CRAIGSLIST DECORATING, III

I have a vision that, eventually, this will be a by-request sort of thing. As in, hypothetical readers will send me hypothetical requests to use their city's craigslist. Until then, expect a lot of Boston-based craigs hunting.

This week I decided to do fewer rooms – just two – but to base them on inspiration images from my files. First off, a slightly-shabby but quite chic parlor starring an adorable pink (!) tufted sofa.

left, ?. right, J. Crew

The sofa immediately reminded me of the one in the J. Crew ad. I never like pale pink things because of their color – only despite it – and in this case I think it's that cluttered, vintagey English-countryside feel that makes me like these images. In my craigslisted take on the idea, I paired it with a textured rug and a perfectly beaten-up printer's cabinet to balance out the glitter of the elegant lamp and the sofa's prim and proper girliness*.

Next up, a larger living room with some punchy pattern and color. 

The inspiration:

left, ?. right, Little Green Notebook

chair by Spruce Home on Etsy (no longer available)

And the reality:

The polka dot wing chair pictured above has been saved to my files for ages, and this rug appears to be its long-lost twin. In the fun, eclectic spirit of the chair and the above rooms, I pulled together a mix of cheap accents anchored by a beautiful couch (an extinct Room and Board product that looks like a non-tufted version of the Hutton, whose picture I used here). The orange chair offers a nice burst of color against the rug, and the "oversized" mirror will love great above the couch. Although the lamps don't come with shades, they're inexpensive enough to be worth a trip to Target for some cheap drum shades. And I saved my favorite for last: the ($35!) set of brass bamboo** nesting tables, which I implore you not to buy; I'm in the process of convincing the boyfriend that a certain corner of our living room is not complete without them!

*Design blogging seems to have made me a terrible writer. I used three words in this paragraph alone that don't actually exist.

**See here for more on my love of brass bamboo everything.

***I seem to have gone a little Garance Doré on you with my footnotes tonight. On that note, take a peek at her guilt-ridden take on ABC Carpet and Home vs. Sit Down NY. Which brings me back to Craigslist: for those of us who can't even afford the knock-offs.

For previous craigslist decorating installments, see here and here.