Orange You Lucky and The Lost Art of Matches

Pre-warning: Take anything you might have cooking off the stove.  You won't be back for awhile.

I always mean to share my fav blogs with you guys, but convince myself that you're most likely looking at the same stuff already.  Orange You Lucky!  is one of my all-time favs.  I love Helen's quick wit and her voracious design appetite - it's like she's never not looking for things.  On top of that, she's a very active/successful designer and a mom - now, if only she'd add "life coach to Christi" to her masthead... Anyway, this "Lighters Are Overrated" post is lovely and interesting and serves as great color inspiration.  Enjoy!

What A Gem

My friend sent me her home awhile back with the hopes that I'd get it posted while it was on the market.  No such luck.  They sold the house without any help from moi, but I still feel bad.  I even thought I mocked up a post, but somehow can't find it.  Maybe I dreamed I wrote it...

Anyway, this house is just beautiful and the new owners are most likely wallowing in their new home bliss.  My friend and her husband did so much renovation - most while she was pregnant.  My favorite is her walkway.  It's perhaps the most welcoming in the city.  Her previous handiwork was picked for a garden walking tour, so I'm not surprised at how incredible this looks. She says she finished it just days before her son was born.
  

Second fav, I'd have to say, is the living room.  My nearly 100-yr-old bungalow was stripped of all but the necessary woodwork (read: floors and doors), so I'm a sucker for built-ins and such.  They recessed the wall above the mantel to accommodate/hide a flat screen TV.  If you visit her Flickr posts, you can see what a job that was, but just looking at the "after" shots, I'm gonna go with "it was well worth it." 

Above the mantel is stretched Marimekko fabric (just about the easiest art around - check out CB2 for some new designs) and it's complimented nicely by a pair of Philippe Starck Ghost Chairs (drool).  IKEA vases in the foreground, but I've seen some similar $20 Jonathan Adler for B&N, if you don't live in IKEA country.  I love the sofa table, but she doesn't give up the goods, there.  I'd check Crate & Barrel or Room & Board.

 

Next up is the dining room: vinyl decals over the warmest chocolate - yum! - and the iconic KNAPPA pendant lamp!  IKEA plays a role in the kitchen, as well.  The cabinets are self-installed (I know) Nexus Black Brown (I think).  This last shot is of her girl girl's bedroom - cool scalloping to steal.  We have the same IKEA shelves in our son's room and they are a lifesaver!  If you use them, think about "L" bracketing them to the wall - they're very climb-enticing.  Hit Flickr, enjoy the rest of her photos, leave questions if you have them and if you have a home you want to see here, please send it along.  I'll do my best to post it before you move away.
    

And Please Leave The Furnishings

I have a house shopping sickness.  I really, truly do.  I'm not in the market for a new home, but I live on the local real estate websites.  I love knowing what homes look like inside, how long they've been for sale, if the owners tried selling the same house last year - you name a detail, I'm obsessed. 

In particular, I'm in love with homes that look pretty much the same as the day the orginal owners ordered in their first Broyhill master suite.  If I were in the market, I'd choose homes much like the one above. I'm not sure where in Des Moines it is - I saved these pictures earlier this spring, but I love the fact that thirty-four years of design trends couldn't sway this homeowner away from her original design concept - I don't blame her one bit! That bathroom is super rad!