My Final Ideabook: Former Trends That Should Rise Again

It's no secret that I've been super, super busy this year. Lately, I've missed an awful lot of days of blogging as a result of a) my job and b) my kid. Unfortunately, being so busy means that I've had to make some kind of painful choices about work. It's nice to have the luxury of choice, but it also sucks to have to stop doing something enjoyable simply because it takes too much time.

Which is why I'm very sorry to say that I've just written my last ideabook for Houzz. I've been writing there for two years - since before the site went live - and have really enjoyed seeing the company's growth. But all good things must come to an end, and for Houzz and me, that end is today.

This is my last ideabook - written about five trends that have disappeared, but should come back:

5 Former Design Trends That Should Rise Again

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Ideabook Tuesday: The First Meeting with Your Home

Houzz is running a contest - someone who comments on this ideabook with the story of their first "meeting" with their current home will receive a $100 Lowe's gift card. The comments are fun to read, too - people have really nice stories about their houses.

I guess that shouldn't surprise me.

The photos in the ideabook are from home blogger interviews that have been done over the past few months, and they're all paired with that blogger's "first meeting" story.

Your "first meeting" with your house to be

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Ideabook Tuesday: Interview with Desire to Inspire's Kim Johnson

In the past, I've only posted ideabooks that I actually created myself. Not for any particular reason - I like a lot of the ideabooks on houzz. Today, I'm breaking that tradition thanks to a particularly great ideabook. It's an interview with Kim Johnson, one of the bloggers behind design blog desire to inspire.

Her recently renovated and redecorated Vancouver house is absolutely amazing. Bright colors and an eclectic style combine to make a fun, really livable space. I love every room:

Houzz interview: Kim Johnson’s eclectic home

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Ideabook Tuesday: Inspired by Painters

I'm almost just surprised that it took me as long as it did to create an ideabook of rooms inspired by specific artists. But here it is:

Artsy: Inspired by Great Painters

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Ideabook Tuesday: Inspiration Boards

I'm a big fan of bulletin boards of all types and a long time ago, before I even knew what an inspiration board was, I had created one for my office. Since I don't work in the office so much these days, I don't update it all that frequently, but one day that might change. Right now, it's full of postcards and stickers and little research tools.

And when I do have some time to focus my inspiration board, I'll be using this ideabook, created by Becky from Hatch, as, well, inspiration:

Kickin' Ideabooks Old School: Inspiration Boards

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Ideabook Tuesday: Vive la France!

It's been more than three years since my last trip to Paris (taken right after I started this blog!) - and I'm feeling it. I'm totally ready to go back, though I'm sure I won't get the chance for a while (I've got a mile-long list of other places to visit, too).

So in the meantime, I'm trying to keep myself happy by bringing little bits of Paris to me. Which is definitely what brought on the inspiration for this ideabook:

Vive la France: Embracing Gallic Style

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Ideabook Tuesday: Harbour Island Here I Come

I kind of want to be India Hicks. And can you blame me? Look at her:

Photo courtesy of Habitually Chic

No matter how hard I try, I'm just not going to be able to rock my H&M maxidress that way. Plus, I don't have a ridiculous estate in the Bahamas. Oh yeah, and my dad's not David Hicks.

Anyway, my Hicks love is what inspired this ideabook...which seems awfully appropriate, considering the totally tropical weather we're dealing with right now:

Living the Island Life

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Ideabook Tuesday: Books as Design Elements

Read All about It: Books as Design Elements

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Today's ideabook is all about books. Not surprisingly, I love them. Also not surprisingly, we have way more books (and magazines) than our meager storage can handle. Lately, I've been looking for storage spots anyplace I can find them.

To read more of my thoughts on these images, click here to go to houzz.com.

Ideabook Tuesday: Fashion-Inspired

Despite the fact that I wear yoga pants and ratty t-shirts most of the time (yay work from home!), I have always really loved fashion. In fact, for a little while when I first started college, I thought I might want to get into buying as a career. One summer + one semester of working retail cured me of that, but I still love clothes.

That's why this ideabook - rooms that represent the styles of some of my favorite designers - was super fun to write. It's not all-inclusive, of course - there's no Michael Kors and I love Michael Kors - but it's pretty cool anyway. And also pretty inspiring, if I do say so myself.

Fashion Inspiration: Designing with Your Wardrobe in Mind

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Ideabook Tuesday: Party Places

I've been to a lot of pretty great parties in my life - from high school keggers (shoutout to the Foreman house, the Oz basement and the Brockett loft above the garage!) to over-the-top black tie events. Not to mention, a ton of weddings.

