Inspiration Weekend

Last weekend Bill and I made an impromptu trip down to Portland.  We had a great time seeing family and friends (we saw about 30 people in 48 hours- not too shabby). Besides getting to spend some quality time with loved ones we also did some house research. You see, I’m calling it research only because we resisted the urge to actually buy anything (well, anything for the house… I definitely made some purchases for me. How could I not? With no sales tax it is like everything is 10% off!).

On Sunday Bill and I hit up a couple of different inspiring stores. The first was Anthropologie. Their clothes are fine and all (okay some things are absolute fug and some I covet a bit too much), but their home goods make me ache. I love the colorful, hand crafted look, which has roots in traditional/vintage style but with just the right touch of contemporary. Plus, their window dresser (or whatever the official title is of the person who does their in-shop and window displays) has the keys to my heart. Such pretty and eclectic design, but does it really count as eclectic if it in a national chain?

Anyway, I their current window display is flowers made of painted recycled (repurposed?) plastic bottles. I am going to try to figure out how to make them and then put them up this summer on our backyard fence to add some whimsy and color to our yard.

Our trolley was about to arrive so I didn’t have time to get a stellar picture. It was pretty sunny and there was a lot reflecting in the glass. Lets pretend there is no glare/reflection and this is on a much larger scale, shall we? Well, I think this could look quite cute cascading down the length of the fence. I’m a big fan of fun colorful things outside.

The latest Anthropologie catalog was waiting for me when I returned to Tacoma, and, again, am looking to try recreating some of their styling. And, again, it is not with their clothes, but the paper cutouts they used to display jewelry. I am thinking that some more paper art with cutout butterflies, leaves, and flowers would be a nice addition to my framed origami lotuses. 

While I was able to resist Anthropologie’s siren song, I did buy a book there- domino: The Book of Decorating. It is filled with pretty pretty pictures and lots of good tips. It is sad that domino magazine stopped production last year. They would really complete my home improvement/decorating magazine supply.

Bill and I also went to Rejuvenation. It was absolutely wonderful. Just stepping in their showroom made me instantly regret any and all purchases we have made at those big home supply stores (you know which two I’m talking about). Their period lighting, fixtures, and hardware was really too much for Bill and me to handle. We started out making a list of items we would purchase, but the list kept growing and growing and growing. We had to make the (responsible) decision to not buy anything that day, but go home, do some research on what size fixtures would be just right in our spaces. And, we need to be reasonable and buy a just a few items at a time and slowly renovate room by room. Hopefully, we can return some light fixtures we had previously bought but not yet installed to those aforementioned giant warehouses.

So many options… And this was just one small display case. Surely you can understand why we became overwhelmed so quickly.

We already have some period lighting in our house (in the foyer, living room, and dining room). So, there is no need to search for new lights for those rooms, however when it comes time to repaint the living room (this summer) I definitely want to install a ceiling medallion.

 Wouldn’t one of those pretty babies be fantastic?  Next time we go down to Portland we will have a plan about what to purchase at Rejuvenation. There will absolutely be a few light fixtures on that list, a medallion, and drawer pulls for our kitchen, beyond that I am not sure. 

Oh, did I mention that besides having the regular showroom Rejuvenation also has antique section? It is wonderful (and overwhelming). It would be great to be able to stop by and just poke around and get a few things here and there (after all the stock in that section of the store is constantly changing), but living in Tacoma that is just not a possibility for us. So, all you Portlanders, live it up for us!

Someday all my door hinges and window sashes will look like that. Someday. Also, someday I will have a lion knocker on my front door.

 A peek into the vintage section of the store. Every nook and cranny is bursting with awesomeness.

We also discovered that the Schoolhouse Electric showroom was just a few blocks from Rejuvenation. I had no clue that there Schoolhouse Electric only had two showrooms: one in P-town and the other in New York. By the time we were finished at Rejuvenation we needed to get on the road and head North, but next time we will certainly be checking out Schoolhouse’s store. I have since them gone to their webpage and requested a catalog so we (hopefully) won’t be overwhelmed when we go in there.  Damn, Portland, how did you get to be so lucky with your plethora of period stores? Tacoma would like it if you would share the love.