New Season | New Website Design

You may have noticed some changes around the site.   I decided it's time to revamp the blog design to make it cleaner and hopefully more user-friendly.  What's a better way to welcome a change in season than a cleaner site?  

I wanted to help my readers to navigate through the site easier, so I've gone the unconventional way.  The homepage is now separated from the main blog page, and features the most popular projects on the blog.  You'll be guided to each project's article by clicking on the corresponding picture.  This used to be stuck on the sidebar, crowding that area.  I would like to make the reading experience more pleasant for my readers, by translating the "less is more" mentality to my blog design as well.

Sorry to be throwing you a curve ball after you've gotten used to our site.  I hope this fresher and cleaner look makes the site more welcoming, and it's a change for the better.

Hang around and check out the changes!

New House Design Board - Entryway

Since our move to the current rental, I don't drive by the site of our new house everyday.  Not being able to keep an eye on its progress doesn't stop me from longing for its completion!  Coming home to a rental, and knowing it's a temporary home, just doesn't feel very homey.  I look forward to the day of going home to our new house and be greeted with a welcoming entrance.  Let me share with you today what we have done and will do to make our entryway a statement for our home.

The size of the new house's foyer is around half the size of that in our old house, so we had to figure out how to create a welcoming entry that also displays our style in that tight space.   We wanted to make the entryway/ hallway as open as possible, so we made some changes to the builder's blueprint.

1. Remove the closet at the front door, since there's another smaller one by the garage entrance down the hall.
2. The main thing was opening up the whole basement staircase instead of the builder's plan with enclosed stairs via a doorway beside the foyer.
3. Remove the full wall beside basement stairs and replace with a structural pole and stair spindles.  The foyer would look more continuous this way with the wall knocked out, instead of ending it at the wall.

With the changes in place, the squarish foyer now feels much more open.  It's also much easier for us to decorate to make it a welcoming space, like how any home's entrway should be.

Remember my beloved blue ceramic trunk table, as decorated like this in our old house's entryway?  We can no longer use it at the new house for the same purpose, since it would take up half the foyer!  The foyer at the new house is approximately 8' across.  To keep a modest walkway from the door through the hallway, I looked for a narrow hall table to be placed on the left wall.  I was inspired by these beautiful foyers.

image via Style At Home

image via House & Home

To keep the entryway with an open feel, we opted for a console table instead of a cupboard.   I was considering glass console table options, until I saw this. 

Troy Console Table \ Joss & Main

Never in a million years would I consider something like this, since the Mr. and I aren't big fans of mixing wood and metal on a piece.  But somehow this seems to work.  Its wooden top mimics the rustic touch of our existing dining table, while the gold metal legs give it a more polished look.  I think this piece makes a great addition to our home, as I believe the entryway should project a style of what's to come in the rest of the house.  For us, it's a bit of polished casualness… does that make sense?!

The next integral piece of this entryway vignette would be a generous sized mirror.  Don't know about you, but mirror shopping can sometimes be daunting.  After a while, they all look pretty much the same.  There're some mirrors that at first seemed to be a great touch when used by a designer, and then we would start seeing the same style of mirror mass produced and over-used for a thousand times.  If you scroll through my Entryway Pinterest board, you would notice I've pinned numerous mirrors.  But none screams to me except for this:

Gleaming Primrose Mirror |  Anthropologie

This mirror with a delicate iron frame (not resin!) is regal yet understated.  The style of the frame elevates the flare in the casual console table.  At just over 3' high and across, it's the perfect size to complement the console table and draw attention to our 9' high ceiling.  I'm so in love with this mirror.  Do you think there's any chance this will be on sale?  Ever?

Another important piece in our previous home's entryway was the tufted bench.  Again, given the smaller foyer in our new house, we better not stuff the bench there and create a fire hazaard!  Once you've had a seat in the foyer, you won't do without one.  And so the hunt for our entryway seating begins!

Since a large bench doesn't fit in the space, it's time to switch to a chair.  Essentially, I'm looking for an accent chair that's the size of a dining chair.  Here are some examples:

1. Claire Tufted Chair | One Kings Lane; 2. Olivia Slipper Chair | One Kings Lane; 3. Faux Bamboo Chair | Maggie G Designs

I wanted the console table vignette to be the focal point of the entryway, so I chose a light neutral fabric colour for our chair choices.  Although I would have the chair blend in as a background, I would still want the chair to be visible to act as a visual extension of the console table.  That being said, #2 would have to be eliminated, as it's lower than the height of the console.  Another reason for it to go is, the Mr. always prefers a chair with arms over one without.  #1 and #3 both have a very welcoming feel to them, and I love the chippendale style of #3.  However, with the point of the chair being more blended into the entire console table vignette, I would pick #1 over #3, to avoid the tonal contrast of the dark chair frame.

