• Guest Post: The Golden Sycamore
  • A Special Announcement
  • Places: The Saguaro Hotel

Guest Post: The Golden Sycamore

Hi everyone! I hope you all have been doing well over the past few weeks!! I have momentarily come out of my baby-cation to introduce one of my super talented blogging friends, Allison from The Golden Sycamore. If you love finding amazing furniture transformations, this is the lady to watch. She is a pro at taking forgotten pieces and turning them into fabulous works of art. Her DIYs are always inspiring and I just know you will love her chic style! Today, she has an awesome DIY for anyone like me with a black thumb. In the few short weeks since becoming a Mommy I have managed to lose even my draught resistant succulents. Yikes! Allison’s cute faux potted plant idea will definitely be on my ever growing DIY list. Enjoy!

Hi there! I’m Allison from The Golden Sycamore. My passion is painting furniture, but I also share craft projects, home renovations, and home decor ideas on my blog.

Before I get started I want to say thank you to Sarah for having me over on her blog today! I’m so happy for her and her family and am glad she’s able to take a little time off to snuggle that precious baby of hers! icon smile Guest Post: The Golden Sycamore

potted plant decor graphic Guest Post: The Golden Sycamore

So, one thing you should know about me is that I am not a plant person! I know nothing about plants and flowers and desperately need help with our landscaping! It’s pitiful!

But now that spring has finally arrived and the vegetation outdoors is getting so lush and pretty, I wanted to bring some of that fresh feeling indoors. So I whipped up this little project. It’s such an easy way to add a little life, and style, to your home…well kinda!

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Remember when I said I’m no good with plants? Well, for that very reason, I decided it would be best to go with an artificial plant for this project! icon smile Guest Post: The Golden Sycamore

Here’s how I put it together…

potted plant 2 Guest Post: The Golden Sycamore

Supplies:

Paintable pot

Artificial potted herb

Circle stencil and colored pencil

Paint and paint brush

Sandpaper

Plastic bags

River stones

How to:

1. Cut out a circle shape and trace it onto your pot with a colored pencil (I used a circle paper punch to make my stencil)

planted herb 2 Guest Post: The Golden Sycamore

2. Paint inside of your circles with chalk paint or craft paint.

planted herb 8 Guest Post: The Golden Sycamore

3. Let paint dry and then use a little sandpaper to distress it a bit.

4. Fill pot part way with plastic bags. This will help to fill the pot without having to use a ton of the heavy stones.

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5. Place your plant into the pot and fill with river stones.

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That’s it! See! So easy and it still brings a little freshness and style to your decor!

planted herb 1 Guest Post: The Golden Sycamore

And want to know a little secret? I only painted circles on half of the pot, so if I ever choose to change up the design, I can just turn it around and use the other side! Brilliant, right?! icon wink Guest Post: The Golden Sycamore I like to think so! Haha!

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I hope you enjoyed this simple, yet stylish project. If you’d like to keep up with more of what I’m doing you can find me over at my blog {here}, or on Facebook {here}, Instagram {here}, or Pinterest {here}.

Thanks again to Sarah for having me over today! icon smile Guest Post: The Golden Sycamore

allison signature Guest Post: The Golden Sycamore

 

Thank you Allison for this cute and simple DIY idea! Be sure to explore more of her fabulous ideas on her blog and follow her on Facebook for updates on all her awesome projects!!

A Special Announcement

I couldn’t be happier to announce that our sweet baby girl arrived last Monday night!!! She came a few days earlier than expected and weighed in at 7lbs 13oz and 20″ long. Little Autumn Marie is healthy as can be and we have spent the last week in total bliss enjoying our precious new addition. I am amazed at how much I love this sweet baby! I have officially maxed out all available space on my hard drive and iPhone with pictures of her and it’s only been a week!

Autumn 3 Days A Special Announcement

Things are going to be a little slow around Lacquer & Linen for the next month or so as I take some time off to enjoy this special time with my girl. I have some amazing guest bloggers lined up for you in the meantime and will be popping in here and there to give updates and share some things I’ve been working on over the last few weeks.

Autumn 3 Days 3 A Special Announcement

Places: The Saguaro Hotel

Seguaro Hotel Places: The Saguaro Hotel

I have to admit that the obliteration of Cochella/Stage Coach Instagram pictures over the past few weeks definitely had me craving the dry sunshine of Palm Springs. Sure, the weather’s been pretty good in San Diego but you can’t beat april weather in Palm Springs. The city’s broad selection of unique boutique hotels is definitely one of my favorite perks of traveling there. Though my usual go-to is the gorgeous Kelly Wearstler designed Viceroy, my last visit to PS required a more affordable pet policy (as in free). I had heard great things about the newly renovated Saguaro Hotel, so we packed up the pups and headed east.

Seguaro Hotel 1 Places: The Saguaro Hotel

Seguaro Hotel 2 Places: The Saguaro Hotel

When you walk into the main lobby, your senses are blasted by cool air conditioning and the punchy orange, yellow, and red reception area. Redesigned in 2011 by Architects Peter Stamberg and Paul Aferiat, the grounds are clad in 14 bold colors inspired by flowers native to the dessert region.

