Thursday, March 6, 2014

What I'm Loving at ... Anthropologie

Despite pouring a ton of money into installing hardwood floors, I am itching to replace some furniture as well. And I have an Anthro gift card burning a hole in my pocket -- a dangerous combination! Here's what I have my eye on:

Monarch coffee table ($698)
























I love the lines of the base. What a unique piece! However, I also love anything metallic, so I am torn between this and these (comes in gold too)...

Turnstool coffee table ($498)

I don't need a bed, but if I did, this would top the list. I love how Anthro always has things you don't see anywhere else.

Paneled Villa bed ($1998 and up)

How about all these amazing gold lights?

Archway floor lamp ($498), there's also a matching table lamp version




Astra chandelier (a whopping $1928 but so, so fabulous)
























And just for fun... I'd love to replace my plain stainless with a drawerful of these. At only $48 a setting, the Vita Sky flatware may be the best deal around!
























Even if I could afford custom made furniture, I think my ideal would be to furnish my entire house (and wardrobe) from Anthropologie. Do you have anything on your Anthro shopping list?

Monday, March 3, 2014

Fun With Flooring... Or, How NOT to Choose an Engineered Wood Floor

When I started house-hunting four years ago, I had my must-haves: three bedrooms, hardwood floors, a screened porch, and a specific school district.

I got the school, which has been at least as good as advertised, and, well, nothing else on the list.

I quickly remedied the bedroom issue, converting the space the previous owners used as a great room into a pretty sweet master bedroom by adding a frosted glass door and door frame (it helpfully had a bathroom and closet).

The screened porch seems unlikely to happen, but this year, I decided to finally tackle the floors and replace the taupe carpet with gorgeous hardwoods. This is a huge expense for me, and one I've been planning for since I bought the house, so I wanted to get it right.

What I did right

1. Research: I knew that because I have a concrete slab that I would most likely have to go with an engineered wood floor. I also felt that based on what I read and what the installers I interviewed said, gluing the floor would be a better option than floating it, though it costs quite a bit more.

2. Get lots of samples: I ordered about 15 each from Lumber Liquidators and BuildDirect.com (Build Direct offers 5 free samples and they let me place 3 separate orders, bless them; LL charges for samples, but still worth it to have them to consider in your home). BuildDirect.com has some of the best values for engineered flooring -- high quality products at bargain prices -- and excellent return/exchange policies. Having lots of samples also makes it easy to compare quality -- you can see how thick the veneer layer is on each product (important if you want to be able to refinish the floor at any point) and you can try to scratch the finish to see how durable it is. Samples are key! (See below for more...)

3. Hire a good installer: I had a number of names recommended off of various local listservs I belong to, cross-referenced them with Angie's List, and picked the top-rated one. I got quotes from him and from Lumber Liquidators, which were similar enough (and reasonable enough) that I didn't feel I needed to get a bunch of other quotes.

Where I went wrong

I suffer from decision paralysis. I think I get overwhelmed with all the choices and then snap, making a bad decision even when I have plenty of information. In this case, when it came time to decide, I had something like 30 samples as well as photos from floors I had seen in local stores. Some of the samples I had were amazing -- 4 mm wear layers for $4.99 per square foot! (If you've never bought engineered wood, just believe me that that's unheard of quality.)

But, I couldn't find exactly the color I wanted, which was a light, beige-y tone with neutral undertones undertones. I had Pinned lots of images like this. The only floor I had seen that fit the bill was this Mohawk reclaimed elm floor that was out of my price range (like nearly double).



So I set it aside and moved on. The day it came time to choose the floor, I was a bit panicked. Several of the samples I had were really great, like this Smokey Champagne handscraped 7-in wide oak (it has a greenish/grayish undertone in person, but it's quite cool and phenomenal quality), this Australian Cypress (love this, wish I'd gone with it), and this bargain-priced Hevea Handscraped in Caramel (stunning, just darker than what I was going for). This mixed-width hickory floor was another favorite, too dark for my home, but can't be beat if you want a really rich, been-around-for-centuries look (also comes in maple and walnut, all so pretty).

I brought the samples to work and stared at them all day. All were great but none quite fit the picture in my head. Then I remembered one other floor I'd seen in a store and pulled up the photo I had taken on my phone. It was a white-washed hickory floor, a little different, but, I remembered, modern and cool, just a little pricier than I was planning to spend. I did a little internet searching and found I could get it for the same price as the others.

Feeling the pressure to choose a floor so my installer could get to work, I bit the bullet and bought. No sample, no holding it up to my walls and trim, no measuring the wear layer... nothing but a photo and a memory. All that research and I completely ignored everything and bought thousands of dollars of flooring on a whim.

