Set to Life: Everything is Awesome!

That's right guys... I'm doing a blog on The Lego Movie...

...well sort of.

I've always been a BIG fan of Lego and so is my kid. My son likes when we build robots, cars, trucks, etc. I like building houses, furniture and towns. So!  Just for fun, let's see if we can design a functioning living space with items that feel like they could be part of a Lego set.

 

First let's start with the shell of our space.

I would like us to do white walls and a white micro cement floor. We're going to need a blank slate for all the awesomeness that we are about to put in our room.

Next, let's place a layer of FLOR tiles down. I like this blue color. It remind me blue Lego construction boards.

The first piece of furniture we'll layer in is our sofa. Let's keep this a neutral gray color. This will allow us to have fun with colors in our accessories and other furniture pieces. The straight boxy shape is a perfect nod to home made Lego sofas everywhere.

This wood and shagreen table is perfect! Love the multiple pieces put together.

Let's keep our side table sculpural with this simple white cube.

Keeping with the yellow theme, this stacked bookshelf would be great off to the side. 

I'm bringing in some navy blue, guys. Love the straight lines of this lacquered credenza. Use it for a bar or a media cabinet.

To tie the room together, this pixelated flower rug is perfect! You know you dig it.

Here are a few accessories to round off the room...

It's like looking at Legos without your glasses. 

It's like looking at Legos without your glasses. 

Because... Batman

Because... Batman

We'll need a place to eat. This console table from Minotti is great.

For chairs, the classic Mies van der Rohe Cantilever chair reminds me of the standard Lego accessory chair.

A structured chandelier for above the dining table!

Thanks for taking a look at our Lego inspired living space. Hope you enjoyed!

Don't forget to be awesome!

xo vb

 

PS. There are more fun images of Lego inspired items on our Pinterst board. Take a look here!

Want more like this? See our take on The Big Lebowski, The Simpsons, and Downton Abbey. 

What's new! williams sonoma home | cb2 | west elm | pottery barn | wisteria

I LOVE getting new catalogs in the mail. My favorite time for them is fall/winter, but the late winter / early spring ones are usually intriguing as well.

I'll use these posts as a space to highlight some of the new products & trends that on the market. The only rule is, they MUST be under the "New" section on the website. No past season merchandise!  I will score each one after showing a selection of items a la "Who's line is it anyway". (the points don't matter...)

Let's start with Williams Sonoma Home

So, this is the first image you see when you click NEW. LOVE. Great color. Great patterns. I'm a sucker for a hodgepodge of pillows. 

I like this tray very much. A nice mix of shiny metal and the woven handles.

They have some interesting new pottery. This one is a nice neutral color, but I really like the bold green one shown here.

Overall Impression: OK. Some of their new pillows seem a little too coastal/summery for me this early in the year, but I like their new golden accessories.  Not super impressed with their new furniture selections. Not many new case pieces to look at.

Score: B-

 

Let's move on to CB2

The first thing I see is this table lamp. I'm a fan, I like the shape, I like the finish. 

I really like this graphic dinnerware. It mixes very nicely with the blush trend that is happening right now.

I will always say yes to a wood and glass display cabinet with a flip up lid. Always.

Thank goodness for things that are matte.  Excellent colors as well.

I'll take 2, please.

I think CB2 is doing a great job.  They have really stepped it up over the past few years. Their products are young and modern and they are always adding new things.

Score: A 

 

Next, one of my favorites, West Elm.

I like the color of this duvet a lot. It's reminiscent of Pantone's color of the year, without being too dusty in tone.

Kate Spade has teamed up with West Elm to create a line of products. I love statement chairs and I love this fabric. 

Stool tables are always a good idea. They can be moved around all over the house. These come in several colors including this gold, which I could see in any decor style.

I went to lecture about 5 years ago in which the speaker said Mid Century Modern style was on it's way out. I'd like to talk to that person  and see what their opinion is now.

Leave it West Elm to bring just the right touch of "global-ness" to accessories. This Kate Spade rug is great. 

Perfect for spring.

West Elm would be a perfect example of a company that continues to transform itself. They are great at following trends and keeping things fresh. Love their use of color and the Kate Spade collection is very well done.

Score: A+ 

 

Next, let's take a look at Pottery Barn

I can get behind these colors and this bold print.

I'm having a brief love affair with bird cages, so I thought I should include this photo.

There are a lot of animal products on the market right now. This little pig is cute.

We're getting introspective over here.

