alaina's notebook: hats

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The Look for Less: ordinal chest of drawers

I fell in love with the before and after project I saw on Ikea's blog in which a designer took the Rast chest of drawers that retails for $29.99 and made it over, adding paint, new hardware, and stenciled numbers. It reminded me of the ordinal chest of drawers Anthropologie sells for $998, more than 30 times the cost of the Ikea DIY. A chest of drawers is one of the most versatile items for a home, working as a nightstand, entryway table, dresser, TV stand, or office storage, and unfortunately costs upwards of $100 at most retailers. Considering you can get such a unique looking piece at such a low cost, why spend more?

The Living Room Daybed

The living room of former Domino editor, Sara Ruffin Costello, has been a longtime favorite of mine. And when it came to planning my sister's awkwardly laid-out living room with its off-centered fireplace, the layout of Costello's room immediately popped into mind. The solution seemed to lie in a single piece of furniture: the flat daybed. Because it doesn't have a backrest, it keeps the room open rather than breaking it up, and it allows for either two seating areas or one large grouping. In my search for an affordable option, it seems most flat daybeds are the designer's own version of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's famous Barcelona daybed, complete with bolster headrest. And while most cost upwards of $1000 (the Barcelona topping the list at a steep $8k), I discovered that one of Ikea's newer "designer" items is a white, leather daybed retailing for $499. Perfect.

My sister and her husband aren't huge fans of light wood, so with a quick Photoshop fix, we can see what the PS August bench looks like with darker wood. Très joli, oui?

sources: 1, 2-3, 4-6

Fashion vs Furnishings | 3.4.11

pillow | dress

THE CHALLENGE:

An animal print accent for your home

versus a cheetah print frock for ladies night out.

You have $79. Which do you buy?

alaina's notebook: style with black

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Mom's New House: Before & After Sneak Peek

I'm so excited to share the first before/after shot of my mom's new place. The renovation/redecorating has been a reasonable amount of work. While no walls were knocked down or replaced, updates were made to the powder room, laundry room, lighting, floors, closets, and wall colors. The entire house is now light grey - the first floor is one color while the upstairs hall and bedrooms are various shades. This shot of the dining room - one of my favorite rooms in the house - shows off the soft, new color palette with its white, antique mantel, Paris painting, and new Ruhlmann sconces from Circa Lighting. Pretty, yes?

There is still decorating to be done, but I'll start showing you more peeks at our progress. And then just wait. My sister's house that they completely gutted is finally starting to come together. It's been quite a process for them. The house has essentially gone from hoarder nightmare to bare bones gut rehab and will eventually come out as a family haven. You'll see what I mean...