Lily Jane

Inspiration Boards

Today I wanted to share with you something that I have found to be an invaluable tool in redecorating our home (and creating/designing just about everything else, too): inspiration boards.  You've probably already seen them all around the blogosphere, but have you ever made one yourself?  In past years I've spent hours poring over paint chips and samples wondering where to even begin!  Inspiration boards have made this task a million times easier.  And they're a breeze to put together, too.

Above is the inspiration board I just put together for our laundry room.  There were a few core materials I knew we were going to use - cork flooring and bead board cabinetry - so I made sure to include a little swatch of each.  Then, I browsed the web looking for images that fit the feel I wanted for the room.  You may remember the vintage buttons from a previous post; I bookmarked them then and saved them in a folder for future inspiration.  This is the key to making an amazing inspiration board: plan ahead!

 

Here is the inspiration board for our bathroom, again, made with images I'd been saving as I found them for a few months.  I printed both of these collages out and brought them with me to the paint store to look for chips.  They kept me on track without limiting me to one shade and opened my mind to ways I could incorporate accent colors.

Not only are inspiration boards easy and amazingly helpful, they're also really fun to make.  Can you think of a better excuse to spend time searching through magazines and websites full of your favorite things?  Don't be hesitant to look through expensive articles you love but could never afford to use in your inspiration board.  It's meant to give you a guideline and be inspirational, not be a tit-for-tat run down of the exact materials going in to your room.  Use what you love in the collage and then find a cheaper version at an antique shop, thrift store or from a relative who's cleaning out their attic.  Be open to painting furniture or adding embellishments yourself.  Keep your eyes open and you'll see things all around you.

Have you ever made inspiration boards before?  What have your experiences been?

{BATHROOM: vintage print; bathroom; inspiration board; shower curtain; towels; color palette; soaps}

{LAUNDRY: sink; vintage buttons; peony wallpaper; hamper; soaps; clock}

Nursery Inspiration

Hello, again!  I'm so happy to be back at home today and blogging to you.  Our weekend in the Pacific Northwest was wonderful.  It was so great to be able to spend time with family and enjoy the gorgeous weather and scenery in that part of the country.  But there's always something about coming back home again that is just so comfortable and welcoming it can't help but make me happy.  Plus, this is the week we start decorating our rooms!  The painting commences tonight!  I'm so excited.

In honor of this little milestone, I wanted to share an amazing before & after from design*sponge with you.  It reminds me of our before throughout our whole house.  Are you ready to be inspired?

Isn't the after just delightful?  The sunniest, loveliest little nursery in a space you never would have imagined it could have existed.  I love the color palette they chose for this baby girl's room.  The bright linens and curtains balance perfectly against the powder blue walls.  I'm typically not a huge fan of children's wall murals because I feel that they limit a space's development as a child grows (not to mention makes a ton of work for you if they decide they don't like Winnie the Pooh anymore) but the tree in this nursery is done in such beautiful, muted tones, I really think it could grow with a little girl well into her grade school years and even beyond.  This room makes me so ready to get going on our next phase of this project!

Do you have any redecorating or remodeling projects you're currently working on?  I'd love to hear about or see what you've come up with.

{images via design*sponge}

Tin Can Telephones

Here's a fun project to do with the little ones (or a friend) this weekend: tin can telephones. Can you remember the last time you made them?  I love these created by Joel.  He taped paper around the ends of each can, but you could also use japanese masking tape to give it a little color in no time. 

We're spending the day swimming, hanging out and maybe seeing some sights.  And the weekend will be more of the same.  I hope you have a great one, too!  Can't wait to see you back here on Monday.

{images via Made by Joel}

Noun

Last night my family and I hopped on a plane and flew up to southern Washington to visit family.  It's always so much fun to be here.  And always so beautiful, even with the almost inevitable bouts of rain.  We're hoping to drop down to Portland and do a little shopping and sight-seeing while we're here.  One shop on my list to visit: Noun.

Noun: a person's place for things, is a vintage store that has such great finds.  Like this adorable owl pitcher (I can totally see storing art supplies, like pencils and brushes in this).

And this amazing typewriter.  I love old typewriters.

I'll be keeping my eye out for goodies and pretty scenes to share with you either tomorrow or back here on Monday.  Hope you're having a good day!

{images via Noun} 
 

Bloom 101: Grape Hyacinth

I've been thinking to myself for some time now about how much I love flowers but how little I know about them.  I wish them permanent residence in every room of my home - but what kinds?  When should I look for them?  And how should I arrange them?  I know I'm not the only one with such questions, so I'm setting out to answer them.  Each week I'll feature a different flower that's blooming at the time.  I'm starting out with grape hyacinth, which I found growing wild in my backyard just a few days ago.  Isn't it beautiful? 

The musky-grass fragrance is really divine; I love it.  It doesn't permeate the house, but you can really smell it when you get close to the bunch.

To make this adventure even more fun, I've made it so you can download this little gathering of floral information and print it on a 3x5 card (it'll print out on a full sheet of paper...trim it down to the marks for 3x5).  Paste each one in a pretty little journal and soon you'll have a guide any florist would envy.

I'm so excited to be starting this project; it's really such fun.  Lilacs and peonies are next in queue.  Which flowers would you like to see?  Please share!

{images by me}

 

Squire Fox Photography

I love stumbling upon a photographer I haven't seen before.  I'm in constant admiration of the talent and vision that so many artists bring to the creative scene.  Squire Fox is one of those artists.  He shoots lifestyle, travel, food and portraits but his food photography is especially delightful to me (probably because food is something I have a slight obsession with).  Aren't these images divine?

The dessert spread above is so picturesque; it's what I always hope to find when walking in to a new-to-me bakery.  And how cute is that little guy with his pots and pans band?  Everything Squire shoots is lovely.  Check out more in his portfolio.

{images via Tricia Joyce, Inc.}

typography art

Hello, again, friends.  How was your weekend?  Mine was fantastic.  The husband took a break from home renovations (to let the drywall guy do his thing) so we actually got to spend some time together!  Still working on things to pretty up the home-front, but it's so much nicer to do them together.

I was also able to really dive in to this new book I purchased, Logo, Font & Lettering Bible by Leslie Cabarga.  I LOVE it.  It's really given me some quality inspiration for my own work and an even deeper appreciation for all the beautiful hand-lettering out there.  Like this "Arabic carpet" by Paul Shaw.  I would hang this on my office wall in a second.

 

And this beautiful composition by Ernst Bunz.  The roman N in the center balances all the swirls and script so well and really makes it perfect.

The book's made me excited to try my own hand at lettering.  I know it will influence my work in countless good ways.  It's also inspired me to find the perfect alphabet to hang in my home.  Art for me and education for the little one. 

What do you think about using alphabets as art?  Would you do it in your own home?

{images via this book}