When piles of projects come home from school, it can be a little overwhelming to figure out what to do with them. Save? Toss? Display? Aerin Lauder, of Estée Lauder and Aerin, has a beautiful and simple solution to display the art and really enjoy it every day. This shot from an old Elle Decor story shows how Lauder wonderfully incorporated her children and their creative masterpieces in this cozy kitchen nook at her East Hampton house. I'm kind of dying to jump into this picture to have juice and a parfait at that banquette.
I like that the art and her children's super adorable portraits, offset by pale blue walls above the shelf, are mixed with a Jeff Koons vase. Even though the vase is high end, its shaggy puppy shape is fun and feels right in this room. Don't be afraid to have adult and kid things in the same space. As someone currently living in a house where four generations of my family have now lived, I'm a fan of how Lauder carried on (but updated) the house's blue-and-white palette—honoring her grandmother Estée, whose house and favorite color combo these were. Speaking of this house and kids, our double-header birthday parties for the girls are tomorrow so we're off to pick up supplies, treats, clean the house, and decorate. It should be a lot of fun and we're looking forward to it. Hope everyone has a great weekend!
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In middle school and high school, I realized that though I was weird, quirky, creative, and some of my closest friends were art kids, I was not an art kid. There was some overlap, and I tried to take more art classes in college, when I could fit them in. But as much as I love visual arts, images, and design, I am better with words.
Similarly, as an adult, I am not an artist, stylist, or designer, but I work with them, write about them, and get to be partially immersed in that world. I'm trying to learn more from them. The creativity is always inspiring me to look at things differently and sparks my own ideas. When this image from Vintage Revivals (above) happened to pop up in my stream on Pinterest, I was very intrigued. Pumpkins seem to be anything but orange these days. This weekend we're going picking with the girls and my parents, and I've been getting inspired by the pumpkin decorating projects I've seen online. Here are my favorite looks for pumpkins right now: The marbled pumpkins (above) from Say Yes to Hoboken are so sophisticated-looking and grown up, but easy enough to do with kids and a bit of supervision. And options are endless since nail polish colors are more than plentiful. I love the patterns and colors on these decoupaged botanical gourds created by Country Living, especially the one on the top left with the small orange leaves. Inspired by this string art pumpkin from Lines Across, I think I'd actually be a little more traditional and use the nails and string to create a large spider web, then glue a plastic spider onto it. I was surprised to find no pictures online of this idea. You could even paint the pumpkin black, apply the white web (or spray it silver before tying), and get a glow-in-the-dark spider. Maybe it's the school nerd in me, but I've always loved dioramas. So it's no surprise that I love the idea of a diorama set up in a hollowed out pumpkin. This scene from The Art of Doing Stuff, definitely captures the spirit of Halloween without being too scary or gory. This is obviously the most time-intensive, but how fun would it be to pick out and arrange all the tiny accessories inside? I like the little skeleton hand creeping out at the bottom! I always love a little edge, even on seasonal fruit. A studded pumpkin by Small Shop feels a bit punk inspired and takes very little time to achieve.
images via say yes to hoboken, country living, lines across, the art of doing stuff, small shop Xx a A couple of years ago at the NY gift show, I discovered then-new home accessories company Pehr (pronounced pair). I immediately asked founder Jennifer Kelly to borrow napkins and table runners for an entertaining story I was working on and carried them right off the floor on the last day of the show. Jen and childhood friend and partner Rebecca Perren are based in Toronto and their designs are bright, modern, and easily mix-and-matchable. Since that gift show they have introduced additional patterns and expanded their product offerings to include other home items beyond the table linens they began with. Now comes the launch of Petit Pehr—a collection for the younger set—inspired by their own growing families' needs and demand from customers and retailers. Bedding, swaddles, and storage come in three color ways: blue/red, pink/citron, and grey/yellow with complementary patterns mixed in. A sampling of the new collection:
I don't know about where you live, but it's been pouring here in CNY (as it pretty much did all weekend), with a tornado advisory thrown in for fun. Rain can sometimes be a total drag, but I love this creative idea I saw on Brit + Co. It reminds me of the interesting pictures or slogans I'd see spray painted randomly on the sidewalks in New York, but with a sort of Invisible Ink quality. It's a surprise for when you might need an extra smile. Rust-Oleum has a product called NeverWet, which is a two-step moisture repelling system. Introduced as clever Home Depot contest entries (here, with tutorial and here), the idea is to use NeverWet and a stencil to spray your sidewalk, porch, or anywhere really, with a design that will only appear when the rest of the ground is saturated with water. The original idea was to create street art, but if you're feeling less public, it could be a great project to do with kids on a driveway or back patio. Rain puns are an obvious choice, but I wonder what I would stencil. Probably something cryptic and silly to make myself laugh—like the first half of a coded phrase from the original Get Smart: The blue sun melts the red snow. The snail image is adorable. The fun is that it can be as simple or elaborate as you want it to be.
