Pull Up A Chair

So let's talk about chairs. 

I've been toying with the idea of adding a tiny "home office" area to our master bedroom in the very limited space that is available. I've been throwing a bunch of design ideas around in my head, but each idea has a ghost chair in it. 

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I love the style of this chair, but I also love how it won't take up much visual space in the tiny area I am using. I would throw an Ikea sheepskin over it, because those are awesome (and cheap) and will be nice to cuddle up to while I do home officey things. Basically, this chair has been on my lust list for quite some time. Then I got to thinking about the spaces I drool over in design magazines and pictures on Pinterest and I realized that in each space I am drawn to the seating. Maybe I'm a couch/fab chair potato. I just really like me some nice chairs. 

One Kings Lane is a website that offers flash sales on amazing furniture and home decor. (You need to be a member to shop the sales, but you can use this link right here, to easily sign yourself up and let your inner shopaholic free!) They got in touch with me to let me know about a new decorating resource they are providing, an inspirational guide to help people when they are purchasing and styling chairs. I read through A Complete Guide to Modern Chairs and loved what they had written for a few reasons. I was a history nerd  major in college. I love history, and I love that this guide combined an old love, history, with my new love, home decor. And I loved that my beloved ghost chair was in it! It was really cool for me to read about the chair, and how it was made modern by making a classic French style chair in lucite. 

And then my little history loving brain exploded because I realized one of my favorite chairs ever is from my grandmother's house, and it's a French style chair as well. My grandmother has rocked at home decor for as long as I can remember. She has amazing furniture and has been the Queen of a well put together gallery wall, for years, ok decades, (sorry, Bobby) long before bloggers were writing "How to Make a Gallery Wall" posts. 

I decided it's pretty cool that my grandmother has this French style chair, and I will (hopefully soon) own the modern version of the chair. Hashtag twenty first century for the win. 

Another standout for me on One King's Lane guide is the Eames Lounge and Ottoman. Once upon a time I walked into my most stylish friend's bedroom and my jaw hit the floor. She had told me about a chair they had inherited from her husband's grandfather, and when I saw it I was all "OH EM GEE you have an actual Eames chair!"

A few months later  she found out it was not an authentic Eames chair. While there won't be any trip to The Antiques Roadshow, I still think it's cool to have a knock off that is actually a knock of from the mid-century as opposed to just any Eames knock off that was produced in 2013. She moved the chair to the playroom and I'm giving my girl extra bonus decor points because she styled this chair in such a modern fun way with bright pillows, and a chevron throw, because it is just awesome to mix old and new. (If brides are encouraged to do it, I say lets all do it, all the time.)

My little sister has been furnishing her first apartment in such a chic way. Instead of running out and buying a bunch of things just to fill the space, she has slowly been collecting pieces that she really loves. (Oh how I wish I had done this way back when.) When she pulled the trigger and bought an amazing chair I was insanely jealous. 

After reading A Complete Guide to Modern Chairs, I decided this chair has the design elements of Scandinavian/Danish Modern chairs. (Lily would be thrilled to know her aunt's chair design hails from the land of Elsa and Anna, or not really, but whatever people I'm writing this late at night.) And this also gets top marks in the styling department. 

I think using this guide can help you find design styles you may not have thought about previously. You can see which chairs designs are related to the ones you like, and then add pieces in to your collection that don't necessarily match, but complement each other. 

I'm going to go dream about the fab chairs I would be adding to my home, if I wasn't so tight on space now. Anyone have a particular style of chair that is high on their lust list? Let me know below! And let me know if you can find it in One King's Lane guide! Happy shopping!

p.s. This was NOT a sponsored post, and as always, all opinions are 100% my own. 

On Rainy Days, Window Shopping, and Giant Disco Elephants

Today started off like any other Monday that I didn't have to go into work. My brain got all excited at the prospect of not dealing with a case of the Mondays/relaxing/getting my home in order/having a lovely little girl day with Lily. I'm going to ruin my little fantasy by telling myself right now, that none of that actually happens on days off. By midday Lily and I were more than a little stir crazy, and because of the rain, couldn't cure the crazies by going to the park. So we did what any other person in our position would do: Go to Homegoods. (Target is obviously just as good an option but today Homegoods was our drug of choice.)

I rationalized this little Homegoods excursion by saying I was going to look for photo albums. One (ok, I) can never have too many photo albums. After snatching up every album they had (not such a great haul, only three this time) I continued on happily window shopping. Homegoods is really the best place to go to design rooms in your head around all the fun finds in the aisles. When Lily and I were ready to go, we rounded the corner to pay and then we saw this:

My jaw hit the floor.

And here it is from another angle:

Whaaaaat??

Yes people, for a mere $4,000, you too can have a giant disco elephant in your home.

A Homegoods employee happened to pass me and I said, "I'm sorry is someone really going to buy that?"

"Of course! Do you want to?"

No kind Homegoods lady, I do not.

I understand that home decor is all about personal taste. If you love it go for it. After I wrote my little taxidermy post  I had a lot of people ask me if I was serious. It's just really hard for me to wrap my head around having a giant disco elephant in a home. When I got home I searched my best friend, Pinterest for room inspiration featuring large elephants. I figured I would find some amazing room that would totally make me see how having a giant elephant makes sense. Nothing. I then went to my second best friend, Google, because Pinterest obviously didn't want to play. Again, nada.

I love elephants. There are a great design element. There are adorable elephant nurseries out there. There are amazing (small) elephant figurines to be had. There are great gift ideas that have elephants, (like a ring holder which I also saw in Homegoods today) out there. And then there are the giant disco kind. Can you imagine sitting in your living room and telling your guests, "Oh don't mind him, he's just the giant 800 pound elephant in the room."

So please, if you have a chic elephant  who is hanging our in your home, let me know below! I would love to hear about it.

Before I go, here's one more picture from today's trip. The Boo was obviously feeling left out with the elephant getting all the attention and asked me to take a picture of her too. And right before I took it, she leaned down to her doll and said, "Smile Jasmine!"

Man, I love that kid.

Target Taxidermy

This post sounds pretty weird but I promise it's not a hunting lesson. I'm scared of all animals and am the opposite of outdoorsy. And I'm from Long Island... We don't hunt. We shop.

Taxidermy, or rather fake taxidermy has been something I've really gotten into recently. A deer head on the wall sounds the opposite of chic, but when it's white with gold antlers? Please, I am sold.

Look how gorg this room is! That cute little deer is totally calling my name and we could be friends. 

My decorating bestie made one for herself and he's hanging in her dining room: 

Jealous of the deer and the fireplace. 

Off topic for a second here, but I've already discussed my Instagram addiction. The problem is that addiction feeds into another, because I follow @targetdoesitagain. This account is done by two girls who post pictures of the amazing new things target has on their shelves. I see it, I want to buy it all, and basically Instagram is dangerous. Yesterday they posted this picture:

Target you kill me!!! The second I saw that little deer above I wanted him. I know my husband is reading this right now and thinking I am craycray, but look at him is he not the chicest deer you have ever seen? And I was at target yesterday. But I promise I was inside for five minutes only, because I was there to return something and not shop, but I wanted to go find that little guy and bring him home with me.

After I got home I went to look it up on the website and realized the deer head is not for hanging on the wall, it's tabletop decor. Ok fine, I'm moving my crush on to the horns hanging right next to him. 

So pretty I want to pet them. 

Here are some other deer heads I love:

The colors are all spectacular.

This cutie is knitted! I am so sold.

So what is your take on this wall decor? Do you find it totally crazy or on my tres chic deer team? Do you have real taxidermy on your walls? Please say no, I'd be really scared otherwise.