ahhh antlers.

This post comes to you with much excitement. I know I know, antlers and deer mounts have been making their rounds quite a bit lately in the blog-o-sphere. But I still can not seem to get enough. Didn't women used to hate when their husbands when hunting and insisted on hanging up their prized possession?

Thank you for the inspiration houzz.com

Thank you for the inspiration papastour.com

Thank you for the pictorial Cote de Texas.

Thank you for the pic Cote de Texas.

Thank you for the inspiration Inspiration Beautiful.

Thank you for the pic Cote de Texas.

Loving the glowing deer head.

The antlers above are PERFECT (are you reading hubby?) and a reasonable price from papastour.com.

I am officially obsessed with these antlers MADE BY Luke Bartels. Yes, made by. They are tree branches!

The little guy above, designed by Esschert Design, can be found on Amazon. So if you are looking for a way to add antlers into your home...start here.

And in the season of Christmas, I leave you with my friends Christmas Tree. Take a close look at the top of the tree and you will see why I love her so much!

See you soon, Alli.

whats your style?

Do you ever wonder what style you would call your home? Do you have a style? I have been contemplating that question a lot since I have been on my blogging sabbatical. Every time something new trends, or a new color makes waves, I have to find a way to incorporate it in my decor. Then I browse the latest Wisteria catalog or Cote de Texas blog and always want to redecorate everything to look just like the picture. I know...magazine living... does not exist.. but still...am I a french decorator, vintage, minimalistic, Nantucket? uhhhh I like them all.

When I recently visited a friend in Dallas, her decorating inspired me to pull my vintage side back out of the closet and incorporate it with my new love for french decor. When I walked in her home office I almost died when I saw her huge vintage E from an old sign. I had to copy and find one of my own and I knew it was not going to be in the Wisteria catalog.

And she has the lower e too. Isn't her sitting room cute? After a long day of antiquing around Dallas, look what appeared in the trunk of my car!!!!! It wasn't until I came back home to Houston that I started contemplating, How can I fit these vintage marque letters into my country french decor?

It honestly took me forever to find the perfect spot to hang my A and C. (for alli and chad). Was it possible to mix my damask pillows, stark white couch, antlers, and wooden bench coffee table with huge industrial vintage lettering?

BUT... I did it. I obviously love french, must buy traditional antiques, have a hard time saying no to a good vintage find and need color and patterns in my life. Mix that with simple, classic, clean and what do you have? MY STYLE. So when I see something I like (considering I can afford it) I am going to buy it, mix it with what I have and call it ME.

I encourage anyone who is redecorating or trying to update... buy what you like, be unique and mix it with what you have and YOUR STYLE will shine.

Here are some ideas on how to MIX vintage marque lettering into your decor.


Thank you for the inspiration Ken Fulk Design.Thank you for the inspiration Rue Mag.
Perhaps a bed frame?
And if you are LOVING this look... collect the entire alphabet.. just kidding... but its a cool picture, right?

See you soon, Alli.

"Shut the door, We do not live in a barn."

Or do we? Netherlands here I come. I'm totally drooling. I have always had a passion for barns transformed into quarters.... and then Decor 8 features this dynamic duo. Check out the work of designers Ina and Matt  from the Netherlands and how they put a modern spin on the traditional barn. 

Notice the amazing barn door inspired shutters and the barn door.  I am pretty sure this "barn" house is Ina and Matt's actual home and studio. 

The simplicity of this the entire "barn" is so peaceful.  Zoom in on the different shape white tiles all over the kitchen. I would have made all the wood match, but I really like how it looks with all different colors of wood.

Check. I could work here.  Living wise... I might need more in my bathroom and definitely a larger closet.

Below is an Ina and Matt designed Residence in the Netherlands.

KITCHEN: Open shelving. industrial lighting. mixed cabinetry. fresh colors.

This is one of their more modern barns.

Oh my. A barn door inside make me happy.

My husband is going to love it when I tell him I want a barn door between our kitchen and dining room.

McLean Quinlan, a design firm based out of the UK takes the same holistic approach as Ina and Matt. Check out the pictures below of a converted barn named Stow-on-the Wold.

