Turkish Rugs and my Entryway

I have struggled for some time now with what exactly to do with my entry way. 

It opens directly in to my dining room and even though I love how open the space is as times, I have toyed with the idea of actually having french doors put in to define the space. 

This is something that perhaps I might end up doing some where down the road but for now I will certainly work with what I have. 

But, it needs something. You know....something to say, 

Welcome- there is a pretty awesome family who lives here and we want you to stay awhile and enjoy your time here. 

Well, whats happening now isn't saying any of those things! 

If you follow my blog at all you will know that color is not something I gravitate towards. I'm a neutrals kind of girl but one entryway trend that has me on my toes is the Turkish rug,

 or Persian, or Oriental, or whatever you might be calling them.....I kind of love them!

Although these rugs are far from new, I feel like I'm a couple years late on this trend for sure... I'm just really starting to see them everywhere and fall in love with them. 

This could totally have to do with the fact that I'm looking for them...Ha!  

But in my search, everything that I seem to find, I just adore.

Not to mention I need a rug that can serve it's purpose and handle the responsibility of holding the title of entryway rug. Its not an easy job for a rug! This area sees more foot traffic then any other spot in the house and it has to be up to the challenge. It certainly can't be a rug that shows its emotions on its sleeve, or surface, or whatever...you get my point. 

If it allowed all the marks of every person that passed over it show then it wouldn't work here long!

 I need a rug that can take the abuse and keep "most" of the marks camouflaged to the best of its ability! I also needed a rug that appears to be more that just a gigantic door mat and maybe just maybe people won't wipe their muddy shoes on it because it happens to be in front of a door....doubt it, but a girl can dream! 

Check out these inspiration photos I came across recently while working on a client project....so good!

Cottage and Vine Blog

 Apartment Therapy

The Every Girl 

And my absolute favorite of them all....here below

Heather Bullard's entry way and the one I dream about!

Seriously people...its my all time most favorite ever!! 

Can you tell I love it yet?

I have even considered replacing my entry table with this one from world market to achieve the look but unfortunately this is not in my current budget.....blah!

 So instead I went ahead and purchased the rug!! 

Ahhhhh,

 I'm excited and a little scared at the same time because I know me and color can make me anxious.  But I had to remind myself that this is something I've been considering for quite some time...no impulse purchases here, thats for sure! 

  I have looked at so many rugs and when I saw this one, I knew it was the one. 

I think it can handle the job at hand and if it can't, well I guess I love her enough to find her a new spot in the house. 

I guess we will just have to wait until she arrives to see....I will keep you posted!

Chairs....a small obsession

Do you have something you constantly gravitate towards when styling your home?

Maybe its rugs, lamps, baskets?

For me its chairs...

I can't stop. 

I just love me some chairs and I love pairing them up with a new piece of furniture. I'm constantly switching around the chairs in my home. 

Recently I found this image

Oh and I seriously died because I  L-O-V- E all of it! Every single thing!

Well,  if you follow me on Instagram you have seen this image on my feed because I shared it with the question...."what do you think of these ghost chairs?" 

My oh my I should have known the reviews would be mixed but never did I think I would get so many that totally dislike these chairs....like the response was "yuck" by some. 

Now believe that I welcome all of this feedback...you certainly can't put something out there like that and expect all answers to agree that they are as fabulous as you might think. 

I love that there are so many differences in what is beautiful in design. It creates a world of variety and opens up our design geared minds to maybe some things we wouldn't have thought of on our own. 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all!

So all the response got me thinking that maybe thats not the direction I want to go in after all. Although, I'm usually pretty confident that I know what I want in my home. I felt it wouldn't hurt  to open up my mind to other possibilities.
Here are some other ideas I've thought about for our kitchen table.

These I stole from the dining room just for a minute. I'm in love with these RH ones below and considered purchasing four of them for this table but then I wonder if they are too close to the dining chairs?

I used to have the parson chairs at the table but it didn't function well for us. Way too many dirty hands around here that see white chairs as giant napkins for those little hands!

It was so pretty but not functional.

So I switched to these...

Its funny because when I made this change everyone said "NO!! We like the others better!"

 But then they grew on everyone and when I considered the Ghost Chairs above.. again, it was "NO!!"

So I borrowed one from my friend just to see....

Well, I like it. My husband admits they are more comfortable then the metal chairs but he doesn't particularly like them. Thankfully, he doesn't care much about what I put in the house so I have free reign to do as I please. 

So after all this, what have I decided?

I guess to just leave the white metal ones for now. They do function quite well...clean up is a breeze and I guess I will do the smart thing and wait to the kitchen reno is complete before I start to style it!

So hard though!!!

Everything But The House...and a giveaway!

Have you all heard of the online estate and consignment auction website called 

Everything But The House?

If you have, then you know why I'm so excited about this post.If you haven't then be prepared to have your interior loving mind blown!

Everything But The House offers a wide arrange of products from Prada heels (no lie) to amazing pieces of furniture perfect for any collector or DIY'er like me.

There really isn't anything that they don't have and with all bids starting at $1, the possibilities are endless on what you might score!

The sales change weekly, and there are always new products to choose from. Check out their monthly sales calendar here. 

Just a few items I'm currently swooning over that are up for bid..
{click on the pictures for direct link to product}

Blown Glass Oil Lamps

Just imagine how they would look styled on this sawhorse table...perfection!

