Gifts From My Ebay Watch List to Yours

I guess if I were a "professional" blogger I would have written this post three months ago, but as it stands I'm lucky to blog anything at all. I miss you guys.

Well. Ahem. Verklempt. Anyway, I spend a lot of time on the 'bay (we're close like that) shopping for clients and maybe probably definitely OCD shopping for myself. I learn a lot about what's interesting or desirable or unique by looking at ebay. It's a completely uncurated onslaught of mostly junk, but also some seriously amazing finds you won't see or be able to afford elsewhere. As a result of my compulsive shopping, I've amassed a watch list that must be pruned like a delicate bonsai on an almost daily basis. Part of that pruning process involves you, my friends. Vintage is my thing, but there are some fresh picks in here too. Everything is either dirt cheap or extremely well priced for what it is. I hope you enjoy.

austin interior designerCan we talk about how striking that art is? It's a vintage serigraph (screenprint) by Carmen Herrera and I so wish Pantone had gone with something more in that vein for the Pantone color of the year.

Gorgeous vintage French copper mirrored sconces/ Carmen Herrera Rojo y Negro art/ Vintage modernist necklace/ Vintage Stark 8x10 carpet/ Donghia fabric.

austin interior deisgner

This is all about chillaxing with neutrals grounded in solid graphics. Nothing too crazy here, but you might wonder how you ever lived without these anchor pieces.

Vintage modernist painting/ Large brass Stilnovo style sputnik chandelier/ Kelly Wearstler Barcelo pillow ($12!!!!!!!)/ 8x10 Tibetan hand knotted rug/ Sascha Brastoff surf ballet teapot.

austin interior designer

Animal print. If you follow me on instagram then you know I really do have a problem. But I loves it all the same.

Kelly Wearstler Barcelo pillow in alabaster/ Tibetan tiger rug/ Psychedelic Roy Ahlgren serigraph (that means some person hand printed this)/ Large cheap lucite ribbon chandelier (why am I not buying this again?!)/ Pierre Frey panther fabric.

austin interior designer

Hi, I love the 80s. And the 40s. Basically I love statement pieces that pull your hair out and demand attention.

Vintage French sconces/ 40s Italian miniature volcano paintings (bigger is not always better)/ Op art screenprint by Leviant/ Contemporary Tibetan hand knotted rug.

So there you have the tippy top of the iceberg that is my watch list. Ebay and craigslist posts are not good blog fodder. They are terrible for SEO because there is no one to link to. It's dirty, thankless work. Nobody gives you a high five for pimping their page/blog/stuff. The links expire.

So hold this moment like a snowflake in your hands, precious friends. Buy the cheap stuff asap, for tomorrow surely it will be gone...

Merry Christmas.

I really and truly love and miss you all!

One Room Challenge: Week Six -- Reveal!

Hi everyone, welcome back for the final week of the One Room Challenge! For the past six weeks a host of bloggers have worked tirelessly to take one room from a zero to a hero. [Catch up on past weeks HERE.] Let me tell you something: this challenge ain't for wimps or wussies. Six weeks ago my husband loved me, my children recognized me, and I weighed five pounds less. Apparently the threat of utter public humiliation makes me hungry. Was it worth it? I don't know, donuts are pretty delicious. Imagine this bathroom is a giant frosted donut. Nom nom.

erin williamson | design crisis

I really hope you like it, because I kind of love it. It's magic mushroom mystery submarine crazy. I so very much wish you could come visit in person because this is the hardest room in the universe to photograph EVER. And unlike most photoshoots where I am piling laundry into corners out of the camera's view, I think this space looks so much better in person.

erin williamson | design crisis

Also it is tiny so there are really only two angles, but somehow I managed to take 300 pictures. I hope you like to look at pictures of my bathroom on the internet. Let's hit the rundown.

erin williamson | design crisis

You may recall that I scored this handsome Altman's faucet on ebay. Some days I wake up filled with worry... will the brass trend die a horrible chevronesque death due to ubiquity and overuse? It might. But if you like it, do it. I think someone famous said that once.

erin williamson | design crisis

Cb2 Torked it out of the park with this mirror. It really goes everywhere, and it especially works when you have a lot of things happening in a small space. Pare. It. Down. It's awesome, except after we (Ben) hung it I decided it was about two inches too high and now there is a big hole in the wallpaper, but don't worry you can't see it because I am a wizard with concealer.

erin williamson |design crisis

My pare it down principle somehow does not extend to lighting, because when faced with electrified shiny things I can't seem not to take it to the maxxx. I am in sweet love with this Mazzega chandelier I picked up off ebay for pennies on the dollar. I swear this thing is 20x more impressive in real life. It's spun from Charlotte's webs and angel tears.

erin-williamson-design-crisis-23

After we (Ben) hung it, I decided it was two inches too high so I made him lengthen the chain, which required disassembling and reassembling with held breath and eyes wide shut. The fear of possible breakage will continue to give me ptsd for weeks.

erin-williamson-design-crisis-20

Ike was sooooo excited about this soap dish -- this glass soap dish that I didn't want him to use. He actually started crying when I tried to take it out of HIS bathroom. Because he thinks the bathroom belongs to him. Don't say I never spoil you, kid. You can have the soap dish too.

