Experience Life Magazine Feature!

Happy Habitat Eco Throws made an appearance in the August issue of Experience Life magazine! Great magazine by the way-- all kinds of practical, healthy advice!

I Spy: Triangle Art

As much as I hate to admit it, sometimes art is trendy. As is fashion. I can tell myself-- it's a basic black (fill in the blank here-- blazer, pant, dress), but the facts are that cuts change, and your basic black pant or whatever doesn't look as great 5 years later, usually. Low rise, high rise, pleats, shoulder pads, zippers, etc. all those little details make the difference. But I digress (as I do often)-- we're talking about art. Am I seeing a trend with all this lovely faceted triangle art? I know art stands the test of time for sure, but what about trends in art? Will those go down as the 'faceted triangle' age, and be a classic? Either way-- I LOVE it no matter what.

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Lamps:

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Even seeing it in furniture:

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Love this faceted Desk.
Have you seen this whole house by Kelly Wearstler? EVERY SINGLE SURFACE is inSANE. Expensive, exotic materials. Who has BRASS kitchen cabinets? Crazy.
(and a side note: the blog above that links to these pics-- My Favorite and My Best is so freaking hilarious. )

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Oh-- and found this cute pillow at Target:

painted trim for the boys room

It's about time to switch things up for Reece's room. He'll turn 8 this year, and his room has stayed the same since he was a baby. It's not that it's babyish, but time for a change. He has full length curtains that will come down. I've been trying to figure out how to make the 3 windows in his room interesting, without being frilly and girly. Thought maybe I'd paint the window trim in a contrasting color. I'm thinking of navy walls with turquoise trim. I can't decide if the baseboards and crown molding should be painted turquoise too, or just the windows, or maybe just the back of his door, or his closet. I'm obviously undecided.

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So after looking these over, I think anything goes. It doesn't matter if you do both the crown moulding and baseboards, or just the windows, or one or the other. High contrast or low-- anything works. Like I said, I'm thinking navy walls (or that funky greenish/teal navy, like the main color below) with turquoise trim. I'm certain that will change since I've already changed my mind 3 times. I'm so lucky that the kiddo doesn't care. I've asked him 3 options so far and he said yes to all. First one was grey and white painted stripes with turquoise trim, second was turquoise and white stripes on just one wall with navy trim, and now we've landed at navy walls with turquoise trim. We'll see what actually happens. Kind of depends on if I can score this rug:

More on that later. And no, I'm not sick of chevron yet!

Rainbow Rooms

I'm so happy to have my first Guest Writer here at Happy Habitat: Design Shuffle. They totally get me and my love for color. Check it out:

 Hello, Joanna here. I'm a writer for Design Shuffle, a terrific website and blog featuring interior designer portfolios and tons of decorating ideas and inspiration for design enthusiasts. I love color, and lots of it, so I'm excited to share some of my favorite rainbow-hued spaces with you today. I hope you enjoy!

 Love, love, love this room! This is a true rainbow room with its cheery pinks, greens, yellows and blues. The brilliant white furnishings really make all of the colors pop.  

This space is the ideal family room with its comfy oversized orange sectional, bright multi-colored floral rug. The white lamp in back of the sofa is quite unique.

An enormous living space is dressed in vivid pink, blue and green. The patterns at the windows and on the furniture add interest. I adore the herringbone floors in differing wood tones. Inspired with any decorating ideas?

 What a cheery dining space with its colorful walls and mismatched chairs. The pink and gold banquette is especially lovely.

  

Such a pretty room full of pattern, texture and happy hues! The faux mount adds a touch of whimsy to the space.

 Who knew hot pink floors could be so attractive? Color blocking is used for a dramatic effect. The high contrast between the yellow and pink adds additional interest to the space.

This is such a happy children's room with its multi-hued furnishings and playful elements. The flags overhead are reminiscent of the circus. A brightly-colored light fixture would be perfect here. This room inspires tons of interior design ideas for kids' rooms.

 A pretty rainbow palette brightens this charming bathroom. Can't you just imagine soaking in that wonderful clawfoot tub? 

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Which one of these brightly colored rooms is your favorite? If you're looking for more bright colored spaces, check out Design Shuffle to see fantastic room inspiration from top designers!

Thanks for sharing such fun spaces, Joanna! How could you not smile at these rooms!?

down under part 2

Have I mentioned that I'm getting a good vibe from Australia? Seems like I'm running into all kinds of great stuff out of Australia. You know I love Inaluxe, I recently discovered the lovely Vivian from Ish & Chi (how cute is she!?), been listening to these guys, I'm a big fan of Anna Spiro from Absolutely Beautiful Things, and the list is not complete without the fabulous online magazine Adore Home. Anyway, lots of strange coincidences with Australia. And thrilled to show you that my throws made it in the August issue of Australia's Real Living Magazine.

See the Zigzag Throw peaking out of the basket?
Proud to paired up with Anna Spiro's beautiful wallpaper!

Killer Art found via my new pool bag

I was on the hunt for a great pool bag, as my old one has holes in it, and I think we may have left a trail of Barbie accessories behind us when leaving the pool last time. I'm kind of particular about these kinds of things because I do love to go the pool. The criteria was: must be huge to hold all our towels and stuff, must be wider than it is deeper (otherwise everything gets lost in the bottom), must be mesh or water resistant, must have a shoulder strap, and must not be ugly + bonus points if it was made from recycled materials. 

I stopped in the local drug store at the recommendation of a friend, and found these great bags from Blue Q. They didn't have just I wanted, so I ordered online. I LOVE my new bag. It's HUGE, water resistant, is made from recycled feed bags, and has a great design! 

After further investigation (because you know I had to google it and find out more), I found that Blue Q manufactures these bags, but the original artwork is from designers Kristina Sostarko and Jason Odd who are the creative folks behind Inaluxe.  Inaluxe offers their designs in high quality prints, small and large. Love the simplicity of their designs. SO hard to choose which are my faves, but here's a few.

cool, right?

simple perfection.

love love love.

want it!

love this. 

they also have some cool owls

this pattern is called "kiss"- same pattern as my bag

Oh, and back to the pool bag. I forgot to mention how cool it feels. Call me a weirdo, but something about the texture of it feels good, it kind of has a crinkly sound and feel that makes you want to touch it. Is it wrong that I'm totally attracted to my pool bag and can't keep my hands off it?

COOL ART: Stina Persson

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I happened upon this pretty little number and wanted to know more. After some google investigating, I found out more about the artist: Stina Persson. She's an illustrator out of Stockholm. Her art evokes emotion in me-- a groovy 60s vibe, meets modern day. A somber, but warm nostalgia.

Love these portraits-- some of them seem to fit the sad woman portrait feel that seems to complete a room.

 

Also love the pretty botanicals:

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In case anyone out there wants to buy me my own Stina Persson, 

looks like you get 'em here. 

I'd prefer a portrait. ;)