On point!

Woot! While browsing through my beloved design blog, Material Girls, I stumbled on a post dedicated entirely to camelback sofas! I didn't know that camelbacks are considered "traditional" design but now I realized our streamlined version is just a modern interpretation of the vintage settee. I'm glad that the sofa is considered "trendy" of the moment but gladder still to know that we didn't invest thousands of dollars into furniture that has no lasting power.

Here is an example of a traditional camelback:


A bold take--I love the fuchsia color! Such a surprising choice paired with a classic brocade.


Even Oprah is with me on this! I was googling around for other pictures and found her post on "Perfect Sofa".



Mine looks like the one in the middle. When the Ethan Allen decorator brought the swatches to our house and compared it to the carpet/wall color/baseboard, we both thought it'd be a very light ivory-just a shade more pigmented then our creamy white window trim. I knew that large swatches of fabric look more intense because we made that mistake with our new carpeting. The little carpet square looked light but after it was put it, it looked much darker as a whole. I have been mistakingly referring to our sofa as "white" when it's actually a rich creamy ivory. Memo to future sofa buyers- although our mistake was serendipitous (we love how the ivory warms up the room), keep in mind that colors look more intense when used in large proportions!

Fab or Fug?

We've been hunting around for media consoles but I'm not loving the ones we come across. Placing it above the fireplace would have been ideal aesthetically but not practically. At that angle, everyone would have to crane their heads to see it. A few upward glances here and there wouldn't hurt but sitting through a LOTR trilogy marathon would be torture.

We also considered getting a big armoire (hotel style) to hide the television but to fit our 50 inch telly, we'd need a pretty massive piece. A big bulky piece of furniture like that would just weigh the room down. Also, there is something just silly about hiding a pretty standard item. I don't want to "display" a telly but there has got to be a better way to blend it into the room. Plus, a nice media console will keep everything orderly: cabinets to store dvds and remotes, shelves to hold receivers and various game toys, and preferably a glass or lattice door that allows you to use said remote without needing to open the doors. Metal frames of our college days need not apply.

I prefer something more unique then a traditional low, rectangular, wooden media console even though it's the most useful. In my quest to find something more interesting, I stumbled upon this antique buffet on my favorite home design blog:



I absolutely love it! The worn sage green and metallic tones are so romantic and sweet. Unfortunately, that piece is no longer available but I have found other similar vintage pieces that could be remodeled for the same effect. Here is my current love. At 60 inches wide, it will hold the TV perfectly. It is about a foot taller then what is ideal but I am trying to convince the hubby that it'll be ok. A vintage piece will require more work to get it started but it is so much more interesting!



After discussing this with two trusted individuals, I now can't decide if it's fab or fug..I love the intricate wooden legs and the etched design but the color doesn't look like much right now. To modernize it, I would give it a coat of fresh creamy white paint and perhaps switch out the knobs for black cast iron hand pulls. It would take considerable effort to remodel the drawers so that it'll be big enough to hold all the equipment and as a buffet, it's about a foot taller then what is ideal for a television.



But I don't know if it'll match with the rest of our furniture. It has so much character though! Another possibility is to try giving it the worn metallic and sage green look of the French buffet to help it disappear a bit into our wall.

I guess we'll see when our sofas arrive and we can play with it some more.

10 weeks of waiting...

Soon! Soon, we will finally have our sofa! We ordered our Ethan Allen sofa & love seat way back around Labor Day and were told it'd take 8-10 weeks for delivery. Since we knew that it'd take a long time, we promptly put it out of our heads. Turns out that it'll be completed tomorrow!! Bad news is that just because it's completed doesn't mean that it'll get shipped out right away. The manufacturing facility is on the east coast and they usually hold items until there are enough of them in the local area before making the shipment. Boo! Oh well, we waited over 2 months...what's another week or so? I'm actually going to miss it a bit because the empty living room makes for great yoga.

This is a picture from EA's website but our sofa will look very similar to it. Hmm...after looking at this picture some more, I am really starting to like the bright pops of coral. I'm not sure how it'll look against our walls but it's very pretty and fresh.



I <3 Ethan Allen. There's something REALLY awesome about being able to hand pick each element of our sofa...from choosing the fabric, the pillows..down to the the wood finish on the legs. Just a few days left before it's finally here!

Chilly Fall Updates

Newest WANT from Free People but can I justify the price tag? No...not right now, not when I have a tuition bill with a comma in it due in a month. Much as I <3 retail therapy, I can't imagine going into debt for something outside of school. And perhaps our house. Le sigh. No need to add more. Must...resist!

Still...can we agree that this is the perfect transitional jacket? Lovely military style cut that gives way to Victorian frills. It's wearable early Fall or late Spring. Imagine it with a sweater dress, colorful tights, and booties! Or jeans and abubergine Hunters! Paired with a short and colorful skirt, long tank, and a colorful yellow linen scarf! The options are endless. In the words of Victoria Beckham...this is a "Majah" want.