As a result, I think a lot about what makes a space perfect for a party. When we started planning our addition, the main thing we talked to Virginia (our architect) about was the need to accommodate people. All I really wanted was an open space where our friends could hang out.

An open space was what we got - and as a result, our friends are over here all the time. Jen and Bill recently went through a similar process, knocking down a wall between their kitchen and dining room and adding an island for hanging out. It's perfect.

So with all of that on my mind a few weeks ago, I created this ideabook, aptly named "Party Places":

Party Places

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Ideabook Tuesday: At the Flea in Paris

The flea market in Paris is one of the more amazing places in the world. Everyone should get there at least once. But if your budget doesn't run to international travel these days, you can read Becky's ideabook on how to get the Les Puces look without the flight:

How to Get That Paris Flea Market Look

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Ideabook Tuesday: Ladylike

A few months ago, after spending some time with the Kips Bay Show House pictures, I was feeling very girly - so I put together a female-driven ideabook:

Les Femmes Formidables: Decorating with a Feminine Touch

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Ideabook Tuesday: Not Your Grandmother's Wallpaper

Not Your Grandmother's Wallpaper

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Here's my first installment in the new "Ideabook Tuesday" feature - a collection of really cool rooms with wallpaper. While stripping wallpaper is far from my favorite activity, I'm really into how it makes these spaces look. Not exactly Laura Ashley-esque.

Every time I get Design Public's newsletter, I gaze longingly at their incredible wallpaper selection. Knowing that Cooper would kill me if he came home and I'd papered anything.

Ideabook Tuesday: Table-Setting

Our annual Mock Thanksgiving is this coming Saturday and I've finally given up and realized that we're not going to be able to sit around a table. It'll have to be a buffet and free-for-all - there's just no other logistical option.

Which is too bad, really, because I like a nice set table. Like this one:Or this one:Or this one:

Becky agrees - so much so that last summer, she wrote an ideabook all about table-setting:

Setting the Table

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Ideabook Tuesday: Flower Power

You know what's nice? Trader Joe's just got its first annual shipment of Irish daffodils. They're $1.49 a bunch and believe me, they brighten a room right up. It's as though it's actually spring.

This time of year, I really can't get enough of the flowers. I'm sure it has something to do with the weather outside (though this week's been pretty nice). So, without further ado, this week's ideabook...all about flowers:

Flower Power

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Ideabook Tuesday: DIY Wine Storage

Finally, a way to put all of my wine cellar knowledge to good use...with a houzz ideabook:

DIY Projects: In-Home Wine Storage

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Ideabook Tuesday: Vivian of ish and chi

Maybe it's because my house is always such a wreck, thanks to Dixon, but I love looking inside houses that belong to other families with small children. Of course, when I find those pictures online, they're unlikely to include floors covered by legos. (Yesterday, I was attacked by a Taboo buzzer that Dixon hid under part of the basement carpet. That was fun.) But they are inspirational.


Like this Sydney, Australia home, which belongs to ish and chi blogger Vivian and her husband and young son (younger than Dixon, which means there's still hope that this house will end up covered in Play-Doh and walking hazards). I'm a big fan of a lot of the design I see coming out of Australia, including these rooms:

Houzz interview: Vivian’s delightful Sydney home

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Also, if you click over to houzz.com and comment on this ideabook by 5 pm EST on Sunday June 7th, you'll be entered to win the print in the last photo!

Ideabook Tuesday: IKEA Hacking

We all do it, even if we don't think about it. What's "it"? IKEA-hacking, or tinkering with IKEA designs to customize them to our homes.

We've used one shelf as a headboard and another as a closet organizer. When the legs fell off our TV unit, we rolled with it. From little things like that to very big customizations involving more electronics than I'm interested in, IKEA hacking is a pretty active sport. Today's ideabook is an ode to all the great IKEA hacks out there. For more information on the specific projects - like how to do them - click through this link.

DIY Projects: 9 Easy(ish) IKEA Hacks

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Ideabook Tuesday: Less vs. More

Minimalist vs. Maximalist - that is today's great design debate. I used to be planted firmly in the "minimal" column, but as time goes by I find myself more and more comfortable with "stuff." Not too much stuff, of course, but stuff, nonetheless.

Over at houzz, where I posted this ideabook last week, there's a little bit of a debate going on in the comments. Well, not exactly a debate, but everybody's weighing in with their own opinion. The question of the day is: if there's a line between less and more, where do you fall?

Less vs. More: The Great Design Debate

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Ideabook Tuesday: Design Trends on Houzz

I make no secret of the fact that I think trends are cool. That's why I wrote this ideabook, based on the most frequently used photos on Houzz:

15 Popular Design Trends on Houzz

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