Brown and White weekend

In my previous post I showed the brown/white bedding that I purchased from Overstock.com. I am in love with it and having searching the internet for inspiration to decorate my bedroom. I still like the idea of adding some blue/grays into the mix. Here are some of the photos I've been loving as inspiration this week.Source: Alice Lane

Source: Z Gallerie


Source: Shelter
Source: Target



Source: L'Auberge

Have a happy weekend. It's going to be a hot one here at the beach!

Fashion Night Out

Last week was Vogue's Fashion Night Out. I knew it was happening up in LA on Melrose, but to my surprise it was also at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. My friend and I were killing time before our movie was starting and stumbled upon this fun event. All the stores were staying open and most of them were serving "Two Buck Chuck". Because both of us are designers, we skipped the clothing stores and headed straight for the home stores. First up was the new Kreiss store. They have re-invented themselves recently. I always remember them being more Caribbean inspired, but now they are all dark wood, modern lines, etc. Sorry for the bad iPhone pics, but I'm still carting around my 1st generation phone:(

Kreiss's store window.


Next up was Room Service. I had been in their LA store before, when it first opened. I was super impressed by this store. It was right up my alley, and gave me so many great ideas for my new house.

This chair has always been one of my favorites. And covered in cream mohair it was spectacular!

And of course there was a Saarinen knock-off. This floor model was on sale for $795. I desperately wanted to plunk down my credit card, but I showed some restraint.

Instead I went home that night and trolled Craigslist for a comparable table. The Ikea version would do, but I still didn't want to pay $179.00 for it. I'm going through a frugal decorating phase which is proving to be fun to see how close I can get to the designer version for cheap. I am not kidding you, I found this table for $25.00! It has a few scratches but that is ok because I plan on putting it out on my covered patio, so I am going to re-paint it and poly the heck out of it.

Ok, back to Room Service. This bedding was divine! It is from Dwell Studio. I have attached another pic, that shows the pattern of the duvet better.

As you can see from the top picture, the bedding retails for $280. But... because I am a super shopper, I found a very close replica for $39.00!! Actually with a 10% off coupon and shipping it came to $42.00. Yeah baby! Here is the picture from Overstock's website. I haven't gotten it on my bed yet, but when I do, I'll post a pic.

Loss

I haven't felt much like blogging lately. The day after my last post I had to put my dog Jasco to sleep. It was the hardest decision I have ever made, yet I am comforted knowing he is not suffering. I was blessed to spend 13 incredible years with him and will miss him forever. There has been a lot of change in my life the past two months, all of it leading to something great I am sure of. So sadness aside, I am starting a new routine and will be back to blogging next week, because it brings me joy. And joy right now is a good thing!

In with the new

I started my new job last week and am staying with friends while I look for a new place. I have been living out of a suitcase and boxes for the past two weeks and in desperate need of something to put clothes in. So late last night I decided to troll Craigslist for a cheap dresser. Most of what I found were ugly old Ikea dressers or something from the 80's laminate heyday. Then I found a gem! Emailed the woman selling it and picked it up this morning for 40 bucks.
Now I need to decide what to do with it. I had my first inspiration idea before seeing it in person. Something like this below by Tobi Fairley. I would probably use a dark charcoal gray paint instead of black.


But then I saw the dresser in person and it has a great burl wood pattern on the front, so I am a bit hesitant to paint it. Maybe I should just touch up the finish and do a high gloss poly like below? Then paint the hardware a satin nickel finish. Now I'm confused as to what direction I should go.... suggestions?

Update: Day 1 mini makeover- found some silver spray paint out in the garage and did a few quick coats, and some poly. Then used some dark wood polish to give it some life back.

HomeGoods Shopping

So I moved back to Southern California yesterday and I start my new job on Monday! I ended up selling almost all of my furniture that I have collected over the past 7 years... Time to start fresh. I didn't want to move everything again since I had just done it 4 months ago. Now I have a good excuse to buy new furniture and to be honest my taste has changed quite a bit in the past few years. This time around I am really going to think through my purchases and save up before buying anything new. My motto is "do I really need this?" and if the answer is yes, than I must go home and give it a day or two before purchasing. That being said, today's post is about Homegoods, and if you go home and think about your purchase from there, you might miss out on something great. Homegoods is all the about the instant satisfaction, purchase now and return later if need be! So here are some pictures from my "window shopping" Homegoods trip. Have a great weekend!

$24.99- glossy teal goodness!

8' x 10'- $199

$499.00- seriously

$39.99- saw the same thing online for $125.00

cute for the kitchen sink- $3.99

Mercury glass- $29.99

bookends- $12.99

funky chrome side table- $49.99

Napa

The past few months that I have lived in Northern California have been full of fun family gatherings. Some of the most fun have involved great wines from the Napa Valley. Here are some pics from recent Napa excursions with my brother and dad, two of my favorite winos!

All photos taken by designRN. Please do not re-post without permission.

When One Door Closes, Another Opens

The past week and a half has been a true whirlwind. I moved to Northern California exactly 4 months ago. I was really excited about being closer to my family and starting a new chapter in my life. One problem... the Universe had other ideas! A job offer was presented to me back in Southern California and so it is with sadness and excitement that I bid adieu to Northern California and head back to the beach. And of course that means that I will get to find a cute little beach house and re-decorate yet again!!
So, in honor of new doors opening I present some pretty doors for your viewing pleasure-

Friday's Quote

Source: Annechovie

My New Best Friend

I recently discovered Polyvore.com and I am completely smitten! It is soo much fun for a design geek like me. I am using it to make mood boards of rooms that I am working on. Here is a sample with items from my living room. I don't have the rug or curtains yet, but this gives me a good idea of what the finished product will look like.

my living room by designRN on Polyvore.comH

Here is an idea of my bedroom... still needs paint and headboard in real life!

bedroom by designRN on Polyvore.com

Happy Fourth of July!

Hope you all have a fabulous fourth. I'm planning on eating a few of these...

Source: Mrs. Haynes

Source: The Frosted Cake N Cookie

Source: Wilton.com