It also occurred to me that if your child is into spy stuff as much as I was (am), you could do something like this as part of a spy-themed party or activity. And if you don't want to keep it forever, when the top coat finally wears off and the water no longer beads you can skip reapplication, or according to Rust-Oleum's site, you can wipe the surface with mineral spirits. What design would you spray on your sidewalk? Late last night, our closest friends from New Jersey gave birth to their second son. We were pregnant at the same time during the first go-round, and it was so nice to have someone to experience everything with since she was only a few weeks ahead of me. In their honor, I rounded up a few cute baby gifts. Welcome to the world DJM, can't wait to meet you!! Xx Though I'm really not a monogram person, I do sometimes make exceptions. I love these precious personalized embroidery and felt hoop art pieces (above), $20-$27 each, from bluewithoutyoukids at Etsy. I can get a little touchy about overly gender specific items (don't get me started on all the pink), so I love the cute unisex robot blanket from Little Auggie, $78. This teether (with too-sweet app icons) won't fool them for long, but at least in the early months, it is nice if the phone they're chewing on isn't yours! Canadian maple laser-engraved teether, $12, 3PrincessesStore at Etsy. Illustrator Wayne Pate now brings his adorable designs to wearable items, $28, exclusively at Serena & Lily. Love the little seafaring bird with knit cap and pipe. I'm a huuuuge fan of baby and kids' toys that are made of wood or fabric. These fruits and veggies are so cute and are made and stuffed with certified organic Egyptian cotton, $8 each, Under the Nile. Even better, they are machine washable. There are so many reasons to start teaching your baby a foreign language, and of course starting when babies are young is easiest. These blocks come in Mandarin, $37, or Spanish, $34, UncommonGoods. images via bluewithoutyoukids, little auggie, 3princessesstore, serena & lily, under the nile, uncommongoods
Xx a One of the easiest ways to create a look that's truly your own is to include handmade products in your house. The best thing about handmade goods is that they're generally limited in quantity, so few people will have the same pieces as you, and even those that aren't so limited are still special because it's very difficult to achieve uniform precision on each creation. But, I bet artists and designers prefer it that way; the happy accidents and imperceptible mistakes behind each piece may be totally unrecognizable to you but tell the story of their process. The story behind each piece, or more precisely, the story behind the Maker of each piece, is exactly what the site BRIKA is after. How the designers got started, what music they listen to when creating, what inspires them—all of that matters and creates a connection to people all over the country pursuing their passion. One of those people is Karen Young (above), the Brooklyn-based designer behind Hammocks & High Tea. Karen is a joy—I've been lucky enough to work with her in the past—and is just one of dozens of women (mostly) and men featured who've dedicated their lives to the imprecise, but monumentally fulfilling, work of crafting their products by hand. Karen is selling some of her fabulous dopp kits in exclusive patterns for the site. Also, completely randomly, I came across jewelry maker Penelope Rakov who went to my high school, graduating only a few years ahead of me (I remembered her name)! Small world. Many of the products featured on BRIKA are modern interpretations of traditional techniques practiced by past craftspeople and artisans, and the founders of the site hope that the pieces bought today will become new heirlooms to be passed down. Here are my favorite products available at BRIKA right now (click the images to purchase or see more): Check out the site and let me know which pieces are your favorite! product images via Brika
Xx a Well, it's officially fall now. The boots have been broken out, and I've had my first hot cider and cider donut, so I'm a happy camper. We went apple picking yesterday at Beak & Skiff, one of the many amazing orchards in Central New York, and had a great time even though it was freezing. I felt like a terrible mom for not being prepared with mittens and hats (I did have a thick blanket for the baby), but they both loved the tractor ride to the u-pick section. And Sunshine got to eat some apple herself and Cupcake got a cider donut, so they were both happy. We picked McIntosh, which are my favorite, and checked out the brand new outdoor kids' area and completely new barn housing a cafe and all their distillery products. If it hadn't been so cold, we might have stayed longer to explore everything, but we still enjoyed ourselves. Some people were picking pumpkins as well, but I like to save that for October. Don't rush me, fall! I do hope the weather warms up again soon and lasts for a few more weeks at least.
