Pretty Coffee Table Books

So lately Ive been posting a lot about reading materials...but who doesn't love a great book? Especially one that looks great too!

Ive added a few new books to my collection over the past while, and figured since I loved them so much, that some of you might want to check them out as well :)

1.) "Feathering Your Nest" by Tracy Hutson.

I LOVE it. You've probably heard of Tracy before- she's a designer on "Extreme Makeover- Home Edition" as well as her new show "Picker Sisters".  

It focuses on decorating nurseries in various different styles, but also adds in information on organic baby items, baby safety, etc. The nurseries featured are all ones that Tracy herself has decorated (including her 2 little boys rooms).

The photos are vivid and colourful, I love the ideas and its an easy read (but with tons of information).

2.) "Design Sponge at Home" by Grace Bonney.

For those of you familiar with "Design Sponge" than you have probably heard of the new book that's just come out. I had a quick look through it at Chapters the other day and decided it was a must have.

The book focuses on a variety of things- home tours of 70 artists and designers, DIY projects with detailed instructions, step-by-step tutorials, fifty before & after makeovers submitted by readers and much more. Its incredibly colourful and makes a great coffee table book! If you aren't familiar with Design Sponge, check out their blog here.

3.) "Modern Vintage Style" by Emily Chalmers.

A beautiful book which illustrates how old finds can be combined with new pieces to create a look that tells a story, and has a history. Its a great read for those who aren't sure how "old" and "new" can work together in a contemporary space.

4.) "Pale and Interesting" by Atlanta Bartlett and Dave Coote

I was with one of my besties last weekend, and she picked up this great read that I need to add to my collection. Being someone who loves light, fresh colours and definitely whites, this book is a must read for decoarting your space with a muted palette.

5.) "The Well-Dressed Home: Fashionable Design Inspired by Your Personal Style" by Annette Tatum

A birthday gift I received this year, that couldn't have been more perfect! A book that discusses how to incorporate your fashion sense into your decor and home...perfect! The author discusses how to 'draw inspiration from the fashion world, pop culture, and especially your own closet to create stunning, one-of-a-kind room designs.' (Amazing colourful photos as well!)

For those of you who have already had the chance to read some of these, what did you think?!

Coffee Break

Ive been a terrible blogger. I wont bore you with my millions of excuses (one of them being the FABULOUS wedding I was just at in Kentucky last weekend!), but that is a pretty good excuse I think?

Anyho, our major focus lately has been on tiling to master ensuite bathroom, but I'm forcing myself to hold off posting pics of that, until its fully complete.

So in the mean-time, here is our new family room coffee table!

Urban Barn

We'd been saving up for this table for a while now, and it FINALLY went on sale at Urban Barn. I actually never thought it would, but Ian was browsing the website one day, and saw that it was on sale! Yippee!

We loved it from the first time we saw it. Its a great size, allows for storage below, and we loved the rustic/handmade look of it.

So its going in our family room. The style for this room, is going to have a bit of a warm, earthy feel.  Think cream, taupe, reclaimed wood, greens, relaxed, etc.

For those of you who know me, your probably thinking, "really? that doesn't really sound like a melissa room..." and to be honest, its probably not my most favorite of colours, but we've compromised by making sure we use creams/whites and taupes admist the wood pieces Ian loves so much. Plus, the living and dining rooms have more of a "glam" feel, so there had to be some give and take somewhere!

I actually love the idea of incorporating woods and natural elements into every room, so this room will just have more of that!

The coffee table is just the start...I have an inspiration photo, which I'll attach soon...to give you a better of idea of what we are thinking :)

For now, check out the Urban Barn sale...some pretty great stuff on sale right now!!

Factory Cart

As you know, we are in the midst of decorating a few different rooms in our home, I have different ideas for each one and sometime find it hard to decide between decor choices.

Our living room is one of those rooms that we haven't focused on much, since we aren't sure how much we will use it. We have ideas for what we want to do in there, but obviously money is a factor and we can't do everything at once.

About a while back, a friend told me about a community garage sale in a local small town, where they were selling antique items, including factory carts.

One of the sellers had some of his items posted on Kijiji, which included a picture of a factory cart. When I showed the picture to Ian he LOVED it. "We have to get one of those carts", he insisted, but we had no idea where to put it. So we left it.

Fast forward a few months and I see this picture in a Style at Home magazine:

I knew exactly what to do with a cart...the Living Room! (plus I LOVED this room and figured it was close to the look we were going for). We figured it would be a great place to put the cart, since kids wont be there (or the dog) and it adds some character to the room.

So we went back on the hunt for a cart. I'd seen them on decorating shows on tv, but knew that they were pretty expensive (especially if you want an authentic one). I thought about making one....but figured it might look more like a random pile of wood....

So I looked on Kijiji and there it was. Our perfect factory cart.

The best thing about it, is that it has the original "Hudson's Bay Company" logo stamp on the side, and everything about it is original (but still in amazing condition).

Immediately, I emailed the link to Ian and his response was "have you contacted them yet? we HAVE to get this."

I have to tell you, we fought for this cart.

He wasn't asking much for it at all (a few hundred dollars)...actually a lot less than it's worth I believe and we contacted the seller right away. Unfortunately, there was someone else already coming for it. We offered full price, thinking that might persuade him, but he was an honest guy, and said he wanted be fair, and see if the first person would come for it. He told us he would let us know by the end of the weekend if it sold or not.

So we waited patiently and finally heard from the seller- the other buyer hadn't come and it was ours. YES!!!! And, it's much more beautiful in person than in the pictures. We now have a beautiful piece of Canadian history in our living room :) The room isn't finished yet, but I am so excited to put everything together eventually and have this gorgeous piece as our coffee table in there.

Here is our beautiful cart (these are the sellers Kijiji pictures, but I will add our own pics when the room is finished):

I looked around to find some comparables, and found this one at Restoration Hardware...for $1100.00:

I think we did ok on this one ;)

What have you done or would you do with a factory cart?!