Speaking of pink + red, this notebook is fantastic. I want to design an entire room around this color palette; it’s warm, seasonally appropriate and manages to feel modern and slightly retro at the same time. If you need a notebook to keep yourself organized this time of year, click here to pick one up ($9.50 each). xo, grace
pink & red
Every February it feels like pink + red are an unstoppable duo. Cards, artwork, gifts and even food take on sweeter hues. While I tend to shy away from this color combo in my personal life (but don’t mind it at the office, where I like to feel jolted by color more often), this pattern is really working for me. When the page loaded with the main image, all I could think was “hotcha!” A good hot pink is always hard to resist. Click here to pick up a sheet ($4.50) of this gift wrap at Kate’s Paperie. xo, grace
sneak peek: amanda wright of wit & whistle
Amanda Wright and her husband, Daniel, have lived in this home in Cary, North Carolina, for nearly four years. Though the house is flanked by two cities and several highways, the huge windows in the great room provide panoramic views of the forest behind, giving the home a secluded mountain hideaway feel. In decorating the space, Amanda worked to highlight its bright and airy quality. She found herself drawn to neutrals and a bit of mid-century modern with a hint of rustic thrown in for good measure. The home is also Amanda’s workspace; she runs Wit & Whistle, a company that offers quirky paper products, art prints and greeting cards, from a studio space in the basement. Thanks, Amanda & Daniel! — Amy Azzarito
Image above: We have a two-story exposed-brick fireplace in our great room. We moved into our home in the middle of the paint-your-brick-fireplace-white craze, but I’m glad we left it alone, since the natural brick suits our house well. The zombies print is from YeeHaw.
Image above: A while back I decided to hand paint our coffee table with a herringbone pattern. It took me hours and hours to complete, but I think it turned out pretty well.
See more of Amanda’s North Carolina home after the jump . . .
sneak peek: tiffany schrader-brown
Architectural designer Tiffany Schrader-Brown has designed many renovations throughout her career, but Brooklyn townhouses are her favorite. Three years ago, she and her family moved into this 1899 townhouse in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, after the completion of not only a gut renovation but also a modern addition above the original structure that she designed and built. The result is a light-filled, family-friendly space that maintains many of its original details. She was able to preserve the old charm of the bedroom floor by repurposing marble fireplace mantles as windowsill seats, as well as keeping the exposed brick and the original doorknobs (minus the lead paint). Tiffany has successfully created a flexible living space for entertaining, spending time with family and letting her son and his best friend (whose apartment is below theirs) run free. Thank you, Tiffany, and thank you to the photographer, Rachel Been, for sending us these lovely photos! You can also check out Rachel’s Sneak Peek here. — Shannon
Image above: Books are important to us, so I built a wall of books that climbs into the double-height space around the kitchen table. Our son and his best friend use the aisle around the kitchen island like a racetrack, taking lap after lap to race, run and laugh.
See more of this renovated Brooklyn townhouse after the jump . . .
sneak peek: emma jeffs
Emma Jeffs is a UK-based designer, maker, researcher and educator with a focus on textile, surface and product design. Her background blends craft and industry experience and takes a flexible approach to working on a variety of projects, from window films for sale and as custom work to developing a line of neckwear and serving as a business mentor. When her daughter was born, she moved her office into her home to spend more time with her, but now that she is older, Emma has moved out again to find a better balance and separation between work and life. She resides in southwest London in a 1960s home next to a large park. The style of her home is a constantly evolving collection of all the things she loves. Thanks, Emma, and thanks to Akemi Kurosaka for the photos!— Anne
Image above: Our kitchen; we did this all ourselves. When we moved in we had no kitchen — not even a sink! My partner is a chef, so lots of work surfaces are a must and everything has its place. You can see a little piece of my Otto window film, which is stuck onto the glass in the door frame. You can also see in this pic that we still have to finish boxing in the oven!
Image above: A snippet from my daughter’s room, including the paper birds I picked up before she was born. They cast wonderful shadows. My Otto window film is stuck onto an old cupboard that I didn’t have time to paint before she was born. The basket-size teacup I got from a trade show I exhibited at. A polystyrene manufacturing company had produced them to demonstrate how polystyrene could be moulded. I think they should put it into production, as everyone who sees it loves it. When my daughter was a little baby, she loved sitting in it.
See more of Emma’s London home after the jump . . .
polka dot pillows
This weekend I found myself falling deeper and deeper into an Etsy rabbit hole as I tracked down the perfect pillows for our office couch. My goal was originally to buy Kilim and Moroccan carpet remnants and turn them into pillows, but it turns out it’s easier (and cheaper in most cases, at least in NYC) to buy them pre-made online. I found two sellers in particular that had an amazing selection, and these polka dot pillows were my favorite. I didn’t end up ordering these for the office because the couch upholstery already has a similar theme, but I’m seriously considering a few for my couch at home. The dots are so cheery and the silk velvet Ikat material looks so rich and warm. My favorites above and below came from the Sukan shop on Etsy, so if you like these but want to check out other color and size options, they’ve got a great selection.
More color and pattern options after the jump…
