Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Given the title, I'd say it is pretty obvious that this post is about my living room. So let's get started...

The living room is the first room of the house I had envisioned, but the last room to complete.

Something Old: 

This is my favorite aspect of our living room: the coffee table. This coffee table was my great-grandparents', and we had it refurbished. I still remember it from my parents' house when I was little. I even christened it with some crayon drawings on its underside that I made sure still remained after the restoration. Patrick and I had this coffee table in our first house, but we didn't refinish it until recently. I couldn't believe the transformation. It ended up being the last peice of the puzzle of the living room, and it fit perfectly! It was almost as if I had planned every aspect and detail and shade on the color spectrum it!

This is what the coffee table looked life before. This photo also shows you what the living room looked like in its middle stages.

Something New:

The Something New is pretty much everything in the living room except for the coffee table. The couch and awesome leaner mirror are from Restoration Hardware...the Outlet...obviously (who do you think we are, the Rockefellars?). The upholstered chairs are from Ethan Allen. As a bargain shopper by nature, I wasn't excited about springing for these, but Ethan Allen had EXACTLY the style chair I wanted in the EXACT right "not too blue and not too green and not too busy but not solid" fabric I wanted. We pretty much had to get them.

These Philippe Starck ghost chairs are the bomb. They are the perfect mix of traditional (in shape) and contemporary (in material). I originally bought them for the dining room, but they were so amazing in person that I wanted them to be more visible. I just purchased 2 more black ones for the dining room. Stay tuned. One more thing regarding the chairs... (HomeGoods and TJ Maxx, cover your ears...) I have seen knock-offs of these chairs at Homegoods and other places, but they really don't compare to the original. It is tempting to resist, but I think you really do need to spring for the original. It is worth it.  

The mirrored console is from One Kings Lane, and the perfectly matching, couldn't-have-planned-it-better-if-I-tried mirror is from Homegoods. The lamp on the console is Ralph Lauren and also from Homegoods (SCORE. If you put your mind to it, anything can happen).

The side table is from Ethan Allen (floor sample...again...SCORE).

Something Borrowed:

The Something Borrowed is also basically everything in the living room because I "borrowed" the design from Kyle Richards' living room on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I'm not going to pretend to know more than the world-class designers that these women hire, so I just copy their ideas that I love in my own house. Here is a photo of Kyle Richards' living room next to mine:

THE "INSPIRATION":

THE END RESULT:

Something Blue:

I loved the serene aqua blue color of the "inspiration room," and it was pretty tricky for me to match. More tricky, however, was to match the color of the drapes/pillows, which I had completely duplicated from Kyle Richards'. Custom drapery is no joke, so I probably wouldn't have ventured into it unless I absolutely loved this room and wanted to duplicate it, but I must admit that it really made a huge difference in the room. 

I found this painting at a downtown sushi restaurant, where the artist Paul LaFlam displayed his work. I reached out to him, and he gave us a great deal on it, from one local artist to another. Our style is a little more contemporary than Kyle's (you know... my BFF Kyle Richards), and I think this painting captures that contemporary-ness whilst keeping the serene vibe.

There you have it. That is our living room. I think Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue came together in perfect harmony. They should really tap into that combination and apply it to other experiences in life, as well...

Back to the office

After a fabulous long weekend in San Antonio celebrating my cousin Tan Tan's wedding, it was time to get back to the grind. Monday morning rolled around, and I re-entered the real world by putting on my spandex and sweats, and heading to the bar barre. The ballet barre, that is. Per my usual routine, I finished a full day of rehearsal and headed to the office. 

Oh! What a convenient time to talk to you about my home office!   

I spend A LOT of time in my office, so I wanted it to make it a place I wanted to be. I wanted it to feel comfortable, creative, and neat (as in organized and clean, not rad; although I think it is also pretty rad).

We painted the walls white and bought a white lacquer desk and credenza from Crate & Barrel. I did a lot of research on white desks, and I loved this one for its simplicity and the matching credenza that allows us to hide all of our files. West Elm also has a good one (Parson's desk). 