Hmm...I just bought $$$ of stuff from Sephora that I don't really need. I could get by with Shiseido's low end facewash, couldn't I?

Complete 180!

After mulling over the issue of the sofa some more, hubby and I decided that if we were willing to throw $3000 on a sofa set from Crate and Barrel, we should look at comparably high end furniture stores just to make sure we were getting exactly what we want. Also, we're the type who like to customize things to fit our personality. It's not hipster, princess, or traditional. It's just...our style, whatever it is. Thanks to a suggestion, we decided to pay Ethan Allen a visit and walked out with a fully customized set that fits our personalities perfectly!

Introducting...the Hartwell. The design people were really nice and pressure free. I loved being able to choose my own fabric, legs, and decorations to truly customize our own sofa set. In the end, we spent just under $3000 for a sofa and love seat but it is just the right mix of European flair (for me) and contemporary lines (for him). Ours will be a warm ivory/pearl fabric that is soft and kind of looks like herringbone The woven fabric is almost reflective in some lights so there's some subtle sheen to it. We added a decorative row of platinum nailhead trim along the bottom of the sofa to make it look tailored/finished. Instead of matching pillows, we customized it with a pale blue/grey damask fabric that has just the tiniest bit of cream in the design, which perfectly matches our sofa. We actually stumbled on that fabric because I fell in love with an accent chair that they had on display in the showroom. The chair would accent our existing pieces perfectly because of the pillows but hubby isn't quite sold on it so we'll just tuck that idea away for a while. It'll take about 8 weeks before it arrives. I can't wait!

I have no imagination

I fell completely and hopelessly in love with this living room design. Everything from the accent chair fabric to the blush pink flowers in the white vase on the coffee table. I love it. Too bad mimicking such a room would set me back several thousand dollars. Almost in the 5 digit category. Sofa: $1699 Accent Chair: $1299 Love seat: $1599 (not pictured) Glass coffee table: $699 End Tables: $499 Lamp: $179 Rug: $799 Mirror: $299 Accent Pillow: $69 My obsession with this sofa set, nay, this entire room was borne out of an unfortunate visit to Crate & Barrel when we were looking at gift registries. FI is almost 6 ft tall while I am considerably shorter. It's hard for us to find a sofa that fits both of our bodies well. Surprisingly, this one fit us both perfectly. It was stylish, comfortable, and has just a bit of European flair that will, hopefully, prevent it from looking dated 15 years from now. I loved the cherry blossom fabric of the accent chair and how that theme is artfully carried over by the accent pillow on the sofa. Are we going to get it? I'm not sure. At first we were just going to get the sofa and look for accent chairs elsewhere. I mean, come on. $1299 for an accent chair? But we're having trouble finding accent chairs that actually...accent this style. So now we're looking at the accent chair too. And of course I can't get the fancy accent chair without the complementary pillow for the sofa! The whole idea is genius! It ties the whole look together. Now, looking at this picture again, I realized how nicely the glass topped coffee table goes with this look. A quick internet search for similar tables proved fruitless. I wanted oval shaped furniture because I tend to run into sharp corners. Besides, metal & glass table quality can be really chintzy if one goes the cheap route. One could get away with much less with solid hardwood then glass & metal. Last thing I want is a rusty table! So...I'm eyeing that now too. What's the damage...let's see...about $3500 for sofa, accent chair, 2 decorative pillows, and the coffee table. I could get a very nice but safe (read: generic) 3 piece sofa set plus decorative colors & free pillows!! for about the price of the Crate & Barrel Sofa alone. Add in a generic 3-piece coffee table/end table set, it'd still set me back only $2000. Heck, I could probably find some lamps for that price too. Arrgh..what do I do?

The In-Laws Come Over

Yesterday, we hosted dinner for my in-laws and it was a success! I was a little nervous because we haven't completed the house yet. We've done a lot in the short time span since we came home from the honeymoon but the kitchen floors have been a dirty thorn on my side for weeks. I tried mopping it, it didn't work. Eventually, I had to use full-strength concentrated floor cleaner and a stiff bristle scrub to go over the floors in my hands and knees. I took precious time break to the market to buy a lovely welcome mat and decorative cast iron hanging pot that I filled with scarlet mums. Hubby cleaned up the living room, moved all our boxes out of the garage, tided up the yard, and took care of the nook & hallways. After 12 hours, the house was sparkling clean from top to bottom. It's all about the details. Hubby had to make a drink stop so I told him to pick up some cheap flowers while he was at the market. He returned with two dozen brilliant red roses (on sale, 2 for $10) and they made stunning monochromatic arrangements on our new dining table. When the door bell rang, we opened it together with happy smiles on our faces. Without further ado, dinner! By the time they left, they were stuffed silly, ooh'd over our beautiful backyard, nodded in approval on our lovely (and economic) hardwood dining table set, admired our solar garden accent lights, and left ladened with leftovers. It was great :)