A Visit to World Market and the hunt for a perfect chair

Sorry about the extremely long title but I just had so much to share in this post:) Over the holiday weekend my husband and I took a trip to World Market which is only about a half hour drive from our house but everyone who knows me knows that I am not much of a driver so if a store isn't 15 minutes or less from my house I just don't go that often! I'm always checking out the World Market website and had noticed that they had some new spring merchandise out that I so wanted to see in person. My experience with World Market has been pretty good but I have noticed that sometimes the photo's on their website tend to make the colors look richer and brighter than when you actually see the item in real life. We have lived in our house for 2 1/2 years now and I still have not found the perfect chairs for our living room:( Right now we have this chair that was purchased sort of on a whim from Ikea based mainly on the comfort factor and it being stain resistant!

You see I live in a house full of men, my husband and two nearly grown teenagers and one very cute little 4 year old (I'm partial:) so comfort for them is key and something durable and easy to clean for me is key! So again I purchased the chair on a whim at Ikea because it met both of those needs, it's super comfy and wipeable but not so pretty...I dream of two pretty wingback style chairs, something slightly french or victorian looking. So when I saw some of the new chairs on WorldMarket's website I knew I had to take a looks in person!

So these were my picks online before seeing the chairs in person and testing them all out.

The Peacock Quincy Chair

Source: worldmarket.com via Kelly on Pinterest

This is the Peacock Quincy Chair in person

My impression: first of all the lighting in the store is not so great so taking good pictures is kind of hard....but the color of the chair was gorgeous and I loved the velvet fabric! however it wasn't a comfy chair, more for looks than sitting in in my opnion, so definately not in the running for my house.

The Fern floral Print Erin Chair

Source: worldmarket.com via Kelly on Pinterest

The Fern Floral Erin Chair in person

Source: Uploaded by user via Kelly on Pinterest

My impression: I really like this chair, however the colors were not as vivid in person as they were online:( I really wanted the blue in the chair to be more of a true aqua blue but it wasn't although once I plopped an aqua pillow in the chair the colors seemed to pop more. It was also pretty comfy but I'm a bit afraid of it getting stained from being so light in color.

The Reading Chair

Source: worldmarket.com via Kelly on Pinterest

The Reading Chair in Person

My Impression: At first glance I liked it but didn't love it, however my husband really loved it, especially the comfort level. It was a bit more comfy than the Erin Chair but the background color bothered me a bit, it's sort of a cross between gray, beige and olive green..and yes I know I'm very picky:) This one will definately hold up better on dirty hands and sticky fingers though:)

So the contenders are the Fern floral print Erin Chair and the Reading chair. We are planning to make the purchase before their furniture sale ends on February 3rd so we have to make up our minds pretty soon! While we were there I snapped a few pictures of some other pretty home decor items I loved, there was so much eye candy and if I had been by myself I would have probably stayed in there all day snapping pictures...

I loved these gorgeous green/blue glass candlesticks, I think I'll pick these up when we go back for the chairs!

Source: Uploaded by user via Kelly on Pinterest

Pretty postcard style throw pillow

Source: Uploaded by user via Kelly on Pinterest

This Peacock artwork was breathtaking! my husband and I both loved it but at $300 it's definately a splurge purchase...

Floral fabric covered boxes

Cool vintage inspired clocks, I want one for my mantel...

Love this for the kitchen

Vintage style photo frames

So what do you think? which chair would you pick?

Embracing Emerald

So when Pantone announced their new color of the year for 2013 to be emerald green I kind of frowned a bit...Don't get me wrong I love green but I prefer bright vibrant apple green and chartreuse. Emerald green for some reason just didn't get me excited at all and I'll tell you even after checking out the Pantone site I'm still a bit on the fence. I do love what they have to say about it and the lush beautiful pictures on their website had me daydreaming about a trip to Ireland... "Lively. Radiant. Lush… A color of elegance and beauty that enhances our sense of well-being, balance and harmony." Sounds beautiful right? Check out some of the moodboards that are on their website

Those green laundry detergent bottles had me looking at laundry detergent a whole new way...

loving the ruggedly handsome man in the emerald green plaid shirt!

Gray and Emerald together are stunning on walls, who knew?


So checking out the moodboards made me start really liking the color a bit more and of course I had to to do a little cyber window shopping to see what I could come up with for little pops of emerald home decor. Here are some of my favorite finds.


Fun little pillow from etsy seller JillianReneeDecor

Source: etsy.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Pretty green trellis pillow from MotifPillows on Etsy

Source: etsy.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Beautiful wine glasses from World Market

http://www.worldmarket.com/product/novica-emerald-flowers-etched-wine-glasses-set-of-4.do

Arabesque Rug from FloorsUSA

Source: floorsusa.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Lovely recycled glass reed difuser from PrettyPalette on Etsy

Source: etsy.com via Kelly on Pinterest

How about just purchasing a bag of green sea glass from the craft store and adding it to a vase or glass bowl for display

Source: ivillage.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Beautiful yet still a little creepy buttefly specimen art, find it at BugUnderGlass on etsy

Source: etsy.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Really loving this colorful pom pom trim pillow so much although it may be more teal than emerald

Source: consuelastyle.com via Kelly on Pinterest

And last but not least are these gorgeous green vintage books found on etsy by HucksterHaven ( I love using books for decor)

Source: etsy.com via Kelly on Pinterest

What are your thoughts on the new color of the year? are you looking forward to adding some emerald to your home decor?

