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.

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

pops of jewels.

Happy Friday everyone. "Us Texans" are loving this cool Fall weather. As I was out and about yesterday searching through my favorite Houston fabric stores, I couldn't help but notice the pops of deep jewel tone pinks and rich printed fabrics everywhere! ie. the chairs in the pictures below. So as Fall approaches, think jeweled velvets and deep pink fabrics and let them POP in your room of choice. Here is the picture I have chosen for my color board of inspiration.

The following rooms know what is going on and I like it. (If this picture belongs to you. Please email At Home with Alli so we can credit you.)

(Thank you for the inspiration Elle Decor.)

(Thank you for the inspiration House Beautiful.)

And... for those of us (ME) that can not keep up with every new decor update. Try these simple purchases...Stack books....Throw some new pillows... Add a simple rug to a bathroom or kitchen...

(Thank you for the inspiration Horchow.)

(Thank you for the inspiration Alkemie.)

(Thank you for the inspiration Horchow.)

Are you going to add some color this fall? Let us know your favorite piece that you are using to pop in a room!

See you soon, alli.

Decorating with Rover.

My father used to get so confused by my mother hanging "dog art" all over our home. He just did not understand why she commissioned paintings of her dogs and only collected dachshunds and chihuahuas. I think he still says, "Why can't we hang pictures of the children on the wall?" Recently, I freshly framed all of her dog paintings and scattered them across a hallway wall off the kitchen. I wish I had a better picture... but I think it turned out super fun!

And then... I stumbled upon these pictorials. I think my mother was onto something. I love how the focal point of these rooms just so happens to be rover.

(Thank you for the inspiration Nesting Newbies.)

(Thank you for the inspiration Laurey W. Glenn)

Bring the love of your dog to the wall and to the table. One of my favorite things to do is create tablescapes. Look how the same table can be transformed two different ways using dog chachka.

(Thank you for the inspiration Nesting Newbies.)


And in my home. On my kitchen shelf. Right next to my sink. I guess I'm starting to take after my mother.

See you soon, Alli.