Home Improvement

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How perfect is that today I'm headed back home to Texas for Thanksgiving Break and today is Home Improvement Thursday's here on 85 Dresses! Sometimes, all you need for a little home revamping can be something as simple as a black and white print. While trying to decorate your home or room with art pieces can seem intimidating at times,  a black and white print with either a favorite movie quote (say it with me, everyone : "uch, as if"!) or one by your favorite artist, is simple enough to be a good starting point. I love how the Warhol print above isn't even hung and instead is just balanced against the wall. There are so many options and that is one that doesn't require a lot of commitment by not putting any actual holes into your walls and sort of has a studio-like feel to it to me.

Would you decorate with a print like these? Not gonna lie, I'm really into the Clueless one.

Hope everyone gets home safely for Thanksgiving with all of the snow that we've been having over here! Can't wait to head home tonight and get a heavy dose of southernness. It's about time.

Home Improvement: Jonathan Adler

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One of my favorite brands for home and office decor is Jonathan Adler. "Mid-century modern, art and global pop culture" are what inspire Jonathan Adler and all of his pieces have a sense of whimsy and fun to them which I definitely admire when it comes to how I think about decorating my future home. I've gathered some of my favorites above including that fabulous pink couch (which is a piece that I know I want to include someday) and a creative vase that looks like an ice cream cone! Can't get much better than that.

Home Improvement: Furry Decor

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Recently I've found myself obsessing over furry decor - specifically sheepskin. I think that texture is one of the strongest elements in decor and design and these sheepskin elements provide such an amazing texture both visually and tactilely. When it comes to searching for interior design inspiration, I have found that I have been drawn to interiors that include these textural elements. Below are some of my current favorites. Also, how amazing is the pink floor throw?

Home Improvement

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It's amazing how you can find yourself drawn to design aspects that you never thought that you would be interested in, don't you think? Today's 'Home Improvement' post is not necessarily one that I would really decorate my home with (see: cow tile work), but I certainly think that the image above is inspiring. Green is one of those colors that I think is so often overlooked when it comes to home interiors, and yet, it is one of those colors that pretty much have whichever impact you want it to. Pale greens can be calming and quite pretty, while emeralds and kelly greens are much bolder and make a stronger statement. I find the idea of a green kitchen interesting, in that green is often associated with a state of calmness. In the kitchen, cooking and being with family and friends, should not be a stressful activity. Who knows? By incorporating more greens in the kitchen, and not just on our plates, our general stress levels may even lower. All of the flowers don't hurt, either.

What do you think of green interiors? What about green kitchens?

Check out this green formal room that I would love to daydream in, as well.

Home Improvement

I've recently noticed that I am becoming more and appreciative of a perfect black wall. What used to seem so dark, dreary, and depressing when it came to interior design, now feels almost as clean of a slate as a spotless white. When black walls are decorated with contrasting colors and elements, it creates a sense of warmth that I have yet to find in different colors-it is also much more unexpected. The image above features a black wall in an office-like setting, but black is such a versatile color whether in clothing or design, and could work well in any space. Don't worry, though, if you don't feel quite ready to make the leap over to the dark side (ha), this is a key opportunity to test out a black accent wall. Who knows, you might just fall in love with it.

What are your thoughts on black walls? Love 'em or hate 'em?

Home Improvement

In this extremely hot weather that we've been having lately, how can you help but want to transport yourself to this home in South Africa. Aside from being located near the beach, everything about this home adds to its airy and fresh atmosphere. From the light colored floors, fabrics and materials of the  furniture, to the larges sliding glass doors, it seems that maybe just being in this space could help with the heat. The high ceilings add to the overall open feel of the space as well, and I am in love with the hanging lights that not only have that same airy feel to them as the room does, but create another interesting texture and element, too.

So, who's with me on taking a trip to South Africa?

