MoS Nursery Time!

Since our baby boy is scheduled to arrive in just a couple of weeks, it's about time we finished the nursery and got everything ready for him! 

While it is really easy for me to know if I like something or not, actually deciding what to do in the nursery was more difficult than I expected it to be!  Anything that is super baby-ish (think pastel toile) isn't really the direction I wanted to take.  It can look so pretty, but I just wanted to do something a little different and more dramatic and modern. 

I started with a color scheme.  Before we knew if we were having a boy or a girl, I found this striped fabric to use for drapes and the cribskirt.  It's P. Kaufman Promenade, and with colors like navy, green, yellow, and coral, I figured it could work for a boy or a girl (obviously downplaying the coral if we had a boy).

When we found out we were having a little boy, I decided to do navy on the walls.  It was a bit of a challenge to find the perfect navy- not too dark, not too primary blue, not too purpley.  After a few trials and errors, we went with Sherwin Williams Revel Blue (yes, the salesman called it "Rebel Blue.") 

After posting about tole chandeliers, I knew that's what I wanted to do for nursery lighting.  I found a fab colorful one on ebay and painted it white to make it more modern.  I like the way it contrasts against the navy walls. 

For the crib, we went with a basic white Jenny Lind.  I figured with everything else going on in the room, simple was better for the crib.  Plus, I just couldn't justify spending a fortune on a piece of furniture that I knew I wouldn't be using for long (although it supposedly does convert to a daybed, ha, right....). 

Miss Biscuit approves of the nursery.

This bookcase was my dad's when he was a little boy.  It was originally dark mahogany, but I painted it white and lined it with some of my striped drapery fabric.  (I know it is way too full with all the mama-to-be/ baby books on it). The lucite lamps are from The Source Collection, and the green wooden moroccan mirror was a $14 Goodwill find in Charleston. 

On top of the bookcase is a navy ceramic elephant, a baby fork and spoon in my silver pattern, a beautiful silver rattle from my sister-in-law, and some adorable baby Tod's loafers from my very stylish sister.  Doesn't every baby need blue suede Tod's driving loafers?!

The changing table is actually a white wicker chest of drawers from my childhood bedroom.  I swapped out the wicker knobs for cute little ceramic Anthro turtles.  I framed two plates from a nursery rhyme book that was my grandmother's when she was a little girl, as I posted about here.  My husband built the changing table topper, and I just got the pad to go in it at Hancock's and bought a ready-made cover for it. 

Finding a navy rug that is a bit modern (and not $10k) is quite a challenge.  After searching and debating whether to just bite the bullet at Jonathan Adler, I found this rug at the Pottery Barn outlet for around $250 for an 8x10.  I can't say enough good things about the PB Outlet.  It is such a great resource for things like rugs.  The decals on the wall are from etsy- I was inspired by the Ruthie Sommers nursery (but of course hers is a mural rather than decals). 

I found the drapery hardware at Classic Attic, a consignment shop here in Charlotte that has really good quality window hardware for reasonable prices.  The green chair and ottoman are hand-me-downs from my parents' house, which worked out great.  The quilt on the back of the chair was hand-made for the baby by my husband's very talented aunt. 

The little wicker elephant end table is from Pier 1.  I love the style and figure I can always find a place for this in my house, even after the baby is older.

I found this little bamboo shelf at the Sleep Poet for $10, so I just painted it white.  It's perfect to keep a few special items out of a baby's reach, like the gorgeous little Herend elephant box from MoS Washington and my children's Bible from when I was born. 

The white sheepskin rug is the $25 one from ikea.  It is so soft under my (very swollen) feet.  I'm sure the baby will love to crawl around on it when he gets bigger (Miss Biscuit loves to nap on it now...)

All you mamas out there, tell me what I am forgetting!!  Unlike alot of bloggers, we have never been ones to share all the personal details of our lives with everyone (we assume you read the blog for other reasons), so this is probably more than you ever wanted to see.  But I had such a good time daydreaming, planning, and actually bringing the nursery to life, so thank you for letting me share it with you!  And we'll let you know when baby boy makes his grand entrance into the world....

Sale Rundown

I'm embarrassed to say I have yet to do an iota of post-Thanksgiving shopping- hope to remedy that today! Here are a few great offers I've come across. Be sure to add your own in the comments section!

