Dear Santa...

Can't resist sharing a few items on my list this year, starting with these chairs for the little guy. If you're gonna have a little kid's table and chair set in your great room, it deserves to be stylish, does it not? I super love these. They totally stack together, too. Hoping one of these days I'll come upon a vintage pair for a song since they aren't currently sold in the US.

Also this stonewashed linen shower curtain. Beautiful, simple, modern. Huge bonus: comes in Extra Long! The Fog color is perfect.

Modern 3-tier stand. I love the idea of mixing this playful piece with more classic and rustic serving pieces. Alas it's out of stock till next year. That makes it tough on Santa.

House numbers. Oh, yes, the search is still going...I have a very specific vision and really don't want to settle. These ones are great (and a steal!) but this company doesn't ship to the US. Hmmm it seems my list is not easy!

Oh, Brook Farm General Store. It's always something with you...like these stripey baskets. How do you know??

Can't wait to show you what Santa's going to bring the little guy this year (I mean, I have an idea that is....we'll see if he delivers :)

Trunk love

Love this from CB2.

Modern loft-style office

We recently styled a truly exceptional modern home and one of my favorite spaces is this unassuming little office nook at the landing of the upper level. The desk is from Crate and Barrel and it came with traditional-style oval knobs. A quick hardware swap and it feels much more stylish and mod. The art is comprised of a simple white metal frame with a photo of a contemplative bull taken a few summers back at my uncle's property in Salmon, Idaho (a stop on our road trip).

We mixed a bit of country modern into this home with additional framed photos from our trip and other decorative elements which we used in unconventional ways (like these vintage French fruit crate lids as an art installation). It added a lot of warmth and character and nicely contrasted the modern details and finishes in the home; the juxtiposition is both interesting and playful.

Of course we were sold instantly when we saw these lids with the black printed numbers (finds from treaure hunting :) Sometimes unexpected pairings give the best results!

Treasure hunting

We finally made it out to our favorite antiques gallery with baby...and it only took nine months! Nonetheless, we made it- that's what counts, right? We had some specific items in mind for an upcoming project, but it's always fun to browse, too. Here are some of the things that caught our eye (brace yourselves for a lot of galvi! :)

First up (above) is this vintage nesting box displayed as functional wall storage. Love for a  mudroom or entry. Totally unique piece.

Also this great old olive bucket. Love the shape of the holes and as well as the handles which provide a little contrast.

Rustic pendant lights. Lots of possibilities...

This made us smile: A lamp made from an old water tank. The price tag made us smile, too: $878!!

Set of four cool white retro chairs. Love these as dining chairs or even just one as a casual desk chair. Great for outside, too.

I was instantly drawn to this tote of vintage bulbs. The display felt beautiful and scupltural to me. And interesting!

Giant 3x5 galvi panel. We'd use it like a piece of art. Though it weighs about 60 pounds!

Rad old windmill tail. Really wanted to grab this but just don't have a place for it.  Probably gone by now, but at least I have this picture...

After lots of perusing, our little guy fell asleep on Dad, while the gallery staff oohed and ahhed over the darling sleeping baby (he is pretty darling, sleeping or awake :) Afterwards we stopped by the waterfront near the Space Needle to soak up some sun and enjoy the fountain. It was a fun day - and definitely a milestone for us as parents since it wasn't so many months ago in our newborn fog that we were entirely convinced we'd never make it back to this place again.

Nursery art

After several different visions of a photo wall in the nursery, this is where we landed. We think it's just right! We love the rustic element the horse print adds (and the subject matter is fun for kids- who doesn't love horsies? :) The white on white metal frames we had purchased on sale at Pottery Barn ages ago for practically nothing. We filled them with old photos of our little guy's grandparents when they were kids. It's a great way to honor them while keeping the room playful and kid-friendly.

We knew we wanted something different for the changing table... and really liked the idea of somehow bringing in metal. We found what we were after in the form of this vintage industrial cart with a tray-style top at our favorite antiques gallery - which happened to just fit a smaller sized changing pad (major score). We added the middle shelf (after tracking down some old-style rounded-head screws to match the rest of the piece), some storage baskets, and voila! We love incorporating metals into our design and the baskets warm things up and tie in with the horse print beautifully.

Modern Cottage nursery

Finally, the big reveal! We love the way the nursery design turned out - it's true Modern Cottage (kid) style: playful without being cutsie or overdone and with a few 'grown up' elements to keep it cohesive with the rest of the home.



Though we plan to eventually repaint all the millwork in the house white (and re-stain the floors, and redesign several other elements) I simply could not stand designing around the beige millwork we currently have. It was bringing me (and my design vision) down. So, we brought in our painting crew to tent off the room and give the millwork and doors fresh, white paint. This made a world of difference as the room became crisp and cheerful, particularly set against the darker wall color.





It's a small space and we certainly didn't want to overcrowd it. We converted an existing TV cabinet to an armoire, a vintage industrial cart to a changing table, and found the perfect crib that felt modern yet classic and didn't cost a fortune. The chair had great lines but hideous cover choices, so we dressed it up in a custom slipcover in a charcoal fabric. The stuffed toys came from Etsy and most of the other accessories we already had. You may recognize the silhouette of Scout from this post.





