Color Reawakening

At this point, I've lost track of how many bidding wars we've lost in the pursuit of our next flip house.  It has to be well into the double digits by now.  Honestly it has me conflicted- obviously I'm frustrated because these hands need a house to flip(desperately- or I'll keep finding things to do in my own house as evidenced by the rest of this post), but it also makes me a bit happy knowing that the housing market is coming back and so many people are purchasing new homes.  But seriously, people, throw a flipper a bone! (just kidding.....kind of......not really) The benefit of not having a current flip, is I feel I've had the opportunity to refine my personal style.  I'll go into more detail in another post, but I've actually noticed a trend with the rooms that I've been drawn to lately.  I may shock my mom with this one (since I dragged her kicking and screaming from her beige addiction), but my favorite spaces lately are pretty neutral.  Or at least they have a neutral base that serves as a backdrop to more colorful and interesting decor.  Case in point :

image via Birch and Bird

If there were bright colored walls in the mix, this chair and rug would look a bit wackadoodle (technical term).  Without other colors to compete with, the design of this chair becomes the star.

My current favorite rooms in this house are the most recent rooms I've set my focus on.  My office and the kitchen... almost...as soon as the kitchen is 100% that will be my absolute favorite ever.  Both rooms have subtle wall colors which allows me to have a bit more fun with furnishings and not worry about them going over the top (a design dilemma I've always struggled with).  My office is not at 100% either, but here's how it stands today (totally unstaged, so please don't judge too much):

I'm kind of (read: VERY) tempted to repaint the blue living room (which I haven't photographed in over a year it seems- methinks it's time) and hubby's bright green office.  This color addict is having a reawakening about how to work with color most successfully!  Don't worry, though, the purple dining room will definitely be staying purple- I am still Karen, after all.

Have you had any recent design reawakenings?  or any falling-outs with colors you once loved?

Relaxed Elegance

I've had my nose to the grindstone, and my hands covered in paint this past weekend.  The kitchen backsplash is all ready for me to start tiling tomorrow AM (yay!!!) and my thrift find china cabinet is almost complete with a stellar makeover.  I'm hoping to be able to show you both later this week.  Until then, let's drool over a celeb's space. I stumbled on this picture of Ginnifer Goodwin in her kitchen on Pinterest over the weekend and immediately fell in love.

When I clicked through to the source of the pin, I found the original article from January's Elle magazine (so I'm a little late to the game..) where she gave a tour of her house.  I'm ready to move in with her and be besties- this space is to die for.

First of all, let me gush my girl-crush:  I love her.  I've always been drawn to her for some reason (maybe partially due to how awesomely she rocks the pixie cut), but I really love her presence in this pic.  So cute and sophisticated in her amazing floral dress, but still casual- who needs shoes?!

Getting back to the design.  That kitchen.  It's dark and homey, but still feels bright and has the historic charm we all know I swoon over.  The black windows and black cabinets are a match made in historic bungalow design heaven (I really hope there is such a place.).  I've also been craving a vintage kilim rug for my own kitchen, so seeing her rug here just make me smile.  It completes the space.

I have to say, though, my favorite space shown in the slide show tour, is the living room.  Aside from maybe adding a pop of color in a pillow, this vignette is near flawless in my opinion.  She and the room just ooze a relaxed old hollywood elegance in this pic.

Do yourself a favor and pop over to Elle.com, check out the interview and slideshow.  It won't be a waste of time, I promise!

Pin & Tell: Collected Floral

Me and my one track mind are still scrambling plugging along, getting ready for the kitchen install (hopefully this week keep your fingers crossed!), and admittedly haven't focused on much else lately. Instead of boring you with the latest developments about new light fixtures, I figured it's been a while since I shared an amazing room I found on pinterest.

I instantly fell in love with this relaxed, eclectic bedroom when I saw it.  I'm not generally a floraly girly girl, but I'm loving the variety and texture that all the different flowers/patterns introduce.  It's a floral explosion in the best way possible.  And I'm pretty sure I'd die to have that fire place surround- it's sublime.

Seeing that framed floral painting just reminds me that I need to get on it and frame (or clean up frames of) my estate sale art and get it hung.  What am I waiting for?  It's not like I'm renovating a kitchen or anything.... (excuses excuses!)

Anyway... do you love this room as much as I do?