Seguaro Hotel 3 Places: The Saguaro Hotel

The hotel offers guests two restaurants with very different dining experiences. A more casual option, El Jefe, offers a menu lush with items created with the traditional food of Mexico City in mind. I had a chance to order up some steak tacos and was very impressed with how much flavor a simple street taco could have. The other restaurant, Tinto encourages a more drawn out style of dining with a large tapas menu inspired by the Basque region of Northern Spain and Southern France. They also have an extensive cocktail menu featuring  native handmade drinks. I’ll have to take a trip back there when I’m not eight months pregnant to try out a few of those!

Seguaro Hotel 4 Places: The Saguaro Hotel

Seguaro Hotel 5 Places: The Saguaro Hotel

Seguaro Hotel 7 Places: The Saguaro Hotel

Traveling with pets can be really hard and VERY expensive. Some of the nicer hotels in town charge upwards of $150 per pet to stay. Don’t get me wrong, I love my dogs, but that is just insane. So far, The Saguaro is the only hotel I have found that doesn’t charge a fee for dogs. Of course, if Fido rips up the curtains or has an accident in the room, they do charge a cleaning fee.

Seguaro Hotel 8 Places: The Saguaro Hotel

Seguaro Hotel 9 Places: The Saguaro Hotel

The rooms were nice enough for the price point and definitely didn’t abandon the hotel’s signature color scheme. The bright purple carpet paired with hot pink walls was shocking but kind of in a good way. If you’re going to go for it, go all the way right? I admire the overall commitment to the design and the fun colors and abstract structures scattered around the grounds make for a unique guest experience.

I will definitely be going back to The Saguaro when the little one is old enough to spend some time soaking up the dry heat and cooling off in the pool. With only a few more weeks left of “the season”, now is an awesome time to take a nice weekend trip out to Palm Springs. Although, if you feel like saving a few bucks, you can get some ridiculous deals during the summer off-season if you don’t mind 110+ temps.

 

Designer Spotlight: Caitlin Wilson

Caitlin Wilson  Designer Spotlight: Caitlin Wilson

I first stumbled upon the fabulously talented Caitlin Wilson when I was putting together a roundup of ways to incorporate spring florals into the home. Although it was her beautiful line of fabrics that drew me to her website, I was immediately in awe of her stunning portfolio of fresh brightly colored interiors. Her eclectic style is characterized by the inclusion of bold patterns, statement pieces and playful color palettes. Having completed projects both across the US and abroad, Wilson’s many years of design experience shines through in her impeccable styling and ability to adapt to each client’s unique style.

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Caitlin Wilson 630x420 Designer Spotlight: Caitlin Wilson

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If you adore these lovely interiors as much as I do, be sure to visit her online shop and browse through her beautiful collection of textiles and pillows!!

Images: Caitlin Wilson

 

Baby C’s Nursery Reveal

Nusery 1 Baby Cs Nursery Reveal

Since I am officially full term, I suppose it’s about time I get to the nursery reveal! I have spent countless hours thinking about this one little room and am so happy to say it’s finally finished. It’s a bittersweet moment for me since it has easily been my favorite project to date. This room is full of DIY projects, accessories picked out from weekend trips, and some special gifts from friends and family. I love each and every item in the room and hope it will be the perfect space for our little one to call her own.

Nursery 5 1 Baby Cs Nursery Reveal

After sprucing up that boring Ikea Hemnes dresser, I decided to forgo making a frame for the changing pad since it would have ended up being really bulky. Instead, I placed an extra tacky drawer liner underneath to provide a nonslip surface. Since I’ll always have a hand on her when she’s on the changing table anyway, this was a suitable solution for me. I found a great wicker basket from Home Goods for $7.99 that was the perfect size for all the diapering necessities. On the wall above the changing table/dresser, I put up a collage of some DIY art, a pretty print by one of my favorite local artists, Kelli Murray, a few spray painted empty frames, and the beautiful fringe banner made by my best friend for our last baby shower.

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The wingback rocker is definitely one of my favorite pieces of furniture in the room. It is the Empire Rocker from Nursery Works which I ended up grabbing for a steal on a flash site. I’ve seen this rocker pop up on several different flash sites, so if you’re interested in purchasing this rocker, keep an eye out for those sales, it will save you at least $100. Since I ended up with some extra fabric leftover from the upholstered cornice I made, I enlisted the help of my talented mother to make a lumbar pillow for the rocker. We chose to use the tribal fabric for the middle panel and flank it with some coral fabric to add some color.

Nursery 17 Baby Cs Nursery Reveal

The art deco inspired semi flush pendant is another one of my favorite items in the nursery. The combination of the antique brass and frosted glass is just so heavenly. We still need to switch the fixture to a dimmer so the light can be adjusted, but it will be such a pretty focal point for our little lady to look at from her crib. The floral pouf was another flash sale score from Joss & Main. I love how large it is and it gives me a a nice big surface to rest my feet on when sitting in the rocker.

