ALMOST HOME: February 2015

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Give and Receive Art

Back before Christmas, when Philip and I were thinking through gifts for different family members, I became really excited about a few pieces of art that I thought would be just the thing for some of our loved ones.

We gave this cool nautical print of Charleston to my brother (this brother :)

Don't they say something about how it's common to want to give to others what you want to receive? I think I realized that was the case because I stopped whatever it was I was doing, looked at Philip and said with the utmost seriousness, "I want to give art! And I want to receive art!" It was probably the kind of thing you where you had to be there, but just trust me, it was quite funny. Even I could admit that it sounded rather strange, but what can I say? I tell it like it is. I wanna receive art! :)

We got this print for my brother, Andrew, who graduated from Virginia Tech. Ellie Sibiga did prints of several Virginia colleges right before Christmas.

In honor of my desire to receive art*, I am going to share with you one of my new favorite artists!

I was introduced to Hayley through Instagram (oh how I love thee). I ~~stalked~~ looked through her pictures, and I was blown away by her work. I clicked over to her Etsy site and found even more goodies. In fact, thanks to a little anticipated tax refund moolah, I am hoping for my very own piece from Hayley!

I love the faces and people she does.

"Swimmers" (I spent so much of my childhood swimming, so this one really speaks to me. In fact, part of me thinks I really should buy this one, and now I'm posting it here so I'm kind of afraid one of you will buy it instead!!)

Find this striking face here

I love the color combinations she uses in her floral paintings.

"Margo"

And I'm crazy for her abstracts!

"Dream Sequence"

Her prices are really affordable too. Really can't be beat for original work.

found via her Instagram (@hayley_km)

*I actually was the recipient of some treasured pieces of art for Christmas! I hope to share them here soon, just need to find the chance to take some photos!

Monday, February 2, 2015

My Brother's Bedroom

Happy times together at our parents' house over Christmas

My brother, Taylor, recently bought a new house in the amazing city he is so lucky to call home, Charleston, South Carolina. Fortunately for me, he has allowed me to continue in my endearing role of the meddlesome older sister who likes to give her two cents on his endeavors. When he casually asked if I could give him some ideas for a duvet for his bed, I of course said "sure!" I then promptly whipped up a board complete with countless things my bachelor (you hear that, single ladies?) brother may not feel are super high on his priority list, but hey, I couldn't resist the opportunity :)

Here is a picture of his room.

The wall color and rug were already in place, so I tried to work with them in making my suggestions. I'm not sure what color is on his wall, but I chose Manchester Tan for this board, as it appeared to be a close representation.

He has two-inch white wood blinds on his windows, but was hoping to add something to try and block the remaining light that was still coming through the blinds. Going with a true black-out drape would have been the obvious (and more expensive) route. Instead, I suggested these dark velvet Ikea drapes thinking that what they lacked in actual black-out lining, they may make up for in their dark color and heavy weight. The jury is still out, so we will have to see if they work for his purposes. At $40/pair, they are at least worth a try!

I suggested a classic ticking stripe for his duvet. It's hard to go wrong with this simple masculine look, and I thought it paired nicely with all the pattern in his rug. (To clarify, the rug in the mock-up below is one I found for the purposes of this board. It's the best I could find that comes the closest to matching his rug) I also thought it would keep the room from feeling too dark by adding a white coverlet to the bed as well.

The light flax colored headboard brings in some more texture to the room, and the lamps add a fun midcentury vibe. I love the open design of the bedside tables. They feel kind of unexpected and fresh to me.

The fabric on the toss pillows almost mimics the design on the side tables, and they help make the red in the rug feel intentional.

I tied it all together with a more modern piece of art above the bed. It pulls all the colors in the room together and the loose, organic feel is a nice counterpoint to the traditional rug and the straight lines on the tables and pillows.