This one is for you Mom

west elm.com

images via flickr

potterybarn.com

garnet hill.com

west elm.com

I'm dreaming of a brown Christmas...well I am not, but my mom is.  We sometimes wonder if I was switched at birth.  While she loves all things neutral, I prefer sparkly and glittery.  Beige can be beautiful if you mix textures and shades.  She wraps her presents in brown mailing wrap and they always look great.  Christmas does not have to be green and red.  What is your favorite Christmas color combo?

Everything looks sweeter under a cloche

Elizabeth Martin via Desire to Inspire

martha stewart.com

pottery barn.com

surlatable.com

Alcove beds from Apartment Therapy

see the rest here:  http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/bedroom/hibernating-dreams-alcove-beds-100534

No words.  Really,  I just love love love these.

monograms

alicia ahern via my favorite and my best

erigutt via flickr

front porch studio via flickr

anthropology.com

While I really don't like using words as decor, ie: the ubiquitous wooden words FAMILY, WELCOME, or what have you...

I am overly fond of monograms and letters on the wall.  Weird quirk I know.  I am doing an entire wall of the letter G in my porch.  I will post a photo when it looks good.  Anthropologie and Urban Uutfitters are good places to find fun letters, and locally the the antique store Hunt and Gather at 50th and Xerxes in Minneapolis has a huge room full of them...cheap!

This guy...

... is so freakin' sneaky.  Every time I put him away, he reappears the next morning in exactly the same spot.  Same dapper hat, same geeky glasses, right there at the front door ready to welcome guests to my home.  And while my home is decidedly eclectic, yes that is a decal of a coat tree, Mr Potato Head is not my idea of good design.

it's beginning to look a lot like...

 

Grandin Road 3 for $39

 

garnet hill $52

CB2 $4.95 and $9.95

  

West Elm $24-$99

Do you hate when retailers put out the Christmas stuff the day after Halloween?  Not me!  I say two months is not enough for all the parties, good cheer and adorable table top trees.  I started collecting these a few years ago, and they look great when they are all displayed en masse.  I gravitate toward the minimal looking trees, but display them in abundance!  Here are a few more that I want to add to my collection.  I am especially smitten with the hand blown glass trees from Grandin Road.  Santa, if you are reading this, I have been a very good girl.

before and after

The super smart folks at Design*Sponge have a regular feature on the blog called before and after.  Readers send in pics of rooms or pieces of furniture that they have made over.  Here are some of my favorites.  Do you have any before and after pics to share?  I would love to post them here at ATS.