winter white + sheepskin

With all the ways we hope to continually upgrade our 1920s Bungalow, this was not necessarily on top of must-have list. But for some time, I have been drawn to sheep skins. They warm up a space as little area rug in a nursery or flopped on the back of a sofa or underneath a coffee table to give a room warmth and texture. As a style, I definitely lean towards white on white, organic elements{like driftwood} with modern and pops of color- so a sheepskin throw fits right in! When I came across this eco-friendly {come to find out it means they are tanned without using harmful chemicals} Icelandic company called Black Sheep {white light}, I decided to go for it. It arrived a bit ago and it smells so clean and fresh {think the woods in winter- fresh but no real scent} and is really warm against the back of the couch. If sheepskin appeals to you at all- this is sure to be a happy purchase for under $150. While it has nothing to do with films or weddings,sure has a lot to do all things cozy and warm. Which could be a wedding film. So it relates, right?


{erica}

do-overs.

Best part...check out these befores!

Why do they excite me so much? I love seeing rooms that are refurbished + updated, gifted with clean lines and a sense of style. Breathing new life into an old space is an addiction of mine. While our fixer upper bungalow has plenty of raw material to work with- budgets and busy schedules mean we have to often have to delay gratification. But with every refurbish project,we joke that we are sprucing up our old lady with a bit of shine. Giving her a new shade of lipstick and fancy hat.

Eye candy like this inspires and helps delay the urge (it really is an addiction!) to tackle the three unfinished rooms in our own house until the new year.

mantle envy

image from desire to inspire

This is the first Christmas in our refurbished living room. I am so grateful for the beautiful farm table, refinished hard wood floors, new furniture, the perfect ceilings and walls (had no idea how happy a non textured surface would make me) and the sparkling Douglas Fir christmas tree.

Is it too late to add fireplace to my Christmas wish list, Santa? Check out the most complete thumbnail image library I have seen of fireplaces in quite some time here. Mantle envy, for sure.

{erica}

holiday season begins.

The first day of December has arrived and while the snow in New England has not, the seasonal rituals are in full swing. The hectic holiday pace has a way of creeping in but the simple joys of unpacking the sometimes decades-old ornaments, the smell of fresh evergreen and the first lighting of the newly decorated tree are peaceful holiday moments we all live for.

As you begin designing the season- these images might be timely inspiration and creative solutions to holiday decor limitations we face like when...

... lighting every exterior border of your home is just not that appealing for the light installer or the neighbors. 'Joy' template and instructions found on Martha Stewart

...you have small spaces or want something more whimsical or modern in some of your living areas. Image via Coastal Living Magazine
...you want to avoid the inevitable leftover-white-light-trail hanging below the greens. Make Douglas fir sprigs into a snowflake shape and leave the lights for the main act...the tree and garlands. Sunset Magazine tutorial

...there is no fireplace with which you can hang your stocking with glee. An antique cherry picker ladder idea via Coastal Living

For the last remaining weeks of 2009- we will be sharing some of our favorite new wedding highlights of the year and some fantastic collaborations/ projects we are working on.

Happy December!

pale and interesting.

I am definitely not a tschotkes girl ( chach'keys: had to google the spelling myself because it looks so wrong). I think of tschotkes as little things that are supposed to be sweet but just collect dust. They always seem to have the best intentions but are rarely staged and styled well. This site out of England, Pale and Interesting I first found on Decor 8 may change my mind. It has a fresh, lively and relevant approach to decor with the 'little things'.

The husband and wife team has a philosophy that seems the perfect approach to incorporating different generations and both bride and groom into wedding decor. It is all about mixing it up, teaming old with new, contrasting rough with smooth and pairing femininity with utility. Tschotke inspiration.

{erica}

what's for dinner?

So many elaborate and simple ways to present menus for any special event or wedding. From individually printed at each place setting (this one from 100 Layer Cake says simply 'open me') to the vintage frames and scrolly fonts (from Sunday Suppers). I am a big fan of simple chalkboards propped up at a buffet table. Good thing, because I think I am running out of time for Thursday to take on another creative whim. Some times you just have to let it go and focus on making sure the green beans aren't khaki.
{erica}

sweet +succulent

Thanksgiving has me a bit obsessed these days. Farm table arrived this week. Check. Menu planned. Check. Shopping list made and wine purchased. Check. I guess that leaves centerpieces. On Thanksgiving, I know everyone is way more interested in the tenderness of the turkey and the football score but I can't seem to get the runner decor out of my head. It brings me to my latest fixation. Succulents. They are all over the outdoor, arid and sunny California wedding scene and I can't get enough. Especially with a name like succulent.

I definitely have a thing for low centerpieces and collections and this find, courtesy of old sweet song blog is a new etsy favorite. Greenware design is a collaboration between two longtime friends. One a potter. One a planter. For less than $50 they might have the sweet and ready made solution for my farm table Thanksgiving vision afterall!

Pantone Swatches: The Wedding Palette

We still laugh at how many conversations, emails and magazine tear sheets were exchanged between my mom and I for color ideas when it came time to plan our (Mike and I, that is) wedding. It did not help that it was a destination wedding at my parents beach club so mom got stuck with the thankless task of scouting out locally just the precise shade of mango and coral for all of our decor items. Not pink and orange. Not salmon and fushia. Very specifically, mango and coral. I still cringe thinking of how picky I got in the planning process.

So to avoid these long consultation sessions-how smart is this concept found at Snippet & Ink from the leaders in color? Pantone Wedding swatches from Dessy eases the communication process between graphic designers doing your invites, the florists and your bridesmaids. Even with our wedding behind us, I could still spend hours here in the color chart and creating inspiration boards with all the beautiful Pantone color combos!
{erica}

boo.

