Archive for September, 2009
High Fivin’ Our Sponsors
It’s time for our monthly public showing of gratitude to some our favorite folks: the sponsors who help keep Young House Love up and running. You may have seen ‘em on our sidebar or giving away some fab freebies, but we’re back to serve up a big virtual THANK YOU to…
The Shade Shop & Lighting Gallery, who you may recall hooked one of our readers up with a free Lucy Accent Lamp. They continue to offer lamp shades of all sizes, shapes and colors (as their name suggests) as well as an eclectic selection of table lamps, floor lamps, chandeliers and even furniture.
The Natural Sleep Store offers a whole slew of organic bedding and mattresses… which we can personal attest to being well worth the switch (after we bought our mattress from them they decided to team up with us!). They even sell natural bed frames – including an arts & crafts style bed that I’m digging – for a completely eco-friendly sleeping experience.
And last but not least, a name you’ll probably recognize: Name Your Design. We’d love to hear if any of you snatched up one of these graphic and customizable canvasses following last month’s giveaway. Whether you got one for yourself, your spouse, or your child, there are certainly modern designs for the whole crew.
And with that we’re done slapping five and saying thanks for September. Hope you’ll join us in showing our sponsors some love. You know, the kind that makes your palm sting a little bit afterwards…
Reader Redesign: Row Row Row Your Walls
When Jamie sent us photos of her stunningly posh striped walls (inspired by our bathroom painting project) we had to share the amazing transformation. Here’s her letter:
Just wanted to tell you “THANK YOU” and give you a big cyber-hug for inspiring me to get off my duff and add some “oomph” to my house. After seeing your altogether fabulous bathroom stripes, I’ve gone stripe-wild in my own house and it’s made all the difference. I did stripes in my bathroom – much like yours – then kept the love going by adding them to my master bedroom as well. Talk about textural eye candy! I just love them, and I love you for all of your fabulous ideas, your prompt responses to emails and comments, and the free advice you so generously bestow on your faithful readers. I’m doing my utmost to return the love by giving you shout outs on my blog as much as possible. I’ve got a large portion of the Salt Lake valley following your every move so I think I’m doing a good job. Let’s be honest, what’s not to love? In short: I’m pretty freaking exciting about my stripes!!! Love you both! -Jamie
Here’s the already lovely bedroom before Operation Stripe Happy:
And here it is after Jamie’s mission was accomplished…
… and her bathroom walls got in on the fun.
Aren’t these chic stripes gorgeous in both the bathroom and the feature wall behind the bed? Love. Love. Love. Thanks so much for sending the amazing photos our way Jamie! What do you guys think? Isn’t it amazing what a gallon of paint a little painters tape can do? Gotta love how cheap this project is- and how much bang you get for your buck.
Psst: Itching for a step by step stripe painting tutorial? Look no further than this play by play.
Forget The New Melrose Place
There’s a new melodrama in town and it’s not set in an iconic LA apartment complex. Instead, it takes place in an iconic LA store. Yes, you read that right.
Ikea Heights is a web series that a reader just turned us on to (thanks Shanee!). The acting is less than award-worthy, the plots are campy and it stars absolutely zero famous people… unless you count the location: a real Ikea store located in Burbank, California. Each episode is shot inside Ikea without the knowledge of the staff and during normal store hours (i.e. shoppers = extras). So the fun part is watching familiar bedroom displays, mock offices and “The Marketplace” become backdrops for cheating lovers, mysterious murders and amnesic brothers back from the dead. Again, you read that right.
Here’s the “dramatic” first episode:
You can watch the rest on Vimeo, YouTube or their web site. There are only four episodes (although Ikea staff nearly puts the kabosh on filming in episode 3) so it’s a pretty quick series to watch. And considering the press they’re getting, maybe we can cross our fingers for a season 2. Or even a spin-off. West Elm: 90210 anyone?
Taking The Ooch Out Of Traveling With Your Pooch
Many curious readers ask us how we manage to bring Burger along on nearly every on-the-go adventure (from our Alaskan Honeymoon to our recent Dallas road trip) so we’re here to share some tips and tricks that works for us. When it comes to hotels, we whipped up this quick little video to explain how we find pet friendly ones… and how we make sure that Burger’s comfortable and mannerly when we leave him in the room to attend events like weddings that don’t include a puppy plus one. Check it out below on Vimeo or see it here on YouTube.
As for getting a pooch to relax and sleep while road tripping in a car (waking only for drive-thru french fries), our biggest tip would be to evaluate your pet’s personality and truly consider whether they would appreciate being on the road with you for that length of time. Some dogs get carsick or even suffer severe anxiety from being on the move for that long, while others (like Burger) looooove it to pieces. Part of the reason that he enjoys it so much is because ever since Burger was a baby we’ve been taking him on drives- first short ones to get him acclimated and then longer ones as he became more adjusted. Happily, we’ve trained him to be an amazing little car traveler so the good news is that with time you can hopefully do the same with your pup.
