Feminine Friday: Ruffle it Up

Blue and white doesn't have to be a color scheme just for the boys - soften it up with some ruffles, curvy furniture, slipcovers, natural fibers like linen, and a woman's favorite accessory, toss pillows!  And if you want to add some feminine ruffles to your space, check out Kelly's work.  She is the queen of slipcovers.  image via:  Veranda

Loving Louis

I can't get my new Louis chair off my mind - so I've been surfing the web for some inspiration.  Thought I'd share...

                 

So many options, what's a girl to do?

I'm loving the idea of doing a different fabric on the back.

This Baby's Mine...

While shopping in Newburyport last week, I spotted this beauty on the street from blocks away.  

Well, she now belongs to me and will soon go under a make-over...

I'm just unsure of what to do.  I'm thinking repaint the wood white and reupholster in a print, maybe zebra.  Or, silver-leaf the wood and reupholster in a solid, maybe a velvet.

I'll keep you posted!

Manly Monday: Layered

designed by:  Todd Alexander Romano


The layering of art, mismatched tables for nightstands, and the lacquered wood bed make for an interesting room.  Notice the chrome floor lamps on either side of the bed - a great way to save space on the tables.

Feminine Friday: Think Pink...and Purple

image via:  Brandon Barre Photography

Inspiration

Though this is a young girl's bedroom, there are some neat design elements that you can steal for your own space to get that designer feel.

room by tobi fairley

1.  Adding trim to the inner lengths of window treatment panels gives them a custom look.  Trim can be easily applied with a glue gun, I've done it!
2.  A bedroom can have an ottoman - use it as a table, seating, or even purchase an ottoman with storage capabilities.
3.  Chandeliers and wall sconces are great looking, but they are even betters sources of light for a room with little space for tables.
4.  A bedroom is one of the best rooms to experiment and play with pattern.  There are so many ways to use fabric in a bedroom, from the window treatments, furnishings, bed linens, to the toss pillows.
5.  Get personal.  Monograms are an easy way to personalize your space and feel like a star.

Manly Monday: Reading Nook

Check out these manly nooks - great seating areas with some masculine flair.  

Above:  Don't you love those leather wing back chairs?  Designer Thom Filicia sure did, and he made them the focal point of that living room area.  The caramel leather looks delicious against the black bookcase.  And the pair of small-scale chairs are balanced with a chunky onyx pedestal table.

Right:  Can you picture some handsome, brooding, yet bookish man sitting in this wonderful chrome and velvet chair while reading?  It's a nice nook with clean lines, metal, wood, and some surprising curves.  image via:  decor pad

Left: Another great leather chair, perched, waiting for a manly man to sit and enjoy. This nook is incredibly masculine, from the star burst brick window frame, framed vintage maps, to the distressed chest of drawers.

The mix of old and new in this room makes the space visually interesting in a room where there is not a lot of pattern or color happening. The chrome pedestal table adds a little glimmer to a space that might end up looking dull with all of the light tones of the washed out wood and butterscotch leather.

image via:  Max & Company via decor pad

Feminine Friday: Get the Look for Less

This rooms just glows with color and style.  There's a perfect mix of contemporary and dainty, subtle and bright, textured and shiny.  I am totally smitten with this room.  image via:  decorpad

Get this gorgeous, feminine look for yourself:

Ballard Designs Strasbourg Chair, $939      Layla Grace Klysmous Table, $990

Pure Rugs Cowhide rug in Wheat, $450                 Crate & Barrel Petrie Apartment Sofa, $1499

Wallpaper: Accent or Entire Wall

The trend this past year has been the accent wall in a striking wallpaper.

What do you think - apply wallpaper to one accent wall or just go for it and do the entire room?

image via House & Home

I'm all for going crazy and wallpapering the entire room!

image via:  Brandon Barre

High Style at Walmart?

While writing my recent post on slipper chairs - I discovered that Walmart has some stylin' home furnishings, especially upholstered items, available on their website.  In addition to their great looks, they're inexpensive too! 

These chairs and ottomans would be a great addition to any room...perhaps the one you're working on right now?  Or the one you might need help with?

Alisha ottoman bench, $89

Hour glass chair, $159                  Curves button chair, $149

Fontana armchair, $249                                Curves willow chair, $149

Curves bench, $199                             Curves tufted chair, $399

Cortez tufted chair, $249                  Trition club chair, $299

A Big Thanks!

In this year that I've been blogging, I've met some great bloggy friends that have been very kind in mentioning Decorica and my design business Erica LeBlanc Design.  I'd like to take this post to thank and highlight them for their kindness and support:

Ange from Chair Up - Ange is always fixing up some great antique find and showing us her fun projects around her home.  Ange often highlights new blogs that she discovers, and kindly mentioned Decorica when I was just starting out.

Kelly from Much to do With Nothing - Kelly has a great blog which she uses to showcase her adorable slipcovers and refurbished thrift store finds.  She makes these great slipcovers with the sweetest ruffles and fabrics.  Kelly has helped me with promoting a giveaway and gave some of my work a shout out.  I always tell her that I wish I lived close to her because I would totally use her seamstress abilities for my clients! 

Rene from Cottage and Vine - I've recently become a sponsor of Rene's blog and had the privilege of her showcasing ELD with a wonderful and detailed post about my design services.  Rene's blog is full of personal gardening and decorating inspiration!  I love the photos that she takes of beautiful flowers and posts on her blog along with her posts and tips.

Thank you to Ange, Kelly, and Rene for their support and to those that follow Decorica and send me lovely comments!

Manly Monday: Canadian Chic

This is the Toronto home of designers Rodney Smith and Malcolm Patterson.

It took them five years to find the perfect fabric to use to re-cover the above vintage chair. 

Their dining chairs are the iconic Cord Chair designed by Canadian Jaques Guillon in 1953.

The mirror in the kitchen expands the room, giving the visual illusion of more space.

via:  style at home

Have you ever seen a rug like that before?!

Southern Hides has a cool selection of unusual hides in bright colors and patterns.

To see more of Malcolm and Rodney's great style, visit them at:

www.malcolmpatterson.com
www.judyinc.com/rodneysmith

Feminine Friday: Under the Eaves

Wouldn't you love to curl up with a book in this bedroom?  This room has an ethereal feel to it with the light filtering in the windows, eave ceilings, cool colors, and sheer curtains.  And a chandelier adds that special glimmer and feminine touch.

    Brandon Barre Photography

Ode to the Slipper Chair

I'm a big fan of the little slipper chair.  It is the perfect chair for any decorating need;  to perch on in a dressing room, for additional seating in a living room, to add a bit of pattern in the corner of a bedroom, or to furnish a small studio.

Layla Grace:  Aidan, $690                     Pier1:  Addyson, $349

Ballard Designs: Leyland, $623                  West Elm:  Upholstered, $299

Target:  Sudan, $299                Walmart:  Avenue Six, $299

Do you have a slipper chair?  Where is it?

images via:  decorpad