I've always wanted a chalkboard wall, and the office was the perfect place for it. I love the contrast between the white walls and the black chalkboard paint, and it provides the perfect backdrop for pops of color. 

The chaise lounge was from Restoration Hardware, and it is Patrick's favorite chair in the house. It is amazingly comfortable. The larger rug is patchwork cowhide, which gives the room a little texture, layered with a sheepskin rug that adds a layer of comfort to the room. I got both from Overstock.com.

Louise adding a pop of black to the white sheepskin rug.

The two prints of ducks and coy are by a local St. Louis artist that we found at a local art fare. As a local artist myself, I like to support other local artists, and ducks and coy are both significant memories in Patrick's and my relationship. I love them for that alone, but also because they add a little whimsy to the house, like we don't take ourselves too seriously... 

Then we have our "Wall of Accomplishments," like we take ourselves a little seriously...

An orchid is always a good idea, and instantly changes the tone of the entire room. I can't have enough of them in my house. This one is fake. GOOD fake florals can be ridiculously expensive, but I found this one on Wayfair.com for a fairly good price (compared to how expensive these can get), and it is amazing. Here is a link to a pink one. We have a hard time keeping plants alive, so I am willing to spend a little more on faux flowers.

I love spending time in the office, and having a nice space helps make the moments more enjoyable before it's finally time to hit the barre bar.

Reflection

I love reflection in my life. I can barely get enough of it. For example:

The following are my 3 biggest fears in life:

1. Dropping my keys down the crack of an elevator opening.
2. Planning a party and no one showing up.
3. Something scratching or breaking my beautiful, reflective, mirrored dining room table.

The following is my single biggest regret in life:

1. Not purchasing the protection plan on said mirrored dining room table.

You may be wondering why I purchased a mirrored dining room table WITHOUT THE PROTECTION PLAN!? (deep breath)

Well... Patrick assured me from an economist's standpoint that protection plans are not worth it, and anything that happens to it can be repaired. Anything that happens to it can be repaired. Anything that happens to it can be repaired. Anything that happens to it can be repaired.

This brings me to where the most reflection occurs in our house... Presenting.........

Our Dining Room:

The dining room/hall of mirrors is where we establish the "black and white" theme of our house. I tried not to go too overboard with mirrors and black and white in the rest of the house, but all bets were off in the dining room. I have always loved black and white. It never goes out of style, and it is classic and modern at the same time. I just find brown tones boring; however, in my old age, I am learning to appreciate that they can allow other pieces in your home to stand out--I am ever-evolving. Speaking of reflection, I love how mirrors expand any space and add so much glamour. They also do the coolest things to lighting in a room, depending on how the light bounces off the mirrors.

Below are the details of our dining room. It is probably about 90% done. There many be a rug in its future, but for now I am loving its simplicity.

The aforementioned table was the first piece of furniture we bought for our new house. We saw it and we had to have it. It came from Arhaus.

The chandelier was the second thing we purchased for the house. I knew I wanted a cool, unique chandelier because our house is so open that the dining room is visible for almost the entire first floor. It needed to make a statement. It is black crystal, and I found it on Gilt.com. I love Gilt.com. I'm also obsessed with the mirrored picture frames I found at West Elm. Again, I love anything mirrored.

Louise was obviously flattered that we designed the room around her. 

The chairs are from Ikea, and they were my first and only Ikea purchase. I read a lot of reviews on slipcovered dining chairs, and the consensus was that these are fabulous and a lot for the money. I have to agree. I love how the soften the room against the sharp black and white (wow, that sounded so designer-y). 

The hurricane candle holders are Vera Wang, originally $100 each, but I got them on a flash sale in Rue La La for $22.90 each, thank you very much. The centerpiece bowl was a wedding gift, and I threw some decorative wood pieces in it. I like to have a natural element in every room.  

The butler tray is from West Elm Santa Clause. Cherry blossom branches are always a good idea, and the champagne bottles are from significant moments in Patrick's and my life. 

