annalyssa's Profile

Those Ikea wall-mounted kitchen rail thingies & magnetic knife rack. So obvious. Totally essential:
http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/00136621
http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/50072645

I painted our northish-facing guest room a dark emerald color, and it looks great.
Actually, light colors didn't work on the walls of this room because of the tree in front of the window that just made everything look gloomy. Now that the wall color embraces the "foresty" light, it works. It's soothing and dramatic at the same time. And (unexpected bonus) the moldings and brass doorknobs suddenly came right out of the woodwork - plus art on the wall looks great, like in a museum.
That being said.... it is an "auxiliary" room.....

number three is great. i love the before as much as the after - those clay pots are stunning. it looks so autumnal and waiting.

For furniture arrangement, please post a floorplan. :)

As much as I love curtains puddling to the floor, since you will inevitably have toys and things gathering around, I'd probably go for something that doesn't hang down, maybe shades instead of curtains to tidy it up, with a box valance. And use the same window treatment on all the windows in the room.
Also, I would try to unify things and get rid of visual clutter as much as possible. For example paint all those little frames the same color as the trim, or a shade darker than the wall to unify them.
I would also try to create "hidden" storage by adding doors to the bookcases (or if they're glass doors, covering them with fabric or something).

As for lighting, I would get rid of that black floor lamp and get a couple with a linen/natural looking shade, maybe something like this: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1230&f=22325&q=floor lamp linen&fromLocation=Search&DIMID=400001&SearchPage=1.
And maybe this instead of the more ornate pendant lamp: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1240&f=26067&q=shade&fromLocation=Search&DIMID=400001&SearchPage=1

I personally like the wall color. I think it goes well with the wood and the color of the sofa. I would try to eliminate the black in the room as much as possible and work the wood and chocolate colors and introduce more creamy whites. Like on the mantel - you could place a bunch of creamy-white vases, which I think would look amazing.
Speaking of the mantel.... are you going to remove it? Can you paint it or refinish it? Is it marble?

Loulou de la Falaise's living room has always inspired me that way:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1003862/Ooh-La-la-Designer-loulou-la-falaises-parisian-home-oozes-bohemian-style.html
She has chairs around the sofa and armchair that just evoke images of chic parisian men in great pants smoking with their legs crossed and sort of leaning in, talking, talking, talking.....
It's a living room that is totally designed for conversation.

Omigosh this is so amazing and your vegetables are so beautiful it gave me shivers.
Can't believe you flipped the boards and turned it into such a clean and beautiful paradise.

Thanks so much!
Yeah the tree is pretty great. Here is a dismal before photo in the early spring:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36763551@N05/3473410971/in/set-72157615862825327/

Oh and it's not staged, it's not staged! I was really sitting there reading the other morning and I thought to myself "This is my great outdoors" and got the camera.

Christine, yes ma'am 24 hours. I mean what else are you going to do at 3:00am on the walk home? That's right.... buy a begonia.

seriously it's the cutest thing ever. i know that's not helpful, but you could pick pretty much any color of the rainbow and run with it.
did you get rid of the awning?
i personally would just add planter boxes, geraniums, & call it a day. for a couple of years anyway.
what fun! this place is SO cute.

i love that (is it plastic?) wall - blocks the neighbours but not the light.

Lily of the Valley! They can grow in the oddest, smallest spaces and remind me so much of my childhood. My mom always put little jars of lily of the valley in our rooms in the summer.