Decorating for a holiday takes time and creativity. It seems I can only muster it with my full heart once a year for Christmas. But to a first grader, having both parents with full time jobs, a fixer upper bungalow and a yard in desperate need of fall plantings is no excuse.

Halloween is around the corner and it is time to deck out the entryway with some spooky spirit. But how do you avoid the white cob web (the Halloween equivalent to tinsel- still vacuuming up in July!) and orange plastic mess? I love this Halloween entry way from Life in the Fast lane. Check out her ideas here- clever, creative and completely avoided the dreaded two hours in Walmart perusing the picked over plastic Halloween decor. Only thing missing is a shallow dish of candy corns- the Halloween classic. Lucy might be right- it is definitely time to spook up the house.

{erica}

Morning Coffee #17: harvest yellows and hay white

It has been a while since I have posted a Morning Coffee room-to-wedding design inspiration board. While I am not a big fan of overly "themey" wedding decor- this one seems appropriate for the season. Plus, we have a hand crafted Harvest table being built by a talented woodworker and friend---so everything harvest is on the brain! Images found for the mood board courtesy of All Things Lovely
{erica}

little bundle.

room images courtesy of Little Green Notebook


One of my dearest high school friends is a proud new papa this month for the first time. I came across the most darling present for new baby Raya's room from this wonderful site Freya Art.
If you are like me when it comes to weddings, I always have the "but its so impersonal" reaction to buying gifts off a prescribed registry list. This Australian artists prints are moderately priced enough that her whimsical wedding prints could be a nice addition to the checks or registry items every couple secretly wishes people would just adhere to.... : ) Afterall, they didn't spend the whole afternoon in Crate and Barrel with a small scan gun for nothing!

The other images are just adorable inspiration of how it could be fun to decorate little Raya's room through the years.
{erica}

casual groupings

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I find casual groupings of brightly hued flowers a beautiful alternative to the large (blocked sight lines) centerpieces. It allows for easy conversation across the table and an opportunity to incorporate personal elements from the couple. As lovely for a Manhattan loft reception as it would be for a simple and elegant farm table at a vineyard wedding. My personal favorites are dinner plate dahlias, antique hydrangeas, spray roses, peonies and garden/cabbage roses. Use of mason jars, antique glass china and votives in odd numbers (three or five items seem to work) bring the look together. I highlighted other low and lovely ideas this winter but here are a few more....

{erica}

refresh.

(do I really need to label this "before"?)
("after" with still a few changes to come)
Just a quick blog to update life at Buzz between film projects. " Before and afters" are just so gratifying and after yesterday's post about wasabi green bathroom and last week's post about our living room-thought it is only fair to show one of many real images cataloging the happy changes in our home. New ceiling plaster, refinished floors and boatload of Mike's detail work brings this corner of the room alive again. We have window treatments and one big piece of artwork to hang- but for now we are enjoying the clean simplicity of just one more refreshed corner of our home.

{mike +erica}

we went with wasabi.

We were suffering a bit of post traumatic stress from all of the color chosen by the former owner of our 1925 bungalow.
Mike and I thankfully have have a comparable aesthetic-the collective vision leans towards a clean, classic and bright cottage. So it surprised us both after repainting our bathroom twice that we could not get the right shade of neutral. The late night exasperated decision after our second attempt at pale robin's egg blue? We went with wasabi. Our classic bungalow bathroom with black accents and white pedestal sink now has wasabi green walls. Love it.

A good reminder for wedding decor- even if you value classic elegance for look and feel-sometimes it really works to take a gamble on one bright punch of color. These images on today's post from Desire to Inspire reminded us we are in good company with the bold yellows and greens in decor these days.

{erica}

white inspiration.

Okay, I will admit it. This post has nothing to do with weddings. But it does speak to creativity, stretching a budget, having vision and expressing your inner designer- all very useful to wedding planning.

So this blog out of Alberta, Canada is my new favorite. Life in the Fun Lane is a very inspirational and practical blog from a woman named Holly home on maternity leave with her new baby, Wren. She has turned home decor on a budget into a lifestyle- and it appears, a new career. She is a guru at taking flea market finds and giving them her unique, clean white flair with just a bit of elbow grease and a big dose of style. Her look is clean & modern & feminine white on white against dark stained floors. Her sleek look would be a wonderful wedding decor to build on. For the rest of us new homeowners, perfect inspirational ideas while we slowly build our house into a home.

{erica}

Morning Coffee #13 : robin's egg blue + cream

For a while this winter, posting my Morning Coffee Series became an obsession. I loved translating an inspirational room decor into a photo montage for wedding design. It is a sure sign of summer and wedding season when I start borrowing inspiration boards because I am so short on time. I will try not to make it a habit!

But when I saw this gorgeous photo montage from Kiss the Groom- it perfectly captured my love of robin's egg blue. A color that keeps resurfacing as an ideal color to both inspire and soothe. When used sparingly in decor, it pops beautifully against subdued and earthy creams, organic fabrics (sisal rugs, linens) and distressed wood furniture. In weddings- perfect against tan suit linens and sand for a summer beach celebration!


{erica}

camp out in style.

Photos found here


Bringing the outdoors in. A design element we adore in weddings and home decor. But what about bringing the indoors out? These modern tree houses, gathering spaces and private forts are delightful architectural treasures. To wake up with the breeze blowing on a summer morning in the mountains or the off-season in Cost Rica. Mmmm. Honeymoon ideas? Happy June!