I asked to have a sample sent to me, just for fun, and it arrived a few days ahead of the floor. When I opened the package, my heart sank. The sample looked nothing like what I had seen in the store. It looked thin, the wear layer was barely 2 mm and the color had a pinkish tone to it. I didn't actually cry, but that's how I felt. I had 1200 square feet of flooring on a truck to me and I hated it.

That was a Friday, and I spent the whole weekend fretting but I convinced myself it would all be OK when the floor arrived. The installers came and started pulling up carpets and leveling out the slab. Then the wood showed up in 39 boxes shrink wrapped on a huge pallet. It hit me at that point that this was not like my other internet purchases -- there would be no easy way to return this.

The installers unpacked the floor and started laying it out so I could see how it would look. I really had to fight back tears. Four years of saving, all this money, and I really felt I was going to hate it. Why hadn't I gone with one of the many lovely options from BuildDirect (no, they're not paying me to say any of this, I promise, I was just that impressed with them and their products).

I called the store where I bought the wood and miraculously, they were willing to exchange it, even though it would mean shipping back the massive pallet and taking a hit on the wood they had special-ordered for me. (If I had just returned it, I would have been hit with a 30% restocking fee, but exchanges were OK, which is why I didn't just return and go with one of the BuildDirect floors.)

The catch? Aside from massively inconveniencing my installers and living with no floor for an extra week or two (and having to restack and rewrap 39 boxes, one of which I could barely lift on my own), the only floor I knew I wanted, the elm, was going to cost me nearly $5000 more with all the shipping factored in, or, to put it in perspective, more than a 30% increase in the cost of the whole project.

I promised the store and the installers a decision the next morning. I didn't sleep at all that night. At first I resolved to return the first floor and suck up the extra cost. I wanted the perfect floor. But after tossing and turning all night, I thought about all the other projects I wanted to do -- replace my stove and fridge, remodel my bathroom, replace the leaky windows and old roof. I could do at least one or two of those with all that money.

So after all that, I kept the hickory floor. Here's how's it's looking now, mid-install:


It's a little pinkier than I wanted (though not as bad as the sample as there is a lot of variety in the boards), and I am not always digging some of the "character", but the installers have done a great job of making the floor look nice and cutting out or hiding the pieces I like less. It's surely a HUGE improvement over the carpet and I think once it's all in and the furniture and rugs are replaced, I'll really like it. Given the cost difference, I feel keeping this floor was the right call.

Still, it will always be a reminder that I didn't make the best possible decision in an important (and expensive!) situation. Don't make the same mistake when it's your turn -- get tons of samples, compare them to each other and to your walls, and most important, take your time. It's better to delay the project a few days or weeks until you feel sure than to try to rush and possibly regret your choice.

I'll report back when it's all done. For now, I am pretty much confined to my bed, which is the only place to sit in the whole house. The kids and I call it my "bed island". See what the rest of the house looks like?


Happy flooring!


Friday, November 15, 2013

What I'm Loving at... CB2

Oh CB2, how I've missed you! Where else can I get my fix of sleek, modern decor for reasonable prices?

Seriously, CB2 has been the best thing to happen to me decorating-wise since I bought my first Benjamin Moore fan deck. I might call my style "mid-century mash-up" -- a mix of mid-century and Hollywood glam with a eclectic mix of whatever else catches my eye. With the help of CB2, I've been able to gradually add enough minimalist pieces to start to make some sense of my home's look.

And, as I have to add every time I talk about CB2, there is an outlet right by my office! It's heaven. And it means I can score lots of smaller pieces on the cheap.

Pillows, vases, and other accessories pop up at the outlet regularly, along with artwork. I have a real soft spot for CB2 artwork. I have a large acrylic canvas of New York and a 5-foot-square Jackie O Warhol print that I got from the outlet, and I'm always on the lookout for more. CB2's buyers manage to find items that are bright and colorful but also somehow classic.

This one would be high on my list if I didn't already have two large cityscapes:

I am also loving this cheeky print. It reminds me of my son!


CB2 is also a great resource for (relatively) inexpensive stylish curtains. I'm thinking of trading out the gray Target panels I have in my bedroom now for these pretty blue linen sheers. However, though the current curtains aren't particularly pretty, they block out a lot more light than these do... sleep or style, which will win out?


I have this filing cabinet in white -- it's really nice quality at a fairly reasonable price. Now I'm wishing I'd held out for this sweet mint color. The orange is nice too...


I have wanted this bookcase since I moved into my house. I bought the (much cheaper) Ikea Expedit instead, but it never really satisfied my desire for the 3.14. Now that I'm moving the Expedit into my daughter's room, I think it's time I splurged on the one I always wanted.


Definitely check out CB2 next time you need lighting. They always have great designs at good prices. I still love my firefly pendant:


And this one is worth adding to the wish list, maybe for a reading corner?

And look at those rugs! I could spend all day at CB2, and my entire paycheck as well. We haven't even gotten to the holiday items!

