Design | It's Great To Be Home

Inside The West Elm Design Event

June 22, 2009 By Liz - It's Great To Be Home 12 Comments

As you may have heard, West Elm held a design event in each of its stores on Saturday. So bright and early Saturday morning, I dragged my sister over to West Elm for a morning filled with gorgeous home furnishings and tasty little muffins from Williams-Sonoma (the parent company of West Elm). What a great start to the day!

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect – for some reason I thought the presentation would include a debut of the fall line. That didn’t happen, but I was pleased to find that West Elm has taken note of the crazy economy and chose to demonstrate cool and easy ways to revamp your home decor for under $500 – who couldn’t use tips like that?

The design consultants focused on whipping up quick and affordable switcheroos for the living room, bedroom and dining room. Here’s a quick recap:

1. Living Room. Redecorating a living room can get pretty darn expensive really quickly. While we’ve all been told to keep the big pieces neutral and update with accessories, seeing the West Elm sample living room transform from a spring look to a fall look really drove home that point.

The living room kept these major pieces constant throughout both looks – the contemporary sectional upholstered in a neutral cream color, the console table and matching white lamps, the gorgeous mirrored side table, the square espresso coffee table, and the vignette on the coffee table with the white lacquered tray and potted succulent. The only items that received the ol’ switcheroo were the rug, curtains, pillow covers, and a single item in the coffee table vignette (and the throw was also added).

My camera trigger finger wasn’t moving quite quickly enough to catch the “before” spring shot, so I’ll just describe it for you – the rusty-orange curtains were a crisp white, the rug was chocolate and blue with an abstract circle pattern (here), and the pillow covers had pops of sassy blue. Not a bad switcheroo for under $500, right? I’m especially impressed that the budget transformation included switching out the rug – those suckers can get expensive!

2. Bedroom. The design consultants really focused on giving the bedroom the feeling of a boutique hotel. The transformation began with just a basic bed – white organic cotton sheets and pillows. Pretty boring.

With the addition of a classic, pin-tuck duvet and two Euro shams, the bed was on its way. Including a barely-blue blanket at the end of the bed and a matching woven pillow amped up the wow factor of this bed in a snap. I’m a huge fan of the simple aesthetic of the pin-tuck duvet – it’s so versatile that it can fit into virtually any design scheme, from modern to traditional to cottage to adult to teen. Love it!

The design consultants tried to convince us that the pillows don’t have to be lined up in a traditional fashion, and demonstrated this combo look:

I, for one, am not sold. What do you think? Is it the next big thing or is it too weird to have in your own home?

3. Dining Room. My husband and I are the kind of people that usually eat dinner on the couch – we’re heathens, I know. Maybe that will change someday, but I’m not holding my breath. I was inspired, however, by the four different place settings that West Elm debuted on Saturday – maybe we’ve been missing out by not setting the table for every meal.

The consultant recommended buying 1 entire set of matching dishes in white, and then purchasing smaller 4-person sets of other dishes that strike your fancy. I thought this was a great idea, which would allow you to mix and match and create endless different looks without investing tons of money.

Each of the four place settings below were designed for a different occasion – a typical evening meal at home, an outdoor dinner, a festive lunch, and a low-key summer brunch.

west elm design event - 2009

Which one is your favorite? Mine is the “lunch” place setting with the square dishes, silver dipping bowl and punchy orange napkin. I love the angles of the dishes and the contrast between the vibrant napkin and the crisp, white dishes. I also think simply folding the napkin under a smaller plate is much less fussy and formal than a bona fide napkin ring. Love it!

I’m also digging the centerpiece that you can see in the last photo – an arrangement of three hurricanes in varying sizes is versatile enough to grace your dining room table year-round. Add some shells in the summer, tiny ornaments in the winter, sea glass, river rocks, brown rice or dried beans, floral moss, sand . . . you can use just about anything to dress those puppies up or down in a hurry.

So what’s your favorite thing from the West Elm design event? I’m stuck on the easy living room switcheroo, the pin-tuck duvet and the lunch-time place setting . . .

Don’t forget that today is the last day to leave a comment on any post for a chance to win a ton of awesome products from Gorilla Glue in the IGTBH Gnarly Giveaway!!! More details about the Gnarly Giveaway can be found here.