I'm not sure what it is about this season in particular, but I feel as though we have so many more family traditions in autumn than we do in any other season, in addition to the girls' birthdays and our wedding/anniversary. I love the fruit picking, but also corn mazes, and soon, everything to do with Halloween, my most favorite of holidays. But again, I don't want to rush it. Yesterday was cold enough; I'm not ready for the S-word most associated with Syracuse. How about you? Do you go apple picking or have other family traditions during fall? Anything good we should try? Today I'm headed out to scout stores for a local magazine's holiday gift guide. But first, I wanted to share these two whimsical details from a house tour featured on new site, Clementine Daily. If you read other design blogs, you're familiar with Erin Loechner of Design for Mankind. She and several other known bloggers have formed a creative alliance called Clementine Daily which celebrates the reality and authenticity of life's experiences, though they sure make it look gorgeous. The site featured the home of Rosie Winstead, a Missouri-based author and illustrator. In the slideshow and interview, Rosie describes how she worked with little kids underfoot, and it sounds very much like my current experience. It's always nice to know there's someone else out there who's been through what you are going through. Her aesthetic is light and airy with sweet details scattered throughout. The chandelier (above) is a great example of her creative personality. Rosie began with a ballerina that broke off of a music box. She couldn't bring herself to throw it out (sounds familiar), so she hung it from the chandelier. Then added an ornament she wasn't ready to put away at the end of a holiday season (sounds like my pink glitter deer that hung around long past January), and it grew from there. A sort of 3D collage, a testament to the pieces of their family life. The whole house is filled with vignettes to spend time admiring, but my absolute favorite thing was her little daughter's tea party set up in the air vent. She didn't tell anyone, Rosie just spotted it one day while cleaning.
Her daughter is a fan of The Borrowers, which I need to read, but is the story of a family of tiny people who live underneath the kitchen floor of an English country manor and use the detritus and easily reappropriated items of humans to furnish their home. I love the idea of this little girl earnestly and carefully setting this scene for tiny people who might live under her own floor. To me, the clever display in the vent just speaks to the limitless creativity and magic of children's minds. Can't you just see her growing up to be an artist, interior designer, or some other equally creative powerhouse? Something about this just fills me with so much joy. images via clementine daily Xx a We had a fun afternoon Sunday at the local Parade of Homes. We toured eight houses, each from different area builders, and I think it was a successful show. It's always amusing listening to all the other people touring the houses to see who likes what.
For the most part, I think everyone played it pretty safe design-wise. These showhouses generally aren't about trends or pushing the envelope, so I didn't see any extremely bold colors, patterns, or off-beat design choices, but I saw a lot that I liked that would appeal to the average homeowner. There were a few things that weren't necessarily my taste, sure, but nothing that really turned me off—that has happened in the past. I wanted to share the elements and ideas I liked best that, for the most part, anyone could do. |
#checkout this blog with shop-themed puns
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