Back to School: The dorm - Year two or too good to be true!

Year two is awesome- you know enough to know your way around... but there is still so much more to learn! The style you chose for your freshman year, might need an update. Here are some great options for year two wall decor!

Dorm headboards can go from gross to non-existent- this decal makes a statement and a solution!

Paper airplane wall decals from tweetheartwallart on etsy. Great for dorms rooms!

Arabesque . Moroccan . Taj Mahal
Celebrate the hottest style in the design world with this wall decal from Eyval Decal on Etsy.

Celebrate your new birds of the feather with silhouettes of birds in flight from Janey MacWalls in etsy.

Back to School: The Dorm - tastic freshman room

I had the best dorm room on campus when I was in college- a large corner room in the dorm with bathrooms in the room. Though the dorm was on the periphery of campus and had gross light green metal furniture, the attached bathroom trumped everything else. I made a quilt for my bed the summer before my freshman year from a dress with a full skirt and a coordinating fabric that was purchased at the time the dress fabric was purchased.
To celebrate the back to school spirit and the joys of leaving home... combined with the sadness of missing home. I have collected a group of dorm must haves for that first year of college. Hopefully the rising freshman will find some great ideas to help bring a bit of home with them to school.

Kindles and Nooks are great, but you will probably have some real books, too!

Great for future heroines, drama queens and art deco fans. The leaning ladies book ends.

Fun signage for the dorm door or as a reminder for when deadlines get tight and dances are coming up!

Pink and Green and Happy! Great dorm collecting of duvet and pillows!

Ferocious, that you! Attacking homework, devouring books, dominating on the Dean's list.. no? Not you? How
about dominating in your dining hall, devouring rush week and ferocious in your school colors!  Plants help
to clean the air, which is nice in a dorm and succulents are easy to care for.

Pin notes, keep up with papers, decorate your bulletin board! Clothes pins are also handy for clipping bags closed!

Dorm keys, car keys, or lab keys- you have to keep up with them! Great to start the new school year
and perfect for the college care packages from Mom! Great gift for you roommate, suite mates, or sisters!

This little guy will be the best college boyfriend you'll ever have! You can never have enough plugs...
Maybe you are like Mr. Weasley and you collect them! This would be a great addition to the collection.

More More Moracco

I have been following the design trend of Moroccan designs for a couple of years. With the inclusion of more tribal prints and Moorish design entering the market place, now is a great time to start on the front of the trend. Early adopters tend to get more bang out of the style and have the opportunity to live with the trend longer that middle and late trend adopters.We are still on the early side so let's look at some great items to add a bit of Moorish to your living space!

Hallmarks to look for- repeating patterns, geometric patterns, white with intense brights like royal blue, and arabesque patterns!


From One Kings Lane  Flat-Weave Rugs

Neid Trellis Rug, Tan/Chocolate

Moorish Mango side table- great modern interpretation of Moorish design

 


Egyptian Moroccan Mother of Pearl side table

Moroccan Shade pendant light

Large Moroccan pendant light

Jennifer Delonge Moroccan Pouf in Metallic Gold

Leopard Love- Leopard rugs

I do love leopard, but one needs to be careful with leopard as it can loose the classic look quickly! However, today I was at Don's Carpet One and found not one, but two different leopard carpets. i am wondering if I have spotted a trend in patterned carpeting!
Dense, high quality, small print, leopard. Now, wall to wall plush leopard might not be for everyone, but you could have it bound for an area rug or a runner. Here's a few examples of some great leopard wall to wall carpets! Some wool, some blends.


wool carpeting from Laundt and Arcari

Great wall to wall from Hemhill Carpeting

Leopard can be subtle as this rug



A Pink and Orange summer

Pink Grapefruit, Tangerines, Pink Lemonade, Blood Oranges- the new citrus- pink and orange
The colors of citrus is typically yellow, orange and lime green. I want a refresh on citrus! Let's let go of the 1970's Sprite commercial for li-mon and bring in the fresh hues of Summery Pink and Sunshine Orange. Here is a few of my picks for these combinations from my favorite online shop for handmade items- Etsy.com as well as some ideas on incorporating the colors in your space!

Taza Pink and Orange Drum shade from Sassy Shades!

Pink and Orange with Black Grosgrain Ribbon and Burlap Pillow Cover from BouteilleChic

from Central interior design

Pink and orange shabby chic upcycled gallery frames with cast iron candle holder and pink butterfly retro home decor by lollipopfigurine on Etsy

I would have loved the above room as my college dorm room! Function, fun and good storage!

Dog Jacket - Pink and Orange Striped Fleece Dog Coat- Size Small- 12-14 Inch Back Length from KozyCanines on Etsy

Sophisticated space in vibrant pink and orange from apartment therapy

Pink and Orange Modern Pillow Size 14x19 from LekaliaInteriors on Etsy

Tangerine Orange and Hot Pink Indian Paisley Elephant Silhouette Giclee 11x14 from the pink pagoda on Etsy

bakers twine and gift bags- new product lines

Normally I do not promote my new products from my Etsy store on this blog, but I am in love with these new items I am carrying and I thought I would share!  They are brilliant gift bags from Whisker Graphics and Divine Twine bakers twine. I have paired them with gift tags and seam binding for a gift wrap set that can make the laziest gift wrapper look like a professional!  Here's a few of my collections. You can find all of them by clicking HERE!

Red White and Blue Chevron bag, Twine, and Seambinding set with three blue tags- Happy 4th of July

Whimsical characters- best of the web

Nature gives us the most inspired shapes. We alter, glorify and celebrate the natural world by bringing it into our homes in the form of figurines, wall art and sculpture. Here is my best of the web- whimsical characters, the animals of the web. Enjoy!
These modern characters are from Design Within Reach and as they are on sale, they are in reach at $24 to $31!

I love fiveoeight's whale wall art with it's damask pattern and blue tail. At 16 inches by nearly 6 inches this medium size makes a whale of the statement on your wall. Need more whale? The super size is nearly three feet long. Beach house here we come! You can find more at www.fiveoeight.etsy.com!


Is it me, or is a Snake Bouquet hard to resist? When you care enough to send the very unique. Mixed messages maybe, but all whimsy! www.WoodDoodle.etsy.com brings us this great collection of folk inspired snakes.




Though these are teethers, they are also sculpturally beautiful. I would add these to a collection of small hand carved boxes or sit on top of a dimensional box-type painting. These three teethers comes from www.SmilingTreeToys.etsy.com.



Twisted Fish 132... need I really say more? This is one of the fantastic pieces coming from Fig Jam Studios out of Sarasota, Florida. You more whimsical creature can me found at www.figjamstudios.etsy.com. With a price of under $70, you can afford a school of Twisted Fish!