Wanting to add some barn inspiration into your home? Check out how barn doors can be incorporated  inside or outside your home. 

Notice below the carriage style garage doors from Real Carriage Doors.

The picture below is of a friends house who just put barn doors on the side of their garage. Cute right?

See you Soon, Alli.

be creative with a crate.

Happy Tuesday AHWA blog readers. Thank you for coming to our site today. I have stumbled upon the coolest DIY project and I am so excited to share it with you. Take a look at all of these cool creative things one can make with a crate! can we call these crates? or... should we just stick to pallets? If you are looking for a good project this week...let these pics inspire you....have you ever made anything out of a shipping pallet before?

And I first present to you... a chair made from a pallet.  Now, say this in your best Oprah voice.

"How cool is thiiiiiiis?"

A skosh of french country below... A plate rack from Care2.

Ok,  let's get even more creative... an INDUSTRIAL crate table by Vintage Chica. If you read my blog, you know I love all things industrial and this would be a super cheap way to mimic the Restoration Hardware coffee tables. 

 

LOVES... I see this at the foot of a bed with a long burlap cushion.

Such a great table for an outdoor space.

 Rebecca Puig, of SugarBoo Designs is selling this amazing piece of art. It looks to be painted on a crate of some sort.

This has to be my favorite and it's going in my "when I have a kid" file. Take a look at the wall. It's all from recycled pallets. You can read how they did this amazing task at Bower Power Blog.

Well.. maybe this is my favorite. I am so in love with this cool creative bed. Read how genius Lori Danelle created this bed for her daughter.

And if you are feeling really inspired, a house. But seriously, isn't this fun?

See you soon, Alli.

What is needed for the weekend.

I am running a little late on my fall decor this year. oops. Owl figurines, cinnamon sticks, miniature pumpkins, rustic bells, burlap linens, wooden acorns and lighted branches will be making their appearance in our home this weekend! I'm so over decorating/tablescaping with bright orange pumpkins and dried fall leaves... is that bad? Yet again, I don't have kids. Kids need the classic orange pumpkin around the house during Fall. So, I take back what I said.  Pale, rustic, vintage with white pumpkins is still the theme for me. Enjoy my inspiration board. Have you decorated yet for fall?

See you soon, Alli.

Giving some Love to: the latest rug trend.

Everyone needs a good piece of sisal in their life. I usually prefer sisal rugs over sea grass rugs. TOMATE-O, TOMOT-O, right?  Sisal is the toughest of all natural fibers and works great in high traffic areas. I also like sisal more because of the tight weaves versus the wide weaves of sea grass.  A client of mine has a family room that needs a 17x17 rug and of course we chose sisal. I had been on a mad search for an affordable giant rug until I stumbled upon The Perfect Rug. Have you seen this fabulous company? .

So, I ordered 3 free samples and received this cute little measuring kit. I fell in love with their marketing and easy approach to measuring.

Here are a few of the natural fiber samples I received. My client and I decided on the one to the far right, Sisal Boucle. Can't wait to show you pictures of the finished result.

Because sisal tends to be extremely coarse, it's not the nicest to your feet and small children whom might be crawling. So a nice way to soften the feel is to add a smaller more traditional rug on top. It not only softens the feel but adds a nice fresh look as well. Take a look at what I am talking about below:

(Thank you for the inspiration Better Homes and Gardens)

Look how the sisal rug covers the entire room and then the oriental rug sits just beneath the table to add color and softness.

Houston designer, Tami Owens, did an amazing job in decorating this model home. It seems that sisal covers the entire room (aka heaven) while the large light patterned rug lays on top.    

If you are covering large wood floors in a room, the sisal should be about 3-5 inches from the baseboard. If you place a rug on top of the sisal (and you should), it can be any size and be placed anywhere. The pictures above are from Cote de Texas, my go to french design blog.

Here is some more inspiration:

If you can not afford to have a rug made but love this trend. Then the picture above is for you. The sisal rug is only slightly larger than the rug on top and it still looks nice.

Do you like this latest trend in the world of rugs?

Let us know. Leave us a comment.

See you soon,

Alli