Two bedrooms: a poem

Light blue and pink ...

or pink and light blue.

(Sara Gilbane in Lonny Issue 3)

I like them both.
What about you?

Bedrooms tailored and sweet

Usually it's the bedrooms with fluffy details that speak to me, but sometimes tufts and pleats are just as sweet. Especially if the tufts in question are on pink pillows.

I love cream and white together, and here's that combo again in a room with a creamy tufted headboard and crisp white sheets. Note the pleats of the creamy bedskirt ... lovely.

My absolute favorite detail of this room is the slipcover on the nightstand. This is a look that might come into play in my own house someday, as I have plenty of not-so-great furniture that is just crying to be covered with a pretty fabric.

Inspired by Soap: The bathroom! (Part 1)

The very first entry I ever posted on Filed for Later (waaaaaay back in November '09) was based around this picture:

I just love it. The muted color pallate is so soothing and calm and pretty. I had a great time combing my galleries of saved images for rooms that incorporate these colors. This was my favorite of the bunch:

My friend Sarah told me she was equally smitten with the colors. She asked for some images that she could use as inspiration for her master bathroom. She wrote:

"I'm redecorating (wish I could be remodeling) our master bathroom over the next couple of weeks. While a very light blue and white will be the main colors, I hope to be able to also use the palette in your soap post from a while back... Pretty sure that we're going to use brushed nickel for the new light fixtures and hardware. I am going for a coastal look without getting too into the theme since we're not exactly in a beach house."

Sarah's cabinets are a light/medium oak (she plans to replace the vanity eventually, and will likely choose either white or a very dark wood). The current counter is a "fabulous" white laminate.

She's already chosen the color - Benjamin Moore's glass slipper.

Isn't it pretty? It seems this color is most blogged about for its use in a bedroom that appeared in House Beautiful.

Here it is again, in Wes and Kayla's Brookline apartment on Apartment Therapy. (Side note: Yay, Boston!)

The interesting thing about Glass Slipper is, while there's actually very little (if any at all) blue in the soap photo ...

(see?) ... the color still works for the overall look. It is the right intensity, and maintains that washed pastel feel that makes up the "soap palette."

I'm not sure if Sarah is into painting the cupboards, particularly since she plans to replace them soon. But if she is, I think a soft ivory would be beautiful. Something along the lines of the bed in this picture. (Pasted again - no scrolling up needed.)

Another option is to go dark on the cupboards. This bedroom has dark, dark blue/gray walls that look very pretty against the blue bed.

I love the peach stool at the foot of the bed!

Finally, a third option is to pick a medium shade of grayish blue (a few shades darker than Glass Slipper, and with more gray in it). The effect would be along the lines of this

or this

One thing that is particularly eye-catching with the soap photo is that there are so many colors used together. I say this calls for a stack of colorfully folded towels!

If there's room in the bathroom, wouldn't the towels look so pretty folded on this?

I have many more pictures to share with Sarah, but I'm going to save them for Part 2. Stay tuned for accessories and the question of brushed vs. polished nickel ...

Building a reading nook

As the slipcovers for our two armchairs near completion, I'm starting to think about what items will complete the bay window area I'm affectionately calling the "reading nook." I'm still on vacation, but when I return to Massachusetts, I'll post pictures of the chairs in their habitat.

For now, I'm picturing stacks of books, old:

and new:

I've loved these Penguin Classics from the moment I laid eyes on them. At the time, they were only available in England. Now they're on Amazon, and only $13 each! Next time I'm at a bookstore and about to throw down $15 for an ugly, plain-old paperback, I'm going to close my eyes and think of this:

And no reading nook would be complete without a soft wool blanket:

(Wool Throws, Atlanta Bartlett)

Dedicated to the Tin Can Alleys

Here are the mugs we have. They're Tin Can Alley by Lenox, and are one of my favorite things in our kitchen -- especially when paired with blueberries and milk. See? I love white and light blue in any form!

In fact, if the mug were an entryway, it might just look like this:

Here are more pops of light blue in a picture of kitchen shelves that are filled with white dishes and golden-toned picture frames, along with silvery accents on the counter.

Something about the metal chairs in the dining room below is reminiscent of the whole Tin Can Alley line.

I don't think the next picture is from the same house, but they have similar color palates. I could picture a row of Tin Can Alleys hanging on something like this.

Maybe mixed with something like this?

And definitely hanging over something like this:

Raj Teapot from Sundance

Inspired by soap

I found this picture on Velvet and Linen (I think) and stashed it away so I could look at it whenever I want.

If I were going to start a room from scratch, these pretty soaps would be one of my first picks for a color palette. But, I live in a four-room home and will not be starting anything from scratch anytime soon. So instead I've picked some rooms that go nicely with the pretty row of soaps.

In the picture above, the blue-gray chairs and the warm stones and wood tones remind me of the soap labels. The green accents on the tables pull in some more colors.

The rustic beams in the ceiling above are reminiscent of the grainy soap texture, as is the weathered blue trunk at the foot of the bed. I think a pretty cashmere throw (in pink?) would bring this bedroom even closer to the soap palette.

The room above comes pretty close and might be my favorite. Those shoes are not my size, though. Should I take this picture as a sign that I have the taste of a three year old?

This room is lacking some of the pastel colors it needs to be a true match to the soap palette. But it does have the muted grays and browns, and overall looks fresh and clean ... like soap!

This room is pretty close, too, but the color of the walls isn't quite right. The walls have a little too much green in them to match the pretty labels. I could definitely see the soaps looking right at home on the lovely grey dresser, though.

This kitchen is charming and has all the right bright colors, but I'd add some weathered blues, browns or grays if I could.

This is another one that's pretty darn close. Do you agree? Look at the chairs!