Home Decoration: January 2010 @w-home

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Featured Designer: Kathryn M. Ireland

Kathryn M. Ireland is a name that seems to be popping up all over the place these days! And it's no wonder, considering she has been published in several magazines lately, has an amazing new fabric line out (Mexico Meets Morocco), and she just opened a new store in West Hollywood. She's been on the rise for a while and it's no surprise! Her interiors are famous for looking beautifully designed, but not overly 'decorated'. She has mastered the art of creating spaces that are both elegant as well as livable, which is something most designers attempt to achieve. Kathryn's designs combine luxurious fabrics with accents of color for rooms that are the epitome of casual elegance.

Kathryn has a book out, Creating A Home (2009) which chronicles the restoration and decorating process that she has undertaken on her Ojai home (which was recently purchased by Reece Witherspoon.) The book shares the journey of finding a crumbling ranch home all the way to finishing each room of the house.

She was recently published in House Beautiful's February issue that is available on newstands now!

You can visit her website to read more about her work, view her projects, her fabulous fabric, as well as her furniture line!

photos via here, here, and here

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Rain, rain, go away. . .

The weather here in 'Sunny California' hasn't been very sunny lately. It's been raining non stop (with a couple of short breaks) and I am starting to feel like Spring will NEVER get here. . .Outside it's gray, wet and just plain depressing!

Awwww these colors, patterns and textures just make me smile and give me hope for sunnier, brighter days ahead!

Anna's shop Black & Spiro in Bribane Austrailia via her blog Absolutely Beautiful Things

I think I would give my first born child, just for one bite of this right now:

Ok, I am being a LITTLE dramatic. . . I'm doing the Master Cleanse and am on DAY 7 so far. That means I have not consumed anything but a funky lemonade concoction and water for the last seven days! Prior to that I was drinking only juices and soup broth for two days. That means I have not chewed and swallowed ANY food for nine days now! I am determined to make it to the end (ten days) and have already seen some incredible results, physically and mentally. I recommend this to anyone who is looking to cleanse their body and take on a healthier lifestyle.

If you are interested, head over to jenloveskev for the recipe to make these vegetarian nachos! They are also a great snack to make for Superbowl Sunday! If you aren't already familiar with Jen's blog, it's fantastic. It's one of my few non-design related reads every day!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Stripes, Stripes, Everywhere there are Stripes

Whether they are on the floor, walls, ceiling, furniture or drapes, one thing is for sure- I LOVE STRIPES! I was washing dishes yesterday (which is when I do some of my best thinking) and realized that I need more stripes in my life! I have a striped shower curtain, but that's where the playful pattern ends in my home. I am trying to think of more ways to incorporate stripes into the decor of my house and am finding a boat load of inspiration from some of these images!

via Domino

via Amanda Nisbet

via Decorpad

via Sarah Richardson

via Domino

via Decorpad

via Design Sponge

via Frank Roop

via Peacock Feathers

via Habitually Chic

via House Beautiful

via Houzz

via Jonathan Lurk

via Houzz

via A Life's Design

via Simply Seleta

via Elle Decor

via Little Green Notebook

via House Beautiful

Monday, January 25, 2010

Baby Steps

January should just be dubbed "International Organizing Month" in my opinion. It's the time of year when you look around and say to yourself, "how did I let this get so out of control?!" and start making plans for the new year to get organized. I'm the type of person who loves a neat, clean, picked up home. I can't go to bed at night if all the chairs at the table aren't pushed in, pillows on sofa aren't fluffed or dishes are still in the sink. BUT, open up any one of my drawers or closets, and well, that's another story!

I recently tackled one of the 10,956 projects I have on my todo list this year (as far as home improvement, organizing and decorating go) and thought I would share with you a little 'before and after'. Here is my jewelry drawer before I took the plunge and decided to organize it;

And here it is, after!

Now. . . on to the linen closet, desk, pantry, laundry cabinet, media shelves. . .

Friday, January 22, 2010

Lively Laundry Rooms

Awww, the lovely chore of doing laundry. . . Just when you think you are finally finished with this bothersome task, there seems to be more! Our home does not currently have a room dedicated to laundry. In fact, the washer and dryer are located in our detached garage, which is a whole other annoyance within itself! Although I can't complain, after years of living in apartments and hauling loads of laundry up and down stairs, our current laundry situation is quite the luxury in comparison! I dream of someday having an entire room dedicated to this nuisance of a chore. Maybe I wouldn' t mind it so much if my laundry room looked like one of these?!