Showrooms with Colorful Bedding & Fabrics
A sleek window seat adorned with a bright patterned pillow
It’s been a long time since I last posted here, since July and August were by far the most eventful months of my life! I hope you all have been enjoying a beautiful summer filled with family, friends, color and creativity. Planning a wedding, getting married, going away for a honeymoon and then moving out of state really asks for undivided attention if you want to execute all of these feats successfully. Now that I am almost out of the woods, I am itching to get back to it so here I am!
Now that I am back in the saddle, I wanted to share with you some pics that I snapped at the NW Natural “Street of Dreams” that just closed a couple of days ago on August 29th. I fell in love with the window seat pictured above and its pretty companion, a bright orange printed pillow. I can’t help it because I have fond memories of reading books on my bedroom window seat as a child. Don’t you love clean lines and inviting pillows?
"The Graduate" by Renaissance Homes
My husband and I spent the day at the Street of Dreams with a couple of our friends perusing various “dream” homes at this event and spent most of the afternoon walking throughout these houses in our socks (not by choice). From what I heard, this year’s event was far more subdued than previous ones… maybe it’s the shaky economy? It is almost rude to showcase a bevy of multimillion dollar homes during a time when more people are struggling to make ends meet, especially in an economy like that of Portland, Oregon where unemployment is higher than many regions. Most of the houses at this event were under a million dollars, like “The Graduate” above (priced at under 500K) as well as others, except for one home called “The Forest Edge” that was featured as a grand finale for the show (a shuttle took us to a separate location so we could see it).
The Forest Edge home by Elite Development
Even though this house was amazing to look at, my favorite parts had little to do with the house and much more to do with bedding, decorating, furniture, and household accessories. Like this stylish upholstered chair and citrusy orange ruffled pillow:
A lovely patterned, upholstered chair with a froofy pillow
This chair looks like something right out of an Anthropologie or Urban Outfitters store – I love it. All you have to do is switch out the pillow for an updated look!
Teen's bedroom at Forest Edge Model Home
I also loved the vibrant colors of this bedding set above. I love the red pom-pon and graphics that are part of this bedding ensemble. The paintings are age appropriate for a teenage girl and the trio of sexy illustrated cartoon fashionistas creates a nice alternative to the typical pink “girlie” bedroom.
Colorful lounge chair pillows and outdoor accessories
Aside from the actual swimming pool at the Forest Edge home that has a breathtaking view of the forest in open air, there was some pretty cool poolside furniture and accessories that made it look like a place to invite your friends over for a vacation retreat. I love the green pillows and the colorful striped beach towels!
Whether you are in the market for a home or are just dreaming out loud, it’s doesn’t hurt to visit an event like the Street of Dreams to gather ideas and learn more about cutting edge materials and new trends in the home space.
Wishing you a lovely day wherever you are – roxipaintgirl.
Urban Outfitters Finds
I have a soft spot for colorful quilts!
My wedding is this week and I haven’t even packed our suitcases for the honeymoon yet and I’m already thinking about how I want to decorate our new place come August. I’m not even done boxing up all of our stuff in our current apartment… yet I’m jumping ahead of critical path activities and am daydreaming about shopping for new stuff.
For instance, what kind of bedding do we want (I love the patchwork quilt above from Urban Outfitters)? Are we going to buy new couches?
Our antique bar
Should we sell the retro bar (above) and use the proceeds to buy some new house flair? As much as we love this bar, it’s time to move on. I wish we knew more about it’s origins. I just know it is an antique of some sort and it appears to have an art deco-ish style about it.
I was browsing through one of my favorite blogs and saw this super cute couch from Anthropologie (same retail family as Urban Outfitters)…
This green couch is dope
As per usual, Anthropologie has a delightful selection of house furniture but it’s usually a bit on the pricey side. Though, I was surprised by how affordable (and cool) some of the furniture at Urban Outfitters can be.
Happy Monday to you all!
