GET THE LOOK: MY SAN FRANCISCO LIVING ROOM

Back in February I moved from Chicago to San Francisco and started the daunting task of decorating my home from scratch. I brought nothing with me (I love a good palate cleanse, no pun intended) and had the deadline of having my home ready for Rue's anniversary issue, which came out last week! I may have felt stressed and overwhelmed all along the way, but let's face it, I love this stuff and am already itchy for my next decorating project!

Starting next week I'll be sharing the full process with you, room my room, but in the meantime, I'm thrilled to be teaming up with Hayneedle, from which so many of the pieces in my home are from, on a twitter party tonight! I'll be sharing my design inspiration, answering your questions, and helping give away 4 fun prizes!

Just sign on to Twitter at 5pm PST / 8pm EST and use the hashtag #hayneedleNrue to join the conversation. And just for fun, I put together a little "get the look" with some of their items I'm loving!

*photography by Emily Johnston Anderson for Rue Magazine

WORN IN ALL THE RIGHT PLACES

Overall, this look is a bit more organic than my usual, but I'm loving these wood paneled cabinet doors big time.

Paired against the sleek concrete counters (or what looks like concrete to me), the look is rustic but still very tidy. I could live with that.

I'm equally drawn to the aesthetic in this living room. The tall ceiling, wood beams, and white brick walls are wonderful, but the worn-in-all-the-right-places chairs and antique area rug are the true stars of the space in my opinion.

*images via here and here

SO GOOD YOU COULD EAT IT

Let's pause for a moment and feast on the deliciousness of this space. It's all so tasty, my eyes don't know where to start (or stop!), but I'll try.

I think the oversized black drum shade takes the cake. It's a bold move that works brilliantly. And notice the extra little detail they added with the ceiling medallion? The small touch goes a long way in giving it more presence. There's a lot going on in the rest of this space (seating galor, pictures for days, objects everywhere), but it feels far from cluttered and instead, perfectly edited. The trick? Keeping everything in the same color palette (blue, black, and beige) to create visual consistency. Love!

*image via the decorista's tumblr.

SOFT SPACES

Life has been hectic around here - in a good way! - both personally and professionally and today I'm finally catching my breathe with a cleared calendar and a day in front of the computer.

It's busy days like these that I remember why I prefer neutrals to vibrant color. There's something wonderful about coming home to a soft space, no? No matter how hard I try to inject color into my home, I always fall back to warm beiges, delicate taupes, soothing grays, and healthy doses of white.

How about you? Do you prefer color to come from the vibrant life you lead or from the within the walls of your personal space?

*images via mi casa revista

LIVING ROOM PERFECTION

This space is going straight to the top of my inspiration file. I had a longer post planned, but when I came across this image I tossed that out the door and thought "done and done." This room sums up all the thing I love right now...and probably always will.

It's the perfect balance of contemporary and aged. For starters that stone colored wall, linear sofa, and upholstered coffee table give it that up to date feel and airiness. Matched with the beautiful darker leathers, intricate woodwork, and antiqued gold frames, it's simultaneously nostalgic and rich. In short, full of depth and layers and what could be better than that?

*image via vintage pretty

LAYOUT SOLUTIONS

Usually I scour images in search of style inspiration, but these days I've got my mind set on finding the perfect layout solutions. My new living room in SF is long and galley-like and flanked with two beautiful windows at the end.

While I'm shelving pink for the new pad in favor of richer, deeper tones, neither of these images speak to my style aesthetically, but they do serve as the perfect furniture placement inspiration.

After happening upon these rooms, I've decided to replicate the layout and place my sofa in front of the windows. It's a big task ahead of me to furnish and design my new place from scratch (remember, I'm not bringing anything with me!), but I can't wait to show you when it's all done! Who knows, maybe it'll pop up in the pages of Rue one day ;)

*images via unknown and Canadian House & Home

Sorry for the unexpected absence yesterday. It was one of those days where life just didn't want to slow down. I had a fantastic time at the LTD 365 Expo (I highly recommend it for next year!) and after hearing some amazing entrepreneurial women keynote speeches, I'm left more inspired than ever. But before we sail into the weekend, I'd like to leave you with a trend that still does it for me: black lamp shades.