Nursery 6 1 Baby Cs Nursery Reveal

On the chalk paint side table, I put a clock found a few years ago at Aaron Brothers, a lovely potted fern leftover from my baby shower and a pretty Rifle Paper Co. notebook to jot down any thoughts I have during the hours I anticipate spending in that rocker.

Nursery 13 Baby Cs Nursery Reveal

The bamboo bookcase was an unexpected find from my local antique store. For only $89, all it really needed was a quick coat of spray paint and it was good to go. I filled the bookcase with some of my favorite items found on weekend trips with Mr. C over the past year. The ombre-ish letters were another DIY project that I didn’t end up posting about. I picked up each letter for $1.99 at TJ Maxx and mixed up varying shades of coral acrylic paint to cover up their existing blemished paint jobs. The Grow From The Inside print is another one I love from Kelli Murray. You can find more of her gorgeous prints in her Etsy shop.

Nursery 16 Baby Cs Nursery Reveal

The dresser inside her closet was something I had to sit and stew about for a while. I was going back and forth debating about wether or not we needed more storage space but ultimately the answer was yes. It was tricky finding a dresser that was the right size, style, and color for the space inside the closet. I had already DIYed my fingers off with all the projects in this room and was just not up for painting another piece of furniture (especially when it required the use of a heavy respirator the entire time).  I ended up finding this dresser at an antique shop and was so shocked that it was only $50. The size was exactly what I needed and I just loved the shape of the drawer pulls. As you can tell, Baby C already has quite the collection of bright colored outfits to get her through the spring and summer. She already has SIX flamingo print outfits so this baby won’t ever have any questions about where the inspiration for her nursery came from.

Nursery 1 1 Baby Cs Nursery Reveal

It will be a while before baby girl is able to actually use the vanity chair I reupholstered for her but for now it sits in a little space next to the changing table. It is such a lovely piece to have at the entrance to the room and I can’t wait until she gets older and I can start searching for a pretty little vanity to go with it.

When I first started brainstorming about this room, I was a little nervous about going with coral because of my dislike of the color pink. You may have noticed that everything in the room that is coral is something that can be easily removed or taken down if/when we decide to change the color scheme. I purposely left the walls white and chose neutral fabrics and furnishings so that when the day comes to change things up, we won’t have to start completely over with brand new everything. This way we already have a base to go off of and can add almost any color to the mix.

If your curious about the DIY projects I completed for this room here is a quick list of a few so you can check them out:

Upholstered Cornice

Ikea Hemnes Dresser

Chalk Paint Side Table

Upholstered Vanity Chair

 

Sharing at: Clean & Scentsible, Ginger Snap Crafts, Southern Lovely, The 36th Avenue, Live, Laugh, Rowe, The Shabby Creek Cottage, SNAP Creativity, Crafty Scrappy Happy, Liz Marie Blog The Shabby Nest, Tatertots and Jello

The Hang Up

Hnaging Chair 630x504 The Hang Up

I’ve always had a mild obsession with hanging chairs. I don’t know if it stems from my childhood  love of swings or what, but I’ve just always wanted to have one in my home. These whimsical chairs are super versatile and are now manufactured in so many different materials and styles, there are options for many different types of interiors. Wether it’s a rustic rattan chair or a sleek and modern bubble chair, these babies are sure to add an interesting focal point to any room!

hanging chair 31 630x472 The Hang Up

hanging chair The Hang Up

Hanging chair 2 The Hang Up

hanging chair2 The Hang Up

hanging chair 3 The Hang Up

hanging chair 4 The Hang Up

hanging chair1 The Hang Up

How interesting is that green birdcage shaped chair?? The shape is so feminine yet the heavy metal hardware and thick rope give it a fun industrial twist. I’ll probably end up going with a rattan one like maybe this one from Serena & Lily or this one from Madison Ave gifts. I haven’t decided if I want to put it inside or outside yet, but a plan for one is definitely in place!  One thing to remember about hanging chairs is that they really need to be secured properly to be safe. If you’re looking for a little guidance, try these simple instructions.

Images: iVillageFreshome, Vtwonen, ConundrumAnthropologie, Lakbdesign, Emily HendersonHouse Beautiful

Chic Tabletop Animals

Animal Statues1 Chic Tabletop Animals

1. Ceramic Snail, $12 West Elm, 2. Treshold Brass Animals, $9.99 Target, 3. Toikka Grey Whooper Swan, $645 2Modern, 4. Pesque, $49.95 CB2, 5. Silver Antelope, $25 Dwell Studio, 6. Abstract Giraffe, $24 West Elm, 7. Jonathan Adler Katie Owl Bank, $20 JCP

A New Look

to do list A New Look

Today I am so excited to debut the new look of Lacquer & Linen! I’ve been wanting to revamp the design for a while now and with the help of an amazing designer, I finally got around to doing it. I am still working on some new sections and will probably be changing some more things over the next few months but I just love how the design turned out! I really wanted to get this done before the baby comes and am so happy to be able to check one more thing off my never ending list. Like any design project, making changes to the blog will be an evolving process and I hope you can have patience with me as I work some kinks out. I really hope the changes will make the site easier to navigate and will help me streamline my content to focus on topics you like best. Stay tuned for more exciting updates!!!