Goodbye Marija

As I'm sure most of you have heard by now - Marija Stephens, of Holding Court, passed away suddenly this weekend. I had thought I would spend last night catching up on all the blogs I read in my reader. As usual Holding Court was one of my first stops so immediately I came across her husbands heartfelt tribute to her and I couldn't really go any further. Please take some time to read it, it's truly beautiful. I was in complete shock and filled with so much grief for her family. She has a wonderful blog and was an inspiration both with her designs as well as the kind of wife and mother she was which you could easily learn through reading her blog. I was always so excited to see a comment here from Marija as it was always so witty and sweet. We had been emailing recently in hopes of meeting up sometime in the near future. I wish I had had the chance to know her face to face but I am content that I was at least able to get to know her virtually. My thoughts and prayers are with her husband and 2 children as well as the rest of her family and friends during this difficult time.

Hello Suzanna Bierwirth

A while back I came across a Chicago home in Blueprint Magazine that I adored. I was looking over it again this weekend and noticed that the exterior of the home looked very familiar to me (as in, in my neighborhood and I'm pretty sure I walk by it weekly). So I googled what I thought could be the street name and alas I was right. Not only did I find the home but I also found that it is currently on the market!

The reason I recognized the home is that it is next door to one of my favorite homes to walk by. Can you guess why?

On the left is the exterior of the featured home and to the right - check out that turquoise door! That door is the whole reason I recognized this house. I love that door.

The home is that of Suzanna Bierwirth of Binth. I think it is interesting to see the changes in the home/decor from what it looked like for the magazine shoot to what it looks like now in its listing photos. Here are the images from Martha Stewart.

This blue settee pictured here which I adore is missing in the listing photos.

Love this image of the fireplace/mantel.

Here is a living space that Suzanna used as a dining room which is how she thought she would get the most out of her limited space.

Close up of the steel shelving in the kitchen - love that pig and I love those salt/pepper shakers!

Here is her entranceway. I'm really liking the black stairs.

Coat Rack - so stylish.

Master Bedroom - a black wall, long before the black wall craze everyone is in now.

Amazing vintage style bathroom - check out the chandelier!

Her sons bedroom - look at his little eames desk chair! The artwork is from Binth.

This space is in their basement. It's great that it appears to be a walk out and they get a ton of light.

Here are some of the images from the online listing.

First thing I noticed is that their dining room has been turned back into a living room. I'm sure when selling a home more people are looking for a space like this than a large dining room - although I loved the idea of a large dining room and just a little settee versus having a large living room seeing as when you have people over they tend to gather around eating areas. I would have to squeeze my tv in somewhere though if I was going to live that way!

Here is the dining area where that lovely blue settee used to live - the lucite chairs have been switched out for something much more traditional.

The mirrored buffet has also been switched out for a more traditional piece in the entryway. Here you can get a better look at that staircase!

The next few spaces here make me a little sad (the master bedroom and the master bath). Both are much more neutral now without their pops of hot pink!

Love these wardrobes that we never got to see in the magazine!

Here is a larger look at her sons bedroom sans little blue eames chair.

Here is a larger view of the basement.

A second bath.

This is the homes outdoor space - something absolutely cherished by city dwellers!

Now if only I could come up with 3/4 of a million dollars this baby would be all mine!

Images via Martha and chicagotopcondos

Hello Hardware

We're really coming close to the end of our bathroom project! I'll be posting pictures of our vanity and cabinets soon (soon as in whenever I can find 5 minutes of free time to take pictures and upload them - life is hectic). I have some gift certificates from Restoration Hardware that I used to purchase the knobs for our vanity/cabinets. I'm torn between these two.

Traditional Glass Knob

Vintage Glass Knob

I love the simplicity of the vintage knob but I love how the traditional knob has that little bit of glamour. The traditional knob only comes in nickel (the rest of our bathrooms hardware is in chrome). The vintage comes in chrome. I can't decide if this matters to me or not.

I bought both of them thinking having them in the bathroom at the same time would help me decide but no dice. For starters the woman working there gave me 11 brass traditional knobs and I can't seem to get past the brass color when I'm looking at the two side by side. Second, having them here doesn't seem to make any difference in deciding which one I prefer.

So let's have a little vote - vintage or traditional? Please?! My bare vanity is begging you!

Hello Again Domino

Thanks to Everything LEB for pointing me in the direction of this.

Domino archives online?! I am just thrilled.

And if you don't already know - Coco & Kelly has their own little flickr group dedicated to Domino. It's definitely loads of eye candy.

Enjoy both of these. I know I will.

Hello Turquoise Desk

I have loved this space from the very first time I laid eyes on it. I'm not sure if its the walls or the desk or the pretty pink flowers or that amazing branchy antlery type chandelier, but I just love it.

Image via DecorPad

I have this red desk which I've been debating for over a year now whether to paint a different color or leave red. I'm kind of leaning towards painting it a pale turquoise lacquer like this lady here. I'm certain it would make me happy everyday.

Hello Annsley McAleer

Love this space that was featured in Domino. It is the living room of designer Annsley McAleer of Annsley Interiors.

I really can't get enough of neutral interiors that use accessories like pillows, books, and vases to add pops of color. It makes the space so easy to change over time as your taste changes, as seasons change and as you find new favorite pieces and colors to incorporate.

Hello Sofa

I'll warn you this is a long post - but it's mostly just pretty images so hopefully that is reason enough to get through it. A friend of mine just bought her first home (congrats to her!). It's a condo in Chicago and she has asked for help with decorating her living room. Her first big purchase - besides the home itself of course, is going to be a sofa for her living room. She has picked out two really great choices but she is completely torn. She's stuck on the infamous sectional versus traditional sofa debate.

Her room has enough space for either but it's not a huge space - she will probably add two side chairs and an ottoman/coffee table - so the sofa will definitely be the largest piece and take up the majority of the area. The first image here is the traditional sofa. It's from Walter E. Smithe and it is by Hickory Chair. It is a dark gray with a little bit of navy to it. The second image is the sectional from Jayson Home and Garden, it's much more of a neutral color and it's by Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams. So here they are.

Gray Sofa

Neutral Sectional

I thought I would also post some inspiration images of both to maybe help her decide - here are the best gray sofa images I could find.

Next up, neutral sectional inspiration.

Now I'm actually going to throw in a third option here and it is this gray sectional. This sectional is also by Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams available through Jayson Home and Garden (FYI they are having a sale with lots of stuff up to 50% off - including these sectionals - so check it out).

So maybe you all could chime in here. What are your thoughts on sectional versus traditional sofa? Any preference to gray or neutral? Any comments will be greatly appreciated!