Fan: Restoration Hardware (period-stylish, sturdy, and heavy, usually on-sale at the end of the summer, so now's a good time to look).
- Sheer off-white cotton curtains: IKEA ($20 or so a pair, I think)
- Sisal rug: IKEA (also the cheapest source for this kind of thing I could find)
- Slipcover: Potter Barn (this is the casual drapey dropcloth kind, which was a lot cheaper than a very fitted one -- an actual painter's canvas would be even cheaper, of course :-) I like the artsy look, at least in summer, though it's not for everyone.
- Ottomans: Target, and I LOVE them -- the kids have one each, and can clean up FAST, tossing toys inside. They also come in brown and black leather-type finishes. It's hard to see in this photo, but they have nail-head trim at the bottom.
- End tables: from Pottery Barn many years ago, and sadly, the finish hasn't held up so well, but I do like the shape for kid-book storage.
- Embroidered butterfly and dragonfly pillows: Pottery Barn
- Chair: custom from Walter E. Smith.
- Embroidered pillow: Pier 1
- End table: I bought it in Sri Lanka for $10 or so; it folds flat, and I brought it back in my suitcase. :-)
- Chair: This is the writing chair I bought with some of my advance money for Bodies in Motion; I love it, and am writing in it right now.
- Lap desk: Levenger ($50 seems expensive for a skinny piece of wood, but it is SUPER-useful)
- Pharmacy lamp: Restoration Hardware
- End table: Nadeau
How much do I love that someone makes Indian block-print curtain tie-backs? Sadly, Urban Outfitters doesn't seem to offer them anymore, but Google indicates others offer similar items.
It was July before I got around to trying to make some summer decor for the house. What do you think of as summer decor? I ended up settling on sailboats this year.
I got a little compulsive one night making little blue boats. One of the cheapest crafts ever -- I think it was something like $3 for 100 sheets.
I sewed them onto silver embroidery thread loops (with a tiny seed bead on the inside to hold it on easily), and hung them on some tall twigs that tend to live in a tall glass vase in our front hall.
I particularly like the interaction of textures here -- the richly-colored tiny boats, the silvery metallic thread, the natural branches, the pattern on the anaglypta paper.
Close-up. :-)
I saw this sailboat garland at Land of Nod -- it's meant for decorating a child's nautical bedroom.
I briefly thought about trying to sew similar ones myself out of burlap to save money, but then I decided I was too tired, and bought their garland ready-made for $20. I really like the way it echoes the burlap on our dining table chairs.
Close-up! :-)
And I'm still not sure what to do with these. They're little boats cut and folded from a book of fairy tales (bought on clearance for the purpose of making paper crafts :-). These are designed to stand up, and they sort of do, but they also sort of fall over. I think I may have to glue them a bit so they're not falling apart, and then they could go on a garland too. But I'm not going to get to it this summer, I think. That's okay -- a head start on next summer's decor. :-)
(Now it's time to start collecting fall leaves, I think.)
