Room To Talk Blog

I had to do a part two post featuring more of the new living room sofas we got in recently, because I liked so many of them!  Just like the sofas in part one, I love the clean lines, fun colors, and funky designs!  You know the drill- vote for your favorites in the comments section!

A. Pear Green Upholstered Sofa

I love this sofa because it's so elegant and versatile.  The cushions are my favorite- aren't they amazing?

B. Graphite Upholstered Sofa

Nothing says glamorous and chic like velvet.  Period.

C. Orange Upholstered Sectional

How amazing is this sectional?  I love the clean, modern lines and the fabulous orange upholstery! It's a bold, daring, & fun choice for a home.  I'm totally smitten.

D. Cream Upholstered Sofa

This is a lovely, timeless sofa that would work well in a variety of different design styles.  It's got a great shape, and a beautiful transitional color.  

E. Cement Upholstered Sofa

This sofa is so cool.  I love it's beautiful simplicity, and I think the color is phenomenal.    

F. Blue Upholstered Sofa

Again, just like the red one, I think this sofa is adorable, playful & happy.  The curves are wonderful!

G. Grey Upholstered Sofa

I want to take a nap on this sofa.  It's so inviting!  That, and the stripes are perfect.

Personally, I'm saving my pennies for the orange sectional!

What's your favorite?

One of the biggest pet peeves I have in my kitchen is when the dish soap doesn't get put away after it's used.  It seems like it's always taking up space on the countertop next to the hand soap, instead of being hidden under the sink where it belongs.  I know it's stupid, but it drives me nuts.

One day I realized that maybe I wouldn't care so much if the dish soap was always sitting out if it weren't for the big, ugly, plastic container it lives in.

And then the solution was so clear.  Get rid of the big, ugly, plastic container and you'll find happiness, peace and prosperity!!

And so I did just that!  I bought an inexpensive glass jar, and giddily poured my liquid dish soap right on in.  Now it sits on the countertop next to the sink, and I actually take pleasure in looking at it.  It makes me want to scrub dishes! (Haha, not).  The important thing though is that it looks pretty now!

Once I realized how much I loved my glass dish soap jar, I bought more!

Now my olive oil and syrup are happy in pretty jars too.

*Now I have to be careful not to mistake the olive oil and dish soap for each other since they are almost the same color

So, if you're sick of looking at ugly containers, go get some glass jars!

P.S. I've contemplated finding a big glass jar to pour our milk into, but is that a little too excessive?

Recently some close friends moved to a new apartment and wanted some help decorating the living room, which sat just off the kitchen.  It was a beautiful, brand new space, complete with granite countertops, big windows, and high ceilings.  The only problem?  It was too dark.  All of the walls were painted beige, the wood floors were dark brown, the carpet was beige and the kitchen cabinets were black.  On top of that, my friends brought with them a plethora of dark furniture.

The solution was simple.  The place needed a good dose of color!  While they didn't want to go out and buy new furniture (their stuff was already new anyway) or re-paint the walls, we settled on a few minor changes to help liven the room up.  Here's what we decided to incorporate, and what you can add to your space to freshen it up with color:

1. An Area Rug

There is nothing like a big vibrant area rug to help wake up a sleepy, dreary room.  It's absolutely amazing how fast a little bit of color on the floor can transform a space.  Selecting a rug is a great starting point, because it can help give you a sense of direction for your color scheme.  Pick out a rug that has a lot of bright colors and it'll be easy to pull out several hues and bring them into the rest of the decor.  

via lonny mag

via design sponge

2. Artwork

Artwork is so essential, especially when you have high ceilings you are working with.  The key to having great art on your walls is realizing that it takes a while.  Artwork shouldn't be bought all at once, rather, collected over time.   I think a mix of family photos with original artwork or prints, mirrors, and other random objects hung up provides an interesting, yet personal wall canvas.  Walls tell a story about the people that live in the space, so make sure your walls paint an accurate picture of who you are for visitors.

courtney apple photography via caitlin wilson design

3. Books

When you're sitting in someone's living room, one of the first things you do is thumb through the books lying on the coffee table.  Books are awesome accessories because they're great conversation starters, yet functional at the same time.  They can also be beautiful too (ie: the re-covered Penguin classic novels below).  If you have old books sitting on a shelf that aren't so beautiful, try covering them with wrapping paper or wallpaper to give them a facelift.  Your bookshelves will look so pretty!

4. Random Colorful Objects

This is where you can start thinking out of the box!  While artwork, picture frames and books are important, it's fun to have some cool random objects in your space.  We found some amazing colored glass bottles, funky vases, and a huge bright blue glass pitcher for my friend's apartment.  The more random, the better.  My mom has one of my great grandmother's old frying pans displayed on a book shelf and it looks incredible!  Don't discount anything, because chances are it will probably work!  The more unique and personal, the better.

via lonny mag

via decorpad

5. Throw Pillows

I've said this so many times, but changing out your pillows is one of the easiest way to spice up your room and play with a different color scheme.  If you can't find what you're looking for at a store, make your own! There are so many pretty fabrics available these days, and if you can sew four straight lines you are definitely capable of hammering out a handful of pillows in a few hours.  

via decorpad

6. Curtains

Sometimes people shy away from curtains and opt for traditional blinds or window coverings instead.  But if you're wanting to go bold and make a big statement with color, you have to go with curtains!  You don't have a choice!  Again, a very simple addition to a room that will make a huge difference!  