I'll just leave you with a few more of my faves.

Gold bowls? Yes, please.
Gold and acrylic folding tables? Don't mind if I do.


Gold pig bookends? Why the heck not?

What's your favorite CB2 item? Happy shopping!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

What I'm Loving at... PB Teen

Ah, catalogs, I've missed you! I love nothing more than sitting down with a big mug of coffee and a pile of home decor catalogs. Here in Australia, I'm limited to the weekly Target circular (Target Australia is a very weak copy of our beloved Target US, with none of our chic designer lines).

I've especially missed my favorties, CB2 and the ever stylish PB Teen, which is often overlooked by adults, but is one of my go-to sources.

Seriously, have you seen the Emily + Meritt line? (That would be Emily (Current) + Meritt (Elliott) of the uber stylish denim label Current Elliott.)

I'll take this gold metallic bedding.
























These metallic pillows.
























And my daughter's new room NEEDS this gold unicorn head.
























PB Teen never disappoints. In addition to the Emily + Meritt line, I'm also loving...

The Peyton Duvet in Royal Navy
























How great would that look with this upholstered headboard? With the pink and the gold accents, this bed has definite Emily Henderson influences. (Dear Emily, please come makeover my whole house. Love, Robyn)
























I wonder if I can make space in my room for the aptly named Chic Vanity. Look at the storage! Much better than trying to put on makeup in my tiny bathroom.
























That's all from PB Teen for now. Next up, CB2!

Friday, November 8, 2013

Top 5... Holiday Decorations

I don't tend to decorate with each holiday or season -- the most I do is change out my lightweight summer quilt for a heavier one -- but Christmas is an exception. The whole family gathers at my house on Christmas morning, so it's really fun to show off some different decor. I tend to gravitate to metallics over the traditional red and green -- shocking, I know.

I even have a gold Christmas tree. These aren't the best photos -- I can't remember exactly WHY there are balloons -- but you'll get the idea of how it looks close-up (I've miss my sweet cats so much while we've been in Australia -- aren't they cute?) and all decorated. As much as my OCD side would like to decorate the tree in stunning, coordinated gold and silver baubles, the kids would never go for that, so mismatched ornaments, some decades old, others handmade in class, cover our tree. And there's something just as gorgeous about that too.



Every year, I add a few new holiday items to my stash. Here's what I've got my eye on this year.

1. This disco gnome from CB2. It's hard to justify $129 for an 18" glittery gnome that I'll only use for a month a year, but he's so awesome that I might just have to leave him out year round. CB2 always has really great holiday items -- especially if, like me, you prefer metallics and white. 


Best of all, there is a Crate & Barrel outlet across the street from my office (!!!) so I can usually snap up items in January cheap for the next year. Ornaments get priced as low as 50 cents, so I'll grab a handful for gift toppers. The mini disco balls are great for all gift-giving occasions (and cute on the tree too, or stacked in a clear glass vase). They even come in gold now! Joy.

2. White faux-fur tree skirt from West Elm. I have wanted a faux-fur tree skirt since I got my gold tree in 2011. I even shopped around for a faux fur throw I could wrap around the base, but this tree skirt is much better and a good buy (at $69, it's nearly half the price of the almost identical one offered by West Elm's big brother, Pottery Barn). It will get cat hair all over it -- the kitties love hiding under the tree when it's all lit up -- but that's why we have washing machines.


3. We usually add a few special ornaments to our tree each year. I'm bringing home a nice little silver Sydney Opera House ornament as a souvenir, and while I'm at West Elm, I'll grab a couple of the bottle brush ornaments, especially the little fox. My daughter and I both love foxes -- we have a "pet" fox who lives in our backyard woods -- so she will love this. Maybe the little polar bear for my son?



4. I've been half-heartedly looking for new stockings for a few years now. I like the style of the ones we have now, but not the color scheme (green and dark pink/magenta). The trouble is finding ones I like (stylish, white or at least neutral, personalizable, and still cute enough to appeal to kids). I think I've hit the jackpot this year at Land of Nod. Look at all the options! Please don't show my daughter the fox design! The gray cable knit is my current favorite, maybe mixed in with the Lacy Stocking as in this photo? They aren't able to be customized, though....



5. OK, this isn't strictly decor, but I've got to include it for some comic relief. Every year since their dad and I split up, the kids and I have gotten matching Christmas pajamas. 2013 will the the fifth year we've done it, and someday I plan to make a quilt out of swatches from all the different pairs. It's getting harder to find options that are suitable for a little boy, almost-tween girl, and an adult woman. We've had luck in the past with Lands End, Garnet Hill, and LL Bean, but this year we just couldn't find something both kids liked. Until we hit Hanna Andersson. 

I was thinking we'd go with their classic striped long johns, but then my son spotted this Star Wars-themed pattern.