Industrial side tables

I'm pretty sure you can complete this entire look with the items currently available...wow!

Balenciaga Envelope Clutch

Okay, so this is something that I could never own if I had to pay retail but with the option of bidding on this beauty, there is a real possibility it may be accompanying me on my next date night! That seriously gave me goosebumps!

Vintage Mattel Bicycle...how cute as decor in a little boy's room like this below.

Retro Metal Storage Baskets

I could so use these in our home with all the shoes that pile up. They are perfect for our cubbies.

Can you even believe all this amazing stuff is on one site?!! 

Now you all know that my most favorite thing to do is style a room and I love a bargain at that so when I started looking through all the pieces that Everything But The House had up of auction, I couldn't help myself but design a room around it.

Every single one of these item's are up for bid right now and this amazing room (if I don't say so myself) could be yours at a steal! Check out those ginger jars and that vintage blanket chest. Now tell me you wouldn't love those in your family room. 

Well, once I finished this one I couldn't help but make another. 

Check out this darling girls room. I can totally see my Emma loving this room. I mean look at this giant E! 

I'm so in love with this One Kings Lane settee, the crystal sconces paired with the striped rug. I added in the pillows for some pops of color but again, everything else is up for bid right now! 

Look closely, do you see those Hermes boxes above?

Look how fabulous they could be styled in your home. Did I mention that I really want them!

Everything But The House main headquarters are in Cincinnati but they have locations in Atlanta GA, Columbus OH, Indianapolis IN, Lexington KY, Louisville KY, Nashville TN, and coming soon to Southwest FL. If you don't live in or near one of these locations to pick up your item, than not to worry,

Everything But The House will ship the item to you! 

But then again, what if YOU are the one that needs to sell a house full of items or maybe even just have a few you that want to consign? Well, all that information is here on the website. 

So you think I've told you everything? Okay, then hold on to your hats because those sweet people at Everything But The House want you to like their site so much that they have decided to give you a chance to win a....wait for it....

$100 gift certificate to Everything But The House so you can experience it for yourself!

All you need to do is enter in the box below and a winner will be picked a week from today! 

But until then head on over and see all the goodies just waiting for you to bid on.

Enjoy!
{ Post sponsored by EBTH but all opinions are my own}

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tassel Blanket Tutorial

You all I have been wanting this blanket from Anthropologie!!
Like a lot!
But with the price tag being a little steep for my liking, I decided to make my own!
I already had a blanket that I had purchased from Target awhile back. Nate Berkus for that matter, so totally cute!
I thought it would be perfect to add navy tassels to the navy trim already on the blanket.
While at the grocery store, I finally remembered to pick up the yarn and now I was ready to go!
Besides the yarn, you will need all these things below, along with some scissors.
You can see I already made a tassel here.

You need two pieces of cardboard. I used roughly 3x5 pieces for my tassels.

Take a piece of your yarn, a little longer than your cardboard and place it sandwiched between the
two.

Now start wrapping your yarn around the cardboard....the more you wrap, the fatter the tassel.

Now pull the piece of yarn sandwiched between the two pieces of cardboard and tie a knot 

and cut the bottom strings.

heres your tassel!

Now its time to tie a knot around it and finish it off

here you can see where your tassel top is...this is what you will sew to the blanket.

Your string is tied around the top and this is what your tassel looks like now.

Before I sew on the tassel, I like to give them a little trim to keep them nice and neat!

Now just take a little needle and thread and sew them on. 

There you have it...a sweet little tassel blanket at a much better price!

Stay Cozy

Have you all been hoping for warmer weather as much as we have around here?

Oh winter, you just aren't doing it for me anymore. I mean I loved your months when you brought me visits from family, good food and of course the gifts. But that's over now and I'm moving on....I've decided I want to start seeing Spring! 

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Oh what is a girl to do? 

Well, I say embrace this cold weather and cozy up with your favorite must haves to get you through the last few winter months.

Most winter days you can find me curled up by the fire...seriously ours must be on 24/7! That phrase always makes me giggle a little...our fireplace is on. Not, we have a fire going or we built a fire. There is no building of any kind over here....we flip a switch. I do miss the old wood burning kind of way, but I will take this over no fire any day!
Oh, how it just makes the room that much cozier.
If I'm not by the fire then you will probably find me in my bed.
It's seriously my favorite place to be. When I was pregnant, I sometimes would crawl in at 7:30!
I'm just a huge believer in comfy bedding with lots of down comforters and pillows! Everyone should have a big bed full of fluffy blankets and crisp sheets...at least I think so. I've been thinking about new ones lately and I have my eye on some from Parachute Home. I mean Valentines Day is right around the corner. (Just a little hinting there, in case my hubby happens to read this post)  Doesn't hurt to try!
Oh and of course my favorite Christmas gift this year was this cream fur blanket from my sweet friend....heaven!

 Chunky socks y'all!
I usually have the coldest feet all winter long so if you stop by any weekend day during these chilly winter months, you're going to find me wearing the biggest, chunkiest, wooly socks I can find while drinking coffee as I scour through my interior design books and Pinterest...um, can you say perfect day!

But there is no place I would rather be while the snow is falling outside than with my girl's, curled up right along beside me while we sip on cocoa and watch movies all weekend long! 

Oh Spring I really wish you would hurry it up but until then this is where I will be....hidden under the covers as cozy as can be! 

(the rhyming was purely by accident, but I left it in there anyway:)