Have a good one my loves...see you on Monday!

xo,

Crystal

*images via Canadian House and Home

SO WRONG, IT'S RIGHT

Mismatching your cushions with your sofa. On first look, I thought, "Ew, that's not right." But as I let my eyes soak up the entire image, I began to change my mind. Because the room already has a lot going on, it just adds one more unexpected, interesting twist. The important part in making it work is keeping the fabric solid (no patterns) and within a complementary color palette.

So, what do you guys think? Wrong or right?

*image via Canadian House and Home

SOFT ROMANCE ON THE UPPER WEST SIDE

There's something so sweet about Katie Ermilio's Manhattan apartment that it keeps me coming back for more. You may recognize it as the Rue Issue Two cover story (pg. 93); I know it as one of my all time favorite shoots for the mag.

When you first walk into Katie's place, you're met with floor to ceiling white brick walls and gorgeous wood beams. It's cozy, it's feminine, and subtlely romantic.

I'm going to venture to say, this very image is my favorite to date. There's something about the white books and the way the center line continues up through the line of the antique hanger that does it for me. A beautifully styled moment and a well composed photo. I gives me that heart jump!

Katie's butterscotch leather sofa - weathered in all the right places - has become a favorite with Rue readers. We were so thrilled with the cover shot we got of Katie (in her blue shoes!) cozied up on it.

More books and more reasons for me to love this shoot. They are my favorite object to collect and have become my go-to styling prop. Luckily Katie had a wealth of beautiful, hard covered ones at her place, so we stacked them up on her coffee table to capture this shot - another all time favorite of mine.

*images: Jamie Beck for Rue Magazine

THE PERFECT PARTITION

When it comes to floor plans, open is a no brainer for me. Not only do sprawling spaces speak to my desire for breathing room, they make any home feel instantly bigger. But the challenge with open floor plans is creating distinctions between different ares of your space.

I love the way the furniture has been laid out here to tackled that challenge. By using a backless sofa as an unobtrusive and functional partition, the owner has created two living spaces that segue effortlessly into each other. It's much more welcoming than a wall or screen and says, "welcome," not "stay out!"

So next time you find yourself with a large space on your heads (shouldn't we all be so lucky?), try dividing it up into more intimate seating areas and living zone with something just like this!

*images via Mi Casa via The Decorista

THE COLOR OF ROMANCE

As I was flipping through my inspiration file this morning, bold pinks kept catching my eye. And it got me thinking...

As a quiet hopeless romantic, I tend to gravitate towards soft pinks, but why not shout it out a little more often through the use of louder shades of the pretty color? After all, if our homes are reflections of who we are, shouldn't we say it 'proud and loud'?

"Almost all words do have color and nothing is more pleasant than to utter a pink word and see someone's eyes light up and know it is a pink word for him or her too." - Gladys Taber

*images via house beautiful, unknown, dress design decor

THE PERFECT PLACE

You guys, I'm going crazy (in a good way!) with decorating ideas for the new place! I suppose that's how you know you've found your passion...when color swatches, fabrics samples, layout plans, and paint colors get you more excited than anything else. So this here is my latest and greatest find when it comes to my apartment inspiration file:

It's perfect in every way! From the gray walls (I'm currently leaning towards Benjamin Moore's Chelsea Gray for the living room), to the arched windows, to the leather poufs, to the subtle graphic on the rug - it all comes together in such a warm and inviting way. Oh and we can't forget the desk - a sweet little moment in this space. Perched on a diagonal (brilliant!), a quiet little writing corner from which to draft handwritten letters and fill up a journal feels like an old fashion luxury I'd happily welcome into my life!

*image via decorpad

Lovely Bones

One of the things I miss about living in Italy is the old world architecture.

Sometimes it's the bones of an interior that really steal the show.

In fact, with moldings, floors, and ceilings like this does it really even matter what the decor is? It couldn't look bad even if it tried.

*images via marie claire maison italia discovered via design love fest

Inspiration File + Off to California!

So now that my home is finally in a place I could consider finished, I want to start all over and do it again! Isn't that the plight of a designer though? Always seeking a new place to get our hands on and live out our most creative and stylish dreams?

And if I had that second home to decorate this would be at the top of my inspiration file! Maybe it's the flood of sunlight, or the soft hues with just a hint of pink, but I want to live here. To plop down on that sofa with a big cup of coffee and let a lazy Sunday morning pass me by...

And then there's this space. Totally glam yet completely inviting. A masculine leather couch is an unlikely choice for this living room otherwise peppered with femininity, but that's why I love it. Dainty chair legs, a palette driven by pastels, and touches of sparkle in gilded accents all make it perfect to me. I'm seeing a pattern in both spaces too -- striped fabric in both, not a hint of wood (too rustic for my new vision), soothing colors punctuated by black, and a sense of tranquility...

