Mug Shot

Recently I was asked whether all of my coffee/tea mugs were a matching set, and after looking at my collection and much to my surprise (and horror) they all are!  I couldn't believe how unbelievably boring my mug selection was - plain white tapered mugs.  Although they are very cute in their design, they are all very much the same.  This is something that I'm going to have to rectify and quick!  The mis-matched/eclectic look is trending right now and in my opinion is much more fun than complete sets of identical mugs - as in my case.  Matching sets are good for large groups in which you want your pieces to have a cohesive and flawless appearance, but for day-to-day and for when the girls come over on a Sunday afternoon for coffee/tea is a fun and relaxed way to share the moment by displaying a collection of your best/cutest/funkiest mugs.

There are so many adorable, funky, sweet options out there for coffee/tea mugs that I could not resist showing off a few to help inspire you on your next trip to your local shop to pick up a few of these mugs.

How amazing are those!  This has inspired me on the eve of the long weekend to go out and pick up some of these really fun and colourful mugs to add to my collection - see you later boring white mugs!

Happy Shopping!

Courtesy of:
Anthropologie
Crate and Barrel
Pier 1
West Elm
Viva Terra
Ten Thousand Villages

Quit Bugging Me!

More and more I've been seeing a trend in fashion and home decor aimed toward the entomologist in all of us.  The insect trend has really taken off lately and you can find these buggy creatures in everything from jewelry and clothing, to home decor and serving ware.  In all honesty I am terribly afraid of these living creatures but am strangely drawn to them in their inanimate state.  I've collected some items to entice you to start your very own love-affair with these buggy creatures:

Fashion and Jewelry

Ceramic Beetles

Home Decor

There is a whole world of items out there so why not pick up on this trend and start collecting these adorable creepy-crawlies to call your very own!

Happy Shopping

Courtesy of:
Surface View
Anthropologie
Foxy Originals

Area Rugs as Art

Most of us when thinking about art think of paintings, sculptures, photographs, etc. but rarely do we think about area rugs as art pieces - after all they'll be trampled on time-and-time again!  But area rugs can in fact add not only an architectural edge to your room, but they can also inject colour, texture, imagery, and emotion - the same way art pieces in your home already do.  You can hang rugs on your walls (typically called tapestries) but why look at it up high when you can appreciate it right under foot.  Area rugs can really pull a room together and it is also an easy way to pick up on colours to coordinate your space with - which you'll want to do anyway.  If you have an area rug that you love, but can't seem to make it work or have seen one that catches your eye but thought "that's never going to look good in my space" you couldn't be more wrong!  In fact I challenge you to think outside the wall-to-wall carpet/hardwood and conjure up that artist within to be bold and daring with a beautiful area rug to make your space sing.  I've put together rugs based on colour and style to help inspire you:

Blue Tone Area Rugs

Blue + Brown Tone Area Rugs

Colourful + Patterned Area Rugs

Neutral + Black Tone Area Rugs

Red Tone Area Rugs

How amazing are those area rugs!  It was really hard to choose only a few to sample for you but these give you a really good idea about how to see area rugs as works of art.  I've selected area rugs that are playful + fun, linear + architectural, floral + romantic and brightly coloured to neutral and any one of them (or more) can be wonderful additions to your home.  Don't be afraid to add a bit of daring into your area rug selection, you can really work it in as long as you accessorize and select your furniture to coordinate with the colour(s) in the rug you really can't go wrong!

Happy Shopping!

Courtesy of:

IKEA

Pier 1

Crate and Barrel

Structube

The Silver Age

I was inspired to write a topic on silvery-gray clothing that I've been seeing popping up a lot over the summer and because I happened to be wearing a silvery-gray dress at my sister's wedding this past weekend (which was my choice) - Congratulations guys!!  To be honest I didn't think too much about the colour of the dress that I was wearing - more about whether it coordinated with the rest of the family + bridal party, but I got loads of complements on it (colour, cut and style) and thought hey, why not write about how you can include this great "neutral" into your wardrobe - if you haven't already got some of it in there!


I say "neutral" in quotations because in my opinion this colour - although it is a metallic - can be considered a neutral due to its subtlety and how you can pair it with another metallic, be it gold, copper, bronze, etc. or easily introduce a colour to make a statement.  Dress it up or take it to work, silvery-gray can easily be added into your wardrobe without much thought and goes with just about everything!  Here are some ideas to get you inspired:

Not too shabby huh!  From the cropped pants to the organza dress you can see how easily this colour fits into everyday - or happy hour - and can make quite the statement.  The majority of the items I selected are solids but there are patterned combinations of silver-gray as seen in the blouse above that can also be included to introduce some visual interest into your palate.  Tip: don't go full on head-to-toe with the silvery-gray (unless it's a dress) otherwise you might end up looking drab, instead pair a silver-gray pencil skirt with an azure coloured top; or have a pop of hot pink poking out of your silvery-gray blazer.  Black and white are also other options so don't limit yourself, get out there and experiment with this colour, you'll thank me for it!


Happy Shopping!


Courtesy of:
Banana Republic
J Crew
Le Chateau

Flowers in Full Bloom

I would like to start by dedicating this post to Jim Peters, a long time friend and lover of art ;)


It might be a product of my photographic nature but I have found a love-affair with large scale botanical prints.  They have a grandness about them and being a macro photographer I can fully appreciate their beauty.  The detail and delicateness of the prints make these some of the most interesting paintings (or photographs) out there (at least in my opinion).  I strongly recommend that you try and incorporate one or more of these style of prints into your home and when doing so you should remember when adding a large scale piece (or small) into your home to make sure that the colours coordinate or are complementary to your colour scheme (as we've already discussed in previous posts) and accentuate your room with pops of colour that are pulled from your print.  You can easily add a large-scale piece over your sofa, but you can also include one (two or three) over your bed to create a headboard centerpiece.  A large floral can also be added in a powder room or even in your kitchen (if you have the wall space).  Whatever you choose be sure to add a large-scale floral to your home and discover the magic that comes with it, trust me you'll never look back!  Here are some prints to help inspire you on your next shopping trip:

How gorgeous are those!! For the most part I selected single flower close-up paintings but you can easily add a macro photograph shot or even select a grouping of flowers that have been painted (or photographed) close-up.  The selection of colours, styles and types of flowers and artwork is endless so the next time you're out shopping for a piece to hang in your home don't pass by these beauties because they will really enhance your living space.

Happy Shopping!

Courtesy of:

art.com