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Catalog Living

Posted in Art, Décor, Floors, Furniture, Inside the Mudroom, Interiors, Kids' Stuff, Organization, Outside, Reinvent It, Shop It, Tabletop, Walls, Windows on January 28, 2011| 2 Comments »

Logic quiz:

Poor self-image is to fashion magazines as WHAT is to home decor catalogs?

I don’t know either, but sometimes I feel like I have it, whatever IT is. Occasionally I get sort of taken over by staging my house…rolling up the throw blankets and storing them just-so in a gorgeous basket (you’re cold? grab one of these!), propping the white ceramic fish platter in a plate holder on my kitchen counter (look, it’s art!), stacking up a pretty set of books by my bedside (who has time to read?). Maybe it’s some form of OCD, or maybe it comes from buying and selling multiple houses in the past five years (never know when you’re gonna have to put it on the market!), but I suspect that some of the obsession comes from looking through too many home design catalogs and shelter pubs.

Luckily, my little brother pointed me to a hilarious site that reminds me how idiotic some of those scenes from Pottery Barn (and others) are. Catalog Living follows the fictional life of Gary and Elaine, the passive-aggressive, accessory-obsessed couple who live in your catalogs. Created by actor and Tufts graduate Molly Erdman, Catalog Living now serves as my daily reminder that I shouldn’t worry if my throws aren’t just-so.

{But really, a little staging never hurt anyone.}

Image credit: Catalog Living, January 20, 2011

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Pretty Cloth Napkins

Posted in Shop It, Tabletop on January 27, 2011| 3 Comments »

I like dressing up my table, even for a not-so-quiet weeknight dinner of red sauce pasta and sausage. And there’s something about a cloth napkin that adds a little pretty to your place setting, even if you choose to eat from a TV tray. Here are some of my favorites…what are yours?

West Elm Yarn Dyed Organic Napkins (we use these constantly)

Hammocks & High Tea Saree Napkins

DwellStudio Gate Sun Napkins

Jonathan Adler Neptune Napkins

Skinny laMinx Pincushion Napkins

Want more?

A fun alternative to placemats.

My very favorite dinnerware.

Setting a pretty table.

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Handmade for the Tooth Fairy

Posted in Kids' Stuff, Organization, Shop It on January 26, 2011| 2 Comments »

It only took six years, eight months and a bunch of days, but my little big guy finally lost his first tooth. We (he) had been waiting so long, you would think we – ahem – the Tooth Fairy would have been ready with a super-special $2 bill and a new toothbrush. But instead, our little big guy got two fairly crumply singles folded up and stuffed into his tooth fairy pillow. While I would’ve loved the task of hunting down (or even making) a sweet pillow for my son’s special day, my mother-in-law — Keeper of All Things — had saved my husband’s childhood tooth pillow and given it to him for the holidays. Good thing too, or else he would’ve had to stick his tooth in a ziploc.

Have a kid on his or her way to losing a first tooth? Check out some of my favorite tooth pillow options from Etsy:

Also, if you’re curious what the Tooth Fairy’s going rate is, just check out this awesome post.

Photo credits: My Everyday Graces, Laugh Rabbit Jr., Inklore, Naomi Joy Designs

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Because life is too short not to surround yourself with beautiful things.

Posted in Inspiration, Reinvent It on January 25, 2011| 16 Comments »

{For those of you thinking you were going to get a post on some great product or DIY project today, please forgive this brief indulgence…we’ll be back tomorrow with our regularly scheduled programming.}

For four days last week, I indulged in my ultimate personal (not to be confused with family) vacation.

For four days last week, I caught up with an old friend, met at least thirty new ones, and basked in the warm glow of humor, creativity, entrepreneurship, inspiration, artistry, and seriously great fashion.

For four days last week, I attended the Altitude Design Summit, a not-to-be-missed bringing-together of social media and design professionals to hear from some of the Greats, learn new skills (screen-printing, tabletop photography, Illustrator, oh my!) and forge new relationships that will last beyond Twitter.

For anyone interested in the content of the panels, you can find summaries and commentary all over the blogosphere. Since I know many of my readers are not bloggers or designers and The Mudroom is not what one would characterize as a personal blog, I won’t recount every life-changing detail. But I will tell you this…for me, the final keynote session of the conference, led by Swiss Miss Tina Roth Eisenberg, summed up my reason for starting this blog, and in some ways, my reason for being. During her address, she said many things that struck a chord for me (“don’t start a blog unless you’re passionate about the subject,” “nobody can tell you what’s best for you,” “enthusiasm and integrity are your biggest assets,” and so on), but it was when she was talking about her upbringing in Switzerland that she said the magic words:

“Life is too short not to surround yourself with beautiful things.”

And that, in 15 words or less, is exactly why I started writing this blog.

Life is too short.

We probably all have some experience with that phenomenon, and maybe someday I’ll write about mine. My life-is-too-short experience led my soul-searching husband to ask me three years ago “what is your passion…your reason for being?” to which I answered, my home and my family and my belief that everyone can live in a beautiful space that incorporates all the messiness of real life.

