Uncategorized
0 Comments

Nest Refresh

By: Jen Shoop

When I first moved to Chicago, I went cray cray decorating the new digs.  I had lots of wall space and added shelf surfaces, and went all out finding cool new decor pieces.  After that initial push, I let things marinate a bit more and picked up pieces here and there.  But now, with the new year, I’m feeling a nest refresh coming on.  I have two distinct decorating impulses.  The first is black + white.  I snagged this PRADA MARFA canvas this past fall ($145+ depending on size) and hung it in a corner of our bedroom, above this amazing white wood chair upholstered in Thomas Paul’s orange aviary print (check out all of Thomas Paul’s quirky home decor items here; the chair below is not my exact style, but is available for $1,789; mine is more of a Jonathan Adler Chippendale style; and you can get the look for less / in a different format with this slipper chair from Target):

Screen Shot 2013-01-14 at 9.02.31 AM

Screen Shot 2013-01-14 at 9.39.34 AM

 

Now I am inclined to add more black + white accents to this corner of the room, and perhaps shift the Thomas Paul chair elsewhere in our pad.  I just snapped up this funky little mottled chicken print ($75) by Sharon Montrose — am obsessed with it.  I had my eye on this flamingo for awhile, but the chicken is way cooler.  I also kinda think this buffalo would be a cool addition if blown up huge on the wall of a gentleman’s lounge.  Anyway, I will maybe situate this print beneath my Prada one for some contrast and then situate them both above my new black-and-white pillows ($40 — I now buy all of my pillows from this Etsy storefront.  They have the BEST fabrics and are so affordable.  See my other picks below.) and a white sheepskin ($89).

SilkyChickenNo

pill1pills2

 

white

I’d like to style a side table in this area to complete the look.  I’d top this inexpensive tray table ($49 — this black style also caught my eye, $79), a brass pharmacy lamp (having a major moment with these — $192) and some fashion books:

top

formosa

 

I might also add a few other accessories — a Baies candle ($28 for mini size), a piece of Inslee Haynes fashion artwork ($20 for prints, $200 for originals — P.S., I had the good fortune of meeting this artist and she was the cutest little lady ever.  And, like, crazy talented.), a little brass object ($20), and a black-and-white patterned ceramic jar ($20):

make

jar

Finish with that Scandinavian style blanket I’ve featured below — just love its graphic appeal ($80).  Kind of cool mixed in with this greek key pillow for high impact ($24 each):

Screen Shot 2013-01-14 at 12.02.40 PM

pills

So, I mentioned that I had two separate impulses — one for a black-and-white style, and the other for a sort of “world traveler – jungle-esque” approach.  We have a well-loved leather couch in our living room that we’ve been looking to replace for months now.  We were looking proactively but we felt like all of the styles we saw at Crate + Barrel, Pottery Barn, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Restoration Hardware, etc., were just so…packaged.  Or expected.  Or something.  I don’t know what we had in mind, but they all felt really boring to us, and we had made a pact that any new piece of furniture we buy would be a serious investment — something we loved and were willing to splurge on.  None of the styles we saw did it.  So instead, I’m resigned to a leather couch that I will soon be updating with new Whitlock pillows ($42 each).  Just ordered these puppies, and can’t wait til they show up.  I am going to offset with an initial pillow in white and chocolate brown ($28)pillows

brown

couch

Much needed improvement.  We have a cool green-and-cream rug ($223+ depending on size) beneath it, so I think the colors will play happily together.

 

serp

The pillow was a hard choice for me.  I had about 343498098 different patterns in mind, but I loved the weight of the fabric I chose and the print was classic without being dowdy.  (I also considered having them made for me out of a rare Scalamandre fabric like this, or going more tropical-chic with this palm leaf print.  But.  I think I made the right choice.  Thoughts?)  I’m going to add a few additional preserved boxwoods ($69) throughout the house.  I already have the cutest little mini sphere that’s situated next to a rustic wedding sign Mr. Magpie and I had painted and hung outside the door of our Church with our names on it.  It’s the perfect balance of natural/undone and preserved.

ballard

How cool would one of these look atop a well-designed console table (this is SO sharp — ~$200):

leather

Love.  You could top it with all kinds of goodies, like an Hermes tray ($400) for trinkets, keys, and change; a funky parakeet lamp base ($54) with a wicker shade ($34); and this cute little elephant figurine ($24)”

top

So tell me…what do you have your eye on?!

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *.

0 thoughts on “Nest Refresh

Previous Article

Next Article