Design Dilemma {Update}

I've made a little progress on the former wet bar situation in my new condo.

 

 

When we last spoke (here) about this little space it was looking pretty sad. 

 

 

The former owners had taken out the wet bar (see the plumbing?) and put in a sweet makeshift "desk" using a piece of plywood covered with peel-n-stick stainless steel sheeting.  So chic :)

 

The walls were also very yellowish.  You can see my paint samples sitting on the mantel.  Not yellow. 

 

 

Everything has since been removed from that little niche, the walls painted a crisp white (BM Distant Gray) and I bought this little chest that fills the space nicely and provides some great storage.

 

 

(sorry about the crappy iphone photos)

 

 

You guys gave me a lot of great ideas for the space and some of them are still very strong possibilities. But I needed to get the living room sort of finished and this works for now. 

 

 

 

 

 

Many of you suggested shelves...like some rough, natural wood floating shelves like these:

 

 

 

 

 

My {adult} kids voted for a bar like the one below.  Shocker ;)

 

 

 

 

But since the space is right next to my bookcases where there is already a lot going on, I decided that adding shelves so close to the bookcases just wasn't right for me. 

I need clean and simple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I shoot a lot of photos around town...if you follow me on Instagram, you already know this.  These two below are a couple of favorites from the beach at Pacific Palisades and the Hollywood sign on a cloudy day.

I ordered a couple of prints and had some custom mats cut at a local framing shop.

 

 

Far from professional, but I like them and I think they look nice in the space. 



So there you have it. Design dilemma solved for now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  You know I'm not a designer, so I can't really call it "styling", but I'm always "restyling" (aka changing stuff around) here, so it hardly ever looks the same for very long.  I change my mind a lot....do you?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you're having a great week and as always,

thanks for stopping by.

 

 

#notaprilfools

 

 

xo

 

~Karen~

 

 

 



Woodyliana {Pillows} and More Cougar Town Love

I'm super excited about a package I received from the amazing Woodyliana.

But first, check this out.  I'm always surprised by how many people I've met who love the Cougar Town painting.   

Here she is at her normal home, Omega Cinema Props.

 

 

In Jules' living room on the set of Cougar Town.

 

 

In my living room, the painting I had a friend paint for me.

If you are new to the blog or haven't previously read about my mad love for the painting, you can check it out here and here.

 

I bring this up because I've recently found another friend with a similar attraction to the painting.  Liana of Woodyliana Textiles!  You may know her from her former etsy shop and I blogged about her awhile ago when I bought these Betwixt beauties from her.
 

 

As Mary Ann of Classic Casual Home says, Li is the Pillow Master!  In case you're not quite convinced of her pillow mastery, here are some of her lovelies:

 

 

Classic Casual Home

 

 

 Classic Casual Home - One Room Challenge

 

Classic Casual Home - Vervain Ishtar

Those lumbars in Vervain Ishtar might possibly be my all time favorite pillows.  I was sad that Mary Ann wasn't selling them at her moving sale. 

So imagine my surprise when Li texted me this morning and sent a picture of this:
 

 

How awesome is this?  Li painted it after being inspired by the original Cougar Town painting she saw on TV and by the one my friend painted for me that Li had seen in my living room.  She customized the size to fit a specific space in her home (that corner in her living room where she used to photograph her pillows for her etsy shop, for those of you who remember that).  I love this size and now I want it!

I also love how she blended the colors and the drips...it's all so great!   I just love it and I'm amazed at Li's many talents!

OK, so back to the pillows.  No matter how many I have, I never seem to have the right ones.  However, I firmly believe one can never have too many pillows (holla!) so I am always excited to buy more. 

 

I purchased this gorgeous fabric from Kravet last year and for the life of me I can't remember the name of it.

 

 

It's a yummy wool blend paisley, with black, cream and gold. 

 

I sent the fabric to Li and voila, a glorious package arrived.

Seriously, isn't her packaging beautiful?  I always kinda hate destroying it to get to the goodies inside.

 

So much attention to detail.

 

 

 

  

   

My crummy iPhone photos do not do them justice at all.  I really need to learn my new camera...I've been saying that for almost a year. 

 

I am so pleased with how the pillows turned out. 

They are soft and cozy....the perfect wintery touch in my mostly white living room (it's 84 today, but whatever).

 

If you want the best, Liana the Pillow Master is your girl.

 

Hope you're having a great week!

As always, thanks for stopping by.

#youcanneverhavetoomanypillows

xo

~Karen~



Cougar Town Painting {Crush} + Omega Cinema Props

Guys, I had the best time the other day!

Back story:

 

Last Sunday night while watching Mad Men, I caught a glimpse of the Cougar Town painting in a scene.  I practically jumped out of my chair, rewind, rewind!  WTF?

Snapped this from my TV screen just to prove I wasn't hallucinating.

 

 

Here's the deal....since Cougar Town is on a loooong hiatus, they had returned the painting to the prop rental house, Omega Cinema Props.  Being the lunatic stalker that I am, this got me thinking.  So that day at lunch I decided to pop over to Omega and see if I could see the real painting...in person!  It's only four miles from my office....why not?

 

 

Talked to a super nice man and he led me to a corner of the warehouse. 

And there it was.

(Seriously, I DID hear angels singing in my head and I got goosebumps.  I am SUCH a nerd.)

 

 

 

I just wanted to touch it and stare at it and then put it in my car.

 

The light fading of the colors...it's over 50 years old, and the amazing detail on the frame....yowser.  I was more in love than ever!

 



 

It's probably a good thing they won't sell anything
(even if you beg...I tried) because I would have bought that thing

No. Matter. The. Price. 

 

Omega also owns this other painting from the Cougar Town set that a lot of fans have gone crazy for. 

 

This one is very pretty and I would love to have it also, but it doesn't make me behave like a fool like the other one does.

After looking at the painting for a ridiculously long time, I decided to take a look around the prop house.  It's gigantic...I just saw one building.  There are several buildings...I was only looking at the "residential decor" building.  There are buildings with commercial props, medical props, etc. 
You name it, they have it for rent.

 

This beautiful antique table with 16 chairs caught my eye.  The wood was so aged and beautiful.  I mean seriously.
  

(some photos via my iphone, some via Omega stock photos) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barely scratched the surface of Hollywood's largest prop house.  How fun would it be to be a set dresser, go to Omega with your list and fill up a room to make it look real for the characters who live there?  Dream job!

 

As always, thanks for visiting.
 

 Hope you're having a great week!

 

#crushingonmypaintingalloveragain

 

#truelove :)

 

 

xo

 

~Karen~