Shopping at West Elm

West Elm is one of my favorite stores to shop at for the home. I love their simple, modern style. I love their affordability. I've been wanting one of their lacquer trays for a while now. I went to the store last week with a gift card and bought these:

purple tray / candle / tumbler

I also was loving these items:

Mirrored jewelry box. This would look even better monogrammed!

Mirrored frames. So luxurious!

Wooden sphere. I was tempted to buy this, too.

Magnetic bamboo board

Storage canisters

My parents just bought this coffee table for their living room. It looks amazing in their space. Have you bought anything from West Elm lately?

Parsons Desk: High vs Low

I love West Elm's Parsons Desk. I wanted something similar to hold mail and keys in our front room. We don't have an official entryway so I need to improvise. My purse and Ellie's diaper bag is driving me crazy just sitting on a side table. I want to conceal them. Along with the zillion shoes my husband leaves lying around our house. Seriously!! My plan was to buy a table for below our staircase and put two baskets underneath, side by side. One for bags and one for shoes. Even better- baskets with lids or small ottomans with storage.

While browsing the Target circular for this week I saw this Parsons desk being advertised:

On sale for only $34! I measured the space and the height is perfect at 30". The width (39") is also perfect since I don't want it too close to our china cabinet. I stopped at our Target last night and bought it.

This desk reminds me of West Elm's Parsons Desk:

This one retails for a hefty $349! The height is the same (30"), but this one is a bit wider at 48". I also like the structure of the Target desk better than West Elm's. So...$349 vs. $34. Which would you rather buy?? Besides using the desk as an entryway table you could also use as a vanity or console table.

I will post pictures once the desk is put together!

Luscious Yellow

I am loving the color yellow right now. Maybe it's because of the weather or the sun or spring flowers, but the color just makes me happy. Here are a few yellow items I'm loving:

Chair with nail head trim, Home Goods

Grey and yellow floral rug, Overstock

Kitchen towels, Crate and Barrel

Marimekko floral pillow, Crate and Barrel

Glass lamp, West Elm

 I saved this for last because this I'm inspired by this gorgeous yellow leather sofa. I love the detail!

 Yellow leather sofa, Layla Grace

I hope this inspires you to add some sunny yellow to your home- even if it's just in a bouquet of yellow flowers!

3 in 1 table

I am loving this 3 tiered side table from West Elm. A perfect solution to hold everything you need. I'm thinking books/magazines on the smaller table, a drink and snack on another, and my iPhone on the top. This could be useful in so many spaces: outdoors, living room, even in my daughter's playroom and could be used in place of a coffee table. 

Layered side table, $149, in white & orange:

Metallic Crush

While browsing on West Elm's website I found these metallic canisters- a change from the clear ones we see so often. And the uses are endless. I'm thinking not just for in the bathroom, but also to hold jewelry on a vanity (long necklaces), hair accessories, lip glosses (what I need), make-up/lotion samples, keys on an entryway table, or just a place to hide anything in a pretty container! Would also make a great gift this holiday season. Hint, hint! Just kidding. ;)

 West Elm

Loving Turquoise

Turquoise reminds me of the ocean and island jewelry and summer. We were teased last week with spring weather and this week is rainy and chilly. I wanted to add some items I'm loving in turquoise in hopes that the weather will soon be warming up and the sun will stay. What motivated me on this turquoise post were these bracelets I recently bought at Forever 21. I couldn't find them online so this picture will have to do. :) Me, at 37 weeks pregnant:

These bright pillar holders would add a fun pop of color to a table or fireplace mantel (Z Gallerie):

This stemware would make a fabulous addition to any tablescape from the new Diane von Furstenberg line at Bloomingdale's:

I'm also loving this new Island Ikat bedding at West Elm:

And, of course I have to add my turquoise coral from Pier 1 (and I recently blogged about it here, seen at Marshall's):

These aqua pillows are so pretty! We have the darker turquoise on one couch and the purple on another. They are so soft and comfortable. They are 20% off at Pier 1 right now & only $16 each:

I love these hand blown vases in a mix of blues from Crate and Barrel. Use alone or filled with flowers:

I hope this brings you some inspiration in decorating and accessorizing with turquoise!

Summer Prints at West Elm

I'm loving this new print that just came in for summer at West Elm. It reminds me of a tropical island where I'd love to vacation! I love the bright colors against the white bedroom.

Island Ikat Bedding:

West Elm

West Elm Love

I've been on West Elm's website often lately. I'm loving their new rugs. I would love to eventually get one for our great room in front of our fireplace. Below are my favorites.

