Fascinator Hat DIY

Success!  I decided to go with navy Philip Treacy-esque hat and it was a hit!  As predicted I was the only one at the wedding wearing a hat, but I hope to see more ladies sporting toppers in the future.

Here is a pic!

Here are some of my favorite actual Philip Treacy hats. One day...perhaps when I have more money.

 

I wish I had this striped one back in college when we used to go to the Foxfield Races...

I found a bunch of fake butterflies in an old box of craft items, so I think my next hat will be something like the butterfly hat Prince Beatrice wore here:

But maybe a little tamer!

Wedding Hats

Well, not hats as much as fun feathered toppers.  Drew and I are going to a friend's wedding tomorrow and, inspired by all those Royal Wedding hats, I decided I needed to up the ante on my outfit and wear something ridiculous on my head. I was going to buy one, but I thought it might be a fun diy project.  So, I picked up a bunch of supplies and got started.

(Yes...by the time this was over our living room was covered in feathers and glue.)

First I made one with a yellow feather base and peacock feathers:

Then I made a yellow feather covered headband to which I attached a rosette of yellow, brown, and curled peacock feathers:

 

The last one is navy blue with some ribbon and Philip Treacy-esque feathers:

Now I just have to decide....which one to wear?  Hmmm...

(Yes I'm taking pictures of myself in the bathroom...in my nightgown.)

I finally finished the design board for Heidi and Matt's Master Bedroom. Here it is!

 

 

Heidi already picked a nice light grey for the room so that is where I started.  I decided to go with touches of black to give the room a masculine touch.  The bed is an upholstered piece from....Target!  I'm dying to get one.  And this particular style comes in a bunch of colors including a lime green and aubergine, but here I suggest it in black. The curtains, of which here are four sets in the room, are also in black. There is a bit of an Indian vibe from the block print duvet set and mirror and the modern, parson-style, side tables from West Elm and blue lamps from Restoration Hardware keep it from going too traditional.

Beautiful Bedrooms

I'm working on a design board for my friend Heidi's place, and I wanted to share some of the beautiful images of bedrooms I came across while researching ideas.

Pereira Associates

I love this blot of teal blue in an otherwise neutral space. And that brass desk lamp is a fantastic touch.

 Grace Bonny

I'm obsessed with this orange.  I think it could be great in a guest bedroom.

Tish Key ID

This room is simple and gorgeous!  I love the look of a four poster bed.  Can't decide if I'd rather have a four poster or an upholstered bed like this one:

Taylor Hannah Architects

I think this is my favorite.  The tray ceiling reminds me of Heidi and Matt's room.  And the upholstery on the headboard reminds me of this bedding from West Elm:

I'll post the design board for Heidi and Matt's Master tomorrow!

Great Idea for Hanging Posters

I was watching the newest episode of Secrets from a Stylist and Emily had a great idea for hanging posters in a cheap, but non-tacky, way. She sandwiched the poster between took two sheets of acrylic and secured the edges with gold-tone angle brackets which gives the frame a cool modern, campaign furniture vibe.

She doesn't have a pic on her blog, but it looked like this:

This is such a great idea! I have some neat posters that I haven't known what to do with....now I know!

British Invasion

The royal wedding has me loving all things British!

This may be odd, but for many years now I've really wanted to buy an old Land Rover (Defender, but Discovery would also do) and fix it up girl-style. So this is what I'm thinking...

I have to admit, I'm obsessed with this car.  I even like the color. Unfortunately, even though it is 14 years old it is still out of my price range. A girl can dream...

So now that we "have" the car, it needs to get jazzed up.  First thing would be to convert the old diesel engine to run on bio-fuel.  I like how Prince Charles converted a few of his cars to run on ethanol made from surplus wine.  How fancy!  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1030611/Prince-Charles-converts-beloved-Aston-Martin-green-machine--run-English-wine.html

Next it gets a nice coat of warm white paint. I like the contrast of a boxy, utilitarian car painted a girly color.  Now for the fun part.  I would have the seats reupholstered in a zany floral like these from Designers Guild:

Yes it is a little unconventional but how much fun would it be to get in this car everyday!  

I wouldn't mind pulling up to this either...

 Can't you just hear the crunch of gravel under the tires?  Brilliant!