Nate Berkus Associates - Lauren Gold

Lauren Gold and Sasha Adler's project in the premier issue of TradHOME was one of my favorite projects this year. I'm still dying over their casual chic beach inspired dining room.

This months Lonny magazine features Lauren's Chicago apartment and a glimpse into their office space at Nate Berkus Associates. She has a great down-to-earth yet traditional style. You can see the influence of Nate in her work and in her own space.

I love how collected her space is - a mix of unexpected modern and vintage. She believes that if you buy what you love, you will find a place for it and make it work. The mirror, contemporary art and Milo Baughman chairs are a great juxtaposition. They make you want to soak in every detail to make sure you don't miss anything.

Dying over the monochromatic styled bookcases (black, white and cream) and the wheat table with the Ballard Louis chairs. They add the perfect balance to the gold table and relate to the color story of the bookcases.

Love the dark walls in her home office and bathroom. Unexpected, dramatic and cozy all at the same time.

And if her apartment wasn't enough, their workspace at Nate Berkus Associates has me envious.

She is a star in my book. I look forward to seeing more of her projects.

Pool Time

What better way to kick off summer in the Pacific Northwest than an 80 degree day and a post about beautiful pools. Here are some of my favorites (in no particular order).

Hope you are enjoying some down time around a pool as beautiful as these.

All images are from my pinterest.

Summer - It's official

I love the 4th of July. Especially because in Seattle it means Summer has officially started.

So get out there with your friends and family and enjoy the long weekend. Take a break, breath in the fresh air, have a few laughs, take in the scenery...

Show some patriotic pride and decorate your house

Whether you're just lounging around letting the day unfold (which means reading home and fashion magazines to those who know me)

Or spending the weekend sailing

Or enjoying a bonfire and sparklers on the beach

Enjoy your long weekend. May it be restful and full of laughter, good friends and great food.

Workspaces: When they aren't pulling their weight...

I'm coming off of the weekend after massive organizing. Maybe I should even capitalize that since it feels like a capital-letter change. It's amazing what some tossing out can do to your sanity! I focused my energy on my office which had become overgrown with fabric memos, tile samples, invoices... woof, it was bad. Not to mention that some of my family's belongings had crept in, making me feel like I was absolutely going to go BONKERS because my workspace was feeling like it had too much going on to be productive. So this weekend, I adopted the motto of "Toss it! Toss it! Toss it!" and also created some better organized spaces.

I'm about to head to The Container Store to get the last of my systems in place, but a few huge changes to my office will include a console as you walk in and making my big worktable allergic to miscellaneous crap (It always seemed to find my piles of papers and filing... wonder how that happened...?) The console will hold magazines on the shelves and designated bins on the top for returns to the design center, mail, etc. right as I go out the door for errands and in the door with bags. And not having the magazines on my office shelves frees up room for more of my office paperwork. Things are feeling good... finally!

In the spirit of getting this space together, here is some inspiration pics for workspaces everywhere.

Birthday fog

Excuse my last of posts... this past week has been my "summer Christmas" or week of birthday hell. In my family alone we have 5 birthdays from the 17th to the 24th. Not to mention that it was the last week of school! I'm exhausted. Happy, but exhausted.

I'll be back with some home posts as soon as I wake up out of my birthday fog.

Hope your start of summer vacation has been more relaxing than mine.

Shopping Trip: Portland's Bedford Brown

Over Memorial Day weekend, we threw the kids in the car and got out of dodge. It was a last minute trip to Portland under the guise of my 10-year-old meeting up with buddies down there for a lacrosse tournament, but I had some other things on the brain -- hitting up my favorite Portland shops while the kiddies (and husband) tracked down Voodoo Donuts and played in the pool.

Every time I hit Portland (and yes, I do feel like it's a "hit" because I always seem to be short on time and end up barreling through the stores) I make sure to visit Bedford Brown. It's the best and it's so different every time. They pride themselves on turning things around quickly because they buy in low quantities, making it so it's always special and you get something that isn't at many places. My pictures will never do the store justice and I left out the AMAZING stoneyard portion of the shop with great concrete planters, Asian ceramics and garden objects (the good news is, last year I posted about it, so you can get a feel for the amazingness here).

I did, however, get a few shots of the greenhouse where fabulous plants can be found and the shop, which has lots of great stuff in right now.

The store is broken out in to different areas, so this is near the back as you transition from storefront to greenhouse -- it's a big white tented "outdoor" set-up.

I love this media cabinet. Awhile back, I desperately wanted a client to get it but she was nervous about getting it without seeing it in person... If only we had a Bedford Brown in Seattle...

This picture is being sent out to another client because I want that chandelier to go above her dining table -- how about it Keri? Ha!

Amazing, all of it -- the walls, the chairs, the turquoise.

These on either side of a door would be spectacular. I'm such a sucker for things like this. Add in some striped awnings and some topiaries and you could just stick a fork in me.

They just got new paint colors in and this coral in person is stunning.

I mean, come on.

Spotted! LBD in the PNW

Of course there are more black doors in Seattle, but I walked by this door in Laurelhurst the other day and I had to take a picture, because it's a perfect example of a pretty black door with lovely detailing. I'm bummed with myself for not centering the photo and getting a better picture, but I felt really stalker-ish and there were other people out and about who would have wondered what this crazy lady was doing taking pictures. That is the anti-hippy-dippy door.

Also, I had no idea when I did that post last week that one of my other favorite blogs had the same idea -- so head on over to Next Egg for more black door porn ;)