Pottery Barn is like that comfy little vacation rental that you want to go back to every summer. It may not be your style, but it's nostalgic of something.... There are some questionable accessories, but bonus points for having a large assortment of new products to chose from.

Score: A- 

 

I'd like to end this entry with Wisteria. Have you heard of them? They have a great mix of contemporary and traditional pieces.

Glass waterfall coffee table? Check!

An interesting candle holder. I like the cage look!

Super cool little pedestal. 

Wisteria always brings classic, elegant looks and they have a beautiful website. Check them out!

Score: A

Do you have a favorite online company you'd like for us to review? Let us know in the comments! 

Next time, we'll take a look at Room and Board, Z Gallerie, Crate & Barrel and a few other surprises.

 

xo vb

Tip: How to deadhead roses...

...as taught to be my someone who seemed to know what they were talking about.

You may be surprised to learn that I love working outside in my yard. I have super big dreams of transforming it into something amazing. One day! I get this love of gardening from my mom. She is so good at it and used to spend hours in our family home working on all sorts of things.

So recently when she and I went to the Huntington Library in Pasadena, CA and had a chance to talk with their official rose trimmer, we were super excited!  If you've never been there, look it up! The gardens are amazing and they feature topography from all over the world.  Here's just a taste of what you can see there.

The Japanese gardens.

The Japanese gardens.

Gorgeous!

Gorgeous!

Right! So back to the roses.  We were able to speak to their gardener on the proper way to deadhead roses and needless to say, we've been doing it wrong. You see, we've always thought when the bud dies, you just trim below, down a few leaves and you are good to go. Like this...

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SNIP!  But look how sad it looks.   :(

You see, when you do this, you are actually cutting off the new tiny bud that is forming just below the dead bud.

Can you see that little pod there? That the new bud!

So what you really want to do is snip right ABOVE that piece. This allows for the new flower to bloom and does not require the plant to regrow it's stem and a whole new bud!

I've been using this technique on my own plants  and I can see a HUGE difference in the way they have been growing. 

Here is a close up of another stem that has not been deadheaded. You can see the new bloom coming up from right above the leaves.

One more picture to show how the new growth came up right below where I cut the old bud off. Pretty amazing stuff, huh?!

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WOAH!

Did you learn something? Let me know!

xo vb

DIY : Natural Sandbox

As I mentioned in a previous blog post here, we recently moved into our first house. It's a 1960's ranch style house that had previously been inhabited by renters. They kept the place nice, but it needs some updating. 

My husband and I have been slowly doing things to this inside, like changing the flooring, painting, etc, but the backyard is also in need of some attention. We have a three year old son and really wanted to make a fun place for him to hang out and play. 

I was perusing Pinterest for ideas and kept seeing these awesome natural sand boxes. I figured this would be a great way for us to stretch our DIY muscles and get our hands dirty.

 Here are some of the images I was looking at. 

Look! Dirt! And logs! What could be better?

Look! Dirt! And logs! What could be better?

Every boy's dream.

Every boy's dream.

I had the concept in my head of what I wanted, but decided I would challenge myself to find everything I needed to make the sandbox at Lowe's, with no additional stops. I like instant gratification and I hate waiting for things to dry. The drying thing has nothing to do with this post, but I feel like I need to share that.

So, we went to Lowe's and here's what we found!

{ Disclaimer!  I don't photoshop my pics. What you see is what it is! No fancy filters or whatever for me. So if you need that in your life, I won't be that girl for you.}

Logs

I LOVE these little edgers. They gave me the log look I wanted, but already had little sticks in them to keep them in the ground! They are also flexible, so you can curve them. Super easy.

We cleared out the area where we wanted to put the sand box. That little log cabin was left by the renters, so score one for us! Our new log edgers work perfectly with it. Hi husband!

We bought a super cheap (but heavy duty) plastic paint tarp and placed that in the area where the sand would be. The vine behind it tends to creep itself into the yard from underground, so I thought the plastic might help that from happening.

The edgers went down, as did the sand! Tip, buy at least 1 more bag of sand than you think you will need.  We had some large rocks around the yard, so those went around too, to help finish off the border. I left one section open to allow a natural transition between the sand and the grass. 

Spread sand out, add toys, and VOILA!  This was seriously one of the easiest things ever to make and our kid LOVES it. I like it because it looks like it's always been there.

Hope you enjoyed this quick post! We've got a lot more work ahead of us. Stay tuned!

xo vb