notice the raw knotty wood combined with the white weathered iron, very classic shabby…And the white vases above the bed, Melissa’s favorite!!

Moving towards the romantic side.....

Pretty in Pinks...endless color combinations for ultra-girly meets candy factory explosion!

Cooler blues and lavendars bring mystery. Almost like these rooms could be in a dark drafty castle somewhere, where the only source of light is the candelabra by the bedside...

Once the bedding is in place, next comes the furniture. Dressers, shelving, lamps and embellishments all add to the Shabby Chic design. I plan to keep you updated on my progress in my room, so for now here are a few items I've found on craigslist.com that caught my eye.



Find more shabby chic inspiration at Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic blog and from her Simply Shabby Chic line for Target.

Which is your favorite bedroom design style?

a wedding gift that honeymoons with them

Well, we are definitely in the midst of wedding season and being less than a year away from 30 means that everyone seems to be getting married. This also means I have a ton of engagement, shower, and wedding gifts to be buying. I know I can always turn to the couple's registry but sometimes I just want to get creative and other times I've just put it off long too long that I can't afford any of the remaining items.

A customized travel kit is a wonderfully creative gift that any couple about to embark on a new journey and honeymoon could certainly use. It's up to you what you fill it with but here are just a few ideas.

Start with something fun to hold all the items such as these mini suitcases or a nice carry-on bag. Not only will they hold your gift now, they also make attractive storage boxes for other items later.

Personalize it with a luggage tag. Instead of attaching a separate card, continue you travel theme by just writing a little note to the happy couple and tucking it into the tag.

Traveling overseas, down to Mexico or up to Canada on their honeymoon? Stick in a couple of stylish passport covers. Fun colors and designs make them much easier to find in a full purse or carry-on bag.

Getting stuck somewhere unexpectedly thanks to a delayed flight, train or tour bus can be turned into hours of fun with travel games. Sudoko anyone? A handful of Trivial Pursuit cards is a great way to test your knowledge and pass the time. Check your local thriftstore for an expansion pack of cards for practically pennies.

You never know what can happen, so make sure they are prepared with a first aid kit to go.

Being away from home often means being away from a washer and dryer, but it doesn't mean they are safe from stains. Give them the clothing care tools to keep their wardrobe looking fresh.

Prepare them for their destination with a notebook/travel guide. Some good maps as well as restaurant, museum and public transit information are a must whenever traveling to a new place. A few extra pages to jot down some notes is definitely an added bonus when trying to stay organized.

Stores such as Flight 001 provide you with all the tools needed to make travel a piece of cake or in this case, a sheet of paper soap. Hey, it just means one fewer item in that already overstuffed Ziploc bag of theirs. Second big plus is she doesn't have to worry about it leaking in her purse.

One of the most important items these days is a TSA-compliant toiletry kit. Having to toss your expensive moisturizer or perfume at airport security because the bottle was too big is not something anyone wants to have to do. Make sure that all their toiletries will make it through security with them.

Now, fill up the minisuite case or carry-on bag with all your goodies and be prepared to make some newlyweds very happy.

Do you have a creative gift idea that any pair of newly weds would love?

succulents save the day... or the garden at least

I grew up in the same house my entire childhood and my parents are still there. With my dad's recent retirement he's been working full-time on projects around the house that he didn't have enough time to get to before. Thankfully one of these projects includes the backyard which has not really seen a good day during my lifetime. It is a small space containing a concrete patio topped off with a sloping hill of weeds and dying succulents. Beyond the backyard is a private golf course that allows its unruly weeds to sneak over the fence and takeover the upper portion of the hill. The first step my dad made in getting this project off its feet was taking some photos of the backyard to the golf course management and asking them to remove their overgrown weeds. Luckily they said they'd send their landscapers over within the week and they did.

after the weeding had begun

The next step was weeding the rest of the backyard and removing the group of rosemary and juniper bushes that had seen better days. At this point my parents still had no clue what they wanted to do with the backyard once it was weeded, hence my entrance into the project. Being in the Bay Area, a mile from Ocean Beach, most days are filled with fog and not much sun nor rain, making gardening and just keeping it alive a bit of a challenge. Looking forward to a summer or year of water conservation was a reality as well. With this bit of information I decided that I would propose a garden full of succulents, dotted with pops of color from potted annuals and some hardy creeping ground cover to keep the upper half of the hill in place. In keeping with their Doelger home's (not theirs but the same model) 50's modern exterior I also suggested replacing the old painted-wood retaining wall at the base of the hill with a new natural wood version.