Graciela Rutkowski Interiors via decorpad

7. Fresh Flowers

Fresh flowers and plants make everything happier, and they are a great way to bring a variety of vivacious colors into your home on a regular basis! They don't have to be expensive either.  Simply buy a little bouquet when you're at the grocery store every week, or pick a few daisies from your backyard and put them in a little vase on a coffee table.  

via lonny mag

Happy decorating!

Our accessories buyer is putting together some new bedding ensambles to display at our store locations and she would wanted me to solicit your help! Take a look at the fabric swatches below and leave a comment telling me which ensambles you like, and which ones you don't!  Keep in mind the image quality isn't great (photos were taken at market), but you get the general idea.  Thanks for your input!

Can't wait to hear what you think!

This is what the trunk of my car looked like last weekend.

To say I love tomatoes, well, that would obviously be quite the understatement.  My mom and I went to a local farm and picked all of these beauties off the vine ourselves.  After canning 94 bottles of our homemade salsa, and eating fresh tomato sandwiches on a daily basis, yesterday I went back to the farm for more!  I've been craving gazpacho and decided I'd better whip some up before I can't find fresh tomatoes anymore!

Have you ever tried gazpacho?  It's a spanish-style tomato based vegetable soup that is served chilled.  Oh my gosh it's AMAZING.  Such a healthy, delicious treat with an explosion of incredible flavors!  If you like tomatoes, you'll love this stuff!  It's the perfect dish for a dinner party, or you can keep it all for yourself and snack on it for weeks!  

So, if you have tomatoes lying around, make some gazpacho this weekend!

Gazpacho

from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

2 hothouse cucumbers, halved and seeded, but not peeled

3 red bell peppers, cored and seeded

8 plum tomatoes

2 red onions

6 garlic cloves, minced

46 ounces tomato juice (6 cups)

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup good olive oil

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 1/2 tablespoons freshly ground pepper

Directions: 

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes and red onions into 1 inch cubes. (Woopsy- I forgot to add the red onions until later, but do it right now!)

Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped.  Do not over-process.  After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic.  

Next, add the tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper.

YUMMY!!  While this might look disgusting to some of you, I promise it's delicious!  Mix everything together well, and chill before serving.  Remember, the longer the gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop!

Hope you like it as much as I do!!  Have a great weekend!

The New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF) took place a few weeks ago, where the top five up and coming home design trends were identified by experts in the market.  Fresh color palettes and new products were showcased to exemplify these trends, and to get buyers excited about the future!

One of the five new design trends that is currently gaining importance in the industry is called American Nostalgia.  The editor at large defines this style as, "Heavy on nostalgia, merging classic motifs like denim, patchwork, numbers and flags with distressed finishes, salvaged materials and schoolroom style.  The theme's color palettes includes shades of blues, green and gray."   

Here are a few examples I found that demonstrate American Nostalgia- you can expect to see this style around this fall!

via design sponge

via houzz

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via house beautiful

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What do you think? 

Like it?  Hate it?  Indifferent?

Recently we got a huge assortment of beautiful new living room sofas in!  Remember the color blocking post from a couple weeks ago?  These new sofas are further proof that solid colors are so in right now.  I love all of the fresh designs, colorful upholstery, and clean lines!  I think throw pillows in a variety of different colors would look so good on every single one of these sofas!  

Check these out, and then let me know which one you'd like to take home........

A. White Upholstered Sofa

WOW.  This sofa is so classy, timeless & sophisticated.  I am dying over the striking button-back design!

B. Red Upholstered Sofa

Isn't this sofa adorable?  I love the funky, curvy body of the sofa- it gives off playful, sassy, happy vibes!

C. Grey Upholstered Sofa

Ummmm hello!  This sofa is absolutely AMAZING.  I love everything about it: the uber clean lines, modern design, rich color, great pillows.  EVERYTHING.

D. Kiwi Green Upholstered Sofa

What a unique, spunky piece!  Kiwi Green!  Think of all the fun you could have with this in a room!  It's not your typical sofa color, which makes it pretty awesome.

E. Blue Upholstered Sofa

This brings the word 'sectional' to a whole new level!  It's got a lovely shape, and the color is spot on when it comes to a great shade of blue!  *more stock will be coming soon

F. Beige Upholstered Sofa

Not sure what your style is?  This sofa has beautiful lines and such a versatile design and color that it could go anywhere, in any home!

And now, let the voting begin!  

Which one is your favorite?

Personally, I think I'd buy C or A right this second if I could!!

P.S. There were so many pretty new pieces that I couldn't narrow it down to just one post, so there will be a part two coming soon!

The other day my sister-in-law clued me in on a hot kitchen design trend right now- converting a regular kitchen cabinet drawer into a dedicated produce drawer.  Genius!  It's the perfect convenient storage solution for veggies because it's dark, dry, and provides excellent air circulation.  Plus, it gives you more room in your refrigerator for food that actually needs to stay chilled, and you don't have to clutter your countertops with veggies.    

Sign me up!  I could definitely spare a kitchen cabinet for something like this!  It looks like you could hire a professional to come install one for you, or if you're handy you could probably craft one yourself pretty easily.  

via my home ideas

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via houzz

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via houzz

Would you like a produce drawer in your kitchen?

Do any of you have one of these already?  I'd love to hear how you like it.....