Burford Designs

Modern Living and Modern Furniture

The other day I was thinking about my brother, Baby Boy, and how much he likes modern furniture.  He already has a beautiful Eames lounge chair with the ottoman and a lovely Barcelona chair (all are originals), along with some other really nice pieces and that just got me thinking about what else would he like and that led me to my friends over as CSN Stores and their store filled with modern furniture.

They have items broken down into different categories everything from wallpaper and lighting to accent pillows, statues and figurines.  They even have the items broken down by designer so if you know exactly what you are looking for it is pretty easy to scout it out that way.  And heck, if you didn't know the designer, it seems like a good way to find out and do some research by shopping with your eyes. 

I know one thing that Baby Boy wants is a floor lamp similar to a George Kovacs - Arc Floor Lamp in Chrome.  Mommy and I have been on the lookout for one for him for a couple of years now, unfortunately we've only been able to find chrome floor lamps with multiple heads (three to five).  Now I know where to look for items for him.

Just so you know, I plan on doing another review for CSN Stores... stay tuned for that (probably sometime within the next month or so).

Happy Thursday!

Holiday Home Tour

Welcome to my Holiday Home.

 

I like to have little snippets of Christmas all over the house like this little vignette on my bookshelf

There are three decorated trees in the living room, each one differently themed.  We call the first one the Southern Belle because it is dripping in cream pearls and has beautiful pink magnolia blossoms spread throughout.  The second tree is the toy tree covered in tin toy soldiers, blocks, tops, postcards, etc.  The third tree is the silver tree.  It is also dripping in pearls, love the romance of it all, but these pearls are brighter, whiter, and iridescent.  Of course it’s covered in silver and glitter and bright shiny objects.  Last year when I was participating in swaps I received a few new (to me) ornaments to go on this tree. It was nice to discover them again when decorating.

I would love to have a large tree this year, but with the addition of a second dog it’s still easier to have smaller trees that are on top of tables then to have one large tree. 

 

One of my favorite decorations is this silver Santa

Thanks to Julia for hosting another Hooked on Holiday House Tours, just click the link to see other participants.  Thanks to Rhonda at Southern Hospitality and Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for their holiday tours as well.

 

Merry hopping!

Getting Ready for Holiday Guests

Although I am no Martha Stewart, parts of me aspire to be.  I enjoy watching her shows and specials, devouring her books and magazines and deciding what bits and pieces I want to incorporate into my life.  It’s because of her that I like to have a basket of slippers at my front door for guests.

 

When I first moved into my own apartment I used to keep things on hand to wipe up snacks in case there were unexpected guests and I always had the fridge stocked with a variety of beverages.  At that time, I didn’t have a guest room so I would make up what I had, usually the sofa or an air mattress, in any case I always made sure that I had lots of extra bedding for their comfort.

One of my coworkers has been excited because her son is coming home for his first real visit from college.  Since he took most of his stuff, including his bed and bedding, she has purchased a bed and recently ordered some new bedding for his room/the new guest room.  I helped her find the bedding and in the process we chatted about what else she should do to make his arrival extra special.  Since Baby Boy was a frequent guest when I lived in California I suggested that she make up a small welcome basket with a few of his favorite treats, put some magazines and books that he would enjoy in the room and possibly put a water carafe and tumbler bedside.

Personally, I have a carafe and tumbler bedside, but for those of you who don’t there is a fabulous tip from the Martha Stewart website.

Bedside Water Glass

You don't need carafes and matching tumblers to provide overnight guests with water. Simply fill a tall, narrow glass, and cover it with a shorter, wider tumbler to keep out dust. Set the glasses on a small tray on the nightstand to catch any drips. Houseguests can flip over the top glass and pour themselves water or sip directly from the taller glass.

While researching this topic I found many articles that wrote about this exact topic and if you’d like to check them out for yourself I’ll link to them below.

 

v     Prepping for Houseguests

v     Getting Ready for Out-of-Town Guests: A Host's Checklist

v     Getting Ready for Overnight Guests from Real Simple

v     Getting Ready For Guests from Home Goods

v     Getting Ready for Guests from HGTV

HGTV Dream Home for Sale

I recently received an email from Baby Boy telling me that I was in luck because the winners of the HGTV Dream Home (previously written about here) had sold the house back to the developer and he has put the house on the market.  So for a cool $2.2 million it could be mine (or yours since I certainly do not have that kind of moola lying around). 

 

Baby Boy sent me this link from SFGATE regarding the decision.  I love their tagline “Each week, The Chronicle features a local home on the market that caught our eye with its sky-high or bargain-basement price, architectural or historical significance, or one-of-a-kind location or character.”

 

The entire prize package (home, vehicle, furnishings, etc) was valued at around $2.2 million, however this sell is for the house and property only (no vehicle, no furnishings, no extras) for the same price.  All of the furnishings have been donated to a charity and will be sold off to raise funds.  I’ve seen other homes in the area (all around the same price, some even in the same neighborhood) that, to me, seem like a better deal but the homes are really beautiful and I do love that area (having grown up near there).

Oh to dream…