Decorating | vmac+cheese

The Covers

Posted on February 21, 2012 by vmacandcheese

It’s not a new idea, but I’ve long been a fan of using vintage magazine covers as artwork. Even though so much work and manpower goes into the cover shoots of today’s modern magazine, it’s still pretty incredible to imagine the many artists who were commissioned to create unique illustrations for all the publications throughout the early part of the 20th century, before covers were photographed.

It had been a while since I’d browsed Conde Nast’s online shop of magazine covers, and I was surprised to find how much they’ve beefed it up. Just a few years ago, I feel like the selection wasn’t nearly as good. Though the prints are pricey, I loved looking through the covers by decade, to see how the art direction, the tone, and of course, the fashion changes throughout the years.

Do you have any vintage magazine covers in your home? Which one is your favorite?

Filed under: Beautiful Things, Culture, Design | Tagged: artwork, decorating, illustration, interiors, magazines, vintage | 13 Comments »

Design Impact: The Rug

Posted on January 26, 2012 by vmacandcheese

We were in the car the other day and Joe was letting me ramble on about decorating ideas I have, including those that could be accomplished in a rented space. I mentioned how I wished it was easier to replace light fixtures in a rental, then wondered aloud whether a great light fixture had the biggest impact on taking a room from okay to WOW.

Joe patiently listened and said “Uh huh” in all the right places, but when I thought about it a little more (welcome to the inner wanderings of my mind), I realized that I should stop worrying about lighting because honestly? I think rugs have the biggest design impact.

Take the above. I adore the living room on the right. I mean, the floors are gorgeous. It feels fresh, clean, and oh-so-simple. But the room on the left has a similar aesthetic and color scheme, but with the use of (two!) rugs, the feel of the space is totally different. Cozy. Warm. Textured.

Then there are these two photos, which Naomi posted a while back but which illustrate the point perfectly:

Room on the top — no rug. Exact same room WITH rug below. Crazy, right?

Are you with me? Do you think rugs are the quickest way to impact the design of the room? Paint is obviously up there too — though it’s not so quick or easy! What are your tips for making a room feel totally different when you’re on a budget or in a rental?

{Image Credits: French by Design via Savvy Home, photograph by Jean Marc Palisse; Flourish Design + Style via This is Glamorous; Laura Resen Photography via Design Manifest}

Filed under: Design | Tagged: decorating, design tips, Interior Design, interiors, rugs | 26 Comments »

Crushing on Jessica Durrant

Posted on August 23, 2011 by vmacandcheese

Even though I didn’t know Jessica Durrant by name until last week, I had definitely seen her work on Pinterest and other sites. I was so happy when Danielle from Breakfast at Toast introduced her as the illustrator of her new blog header. I finally had a name (and shop!) to go with the illustrations.

Lately I’ve had a thing for watercolors, especially those with rich, saturated colors like these. I have this hole in the gallery wall in my office that has been longing for a small art print of some kind, so yesterday, I ordered the ‘Yellow Bow’ print at the top of this post. The mustard yellow is so now and the portrait feels very glam, yet ladylike!

Honestly, there are so many covetable pieces in Jessica’s shop. The best part? They’re insanely affordable. Lucky for me (and you too!), I convo’ed Jessica to learn more about the print sizing options, and right now she’s running a 15% off promotion through August 28!! Just enter the code fabfind during PayPal checkout and you’re good to go.

What do you think? See anything in her shop you’d like to have gracing your walls?

Filed under: Beautiful Things | Tagged: art, decorating, drawing, illustration, interiors, painting | 8 Comments »

Monday Musings: Hermès Avalon blanket

Posted on March 14, 2011 by vmacandcheese

On Saturday, Joe and I were downtown looking for new shoes for him, when we happened to pass by the Hermès store. I’d never been inside the San Francisco location, and after reading Bringing Home the Birkin last summer, I was a bit intrigued, so we popped on in.

The store is beautifully laid out, but it was of course a browsing only experience (call me crazy, but I wasn’t prepared to spend $225 on a simple candle, or $800 on a less-than-fluffy bathrobe. We also discovered that basic cotton polo shirts cost $1500).