I'm loving this one, but wish the Citron was more yellow instead of green. 

I also love this zigzag print, and the brown would match the stone fireplace and our furniture. 

If you have a bare hallway these would also look great in a runner. You can also layer a runner on top of wall to wall carpeting.

I've been eyeing these curtains for our nursery. I've decided to go with a gray color and love both the silk and linen. 

West Elm

Updates at West Elm

The curtains I recently bought (read the post here) at West Elm are now 20% off, as well as all curtains at West Elm. A great time to replace faded curtains (from the sun) or buy new colors for fall.

Cotton Canvas Window Panels:

 Printed Geo Leaf Panels:

Pretty pattern!

 Luxe window panels:

Looks very luxurious & would add richness to any space!

I was at the store today hoping to find a fabulous item on sale, but didn't have any luck. However, I did find Euro shams that I got excited about. I've been looking to complete our bedding with pillows and love the look of the Euro shams against the headboard. They also provide perfect comfort for reading. I also loved some of their pillowcases, especially these:

I love the pin-tuck material. It adds texture to the bedding, which is exactly what I am looking for. I would buy the white to match our white bedding, but the charcoal is luxurious, too!

Another favorite item is this luscious zebra pillow in the light gray. I love the light color and would look good against any color.

West Elm

Curtain Updates

In a follow-up to my recent post on my West Elm curtain purchase, below are photos of my new curtains, which I am loving!! I need to steam them to remove the lines from being packaged so please excuse the wrinkles!

Our great room: still a work in progress. This TV was my husband's first purchase when we bought our house back in March '09. We recently got this shelf put into the wall to hold the cable box, dvd player, and hide all of our wires. The room feels much more open without a table underneath the TV.

We have this lone window in the corner next to our TV.  

Another view of the shelf. We chose white molding around the box to match our white crown molding:

My pink dressing room with our new West Elm gray curtains. Next to the window is my floor length mirror purchased at HomeGoods. We cannot do floor length curtains in most parts of our house because of our baseboard heating (fire hazard).

I definitely recommend West Elm for curtains! 

These curtains were just $19 each per panel, for 63" length.

Curtain Call, and Pillows, too!

I just ordered curtains from West Elm & can't wait to get them! My husband & I have had gift cards to Williams Sonoma & Pottery Barn from our engagement & wedding and I still haven't used them. I love that you can use a gift card at these stores at West Elm, as well.

The white curtains I plan to put in our great room. I also plan to add sheers underneath. I'm hoping the sheers plus these cotton panels will be enough. We have red velvet panels there now, but the sun can cause the color to fade. Plus, I want something light and fresh for summer. We have brown furniture and a big stone fireplace so with the white curtains, I will now have to decide what color for throw pillows (see below for my new inspiration). These curtains are a great price, ranging from $19-$34. 

I was watching Color Splash: Miami the other night and was inspired by the gray, turquoise, and lime green in the couple's Miami home. They had an open floor plan with the kitchen, dining room, and living room all 1 space. They had oddly placed windows, as well, but huge ceilings. David Bromstead put window panels from the top of the high windows to the floor. They were gorgeous gray panels! They also had a gray sectional and pops of turquoise and lime green pillows. Instead of their gray, we have different shades of brown, but the turquoise & green is very beachy and tropical, which I love!!

I ordered the same cotton panels in Steel for my pink dressing room, shown below:

I initially bought gray curtains from Walmart for $12/pair, but since I was just trying them out I, unfortunately, only bought 1 pair. I will never do that again and advise against it!! When I decided I loved the dark gray panels with the fuschia room they had sold out, and DISCONTINUED the window panels!! I even looked on Ebay, but did not find them.

Now, I have reason to finally use my gift cards. The West Elm curtains are definitely a better fabric and much nicer. I will post more pictures once received and hung. 

Speaking of throw pillows, has anyone ever been to a Steinmart? I love their pillow selection. They have such a variety and in a ton of colors. Check out some photos I took during my visit yesterday (to look for turquoise & lime green pillows). And, find a store near you here. 

I looked at the blue pillows on top, but they weren't the shade of turquoise I am looking for. The price was great though- 2 pillows for $15!

 Tons of ruffles, florals, patterns, etc!

"Rose" pillows, and lots of 'em! Definitely a statement pillow!

Want some sparkle? Steinmart has it all!

Loving this faux animal print in bronze. Very chic!

All at great prices, too! I didn't see a pillow exceed $30, and those were big floor pillows. And at these amazing prices you can buy some new summer pillows for a quick & easy update in your home. Enjoy!