I Must...I Must..I Must Increase My Bust!

I have a confession. I have been yearning for a large bust for quite some time now. Now, now, get your head out of the gutter people! Around 18, I sadly came to the conclusion the Lord did not bless me with that kind of bust... this is more of a sculptural matter if you will...

This big guy is in Kelly Wearstler's living room and he is MARVELOUS!! BUT I don't think I could find one that big in my price range...

My obsession with finding a bust all began a couple of years ago when I saw this bullet hole in the face bust by Banksy! Don't ask me why - just liked it.

 The bust hunt then kicked into high gear when I read a Sneak Peak on Design Sponge of Jimmie Martin and Rick Schultz's place.

I love, love, LOVE their place!! It is so my style. Now, I can appreciate a lot of different looks but I love this place - at least when I'm in my black mode. (then I switch to my all white and calm mode)

Anyway, back to the bust. Isn't this funny?! They took such a traditional look in design and turned it on its head. (sorry, I had to!)

Well people, I finally found one that's just the right size and somewhat affordable. At Restoration Hardware of all places?!

Isn't he a beaut?! Oh, if I got him of course I'd spray paint him (not sure what color yet) and totally copy off of the KISS bust above and paint a black lightning bolt over an eye... then put black glitter over that. Yup. I said it. Spray paint and glitter all up on that bust! Then around Mardi Gras time he'd of course have some beads to top it off...

See, this is the wild psycho side of my love of interior design. Sometimes we all need to loosen up and have a sense of humor!

Having this wild man in my foyer let's people know just what kind of house they're entering... I have the perfect spot too - right where that orchid is. He would fit right in!

Love it or hate it? Do you have some secret design love that's a little wild too?!

- BOO

Too Furry Or Not Too Furry??!.....

That is the question....

 I scored this wonderful leather and chrome chair from my dear friend Craigslist ($20!) a while back and not sure what to do with it. The light green leather does not bother me really but I feel like it could definitely be jazzed up a bit. (plus the color doesn't really go with the rest of the house)

I am sure you have all seen the furry chairs around and I found this inspiration image that's really making me like it even more.

This definitely takes it to a more elegant level I think - I've mostly seen it in Ikea type rooms with just a furry sheepskin throw strategically yet haphazardly thrown on a chair - I like this version of the chair actually covered in it.

Any thoughts? Too trendy? I love the contrast of textures and it seems like an easy recover project.

- BOO

Modern/Antique Bed...

Came across this bedroom designed by Vincente Wolf. I'm loving the juxtaposition of the old, gilded French headboard against the modern square frame!

Although I am not lovin' those nightstands... or the bench at the foot of the bed...

Which of course leads my brain to thinking... what would I do differently?! OK, since ya asked! I'd either do some over the top French ornate bench to mimic the headboard - I think that would look FAB!  

OR something really simple and modern - similar to the bed frame. Like this... 

As far as new nightstands go - how about this French Art Deco table on one side...

And this awesomeness on the other side...

With this round tripod marble table slightly in front of it...

And this lamp on the white marble console...

And voila! A little more interesting of a room now no?? Man, I wish I had no budget and a client that said yes to everything... it would be wonderful!!!

So what do you think? Like the room as it was or would you do something different too?

- BOO

Finally Painted That Coffee Table...

A couple of months ago I scored an Opium Table off of Craigslist (of course!) for $75. The seller was trying to refinish it but got frustrated and decided to sell it. I finally got around to painting it but unfortunately I can't find more of the before shots! But here's what it looked like before me and my paint brush got a hold of it!

You may remember me mentioning this table in the Golden Girls post and here's part of my inspiration...

 

And this is what it looks like in our living room:

 

I put two coats of Kilz on first and then just painted it with a sponge to give it a smoother look with out visible brush strokes. It is hard to see in photos but the color is a soft gray that I happened to already have a quart of!

