Who Wants to Make Me Some Pillows?

Or, fine, I'll just order some. But here's where this all started...

I'm in love with so much of Jonathan Adler's designs, it's borderline frightening. I've never indulged, but I want so many of his pieces so much that when I see them my tummy hurts. Recently I walked by the JA Chicago store, and saw these lovelies in the window display:

Logically, I fell in love. (see what happened there? like that "falling in love" play on words? it's clever, but also true.) I want to add them to our daybed, which doubles as a comfy lounging couch, in our multipurpose second bedroom. Alas, I just cannot justify a splurge on these, as much as I love them. So I need another solution. My sister in-law suggested scouring Etsy. Here are a few possibilities:

(here)

(here, also available in capital letters, as seen here)

Where else should I look? Or is anyone reading this crafty enough to create some magic for me? Or should I just splurge? No, I daren't! Dare I?

paula greif ceramics

First thing's first: Happy Birthday to the most wonderful Tia in the world.

I stumbled upon this tumblr (or tumbl'd upon it, perhaps?) thanks to simple things, another lovely little blog. I was immediately drawn to Paula Greif's beautiful ceramic works, and just wish there were a "shop" or "buy" button right on there for those of us not in NY. Here's hoping...

Bookends

I guess this is just going to be a mostly nerdy post week. I'm okay with that. I hope you are too. I threw in some scarves and news (fine, news is nerdy) for a twist, but it is what it is. It's good for you!

Over on my (our) other project, Home Sweet Schwab, my husband and I are getting ready to tackle some more home updates to our painfully out-dated condo. We did a couple of major renovations in the past year (kitchen; floors), so though we need to overhaul both bathrooms, we're in a saving-for-that phase, and therefore have to do some lower-budget sprucing-up jobs in the meantime. Right now our focus is on the second bedroom, which currently serves a guest room, office, and storage space, and definitely needs some life zapped into it. This weekend we're painting, but I've also been thinking hard about decor and arranging (I have a Pinterest board dedicated to this space over here).

One of the first things I think I'll do after painting is move in some bookshelves. I have some short, 3-shelf, very basic ones from Target currently residing in our living room. I am thinking I'll replace those with taller, 5-shelf, sturdier ones out there, and move the shorties into the guest room. I have way too many books and other doo-dads, plus blogs and Pinterest only give me more and more ideas about creative shelf-styling with non-book items, so I need the real estate. Anyway, one investment I'd like to make for said shelves is bookends. I've never had them, but I've always admired and desired them. From the formal and traditional or academic to the whimsical and sentimental, I just think they're so neat! Here are a few I've found along the way. What do you think? Yea or nay on bookends? And if you answer 'yea,' then I'd like your help in selecting some!

(Wolfum)

(Etsy)

(via Amazon)

(West Elm)

(CB2)

(Plantation)

and then of course...

(Barnes and Noble)

Those owly guys inspired me to do an Etsy search, and holy moly, there are so many adorable owl bookends... and bookends in general!

I don't know what it is about bookends that draws me to them. Maybe its a little Old World flair, a dream of a grand library room in my future fantasy home, or something else, but I just find them so appealing. Nerdy, yes. Delightful, yes also! Don't you think?

More Pottery Love

Oh my glorious pottery, this stuff is beautiful.

My love for ceramics is no secret, so I obviously had to read more when I saw this post on Design*Sponge this morning. So glad I did. I'm in love with the rich, warm, earthy colors and artful utility of these stunning pieces by artist Janet Williams. Williams has been making pottery for more than 40 years, almost exclusively in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her work is inspired by the landscape and culture of the Southwest, yet has its own distinct voice and identity from other classic Southwest-style art. Each piece is wheel-thrown and glazed by hand, so no two pieces are the same. Bonus: all of her work is dishwasher, microwave, and oven safe.

I already want several of these pieces... friends and family getting married/having anniversaries or birthdays/generally loved by me better watch out... I want to buy the whole collection! View it all here.

Only Martha

Only Martha Stewart would frame hokey bandanas and create beautiful, simple wall art. I just think this is so so so lovely, and I think I may just steal the idea promptly.

(Martha Stewart, via Poppytalk)

Terracotta

Beautiful terracotta sconces from Anthropologie. Wonderfully combining the new with the old... I love the way the glaze is crackled.

(Pantile Pillar Sconce)

(Pantile Taper Sconce)

Both sconce designs come in both colors... both are just $28. At Anthro! New!

Now to decide where these can go.

Jeanne Oliver Designs

Found Jeanne Oliver Designs via Sadie Olive and am so happy I did. Just lovely lovely things. Lovely, smile-encouraging, simple things. I can only keep saying "lovely."

(Sadie Purse)

(Cream Ruffle Apron - how great is this photo?!)

(Linen Ruffle Tote)

(Luella Dress)

(Ruffle Pillow Cases)

Photos via Jeanne Oliver Designs. All items sold in her shop. Blog here.

DVF Home @ Bloomies

The Bloomingdale's Home store in Chicago is in a beautiful building...

Just an architectural and design pearl, in my humble opinion. And I love that it's close enough to my office building to just pop by to admire, and that it's along my walking route between bus and office in both directions, so I get to do that by default twice a day, five days a week. It was on just one of these walks yesterday (to the bus) that I noticed the signs hanging all over the ground floor displays: Diane Von Furstenberg Home Sale. I made a mental note to check this out, because, that's gotta be awesome, right?

Right.

Feast your peepers and enjoy:

Classic DVF -- startlingly chic perfection.


Experience the Collection (all photos via Bloomingdales)

Honeycomb Design

It's no secret that I a) watch a lot of television, b) love reality TV, and c) can weep at the drop of a hat (or at the sight of a touching commercial even), so it it should not be that big of an insight into my makeup that I enjoy Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I enjoy it for the tears and for the good, warm, happy feeling you get when you see people at their happiest. I love the tears so much, that I know if I need a good cry, I should just go online or to my On-Demand and watch an episode and I'll be good for a while! But I also love it for the design -- the homes that the teams create for their deserving features are just overflowing with creativity, and ingenuity, and customized beauty. This week's episode had such a great idea in it that I went on a hunt to find images, so I can try to recreate it.

The host, Ty Pennington, described the mother of the family as a Queen Bee protecting her hive. Back story: she was a foster mother who ultimately adopted five girls she was fostering so as not to break siblings apart, and on top of that, she feeds, clothes, and visits the homeless in her area, all at her own expense. All of those people (her girls and the individuals on the streets that she cares for) are her hive. So Ty designed the master suite with the theme of the Queen Bee as his inspiration. The honeycomb pattern took the lead. It was the design detail in the headboard:

(ABC)

as well as in the nightstands:

(ABC)

as well as in other details throughout the room, including linens.

But most impactful to me was this beautiful framing system he and his team created on the wall:

(ABC)

I love how the family fits in, and that there's room to add more photos as life evolves for this family. I love the organic nature of the piece, and the way the individual "cells" are connected on nearly all sides to each other. There's so much strength and symbolism in the honeycomb as a concept, and I love it. I would love to recreate something like this in my own bedroom... or to utilize the skills of some of my craftier and more talented friends to make it happen for me! It's just really so special.

Obsessed With... R&B Cowhide Ottomans

So out of my price range right now, but I walk by a Room & Board on my short walk from the bus stop to my office every day, and every day I stare at and drool over these cowhide ottomans in the displays. I need a good knock-off, stat!

(Room & Board)

(Room & Board)