lovely { bedroom } spaces

I'm rather tired today so I thought it only seemed appropriate to share some lovely bedroom spaces:

Courtesy of Southern Living via DecorPad

via DecorPad

via being red

Source Unknown

Source Unknown

color crush { shades of gray }

This may seem odd to some, but I love the color gray. I prefer it to black any day. It is softer on the eyes and has a calming effect. Just take a look at my blog for instance. Wouldn't you agree that the gray text I chose is much more soothing than black text.?

When it comes to home decor, the same concept applies. Black is timeless and will always add a level of sophistication and drama (when done right).

Photo via DecorPad

However, if you are craving a softer look, I recommend taking a chance with gray. Here are some of my favorite spaces that use various shades of this underdog of a color.

Photo courtesy of Lonny via La Dolce Vita

Erin Gates of Elements of Style
bedroom via Style Carrot

Photo from Furbish Studio
via Oh Happy Day!

Photo via seesaw

Photo via design sponge

Photo via DecorPad

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick's home in
the Hamptons courtesy of Elle Decor via Kelly Green 

There must be a reason I keep seeing it everywhere.

                    ~ Is gray the new black? ~

current obsession { chevron strips }

Lately I have been absolutely swooning over anything and everything chevron. I can't help but love how it draws the eye in with its hypnotic form and absolute confidence.

Just take a look at how it injects personality into each of these rooms, no matter how it is used.

As wall-to-wall floor covering in a bold, color saturated room:

Photos clockwise from top-left: Miles Redd via Domino,
Elle Decor May 2010, Domino June/July 2007, and Jonathon Adler.

As a simple accent rug:

Photo via DecorPad

As furniture:

Photo via KellyandOlive

As accents and pillows:

Photos clockwise from top-left: West Elm, Twinkle Living via all modern,

make under my life, and fabricadabra

As window coverings:

Photos via DecorPad and Lonny

As rugged and distressed:

Photo via bellasugar

Or really whatever your heart desires:

Photos via and pixelimpress on etsy and Boston Handmade

fall, already?

Photograph via Gabrielle Kai Photography

While we have had rather cool weather the past week, it seems that the rest of the world has already enjoyed their summer and moved on to fall. I've noticed it in retail windows, home decor magazines, and my own outfits. I almost put on boots and a dusty purple long wrap cardigan this morning. Seriously Seattle, what is up with the weather? I'm craving warm summer days and watching the sunset while drinking wine on the front porch... while everyone else has 'been there, done that' already! Bring on the heat already!

After months of taking a hiatus from house projects, minus the minor adjustments here and there, we are back on again! The weather is warming up and what better time than the present to kick off our ever growing wish list and make it a reality! So far this summer (our summer sadly doesn't begin until late June), we've finished the crown moulding in the living room, pulled out some monstrous spider-infested bushes, replaced the lock on the shed, added door stops throughout the house, (almost) finished the laundry room ceiling, remounted the basement bathroom towel rack, and cleaned out the gutters....and by 'we' I really mean my darling husband. What's next? We've moved on to the backyard and choose something that can only add value to our already wonderful home - a fence. It might be a couple months before we actual complete it, but at least we are going to start the process. Nothing fancy here. Just your standard cedar fence, although I wouldn't mind putting a lovely arbor like this above the gates:

Source Unknown

The tricky part is deciding how to work around the car port. The backyard is set up from the alley with a cement retaining wall which poses a difficult task for the handymen. In addition, we are concerned about not being able to see the car in the carport; however, we still want ample privacy.

We've toyed with the idea of a living fence, but couldn't find anything we liked that would provide coverage even in the winter. We've also considered putting up a half fence. This would still provide some coverage since the backyard is raised up about 3 feet from the alley, but it may not provide as much coverage as we'd like. Another thought we had was to put up the fence along the very back of the yard and along the side of the yard, but wait to do the part in front of the carport until we are ready to convert it into a garage which again only ads value to the home (especially in Seattle). It might look a little off for starters, but we wouldn't waste money on putting a fence there only to tear it down again in the future. What would you do?