• J Crew- extra 20% off all sale
• Banana Republic/Gap/Old Navy/Piperlime- Free shipping on all orders over $50 through December 15th
• LL Bean- 20% off all sweaters; free $10 gift card with $25 purchase
• Shop Bop- Spend $300, take $50 off, spend $500, take $100 off, spend $750, take $150 off, spend $1,000 take $225 off
• Pottery Barn- free monogramming and shipping on holiday decor and gifts
• West Elm- free shipping 11/27 to 11/30
• Urban Outfitters- free shipping on orders over $75
• Ann Taylor- take 40% off one regular priced item; free shipping on orders over $150
• Tory Burch- 30% off orders of $300 or more and free gift wrapping (through 11/30); free cheetah tote with orders over $100
• Target- free shipping on orders over $50

In Everything Give Thanks

Doesn't this Norman Rockwell scene capture the essence of a family Thanksgiving dinner?  While I am not sure I would hang a Rockwell print in my house, there is something captivating about his work- how the scenes are so evocative of the American past, and how the facial expressions convey such feeling and emotion, even moreso than a photograph. 

We hope you and your family have a very special Thanksgiving!

 

The Circa Who Bamboo Planter- Makeover or Make it Work?

As I mentioned in Monday's post, at Circa Who I picked up a vintage ceramic bamboo planter- something I'd been hoping to find for a couple of months! It's the perfect size for my medium-sized houseplant that sits in a corner of the living room. It was previously in a copper pot that didn't quite gel with the makeover my apartment has gotten this year.

However, I'm thinking that given the fact my LR has white walls, and that the plant it sits in a corner, my planter might need a little bit of pep to stand out and get its due share of glory. MoS Charlotte had terrific results when she painted this ceramic umbrella stand, and I'm thinking that might be just the case to give my planter that extra bit of personality. Shown here by the couch so you can get an idea of the color scheme I'm working with.

A couple of things I'm considering- 1) Painting the green leaves gold for a little accent; or 2) Painting the whole thing black and using gold to highlight the bamboo joints and the leaves. Sort of inspired by these Dana Gordon wastebaskets.

Or 3) Going a little nuts and painting the whole thing a fun color- like red, yellow, or green- again with gold bamboo joints and gold leaves. Sort of like this one on Etsy but with gold accents.

Or 4) Just leaving this vintage lovely as-is.

What do you think? Take our poll and help a girl out!

Oh, and a few favorite planters while I'm at it!

Red Elephant, Ten Thousand Villages

Fish Planter, Fifth Season Gardening

Vintage Bamboo, Ebay

Vintage with Alligators, Etsy

Shell Planter, Beachcomber Arts

Osa Strikes Again!

We couldn't help but notice that everyone's favorite "it book" popped up in this month's House Beautiful in Jill Brinson's cottage home in Atlanta.

If you're looking for your very own copy of I Married Adventure, you can find it here in our newly revamped Matters of Style store! We only have 2 available!

Oh, and we're also offering a copy of its even harder-to-find sequel, Four Years in Paradise, with the impossibly chic giraffe print cover. IMA and FYIP- they go together like peas and carrots!

More on our newly revamped store next week!

Thanksgiving Dressing!

No, this post isn't a recipe for my grandmother's delicious dressing (that's stuffing to those of you who live north of the MDL).  Rather, we're talking about turkey day fashion- what do you wear to Thanksgiving dinner? 

Is your celebration casual during the day, or more formal at night?  Does it involve "activities" like a family football game a la Wedding Crashers?  Sitting around eating a big meal, in which case it's nice to have a little room to "grow" in your clothes?  Or do you let someone else do all the work and go out to a fancy dinner? 

Whatever your plans, you want your outfit to be stylish yet comfortable. 

Since I'll be about 3 weeks away (hopefully) from a new baby boy, my options are quite limited, as I refuse to spend one more penny at a Pea in the Pod (yes, I could write a whole series of posts on the lack of cute, affordable, QUALITY maternity clothes).  Anyway, based upon my current wardrobe situation, you will most definitely find me in this on Thanksgiving:

Joe's Provacateur Jeans, Old Navy Maternity Coat, Gap Black Tee, French Sole Flats, JCrew Necklace, Elsa Peretti Earrings (my attempt at copying MoS Washington's fabulous vintage starfish earrings), Goyard Croisiere

 

 

For those of you without a bun in the oven who are planning an informal Thanksgiving dinner, here are a couple outfit options:

The puffy vest- a fall favorite.  Perfect for those days when it you don't quite need a heavy coat.  Remember to balance the puffiness on top with slim jeans on the bottom.  Here we have selected some stretch jeans from Ann Taylor, so even though they are fitted, they will be comfy after you have that second piece of pecan pie...

JCrew Puffy Vest, Lands End Striped Tee, Ann Taylor jeans, Coach duffle, JCrew flats, JCrew headband

A comfy boyfriend cardigan will look adorable at the dinner table!  Yellow and navy is one of our favorite combinations, and you can't beat some comfy (stretch) cords for the fall!  We also have to mention that we love Kate Spade's new line of quilted tote bags- classic!

Tory Burch Simone Cardigan, Lands End Navy Cords, Sam Edelman Navy Flats, Kate Spade Gold Quilted Maryanne Tote, Hermes Cuff

Is your Thanksgiving celebration a little more formal?

