Interior Inspiration: Modern Catskill Retreat + Geometric Art

I have a little interior inspiration for you this morning that has me completely smitten. I am such a sucker for warm modern interiors paired with geometric art. Toss in some sheepskins, warm wood and leather and I'll move in. I am really drawn to the print on the living room wall, so I did some searching and stumbled upon Esther Stewart's similar style work, which is unbelievably gorgeous. Who wants to come to Australia with me to attend her upcoming exhibition and snag one of these beauties?

Images via 1 + 2

Images via 1, 2, 3, 4 + 5

friday finds

1. the perfect corner utilizing wall knobs
2. white and wooden rolling pins
3. pillow love: this b&w one is so good
4. i can never resist big baskets on white walls
5. the coolest lookin' power cord
6. kimono sleeve top in white summery fabric
7. a natural cat eye makeup look
8. simple strawberry tart perfect for the fourth
9. the way all-wood walls work beautifully in a space

happiest of fridays! xo, erin

Design Outdoors: Backyard + Patio

This is the first summer living in our house and we are eating it up. It's like we've been bracing ourselves, clenching our teeth and tensing our muscles, for the duration of that long harsh winter and are finally, slowly, loosening our grip and relaxing into the soft pillow that is summer.

The private patio on the back of our house does a nice job cradling us into relax mode.

I am a big fan of the Ikea Brommo (as seen above) patio chair. I had my eye on the X36 folding chair from Fab, but couldn't stomach the idea of spending $90 on chairs that would need additional work and seasoning, so these are a great substitute/dupe for ~$60 that are both comfortable and seemingly well designed.

Now all this patio needs is to be filled with friends, laughter and music. Party anyone?

DIY Horizontal Plank Wall

The first floor of our house is filled with wood planked walls. We've painted some plank walls white and others remain untouched, but I'm growing more and more fond of the white plank wall look and wanted to bring some of that texture to the second floor of our house. Switching it up with a horizontal paneled look seemed perfect for an accent wall. See the how-to below.

Materials (for a 8x5 ft. wall)

Two unfinished 4x8 ft. hardboard wall panels, cut into 5" horizontal pieces
Nail Gun
Finishing nails
Zinsser B-I-N Shellac-Base Primer
Benjamin Moore paint in Simply White

Instructions

Measure your walls to get an idea of how many panels you will need. If any sections of your wall are longer than 8 ft., you'll have seams. Go to your local hardware store and snag a few unfinished 4x8 ft. hardboard wall panels. They are usually under $10 a piece. Utilize the in-store wood cutting service and kindly ask them to rip the boards length-wise into 5-inch strips.

Using a circular saw, cut your panels according to the width of the wall, and begin placing the boards horizontally starting the top of the wall, working your way down. Using a nail gun, put a 3/4 inch finishing nail at either end of the board and one in the center. After you've nailed all of the boards to the wall, start priming using a shellac-based primer. It dries very quickly, and you will only need two coats for full coverage. Make sure to use an old, or cheap, brush with the primer. Once the primer is dry, put on a coat of the white paint.

DIY Modern Monitor Stand

In order to spruce up my new office space, I wanted modern and clean monitor stands for my computer monitors. I was formerly using two dictionaries to the do the trick and it just wasn't jiving with the high-design look I was going for. 

It didn't take me long to decide I wanted to use unfinished wood.  I keep coming back to the simplicity of whites, natural woods, and black and haven't tired of it yet.

Here's how we did it (to make dual computer monitor stands): 

1 piece of 1x6x2 Oak (cut in half) : ~$6.00 

4 unfinished wood Artesian Small Bun Feet (we got ours from Lowe's) : $2.78/foot

4 3in. straight top plates: $1.78/plate

Total cost: ~$24.00 

Design Crush: White, Walnut, and Kilim

from left to right: Threshold Walnut Frame, TOLSBY Ikea frame, Mid-century Modern furniture feet, Herman Miller Eames chair, HRUSKAA hanging planter, pillowme Kilim pillows

Classic white with walnut accents and pops of colorful Kilim patterns make me swoon. Add a touch of greenery in the form of succulents cradled in a gorgeous handmade hanging planter and I am SOLD. I'll take all of it. No thanks, I don't need a bag, I'll carry it to my car. 

eye candy: interior design genius

Anyone that has ever stepped foot in an Anthropologie store has seen the intricate and inspired decorating genius of the store's interior designers.
Unlike most retailers that feature cookie-cutter storefronts and interiors, each local Anthro store is unique and artful, making their stores a design-lover's destination spot.

They defy the odds of what can, or should, be done within a space (see table and chairs below) and border on the magical. And their color palettes...*swoon*.
In addition to the amazing decorating and design, their clothing are equally stunning. This season's Spring dresses, albeit being the cost equivalent of a month's rent, are lovely.

Browsing their stores can inspire great DIY projects (like the lamp stands below) and give a general surge of creativity with utilizing a space.

rotofugi

Rotofugi is a cool designer toy store in Lincoln Park/Lakeview that sells toys, art and other unique gifty items. The toy store doubles as an art gallery and this past Friday a new exhibit by Andrew Bell and McBess opened. We swung by on Saturday afternoon.

I wanted to take home the adorable straw-sucking Labbit by Frank Kozik and the 'This Economy Sucks' change purse had my best friend Lindsey's name all over it.



This is us holding a plush creature from the 'Horrible Squishy Pit of Cuddly Despair.'



And here is some sweet work.