Don't Forget to Vote

Just a few days left in our Wedded Whittaker Project Poll! Thanks to everyone who has voted so far. We're pretty impressed with the number of votes (aka readers).

For those of you cheering for the sunroom... We're imagining pocket french doors off the kitchen. I love the look, but with space at a premium, really love the idea of saving all that room. No corners blocked by swinging doors for these Whittakers!

{not liking the overall design, but thought it was a good representation of our idea - via ?}

My ever-so-industrious husband found these antique doors (pulled out of old homes) on Craig's List for $10 a piece... Wonder what a little sanding and paint could do to make these into our pocket doors?

Happy Weekend!

Work, work, work...

I apologize for the lack of posts this week... It has been incredibly busy at work, but pretty exciting. I am so happy to announce that I received a promotion!

{via oh happy day!}

Now Wedded Whittaker is headed by a newly appointed Communications Specialist (me!) My graduate school work is in Strategic & Organizational Communications, and I couldn't be more excited to start applying all that I'm learning there... Here's to an exciting new chapter!

Seeing Red

One of my favorite blog readers (who actually introduced me to almost all of the blogs in my design favorites) commented on an earlier post that animal prints will always be classic in a room... just like a hint of red or black.

I noticed a trend in some of my favorite room files after this... And totally agree that a bold splash of red can make a room.

{via Oh Happy Day!}


{images via Canadian House & Home}
{via Little Green Notebook}

As a side note, the tv console in the Oh Happy Day! room and this credenza were both painted Rustoleum's 'Safety Red.' I haven't figured out what yet, but I'm definitely painting something (anything!) this color in our house. This is such a great cabinet from Crate & Barrel, but you could easily find something similar on Craig's List and give it a nice coat of red paint... If we had enough space, we'd definitely have something similar in our kitchen.

Road Trip!

I just need to find one other person to make the commitment with me...

Who is in for a Raleigh road trip?

My Favorite Whittaker

I am in love with a Whittaker who isn't my husband... and won't apologize. At the risk of our blog becoming a shrine to her, I just had to do another post on designer Ashley Whittaker.

I recently realized that TONS of my favorite images (swiped and saved from other blogs) are actually her designs. So I did a little research...

She was named one of Domino Magazine's 2007 'Domino 10: Decorators on the Verge.' She describes herself as 'neo-traditionalist' and made the cover of House Beautiful in February of 2008. To read the entire feature and interview, click here. For the short version, here are a few highlights:

HB: The furniture in the living room and in the family room is all very traditional and comfy-looking, but it has a modern, tailored feel.
AW: The shapes are all rather traditional — the Billy Baldwin–inspired slipper chairs, the tufted ottoman by the fire, the Napoleon III chair covered in turquoise cashmere. It's the fabric that feels young. The bright green strié velvet on the sofa is unexpected and makes it less serious than it is.

HB: Furniture arranging is such a knack, and you've got it. What are your do's and don'ts?
AW: Honestly, I don't even think about fabrics or colors until I have a furniture plan in my mind. It really is the most important aspect of designing a great room. First you want to make sure the room will work for its intended purpose. Living rooms need lots of seating areas and small chairs and upholstered stools to pull around. Family rooms need a comfy sofa and always a big ottoman in place of the coffee table. A good furniture plan means you can have three people in a room or 18, and everyone still has a great time.

And, of course, here is some of her amazing work:

Upper Eastside Apartment:


Downtown Apartment: {remember this wallpaper from Silver Lining? yea, this is Ashley, and it was featured in Domino}
{alternate view of my favorite living room}
Summer Home from House Beautiful:

Vote in the Wedded Whittaker Project Poll!

As much as I love to daydream about living in a Dilworth 1900s bungalow, we love our current home. But as much as we love it, we love new projects even more! Well, I love to plan them and Jeff loves to have something to do... so it works out.

We've been debating the order of 3 projects that we're planning to complete before we move out of the house... And need a little help. So let us know what you think should be next in the Wedded Whittaker Project Poll! Here's a quick run-down:

1. Add a carport. Jeff already upgraded our parking situation by pouring a concrete parking pad for double-car use at the the top of the driveway last year. Now he is really hoping to get a carport up for extra storage and to keep our paint finishes safe (well, mine at least)

2. Remodel the exterior. While we love our home, the exterior leaves us less than excited. Whenever we decide to sell, some curb-appeal will be majorly needed. Currently, the front of our house is brick, vinyl siding, and fake stone... yikes! We plan to rely heavily on my dad for brainstorming an architecturally correct solution for this issue.

