Design | vmac+cheese

Quite Mercurial

Posted on May 8, 2012 by vmacandcheese

West Elm Mercury Candleholders, $5, on sale for $4 right now | West Elm Mercury Glass vase, $19 | Anthropologie mercury glass melon knob, $8 | Ethan Allen mercury glass bottle, $69 | Capril Blue mercury glass jar candle, $28

Over the weekend, we made the trek over to West Elm to go purchase a new headboard for our bedroom. It’s been something we’ve been talking about doing FOREVER, and we finally bit the bullet and ordered it. Very excited (pictures will of course be taken when we receive it in 2+ months), but this post is not about the headboard. It’s about mercury glass.

West Elm was having a crazy good spring/mother’s day sale, with all of their pretty mercury glass votive holders on sale for $4. I’ve had a big love affair with mercury glass lately, because as on trend as it is, I also happen to think it’s pretty timeless. And in fact, you can find mercury glass pieces that date back to the late 19th century!

What the heck is mercury glass? Is there actually mercury in it? Wikipedia set me straight: (more…)

Filed under: Beautiful Things, Design | Tagged: mercury glass | 9 Comments »

Petrified!

Posted on May 1, 2012 by vmacandcheese

On Sunday, we spent the late morning and afternoon hanging out in the gardens at Ma(i)sonry, a wine collective and art gallery in Yountville. I’m embarrassed to say that after passing the property many times over the years, we had never spent any time there. The stone building, which was originally a residence and dates to 1904, was redone several years ago and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Stately and welcoming, you kind of can’t miss it if you walk by. Sunday was the perfect introduction to Ma(i)sonry — an 80 degree day, slow crowds, a bottle of good rose, and prime seating in a corner nook of the garden, where we could be shaded by umbrellas and people watch to our heart’s content.

In our little corner of the garden, petrified wood stools served as side tables around the comfy bench seating. The tables had such beautiful patterns and markings in them — kind of like one would expect with marble. I snapped a few pics and came home daydreaming about how I could work a petrified wood side table into our house. Like this: (more…)

Filed under: Beautiful Things, Design, Travels | 12 Comments »

Skonahem: Bookmark it. Love it.

Posted on April 24, 2012 by vmacandcheese

Through the course of hunting down an image source a couple weeks ago, I stumbled upon the Swedish design site Skonahem. Have you seen this site before? It was totally new to me, and the amount of gorgeous images to drool over is truly jaw dropping.

If you check out their photo galleries (Chrome allows you to translate the page, if that’s of any help!), you’ll find it’s a veritable gold mine of pretty. Entire galleries dedicated to Roccoco, bar stools, shabby chic, makeup vanities, living rooms…everything! The site can be a little frustrating to navigate (whoever designed such extensive photo galleries but made it so that clicking on a photo reloads the entire page…you’re fired), but if you have time and a bit of patience, you’ll definitely be rewarded.

Go forth and pin. You’re welcome.

{Image Sources: All from Skonahem. Gallery wall, Cabinet, Living Room, Kitchen}

Filed under: Beautiful Things, Design | 11 Comments »

Tied up in knots

Posted on April 17, 2012 by vmacandcheese

…over which one I would choose. Rope print for the home, or for an outfit. Though at these prices, one could totally get both!

PS — I am so glad to know I’m not the only one who has been in the creative dumps. I took a bit of the morning off to relax and not think about work. I think that helped a lot! It really is true…step away from the computer if you want to reenergize.

Filed under: Design, Style Files | 3 Comments »

In Bloom

Posted on March 29, 2012 by vmacandcheese

I’ve been seeing lots of gorgeous blooming branches at local flower stands lately, and it always makes my day a little brighter. It’s not a new technique, but decorating with fresh blooming branches will really never get old. It’s one floral arrangement that manages to both add a bit of green (or pink, as it were) to your home, while also serving as an artsy, sculptural piece — especially since the branches often require a large, stately vase to corral them.

Inspired by photos of pretty blooming branches, I rounded up some equally lovely spring inspired artwork. So that once those blooms disappear, you’ll still have the constant reminder of how wonderfully colorful spring is!

{Image Credits: mo+mo living, via Sacramento Street; Once Wed; Martha Stewart; Habitually Chic, originally published in Domino}