Red Barn Mercantile

Dan Rutherford of Red Barn Mercantile contacted me just a little while back to introduce the grand opening of their shop in Old Town, Alexandria. Wow - this is right in my wheelhouse! And what a fresh departure from the some of the stuffier shops I've seen come and go on King Street.

From their site: "Owner Amy Rutherford started Red Barn because she wanted to deliver a service – to provide both old and new in one place... The trick in blending old and new, vintage and modern, classic and quirky, is balance. And Rutherford’s knack for mixing rustic antiques with urban chic has created a look that is both fresh and familiar."


Good news - Red Barn has a printable 20% off coupon for in-store merchandise valid until December 24th. Nice! I will definitely be stopping in to do a little holiday shopping. Located at 113 S. Columbus St.

(images by: Red Barn Mercantile)

Old architectural stars

As evident in the header design of RowHouse - I'm obsessed with old stars! To me, they say classic, American, old, and beautiful. What else could be better? Growing up near Old Town, Alexandria I became accustomed to seeing these old solid metal stars on just about every home exterior, especially old rowhouses. Now, I enjoy walking around Capitol Hill looking at these and other architectural details.

Here's a bit of history for why they were actually very useful: Tie rods and these star-shaped "washers" were often used to connect the gable walls of masonry structures. The floor joists would hold the weight bearing walls from spreading, so these were often the solution for the non-load bearing walls.

Design idea: Collect a bunch of these stars in different sizes. You can find them at just about any salvage shop. Find some large nails, and nail through the hole in the center to hang on a wall - hang several. If you are using tiny stars, you could even use a thin piece of rope, twine, or ribbon to hang frames, with/out photos in them. ...Or simply just prop up on a mantel or shelf.

(images via flickr)

More inspiration from the 2007 Idea Home

I really get excited when Cottage Living features their yearly Idea Home. And this year's home, in New Orleans, certainly did not disappoint! I love every room. Here are some of my favorites...

ZARA Home

A few months after graduating from college, my good friend Ann and I moved to New York City in 2001 for a brief stint. We shared a tiny a sublet apartment on the Upper East Side. One of our favorite things to do on the weekend was to shop the discount stores such as H&M and Zara (this was before either store had arrived in DC - so we were in designer knock-off heaven for clothes!). NYC was my first experience with either store, and since then I have been hooked on the good deals. I only just recently discovered that Zara has an entire Home division. The bad news - not in the U.S. The good news, their online catalogue is still lovely to browse. Does anyone know (perhaps from the UK) if their home-wares are as affordable as their clothing line?? I can't tell online. Some of my favorite shots from their Autumn/Winter 2007-2008 collection...

(Images from Zara Home)

Empty frames = easy chic style

I really love this frame montage from Blueprint magazine... It's so simple - easy to do, with frames of all shapes and sizes - and yet oh-so stylish. I think it also works well here because all the frames are of the same color palette. Plus that bench is awesome, and I really like the paneling.

Some Wednesday inspiration...

From 100 Weekend Decorating Ideas adapted from BHG.... some of my favorite pages. Just a little weekend project inspiration to get you started ahead of time - on this Wednesday.










(Images from 100 Weekend Decorating Ideas, 2007)

Pottery Barn inspiration...

It never ceases to amaze me how the designers are Pottery Barn are able to pull together rooms so well. I wanted to post a few of the images/rooms that give me inspiration this week.

(images from Pottery Barn)