Moroccan Peacocks

I was chatting with my friend Amanda recently as she was pontificating on how much she loathes her living room in its current state.  Amanda is a graduate student in music education with a full-time job as a music teacher.  She is living in a pretty awesome house not far from  yours truly, in the Boston 'burbs. She shares that space with 2 roommates. With one moving out and taking the art from the living room with her, this frees up the space for some changes.  She was, of course, talking to the right friend when it comes to decorating.  We got to talking and came up with some great concepts and landed on a sort of ultra girlie Moroccan theme with a peacock palette.

I took Friday off from work {With the intention of spending the vast majority of the day at the RMV.  Alas, about 3 minutes later, I was given the boot and told to go the "mail-in" approach.  No help, I tell ya. No help!}  so I had some time to kill and I popped into home depot and grabbed a ton of paint chips and here's what I came up with.

The girls already have a rug that is purple and beige.  So purple will be a heavy influence in the room.  But since we want it to be kind of Moroccan, we will be adding interesting patterns and pops of brighter colors like pink and orange.

Bringing in the idea of the peacock, we're going to tone down all that purple with some jewel toned blue and greens, focusing on teals.

These are the mustard-y, burnt orange-y colors that I pulled out also as accents to couple with the pinks.  I'm thinking throws, pillows and smaller decorative accessories. FUN!

And well Target was just across the street from Home Depot, so why not swing in there? I took some snapshots of some fun goodies that caught my eye as inspiration.

This tall, banana leaf vase would be perfect for some tall branches adorned with some hand crafted flowers. Hmmmmm... I smell a DIY project.

Adoring both of these hurricanes.  Both the rosey pink and punched tin are very romantic and feminine keeping with that aspect of the room that we want. 

Loving this big round basket for the corner of the room.  It would be a great storage space to house throw blankets, books, knitting or not-often-used remotes.

Now, Amanda's living room is not a looming space.  In fact, its quite "petite," shall we say.  What always solves a feeling of claustrophobia in small rooms? Mirrors, mirrors, and more mirrors!!  I love the idea of using these end tables to reflect more light than just a wall mirror.

Speaking of wall mirrors, a Moroccan theme wouldn't be complete without some beautifully intricate patterns and this quatrefoil mirror fits the bill. I wouldn't mind snagging one of these for myself, in fact!

This adorably girlie lamp is on sale and would be a perfect addition to the living room as well! But of course only with a colorful lamp shade like this violet one....

These fun little drinking glasses are from Target's new Calypso Collection.  I love all the colors and their metallic quality.  These could easily be grouped and turned into votive holders on a fun little tray.

So all in all, I think the impromptu trip to Home Depot and Target were both successful.  I certainly was getting ideas for things that work together and don't.  What the costs are that we're up against, what we can make ourselves, and color chips that we can whittle down to our palette.

Happy Monday Morning Nesters! I hope you had a wonderful weekend!  Do anything fun? Perhaps took Friday off to got to the RMV/DMV as well?  Dish!

Flip Flop

Heya Nesters! I am here and back in action!! If you caught last nights "post of the fly", my internet and phone were both down.  Luckily I had my cell as my means of backup so I could send you guys a little SOS note.  Anyhoo, lets get back to our regularly scheduled programming.  On Friday, I posted about Mud Rooms.  One of my most regular readers and commenters, KT over at KT's Refinishing School, mentioned she had to walk around the house in order to put her shoes away... and it got me thinkin'. My set up for my front apartment door, is a little ...well, backwards. 

I think I have a problem....

I'm totally and utterly addicted to lamps.  It's got to be a disease right? Lampitis? Viral Lampolisys? I used to see a shirt, then dream about it for days until I finally hauled back to the store and got it.  Well nowadays, I've been following the same pattern, but with lamps.  You remember the No. 5 Target lamp I was stalking a while back, right? 

Mirror Mirror on the Wall 2

Heya Nesters!  Yesterdays post was all about the bargain leaning floor mirror that I scored at Walmart. That wasn't where the bargains ended for this this gal. Oh no, I hit the jackpot at The Christmas Tree Shop.  Every bedroom design image that sticks in my brain is one that involves mirrors above or behind matching nightstand lamps. 

Mid Century Addition

Heya Nesters!  I made a little detour on the way home from work last night and trotted over to pick up my newest Craiglist find.  Check out the snapshot that lured me in...

 

Ooolala... pretty enticing, right!?  I'm just pullin' your chain. It looks pretty dated but I had a vision.

Headboard Doubts

I've said before that I've been feeling like a bad Decor Mommy to my Bedroom because I've been completely neglecting it. When I was living in my old apartment, my bedroom was the only thing I had all to myself and I truly put all my efforts into making it a luxurious space for me to relax {in an otherwise tumultuous household}. So, now that I'm in a place all to myself and have the freedom of having guests over, I've been focusing my efforts on having a space where my visitors will be comfortable {AKA the living room}and thus my bedroom decor gets tossed by the wayside.  *sigh*

But I'm tired of walking into a bedroom that looks like a catch-all. I want my sanctuary back...

Perry Mason

Hey Nesters! Everyone knows that I'm a big glass fanatic. I love bell jars, vases, decanters and soap dispensers but the one thing that gets me choked up is a beautifully utilized mason jar.

Acting Shadey

Heya Nesters!  Welcome back and let me update you all on the latest and greatest.  I finally headed out to Target to exchange that darn lamp shade that didn't fit and was left as a slightly disgruntled customer. 

Boudior Envy

Lately, I've been so focused on my living room decor that I've really been leaving my bedroom in the dust. I'm a little bit stumped as to how I want to set it up, and where I want to place images. {I'm still looking for the right Damask Wallpaper!}  So, I decided to look for a little inspiration to help me on my way.

Click READ MORE to see more inspiration!

I Love Lamp

Hey Nesters! You may remember some time ago I was on the look out for a lamp. While I did my best to find a unique (and possibly antique), inexpensive, glass jug lamp at flea markets, yard sales and on Craigslist, none really tickled my fancy.  It was one of those situations where nothing was exactly right... or if it was it was exorbitantly overpriced.  Something like this, for instance...

Sadly,  this lamp can be found here for a mere $428! Us common folk cannot dole that kind of green out for some green glass! So I kept looking.

Click READ MORE to see what I ended up with!

Brimfield: Part II- Loot

Yesterday I teased you guys and showed you some cool things that I saw at the Brimfield fair but I didn't get a chance to show you my loot. Well, "loot" really entails more than just two small steals, I suppose. So shall we call it my measly little purchases?  

Click READ MORE to see the real goodies I picked up!

Switcheroo

Heya Nesters! Today I come to you with a little peek at one of the big "switcheroos" I made in the living room.  I've said before in this post that I really wanted to change things around to make the space more "user friendly."

This is how the picture gallery looked with my silver dresser that is full of art supplies looked as soon as you walked into my apartment.

Temporary Wedding Nest...?

I work for Priscilla of Boston, a bridal gown manufacturer, in a character-filled building that has been here probably since Paul Revere was trotting through Boston.

Just kidding! ...But the brick factory was probably built somewhere around the turn of the century.  Being that our company is one of the oldest {and still going strong} bridal gown retailers in the country, we have also been renting this monstrosity since the 1960's.  Yes, you read that right: renting. Through various owners and changes of hands, we have always had our name over the front door. 

Shades of White

Heya Nesters!  I decided to drop by my favorite discount retailer last evening: The Christmas Tree Shops.  Without having thought much about it before, the light dawned and I made a big difference to my living room.