Guest Post – Design Resource – Arcadian Home

Hi all! I’m Susi and a writer for Arcadian Home, a great place to find interior and exterior design inspirations, and home decor and lighting fixtures at terrific prices. I work as a guest blogger focusing on interior design, home furnishings and wall decor accessories for Arcadian Home. I get to look at gorgeous things all day long and write about them. I found Girl and the Abode’s blog and have been hooked ever since. I love how Lauren gives us a unique perspective of interiors and inspiring images to enjoy.

I loved searching for pretty spaces for this guest edition. From a sleeping nook to a Southern porch, these are some of the spaces that caught my eye with their lovely designs. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Pretty Spaces

Elle Decor (via)

This sunroom designed by Steven Gambrel in a Tudor style home in upstate New York has a lovely balance of formal and rustic elements. I especially like the rustic coffee table in the mix.

Pretty Spaces

Houzz (via)

This porch, designed by Castro Design Studio in Atlanta, feels like a living room with the fireplace focal point. Great skylights, along with a ceiling fan light kit, give the impression of the room being outside.

Pretty Spaces

Elle Decor (via)

Designed by Gwen Driscoll, this library in a Kentucky home reminds me of the recent Jane Eyre movie. Love the dark, dramatic palette, velvet covered walls, and antique-looking chandelier.

Pretty Spaces

Houzz (via)

The Letter Cottage designed this tiny nook of a room. It shows that even the small rooms in a home can be pretty spaces.

Pretty Spaces

Elle Decor (via)

This lovely living room belongs to Ali Wentworth and George Stephanopoulous. Ali was on the Nate Berkus show recently and talked about how she created this gorgeous area rug using Rit Dye! I love it!

Pretty Spaces

Houzz (via)

What a pretty open concept living space designed by Brian Watford ID. Love the layers of neutrals mixed with soft blue accents. The area rug and the matching floor lamps are gorgeous!

Pretty Spaces

Elle Decor (via)

This library in a New York City apartment, designed by Cathy Triant Buxton, has gorgeous feminine soft pink walls that don’t feel overly girly. Paired with antiques, whimsical table decor, and interesting textiles, this is a lovely space.

Pretty Spaces

Whimages (via)

This bedroom with gorgeous grey silk headboard is so serene and dreamy. Yellow and grey is a favorite color combination of mine and I like the muted version used in this bedroom.

Which room is your favorite? Make sure to comment below to let us know, and stop by our website for more home decor inspirations each day!

Hawaiian Inspired- Decor

To continue on in our week of Hawaiian inspired home decor, I wanted to show you some lovely interiors I discovered while searching homes for sale in Kauai. I love tropical hawaiian style combined with touches of Japanese style. It makes for a really gorgeous combo.

It is hard not to miss that incredible view, however, I think the lovely japanese art work is just stunning in this room. It really does well to complement the bamboo floors and wicker style furniture. I also love how the black lamps pull the darker colors out of that gorgeous art work. This is a very nice inviting, comfortable looking room.

Here they went really tropical. Wicker, palm trees, and large marble tiles all scream Hawaii! I am really digging the striped cushions on the two occasional chairs. It brings a nautical feel to the room that I really enjoy.

If you can’t have a full ocean view, this open style patio would be just fine, in my opinion. What do you think?

Wherever you go in Hawaii, you fill always find gorgeous lava rock walls. Everyday we walked past a dozen homes that had these as there fences. Just stunning!

Tropical style decor is definitely not what I would choose for my homes interiors. But, I can appreciate the beauty in this style within its setting. To me if you go to Hawaii, you want to be in surroundings such as these. If I was in Los Angles or London or Chicago, I might think it a little out of its element. This is what I love most about interior design, you can love it all!! Its all beautiful ( when done right) in it’s own way.

What are the elements in these rooms that you enjoy? Have a great day! Always love to hear your comments!

Aloha! xoxo

{images used from Kauai Heritage Properties}

Hawaiian Inspired

I just returned from spending a week in Kauai with my family for a little R&R. We go every year. This is my week to get away from all the grind of everyday life, and find inspiration in the simple things. The hawaiian culture is wonderful. The Plantation style homes, beautiful Lava rock walls and all the palm trees set the scene for a peaceful atmosphere. This week I thought, in the spirit of Hawaii , it would be fun to feature all things Hawaiian for a week. You can also follow me on Instagram and see lots of beautiful photos I took while in Kauai. To start our Hawaiian themed week, here are some fantastic retro hawaiian prints by artist Nick Kuchar from Hawaii. His shop is called Everything is Jake, over at Etsy. Have a wonderful Monday! Aloha!

{All these wonderful posters are by Everything is Jake}

Whimsical and Eclectic Decor

I think some eclectic pieces in a home give it character. When I see a room that is very eclectic, it makes me think of all the stories that must be scattered throughout this space. Some great historical family heirlooms, perhaps? Visually and mentally, I favor this design style.

I scoured Etsy last night, searching for some fun whimsical and quirky items for the home. I found tons! Here are a few of my favorites. I actually purchased one. I could not resist that amazing flamingo statue! I will show you how it looks in my home on Instagram when I get it in the mail! All the items are from different shops, and everyone of these shops had multiple cool things to decorate your home with. I highly recommend shopping through Etsy shops. You usually can find some really unique pieces, and the bonus, you are supporting small business owners! Double plus! Actually, triple plus.. you get a gift for yourself in the mail! So fun!

{ left to right clockwise - OneFortyThree, Two Blue Monkeys, ffog: double f, long o,g,}

{ left to right clockwise – Citizen London, ffog, double f, long o,g, Chloe & Olive, Hit and Miss Limited, }

{ left to right clockwise- Less and More, Field Trip, Pagan Pottery,}

{ left to right clockwise – Xcape Vintage, ffog, double f, long o,g, ffog, double f, long o, g, }

Have fun adding a bit of eclectic style to your space!

Design Ed – Symmetrical Balance

Balance occurs when parts of a composition ( in our case, a room) are arranged with the goal of equality. Equality occurs when you have achieved equal visual weight within a space. This is one building block of interior design. The cool part about balance, it does not have to have equal visual weight on either side of the room. The visual weight of the objects, and their arrangements can give you the balance you need. There are three types of balance within the principles of design. Symmetrical, asymmetrical and radial. Today, as you see in the photo above, we are touching on symmetrical balance. This is definitely a more formal, traditional approach to room design. The furniture pieces here are all placed around a common axis, the coffee table, as a mirror image of each other.

This room has lovely visual weight, do you see the placement of the photos on the wall with the fireplace? As well as the decoration pieces? I really like that this room is accessorized with a bit of asymmetrical balance. Do you see how the visual weight of the statue, along with the larger art work and fuller house plant compliment the smaller items to the right? The height of where the art is hung and the visual weight of the shorter stone pieces do well to achieve equality within this room. I also love the mass of the large white piece of art over the fireplace. It’s scale compliments the placement of the furnishings perfectly, don’t you think? Oh, and I am dying over those chairs!

Hope you enjoyed our little discussion on the principle of balance. I would love to hear your thoughts on this space. What elements do you think make this room stand out? Do you prefer symmetrical balance or asymmetrical balance in your personal space?

Have a lovely weekend! xoxo