The loveseat that dreams are made of

as soon as i saw you

i knew

i wanted you

your luscious pink fabric

and plush cushions

tempting me

"come sit

and i'll tell you my secrets.

i'll tell you

about my adventures

and sweet embraces

i am

after all

the vintage loveseat

of your dreams."

yes, i know

except

for the $1,500 price tag

despite

being on Craiglist

Sneak peek: A girl's bedroom in progress

Work continues on the girl's room I'm working on. You may remember that we're aiming for a look that is traditional yet modern, while keeping in mind the needs of an eight-year-old girl. Watching home decorating projects on HGTV sometimes makes me think that these type of projects can come together easily and quickly, but we all know real life is quite different. Especially when you don't have a staff of at least half a dozen specialists to help.

Patience being the name of the game, I have been sifting regularly through listings on Craigslist, checking out the offerings at my local Pottery Barn outlet and other stores, and mulling small crafting projects to personalize the room. So far, I've found a pretty desk for a very reasonable $100 on Craigslist. I was considering cheaper options, but I would most likely have had to refinish those. Instead, I decided on this Pottery Barn Kids desk because it was in nearly new condition, so it needed no work. It also came with a dirty white chair with a few layers of peeling white and blue paint, which I know some people would find appealing (the chippy paint, not the dirt!), but clearly would not do for this project.

The photo above shows what it looked like before I spruced it up a bit. Lacking time to do a complete stripping job, I simply sanded the chair lightly to remove any gloss and loose paint, scrubbed it and waited for it to dry completely. I then took my time spraying the chair with primer, waited for that to dry and finally sprayed a couple layers of paint. Frankly, I would have preferred a less traditional chair, something with a little more pizzazz, but we decided to save money by keeping the chair for now. The desk area looks rather plain right now, but I'm thinking accessories will go a long way toward jazzing up the look.

First up, we have the lamp shown above. Again, it's rather plain and colorless, but I just couldn't pass it up since it was five dollars, marked way down from $200. Yup, you read right. The lamp originally retailed for $200 at Pottery Barn and was the sale of the day at the outlet the day I happened by. The base is wrapped in white leather-like material and the shade is metal, overall creating a nice, solid lamp that provides a modern contrast to the traditional desk chair. I'm thinking this lamp would look spectacular once I cover the shade with a beautiful print fabric. I considered painting it hot pink like the chair but I think that would be a missed opportunity to create some interest and would make desk area look too uniform.

We decided on the duvet cover shown on a model bed in the picture above. The pattern is somewhat hard to appreciate in this indoor lighting but is rather colorful and will add a dose of fun to the room. It is yet another Pottery Barn outlet find, though the $75 price tag hardly makes it a steal. On the plus side, it is organic cotton, so the price for a new full-size duvet is worth it for a piece that will help set the tone for the overall look.

Next up will be choosing a rug that completes the room. I did find a rug at the Pottery Barn outlet, pictured below, but I think I would prefer something less preppy and with a little more personality.

I've always loved the Dream Menagerie rug from Anthropologie, shown below, and think it could possibly work in this room. But the rug is rather pricey for this project at nearly $300. In my opinion, it's totally worth it, but I think I'd like to hold off on deciding until I investigate rug choices from other retailers.

I hadn't intended for this to be a show-and-tell from Pottery Barn, but I'm happy with the budget-conscious choices I've made so far. I should mention that there are a few things the girl's parents need to do still, among them is painting white the girl's wood-tone bed and painting the room a different color, quite possibly a bluish-gray to contrast with the hot hues of fuschia. Meanwhile, I will continue to look for a dresser and a bookcase, while also shopping for accessories and beginning to research artwork ideas.

I hope you've enjoyed this tiny peek. The process of decorating a room is slower than I'd like, but, in the end, I know that taking the time to consider each choice just makes the end result more worthwhile. I'll keep you posted as the project progresses.

Ingredients for a perfect holiday weekend

Sun-topped ferris wheels.

My daughter has the right idea.

Except I'd like to do my cruisin' on this smoking 1928 bike (found on Craigslist).

