Tea towels, artwork and wallpaper. It doesn’t get much better than this, folks.I’m not even totally sure how I came across this little obscure website, but I’m glad I did. Makelike is a design shop based out of Portland, Oregon. I love how organic and crafty their stuff is. The posters and tea towels are very reasonably priced and would make great gifts (eh hem). The wallpaper is just divine and would work great in a small space (perhaps our downstairs hallway?) or on an accent wall.

Here are my favorite things from their site:

Succulent Wallpaper

Pointy Poster

Stump Tea Towel

Click here to check out more cute stuff from makelike!

I come across this look a lot and I love it. Stacking vintage suitcases is a unique (and affordable) way to add charm to a room. Here are a few great examples of using vintage beauties as bed side tables, entryway accents, etc.

I had found some vintage suitcases on Etsy while working on my last Best of Etsy post. So I decided to search for more. Oh my! There are a ton of options. Here are just a few of the many train cases and suitcases I found (don’t buy them all before I can!!!).

Monarch Blue Train Case,Set of Three American Tourister Suitcases,Brown Faux Leather Suitcase,Vintage Upcycled Suitcase, Brown Tweed Train Case,White Leather Suitcases,American Tourister Suitcase,Paper Covered Suitcase,Samsonite Suitcase

After my last post about nature-inspired rustic goodies, I was motivated to seek out some examples of rustic yet modern spaces. Ahhh! I am so jealous of the people that live in these homes. I love how earthy and lived-in these places are but still fresh and airy too. The architecture found here lends itself well to this kind of style. I wish our home was loftier and more spacious so we could pull off this look too. Maybe some day…

Rustic Barn Door Headboards


Rustic Romance


Salvaged Material Kitchen


Contemporary Cabin


Modern Rustic Bedroom

Rustic Elegance

As I was perusing the internets for these fine photos, I was reminded of a to-die-for rustic/modern home tour on Apartment Therapy I saw a while back. I was able to dig it up to share with you. This is a MUST SEE. So gorgeous.

For more images from ‘Robin’s Gorgeously Green Artist Barn’, click here.

Thanksgiving is upon us. I LOVE Thanksgiving. I love to eat and I love my family and I love going back to my home state. This year, Jack, Fern, my sis and I are heading to my parents’ cabin/home in northern Wisconsin. It is the perfect place to spend the holidays. They live on a lake in the middle of the woods and there is always lots of pretty white snow. My mom has done a great job decorating their place so it feels rustic and woodsy yet fresh and clean at the same time.

Our upcoming trip has got me thinking about how much I love combining nature-inspired pieces with clean, modern pieces. I’m not talking about stuffed deer heads. No, I’m talking about a more polished, chic version of rustic.

I’ve literally been collecting images for this post for two days. I can’t get enough of this stuff! Anyway, here are my favorite north-woods-inspired items. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

Desk Accessory Set,Sailing Ship Sketch,Mirror Image Owl Rug,Ursa the Bear,Stem Bowl,Rising Atoll Curtain,Bamboo Pebbles,Log Cabin Pendant,Ghost Tree Coat + Hat Rack,Wooden Animal Dish,Bovine Pillow

Owl Table Lamp,Brigitta Dresser,Ring Holder,Furniture Cube,Mushrooms Tea Towel,Mohair Throw,ArchitectMade Duck,Pronghorn Wall Art,Chop Chop Side Table,Gnome Stool

I’ve been looking for a pair of bookends to encase my small (but noble) collection of cookbooks. We have room on the kitchen counter to spare, and they will be more accessible on display than they currently are hidden away in the cupboard. I’ve never actually purchased bookends, I always associated them with old stodgy libraries and studies. But after coming across these options, I realize I’ve been missing out. Look how cute this little amber bear is – where has he been all my life!?

