Everybody Loves a Bargain

On Monday, I stayed home for a good part of the day, just poking around the internet and catching up on some blogs.  Actually, I spent a good portion of the day looking at the Rugs USA website because they were having a huge sale and I need new rugs.  So anyway, I was looking for inspiration and wound up re-checking out the living room on the Life in Grace blog, which I talked about here.

Source: horchow.com via Lori on Pinterest

buy them here

These gorgeous little footstools from Horchow are featured in the living room, and I love them.  I love the color of the ikat, and that they are fun but practical.  What I don't love is the $449.00 price tag.  That's right, people.  Oh, wait, I'm sorry.  They are on sale for $359.00.  Each.  Horchow is practically giving them away at that price, right?!

Anyway, even though they are now such a steal, I'm afraid my poor little teacher budget doesn't have room to spend $800 bucks on those two little darlings.

What's a girl to do?  Snatch up similar styles ON CLEARANCE at Target, of course.  Duh.

Source: target.com via Lori on Pinterest buy this one here

First, let me tell you that the coloring in this picture is pretty horrible. In real life, the colors are richer- the grey is a nice, deep grey and the legs don't look like that kind of icky shade of brown. And they are tufted, even though you can barely tell in the picture.  Plus, Target has a lot of different patterns and wood colors you can choose.

Now, granted, the dimensions of the ottomans are a little different than those from Horchow; the Target Threshold are 18.0 " H x 16.0 " W x 18.3 " D and the Horchow version's dimensions are 26.5"W x 21.5"D x 16"T.  So there is some difference, but not enough for me to pay $308 more per piece!  I figure if the fabric doesn't work with the new couch that will be on its way soon, then I can always recover them with something else.
I'm pretty happy with my little bargains, but I am prepared to take them back to Target if they don't fit in with the new look of the family room.  That is up to Rebecca!
Hope you are having a great day!
 

Minor Obsession: Gallery Wall

There is no denying that I love a good gallery wall.  So does Rebecca.  We have talked about it here, here, and here.  (And we mention it here, here, and here.) There's at least 15 posts where we mention the words "gallery wall."  So today I thought I would give you a peek at mine.  It is finally starting to come together, and I love that it is something the Cat and I can enjoy while we hang out together.  The office looks right into the living room, right at that wall, so while we are in here, working or reading or drawing, we can enjoy the art.
I thought that I would link up with Life in Grace today for Home. On Purpose.  I've posted about Edie's blog before, so I was excited to see that she was hosting a link up.

Poor quality- that's what happens when you take pictures with your phone, at night.

I have been collecting the art for this wall for quite some time.  I have a ton more stuff that might make it up there, including some pieces from my Gram.  She was an amazing self-taught artist.  I adored her and I adore her work, and I really want to display some of her pieces.

Love this painting by my Gram- I just need to find the perfect frame!

This was a quick sketch she did of my Grandfather- I love it
because I can look at it and see him doing that.

One of my very favorite pieces is the charcoal sketch of the Cat.  I love, love, love that picture.  When we went to Ireland, we paid a couple of art students to come by the hotel and sketch Alli and her friend, and that picture (along with some others in the same medium) were exactly what I had been hoping for.  It's one of my favorite things ever.

I also love the fox print directly below it.  I saw the artist's work on Glamour Mash and knew that I wanted one of Alison Fennell's paintings in my life.  (She's the artist behind Eastwitching and the creator of my adorable fox prints.)

buy him here

This print was $18, and worth every penny- it is printed on such nice material.  It is so professional.  It isn't just regular paper, like some art that you might order off of etsy comes on; it is really, really, really nice.  I adore it.  And along with the print, Alison included a lovely little note and a custom printed card featuring another one of her works.

Over on her website, she does a game called "Haystackers."  She hides a needle in one of the pictures on her etsy site, and if you find it, you email her telling her where it is, and then leave a comment on her site telling her which print you'd love to have.

I played after I received my first fox, and I won!  I got to add my little business fox to my wall.