While we were looking but not touching, I came across several of the famed Avalon blankets. They were softer than I had anticipated, and surprisingly plush. But although I think the Avalon blanket is a great, classic accent for many spaces, I don’t think I could ever justify spending $1225 on a throw blanket, even if I had the cash to do so.

Which leads me to this Monday’s question: if you could, would you ever indulge in a Hermès Avalon? What do you think of these babies? I suppose one could argue that this is an investment piece that could be treasured for years and years to come, if well cared for. And it certainly does make a statement in every room. But if you’re still not convinced, tell me what you’d rather spend that cash on!

{Image Credits: Pinterest 1 2 3 4; La Dolce Vita; Elements of Style}

Filed under: Beautiful Things, Design, Monday Musing | Tagged: decorating, designer, Hermes, interiors | 3 Comments »

L.A. Recap

Posted on January 18, 2011 by vmacandcheese

So, as I mentioned yesterday, L.A. was really fantastic. Joe and I both loved catching up with all our friends, especially those that we hadn’t seen in a while. Are you dying to know what surprises I had in store for him all weekend? It broke down a little something like this:

Friday: Sunny, breezy, 78 degrees. A Farmers Market lunch, followed by cocktails on Sunset with friends, followed by dinner at Church & State with more friends. Perfect.

Saturday: Brunch at Home and an afternoon at the Los Feliz par 3 course. 80 degrees, and sunny. Dinner at Yard House in Pasadena, where 8 of our friends were waiting for us, unbeknownst to Joe beforehand. Cocktails afterwards. It was the latest I’ve stayed up in months.

Sunday: I spent some time with my friend Susannah while Joe scampered off to watch football. Truthfully, I didn’t mind at all — brunch at La Brea Bakery followed by browsing the shops nearby is hardly a terrible way to spend a Sunday!

And of course, I came across some fantastic shops that I’m happy to recommend. Along with these, we also popped in to one particular antiques store that had wonderful items, but with prices that only a dumb millionaire could afford (I say dumb because a lot of the pieces in there were things I’ve spotted at flea markets and antiques stores here in the Bay Area for literally a fraction of the price).

Here are some places we stopped in at:

Little Paris Antiques

This is a wonderful place to browse, and browse only. Our first stop on the outing, shopping here made me worried that there would be nothing on La Brea that was relevant to the masses, simply because everything was exorbitantly priced. Case in point:

This chair was on sale, at 50% off. FOR EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS. I feel like I’ve seen things at the flea market exactly like this, ya know? Also, it would need to be re-upholstered, which tacks on a few hundred more bones. Eesh.

Same story with this map of Paris. Though large, and undeniably awesome, it cost $1600. Ouch.

This 1960s set of faux bamboo chairs (which also would desperately need to be re-upholstered) are selling for $3400. For realz.

I loved these French street signs, but I was informed they were $150 each. Also, after checking these out online, I realized the guy in store quoted me a price that’s $25 more than what they’re listed for. So not cool.

Again, great place to browse — not so sure any of us should spend our hard earned money there.

Happily, our next stop was Deco Home. If I lived in LA, this would absolutely be a go-to place for fabric and re-upholstery. Here’s a very small sampling of the thousands of fabrics they had:

The staff there were SO nice. They also let us know that during the month of March, if you purchase fabric for draperies, they will make them for you FREE. Um, sign me up. The prices there were also very reasonable, with lots of items on sale for around $15 or $20 per yard. And we’re talking high quality stuff here.

Next, we couldn’t resist stopping in at the LA Plantation store. It was just as good as the Hayes Valley location:

So what did I come home with?

A yard of this beauty:

You guys, I cannot even begin to tell you how in love I am with this fabric. First of all, it is SO soft, and though a very graphic damask ikat, I adore how subtle it is at the same time. I am hoping to find a small chair at the flea market next month and have it recovered with this.

We also stopped in at Maison Midi (which I unfortunately didn’t get any pics of), where I picked up these two cute tin signs:

The ‘Toilettes’ one is now nailed outside of our bathroom door; the ‘Bienvenue’ is hanging alongside a small gallery of framed photos right off our entryway. Yipee!

Whew. So there you have it — my weekend in a (very long) nutshell. What did you do this weekend?

Filed under: Beautiful Things, Design, DIY, Travels | Tagged: decorating, interiors, LA, shopping | 3 Comments »