Hardware Installed: Built-in Wardrobe

Last week I showed you a beautiful bar that Dalliance Design used my hardware on.  Well, this week Sally Homan of Robertson-Lindsay Interiors in the UK sent me some photos of my F-01 pull used on a beautiful antique-mirrored wardrobe.  Thank you Sally!  Not only does the wardrobe look amazing but I love how serene and refined the whole room is. 

photography by www.interiorsphotographyscotland.co.uk

Progress around the house

I posted about the baby's room a few days ago and showed you the concept board that I'd created. Well, I took the plunge and ordered the rug and it's here. It's great.  There were so many photos from different angles and zoomed in close on the Esale Rugs site that I knew exactly what I was getting. It's soft underfoot and I think will be very versatile in the future. Here's a little instagram pic.

As I'd mentioned previously, the basement and guest room were sort of all cast off items but I'm determined this year to make the spaces look more designed and deliberate.  I'd found this photo on pinterest from photographer Ida Lindhag that I thought would make a great starting off point for the guest room.

So I went really bold on the teal walls but knew I wanted to throw in some burgundies to balance it - similar to the pillow in the photo (although I can't say I like the Marimekko bedding).   I also stopped by Homegoods today and scored these great pillows which I think start giving the guest room some personality.

Now what to do about the nightstands, art and what sort of DIY to do to dress up the IKEA armoire.  Suggestions?

Hardware Installed: Built-in bar

Nicole and Stephanie over at Dalliance Design purchased some of my hardware for a bar they were working on. They just sent me this photo of the bar fully installed. Of course I think the hardware (pieces F-01 and F-03 from my Facets collection) look fabulous, but I also love the styling.  Wish there were room in my house for a bar like this!

Thanks for sharing ladies!

If you have any install photos of hardware from the Nest Studio Collection that you would like to share please email us at info@nesteaglerock.com

Happy New Year: The Baby's Room

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a nice holiday season.  We were in Key West with my family for a week and home with friends for the new year.  All in all a very nice holiday.  As many of you who follow me on facebook or see me in my daily life already know, we are expecting Baby #2, due May 14 (the day before our 10th anniversary).  This means a lot of changes on both the home and business fronts

We've been busy preparing our house for Baby #2's arrival.  Since we only have 3 bedrooms on our second floor and one of them is used as my office, we had to do a bit of reconfiguring.  Our massive basement guest room (literally the same size as our living room) was split in two and a new door was added to the rec room to accommodate a basement office (more convenient anyways since I do all my hardware fulfillment in the basement) and the former office got a closet door switcharoo so that we can put a changing table in a more convenient location.  We still haven't migrated everything downstairs for the new office but I'm excited about what we have planned and about my new shipping station (it's amazing how much a little organization helps the stress level and amount of time it takes to do something).  I'm also excited to make a cozy and efficient guest room out of the smaller space and really do some decorating down there - as with most people our basement was sort of the space where all of our cast off furniture went to live.  More on all of that later and on to the fun decorating stuff!

We are excited to announce that Baby #2 is a girl.  While we wouldn't have minded another boy (and it certainly would have made for a more convenient clothing and toy situation) I'm really happy to be designing a little girl's room.  The former office already had a cool light fixture and our Eames lounger which we will keep for the baby's room. We hope that by May Bryan will have moved to a big boy's bed and we can transfer his crib to the baby's room as well.  And I plan to keep the same pale grey on the walls. So from a decorating standpoint it's really a dresser/changing table (hello, craigslist), rug, artwork, bedding, and window coveringss that have to be decided on.  We already own two Charley Harper prints that I plan to incorporate into a gallery wall and just purchased a fun ladies swimming print at IKEA the other day for above the changing table.  Here is my concept board so far:

The rug is really the deciding piece. I'm loving the idea of using a pale peachy pink and mint green as accents and not taking the room in an overly juvenile direction by keeping it eclectic.  That said, the rug has been really challenging!  I love the vintage rug that I found on Esalerugs.com but it's a bit pricey so we will have to see what else gives.  There are a few other contenders as well but I'm just not sure of them and love the way this one ties everything together.  What are your thoughts?

More sources and other ideas and options for baby's room on my pinterest board here.

Stylin' Mamma: Did Somebody Say Party?

Perhaps it's a sign that our kids are getting older and we're (finally) dusting out the baby-brain cobwebs, but after a few dry years the holiday party circuit is CRACKLIN'!

I won't lie: I'm delighted.  Season after season I have stared at my festive wear and wondered if I should just give up the ghost and clear it out.  But now, all of a sudden, we're staring at 5 invitations to events big and small, glammy and casual, and my closet is back in action!  Somebody pour me a Cosmo and let's get to it!

THE BIG BASH

If you can't go large at Christmas, when can you?  This is the moment to break out the spangles.  A mini dress is great indoors but be sure to bring a cozy coat for the walk home.  I never shy away from a killer shoe but sometimes it's wise to bring a clutch big enough for a late-night flat.

