Progress Report

First, I must apologize. Last week was pretty much a wash for me. Helping to take care of my in-laws and volunteering at my children's school left little time to write a blog post, let alone read or comment on any of yours. What free time I did have I used to write a guest blog post for another blog. I'm trying to get caught up and back into the swing of things, so I thought I would show you some progress I've made on my bedroom. It actually got kick-started when I found some great (and rather inexpensive) chests at a local antique mall.

I was immediately drawn to them and loved their style. While they're not exactly matching they have the same black lacquer base and top with the fronts being dark walnut stained, and both are in excellent shape. 

Of course, one has drawers with massive brass handles and the other has cabinet doors with a shelf inside. 

Both have slight gilded details which seem to have worn off a bit but that I'm thinking of enhancing possibly with some Rub-n-Buff. When I opened the top drawer and saw this, I knew I was in good shape:

Ah, Henredon. I knew they had to be fine quality after seeing that, and the antique mall employee told me the man who brought them in said they were his mother's pride and joy. I could tell. Of course, I got home and did some research on Henredon furniture pieces, and what do you think I found? You guessed it - the same piece (the chest of drawers, at least) only in white lacquer on 1st Dibs . . . 

Source: 1stdibs.com via My Interior Life on Pinterest

And get this, the 1st Dibs site attributes them to Dorothy Draper for Henredon and lists the pair of them for sale at $5,200! I will tell you I didn't pay even one-twentieth that price for mine. Now, I don't have any way to verify that they're Dorothy Draper other than the 1st Dibs listing. All I kept finding when I typed in Dorothy Draper for Henredon was the rather famous Espana chest that everyone in blogland is so familiar with . . .

Source: 1stdibs.com via My Interior Life on Pinterest

I don't really care what they are . . . I just like the way they look and think they coordinate nicely with the Asian panels I got from Tag a while back.

I finally hung them the way I've seen other people on blogs do gallery walls . . . trace the pieces on brown paper then put them up and nail through the paper for perfect placement.

Love this idea, and it worked like a charm.

While I still haven't found the perfect bedding yet (duvet, bedskirt and Euro shams), I did pick up a faux fur throw at Marshall's and mocked up a yellow bolster pillow with some fabric and trim I had. 

Here's a reminder of what my bedroom looked like before . . 

I think the darker bedside chests ground the bed a little more and contrast better with the light headboard. While there's still work to do, I really like the direction it's headed.

Progress is a good thing in my book. What do you think?

Still loving Thibaut's Shangri-La Collection

I adore Thibaut fabric and wallpaper and the Shangri-La Asian inspired collection (debuted in 2010) is still on my list of favorites -- I am still loving the Ting Yuan fabric in aqua. 

Screens from the EAST and NEAR EAST

I love a gorgeous Asian or Middle Eastern screen and there are so may places to put one -- behind a bed, behind a sofa, above a table -- almost anywhere there is the right  ceiling height. I just adore antique Asian screens and Middle Eastern screens. Here are a few photos for inspiration.

Coco Chanel's Paris Apartment

Charlotte Moss

Does anyone know whose beautiful work this is?  via eclecticrevisited.com.

Leta Austin Foster & Associates

Martyn Lawrence Bullard

Martyn Lawrence Bullard

Pheobe Howard

Roger Higgins and Ann Shipp, R. Higgins via Traditional Home

Chines Shoji Screen $595

Palm Beach Regency $375

Craig is Looking Good

Sorry, I was planning to post this on Thursday before I went out of town this weekend but Blogger had other ideas. During one of my recent Craigslist trolling sessions, I found some interesting pieces. First up, this Brutalist/Cubist-style mid-century dresser/credenza . . .

It looks to be a twin of Nelya's (of Head Over Heels) that Naomi (of Design Manifest) was lusting after . . .

I alerted Naomi to its presence, but alas it's too big for her space and she can't truck down to Tennessee to get it anyway. So, if anyone out there is looking for a cool piece, it's still available. A slight hitch - they're only selling it as a set (with a bed, highboy and bedside tables).Why people refuse to sell things separately is beyond me. Here is one of the bedside tables . . .

And speaking of bedside tables, I also spotted a pair of these up for sale . . .

which bear a striking resemblance to these on 1st Dibs . . . 

And while we're on an Asian kick, I thought this little side table/cabinet was pretty cute . . .

I also saw some great mid-century modern chairs . . . 

and barstools . . . 

Lastly, some cool rugs.

Love the colors in this kilim rug. Where could I put this??

I usually see these in red, so cream is a nice change.

And last but not least, this handmade Greek rug. Just loved the colors . . . 

So, have you found any great Craigslist goodies lately?

Anyone live in or near Charlotte . . .

and need a vintage sofa/settee? I just happened to stumble across this one on eBay (totally by accident, I was searching for blue velvet fabric for a chair I have) and thought it needed a good home. It looks black in the photo but the description says navy blue - yum. I, of course, don't really need this nor do I live anywhere near Charlotte, NC (it's for local pick-up only), but I love the shape and the current price (it's only got one bid but four days to go). Someone please get this so I can live vicariously through you.

This is my first time using Skitch. Have you tried it?

Anyway, just wanted to share the sofa love. And speaking of sharing the love, Ashley from Meet Me in Philadelphia was kind enough to nominate me for a Stylish Blogger Award. Thanks so much, Ashley! I just ran across Ashley's blog recently, and I am loving her style . . . I think we are kindred spirits. You must visit her blog if you have not. Check out the adorable chair and curtains in her blog header . . . you just know it's going to be good.

Since I was fortunate enough to receive this award earlier in the week, I won't bore you with 7 more things about me. I'll just say thanks again, Ashley for thinking of me!

And as this is turning out to be a rather random post, I'll just share a couple of things I found while poking around on Friday once my daughter finally went back to school after almost a week off for the snow/ice. 

Of course, I hit the Habitat store and found this . . .

Asian-style coffee table. This would be great painted/lacquered any color - I would do white or black. I think it was about $60. 

Of course, there were two matching side tables too for $45 each.

It reminded me of a coffee table makeover I just saw on The Huntress Lives. Here's her coffee table that got a makeover. The before:

And, after:

And I found these . . .

a pair of temple jar lamps. While they've been hanging around the Habitat shop for a while (I can only imagine it's because of their less than flattering rust-brown color), they're a great shape and size. Plus, there are two of them . . . I love pairs of things. They've been marked down to about $12 each. Paint them the color of your choice and with the right shades, they'd be perfect on a console table or sideboard. 

Hope everyone is enjoying a happy weekend!