Now that I've the basic pieces down, here's the fun part - accessorizing the space!  Lighting plays a big part in a room's ambiance, and that's especially true for the entrway.  We want to create a bright and welcoming entrance, and one can never go wrong with bling bling.  I think this chandelier hits all the right notes.  It's an appropriate size for the space, and its antiqued silver finish tones down the shiny metal, letting the jewels speak for themselves.  

Veronica Mini Chandelier | Joss & Main

We love classic blue and white decor, as in the photo inspiration above.  This rug below would ground the space nicely with the navy blue pattern and provide some contrast to the entryway vignette.

Barrington Rug  | Joss & Main

From the rug, I came up with the rest of accessories for the entryway vignette, by running through my usual vignette setting guidelines found here.  Blue and white boxes for hidden knick-knacks with a lamp to soften any harsh overhead light.  A chinoiserie pot of tall arrangement on the round mirror tray, which offsets the straight lines of the console table. A rose coloured bowl for an unexpected touch of colour and something to just toss in whatever as we walk through the front door.  Here's my idea of how it would look as you face the left wall of the entryway, with the armchair beside the railings to the basement.

Entryway Design Board | Classy Glam Living; Lamp  Horchow; blue and white boxes, mirror tray, faux orchid arrangement, rose compote  | One Kings Lane.

I CAN'T wait to come home to this!!

What do you think makes an entryway most welcoming?  I'm thinking of adding a tall floor plant or an umbrella stand to the left of the console table.  Let me know if you have any other ideas!

Disclaimer:  The reveal of the entryway may differ somewhat.  Who knows, maybe I would entertain a real orchid plant for once, but who am I kidding...  I'm a plant murderer.

My Current Obsession - Capsule Wardrobe

Capsule via shopbop.com

Brr...  There's still a bit more than a week until fall officially arrives, but we're already getting a sneak peek of the golden season these couple of days.  I've finally, albeit unwillingly, put summer behind and started digging into the storage for my thicker layers.  This kind of in-between weather had me standing in the closet in the mornings, unsure of what to wear, and then I would declare "I've nothing to wear!"  Yes, unbelievable right?  That's what the Mr. thinks too, as he would look at my closet full of clothes and shake his head.

As I started gathering outfit and style ideas for fall and winter, I stumbled across the idea of capsule wardrobe.  It's essentially building a wardrobe out of a few pieces of basic essentials and then branch out with accent colours and textures.  Hey, isn't that what interior design is all about?  I think I can do this!  

image via shopbop.com

I've always been mesmerized by how people come up with numerous different outfits with just a few pieces of clothing, dressed-up or down.  Little did I know that's the essence of a capsule wardrobe!

The key here is a FEW.  Did I refuse to learn about the capsule wardrobe concept when I've been shopping online all these years?  How I just discovered it is beyond me, but it couldn't come more timely.  I can't ignore the fact that I've NOTHING to wear despite a closet full of clothes.  The problem is with a changing body, I still hang onto clothes that don't fit, or no longer fit my style.  I would grab my few beloved pieces out of the many.  I still shopped, and the Mr. can attest to that with the occasional comment of "you've got a parcel at the door".  I can't help but ask myself, have I been buying clothes that I loved or just felt that it looked ok and was on sale?

image via shopbop.com

I'm a bargain hunter at heart, but I still look for quality pieces (just like I do for our home decor pieces).  My aging process has made me impatient with inferior pieces with poor cutting, and opted for better material and fit.  The capsule wardrobe idea fits my maturing sense of style, and forces me to look at need vs. want in a whole new light.  It gives me further incentive to shop!  As in investing in fewer, better quality pieces that represent who I am and my lifestyle - pieces that will last several seasons. 

I think the Mr. will be glad to know that I'm planning to purge more pieces from my closet, perhaps not down to the bare minimum.  The dressing area at our new house isn't the size of our previous dressing room, and he's obviously concerned that I won't have enough storage for my clothing. Or that this would happen again at the new house:

With a capsule wardrobe, I'll be able to make his life easier and relieve his disturbed mind.  ;-)

If you're interested in reading more on capsule wardrobe, here are two inspiring blogs to check out: 

• un-fancy.com
• into-mind.com

Are you ready to tackle your closet for the changing season?  Would you give the capsule wardrobe a try?