Every time I walk by the dining room table, I get a little jilt of anxiety, but I try to remind myself that anything that happens to it can be repaired. Anything that happens to it can be repaired, anything that happens to it can be repaired. It's just hard to love something so much that you don't want to see anything bad happen to it. I try to remember that it's important to let the table be a table. Not eating at it will only prevent it from reaching its full glory. Tables are resilient, and I shouldn't let my own worries hold it back. Looking at its beautiful reflective surface makes it all worth it. But, let's be serious...obviously, I haven't eaten a single meal at this table...

Patrick and Ellen's equally comparable sanctuaries...

No children + 4-bedroom house = 1 Master, 1 Guest Room, 1 Sanctuary for Patrick, and 1 Sanctuary for Ellen.

PATRICK'S SANCTUARY:

Patrick chose to turn his sanctuary room into a video game room. As you can see, we've put a lot of work into his room, including carefully maintaining the car/truck/plane decals that were left from the little boy who lived here before us.

His sanctuary also sometimes doubles as our laundry dumping room, so he really has an added bonus to his room...

I'm sure you are thinking, "How could Ellen's room possibly top that amazing video game room?" Try to keep an open mind for my room, as we tried to put equal energy into both.

ELLEN'S SANCTUARY:

I decided to turn my room into a closet. Obviously it can't compare to a video game room, but I did my best. I got the idea to turn a bedroom into a closet from Pinterest, but don't expect to see a lot of Pinterest-esqu DIY-type projects in my house. The only thing I like to Do Myself is to press "Submit Order" online.

This project was surprisingly easy for me considering Patrick did all the work. The drawers/shelves/etc. are Martha Stewart for Home Depot. You can design whatever system you want, and they have a cool design tool online. There is even a laundry hamper built into the bottom of the drawers.

We turned the closet in my closet into a room for my shoes. They are displayed on a bookshelf from our old house. It's important to re-purpose things so that they will actually be useful to you.

We got my vanity from Overstock.com. I LOVE Overstock.com. As with everything else when online shopping, you have to do your research, but you can get some great things. The chandelier for this room also came from Overstock.  

Pretty much everything on my vanity besides the actual make-up came from TJ Maxx or Home Goods, obviously.

This shelf has traveled with me all the way from Lexington. It was in my nursery. Now it displays things from my room when I was a little girl. 

We turned the old kitchen table from our last house into my jewelry station. Again, we always try to re-purpose anything that is not useful.

We kept everything black and white so that my favorite colors, Hermes and Cartier can really pop. I also have my wedding shoes on display and a painting that was in my room that I shared with my sister when we were little. I love it because I used to stare at it all the time. The girl with long hair was my sister, and the younger girl with short hair was me. I was pissed that I always had to be the girl with short hair. It would have been only fair if we had rotated who got to be the girl with the long hair.

Thankfully, this experience really taught me a valuable long-term lesson, as I always try to be fair and equitable in my adult life.

Keeping the spark alive at Home (Goods)

Every once in a while on a lazy Saturday or Sunday, if the mood strikes us, Patrick or I will look at the other and say, "Let's go make some bad decisions." We both know what that means......

WE'RE GOING TO HOME GOODS AND TJ MAXX!!! Yesssss! We grab the credit card and head out the door for an exhilarating afternoon.

One of our favorite activities to do as a married couple is to run errands together. If there are no errands that we need to run, TJ Maxx and Home Goods are always there for us. They are our rock. Shopping at Home Goods and TJ Maxx really helps us keep the mystery alive because we NEVER know what we will find. It's such a rush.

I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It's not easy. It takes work, and there will be times you want to give up. You have to dig through a lot of crap to get to the good stuff, and there will be times when you think it's not worth it. I promise you, if you stick it out, you will be rewarded in ways you couldn't even imagine. Let me share a personal example that I hope could help you:

Patrick and I found this mirror at TJ Maxx for $150. A few days later, we were in Metro Lighting and saw the EXACT same mirror for $900!!! True story.

The mirror that made it all worth it.

Don't let yourself become another statistic of the majority of people who don't shop at TJ Maxx/Home Goods and resort to paying more at other places. If you want awesome home decor at significant discounts, you have to work at it. 

