Find of the week

Did I mention that I went to Hunt & Gather this week?  The one at 8724 Glenwood Ave..  Always plenty of interesting things there.  It's where I found the Find of the Week and here it is:

I'm so sorry I didn't note the price--I think it was something like $225.  As I often look for in my Finds, it's the kind of piece that's very versatile.  This would look great in many places in a home.  You could paint it or you could so leave it just as it is.  It's small in scale, but useful, and made out of pretty wood.  I like the little turned legs with stretchers.  I know, it kinda reminds me of the rocking chair that was a Find just two weeks ago.  I must be lovin' sweet furniture lately.  Hey, we all need sweet, homey touches in our houses.

I'd leave the finish alone, put a cushion made out of a colorful contemporary graphic fabric with contrasting welting and I'd use it to sit down and take off my sneakers when I got home from the Teeter.  Then I'd kick those sneakers underneath the bench till 45 minutes later when I head out once again!

Ciao,

Anne



The Happiness Project

I just finished reading "The Happiness Project, or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean my Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle and Generally Have More Fun" by Gretchen Rubin.  A much loved former client of mine recommended it and I will now and forever read any book she tells me to.  This book was so much fun to read.  Very thought provoking, but amusing at the same time.  Ms. Rubin took a year to examine, analyze, ponder and research the topic of personal happiness.  She does love the research, I have to say, and the statistics and the quoting of big brains.  I just skim through that stuff, as that makes me happy!

I started out reading it before bed, as it seems light and fluffy.  Then I had to stop that because it gave me too much to think about and that interfered with my sleep (nothing gets to interfere with sleep!).  So I'd read it during the day when I had a bit of time here and there. 

I love a good read, don't you?

Ciao,

Anne



I went to The Container Store

The Container Store has a cult-like following.  People love this place and the possibilities of an organized life that the aisles and aisles of containers allude to.  So today I paid a visit to the new one in Raleigh.  I can see the appeal, even though it's not really my cup of tea (oh, don't get your noses out of joint Container fans, it just means more for you).  My purchase was a $3.00 sponge holder.  It has little suction cups and a ventilated holder, so the sponge can be placed inside the sink, somewhat out of sight and definitely out of the way.  I like it very much.  It's a good idea.

But there was a very BAD idea there and it made me laugh at it's ridiculousness (is that a word?), so I'm going to share it with you.

It's a grouping of transluscent plastic cubes, made into a storage unit of some sort, costing $279.00!  Oh my gosh!  Really, it just made me laugh out loud. 

Ciao,
Anne

Find of the week

Wow, it's already Friday!  That was a fast week.  Grandboy was sick for much of it, but now is well, albeit with a very froggy voice.  My find this week is another one from Once and Again, that great consignment shop in Durham.  But I've thought about this sofa the whole week.  It's a beauty:

Oh gosh, it just makes my heart beat so fast!  It's $450, "as is." I didn't look carefully to see if there's a big problem, but I can see it needs to be recushioned and upholstered.  But it's a stunner and a bargain, no matter what.  Folks, this is the sort of thing that designers snap right up, recondition and sell in the big city for thousands of dollars.  Look at the legs!  The wood frame!  The tight back and cushy pillow seat!  I think I'm getting the vapors over this one, although I saw it a week ago, so am sure it's long gone.  But keep your eyes peeled for pieces like this and snap them up for yourself!

Ciao,
Anne

Gray--who knew?

So now the trendy color duet is gray and yellow.  It's everywhere and it looks great!  Fresh, cool, clean.  But I caution you not to go overboard.  I remember when we all felt that brown and blue was SUCH a great combo.  Now it looks dated, which it is.  If you have a blue/brown vibe going on and you want a change, may I suggest you just switch out one of those colors.  Like change the blue for a sparkling green. Or switch the brown to gray and accent with cream.  Will feel new again.  Many of us fall in love with the latest color combination and there's nothing wrong with that.  Trends are fun!  But don't feel surprised when it gets old replaced a few years later.  Trends are not classics.  Life is like a box of chocolates.  Hey, that made perfect sense to me.

