Teal Room Tour

I know it sounds like I think I'm a rock star or something, but I am pretty excited about this tour. I mean, I only finished this room seven months ago, but back then I was carrying a 700 lb baby in my belly and couldn't muster the strength to really show you around the place. I also couldn't tie my own shoes, however that's another story.

Fast forward half a year and I'm down to my pre pregnancy weight, we just did sleep training and the dude is not keeping me up all night (don't judge -- he's still keeping me up most of the night), and occasionally I even leave the house to do photoshoots and decorating consults. Like a regular person. By myself. I'd say I pretty much own the world. Let's celebrate in living color.

This teeny tiny room was used as the formal dining room by the previous owners. Behold:

Yes, it is the same room. Scary indeed. As you can see a full size oval dining table doesn't even fit lengthwise, so we decided to repurpose this room and use the dinette as our primary dining space. That space is fraught with its own issues, but we'll deal with them another time since I promised no kitchen talk today... (but look, you can see the kitchen from here).

Ultimately we would like this room to function as an office, but for now it's actually a playroom. I moved the big wheels out of the picture just for you.

I was kind of going for an old school library look, so Sanders helped me choose some mega dark paint (Benjamin Moore Dark Harbor). Then I added flanking shelves in matching glossy paint, swing arm sconces, and of course my crazy lady painting.

I love her.

Somehow this room has become the repository for all the weird antique things I own. Grab a drink and get cozy, because for some reason I thought you might want to see every single item on my shelves.

On the other side of the room you can maybe kinda almost see my new hall wallpaper...

The styling looks like a dirt sandwich because I'm too afraid to hang anything on the paper. Maybe my new print?

My cat is obsessed with that chair, therefore it is always littered with leaves. I would love to reupholster our vintage rosewood couch and chair someday, but I will probably let the kids and pets totally destroy it first.

This room is great grandmother approved. I hope you enjoyed it, too.

What do you say: should I post more tours?

They take a long time to work up so pretty please leave a comment if you want to see more of this kind of stuff.

Or maybe you just want to talk kitchens?

I just want you to love me. Let me make you happy.

[all images copyright ERIN WILLIAMSON]

Have You Scouted Out Scowters Yet?

I've decided that 873 kitchen posts in a row might be one too many, so let me tell you about my latest obsession: Scowters. Scowters is a flash sale of epic vintage proportions that takes place Thursdays at 8pm on facebook. I know! Basically every week at 8pm my left hand has been glued to the phone while the right feeds babies, but hopefully you will enjoy funner things while facebooking -- like drinking five or six glasses of wine in between the oohs and ahhhs said flash sale will most certainly elicit. It sure beats reading 99% of the posts on facebook, because WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?

Anyhow, look what I scored at last Thursday's sale:

Well, this is the painting my screenprint was created from. Here's my new print in all its framed glory:

Now, I am a cheap bastard. I hem and haw over $8 hand painted Chinese vases, but I will buy art all day long. It's so rare that I regret buying art, because it invariably finds a home. And art makes me happy when I look at it. I can't say the same for lots of other stuff I buy -- stuff that accumulates like drifts of crap in closets and the garage.

That's not to say I'm a baller... I'm still cheap. But $140 (including shipping!) for a framed, signed 40" wide piece of art was enough for me to type SOLD during the sale. I admit that I get cappy when I'm excited.

Plus that picture makes me feel like this:

Margot Tenenbaum and Scalamandre wallpaper... two of my favorite things.

I am really liking this dude Mark Sabin's work. Check it.

I'd never heard of this artist before the Scowters sale, so hey -- I learned something new. And I supported small business.

You should support small business, too. The dealers who sell at Scowters are folks just like you and me, except way cooler and with better taste. You can learn yourself all about them right here.

I have to put in a plug for two of my favorite dealers, Christian May of Maison 21 and Susie Q of Minty fame. Two lovelier people you will not meet. Also they shop way too much so they have great stuff to sell.

All you have to do to join the party is like the Scowters facebook page and tune in to the sale at 8pm on Thursday nights. If something strikes your fancy, be the first to type SOLD in the comments. Prices are good for three days, so you can even waffle if you must. Easy Peasy. But hands off the amazing jewelry... that be mine.

Now, where shall I put my new print? I'm kinda thinking over the bed?

I bought it on Valentine's Day, so that seems appropriate.

Another location contender is in the hallway over my fancy ass wallpaper that I am scared to breathe on...

You just might be able to see a glimpse of that wallpaper tomorrow because I am posting a room tour. Finally!

You will come back tomorrow, right? I probably won't even discuss the kitchen.

[SCOWTERS]

These Kitchens Give Me a Woody

It's almost Valentine's Day, the most stupidly expensive overhyped day of the year. Well just between you and me, I don't need roses or fancy chocolates or build-a-bears in pink tutus to get me all hot and bothered. I need wood. Big strong wood. And I'm not talking cherry cabinets and glossy glazed finishes, here. I'm talking 'bout this:

Shut your mouth!

Or actually, please don't. Because we need to discuss the viagrability of kitchen wood.

Everything about this kitchen says elegant, thoughtful, and practical. Probably those aren't the precise words that come to mind when you want to get the sex on, but maybe "tactile" moves us closer to that end. These kitchens just seem like they would feel good.

To cook in.

I'm kind of obsessed. I like wood with white counters, I like wood with black counters. I even like wood with wood counters. I would like wood in my kitchen.

But I'm more than a little afraid it cannot be. I investigated the gel stain some of you suggested and it appears to kind of sit on the surface of wood, sort of like transparent paint. I don't know how I feel about that. Maybe I'm totally delusional about the quality/style of my cabinets, but what I reallllly want is a bare, matte finish -- something that looks more like old wood and less like plastic impregnated woodishness.

This is super gorge. Someday our floors might even look like this. Of course those cabinets are repurposed from an Edwardian era storefront so it's not like this can ever happen in our kitchen. Except maybe the hardware.

Sorry about the dumb picture, but I think this cabinet situation is about the best we could hope for.

What I need to know is, should I even go down this road? Is it worth it? Is gel stain the only viable option or should I actually take on the possibly sissyphean strip/stain/wax triumvirate?

I love the idea of durable, touchable, delicious wood, but am I headed for heartbreak? Is this going to triple our work load only to look crappy with our dumb cabinets?

Ermahgerd.

No cheesy iphone filter can disguise that horror, so I didn't even bother. They really are that orange.

Would I just be better off stealing Bailey McCarthy's kitchen?

And the rest of her house while I'm at it?

Help me out, people. Lower cabinet finish/color is the last decision to make before we tear this mother down.

I promise no more kitchen posts until we actually do stuff.

Also I am hoping to put up some house tour action next week.

Please don't leave me in my time of need.

[pinterest kitchens]