Ok, last post about Style Carrot’s partner in design Serena & Lily. It’s a big deal, so it’s worth the effort, for me and for you. If there’s anything you’ve had your eye on, now’s the time.
During the Serena & Lily Thank You Event almost everything is25% off (Sale items, gift certificates artwork, and bikes are the only exclusions.) This is the brand’s biggest and best sale of the year. Just usecode THANKFULat checkout.
In addition to the items I posted on Thursday and Friday (books, tray, towel), I ordered a few larger pieces, including the Granada quilt for our bedroom in Boston. We just got back from Connecticut and spread it on the bed. It immediately brightened the room, which is mostly white with neutral carpet and wallpaper. If I were upgrading everything, I might do something like this:
When Wayfair asked me to create a post touting spring style, the sun was streaming through the bay windows in the living room, and I had just received the new May issue of HGTV Magazine which happens to feature our Boston condo. My favorite photograph is the one of our living room. It looks so bright, cheerful, and well, spring-like. So yes, this post is about my spring inspired living room.
Our walls have always been a spring-y shade of green. We first used this color in our dining room in Chevy Chase, and the first thing we did when we moved to Boston was paint our living room a similar shade. We’ve been here 13 years and I haven’t tired of it. And given that my office is in here, I spend a lot of time in it. That it is spring inspired space is important to me. It lifts my mood, especially during the long, gray Boston winters.
Photo by Annie Schlechter | Styling by Elizabeth Demos
The plush, sculptural rug by Angela Adams grounds the space (we are blessed with high ceilings) and renders a lush, garden feel. The sofa is ivory, as is the woodwork; the pillows, books, accessories, and artwork add the color. Yes, I realize the palette is somewhat limited. Flowers and planters add an occasional jolt. I don’t really subscribe to the idea that the room needs a spot of a complementary red. It’s more of a busy monochromatic effect.
Rather than start from scratch creating a spring inspired space for this post, I decided to be (I hope not too obnoxiously) self-referential and create a scheme that echoes the look and feel of my living room. And now that I have a professionally styled and photographed image, life is grand.
Finding similar pieces on Wayfair to create this spring inspired space was simple, given its array of decor and styles. My son confirms that I did a really good job, especially with the rug. Here is my scheme that recreates our spring inspired living room using items sourced on Wayfair. (Links below or in Spring Inspired Style Idea Book on Wayfair.)
A friend, fixated on a khaki linen pillow with neon trim that she saw a while back, has been searching for neon accents to decorate a bedroom in a summer house. (No, neon decor isn’t dead.)
She enlisted me on a hunt for said pillows. In my guilt of being unable to produce (they’re no longer made), I assembled an alternative scheme. Here is an array of neonaccentsfor the bedroom from StyleCarrot partners and others that are bright, fresh, and cheery.
S H O P P I N G
1 Neon Heart Print by Mareike Boomer Graphics, starting at $20.
Earlier this month Paintzen (the Uber of home painting) sent over a totally adorable husband and wife team to paint our family room in Boston. Ever since our renovations a few years ago, the walls back there have been this taupe-y shade that I really didn’t like. When a press release for Paintzen popped into my overstuffed inbox I took notice.
Paintzen is a digital paint company that handles all aspects of a paint project, big or small. The simple site walks you through the process and provides a quote. If you decide to move forward they handle everything, from getting the paint (all Benjamin Moore, and they’ll even do a color consultation), to scheduling and managing the job. The money goes through them too. The painters show up, do their thing, no fuss, no muss. I was thrilled with the entire experience.
Now that the family room is grey, Benjamin Moore Steel Wool to be exact, I feel like I can motivate on sprucing up the other elements. The enormous grey velvet sofa will remain (all four of us fit to watch TV), but we desperately need a new rug, ottomans, a chair, and perhaps additional lighting. We have plenty of art, and worked on a new gallery wall arrangement last weekend (photo below).
So when Wayfair offered me the opportunity to participate in its #NewYearNewRoom campaign, obviously I opted in. The directive was to choose 20 pieces from Wayfair and its other brands, which include AllModern and DwellStudio, that would breathe new life into an old space. I’m so inspired by this scheme I worked up that I think I will use my $100 gift card to start on a refresh right away.
I haven’t posted many photos of our little Delray Beach condo, mainly because until this summer it had white wall-to-wall carpeting, tan walls with navy blue and hunter green trim, a plethora of pink tiles, and dingy blinds. This summer, we had the whole place done with cork flooring and all the walls painted bright white. Yesterday I spiffied up the master bedroom and took some photographs. Given the limited accessories at my disposal (not to mention the small budget) and my ineptitude with a camera, they’re hardly print ready, but you can get a sense of how it’s coming along. Here’s our beach bedroom makeover, unveiled.
BeddingStyle.com sent me a beautiful bright white Puckered Diamond Matelasse Coverlet and Shams by Vera Wang for the bed. I layered the coverlet with our existing grey fleece blanket for a mix of cozy and crisp. I love the result. (The simple white bed frame from West Elm we got when we first moved in.)
The artwork is an original painting by Lulu de Kwiatkowski. I’ve interviewed Lulu a couple of times for my work with Matouk (she designs a line of bedding for Matouk, and I co-write the Matouk blog). She is tons of fun, so I was psyched to buy a painting I love on the LuluDK website she launched last year with her products, prints, and original artwork.
The rug is new too. I ordered it from Wayfair thinking it might work in the boys’ room, but it seemed too earthy. Luckily it looks perfect in the master bedroom; the watery color imbues a calmness. It’s a rough wool dhurrie, so I have to use a yoga mat when I stretch out before bed (itchy!), but it covers a lot of the room without being overpowering.
Thanks to the folks at Rug Pad USA, the rug feels quite cushy, as it sits atop 3/8-inch thick felt pad. A co-founder offered to send me a rug pad when he saw my recent post on rugs. Rug Pad USA, which launched a couple of years ago, manufactures higher end, eco-friendly rug pads that are made in the USA. I went with the Eco-Fiber Felt Pad. It’s made from 100 percent recycled felt materials and is resistant to mold, moisture, and mildew. It’s thick and doesn’t shed or smell, and the rug stays put. (The cheap rug pad I bought somewhere else had to be banished outdoors until the toxic odor was gone.) I’m thinking eco-fiber rug pads are the way to go. Now I need one for Flokati rug I just purchased for the living room.
I think that’s about everything. The rug and the matelasse bedding from BeddingStyle.com are the centerpieces., but let me know if you have any questions (or suggestions for that matter, as it’s still a work in progress). Yes, we travel with the cat. He sits in his carrier under the seat in front of me. No, he doesn’t meow.