Well, I mustn't daydream too long as I've got bags to pack and last minute details to attended to! You see, I'm off to California for five Rue home tour photo shoots for our premiere issue! We're starting in San Francisco then making our way to LA and I couldn't be more excited!

I'll be back in a week from tomorrow, but in the meantime, be sure to check back daily as I've got a stellar line-up of bloggers to keep you company while I'm away. See you soon!

xo,

Crystal

*images via domino and elle decor

Calming Effect

After yesterday's big and bold post, I'm feeling the need for softer colors, subdued tones, and calming spaces. Oh how I wish I could live in a colorful, vibrant, high cool-factor home, but at the end of the day, spaces like these will always reign supreme in my heart...

Wishing you a lovely, restful weekend my friends!

xo, Crystal

*images via Desire to Inspire

Happy Nate Berkus Day!

Are you guys on Twitter? If not, some pretty fun things happen over there! It all started when the Moggit Girls tweeted the idea of Nate Berkus having an all design blogger audience for this new TV show premiering September 13th. Well, the retweets spread like wildfire and before we knew it, the show's producers were arranging for it to happen!

Piggybacking off that wild and crazy day, the Moggit Girls have rounded up the troops and proclaimed today 'Nate Berkus Day'. They've asked everyone to post their favorite room designed by the adorable and talented decorator. My pick is this small NYC space he did for his sister using furniture and decor from his own HSN line. It has long been one of my go-to spaces for inspiration on how to make a small place work. It feels perfectly polished and finished without being cluttered or crowded. Nate always delivers!

What's your favorite Nate Berkus room?

P.S. Check out his NYC pad for more small space deliciousness.

Vicente Wolf: Soothing Space, Global Personality

Vicente Wolf is one of my favorite designers! His love of neutrals and penchant for travel make for soothing spaces with global personality. In short, his really designs speak to me.

I came across this seating area the other night and it grabbed me. Not because of all that sun-drenched white, which I love, or the bertoia chair, which I want, or even the serenity, which I need, but because I have the same sofette in the same color with the same pink pillow on top! Great minds :) The only thing I'm missing is the round, little side table in front, but the search is on!

If you liked these spaces, then you'll love the tour of Vicente's home! And you won't want to miss out on his blog either, where he's known for generosely sharing insider tips and industry knowledge!

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend everyone! As always, thank you for visiting this week! See you back here on Tuesday.

xo,

Crystal

P.S. Congratulations to Kay, the winner of our Hammocks & High Tea giveaway!

Try This Trend: Lucite Coffee Tables

They're light and airy, modern and intriguing - I can't think of a reason not to love lucite coffee tables. I adore the "barely there" essence of the look.

What do you think? Do you love lucite as much as I do?

*images via Style at Home and New York Magazine

Room of the Week: Casual Glamour

Fabulosity! That's not a word I usually use but somehow this room fills me with the urge to say it! There are so many things I love about this space, I don't know where to start. So let's start from the top...

That chandelier! The glistening crystal droplets (with a few pink ones thrown in for good measure) set the chic factor high for this room. Next, my eye drops to the mass of gilded gold in the coffee table and seals the deal for a fabulously glamorous space. And if the architectural elements are characteristically square, then the furniture is necessarily curved. The roundness of those plush, hairy little poufs tickle my visual senses with whimsy and delight! And then there's the color! All those muted, neutral tones with just a blush of pink, punctuated by that gorgeous fuchsia in the artwork packs quite the palette punch!

*image via Lonny

Brian Atwood's Milan Home

A longtime favorite house tour of mine, here's a look inside shoe designer Brian Atwood's beautiful home in Milan. Decorated by boyfriend Nate Berkus, the mid-century modern style (albeit done well) is usually not my cup of tea. But what makes the space completely irresistible for me is...

This unforgettable palm-print wall covering! If it looks familiar that's because it's the same hallmark design found in the café of the Beverly Hills Hotel. Who would have thought, such an improbable choice would live on so vividly in the design file of my memory!

And speaking of unforgettable, thank you my sweet, sweet readers for all your warm birthday wishes yesterday. You single handedly contributed to make my day feel extra special. I'm truly lucky to have you!

*images via Elle Decor, photography by Simon Upton