Love him as much as I do?!  Buy him here.

I love my little fox prints; they add a touch of whimsy to my wall.  It was pretty heavy before, let me tell you- I have this pretty amazing painting of what looks like a Spanish explorer, and coupled with the zebra painting and the dark walls, it was looking very serious.  Not the look I was going for, even though this is the formal living room.  My fox prints add so much to this space.  I love them!

I've purchased white curtains for in there, I'm going to get white crown molding to put up, I need a new chandelier, and rug, and curtain rods... Definitely not done yet, but getting there!  Thank goodness for Rebecca, I tell you.  She is such a good friend and inspiration to me.  I wouldn't have even half of this done if it weren't for her help and guidance.

And a big thank you to Alison of Eastwitching for making such beautiful paintings- I love my foxes!

What I Need

I have blogged about this before, this particular living room found on this particular blog, but this particular coffee table has been creeping its way back into my thoughts again lately.

You see, I rearranged the furniture in my living room recently, and while I am loving it, I realize that I need a new coffee table.  Yes, I said need.  I need one.  I need a brass and glass coffee table, to be precise.  I need one like Edie's, to be more precise.

Isn't it perfect?  Only problem is I can't seem to find it anywhere.  She has sources for just about everything else in the room, but not that table.
So imagine my surprise when, earlier this week, my Mom and I were window shopping at the just-closed Salvation Army in Bishop when we spotted glass and brass coffee tables through the window.  Well, we knew we had to come back to check it out.  And come back we did, even though my stomach was feeling a little queasy.  We waited around til the store opened, hopped on over to Vons for some pepto bismol for my stomach, and then braved the thrift store.  Nothing, not even an upset stomach, was going to stand between me and the perfect piece for my family room.  Long story short a little shorter, the tables weren't perfect and  I spent the next few hours pretty sick.
Thankfully my mom was there to take care of me.  And the hunt for the perfect coffee table is still on.

Horchow

also Horchow

There are a couple of options from Horchow.  Any other ideas?

Down to Brass Tacks

I know brass has been popular for some time now, and that we've talked about it here on DGV before, but I can't help it; I love it.  I know Rebecca does, too, as she has been picking up various brass animals for quite some time now.  She has her own little brass menagerie.  Ha.  See what I did there, Tennessee Williams fans?

So my love of brass was rekindled when I took a look at the newest issue of Better Homes and Gardens and stumbled across this fun living room:

image via BHG

Want to know what really caught my eye? Can you guess?  That coffee table, of course.  I love it.  I want it. I adore it.  So I did a little recon and found the blog of the woman featured in the article (maybe her blog is mentioned in the article; I haven't read it all yet and the magazine is at my Mom's house).  I am pretty proud of myself for finding her site, because she has an even better photo that really showcases that beautiful table.

Don't you want to climb through your computer screen and cozy up in this room?  I think this shot is even more gorgeous than those featured in the magazine!
image via Life in Grace

So I want that table.  And that bench, chair, blanket, urn...  And did you notice what is in the urn?  A lovely little lemon tree, all a-bloom.  I have my lemon tree in my living room, too.  Rebecca helped me bring it in the other night because it was supposed to get really cold.  Over on Life in Grace, Edie, the blog author, says they baby their lemon tree in their house and take it in and out of the house so it can get enough sun but not get too cold.  I'm glad I'm not the only one!  I'm jealous now, though, because my little lemon tree doesn't have any blossoms like hers.
She gives a detailed account of the photo shoot here- it's an interesting read.  Her blog is fun, too- definitely worth checking out!

Plus, look at those brass pendants over the island.  I'm in love!
image via Life in Grace 

So this post started out because of her coffee table, but it kind of turned into me browsing her site and looking for more info on where she got it.  And, of course, as I look I find something else that I love.  I recommend heading on over and checking the site out.  There are some great design ideas and Edie just seems like a good person.

Hope you're having a happy Wednesday!

~Lori