Oh, too bad, I told him, the kids' size won't fit me. Surely it doesn't come in adult sizes. Look, mama, it does!, he replied, pointing to the "Match with Family" photos below. His sister loved it too, so I will soon be the proud wearer of Star Wars Christmas PJs. I did manage to convince them to let me get just the pants and pair them with a nice solid red top. Gotta maintain some style where you can.

What's on your holiday decor wish list?

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

The (Soon-to-Be) Triumphant Return of Amateur Decorator

I'm back! Well, almost. You see, I have a totally legit reason for my latest absence -- I've been living in Australia!

It's been fun -- I'm sure we'll talk about it more in future posts -- but we're heading back to the USA next month and I can't wait to get back to my house! I've been living in a furnished condo in Australia (on the beach, but still!), so I've done no decorating, and more to the point, no home-related shopping at all! Not buying furniture is a great way to save money, but it's torture for someone like me, whose main hobby is messing around with things around the house.

My Pinterest is full of wish list items, from new wood floors to a Garnet Hill bedspread I've been eyeing for years, to a inspiration photo for the dining banquette I'm planning.

2014 is shaping up to be an expensive year. Here's what I'm coveting...

1. A new room for Lulu. I promised her when she was 7 that I would redecorate her room for her when she turned 10. I can't believe that day is so close! She wants an aqua room with a black chalkboard accent wall with zebra-stripe bedding. We're going to sell her little-girl furniture (from the awesome Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic line at Target) and use the money to buy a storage bed and headboard from Ikea. I'll give her my Ikea Expedit shelving and get the desk extension that goes with it for her craft projects. I'm really excited to give her a modern, 'pre-teen' look!

2. Wood floors, wood floors, wood floors! I've been patiently waiting, but it's been more than three years since I bought my house and the time has come. I WILL get new floors this year! I've also got my heart set on, er, heart pine, but with a concrete slab, it may not be possible. I'm hopeful I can find a good engineered look-a-like.


3. New rugs for said new floors. I'm craving white cowhide in the living room, either a traditional shape or perhaps something like the woven one below from Serena & Lily, which is more cream and gray than the tannish color it looks here.


4. A dining room banquette. At some point this year, I want to take down the wall that separates the kitchen from the dining room. Eventually, I envision an island/peninsula there, with stools for the kids to sit and do homework while I cook. To keep the dining room from being too cramped, I'm planning to create a corner banquette kind of like this one, with drawers or shelves under the bench for storage.



5. A new kitchen, though this will likely be a project for 2014. I am thinking gray Ikea cabinetry on the bottom, open shelving on the top, and quartz or granite countertops that mimic gray and white marble. I'll carry the wood flooring through the kitchen from the dining room.

That's all for now, though I'm sure the list will get longer once I get back in the house. I'm already thinking I'll move around all the artwork and play with some different furniture arrangements. There will be lots to show you soon!


Sunday, January 29, 2012

What I'm Loving at... PB Teen

We're going to set aside for a moment why I haven't posted in, oh, eight months and get straight to something infinitely more interesting... a round-up of picks from the new PB Teen catalog (one of my favorite sources for fun, reasonably priced decor).
If, like me, you prefer not to try your hand at rewiring vintage lamps, this is an awfully nice alternative. You get the old-fashioned vibe without the risk of electric shock. Though I'm tempted to get two for my nightstands, a matching pair would undermine the "look what I found at the flea market" aesthetic.
The magical thing about natural fiber pieces is that they work in pretty much every decor. And this is a wonderful shape for a side table -- perfect to offset rectangular couches and chairs. Or put two together at the foot of your bed. Best of all, no matter where you use this great piece, it can double as extra seating for entertaining.
Another looks-vintage-but-isn't piece. It's very similar to an Anthropologie dresser I saw not long ago -- but PBTeen's is much more reasonably priced!
A great way to store jewelry out in the open without it looking messy! Just purchase some clear thumbtacks and scatter your necklaces and bracelets artfully around the board.
Ruched Jersey Duvet, $124-$139
How cozy is this yummy ruched duvet in Heathered Gray? (Also comes in white and blue.) I need this to spruce up the comfortable but hideous old comforter I curl up with on the couch.
What do you think of these picks? Do you have any "secret" sources for home decor? In addition to PBTeen, my favorites include Urban Outfitters, TJ Maxx and Marshalls, and Etsy. More obvious, but equally beloved are West Elm, CB2, and the Crate & Barrel outlet (located a dangerously close 3 blocks from my office). We're getting an Anthropologie this month, too! My budget is sad, but I am thrilled.
And back to where I've been... I just... forgot to blog. I've been busy with kids and work and trying to go back to school and it just got away from me. The good news is, I did a couple projects while I was away and even remembered to take some pics, so I will get those posted soon!