The Amazing Clutter Buster

March 13, 2009 By Liz - It's Great To Be Home 9 Comments

It’s been around for awhile, but I am seriously lusting after Ikea’s Expedit bookcase. It comes in a bunch of different sizes and colors, as you can see below:

These nifty bookcases range in price from $59.99 for the smallest to $229 for the large TV stand, so these babies provide ridiculous amounts of storage on the cheap. They would be perfect in any bedroom for folded clothes or baskets of socks, as a pantry, in a garage, as a home office, in a craft room, or in a kid’s playroom.

But don’t be fooled – these bookcases aren’t just about functionality – they also give you a great opportunity to really show your stuff and spice up any room. Check out how these bookcases can really become a feature and focal point of any room with just a little creativity:

Got any creative ideas for using an Expedit bookshelf? I’m thinking it would make an awesome headboard . . . no need for nightstands, books are right where you need’em . . . what can you come up with?

Images courtesy of Ikea and Desire to Inspire.

All Sproost Up

February 24, 2009 By Liz - It's Great To Be Home 1 Comment

Think you have a pretty good idea of your decorating style?? Test yourself with this interactive on-line quiz from Sproost! This fun quiz that I came across on Young House Love shows you fully furnished and decorated rooms that fit into one of 16 different design styles and directs you to decide whether you “love it” or “hate it” for each room. You may look at anywhere from 16 to a bazillion rooms, depending upon how quickly Sproost can nix a design style from your answers. Interesting and pretty darn fun, if I do say so myself!!

I was surprised by the personal style combo that the Sproost quiz came up with based upon my answers to the quiz – a mix of cottage chic (36%), Nantucket style (36%) and vintage modern (28%).

While I never would have said that my style included anything called “cottage chic,” Sproost’s explanation of the style proved that its analysis was right on:

Who says that cottages can’t be modern and chic? Who says that they have to be floral and cheesy? Not you!

You love the carefree spirit that the cottage interior inspires, but you are also serious about your appreciation for modern art and hip treasures. You love old and new alike, and love to highlight them all to expose the uniqueness of each. What better way to show off these treasures than with a light background?

Although you haven’t had a chance to check out my art and accessories collections yet (you will, don’t worry!!), I think that “cottage chic” describes our living room to a “T,” don’t you?

But what about “Nantucket Style”? Not so sure about this one, Sproost. While I’m all about greens and blues and whites, I’m a sucker for dark wood over light wood any day of the week!

Oh how you love the beach! Who doesn’t, right? And so your dream home is either perched in your favorite beach town, or you’ve brought that favorite beach town into your house.

Your art and accessories speak directly to the activities that are found at the beach. Pieces of driftwood you found here, pictures or paintings of the amazing views there. Things that remind you of the coast – surf boards or fishing boats – are found throughout the house. The feeling of the seaside is both abstract and literal in the design of your space. The fabrics are natural, cottons and linens and are light in color and touch. Much of the furniture is wood or wood framed (the lighter the better, think driftwood!) and wicker, when done right, is a must.

And since your true inspiration is the sea, the colors and textures in your home are the same that you would find at your favorite beach: white, light beiges and grays of the sand and driftwood, a variety of blues for the ocean and sky, and greens and vibrant blues of the sea glass, but the key is white! Your space should feel light and airy and give off the mood one has when at the beach: laid back!

Your furniture is comfortable and the layout is cozy. The more it reminds you of actually sitting on the warm sand, the better! And what do you do at the beach? Hang out with family and friends – and your home is just an extension of this play place. And though the space is filled with large white furniture, it somehow manages to feel both durable and casual.

“Vintage Modern” makes up the last 28% of my design style:

Flea Market, anyone? You know you are drawn to modern furniture and interiors, and yet you don’t like a space that feels cold and sterile. And who could blame you? That’s why Vintage Modern is so appealing to you. Though the backdrop of the room, the walls and windows, are many times white or monochromatic, the furniture and accessories have the color, shape and texture to bring the warmth into the space.

The great thing about Vintage Modern is ease of mixing different styles in the one space. You can have a new modular sofa mixed with a great pair of chairs that your grandmother purchased in the late 1950’s. The new and old work appear as though they were destined for each other. Even if you don’t have time for swap meets and garage sales, so many of the mid-century pieces were so great that they have been remade and mimicked year after year.

I’ve gotta say, I think Sproost nailed with the Cottage Chic and Vintage Modern. Not so sure about the accessories Sproost picked for me, though… what is that boat doing there?