my proposed landscaping

Personally I wouldn't say I have a green thumb or know much about landscaping, but I know what I visually enjoy and what seems to thrive in their climate. To my joy, my folks really seem to have taken to my ideas and I should hopefully have some nice after photos for you in the near future. What do you think about my proposal? Do you have any suggestions, hints or tips?

going green... with paint that is

A few years back I was living in a wonderful apartment in a very up and coming neighborhood of San Francisco known as the Dogpatch. I have to say, my room wasn't small and neither was my 14" long closet, but thanks to an odd angled wall in one corner I didn't have a ton of room for nightstands on either side of my bed. I searched all over the Bay Area for nightstands that possessed a bit of character and fit my specific dimensions. Finally I found a pair of nightstands and unfortunately, an accompanying cal-king headboard at a consignment shop in San Rafael. The nightstands, that the previous owner had repainted silver, were the perfect dimensions at just 15.5" wide. After a few weeks of posting the headboard on craigslist and a number of no-show potential buyers, the headboard found its way out onto the curb. Of course, it was snagged in no time by some passer-by for free. So, there they were, two perfectly scaled silvers nightstands. At the time the silver was a good fit for a room painted Disney's "Space Dust" (that's a whole other story), but once I moved and they moved out of the bedroom and into my new office/guestroom, the silver no longer worked.

I wanted to make a big change on a very small budget, preferably under $10 for both. I had a bit of Behr's "Scottish Isle" paint left over from another project, so armed with some sandpaper, a foam brush and my paint, I set to work bringing new life to my nightstands.

Once I finished painting them, I realized that the knobs looked even worse than before. Just a few days later on a trip to the the outlet mall I found these wonderful woven metal knobs for a penny-pinching $1.39 a piece at the Restoration Hardware outlet. So for a total of $6.04 (4 knobs + tax), some leftover paint and a little time and elbow grease I was able to bring new life to my consignment store finds.

Do you have a favorite furniture refinishing project?

getting graphic

So, not only do I love all things interior design but I also have a passion for graphic design of all sorts. I've done all my own design work for my logo, business card, blog, website and so on.


Yesterday I got the chance to do a little work for a friend who is about to graduate from "beauty" school. In just a few days she has the opportunity to share her skills and work with a number of salon owners visiting the school and I wanted to create a little "teaser" to make her stand out from the other 30+ students as well as keep her fresh in the salon owners' minds when they leave. I set out to design a postcard that showed her work and gave her contact information while essentially creating a brand for her. This weekend she is working on a few styles to photograph, which I will then use to replace the place holding photos (currently some great work from Toni & Guy). Well, here it is. What do you think?

wonderously white at west elm

Well, before I can even get started on my new post, again having to do with West Elm, I have to make mention about an event every West Elm store is holding tomorrow, Saturday, June 20th. Attending 'Make Space: A Design Seminar on Making the Most of Every Space' will be your opportunity to learn how to get more from your living space, be among the first to see West Elm's exciting and versatile pre-fall collection and receive 10% off any purchases you make that day, just for attending our workshop. The start time of this event differs with each location so make sure to call your local West Elm to check times and to RSVP.

West Elm, Emeryville

Now moving on... While spending a bit of time on the West Elm website checking out my future desk, I discovered a number of wonderful white ceramic vases. As many of you know I am a sucker for white accessories of all sorts, especially vases. I just love how clean and graphic they look against any paint color or wood finish, filled with colorful flowers, fruit or just left empty as an art piece.

Textured White Vessels

Pure Ceramic Vases, Classic

Pure Ceramic Vases, Woodland Whites

Got a favorite?

west elm is workin'

Not only has West Elm recently opened a beautiful 'green' store in Emeryville, California with low VOC paint, a living roof sporting an integrated irrigation system and reclaimed wood flooring, but they have also introduced a number of new products to their line that I have falling head over heals in love with.
I have been on the hunt for a desk for quite some time. As an interior designer I am very picky and know what I want (most of the time) and when it comes to my workspace I am even pickier. I know I want something in a lighter wood with character such as a rift cut oak, clean, simple lines, a flat top with room to layout large floor plans and a drawer to stash a few pens and my wireless keyboard when I need a clear desktop. Well, I think I have finally found it. West Elm's Sawhorse Worktable appears to meet all my needs, wants and wishes. Hopefully before this year is up the desk will find a new home in my home.

Okay, now I have to touch on something else since it's also in the photos above, the Scoop-Back chair has grown-up and is now available in three gorgeous colors of luxe pebbled leather. I'm not sure that it would be the most comfortable of desk chairs, but it sure looks good with the Sawhorse Worktable. Guess I'll still be on the hunt for a desk chair, but I'm sure I could find a home for the Scoop-Back chair in leather.