Fresh Magnolia Leaf Wreath and a Revelation About Me

Last weekend my niece and I collected a few branches from my mother's massive magnolia tree, the one I actually climbed as a child:) My niece loves anything crafty and has been my helper and my only craft partner since the rest of my family and friends don't really like crafting like I do, she's wonderful! I had decided to make a simple magnolia wreath for my kitchen with the leaves and I actually collected so many that I called my mom today to ask if she wanted me to make her one as well, her response was "yes I'll take it!". It took me maybe two hours but that was with interruptions by my 2 year old so if I had been making it non-stop it probably would have taken only an hour. So here it is! I just love it:) This one is going to my mom's house today to hang on her front door, I'm curious to see how long it will stay green...

Okay and now for my revelation! This has been something that has taken me quite a while to figure out but today as I was assembling the wreath it just kind of came to me that it makes total sense... I love flowers and I love making floral arrangements and wreaths, in fact I used to have a wreath business but when my father passed away last year I sort of went into a depression and didn't have the motivation to make it grow. What I have discovered about myself lately is that I love design but I adore flowers and anything to do with them, I would do it for free, and gladly play with flowers all day as a career.. So I guess my next step is getting some formal training in the art of floral design. There are some local classes I can take but also some online classes that I've seen that I'm thinking of taking. Anyway I just wanted to share with you my revelation that sometimes it takes a while to come to the conclusion of what you really want to be when you grow up.. I mean I'm 35 people! I grew up knowing a lot about flowers because my mother is a big gardener but I didn't love flowers until I was much older. Anyway I just had to share and let you know that I may start another blog devoted entirely to floral arranging since this little blog is supposed to be about decor and I'm not sure if you guys really want to read about my little arrangements and wreaths but please let me know if that is of interest to you! As always thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment, I truly appreciate it.

New Ottoman & Butterfly Pillows

I recently came across the perfect ottoman for my living room while in Homegoods.  Of course I was shopping for something else like a broom or something not very expensive but I actually have been wanting an ottoman to use next to our sofa that had a cottage feel to it and when I saw it it was instant love!  It was a bit pricey for me since I'm a cheapoholic ($99) but I walked away from it because it wasn't really in my budget.  I went home a little sad and told my husband about it, he basically said get it but just tighten up the budget next month, woo hoo!!! I was thrilled and went back the next day with high hopes that it would be there.  It was not where I saw it the day before and my heart sunk.... I walked around the store in despair and feeling really sad that I hadn't trusted my instincts the day before.  Something told me to walk down a side aisle that I don't normally go down and there it was pushed off to the side:) I was super happy and anxiously put it in my cart and paid for it!  I really love that it looks like an old post card and I really love the curvy legs on it...ah I just love it, oh and did I mention it's super cushy and comfy too?  Here it is in my living room ,

please excuse my ugly shabby slipcover, I plan on making a new one this month using the Lazy Girls's Guide to Slipcovers which I just purchased here  http://www.pinkandpolkadot.net/2010/04/lazy-girls-guide-to-custom-slipcovers.html and make a new fabulous one all by myself! (wish me luck).

I also wanted to share with you my new pillows, aren't they adorable?!!! I saw these on a recent Pier 1 advertisement that came in the mail and fell in love so when I was in the store a few weeks ago shopping for my giveaway I caved in and purchased them...

Stay tuned this week for a new wreath and some wall hangings I'm making using coasters!

New Etsy Pillows & An Update

If some of you may remember I recently took the plunge and purchased two of these beautiful chairs from Pier 1 a little over a month ago.

I loved these chairs so much that I would just gaze lovingly at them whenever I passed them, yep I've got problems, I think I spend way too much time in my house!  So after owning the chairs for two weeks I noticed one of them started creaking everytime I sat in it.  This wasn't a little creaking noise either, my husband and I both noticed it and I got a bit scared, if these chairs started creaking after two weeks then I just didn't think they were strong enough to stand up to the every day abuse that my family of 3 sons and a messy husband could put them through.  I contemplated for a long time and even though about keeping them and just putting one of them in our bedroom since surely it wouldn't get sat on much in there...  Well after plunking down $400 for both chairs my frugal self caved and decided it wasn't worth the worry to have the beauty and returned the chairs.   I started searching anywhere and everywhere for the fabric so I could possibly have some curtains or pillows made out of my beloved pattern but it seemed like the pattern had either been discontinued or was sold out everywhere.  Joanne's had it on their website but were no longer carrying it.  One day I happened to be searching etsy for pillow covers and came across this!

Seriously I couldn't contain my excitement, I promptly contacted the seller and asked if she possibly had enough fabric to make me 3 more and she said she could order more! The seller was Christina and her shop is called The Seam, you can check her out here http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSeam.  Christina was super easy to work with, really communicated during the process and did quick and great work, I highly recommend her! 

So maybe a few days afer receiving my pillow covers from Christina I stumbled upon these dining room slipcovers on the Pier 1 website!

You know I was super excited right?  I guess I'd never connected this slipcover to the chairs I loved because they have a different name....So I decided I wouldn't get my hopes up until I saw them in person.  So last night I had a couple hours of time to myself and I'd been wanting to go to Pier 1 anyway to look at dishes for Thanksgiving dinner (I'm hosting it this year) so I killed two birds with one stone:)  The slipcover in person was beautiful but I'm not sure they will fit my existing dining chairs which is okay since I really do need to purchase two more dining chairs anyway and Pier 1 has a chair that they make specifically for this slipcover.  Okay enough of my rambling, I just had to share my excitement with someone and well... my husband just doesn't get it!