Black and silver is such an elegant pairing.  It's chic enough for a cocktail party, so you can certainly wear it again over the Christmas holidays.  And it's nice to have separates that you can mix and match later on.

JCrew Matchstick Black Jeans, Banana Republic Velvet Blazer, BCBG Ruffle Top, JCrew Crystal Necklace and Bracelet, Kate Spade Sheldon Sequin Pumps

If black doesn't seem so festive to you, how about this fabulous gold pleated sheath dress?  This is a wardrobe staple that you could easily dress up or down, depending on how you accessorize. 

Banana Republic Sheath Dress, Neiman Marcus Coat, Kate Spade Necklace, Tory Burch Clutch, Kate Spade Shoes

What are you wearing for Thanksgiving?  Is your turkey day more casual or formal?

And a special Happy Birthday to MoS Washington!

And the Winner Is...

Has our Pemberley Collections giveaway made you start looking forward to holiday decorating? We certainly are now that we've perused their fabulous selection of preserved wreaths and entertaining accessories!

Thanks to all 39 entries in our giveaway. We've plugged this number into Random.org and we're proud to announce that the winner is lucky number 3! Which means, congratulations to

Suburban Prep

You are the winner of our Pemberley Collections giveaway! You'll be able to chose any wreath of your choice from their site to kick off your holiday decorating. Please email us at mattersofstyle@gmail.com so we can get you in touch with the Pemberley Collections!

Stay tuned after Thanksgiving for another fab MoS giveaway!

MoS Shops in West Palm Beach: Fun at Circa Who

This past weekend I was lucky enough to take a quick jaunt down to South Florida to visit my parents. As an added bonus we spent Saturday afternoon poking around some fantastic antique/vintage furniture stores in West Palm Beach. West Palm has a plethora of unique design shops- from creme de la creme antique stores to quirky, hidden gem stores selling unique furnishings that are distinctly retro-Florida. 

During the trip, I finally got to visit a store I'd discovered online but had yet to visit in person- Circa Who, located on Northwood Boulevard in West Palm Beach. In my quest to find bamboo chippendale chairs earlier this year, I stumbled upon Circa Who's website and thought I had pretty much died and gone to heaven with their inventory of eclecctic, vintage 60's Palm Beach inspired furniture and accessories. Although my own bamboo chair search ended a little closer to home, my mom did end up getting a pristine set of Chinese chippendale bamboo chairs there that are totally fabulous!

The phrase "kid in a candy store" exists for a reason, but once you grow up it seems like there are fewer and fewer times to get to experience that same kind of giddiness. So I am happy to report that upon stepping into Circa Who I felt like I was in Candyland!

There is a little bit of everything in the store- large furniture, small furniture, artwork, lighting, planters, mirrors- you name it. I especially loved their offering of vintage lamps. I was greeted by this fantastic pair of white ceramic asparagus cluster lamps upon walking in the door and was in heaven.

Look up and you'll see any number of vintage tole chandeliers.

 

A little bit of everything- it's nice that most of their lamps actually come in pairs, which can be rare for vintage lighting.

This bamboo bench would be fantastic in a living room or at the foot of a bed.

If you are looking for chinese chippendale bamboo chairs, or any chairs that fall under the style of hollywood regency, look no further.

  

  

I almost keeled over at their selection of lucite table bases and benches. Of course, lucite is awfully hard to photograph given the fact that by its very nature you can see through it. But I've never seen such fantastic assortment of lucite desk and table bases in one place! And at prices infinitely lower than what you'd see on 1st Dibs.

This chrome console table with greek key styling is just divine.

And the grape vine table base......

These ceramic camel garden stools are so unusual.

If I could have thought of a way to bring this bamboo etigere home with me on the airplane, I would have snatched it up in a heartbeat. At $250, I'd categorize it as a steal!

There's plenty of foo to go around...

 

Lately I am drawn to slightly kooky over the top ceramic animals, like this life size boxer- to die for!

Here's a pretty kitty like the one Ruthie Sommers put in her daughter's room.

Two's Company has taken the owl umbrella stand and run with it- but this one at Circa Who was the real deal- they picked it up from an estate in Boca where the woman had owned it for over 30 years! For $175 it's not much more than the Two's Company version, which is about $135, and comes with a lot more history.

This fantastic bamboo china cabinet would be a stylish alternative to built-ins.

More bamboo accent tables than I even knew what to do with.

 

'Till next time, Circa Who! I'll be back!

If you're in the area I'd highly suggest stopping by Circa Who- they will also coordinate shipping items using freight carriers. Their prices, especially on large furniture, are entirely reasonable- I don't recall seeing more than a few things over $1,000.

I picked up a fabulous large ceramic planter with a bamboo motif- pictures to follow- can't decide if I should leave it as-is or do a little painting on it. More pictures from my West Palm Beach excursions will come next week!