If the invitation calls for a bottle to share, check out the gifty packaging of Sofia minis -- guaranteed to be the most effervescent offering on the table. 

THE FIRESIDE CHAT

For a cozy holiday open house event, something more understated is appropriate.  I like jersey pants because you can easily post up on the floor by the fire for casual catching up.  A festive sweater gets you from here to there, and deco earrings dress it up.  Red finger and toenails add holiday cheer.

For a hostess gift, I like pretty tableware, and these Ten Lords a Leaping placecard holders are just subtle enough to avoid Christmas kitsch.  

Of course, you're never fully dressed without a smile (and a great mani-pedi).  

 

Happy New Year!

 

- Jamie

The Holidays at Chez Davis

While the amount of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas was short and led to a rather stressful and hectic holiday setup weekend, I'm happy we went to the effort.  It's been nice to have lights and candles and stockings and a tree up. Last year we were mid-renovation so our decorations were pretty meager.  This year Bryan understands Christmas and Santa a bit more (Santa, if you're reading this, he's been a good boy - by his definitions - and would like an Elmo and a Giraffe), so it's been more fun to have all of the decorations and holiday spirit around. This past weekend was nice and snowy. We made cookies and did some sledding (injury and all) and even got a snowman in.  Here is what our holiday season is looking like.  Hope everyone else is enjoying it as much as we are!

Our house on apartment therapy

I showed you all a few photos of some staging I did for our Apartment Therapy Shoot last week. Well, the house tour is out! I'm really excited about the different views it shows of our house (as opposed to the Woman's Day shoot) and I love all the vignettes that Pablo included in the tour.  Here are a few of my faves. Check out the full tour here.

Stylin' Mamma: Stompin'

'Tis the season to wear boots, and the good news is, they're everywhere.  Short, tall, dressy, casual, bright colored, classic...Nordstrom's shoe department is a big old boot fantasy these days!

After much debate, I landed on these for 2013, and may I say, I'm *quite* pleased with them!  Comfy, practical, unusual, and versatile (you can zip them up for a skinny midcalf fit too).

I don't know about you but I hate wearing long pants in the winter.  The ground is ucky (especially in rainy and snowy climes) and I feel like I get home at the end of the day with my trouser hems all a mess or my jeans heavy and damp.  Tights and skirts keep it light while also holding the elements at bay...plus they look a bit sassy, too, for holiday shopping downtown.

A sculptural skirt in a traditional print gets a pop of color from textured tights and a small cross-body bag (best not to be weighed down when you have presents to gather).  The rest of the look stays neutral and warm -- layers, layers, layers! -- with a chambray shirt under a cashmere sweater, all wrapped up in a poncho.  Gloves keep your fingers warm as you stomp from store to store!  

Happy Hunting!

- Jaime

Staging with florals

On Wednesday our house was shot for an Apartment Therapy house tour. I'm super excited to share it with you when it goes live (in about a week or so). It was a completely different experience than the Woman's Day shoot.  Woman's Day involved a photographer, assistant, stylist, hair and makeup person, editors, props and an entire day of arranging and re-arranging. The Apartment Therapy shoot was one guy, a camera, some lenses and a light.  If you read both of these online and print publications, you'll know that Apartment Therapy likes more candid shots and lots of tight vignettes versus the more polished shots that grace the pages of Woman's Day.  Since Wednesday's shoot didn't come with a stylist and a van full of props and florals, I had to do my own styling (which was nice because I get to keep the props this time).  I bought some grocery store florals and used some of my new found knowledge from the garden club I am joining.  Here is an arrangement I did for the dining room in one of my favorite vases from Target (along with a new plant that replaced the fig that finally bit the dust). 

And another arrangement in the living room that I did in a fun footed brass bowl I got at a garage sale.

Storage Solutions in the breakfast nook

Thanks to Bryan's propensity to get food all over the floor, we have been using the breakfast nook a lot, especially, well, for breakfast.  It's nice to have him sit in his high chair while I'm prepping. The only issue is that the space is small and we like to read books while we eat (as in, that's the only way to get food in his mouth) so there was always a big pile of books on the breakfast table.  Also, the napkins and wipes were always too far away on the dining room bar cart.  Here is where I would normally include a before pic, but did I mention that I have a serious case of pregnant brain and I thought I'd taken one but apparently did not?  So instead here is what it looks like now.  Don't you love that green faux-malachite tray on the island that I picked up from Home Goods. Thinking about it for a client but I love it here too.  I like that I'm bringing in a darker green around the house in the step stool and bathroom tray and now here.

You may ask, then where did the books go?  Just around the corner.  Ballard wall storage to the rescue.  I got this two tiered wall organizer. It's perfect for library books and napkins and wipes.  Everything is close at hand but neatly tucked away and not taking up valuable space on the table.

Now if only I could get around to actually sewing the cover for the window seat cushion...