Vintage Bear Bookend

More great bookends:

Grip Bookend,Civetta Bookends,Dachshund Bookends,Cube Bookends,Scissors Bookends,Glass Half Bookends

Retro Duck,Bull Bookends,Jane Austen Shelf Pillows,Wood Animal Bookends,Dog Bookends,Pair of Pig Bookends

Books, books, books. Thank goodness for books! Whether I have an empty space on the shelf to fill, or one of our potted plants needs to be boosted up a wee bit so it can get the sunlight it needs, books come in very handy when decorating. They’re colorful, they come in all different shapes and sizes, and each one tells a unique story. So instead of stuffing them under your bed after turning the last page, check out these inspiring ways to use books (and magazines) for more than just reading.

Wow, I guess I really like clocks. I didn’t know this until I started looking for one for our house. I was looking for a clock to hang in our living room, but now I need one in every room. I came across about three times this amount of favorites, but pared it down to my top 10.

Retro Modern Wall Clock,Agate Clock,Copenhagen Modern Wall Clock,Talin Wall Clock,Bank Calendar Alarm Clock,Kitchen Timer Retro Modern Wall Clock,Raw Clock,Vitra,Modern Animal Hedgehog,World Time Clock

I’ve never been much of a collector, but if I was, this would be a fun thing to collect. Antique clocks are abundant on Etsy and they aren’t pricey at all. Here are some vintage cuties.

Vintage Mechanical Alarm Clock,Vintage Orange Jerger Alarm Clock,Vintage Deco Electric Alarm Clock,Vintage Westinghouse Electric Alarm Clock,Vintage Orange Mid Century Alarm Clock,Vintage Russian Mechanical Alarm Clock

To my surprise, Anthropologie didn’t have any clocks. They did however have a clock headboard and I like how they added the little sheep and pup to the photo.

I am a big fan of anything one-of-a-kind. Of course I buy items from staple stores such as West Elm, Room and Board, etc, but to keep our house from looking like catalogue photo, I rely on sources such as Etsy. Etsy is a lot like an estate sale or Goodwill, there’s a lot of …um… junk you have to sift through to get to the good stuff. I definitely need to be in the right mood to browse on Etsy. But when you do find those unique little gems, it makes all the searching worthwhile.

I decided to start sharing my favorites from time to time. I suppose the only risk with this is that one of you will snatch up these beloved things before I have a chance to!

Sofa Bench,Nesting Prep Bowls,Wooden Ampersand,Electric Industrial Fan,Stacking Hedgehog Ashtrays,Teak Dining Chairs,Duikers in Red,Vintage Letterpress Blocks

Let’s say there was a magical place out there where Jack, Fern and I could go for a day. We would float around on a gigantic cheese curd, and fairies would fly by and drop caramel apples in our mouths. There would be unlimited amounts of root beer (but it would be magical healthy root beer). All of the characters from Fantastic Mr. Fox would be there and they would just run around and play with Fern and be cute. Jack and I would watch re-runs of Felicity (and he would enjoy it as much as he does football). Marcel the shell with shoes on would also be there. Are you getting a good visual of this place? Sounds pretty awesome, right?

Now let’s say I had a choice between going there for a day and having this table. As absurd as this is going to sound, I would choose the table. THAT IS HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS TABLE! It would be perfect in our house. I would pair it with some modern minimal chairs, plop my happy bum down, and stare at the adorable birds for hours on end.

Here she is.

Birds In Flight – Alder Butcherblock Dining Table

I love the look of pairing a table with chairs that don’t necessarily “match” as shown here…

Modern Dining Rooms

So if my dream ever comes true and I get the pretty bird table, I would maybe pair it with chairs like this.

Wrap Dining Chair

I love Wagoneers, kelly-green rain jackets, moccasins, Wayfarers, plaid, and ANYTHING navy blue. Growing up, my family was big on the whole ’80s-prep thing and it definitely still has an influence on my style (not sure if that’s good or bad).

When making a house a home, a perfect source for inspiration can be pieces that bring back good memories. I love having little things placed here and there that no one can appreciate quite like I do.

So I decided to take a trip down memory lane. Here are some of my old school favorites that remind me of my parents, grandparents, and kid sista.

And in the spirt of fall and the good old days, here is a pic of me and my sis, Katy.