I am so lucky to have found something that makes me so happy...
(...I was talking about Patrick, in case you were questioning it.)

Introducing Hotel Reed...

I should preface this whole endeavor by saying that I really have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to interior design. I basically just find pictures of other people's houses and spaces that I love, and put them together in a way that works for Patrick and me. Generally, my house is a blend of Kyle Richards', (Real Housewives of Beverly Hills-please don't judge me), Heather Debrow's (Real Housewives of Orange County-still try to resist judging me), Rachel Zoe's (if this is getting to be too much to handle, I understand...), The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas, and a few others sprinkled here and there.

Speaking of Las Vegas....now on to our bedroom.

This room is our pride and joy. Patrick and I love being in Vegas more than any place in the world, and our favorite place to stay is the Cosmo (that's how the cool people refer to The Cosmopolitan Hotel) because the rooms are awesome. We love how much fun we have and how carefree we are when we are there, so we thought, "Why not feel like we are in Vegas all the time?"

Look how carefree we look when we are in Vegas (and this was before I even had bangs!)... Wouldn't you want to capture that feeling?

So carefree, even without bangs.

Never want to leave.
(But also clutching onto my purse for dear life...
this is Vegas...)

Thinking about how relaxed and carefree he his.

Personal note: I look so much better and more carefree with a spray tan

The Inspiration:

These photos show slightly different set-ups of the Cosmopolitan based on the actual room, but the main elements remain pretty consistent.

Bedroom area (Cosmo):

Bar area (Cosmo):

Desk area (Cosmo):

Lounge area (Cosmo):

Here is how it turned out:

Bedroom area (Hotel Reed): 

I wanted all white bedding for the hotel vibe, and I found a navy pillow and blanket to add a touch of Cosmo flair to the bed. I also found the perfect nightstands, added some hydrangeas, had wall lamps put in, and the bedroom area was ready to go. I still need something for over the bed and a leather trunk for the end of the bed. To be continued.

Bar area (Hotel Reed):

Our favorite part of the room is the bar we designed a la Cosmo. It was a little tricky to find a wood type/finish for the cabinets that was "orangey enough to not look brownish." I used very specific and expert terminology with the designer. We ended up with a finish that they did not have a sample to show us before we purchased, but they assured me it was what I was looking for. Needless to say, I had anxiety every day for the six weeks prior to receiving them. They turned out perfect. Phew!

We like to keep 2 Fiji water bottles, which we obviously don't drink, and a can of peanuts on the bar, which we obviously don't eat. Everyone knows you don't eat or drink anything from the hotel minibar (who do you think we are, The Rockefellers?).














I may have also stocked up on Cosmopolitan napkins and coasters when we were there last.

 Desk area (Hotel Reed): 

We found a match to the Cosmo leather desk chair online, and the desk from Crate and Barrel. We picked a damask wallpaper to frame around the desk area. Patrick did the black molding himself. I could barely watch for fear of it turning out crocked, but he knocked it out of the park. The TV above the desk is mounted on a rotating mount so we can watch from the bed or the lounge area. If you've been to our house, you are well aware of that fact because Patrick likes to demonstrate this product of engineering genius to everyone that comes over.

Desk complete with Cosmopolitan paper and pen. 

Lounge area (Hotel Reed):

A blue velvet couch was a little too risky for me to get behind, so instead I found blue velvet ottomans and kept the couch neutral. I bought the artwork over the couch while shopping online in my Vegas hotel room. This artwork popped up on a flash sale website, and I looked up from bed to see that it was a perfect substitute for the art in the actual hotel room! I spent way more on it than I normally would have if I wasn't probably still a little drunk, but I think it was well worth it, and it sets the tone for the whole room. I have also never been so excited in my life to find the little orange accent table that replicated the one in the Cosmo lounge area.

The overall picture (Hotel Reed):

Patrick hanging out in the lounge area.

Hanging out in the bedroom area.

That's all for now. Sorry for the ridiculously long post. I normally try to keep them shorter, as I think we can all agree that I don't like to go overboard.


Cheers!