3. Convert the porch to a sunroom. While probably the most involved of all projects, this one would seriously add years to our ability to stay in the little house. We're thinking french doors off the kitchen into the sunroom, tile floors (yay for laminate going out with this too), and an exterior entry with a little doggie door for Miss Ellie to come in and relax while we're at work (without having entirely free roam).

Now that you've seen the options, tell us what you think! Although I can't guarantee that the voters' favorite will be the ultimate winner, I can safely say that the new project will bring some Jeff posts in the spring (finally!)

Weekend Purchase

Last week I fell in love with this settee on i suwannee. I've decided to plan a trip to Raleigh to visit the store soon... Who else is with me?

Then this was on Charlotte Craig's List (for almost a month):

The shape is so similar! I think that the love seat will look a lot better reupholstered in a fun pattern (not highlighter yellow). So we got it for the living room... and Jeff wondered if I would ever stop purchasing furniture.

Pretty Prints?

I have to admit, most of my life I've been pretty weary of animal prints... But, for a while now, I've seen these prints pop up everywhere. Tina Fey summed up my feelings in her January 2009 cover and interview with Vanity Fair: "Because of the Greek-girl thing... I have to be steered away from cheetah print."

Despite my heritage, I've been considering branching out... Especially in the home decor department. What do you think? Are animal prints on the way out, too much, or a fun accent?




{images via In Style spring 2010}

{images via i suwannee}


{images via Cote de Texas}

Keep Dreaming...

After a weekend of pleading (and yes, there was some crying), it became clear that Jeff was not going to budge on letting me completely redesign our living room.

As a reminder, my inspiration (for the room and ensuing weekend-long fit) came from designer Ashley Whittaker (no wonder I love it) via The Newlywed Diaries:

So I'm living vicariously through my blog... If I could start all over again, this is what our room would look like:
Sofa: Our current sofa purchased on Craig's List (Rowe)
Bookshelf: Our current shelf from Crate & Barrel (Sloane)
Loveseat: Ikea Karlstad loveseat in sivik light blue
Ottoman: Target
Brown Leather Chair: Charlotte Craig's List
Glass Coffee Table: Crate & Barrel
Curtains: Ikea Aina in yellow
Pillows: Etsy
Rug: Jute 9x12 with a faint diamond pattern that I am just dying to have from eBay

While the room is my 'dream' room, it was still put together on a realistic budget... Not as jaw-droppingly chic as the original, but I'd be pretty happy with the results!

Weekend Inspiration

I love flipping through blogs for living room inspiration. Mostly because I still haven't figured out what to do with that room in our house.

I usually fall in love with rooms like this one, even though our current house doesn't have close to the amount of space or light. This week I came across these beauties... Some great ideas if you (like me) have a smaller space to work with.

{via Young House Love}

{via The Newlywed Diaries}

the current favorite... hoping to pull a few ideas from this room into ours.

An Eye for Art

Around the house, it takes a few 'trial-and-error' rounds to get the look I really want. I'm pretty visual and need to see a piece of furniture/art/shelf arrangement in a particular location for a while before I make up my mind.

This can sometimes be a point of contention in our household… For example, we now have 2 full size couches in a 3-bedroom house.

A less extreme example is our fireplace. We have two pictures hanging side-by-side above our mantel, but I feel like we need a little more substance... Something a little bolder. Any thoughts?

Sorry, but I only had this picture from Halloween on file... Excuse the spiderwebs and gravestones. You can't tell, but the pictures are paintings of flowers in distressed gold frames.

I’d love to get a larger piece of artwork here… A mirror has been mostly nixed in favor of putting one in our entryway. Unfortunately, we don’t own any large pieces of art. Most of our walls have groups of smaller pieces.

In college, this could have been solved with a trip to the poster store on Franklin Street. Now, however, I’m at a loss for where to look for such a piece (without breaking the bank). Does anyone have a go-to place for great art finds? Or do you like the two smaller pictures here?