Archive for the ‘decorating’ Category

KILIM RUG

Sunday, October 30th, 2011

The only thing I picked up in Phoenix – ever so long ago – was this little kilim rug. I grabbed it at one of those antique-y/consignment/ugly jewelry/collectables type shops that always have Blossom style hats next to old fast food cups stacked on random grandma potpourri junk with a small sprinkling of vintage thrown in for kicks.

I actually love those kind of places, even though pricing can be a tad random kooky-town and impossible to grasp. Why is the broken Mr. Potato Head $80 and the Knoll table $10? Who knows! It’s a wacky pricing roller coaster of delight and horror.

I should maybe have spent more than a minute photographing this thing and definitely switched my 50MM lens to something a bit wider. But hey, that’s apathy for ya.

Sort of making it work, kind of.

The rug is just the right size for the main work area of sink – stove – fridge. Plus adding color? What? So much pink is happening around here lately, it’s like I don’t even know who I am anymore.

On a side thought – still need to do something about updating the kitchen. The “temporary” faucet and other “temporary” fixes aren’t feeling so “temporary” after four years.

Apathy begone!

PILLOW TALK

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

A box from Turkey showed up on my doorstep stuffed full of what appeared to be about a gazillion kilim pillow covers.

Mystery box.

Somehow I completely blanked on ordering these. Have you ever done that? Been totally blindsided by a mystery box filled with mystery things? It was like a terrifying surprise christmas. Thankfully, with this newfangled thing called email, a quick search revealed that I’d ordered a bunch of pillow covers off the eBay very, very late one night…over a month ago.

Pillow sale + combined shipping discount + ease of paypal + shipping delay + poor memory  =  kilim pillow cover stockpile.

Mystery solved.

Oh what’s this? Color in the den?

I do declare!

Cheapskate Tip : Save money by scavenging pillow inserts at the thrift store.

Yup, simple stuff. Instead of buying a bunch of new down inserts – just go buy a bunch of fugly pillows that have great inserts (or even good stuffing for odd sizes) and for about a buck or less each, say hello to your new cheaply stuffed pillows.

Love this neutral desert toned spare pair. They may be living in the living room.

Oh no I didn’t just throw a baby striped pillow into that sofa corner.

Gettin’ crazy up in here.

Recklessly mixing scale and pattern?! Say what!

Oh yeah, all over this sofa.

This one might be my favorite pillow of the bunch. What a sassy little minx.

Well, with a giant pile of pillows still needing to be distributed around the house, here’s to hoping that the vintage kilim pillow thang isn’t totally “over”. Actually…no wait, I really hope it is.

Then I can buy them all up at low low prices and cover myself in a scratchy, hand woven, vegetable-dyed pile of kilim delight.

Mmmm. Itchy.

AUCTION

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

I recently attended a local auction I’ve outright avoided for years because their offerings are usually very heavily gilt and super antique. The auction house took a chance and for the first time offered up a huge modernist estate that appealed to, what I’m completely assuming, was a younger and more aggressive crowd than is normally in attendance.

The local mcm dealers came out to represent and apparently all the dealers are dudes. Which seems weird? Male heavy auctions force me to represent with my lady-ness.

And lady bits.

Along with a thousand other things, I’ve been hoping to run across a smallish simple cabinet to replace the danish secretary (barely seen HERE) that had replaced the tension shelf in the den. Yeah. Fickle. I know.

Anyway, I spotted this simple teak cabinet during the auction preview and it appeared to be a good fit for the den.

The simple design, small scale, masculine tone plus lockable storage was sort of just what I needed. I’ve got stuff to lock up. Like ceramics.

Anywho, auctions are terrifying.

Everything happens very quickly, which is confusing to begin with and then compounded by adrenaline fueled terror. But, when things got rolling, there seemed to be just a few serious bidders that included myself and about five guys – like this dude who won a few things I eyeballed very seriously, i.e. THIS and THIS. Not that I’m jealous.

[I am]

Jealousy aside, I did come home with a few nice pieces and for now, I’ll be holding onto this little chest and probably updating the art and rug and other bits of the den in an ouroboros style of fickle decorating that never ends.

So, in summation…

Auctions are fun and terrifying.
I got this cabinet.

Otherwise, billy balls are my favorite ball style plant.

BEST POST ENDING EVER.