New Look

We've given the blog a facelift and have finally fixed the comments section.  It should now be easier for you to share your thoughts about our posts, whether or not you're following the blog.

Speaking of following the blog, please take the time to follow the links to the right!

Headboard Roundup

Last week we posted about our favorite, affordable bedding from Ikea.  We also mentioned that headboards are just as important when styling a bedroom.  Today, we've rounded up some of our favorite headboards/bed frames (with budget in mind), and we've paired each with an inspiration picture so you can get an idea of how these beauties look in a finished room:

We love the height of the Tall Grid Tufted Headboard from West Elm.  West Elm is a great place to go for affordable headboards and bed frames, and if you have a little bit of extra cash, you can customize any of their headboards with your own fabric choice:

Tufted headboards lend themselves really well to a variety of different styles, which is great if you've got design ADD like we do:

This bed from Overstock is actually our dream come true-- upholstered AND four poster.  And the price. is. insane.

We love the sophisticated simplicity.  It reminds us a little of the bed in this room:

It's no secret that we love a good stripe-- the mustard yellow Montauk headboard from Urban Outfitters totally does it for us (love that the stripes aren't uniform), and is under $400!

We've always adored the Marquette bed from Home Decorators.  The classic sleigh design and antiqued brass finish are so charming!

Ikat is a fabric we don't think we'll ever get sick of.  This Target version ($229!) is neutral enough to work with just about any style:

This seagrass headboard (which comes in two finishes) makes us feel like we're on vacation...which is what a bedroom should be all about, right?  At $450 or a queen, it's one of Pottery Barn's more affordable options:

One final tip for apartment dwellers or those of you needing extra bedroom storage: we'd pair up these headboards with a cheaper bed frame that has drawers, like this one from Ikea.  Instant storage space without sacrificing style!

Ikea Bedding Roundup

When we're working on a redesigning a bedroom, we always put a lot of focus on the bed and bedding.  We think headboards and layered bedding are the "crown jewels" in any well-designed bedroom.  Headboards can help you pull together the color story of the room, while bedding adds lightness and texture.  We like to stick with all-white bedding-- because the bed is often the largest piece of furniture in a bedroom, and takes up the most visual space, using light bedding helps keep the room from feeling weighted down by the bed.

Ikea actually has some fantastic bedding options.  Because their bedding is really affordable (most queen bedding is only $39.99 for a duvet and shams), you can create a beautiful, layered bed without breaking the bank. 

Our all-time favorite Ikea bedding is the Alvine Stra.  We love the clean, tailored lines and that it works with just about any style.  It is simple enough to go with even the busiest of headboards, but still makes a statement:

The Farglav bedding  reminds us so much of Jenna Lyons' red Olatz bedding:

 The Linblomma bedding is a bit more expensive at $79.99 for a queen, but we love the knot detail and that it's 100% linen:

We'd layer the Ofelia Vass bedding with the Linblomma from above-- it would look great folded at the end of the bed:

For kids' rooms, these are our favorite picks:

We think the Bjornloka bedding is a great option for a boy or a girl, and love that it comes in red or gray (full disclosure, we'd use this bedding in an adult or teen bedroom, as well):

Wouldn't the red Bjornloka shams look great layered with the Birgit duvet for a little girl's room?

We love the sweet dots of the Ikea PS 2012 duvet, which comes in natural or white:

Feeling inspired? We're doing a roundup of our favorite headboards later this week, so stay tuned!

Be Mine

Happy Valentine's Day!  We've rounded up some eye-candy to get your holiday started off right-- we picked these rooms because they all use pink and/or red in beautiful ways (it's now decided that we both need some pale pink walls in our future homes...obsessed).

We hope your days are filled with lots of love!

Bailey McCarthy's Home

Did you get a chance to see Bailey McCarthy's beautiful home featured in this month's Matchbook Magazine? Bailey is the interior designer behind one of our favorite blogs, Peppermint Bliss, and is the founder of Biscuit Home, an amazing collection of bedding, furniture, and home decor.

Her home is impeccably styled, and we love that her it still feels relaxed and seems to really reflect who she is.  We think that's what interior design is all about.  Also, the girl knows how to use some wallpaper and we love it.

Follow the link above to get the full tour, but here's a few of our favorite shots:

Happy Monday! Wishing you all a fabulous week.

Sarah's Living Room: Rug Problems, Solved

That's right, my living room rug nightmare has come to an end.  And what a sweet end it is!  After a failed trip to the Bloomingdale's rug sale (yes, $9K for a $37K rug is a great deal...and when we have an extra nine grand lying around we'll let you know) and countless hours scouring the internet for rugs, we ended up back where we belong...Overstock.com.

Overstock has about a billion rugs available, so we set to work throwing together Olioboards that would show us how different options would look in the space.  A few contenders:

We liked the third option but weren't super excited about it because I already have a very similar rug. We still weren't quite sure what we were looking for, but when we saw this beauty we were pretty sure we had found it.

 

It's a hand-knotted, 100% wool, imported Safavieh rug. It's also fair trade, ships carbon neutral, and comes with a somewhat unsettling guarantee that no child labor was used in its making. We love how the two-tone color scheme modernizes the traditional pattern. 

We dropped it into an Olioboard and--hooray!--my new living room was born.

The rug arrived in no time and we absolutely adore it.  It's beautiful, soft, doesn't show stains, and, most importantly, DOESN'T SHED.  We soon discovered, however, that solving a rug problem means creating an ottoman/side table problem.  More on that, and pictures of the room, to come!