Some people may feel that’s trite. But the architects and artists and designers of the world — the ones that Switzerland celebrates on its bank notes — would tell you otherwise.

And I’m assuming you guys and gals out there who occasionally stop by my little Mudroom here might feel the same, and that’s why you keep coming back. So thank you…thanks for making my day every time one of you leaves a comment, or sends a nice e-mail my way to let me know that you look to surround yourself with beauty too.

Keep ’em coming, and I’ll do the same.

xo
Paige

P.S. – Thank you, thank you to the brilliant ladies of Kirtsy and the amazing sponsors for putting on this conference.

P.P.S. – That whole sponsorship thing really works. Haven’t stopped thinking about the Honda Accord Crosstour since our chaffeured lift to Lamb’s on Thursday night.

Photo credit: the super-sweet Grand America courtyard in Salt Lake City; photo taken by Paige Lewin

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Seven days, people.

Posted in Décor, Reinvent It, Shop It, Tabletop, What Do You Want to Change?, What Do You Want To Do? on November 18, 2010| 2 Comments »

It seems like the school year *just* started. And then it was Halloween. And now, in exactly one week, we’re going to be roasting turkeys, mashing potatoes and generally stuffing ourselves like proverbial pigs seated at gorgeously decorated tables in holiday-decked houses.

Oh, what’s that? Haven’t taken down the paper spiders from your window or jack-o-lantern from your porch?

No worries. Join me on Life.Style with Christine Koh on The Pulse Network tomorrow at 1 p.m. EST (or anytime after that) for some super simple, wallet-friendly, use-what-you-own ideas to make your house and table gorgeous for the big day. It’s going to be awesome. Like Oprah and Nate, except with less hair and makeup.

{If you’re on Twitter, feel free to tweet us during the show at @mudroomboston, @bostonmamas and @thepulse}

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Some of Boston’s Best (in my humble opinion)

Posted in Fashion, Interiors, Shop It on November 17, 2010| 2 Comments »

At the end of October, CBS Boston launched a spankin’ new website that brings all the local CBS outlets under one digital roof. Thanks to a glowing recommendation from Boston Mamas’ Christine Koh, I had an opportunity to contribute some of my favorites to the site’s Boston’s Best section. Need the perfect accessories to go with that dress? Or a last-minute gift and bouquet of flowers for your co-worker’s birthday? How about the best places for housewares and home decor? I also shared some of my very favorite local home artisans, some of whom I’ve featured right here on the Mudroom. So check it out, and feel free to add your own favorites in the comments!

Image credit: Comina

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Working on the Office

Posted in Décor, Make It, Reinvent It on October 8, 2010| 8 Comments »

The weekend is almost here, and for many of us it’s going to be a nice long one. What are your plans?

In between a big family dinner, writing and some good old-fashioned quality time with the kids and hubs, I’m going to be working on our home office. Want a peek at the fabrics?

Looks like I’m finally going to get some of that girly I’ve been wanting for so long.

Have a great weekend, friends!

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Star Wars for the Design-Minded

Posted in Art, Reinvent It, Shop It, Walls on October 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »

My older son is really into Star Wars right now and decided (supported by my husband, and much to my chagrin) that he would love a “giant Star Wars poster with, like, Darth Vader or General Greivous or somethin'” on his newly painted wall of his new bedroom in our new house.

Um, no.

Since lightsaber-wielding, gun-toting heroes from the Dark Side aren’t really my idea of great decoration for the room of a first grader (who, by the way, has never seen any of the movies), I needed to get creative.

Better put, I hoped that somebody else had gotten creative for me.

Great, right?

Since I love WPA-style posters, and I’m still (for now) in charge of decorating my kids’ rooms, a little propaganda piece encouraging travelers to visit the relocated Rebel base was my selection.

Hope he likes it.

Zazzle

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Inspiration for an Unexpected Home Office

Posted in Décor, Furniture, Inspiration, Interiors, Organization, Reinvent It on August 12, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Best laid plans.

I don’t know about you, but when I move into a new space (which is more often than I’d like), I try to have it all planned out before the big day. The furniture, the wall colors, where the lamps will go. Everything.

But sometimes things don’t turn out exactly like you expect. There’s enough space for the couch on that wall, but looks terrible. Your pots and pans don’t actually fit in the cabinets. The TV is perfect right there, but the deck door allows a little beam of the neighbor’s outdoor light in exactly when you want to watch The Real Housewives airkiss and then rip each other to shreds. You get the picture.

Anyhoo, it turns out that one of the AWESOME things we didn’t count on was that our fabulous extra-narrow cherry farm table that used to be in our dining room fit perfectly in our new kitchen, so we didn’t have to buy a kitchen table and it freed up a whole room. Frankly, I’ve always thought formal dining rooms were sort of a waste of space, so rather than doing a home office/guest room combo (our original plan), we have the unexpected opportunity to have an entire room dedicated to an office (can you hear the chorus of angels?). I’d like our space to be:

Peaceful, with lots of work space,