When it comes to flying with your fur baby, there’s a lot to consider. First of all, be sure to call the specific airline you’ll be using and talk to them about their pet policies, which vary from company to company. You’ll want the airline to officially recognize that you’ll be bringing a pet aboard since there are a limited number of pets that can be on a flight (usually one or two per plane) and you’ll want first dibs. Don’t forget to ask about their requirements while you’ve got them on the horn (you’ll probably need to get a health certificate from your vet to ensure that your dog is well enough to travel and you’ll need to know what size/type of travel container they allow on their flights).
You’ll also probably have to pay a fee that usually ranges from $50 – $100. Oh and there’s a weight limit for dogs that can travel in the cabin like Burger (we’ve heard that the cut off is usually 20 lbs) so bigger breeds have to travel underneath the cabin near the luggage. This is a bit more risky since it may not be a temperature controlled environment down there (especially when the plane isn’t in motion), so be sure to research whether it’s safe to fly into Texas in the summer with your pooch (many airlines simply won’t allow it if it’s a super hot or cold destination, but it’s good to check that they’re considering your pet’s safety before blindly booking the trip).
As for pets who are small enough to travel in the cabin like our fur baby, they must be contained and stored either under the seat in front of you or on your lap in an airline approved carrying case (we love a soft padded bag with breathable mesh on both ends which has always been airline approved). How does Burger react to takeoff, a few hours of flying, and landing? He sleeps the whole time- so much so that people don’t believe there’s actually a dog inside our little canvas bag. It’s miraculous.
Oh and taking dogs out of the country (other than driving over the border to Canada) can get a lot more complicated (often requiring that your dog be left in “quarantine” for several days) so we’re way too nervous to attempt that. Which is why we’re happy to stick to trips in the good ol’ USA & CA for now- which haven’t let us down yet. Hope it helps! And happy pooch travels…
Window Shopping: Golly Gee Anthropologie…
… you sure have been full of lovely eye candy lately. Don’t think we didn’t notice.
In fact, here’s a round-up of the stuff that we loved so much we just had to share. And the good news is that many Anthro ideas can be DIYed on the cheap. Take these pretty numbered canisters for instance. Couldn’t you see yourself stenciling on numbers a la these?
And if you don’t want to lift a finger, these guys are only five bucks a pop, so they won’t break the bank. We could see them holding everything from sea salt and other spices to bathroom stuff like cotton balls and q-tips. They would also look super cute anywhere from a mantel to a windowsill as decorative objects that display a meaningful number (like your anniversary, house number, etc).
We also couldn’t tear our eyes away from this amazing DIY mantel.
All you need for your own made-it-myself version are some light pine boards cut to varying lengths and stained a variety of tones for a layered and lovely look. We also think the sides would look super finished if they were stained the darkest tone for a polished effect. Of course it would be safer to do this project to create a non-working fireplace (or over an existing non-working one) where you burn candles occasionally as opposed to giant flaming logs.
And in other fireplace related news, we love the idea of grabbing some super long matches and storing them in a glass container like this next to a working fireplace.
Gotta love something decorative and functional. Of course you can tuck a piece of sandpaper in the jar to use as a striking strip, and places like Target or Walmart sell those jumbo glass containers for under $8.
Then there are these amazing nautical burlap pillows. Sigh.
You may want to stencil on your own anchor to get the look, or even cut one out of navy fabric and sew it onto a burlap pillow for a similar effect. We also love the red diagonally striped pillows, so anything from red ribbon to adding stripes with fabric paint could recreate the mouthwatering mix on a dime.
And we can’t forget this other genius use of burlap that had us lusting for about fifty yards of the stuff. How great would household art looked matted on burlap instead of a blank white mat? Love that texture.
And we can’t walk through Anthroplogie without smiling at their assortment of monogrammed mugs. They make such great personalized gifts for just $6 a pop, and you can fill them with candy or colored pencils or anything else the giftee might enjoy.
Best of all, there’s no gift wrapping necessary. We add any little “filler” like candy or hot cocoa mix, leave them right in the chic little Anthro bag with their pretty tissue paper and hand ‘em over right in the original packaging. People never fail to squeal that they love Anthropologie and it feels nice and special without having to splurge for pricey packaging or create extra waste. Every little eco act counts, right?
And of course we had to snap a photo of one of their $12 ceramic egg crates…
… since I bought something similar years ago in NYC and still use it to organize my jewelry to this day.
You know me and white ceramic things. It’s a sickness, people.
So in summary: Thanks for the memories (and the inspiration) Anthropologie. I’m sure we’ll be back soon to drool some more. What about you guys. Have you spotted any Anthro must-haves or items that have you inspired to DIY something of your own? Snagged anything else at another store that has you weak in the knees? Do tell.
Note: No Youngsters were paid or otherwise rewarded by Anthropologie for this post. We’re just loving their wares these days and wanted to share a few of our favorite things with you.