 

I wanted to try something light for the table since the rug is so dark. Interesting tid bit - the area rug was inherited and it's massive and over 100 years old! I think it's like 18 x 12?! Hence why I wanted something a little lighter in color on top.

 

So whatcha think for $75 and some elbow grease?!

- BOO

More Florida Design!....

I thought I'd share with yall my Aunt & Uncles condo in Florida right near where we were staying... Like most of the women in my family, my aunt also loves interior design and great DIY ideas as you'll see below!

  

The condo is a studio and it's TINY! But she was able to make it feel more spacious and calming by keeping it neutral and keeping the clutter out.

The two photographs above the bed were in their home in New Orleans for years and she's always loved old fences and decided to use that as a springboard for the designs throughout the space...

So you can imagine her excitement when she found this old fence piece at an antique store!! It fits perfectly above the sofa and sets the tone of the whole space...

I apologize for the dark picture but I wanted to try and show you the mirror they made in the bathroom. They bought a simple mirror (no frame) and framed around it with cedar fence boards. Notice on the upper right and left how it looks like a fence! I love the light fixtures too - reminds me of a camp!

 

  

They took out the cabinet doors in the kitchen to create more open shelving. She plans on getting more baskets to finish the upper shelf. I love the texture wicker baskets bring!

Now this gets crafty... my aunt got a piece of glass cut to the size of her back splash. She then painted one side with a really soft blue/green (about five coats!) and then mounted it up with the painted side facing the wall. A super cheap and easy way to get the look of glass tile! I might want to try something like this...

And how about I finish this post off with a shot of their pool?! Since it is over 95 degrees today - it's nice to want to jump into that!

Shameless plug - you can rent this beautiful place on VRBO - CLICK HERE 

- BOO

Alys Beach Round 2...

I took some more inspiration images of Alys Beach while we were over in Florida last week - enjoy!

This would be an easy look to imitate. Buy some outdoor bamboo blinds and drape over posts on a patio. 

This cool teepee (that's a funny word to type!) is actually part of a garden. The vegetables are planted along the base and plan to grow up and meet at the top - will look really cool once it grows in. You could make something like this for your own garden! Just get some bamboo.

This is a private deck for people who live at Alys Beach, I bet the sunsets are amazing from up there! It reminds me of a ship...

Here's a mid construction shot of how they get the curves in the plaster walls of the homes.

I'd love this fire pit in my back yard!

This house is so lovely - it needs to be on the cover of House Beautiful!

And lastly, check out this crazy house right next door to the development! I would love to see how he decorated the interior!

- BOO

Only In New Orleans...

*Warning! The end of this post may contain some semi nude people around a bunch of bikes. So if you no likey - no ready!*

New Orleans is known for it's festivals but this weekend was a little out of control! We are only a five minute bike ride to the Cajun & Zydeco Festival, Seafood Festival, AND the Creole Tomato Festival - all in the lower part of the French Quarter. So of course we had to bike over to eat great food and listen to awesome music!

And on to the Tomato Fest...

An assortment of dishes... look closely and you can see the huge Creole Tomato stuffed with shrimp and another stuffed with crab! yummm yummm in my tumm tumm

 The Creole Tomato Salad was excellent! 

ughhh can't get this picture to cooperate! It's sideways...

There were even cooking demonstrations, I learned how to fry up some soft shell crabs as appetizers! YUM!

Whenever we walk around the French Market, it is a must to get a mango margarita from the Organic Banana!

Especially when the temperature is over 95 degrees!

Ahhh and we ran into Summer Santa! (that's what I call him) He lives in the French Quarter and always dresses like Santa - but on an island...

Aaand onto the Seafood Fest (meaning just eating a bunch of fried food while listening to Zydeco)

The Soft Shell Crab Po-Boy was delish...

And that's the recap of the NOLA Festivals...

Oh yeah, and there were a bunch of naked bike riders a block from our house...

It was part of the World Naked Bike Ride to raise awareness of bicycles on the road...

It rose my awareness of what a crazy ass place I live in!

Only in New Orleans...

- BOO