When it came time to hang last week's proposed lucite towel ring, I balked. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me until I scrolled through my ginormous collection of bathrooms on pinterest and realized that none of my favorites had a towel ring. Zero. A few had petite towel bars, which at least keep things nice and flat instead of scrunched up and germy. I decided I didn't want anything hanging on that wall... it just felt cluttered. Then I decided I hate regular hand towels so I "made" these from a vintage linen tablecloth with metallic embroidery, and by made I mean "tore artfully."

erin williamson |design crisis

All is not lost, lucite lovers. I did end up using the paper holder with fancy BLACK toilet paper, courtesy of my sweet friend Rebecca who knows my heart's desires so well.

erin williamson | design crisis

How have I lived so long without black toilet paper that my children aren't allowed to use? It's amazing. Thank you, Rebecca! When I opened the box I almost wept with delight and maybe a little bit of first world self loathing. The fact that it's a gift makes it ok. SCORE.

erin williamson | design crisis

Speaking of great friends, let's talk about my amazing art courtesy of Gillian Bryce Fine Art. I have 800 million paintings, but this wallpaper is tricky. Nothing I had worked and I was slightly EXTREMELY panicked, but I stalked the 214 Modern Vintage booth at High Point via facebook like it's my job (it is). And then I spied this beauty amongst a host of angelic creations including many beatific William Fredericksen paintings and collages (also obsessed). Gillian overnighted this hero to me... I'm kind of speechless in love with her and the art. That is service, y'all. I highly recommend checking out her giant art collection. It's excellent.

erin williamson | design crisis

Did you notice the spray painted blinds? Thanks to all my instagram buds who encouraged me to paint my fingers and toes black. I'm happy to report that it worked pretty well (on the blinds). We'll see how they hold up to a baby who likes to eat the wooden bobs. Please don't call CPS. I know the heimlich.

So I think that's it for my sources. Want to see a little freestyle action? These are the moments (cue teary montage):

erin williamson | design crisis

erin williamson | design crisis

erin williamson | design crisis

erin williamson | design crisis

And what would a makeover challenge be without a proper before and after? Put on your sunglasses, because the before pictures might blind the old and infirm. That's not you, right?

BEFORE:

erin-williamson-orc-8

AFTER:

erin williamson | design crisis

erin williamson | design crisis

erin williamson | design crisis

erin williamson | design crisis

And that, my friends, brings us to the end of our soap operatic journey through shame and into redemption. It's been a long, dusty, expensive road, and I think I've earned a bottle of something cheap and strong to celebrate.

Thank you ever so much to Linda of Calling it Home for organizing and hosting such a lovely and talented group of designers and bloggers! This challenge gets better every round, and I'm honored to have been included. If you haven't already, please do go visit the other participants to see their epic finales.

I myself plan to bust out a donut, drink some ripple, and try not to make Ben hang anything two inches away from perfection for at least the rest of the day. Until next time!

Abby M. Interiors

Because it’s Awesome

Bijou & Boheme

Calling It Home

Chez V

Chinoiserie Chic

Copy Cat Chic

The Decorista

Design Crisis

Design Indulgence

Design Manifest

The English Room

The Glam Pad

Little Black Door

Mimosa Lane

My Notting Hill

The Pink Pagoda

Simple Details

My Sweet Savannah

Verandah House

Every Pretty Room Needs a Touch of Ugly

I probably should have subtitled this post Crazy Erin's Rules, because I won't be surprised if most of the world thinks I took a side trip down magic mushroom alley on my way to crack town. But if we all worry about what most of the world thinks then no one will ever do anything interesting. So I say if not ugly, then every room at least needs something weird or vaguely dangerous or just plain unexpected. Something that feels a little alien, something that heightens contrast. A touch of ugly sharpens pretty and blurs the line between decorating and art.

design crisis

I am obsessssssed with this room. That top drawing is the stuff of nightmares, naked lady or not. But the juxtaposition of confrontational and demure is perfect and amazing. 100% commitment is everything here.

design crisis

Robert Couturier is a master at creating tension and contrast by combining traditional and contemporary elements in unexpected ways. I think I should hate that rug and the red on red on red, but in this space I love it. I can never figure out how his rooms began, and that is probably why I like his work so much. There is no formula, no magic combination of proscribed perfectly matched elements. It comes off as pure alchemy. For me, adding one detail that feels a little off, or disturbing, or rough around the edges, is a step in that direction and away from overdecorated doom.

Some food for thought:

design crisis

design crisis

design crisis

design crisis

design crisis

design crisis

design crisis

design crisis

design crisis

A splash of ugly is the punctum -- the piercing of the veil. It's the thing that recalls humanity and brings life to a room.

Or at least that's what I think. How about you? Maybe I've been watching too much True Detective.