Multicolored Cake Layers
A montage of rainbow cakes
Layered rainbow cakes are growing in popularity as more people are calling to them for birthdays and special occasions, thanks to their instant wow factor. This collection of photos are some of my favorite rainbow cakes that I’ve seen out on the web:
- Long rainbow cake
- Pastel rainbow cake (my favorite)
- Blue frosted rainbow cake
- White butter cream rainbow cake
- Rainbow sprinkle cake
Happy Monday!
Simple handmade touches for your wedding
Handmade wedding cake toppers
It looks like between now and July 31st it’s going to be a whirlwind for me… I can’t believe I am about to get married in the next 15 days. I’m looking forward to dancing the night away, midnight pizza and beer followed by brunch the next morning in China Basin. I can’t wait. We’ve managed to keep things as low key, DIY and family-friendly as possible so we can focus on having a good time instead of keeping up appearances.
Affordable DIY Wedding Favors
In the spirit of wedding season, I am featuring some lovely DIY wedding favors to inspire those of you who are gearing up for your own weddings, or those of friends and family.
DIY succulent wedding favors
Learn how to make these wine glass succulent wedding favors here.
Simple, edible and healthy wedding favors
I love how practical these wedding favors are – who doesn’t like fresh cherries? Learn more about doing this yourself here.
A no-sew fabric fortune cookie
Lastly, this wedding favor project is one of my favorites – it is so clever and you can pick a fabric that coordinates with your wedding. The tutorial can be found here.
PatternHound Update
After the wedding, my fiancee and I are heading to Hawaii for our honeymoon and when we return to San Francisco we are going to load up our U-Haul with our stuff (and our pup) and it’s onward ho to the Pacific Northwest. My involvement with PatternHound will subside until we get settled into our new place. ll be popping in throughout this crazy time in my life but it will be unpredictable – I will be posting about once a week for the next 1.5 months.
I am going to miss talking to you all each day (I already am missing it as I am becoming more and more consumed by the wedding). PatternHound will be back in full-force this coming September along with an updated look and feel.
Love you all and Happy Friday!
Creative uses for market flowers
Flowers from SF Flower Mart.
I love summer. One of my favorite things about summer is going to various farmers markets to enjoy some sunshine, fresh produce and most importantly, find ways to bring summer into my home by picking up some bright and beautiful flowers. I also love going to flower markets, like the San Francisco Flower Mart where there is a huge but affordable selection of blooms all under one roof. The natural inclination when going to these places is to buy way more flowers than you were planning on getting… but it would be way too boring just to go home and simply stuff them into vases right?
Ideas from Country Living
A bucket of Dahlias transformed
I love these Dahlia domes – they are a great way to make use of colorful, vintage looking cake stands and they make pretty centerpieces.
Mismatched vases
I also really like the way these Dahlias look as single flowers placed in clear, mismatched vases. This has a rustic yet elegant feel to it – like I should be drinking some pink colored wine accompanied with some goat cheese and assorted fruits to go with this look.
Birdcages and flowers go together
Lastly, this idea is my favorite one from Country Living. I have always wanted a reason to buy a vintage birdcage – but why for? What the heck am I going to do with it that doesn’t involve feeding a bird or putting a fake one inside of it (tacky)? I don’t know what it is about this look but it appears fun, whimsical, and a little bit exotic. A perfect compliment to a midsummer night’s dream if you were to put some candles in the birdcage – how about an outdoor evening party?
You can get more market flower decorating ideas from Country Living here.
Have a fabulous day!
Make your own fanny pack
A stylish DIY fanny pack
Traditional fanny packs are an eyesore, despite their convenience factor. If you wore one like the fanny pack above, it wouldn’t be so bad right? It’s actually kind of cute, and if you make your own you can pick a super rad fabric that you’ll love to wear. Also, since this fanny pack isn’t shaped or constructed like a traditional one from the 80′s, you’ll just look like you are accessorizing rather than passing out raffle tickets at the carnival. You’ll get asked about where you bought this puppy and you’ll say “I made it myself.” I love being able to say that!
Learn how to make this DIY fanny pack (in a round-about way) here.
If you want to make a more traditional fanny pack, check out this video tutorial.
A rad scout pack (fanny pack) from etsy
Happy Friday!
Wedding Stationary Designer
Custom wedding reception menu & place cards
Isn’t this wedding menu and coordinating place cards by Asa Montenejo adorable? It’s a colorful, non-conventional, yet classy presentation for a wedding.
Layered wedding reception menu
These layered wedding reception menus are also gorgeous.
A colorful, custom scrapbook
Asa creates other handmade items in addition to wedding stationary, like this custom scrapbook above. I have to say, she has great taste in color and typography.
Learn more about Asa Montenejo’s work at the Inky Livie workshop facebook page and by checking out her etsy shop.
I hope you are all having a great day!
Ceramic tiles and pottery from Spain
Ceramics from Spain
I have always been fond of Spanish pottery – especially pretty hand painted ceramic bowls like some of the ones above. The look of Spanish ceramics is timeless and evokes a sense of warmth and hospitality.
Etsy even has a few vintage Spanish ceramic pieces for sale, like this pretty Chrysanthemum dish which looks oh so Amy Butler-like:
Spanish vintage chrysanthemum dish
A vintage creamer from Spain
It’s interesting how there are so many similarities between Spanish, Portuguese and Italian pottery because of the pervasive influence of Majolica pottery which appears to have begun in Moorish Spain on the island of Majorca. Learn more about Spanish tiles and ceramics here:
Have a lovely Tuesday!
Have a tea party!
A lovely patchwork tea cosy from MinxyMagic
After having such a fun-filled weekend (and it’s time for another), and in the spirit of preparing for a new place to live… with hopes of new friends and excuses for entertaining… I find that I am looking forward to having tea parties with regularity. I mean, why not? It’s a great way to socialize and talk about the latest books or movies you’ve enjoyed and try out new recipes that translate well into smaller, snack-food sizes.
A colorful and sweet tea cosy from Bella Dia
Isn’t the tea cosy above lovely? It’s a colorful treasure that I stumbled upon over at Bella Dia where you can find features on all sorts of beautiful handmade items.
A tea cosy by Lisa Stickley
It may be summertime and warm tea could be the farthest thing from many of our minds (especially those of you in hotter climates) but nothing beats the relaxation involved with making time for tea.
Make your own tea cosy
I didn’t know this, but many people in the UK get injured by slipping on tea cosies – so be careful out there!
Happy Friday and a lovely weekend to you all!
Bridal shower gifts from the heart
A montage of vintage household items from my new family
I can’t believe it is already Wednesday. I am recovering from a long and extremely fun weekend that began last Thursday and ended Monday night. My husband-to-be and I had an eventful weekend consisting of the following:
- Friends and family in town from Portland, Oregon
- A wedding in the Santa Cruz Mountains
- A bridal shower
- Mass at the church we are getting married at
- Wedding planning
- Reuniting with and visiting old family friends
- Mother-in-law & daughter-in-law bonding
The photo-collage above is a sample of gifts that my future mother-in-law gave me at my bridal shower last Saturday. Each of these items belonged to her grandmother who had the foresight to make a treasure trove of household items so they could be passed down generations. When I opened these gifts I couldn’t help but get teary-eyed because they reminded me of my own grandmother who is no longer with us.
An embroidered dishcloth
Each item was carefully ironed, starched, folded, adorned with white bows and wrapped in white tissue paper. I could tell that she took a lot of care in preparing this gift for me – right down to the personally written letter that was hidden inside the package for me.
I wish I knew more about these fabrics – especially the dishcloths and handkerchiefs. If anybody out there has any insight I’d love to hear from you. I’m guessing these are from the 40′s and 50′s…
She also gave me a beautiful dinnerware piece that I have been wanting, similar to this one (it is part of the same collection):
Amalfi platter
I can’t wait to move in August so I can put all of these awesome gifts to use in our 1940′s bungalow style house. There is nothing like grandma style to make a house feel homey!
Have a great day!