Dress Up

While I was never particularly stellar at geometry, or mathematics at all, in school, styles in art, fashion, and interiors with geometric influences are some of my main sources of inspiration. I love the literal sharpness of the shapes and the style that they give off, as well. Kelly Wearstler is one of my favorites when it comes to interior design, and her garments definitely follow. Her fall 2013 RTW collection  pulled on my geometric love, as it was a main source of inspiration for her for this collection. I fell in love with this particular dress for it's obvious use of geometric shapes, and it's use of black and white in an untraditional manner. The linear quality of the bodice draws your eye up and down, but also has plenty of detail to focus on, too. 

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Home Improvement

When I came home from my finishing my Sophomore year of college last week, I came home to a literal home improvement. While I was away, my parents had changed our stairs from being covered in an old, grey-ish carpet, to clean hardwood ones. It's amazing what something as simple as going from carpet to wood can do to a part of a space and it got me thinking about alternative stairs, an aspect to some homes that is often neglected--as was ours. In perusing favorite interior sites, I had seen everything from turning parts of the stairs into hide-away storage units, to mirrored stairs for a definite sparkle lover. However, one of the ones that stuck with me was a set of beautifully painted floral stairs (seen above). While to some it may seem unnecessarily decorative, I thought of how unique it might be to instead of having paintings, these stairs were in a perfectly white staircase and the only color came from the steps. There surely is something quite whimsical, but not too quirky about these stairs, and it will definitely make me pay more attention to spaces that are otherwise left unnoticed. 

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Home Improvement

Have you ever seen things differently after you start taking interest in a new trend or activity? When Madewell came out with their 'map view' print, I began taking an interest in maps of all kinds. While we don't really look at traditional paper versions as often as we used to on travel excursions and road trips and turn to the digital iPhone, Mapquest, or GPS version, I think that there is something so intricate and interesting about them. It takes a great amount of skill to layout and organize an entire area of a place. For this week's Home Improvement, the kitchen above with the large wall map in a black, white, and grey palette creates an interesting sort of wallpaper and art piece at the same time. In keeping the furniture to a simple style and neutral, natural colors, the focus is clearly on the wall and doesn't make the rest of the room boring.

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Home Improvement

When I was younger, one of my favorite parts about going on a vacation was staying in the hotel rooms. While I obviously was excited about seeing sights other than my Houston neighborhood, there was always something about pretending that this new, perfectly clean, and well organized room was actually mine. To this day, one of the things that I still am fond of in hotels is their white sheets and upholstery fabrics. Sitting on a white couch or climbing into a bed with crisp white sheets makes you extra cautious to not do anything to change the perfect white appearance. Now that sixty degree weather has been somewhat of a regular here in Syracuse for the past few days, it got me thinking about spaces that always provide a sense of freshness like the season of spring does. For me, that feeling is always associated with white hotel linens and plenty of beautiful and natural light like in the image above.

What kind of interiors do you associate with spring?

Home Improvement

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There is a library on our Syracuse University campus that has creaking spiral metal staircases and narrow wooden floored aisles that always makes me feel as if I am in an old English library when I am in there. I have collected all of my favorite fashion and art magazines for as long as I can remember, and held on to favorite books for whenever i get the sudden urge to delve into them and hope to one day have an immense shelf filled from floor to ceiling with books and magazines that are not only interesting and beautiful to read, but to look at, as well. I love how in the room featured above, everything about the room is simply white and black and that aside from the rug, the only other color is coming from the spines and covers of the books.

Do you hope to one day have a library? What are your favorite books and magazines to collect?

Home Improvement

Now, I know that everybody loves a little bit of glitter and shine throughout their days, but this kitchen by architect Emma Templeton and her design team at Templeton, is a whole lotta fabulousness. With such a powerful and sparkly focus of the backsplash behind the counter, the team made sure to balance the room with neutral colors and materials--like variants of brown woods-- to ensure that the space felt special, but not overwhelming. This kitchen is surely a place where enjoying your morning coffee will make sure to start your day off right. 

Would you like some sparkle in your kitchen?