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Perfume commercial?

nataboo9 — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 14:04:47 +0000

Hi friends… I’m desperately searching for this (I know it’s strange) perfume (I think) commercial I saw on TV one day. The reason? I LOVED the paint color in the apartment (well, set). I know.

So, here’s the scenario:

Beautiful, classic apartment with huge bay window overlooking a city at night, snow is falling outside, I think the girl is twirling through the space, white floor-to-ceiling curtains in this ten-foot ceiling apartment, some burgundy/crimson accents, and… a flawless smoky grayish dark lavender. The purple undertone is definitely muted, just a little hint. More charcoal than lavender, medium to dark tone.

I have looked everywhere online and even emailed the owner of a major perfume blog, and she didn’t know what I was talking about, either.

Does ANYONE know what I’m talking about?! Leave a comment if you do. I hope this wasn’t a dream. I really want to slap that color on my walls!

It's kind of like this, but darker and purple-ier.

Rental problem: Horrid Carpets

nataboo9 — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:28:39 +0000

My general frustration with renting is the inclination to put money into the place to make it nicer. I can’t help myself. But it just isn’t logical. Unfortunately, we have a rather useless landlord when it comes to asking him to do things like: “please stop weed-eating my irises,” “please replace our microwave that screams loudly and smells like smoldering metal when you turn it on,” and, my biggest issue, “PUH-LEASE replace our carpets that have deep stains from the previous tenant and potential mold/mildew danger around the edges that is causing both of us to have upper-respiratory infections and terrible allergies. Please.” Oh, and, “Please do not lawn-mow our cable line. It snaps when you do that.”

Frankly, I’m less concerned about the mold (I know I should be) than I am about the unsightly stains, mostly because I know he won’t replace the carpets, and we vacuum and de-stain often (the Woolite stick is a lovely product, but white vinegar, especially Windex Vinegar, works wonders on stains). So I’m on a bit of a roll looking at rugs to cover up. As always, I must preface with “I’m a poor grad student so these are on the cheap side.” Most photos link to their website.

Ikea Rug... $20!

Understated, but I love the piling.

Another great Ikea find. Non-obtrusive circles.

This was on ideeli.com, and it is by Seventeen Rug. It definitely needs the "right" room.

If you haven’t checked out ideeli, it is an AMAZING discount designer site, invitation only, as is RueLala.com, and I look at them every single day. Love both sites for clothes, shoes, and home.

Here’s your invitation to ideeli,

And here is your invitation to RueLala!

And here is another ideeli rug from the same brand:

I ADORE this yellow and grey houndstooth. It also comes in rectangular form.

Sale rug on WestElm... if you want a better quality rug than, say, Ikea

Enjoying this kicky little runner rug from UrbanOutfitters

Not sure how I feel about this: what you are seeing is a Trompe l'oeil rug, or trick of the eye: the rug is painted to look like a distressed floor. They have a few others... I think I would like them in the right setting. I guess this is unrelated to carpeting.

I’m still scouting… and will definitely let you know my solution. Pip, pip. Toodle-oo. Cheerio.

Autumnal detail

nataboo9 — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:56:24 +0000

The high is officially in the 70s today, so no one can tell me autumn is not just around the corner. Last fall I was so pleasantly surprised by the midwest – I thought only my beloved North Carolina could have the most beautiful fall! But Illinois did it justice.

As one of our first dates, Tim took me hiking at the Garden of the Gods in Southern Ill. Check out the color.

The view from the top

Our first picture together!

What a view (behind me!)

So I’m feeling rather invigorated about the chilly air, the leaves changing, the humidity lifting. Let’s check out some of my favorite designs for autumn 2010.

West Elm knows throws.

This featured West Elm living room is perfectly autumnal.

This West Elm bedroom is remarkably cozy... I want to snuggle in there!

Jonathan Adler pillow! I love the pink with the fall colors.

This houndstooth rug is not only autumn apropos... it could be used year-round. Which, for $1000, is a good thing. Love the giant houndstooth.

Mustard classic modernity from Kelly Wearstler

A Nate Berkus living room -- I'm kind of missing some curvy lines in here, but that fireplace makes up for it.

That rug is quite similar to the Jonathan Adler one... except not houndstooth.

Anyhow, here’s to fall, chunky knits, and burnt orange. Cheers!

Posting Positivity

nataboo9 — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:42:41 +0000

I’ll preface with an apology – I haven’t posted in a year! I have a multitude of excuses, including the first year of my Masters, meeting my true one and only love, my Timothy, last October, and a non-stop year of performing. I moved out of my loft-style apartment downtown and into a lovely, much more functional duplex with my man, and am taking it step by step here! Our style is a little more traditional with some quirk, but I still have my own odd style somewhere in there.

That said, I wanted to start posting again with some happy letterpress prints I found on Etsy. It’s no secret that I adore letterpress printing — it feels raw and honest to me, and just gives me a smile! You can’t go wrong with putting happy words on your wall. For all prints, just click the image to be linked to the user store.