We'll be sharing more details about the evolution of our Modern Cottage nursery in the weeks to come!

Photos by the uber-talented Kristine Sitko.

Under the radar

We've been contemplating new end tables for our living room for a while now, but it's nothing urgent... the narrow white-painted wood ones we have now are mostly functional and fit the space well. They were just more of a quick solution since we already had them on hand -  they weren't purchased specifically for the space. So, we figured when we eventually encountered our new end tables, we'd know they were a match on the spot. More serendipity and less actively searching. (This has worked out well for us in the past).

Recently though this modern and unassuming little guy caught my eye as I paged through the latest CB2 catalog. I am especially intrigued by the clear acrylic casters. Brilliant touch. I also like that there's a lower shelf for magazines and such. It seems with our tables now, beverages and snacks are constantly fighting for real estate on top with the magazines . I also like how little visual space this piece takes up, yet the material and construction still add tons of interest and a generally very cool vibe.

Definitely one to consider....

Easy, fuss-free style: Guest bath

We were very pleased to give an antique farm table new life in the guest bath of our latest project! With our rough desired dimensions in hand, we scoured the antiques stores for just the right fit. There were a few possible contenders, but this one was just right (we had to look past the chippy pink paint of course... see what it looked like originally below). It was the right size, the drawer with it's original bin pull was totally charming (you may recall we have a thing for bin pulls) and it offered the opportunity to add a slatted shelf below for storage. With the modern square sink and carefully selected fixtures and hardware, I think we achieved a great balance of modern and vintage. The slatted shelf provides storage space for baskets or buckets to store towels and supplies for an easy, fuss-free style. We're super pleased with it and can't wait to rescue some other old piece and do it again  :)

p.s. Isn't the faucet adorable in action??

Chunky weave chair

Loving the organic feel of this chair, and especially the low profile... perfect for a space where you might otherwise opt for backless/bench seating to maintain flow from room to room. It doesn't hurt that it also feels wonderfully fresh and summery. From West Elm.

Is that you, Urban?

If you've ever been to an Urban Outfitters store, you may have noticed their colorful home section, with all kinds of...well, interesting items. Suffice it to say, many of these products are aimed at a decidely younger market - they even call the category on their website "apartment". So imagine my surprise (and total delight!) when I browsed through their online furniture section and found the most wonderful pieces for quite affordable prices. It all started from my half-hearted flip through their latest catalog while I simultaneously watched a DVR'd Chuck the other night (don't make fun...I like it, ok?). A chair caught my eye. And then a metal shelving unit. Next thing I knew, I was purusing their entire furniture category and just look at all these fabulous pieces! Definitely a great resource for some mod seating options as well as industrial-style accent pieces. UO, I am impressed!

Cool, metal shelving unit - so versatile.

I really, really love this chair. I think it's the cool shape + orange + stripes that got me.

Decorative letters have become quite commonplace, but this one is truly unique (and only $10!).

Great simple lines on this nubby upholstured bench ... with storage! Love.

Love love love.

I'm not sure about the whole pouf thing, but as far as poufs go, I do like the raw, uber-textural nature of this one.

You can view these items and more here. Have fun!

Weathered wood

Weathered wood is one of the great components of Modern Cottage design - ideally weathered to a soft silvery grey or even a greyish brown, it adds warmth and texture as well as a rustic flavor which really honors the cottage aesthetic and casual/comfortable style that goes along with it. Weathered wood furniture and accents pieces can often be found inexpensively at antique shops. Sometimes it is an unusual piece and half the fun is cooking up a creative way to repurpose it for modern living! The key to incorporating this material into a Modern Cottage space is to go for pieces that are clean-lined and very simple in their shape and construction. Above, a versatile bench-slash-coffee table and and an old bulb crate we used as wall art. Below, a pair of rickety old folding chairs (major score by the husband more than ten years ago); a bin to catch desktop items; our fabulous driftwood sphere.

 

P.S. the wooden bin was a score from the holiday clearance section of World Market a few years ago - though we had to look past the terrible sparkly pinecones and plastic greenery that were stapled to the front. Once we determined they would be easy to remove with the help of some pliers, we took it home (and promptly back to it's pure and simple state :)

Super finds

Every once in a while, we come across something so unique, so perfectly "us", so Modern Cottage, that it makes our hearts all a flutter. When you come across such pieces, don't hesitate too long: if it's love at first sight, make it yours. In our case, this kind of reaction is often caused by vintage or one-of-a-kind pieces (although they can be new pieces that we suspect will blow out within hours of hitting stores and sites). Case in point: this salvaged antique cabinet in galvanized steel, originally used in a paint shop. It was coated in layers of paint, but once meticulously stripped, turned into this handsome beast. The seller also had the steel legs fabricated which make it a hundred times more functional. I find myself gazing upon it with adoration so often, I thought it deserved its own post :)