interiors : jessica de ruiter's california home

this home tour, that i originally spotted on c home, is what my modern house dreams are made of. this gem is the mid-century silver lake home of jessica de ruiter, a fashion stylist, and her husband, jed lind, who worked on the design and maintained the home's original architecture. lind works for one of my favorite firms to follow, commune design. i love the warm wood tones mixed with the eclectic textiles and minimal aesthetic. that front door...

sourced images from multiple tours :  c home / one kings lane / the hive / rip and tan

madeline

interiors : jenni kayne's contemporary california home

when i came across fashion designer jenni kayne's beverly hills home tour on architectural digest, i knew immediately it would go in the 'dream home' file. the modern clean lines, the soaring wood ceilings, the custom millwork, and the steel frame windows won me over. i will be referencing this one as we design our new home. hope you enjoy!

found on: architectural digest // design: standard arch

bar 'cart' styling

the title of this should be styling a bar cart when you don't have a bar cart. any surface with a tray will do. this time of year is the perfect season to have a stocked bar for guests, parties, and cocktails. i like to keep the essentials around for classic drinks like a gin & tonic, a negroni (campari and vermouth), and an old fashioned (bourbon and bitters). old fashioned is my husband's all time favorite - it was his signature drink at our wedding. mine was a st. germain cocktail with champagne. i also love showcasing local favorites like the gin from nashville's corsair distillery and lincoln county lightning from josh's hometown. on our bar cart i also have some sentimental items - a few nice bottles of wine from my aunt and father, my grandmother's copper mug, and decanters that were cherished wedding gifts.

i mentioned in a past post that i am still looking for my dream bar cart and waiting patiently until i find one with the right price tag. in the meantime, i found this side table (with an undermount sewing machine?!) that is the right size for the lacquer tray. i love styling with these dried yellow craspedia flowers also; they add a little personality. the hilarious tequila mockingbird book is from my wonderful sister in law! when i find an actual cart, i will add another tray with favorite cocktail glasses, cloth napkins, and other cocktail making tools. what drinks are you mixing up this thanksgiving weekend?

sources: white lacquer tray from west elm. hemingway print from ohmydeer handmades etsy. paint color benjamin moore quiet moments. sewing table vintage. tequila mockingbird book from urban outfitters.

xoxo madeline

november colors

welcome to our yard. isn't it beautiful? we are very blessed to live on five acres of land and to live in the rolling hills of tennessee, where we have four distinct seasons. fall is particularly beautiful here at our home. we have two soaring sugar maples that turn bright yellow throughout the fall, also gingkos and a japanese maple you will see in this post. i wanted to capture them before they are gone...the fall is both uplifting and sad because it is so finite and fleeting. i have to enjoy it while it's here. my husband, josh, is in full no shave november mode and has a serious beard, which i love. what does your fall look like?

....and sampson wishes you a wonderful wednesday tomorrow!

xoxo madeline

hairpin ottoman restyle

Our weekend has been full of much needed family time as my sister and brother-in-law were in town from Houston. A weekend of reunions - family, neighborhood, old friends, and sisters. Every time my sister and I see one another it is like no time has passed; for this I am thankful, because I can not go long without her in my life. With some time to reflect on Sunday night in front of the firepit, I thought I might share my hairpin ottoman restyle story. Our home is a 50's rancher with a lot of character - but we are still working on making this character look current. Insert picture of wood panelling.

{before: living room with wood coffee table}

We have been 'borrowing' this wooden coffee table to pair with our 9' (?!?!) long sofa because not many tables will work with it. How do you arrange furniture in this forever long room? I was out shopping in the antique district in Nashville and ran into Pre-Post Modern, a local favorite. I spotted this hairpin leg ottoman and snatched it up.

{vintage ottoman find}

The atomic ranch fabric may work for some - but not our style, so I started shopping around for fabrics. I have seen a lot lately in bold graphic black and white that I have liked and later almost settled on a navy velvet. I went home to mull it over and looked through old fabric scraps and found something that will work for the interim - the fabric I chose is still busy enough to not show every imperfection.

{fabric shopping: graphic stripe + navy velvet}

It took a couple of hours total to transform the piece - I unscrewed the legs, suspended them and spray painted them gold with trusty Rustoleum brass spray paint. I love this product and highly recommend. There were not 1, not 2, but 6 layers of old, dingy fabric under the atomic ranch fabric. Removing the staples went quickly with a flathead screwdriver and pliers. The foam was in decent shape so I cut the fabric to size, restapled to the frame, and replaced the legs. This is the easiest upholstery job for amateurs like myself.

{stripping the old fabric and staples}

{after: ottoman still drying}

I really love the final product in our home and we have enjoyed having a place to kick up our feet or work on our computers. We are planning on also using hairpin legs on our DIY dining table - post coming soon.

{living room with new ottoman}

madeline