Anywho, back to gray and yellow....

Nice.  I was never a gray fan.  After living in Ohio for 4 years with the famous "lake effect" constant gray skies, I had my fill.  But now I can appreciate it.  Enough time has passed and I'm living in super sunny NC, so I can see how pretty it is.  But what I really like is...

Gray and orange.

These are from the designer Christopher Peacock's own kitchen that was shown in the October Traditional Home magazine.  I love those gray walls and the pop of orange on the windows.  I know, it's just a tiny bit of both. The white cabinetry really cools it all down.  That's just the way I love it!

Ciao,

Anne



Find of the week

I had the chance to get over to Once and Again, a wonderful furniture and accessories consignment store in Durham (5420 Chapel Hill Blvd.).  They're in a nice big space and have all sorts of interesting things.  The owner is known for having a very good eye for great stuff and the turnover is quick.  SO, my "find of the week" might be gone by the time you get there, but you'll find something else, I'm sure of it.

Actually, I can't decide between 2 finds at Once and Again, so I'll show you both:

This little turquoise chest is priced at $68.00.  It's about 4 feet high, with small glass knobs.  While the color is okay, I don't like the finish--it feels sort of flat to me--so I would sand and repaint. But for $68.00 you could do a lot with this piece.  Those drawers could hold lingerie (I think technically  it's a lingerie chest), craft supplies or so many other things that it boggles the mind.  It could sit in the bonus room,  bathroom,  laundry room, guest room, a walk in closet (fab for sorting mittens, hats, scarfs) or a teen's room.  I always think of teens for the oddest stuff, I know.   Personally, I want it for storage in my office.  I'd paint it a glossy color, maybe tomato or gray (quite a difference there Anne).

Here's the other find:

This walnut rocker is gorgeous and comfortable.  $125.00!  Can you believe it?  I'd change the seat upholstery to something more modern, but that's just my taste.  The wood is lovely and the finish feels satiny.  Nice piece.  I can't think of anywhere that this chair couldn't go.  I should have bought it. 

I've got some more pictures from that store to show you.  Tonmorrow.

Ciao,

Anne

My kitchen

This is my kitchen. 

I've been putting more pictures on the "My Work" page (look on the right sidebar of this blog where it says "DECOCCO DESIGN", find those words and click).  This was one of the pictures I was adding and I found that, instead of a quick caption underneath, I was writing a paragraph..  So I'll make it a post instead.

When we moved into this house, we did a LOT of expensive things to renovate and update.  Putting in a new kitchen was not in the cards.  So we had the old oak cabinets painted this lovely sagey color and the walls a neutral khaki, purchased a new island and counter depth fridge and moved our stuff in.  I love this room.  There are a few things you can't see, like the little desk and the pantry, but you get the gist.  It's a nice size kitchen and we could tear it out and make a showstopper, but I hope we never do. 

This room feels old, warm and cozy to me.  It feels like the place where spaghetti sauce is stirred, brownies are made and science experiments are conducted in the sink.  And that's exactly what happens here.  I make homemade pizza on that island every Friday (what a mess--are you a messy cook?  I sure am!).

See those lovely oval Vietri dishes hanging on the wall over on the left (there are 3, you can't see them all).  Underneath those dishes is original artwork by my favorite artist when he was 4 years old (he's now 5).   

Ciao,

Anne

Ikea gives me lots of ideas

Went to Ikea, had a good time, as usual.  Such simple, light hearted design!  Such clean lines and great ideas!  Such heavy, heavy boxes!  Here's what I chose to take a picture of this time:

These are glas panels that sit on top of a light box.  I love letters, so this "eye chart" kind of design really appealed to me.  The glass panels are $20 each and come in  range of designs.  The light boxes cost another $30 or so.  I like the idea of it all, but what you don't see in the photo is the electrical cord with on/off switch that hangs right below.  I'm famous for my disdain for cords.  I don't want to see them!  So I'm loving the concept, but want it mounted on the wall like a sconce (hardwired).  So much for $20, I know.  But it's an idea you could really run with!

I've gotten a lot of nice feedback on the blog lately.  Thank you!