: Precious print from user hijirik, click image to see store site

: Skid-a-marink-a-dink-a-dink… how could you not love this? From user inkpetals. Click for store site.

: From user Amandamello: This is great – and you get to pick the part of the world you want it printed on! I love the Italy one.

Sweet and healthy reminder from user dearcolleen.

Thanks, user shopsaplingpress for this relaxing print that lets us do away with lazy day guilt!!!

And now for some cuteness you can’t buy… I haven’t shown off my nephew yet! He was born almost exactly a year ago, 9/10/09. I can’t believe he’s not an infant anymore! I took this a few weeks ago while visiting North Carolina on my iPhone with the Hipstamatic app.

His name is River!

Dear Friends…

nataboo9 — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:02:56 +0000

I will resume updating soon! I have just started my masters. I hadn’t even checked my blog stats in probably a month, and just noticed that a surprising number of people are reading daily. I promise, promise that this weekend I will resume regular postings! HANG IN THERE FOLKS!

Love,

Natalie

Designer Interview: Adelaide Brown of Anthropologie

nataboo9 — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:25:05 +0000

Introducing my friend Miss Adelaide Brown! Before I moved out here to illinois, I lived in Greensboro, NC working for a popular-but-not-to-be-named trendy computer company next door to a lovely Anthropologie store. I had the pleasure of meeting Addie a few times, and of course admiring her beautiful displays on my lunch breaks… read about what inspires her below!

Yes, she IS precious!

who are you?
My name is Adelaide Brown, I have lived in quite a spectrum of places in my 27 years.
Born in Neptune NJ… Im a yankee at heart. Spent my high school years in West Virginia, and eventually ended up in Greensboro North Carolina to earn my degree in Design from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. After graduation i headed back up north to work in New York City as an assistant interior designer, custom printing consultant, and finally got my foot in the door at Anthropologie. A few months later Anthropologie brought me back to greensboro as the Display Artist in the new store that opened in January of this year.

what inspires you?
I am inspired by the most unpredictable things! It could be a comic strip, a type of music/genre, an interesting typeface, a time period, architecture, color combination, or paper texture…ya never know where it’s gonna come from!
I am also inspired by the people in my life. I know some of the most creative and talented people; each bringing such a unique perspective on life, art, design, and the creative process. Just being around them inspires and challenges me the most.

what are your favorite resources?
i look at a TON of magazines. ID is one of my favorites as well as Dwell and Craft!
I will say it’s a shame that Domino went out of print cause that was one of my favorites!

how do you get started on a project?
I normally start by hunting down some images of anything and everything that coorelates with the concept i am working with. Then i get to sketching…

what do you think is your best work, at anthropologie and in your own home?
Its’ hard to say… I feel as if i am constantly growing and learning through each project! each one hopefully getting better than the last.
I will say my favorite project so far at Anthropologie has been the most recent window display! It was a pretty large scale project and extremely time consuming but i loved every bit of it! Now im looking forward to the next!

Addie's most recent display, featuring hand-dyed fabric swatches.

the beehive display

At home, my design style has changed a bit so i am working on integrating some antiques with some more streamline and rustic pieces i have. I would like to think im moving toward a French Country style but friends are calling it “granny”! haha but i dont mind i love antiques and old family photos! I used to be obsessed with more of a moroccan aesthetic with warm rich color and texture, but now somehow i’ve traversed into a more feminine, rustic, and antique using more neutrals and some cool blues and greens. It’s always a work in progress!

Flea market find!

Great chair!

what’s the best place {in your opinion} to get inexpensive decor from?
I think West Elm is a great source for inexpensive decor, and i love love love thrift stores and flee markets! If you’re up for the hunt and you hit them at the right time you can get some great finds! Design Within Reach is also another pretty well known source for good design and it’s still fairly reasonable.
If you ARE able to splurge a bit, i would highly recommend Jayson Home and Garden. (www.jaysonhomeandgarden.com) Based out of Chicago, it is one of my all time favorite stores for home furnishings!

at anthropologie, you tend to use a lot of unexpected material, and in bulk – what’s the best place to {i.y.o.} to get inexpensive materials from? where do you get those crazy ideas?
We do love to use unexpected materials! I try as best i can to reuse materials that were used for previous displays if i can break them down to their original form.

If reuse is not a possiblity, I have to get creative where i find materials so that’s when dumpster diving comes in handy. (not the most glamorous experience… but super fun!) I also like to take advantage of this major junk yard, DH Griffin, here in town… i found some amazing shutters and windows that were super inexpensive!

We do buy in bulk for certain items. The website www.uline.com came in handy for the bee hive window display i did in the spring! It’s a great site for cardboard tubes, plastic bags, and tissue paper amoung other things.

