Bookworm

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Lovely Transferware

image via country living

I love a clean, modern kitchen with vintage accents... just like Trina's kitchen, of A Country Farmhouse.  I love the inset cabinets, warm wood countertop and white open shelving.  She has shared her amazing kitchen renovation on her fabulous blog (here and here) and I have swooned about it before here.  One of my favorite features is how Trina styles her shelves. 

image from a country farmhouse

It's clean and it feels uncluttered. Oh, and that transferware! Trina rotates three different shades of transferware, to constantly revive the look of her shelving. Brilliant.

image from a country farmhouse

 

image from a country farmhouse

Well, last weekend while at an estate auction, I found three gorgeous transferware plates (and immediately thought of Trina's kitchen).  In brown and white, these guys are hallmarked Royal Mail English Staffordshire Ironstone.  I think that they would be fabulous hung on a wall in a kitchen, dining room, or entryway...  and, Trina totally inspired me to buy them.

available here.

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Pretty.

I never get tired of chinoiserie blanc de chine table lamps.  I am so inspired by this picture at the moment.  The brass impala bookends, the flowers...  magenta, green, white, and gold.  Love it.

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Jewelry Display

I did some online shopping over the weekend, and bought myself this awesome bracelet.  I can't wait for it to arrive. 

And as I anxiously wait, I am rethinking jewelry display.  I'm the girl that likes to display everything where she can see it-- bracelets on trays, necklaces spilling into porcelain bowls, rings stacked on top of eachother.  You get the idea. 

But, when I saw this amazing jewelry cabinet in Victoria Thompson's apartment, I immediately wanted one (Victoria found hers on Ebay).  I just love the idea of everything being put away.  Safely, in a beautiful piece of furniture.  Plus, with a piece this large...  I get to fill it!

Victoria's sister, Antonia, uses a gorgeous orange jewelry box...

Other beatuiful images of stored jewelry...

Victoria found her's on Ebay, and if you are interested, try searching "jewelry armoire" or "jewelry dresser" or "jewelry cabinet"... you might find something good!

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Packing It Up...

Right now, I'm packing up everything in my kitchen and moving it over to the new old house (I am finding lots of glassware that I don't use often enough.  I need to be more social, I think).  The weather this weekend is awesome (48 degrees right now!).  Not bad for January.  Perfect for moving, I'd say. 

Here are some inspirational pantry pictures for you to enjoy...  while I am taking apart my own!  Happy Friday!

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Book Smart

I love collecting art books, design books, photography books, fiction, non-fiction... you get the idea. I don't have the space that I should, and someday, I would love to have stacks and stacks of art books on my coffee table (just like an instructor of mine in grad school... she was an artist and had our class over to her house for dinner at the end of the semester. Her apartment looked over the ocean in Malibu and she had two glass coffee tables pushed together to hold several stacks of art books. It was so cool.).



But, I'm sorry. I hate sorting books by color. There, I said it.













Seriously? I think this is ridiculous.

On the Wall...

I am playing with some design ideas for a few blank walls in my house... When I posted the pictures from Kristan Cunningham's (amazing!) apartment, this gorgeous image of framed doilies really inspired me to get my act together!



It might be a collection of vintage black and white photos, or a series of framed maps, but a collection can really give your room some personality and make it uniquely your own. So get framing!




I particularly LOVE this one for some reason. Maybe it's the stripes?





If you like vintage silhouettes (which I also collect!), check this out!




















A collection of antique portraits? I like this picture, but let's face it, the BEST part are the two awesome pink chairs!