in living color

so its been a while since i looked at the living room with you. we've come a long way from a naked fireplace, a hefty dose of burbur and a hard-to-put-your-finger-on shade of gray paint. [the name is rockport gray, thank you very much].




as you can see we've filled in the cracks a bit and made it all feel a lot more like home. to off-set the white built-ins bookending the fireplace, and the tidy white trim 'round all the windows, we loaded back in some of our darker furniture pieces including a couple targey specials - the side tables flanking sofa numero uno. and you can't miss the 4x4 in the middle of the room. of the table variety of course.


its a coffee table with an identity crisis that we caught our eyes on while perusing world market's fares four years ago. its got the signature west elm overlapping squares which make me weak in the knees, with the zen-like simplicity of an asian gathering table, all wrapped up with a cost plus label.

speaking of squares, there's a new splash of color peeking out from under all those right angles. didja catch it in the image above? that black box, believe it or not, has for the large part remained empty for the almost five years we've owned it. until now! thanks to a stroll down dutch grocer [slash-everything-and-the-kitchen-sink-store] meijer's aisles, we're now the proud owners of fake moss.

ok, i'm the proud owner. kevin's the begrudging owner who's wondering when woodland greenery became an indoor item.


that green pop o' color provides just the perfect accent in the room. a shade or two brighter than some of the other forest + citron tones in the room, its a fun bit of interest without overwhelming things. you can see a couple of them here. in the two-tone olive pillow + and ziggity-zag striping of our new ikea throws [$8 each on clearance, holla!]. while we're lingering here, i've got to comment on the zany contrast created between the missoni-ish stripes of the blanket and the feminine floral prints of the pillows. i love setting male against female + modern against traditional this way.

if you're lost on the missoni mention, here's a visual hint.

via stylebyme

quite similar, no? this bit of luxe lusciousness is from the missoni hotel [please mommy? can i stay?] and the majority of their fashion lines contain comparable patterns and equally exhilarating color schemes.

in other details around the room....let's talk coffee a moment. or coffee table toppers, to be more exact. i admittedly have room for more friends up there but for now i'm enjoying the minimalist look of three favorite covers and the aforementioned moss.


i point out these pretty publications because they're randomly selected and and basically....i just like them. a lot. the audrey hep book was a house-warming gift from my bestie that fits into our abode like a ga-love. i love the stark b+w image on the cover + the simple orange title. and, its audrey. i mean, need i go on?

next up is the chicago brides magazine. random? yeah maybe. it was given to me by a coworker that knew my love of fashion....boy was she right that i would L.O.V.E. many images throughout this mag. the dreamy grey grown on the cover makes me drool and the train detailing is otherworldly. the icing on the cake is the b+w background that correponds oh-so-well with next-door-neighbor audrey's book.

last up: the book of interiors. again, i completely judged a book by its cover and bought this baby from barnes + noble based on the first image alone....and the hope that there'd be some more interior inspiration within. the cluster of vases, the intricate lamp, the soothing + sophisticated colors....


let's swing around to the fireplace now. those translucent ikea vases are like a puff of white smoke alighting the dark wood mantle.


since the tv and speakers carry some visual weight of their own, i kept things fairly light on the other end too. three sleek stainless vases, also a meejer [clearance] special, and a stack of books that just happen [wink!] to work with the living room palette, plus a little orange zest.


some side-table sights: a little dose of amber, citron and lemongrass next to that shiny glass lamp + the sparkly mirrored coasters. miscellaneous accents picked up from around town over time.



and last but not least. a barren stretch of wall to the right of the fireplace just begging to be dressed up.

that's where this mystery piece comes in.

if it looks like i found this piece of art in my basement....well, i did. and by that i mean, that's where i made it!

+ more to come on that later. stay tuned! +

so hopefully you enjoyed the room tour and my choices thus far. definitely not finished, but getting there.