In a Semi-Perfect World...

I would have a home office that wasn't serving as a guest bedroom, office, closet, storage, multi-purpose room.  I would have this:

image from pottery barn, obv.

Except maybe with more comfortable seating.  And I wouldn't have to do my craft work on my living room coffee table.  I think that Pottery Barn is trying to taunt me with keeping this Bedford Project Table in their sale section for an inexplicably long time...  Note to Pottery Barn:  If you would like to send it to me for about 1/4 of it's current sale price, I'd gladly take one off your hands.  I wouldn't even discriminate over color.  Promise.  

Farmhouse Inspired Bedside Tables

My Father-In-Law is one of the most talented men I have ever met. He designs and crafts some of the most beautiful wooden pieces I've ever seen, including these:

excuse the cords... I really need to find a way to hide them better. They ruin the whole thing!

The inspiration piece:


I can't get over how great they look! They're a bit lighter in these photos, because I had to adjust the lighting so you can see the details. I love how you can see the wood grain through the stain, and I think they're going to age beautifully. I haven't decided whether I'm going to keep the lanterns there or not. I think they look kind of small on the tables, but I can't bear to put them somewhere else...

I also need to change our comforter to this:



I just haven't gotten around to purchasing the king size (I have it in full, but we recently upgraded out mattress and I'm still trying to catch up on upgrading all of our bedding). The comforter on there now was one I bought awhile ago. I dumped it on there as a place holder, but it's much too heavy for summer and is currently driving me crazy in my sleep!

i labeled this as diy, because it technically is... i just didn't do it myself.

Excited!

Guess what are being commissioned as we speak?

image from here.

Bedside Tables!!! Yay! My father in-law is making them for us! Hooray! I can't wait!!!!

Let there be light.

Pottery Barn is having a sale on all outdoor furniture and is offering 20% off lanterns. If I didn't already have so many lanterns that James would inevitably throw me out if I brought home another one, I'd be buying three more.

Pottery Barn likes, loves, etc.

Here are some things that I'm loving from Pottery Barn this minute:

Newport Double Sink Console

I really like the shelf on the bottom and the contrast of the dark counter top. This is probably weird to say this, but aren't those faucets gorgeous?

Black & White Apothecary Bath Accessories

I started collecting these and absolutely love them. I especially love the calligraphic font used.

Farmhouse Bed in espresso and Voyager Trunk (now on sale)

And, here's my love of all furniture loves again. I really cannot wait until I have this bed. The trunk isn't too bad either. I really like the antique brass plackets on it.

Expedition Trunk

I have a thing for antique (looking) trunks... can't you tell? My parents inherited two antique trunks from my great uncle that have been sitting in our musty basement for years. I'm going to attempt to refurbish them this spring summer... we'll see how that goes.

Seaport Lanterns

I have a couple of these and love them! You can stick them anywhere, really, and they add a really nice, beachy touch to any room. I currently use lanterns on my bedside tables instead of reading lamps, and I love the way they give the room a different, more relaxing feel.

Wood & Glass Wall-Mount Candle Holders

Tiberon Planters (I prefer the blue)

I bought a few of the painted cachepots from Pottery Barn last season and planted my gardenia, hibiscus, and poppy in them. They're so bright and cheery! I was grateful to have them in my living room during the past snowy winter.

Wall Mount Bells

I already have these in my bedroom, but I still love them (that's a good sign, right?) I hung them vertically in stead of horizontally.

Map Coffee Table

I have wanted this coffee table for so very long, but it doesn't match my living room furniture. We decided to go with black, painted wood furniture in the living room to match the bookcases. It used to come in black, but I guess they did away with that color. I prefer it in black, but think that this chestnut color is pretty too.

That's all for now...

Champagne Wishes and Pottery Barn Dreams...

Here are a few items that I hope to have... eventually.... when we have a house... eventually...

from here.

This is kind of exactly how I imagine our future bedroom in our future house in our future life. I love the dark wood against the light blue walls (p.s. i love blue walls and blue anything). And I think that the billowy fabric on top of the canopy is relaxing, but not too girly. I even like the sconces, even though the cords are not internally wired and are hanging down the wall all messy-like... ok, maybe I don't like the sconces entirely.

Right now, our bedroom is a gigantic embarrassment, which consists of a mattress and box spring on a California frame. I don't even want to say this out loud, but it's even a full size mattress... UGH the horror. I do, however, love the bedding I picked out:

from here.

Which is one of the only things that is keeping me sane. I have the Matine Toile quilt with a Classic Stripe duvet cover in porcelain blue. I bought these great sheets at Target from the Waverly Metro Collection (the sheets have been discontinued) that are ivory with a black Queen Anne's Lace silhouette pattern. The other thing I love about our bedroom is the artwork. When we were on our honeymoon, we stopped at a gallery in downtown Bar Harbor and bought some really pretty prints. We recently had them framed along with a hand-drawn map of the Outer Banks, NC (my favorite place for vacation), and a watercolor we received as a wedding gift, and hung them up to make it more "grown up" looking, and less "college" looking. We don't even have curtains up. gross.

And, speaking of offices... this is what I am coveting most of all right now (the pictures are all of the same desk):

from here.

I would be so much more productive if I had this work station. I would just sit there, even when I didn't have anything to do. I am hoping that my father-in-law, who is an unbelievable carpenter in his spare time, will make one for me someday.

The thing is, that I could definitely have all, or most, of these things right now (or maybe in a few months), but we're currently saving for a house to put all of these things in. So, I'm trying to figure out which should come first... the chicken or the egg? The nice furniture or the house to put them in?

Part of me says buy the furniture now, because it's not going to be in stock forever, and buying the house, while sill far off, will prolong buying the nice furniture even further...

The other part of me says, buy the house first, because maybe your wonderful, sweet, talented father-in-law will build you the furniture someday.

Someday.

I say that a lot, considering I am the ultimate pessimist. I guess I'm trying to turn over a new leaf...

we'll see.