Pink done right

There's so much to love about this room:

1. The amazing fireplace

2. Multiple furniture arrangements without looking cluttered

3. The aqua shades on the sconces

4. Black accents mixed with pastel neutrals

5. GREAT natural light

***Spotted at Coco & Kelley, via Canadian House & Home

For Fall

Fall is one of my favorite seasons of the year, I love it when the air starts feeling cooler at nights and I can FINALLY start wearing my boots & sweaters again.  There's nothing more beautiful than the leaves changing color in Michigan, where I'm from, and that's something that I really miss now that I live in Arizona.   While I love seeing these colors outside, the red, burgundy, orange, and gold tones just don't do it for me inside.  In fact, I've always had a natural aversion to the color red, it's been that way pretty much all my life.  To this day I don't own a single red piece of clothing and I crinkle my nose when my husband wants to buy a red shirt (how dare he!).  Granted, red has its place, but to me it's best used sparingly or as an unexpected pop of color.  I digress.  Since I do like to change my decor up a bit with the new seasons, I prefer to go with more subtle shades of gray, purple, olive, or black for fall.  These images are making me excited for the coming season (too bad it's still 105 degrees here)...

this is about as much red as I can handle

And in my mind, J. Crew can do no wrong.  I want one of everything from their fall collection.

(this is a bit more realistic for my current temps)

Come on, fall!  Get your bad self to Phoenix, I need you now!

{photos:1-3 Canadian House & Home, 4 La Dolce Vita, 5 Elle Decor}

Beautiful House

As I was catching up on my magazine reading over vacation, I ran across this gorgeous Brownstone in the July issue of House Beautiful.  It's colorful yet sophisticated with an eclectic mix of pattern and texture.  It's also a bit traditional, which I find myself being drawn to more and more lately.  Yeah, it's freaking me out a little.  LOVE the fuscia entry wall, but you could probably only get away with it in an all-girl household (which this is).

Bold Backsplash

As far as I'm concerned, you can't go wrong with black & white (or circles, but that's another post). There's something so classic and perfect about the contrast that never goes out of style and it can easily be freshened up by adding in pops of color. I'm loving this tile backsplash that I found in the June issue of Living Etc. magazine.

They actually just painted some of the white mosaic tiles black to create this geometric design, but it would be pretty easy to install this pattern if you were starting from scratch. It would also look cool if you used subway tiles for this, plus there would be less grout. I'm not sure if I could live with this backsplash in my home, but I can definately appreciate it's uniqueness.

Above the Sofa

Deciding what to put above your sofa can be a daunting task because it's an important focal point of the living room and there are a lot of options on what to do. Take it from someone whose sofa wall has been bare for longer than she'd like to admit, finding the perfect thing can take some time. It's important to keep scale in mind, you don't want to put anything too small or too large or it just won't look right. Here are a couple of ideas I like that would definately spruce up your space:

A funky informal arrangement of framed art & sculpture

A formal grid of similar photos or art

(via Cottage Living)

An eclectic art display and folding screen to break up some of the large space

Love this! Large canvases with a bold, graphic design

(via Cottage Living)

Simple, centered art looks perfect with the swinging arm lamps

One mirror or a group of mirrors adds depth to the room

Bookcases or shelves would add color and function

Wallpaper framed as a piece of art

One large painted canvas fills the entire space

(via Cottage Living)

Or maybe you don't have this problem because you have a window above the sofa, lucky you!

(photos from Domino unless noted otherwise)

Modern Beach Style

As I was flipping throught the May issue of Sunset Magazine, I stopped dead in my tracks as I came upon the home of Russell and Susan Ortiz, owners of Shine Home, a company known for their beach bohemian style. Lately I can't get enough of this look...a white base with pops of color throughout just makes me happy and gives off the laid back yet put together vibe I crave. Since the end of my beloved Domino mag, Sunset has been one of the few reasons I bother to check the mailbox anymore. In case you're not familiar with Sunset, it focuses on life in the West, with everything from home & garden, travel, food & wine, and community. Even if you don't live in the West, it's worth checking out for a little inspiration. Here are some of my favorite shots from the Ortiz home...

This space is light and bright and works because they stuck to a pretty basic saturated color scheme of white, blue, green, yellow, and a touch of orange. I'm diggin' it, and their little dog, too.

Some of my favorite pieces from Shine Home: