Spring! Spring! Spring Break!

by Scoops on April 1, 2013 · 0 comments


Hey Guys! It’s getting so close to being spring around here, but unfortunately my backyard is still covered in snow. I know the first spring flowers are coming and I can barely stand the wait. This spring has been a total bummer when it comes to being on time this year, there’s nothing more frustrating then making through the winter only to experience a slow spring warm up.

I was looking back over my garden photos from last April and I couldn’t resist sharing a few. I’m hoping we’ll have some of this action going on in the coming weeks. I don’t know if I could bare any more spring disappointment.

Finn is on spring break this week and I figured it would be a good idea for me to take a spring break too. I’m gonna focus on hanging with the kids and I’ll be back to blogging next Monday. Let’s hope I have something green in my yard to share with you then!

I think it’s good to take a break from time to time, even bloggers need spring vacays too. Looking forward to coming back refreshed and ready to go! See ya in a week. Go Twins!

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gardening, My Life

Etsy Finds

by Scoops on March 29, 2013 · 0 comments

Etsy Finds - Vintage State Plates

1
Pink 1947 Motorola Radio
from Robs Antique Radios – $129.00 + $20.00 (for shipping)
2
Vintage Avon Coral Powder Container
from Maria’s Farmhouse – $15.00 + $6.00 (for shipping)
3
Shabby Chic Flat Sheet with Coral Flowers
from Junque Du Jour – $13.95 + $5.95 (for shipping)
4
Vintage Redwing Coral/Salmon Planter
from Papyrus Heart – $35.00 + $22.00 (U.S.) (for shipping)

Yo dudes! So, I’ve been a little into this coral color lately, maybe you’ve been diggin’ it too? Did you see my post from earlier this week about adding vintage coral accents to a neutral bedroom? I thought I’d go ahead and do a little pretend etsy shopping, and show you some of the items I’d be into picking up if I needed to get my coral fix on.

That radio is pretty great isn’t it?? The etsy shop selling it doesn’t have a clue how to color balance a photo, (biggest etsy pet peeve of all) but I think in real life it would be awesome, and probably reads a lot more coral than the hot pink as their photos show. Think about it…

Can you guess which one of these items is my fav?

Have a super tyte weekend!

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Cool Things

Stylish Shoe Storage

by Scoops on March 28, 2013 · 6 comments

Shoe Storage
The spring clean up continues over here at Casa La Allen!! This time I’ve targeted the weird area that sits between the entry way/desk zone and the kitchen. It’s also the access point to the basement stairs. It’s a weird space that we’ve never tried to do anything with. It’s exactly 31 3/8″ wide and 12″ deep. There has been four hooks installed here since we moved in and we’ve used it as a place to hang coats. This might sound like a essential space to have in a home with no coat closet, but now that we’ve got the mud room organized and functioning we don’t need other places to hang coats. The coats, hoodies, and umbrellas we normally hang here don’t get used for months. This space has become the place you hang stuff when you’re feeling to lazy to put it away in a 2nd floor closet. So losing that coat hanging area wasn’t really essential to the function of the home or entryway. Plus I’ve got plans to add a new guest-only coat hanging place in the actual entry area.

So all that being said, I took a trip to Ikea this weekend and came home with this shoe cabinet, something way more useable and important to the function of our family. YAY SHOE STORAGE! We lucked out in a major way because Ikea designed this Ställ shoe cabinet specifically for our space (not). It does however fit perfectly into this weird space in our home. I mean, look at it! It’s sits flush inside the space, not a half inch to spare. I shimmed it a little only because the floors are a bit uneven here, but that’s it. You might notice from the link that it’s supposed to be installed with legs, but I opted not to do that. I didn’t want all sorts of dirt and toys gettings stuck under there, which would happen in about 1 minute, you know it would. Not only does it fit like a glove, there is an outlet in the baseboard behind the cabinet, so we can actually add a lamp and make the shoe hideaway look like a piece of furniture, instead of just an inexpensive piece of big box storage.

Shoe Storage

Shoe Storage
We are a family who is not good at putting our shoes away. This piece can hold 18 pairs of shoes, that’s a lot! It even stores boots nicely! We’ve only had it for 5 days now and our house feels so much more tidy because we don’t have to live with one of our 3 shoe piles that were anchored throughout the house. This might be my favorite new spring cleaning addition thus far!

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Decor, Furniture

Have No Fear, Scoops is Here!

by Scoops on March 27, 2013 · 2 comments


I had a new reader (Anna) get in touch with me recently. She had been in a style rut and was looking for help with the master bedroom of her 1916 South Minneapolis home. She was striving for a way to incorporate modern style while still allowing the room to breath and exist as part of an actual turn-of-the-century house. Of course I was ready to help her! It was fun for me to think about my design aesthetic in someone else’s home, and I thought I could use her experience to share insight with you too.

Anna had already laid some good groundwork: she had already painted the bedroom a light shade of turquoise (perfect for a bedroom) and purchased a few key items; including a dresser with modern lines from Room and Board, and a platinum Jute rug from West Elm.

My hope was to help her build off of that and give her some perspective on the design choices she had already made, while also trying to incorporate her wish list items into a solid plan for the future.

She had a few specific things she wanted to be considered: addressing the headboard, finding a pair of nightstands, identifying pillows that added a pop of color, deciding whether or not she should hang curtains, finding swing arm lamps to hang above her bedside table… and of course doing it all with a vintage modern style.

The plan that came out of our conversations wasn’t meant to be set in stone, but to be used as a loose set of instructions for how she (or you for that matter) could apply these ideas to her room (or yours).

And here you have it. A bedroom that’s bright, airy, vintage, and modern, using blue with a touch of coral. This bedroom is all about layering neutrals, subtle patterns and colors while incorporating small touches of vintage accessories and accents like the swing arm lamp pictured above.

Psst, try adding some navy accents for a different look :)

1
Stratton Blue paint from Benjamin Moore
2
Princeton Sophomore Wall Sconce from School House Electric
Anna was looking to incorporate some vintage accents back into her space and give a nod to the period of the house, and this wall sconce does just that. Made by School Electric, the adjustable arm and task lighting allows for easy book reading in bed, and the white enamel base keeps it casual.
3
Think of this headboard as a placeholder for any streamlined headboard in any sort of neutral color. All could easily work in this space.
4
Pinwheel Curtains from West Elm
I’ve used this curtain as an example in both of the moodboards. A simple graphic neutral curtain would work well in either of these spaces. With the solid rug and bedding, a graphic print in the curtain is just what this room needs.
5
Vintage Coral Accessories
In my home I always add a lot of color with my vintage accessories, and this is what I recommend doing here. Vintage pieces are fun, and lots of times reflective of our own personalities. This is an easy way to add some of yourself to the space. Stick with a specific color (or two) as a theme, and it will all work together.
6
Calvin Nightstand from Room & Board
I love the gray stain of this side table, but really any piece of furniture with modern lines and simple style will work well here.
7
Vintage Bedding from Etsy
Adding a vintage blanket to the foot of this bed would be another great way to give a nod to the old bones of a home while at the same time adding color to a space. In this case, coral will look great on this gray duvet, but if you have a colorful bedspread consider searching for a neutral vintage blanket.
8
Pietra Bed Linens from Crate and Barrel
I like my bed linens like I like my furniture, neutral as fugg. You can always add color with pillows and throws and your duvet will stay happy on your bed much, much longer.
9
Stitch Striped Pillow from Anthropologie
Guys, I love this pillow, like in a serious huge crush on sort of way. I’ve added it to my virtual shopping cart like a million times. I think I need to wait a week or two and see if I still love it so much because, if I do, I need it. Anyways, this is the perfect example of adding color, texture and pattern using pillows.
10
Chevron Pillow from Crate & Barrel
Let’s get graphic with pillows. Pillows are the perfect place to add the graphic element your room was looking for. Just make sure to follow your color palette and you’re golden. In this instance the gray of the chevron stripes has the perfect amount of yellow undertones to balance well with the light turquoise walls.
11
Jute Bouclé Rug from West Elm
Here you go, a perfectly neutral rug made from natural fibers. Gives a slight nod to a beachy sort of vibe, but the platinum is a good buffer and allows the jute turquoise combo not to get too beachified. Any fiber rug would do the trick here, and you could even sub out the solid gray for a big graphic neutral pattern and then of course just keep your curtains solid. Either works!
12
Sherwood Dresser from Room & Board
Anna had this nice dresser already purchased from Room and Board. The modern lines keep her furniture pieces unified even though they have difference stains and knobs. You could even have a white dresser with straight lines and everything would still work.

 


Now here’s the second moodboard for all those who love a burst of bright color and a tiny bit of bling too. A little more feminine than the first choice but also very modern, clean and vintage.

1
Stratton Blue paint from Benjamin Moore
2
Vintage Brass Accessories
You have my permission (like you really need my permission) to go nuts with vintage brass accessories in this room. Think all sorts of bedroomy things, like trays for bedside tables, jewelry holders, bookends, candle sticks. Okay, yes, you can overdo it, but a few key vintage brass pieces are clutch for this style.
3
Anna was into the idea of chucking her headboard, which I totally get. Maybe she’s had it for ten years and just needs something new, I dunno. Sometimes you just get over things, but, I personally love her headboard and I think it could work great in her space. All it needs is a new white glossy paint job and it’s good to go. So here’s me trying to convince her to give new life to her old head board.
4
Pinwheel Curtains from West Elm
I’ve used this curtain as an example in both of the moodboards. A simple graphic neutral curtain would work well in either of these spaces. With the solid rug and bedding, a graphic print in the curtain is just what this room needs.
5
This bedside table from West Elm would be the perfect way to get that Midcentury look in your room. It also comes in white, which I love and adore with all my heart and soul.
6
Wanna make your friends jealous? Take that $250 bucks you have burning a hole in your pocket, go over to ebay and buy this sucker right now!. If only it was about $175 less expensive it would already be illuminating my living room.
7
In the first mockup I went neutral with the bed linens, in this mock up, I wanted to show you that you can also go bold and graphic. Both work. The overall look is just more in your face and bright, but both are good. It all depends on which one you are; loud and crazy, or calm and classy. I’m always loud and crazy.
8
Round Pinktuck Pillow from Urban Outfitters
I love the vintage texture of this hot pink pintuck pillow. When your bedding is graphic and your pillows are bold, incorporate textures to add another layer.
9
Pink Silk Pillow from West Elm
Hot Pink Pillow #2, this one is not as textural as the first but is a good example of how it’s important for your pillows to stay in the same color fam when dealing with bold and graphic bedding. You get too many colors on that bed and it’s gonna start to look a little crazed.
10
Sherwood Dresser from Room & Board
Anna had this nice dresser already purchased from Room and Board. The modern lines keep her furniture pieces unified even though they have difference stains and knobs. You could even have a white dresser with straight lines and everything would still work.
11
Jute Bouclé Rug from West Elm
Again, we add the neutral jute rug that Anna had already purchased from West Elm. In this new bolder setting it doesn’t come across as “beachy” as the first mock up. Any fiber rug would do the trick here, and you could even sub out the solid gray for a big graphic neutral pattern and then of course just keep your curtains solid. Either works!

The great thing about this simple vintage modern style is that it’s really easy to mix, match and substitute pieces for others. Here are the “rules”. Keep your furniture pieces consistant. Choose pieces with clean lines that lean towards a modern or midcentury style. Go colorful on your vintage finds, collecting all sorts of different pieces, but all within the same color story. Don’t forget, vintage pieces are best if they are pieces you love and you can relate too. Be bold with pillows and throws, bringing in color, texture, pattern, and vintage elements. You can go bold or neutral with your bed linens, just remember if you go bold your pillows and throws should focus more on texture and color instead of pattern. Last rule, keep your curtains light and neutral, punch it up with a graphic pattern, and now you so have a cool room.

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Decor

It’s Melting!

by Scoops on March 26, 2013 · 2 comments


Yes, it’s happening, it’s really happening. The snow is melting and it is melting fast. The temps are warming up, and we can see little peeks of grass along the edge of the sidewalks! Ecstatic doesn’t begin to describe the way we are feeling about the coming of spring. The kids and I went puddle stomin’, it was Gus’ first official year, and he agrees, it rules.

We should start taking bets, how many weeks or days till the snow is gone? I’m calling it, April 6th, optimistic maybe, but whatever.

While we wait for it to melt, I’ll be working on a huge post for tomorrow, I’ll see you guys then.

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Kids, My Life