Ciao,

Anne

Find of the week!

New feature--I promise you a "find of the week" each and every week.  My hope is that the find will be from a local store, but I'm not ruling out the ocassional online find.  This week it's this FABulous chair.

I found this at the Home Comfort store on Glenwood in Raleigh.  This color is on sale for $749.95.  It's leather and vinyl--a new concept to me (probably an old concept, but I can't stay on top of everything, so I'm calling it new).  That mean the sides and back are vinyl and the rest is leather.  Nice, aniline dyed leather.  AND it's a recliner!  The color is hard to tell from the picture.  It's a pretty bright chartreuse, which is a yellow/green.  It comes in other colors (price goes up a bit).  In an otherwise neutral room, this color would be a hit.  Would also go well with lots of other colors because chartreuse is a color found in nature (think of Spring leaves).  It's fairly small in size; a big guy would find it small.  But it's size means it could fit in many a space that otherwise couldn't take a big leather club chair.  And remember that it's a recliner!  Nice for a small reading corner, great in a bedroom, lovely next to a fireplace.  Adorable in a teen's room.  I could think of lots of places for this chair.

 I sat in it--very comfy.  I thought the big buttons might be a problem, but I didn't feel them at all.  Really, this chair is a find!  Go see Richard Altman at Home Comfort if you'd like to buy this chair.  Again, it comes in other colors if you're just not this brave, but you're looking for a small leather recliner.  They're hard to find.  One more feature--it's made by Lane, a North Carolina furniture company.

You're welcome!

Ciao,

Anne

Fall is SO GOOD!

photo from Houzz.com

Ahhhhh.  Fall is really here.  We earned it this year, that's for sure.  Now everywhere I look I see rich, gorgeous colors.  Like the room above.  How great is that wall and the colors in the rug?  Notice the color of the two sofas though.  Nice, neutral beige.  They make the room work, giving the eye a place to rest.  I think the accent wall is kind of a pumpkin color.  If I see one more recipe for pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread or pumpkin casserole, I'm going to--nevermind, but the color of pumpkin is delish.  It's a great color, and hard to find a really good one.

photo from houzz.com

Look at this ceiling!  Now that's a delishy color!  Makes total sense in the space.  Why do so many of us settle for plain old flat white ceilings?  What are we thinking?

Ok, back to my neutral sofa thoughts (man, I need to focus).  Here's a new one by F. Schumacher.  Love it.  Really, I'm speechless.  This is such a beauty.

photo from houzz.com

  Sorry for the lack of a cohesive theme tonight.  I just felt like putting some pleasant thoughts out there to end my day.  The above picture is so pretty.  Crystal chandelier, a shimmery wall treatment and an embossed paper on the ceiling.  All set off with clean white trim. A soft look.  Makes me feel like all is right with the world.

Ciao,

Anne





Fashion Alert!

Sofia Coppola for Louis Vuitton

Fashion and I have a difficult relationship.  I love great style, but cling to the classics and scowl when I see anything that makes life more difficult, never mind downright dangerous.  In the picture above, you see the fabulous and accomplished Sofia Coppola.  She's holding a Louis Vuitton handbag.  I often love L. Vuitton bags, but come on, this one is SUCH a bad idea!  Maybe as a carry-on when travelling, but look at how big it is on that tiny woman!  And do you see the shoulder strap, dangling near the dirty sidewalk and ready to trip her up at some point?  Now I'm sure Sofia Coppola never trips on her shoulder strap.  I, however, would trip, or at the least manage to drag that strap through a puddle or two on my way to meet the queen.  Let's pass on that bag.

I feel better.  I've saved the world in my own little way. 

I'm taking a client to Ikea for some shopping next week. Want me to check anything out for you?  Sit on a chair to see how it feels?  I'm going to remember to check out the quality of their leather furnishings (I always forget) and will report back.  With those prices, my expectations are low, but you never know.

Ciao,

Anne

Life is good.

Watching our son marry his love this past weekend was wonderful.  A great time was had by all.  Back to work tomorrow.

Ciao,

Anne