There is a lot of creative freedom in what we do with our store so it’s always an adventure!

what do you find beautiful?
Trees! Im obsessed! I love the texture and layers of lines they creative in clusters! winter trees are my favorite, the sillouettes that are formed against the sky will stop me in my tracks everytime!

do you read any design blogs? which ones? {you’re not obligated to say mine… haha }
I do! i do! Im pretty religious about reading Design Sponge! Love it! And a friend of mine has a great sketch blog called An Open Sketchbook that i follow as well! Such great illustrations… always entertaining! There are so many more i dont think i can name them all…

Creative blocks and renewed inspiration

nataboo9 — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:16:17 +0000

Sorry for not posting for a few days. I’ve been a little busy working out like crazy to get ready for the show I’m about to start on Monday (and then you may not hear from me for AWHILE) but I wanted to show you some things that have inspired my next few projects. I’ve also had a bit of a creative block, feeling rather UNinspired, a little discouraged that things cost money in general, and the weather’s been gloom and doom. Anyway, no more excuses! Here are some things I like and will hopefully get to do this weekend.

First, I love this little home-office area from Michelle Smith of Raleigh, NC. She’s an indie designer and has shared some lovely photos of her home on Design*Sponge.

Michelle Smith of Raleigh, NC, my home state!

Anyway, I usually throw my desk in a corner, and here I don’t really have a corner that I want to devote to it, but I do have a strange little 6-foot wall space between a couple of doors. Problem is, no shelving, so this made me want to do some DIY wall-shelves. My plan is plain ol’ metal brackets and some 2 x 8s. That’s a weekend project, and I’ll let you know how it goes.

Over at Apartment Therapy, a couple more DIYideas…

Cute upholstered coffee table bench

This bench used to be a coffee table… learn how to upholster your ugly coffee table and turn it into a bench or ottoman here.

Then I found this:

It looks like fabric... but it's not!

It’s an “upholstered” nightstand, but guess what – she had some Amy Butler fabric that she made color copies of, cut them to fit, and mod-podged them on. Genius. Anyway, the nightstand is a bit much for me personally, but the concept is great, and it got me searching for some cool free graphic patterns to print out, in case you don’t have any Amy Butler fabric laying around. In just a few minutes I came up with a bunch, but really liked these vintage wallpaper graphics – high resolution and free (and also, perhaps the background of that new header you see up there)… They are on the lost and taken blog, click the image below to download the ZIP file, or just go directly to the article!

Click here to download free vintage wallpaper graphics.

The author also came up with a second set, which is also lovely, and you can find by click the next image:

Love this set as well

Anyway… I gotta hit the gym! I hope you all have a fabulous day, I’ll update more, I promise!

Rearranged the furniture.

nataboo9 — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:14:44 +0000

And liking it this way a little better… I think? Still missing the oh-so-important element of kitchen table and chairs, and I really want to wall-mount my TV. So until that day, things are a bit wonky, but I like it this way just because it opens it all up a bit more. Not that it needs opening, it’s big as it is. The items behind the couch are temporary, I have an issue with singular lamps (I just like them in twos, so I’m working on that, but for now it fills the space. I have some big prints in my car that need to come upstairs but it’s raining and I don’t want them to get wet. So keep an eye out! Also check out the cute Anthropologie cup! Mama has good taste!

Trip to Kentucky – cute wine bottles and more antique store finds

nataboo9 — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:10:47 +0000

I met up with my parents last week in Frankfort, KY. My dad was slated to have a meeting and play golf out there and my mom came along for the ride, and we spent some jolly time together in the small-town state capital. In comparison to where I live, I’d say it’s about the same, just a little bigger and cleaner. It was sad, though – lots of beautiful architecture, mostly closed up due to business shut-downs. Sad. A lot of the buildings and homes dated back to the mid-18th century.

Anyway, mom and I did some antique shopping and ate a lovely lunch in a little wine bar. I was enamored with the bottle labels, continuing my typography obsession, and also found some lovely cheap goods at the antique store.

Some of you probably know that I’m about to start my masters in Opera and Music Theatre. I went through the decorate-everything-with-show-paraphernalia when I was a kid, but I did love these antique opera vinyls. They were $1 each, and such great colors (…and lettering).

Hatch Show Print

nataboo9 — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:10:58 +0000

The June Anthropologie catalog, as all of their catalogs are, is pretty amazing – it features art by Hatch Show Print. Believe it or not, you probably are familiar with their work, even if you don’t realize it. Founded in the late 19th century, Hatch Show Print features classic letterpress design in the same style that they began over a hundred years ago. The company mostly produces country music posters and advertisements, but branches out for other projects. Hatch also used to do a great deal of minstrel and vaudeville shows, as well as circuses.

As we are all aware, I am a typography dork, and I have lately become just obsessed with letterpress. So let’s start where they started, in the beginning.

So you get the gist – now let’s look at this month’s Anthropologie. Oh, by the way, you can order all of these (and MANY more) at very affordable prices as posters on The Country Music Hall of Fame Store Site. Also, by the way, the new Anthropologie catalog’s home stuff is amazing – their room set-ups are cozy, rumpled, bohemian lovely.