Toss in a couple good reads and some munchies into this "double bike pannier" (sold at CycleStyle in Australia, found via The Design Files).

Or maybe this one. I can't decide!

All geared up, it's time now to head over to one of my favorite places.

Santa Monica Beach in Southern California, in a photo I took on a Veteran's Day weekend when a group of volunteers placed white crosses in the sand to honor those who have died in the Iraqi war. A fitting picture for this weekend.

I hope you have a restful and inspiring weekend.

The search for a pull down world map

A tiny globe was one of the first pieces I bought for my son's room before he was even born. Same with my daughter.

Each globe was an inexpensive toy that cost less than five dollars so I wasn't trying to make a big style statement. I simply wanted my kids to begin learning about the world as we read about different countries in our books.

What I really craved was an oversize pull-down map, one whose details we could pore over as a family. Exhaustive, hours-long searches (yes, we journalist, obsessive-types can be a little crazy this way) yielded nothing, since I disovered these maps weren't cheap on Ebay, Etsy or in the shops.

Then, my search unexpectedly ended.



I found the map above after driving to the home of someone selling a kids' bookcase through Craigslist. The bookcase turned out to be too large for our needs, but was stored in a room full of school furniture and accessories, including a pull-down map. It was only $20, a bargain compared to a similar one for $250 here.



The map, which is in great condition, proudly hangs in the large hallway joining all the bedrooms on our second floor. I was worried my kids would try to yank it down, but it seems they understand its importance and haven't fiddled with it at all. The only time they touch it is when we all stand in front of it talking about the places we've visited.



I had originally planned to hang it in my son's room, but concerns about an earthquake causing it somehow to fall on my son's head nixed that plan. As it turned out, my husband and I love how it looks in the hallway, especially against the backdrop of David Hockney's Pearlblossom Hwy. print. We bought the poster at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles soon after our wedding, so it brings back memories of our carefree, post-honeymoon days.



The Offi kid's desk (an Ebay find) looks great here in front of the map, but I'm afraid my crafty kids will use it as a stepstool to throw themselves over the staircase so it goes back into my daughter's bedroom for now.

The lure of aged and well-loved furniture

These days, I find myself inexplicably lured to old, well-loved pieces. Sometimes, the more chipped or weathered it is, the more I seem to want it.

This is what's catching my eye on my local Craigslist:



A vintage piece, with drawers so old "they require some patience to open and close," which isn't really a problem in my book. At $40, definitely a steal for a piece with so many potential uses.



Yum! There's all the chipping paint I was talking about on this turquoise-colored dresser, priced at $40. Of course, there is always the leaking lead from old paint to worry about with young kids around, but I hear an opaque coat of varnish can help solve the problem.



OK, I admit I know chipping paint is not everybody's cup of tea and some of our house guests might wonder just how hard we've been hit by the recession if we stock up on too many of these pieces. Part of the appeal for me is wondering just what the story is behind this piece that was so well-used and loved.

Check out this table. What a beauty! This weathered garden table is available for a whopping low cost of $25. I just love Craigslist. The owner, who is selling the table because he's moving, writes in his ad, "many breakfast and many a party (bbq's!) have happened on and around it." This makes me wish we didn't already have a dining table or a patio table, both bought new around the same time we bought our house. We did the unthinkable and didn't even consider Craigslist or thrifting back then.

I can't stop myself from looking longingly at this swivel desk chair. Unfortunately, I really do need an ergonomic chair at my desk or else I would swap out my ugly black leather ergonomic chair with this lovely old red chair, which costs $60.

This old file cabinet took my breath away when I first saw it. I don't really need such a cabinet, but I love to fantasize about what I would store in it. The seller writes that one drawer is "finicky," but that the cabinet includes an old schematic drawing.

Finally, we have a $10 beat up bookcase and, really, you know it doesn't get any better than this for a book-lover like me.

Key words I like to use to find such pieces: vintage, antique, weathered, old cabinet (bookcase, table, etc.) Sometimes, it takes some sifting to find these jewels in the rough, but the search is well worth it.

I'd love to hear about any old(er) or weathered pieces you have in your home.