fresh start, fresh spaces

I realize it's been over a year since my last post...ha. I did a few things in the last year too, traveled to Europe with my middle sister, watched my youngest sister graduate from high school, watched her leave on a gap year to Paraguay, celebrated 6 years of being with my boyfriend, turned another year older, work, work, work, quit my job (something I should have done a long time ago), and now I'm moving back down to Southern California to re-focus my life and figure out what I really want to do. Blogging may or may not be one of those things....but you never know, maybe I will feel more inspired now that I'm on to new and exciting things. Or rather, let's hope I'm feeling more inspired because the past eight months at my old job have been anything but inspiring!

Today I just felt like posting some pictures that do inspire me. I'm a little behind on my online magazine reading so these pictures aren't new, but they were new and pretty to me!

lonny, rue

design can be fun....

I always love it when I can finally put a name to a room that I've seen all over blogland...

Case in point, Summer Thornton. I posted the picture below ages ago, but I didn't actually know who the designer was (probably the biggest problem in the blogging community) until today! How sad!

Anyways, I was browsing her portfolio and really like her approach to design....in her own words "Summer Thornton Design was established to make the design process unpretentious, fun, and fresh. Mixing high and low, rough and polished, classic and irreverent, her designs utilize contrast to engage the senses"

....How can you not like that mission statement?? I love designers that take the more untraditional "interior design" route and make design accessible and most importantly, fun!

I think it's great that good design is becoming more obtainable these days. Whether it's through blogs, designers, stylists, magazines, etc, people are sharing resources and ideas and the design world is becoming less mysterious. Besides, was it ever fair that only the wealthy could have designer homes?

I think not!

Anyways, on to more images of Summer Thornton's fun and original take on design (except for Kelly Wearstler's Imperial Trellis.....I kid, I kid, there was a time when it wasn't overused!)

Summer Thornton Design

i'm alive!

Sooooo, after almost a three month hiatus from blogging, I'M BACK! 

For any of my readers who are still around, I swear a won't completely abandon this blog again!

Like most people, I just got really busy around the holidays, and since then I just got too used to not blogging. I was also feeling a bit uninspired with lots of things recently.....I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do exactly, but I think I finally have an idea....

In other news, I'm planning a month long trip to Europe! My younger sister is studying abroad in Barcelona right now, and since I am super jealous of her {even though I already studied abroad in Budapest, yes I want to go again!} I am going to visit her and travel with her for a month in May! I. Cannot. Wait. So far, were planning to go to Paris, Budapest--of course!, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin, and possibly Milan to visit our Italian exchange student my family hosted last year. I've already been to all of these cities, except Paris, but since my computer crashed and I lost ALL of my pictures I want to go back and replace them....plus, those were my favorite cities!

Anyways, on to the pretty stuff.....I thought I would give you a design overdose to make up {or try to....} for my extra long blogging break....

all of the above...Jessica Helgerson Interior Design

skona hem

designer love...

Again with the designer love....

Today I'm loving SF/Seattle/LA based Massucco Warner Miller Interior Design. Love their bold use of graphic patterns, their mixing of classic and contemporary pieces seamlessly, and color!

Way too tired from painting to add in my own commentary, so I'm making you do all the work.....

But before the pictures, remember the boots I ordered? Well there was actually a different pair that I was obsessed with, but they cost too much. The day after I ordered the ones that I showed you guys I found the boots I REALLY wanted on Endless Shoes for $109! (originally $169, and I think they were the last pair in black, not on website anymore)...still with free overnight shipping. Long story short, I quickly snatched them up and this morning they arrived, and they're amazing! Soooo, now I have 2 pairs of boots, need to return the other ones or I might give them to my sister for a hefty discount.

Okay, okay, okay....somehow I had energy to tell you about the boots, and no energy to give some commentary on the pictures. Believe it or not, I'm not really a shoe person, but on the occasion that I am it's because I've found a pair of shoes that for some reason I feel I cannot live without and would be a great addition to my life, and that's the way I rationalize it. I do this with other things too, like lamps, tables, pillows, miscellaneous deco items etc.....

Massuco Warner Miller

designer love...

I think I am in love with these interiors by SF interior designer Palmer Weiss.

Here are some of my favorites....

Fantastic mix of timeless and modern pieces in this living room, love the ghost table!

Love this simple yet beautiful stair hall with the unexpected pop of the zebra runner. Definitely adds some much needed fun in a very typical SF Victorian.

Where is this wallpaper from?? I swear I've seen it in a showroom.

Love the saturated emerald green sofa...

What a fun girls room! Sophisticated, but not the typical "child's' room"!

While she doesn't seem to use much wall color, there is definitely no lack of color in these rooms.

This might possibly be my dream dining room, casual but still elegant with an eclectic mix of antique and modern pieces. (I have been known to change my mind quite often though...)

I've recently noticed that I have a thing for oversized lanterns in dining rooms.

Gorgeous armoire!