Eames® Lounge Chair & Ottoman by Herman Miller®

This is the chair I want for the living room. Room & Board makes this one. It's not cheap.

Then there's this one. It's a mid-range copy.


Or, even this one. This is a pretty decent looking fake, right?


Personally I think the cheap one looks better than the mid-range, but check out how much better the Room & Board one looks. I'd like to use a word like Lush, but that reminds me of Dave and I feel guilty for even thinking that. I wish I didn't have such a materialistic tendency toward the authentic, the true designer-backed reproduction of the original, but I sense I'd feel the other one looking at me saying, I'm an impostor, every time I walked by it. Ah, is that worth $2,000? It's crazy, but to me it sort of is?

This is the argument then I present myself with. The classic, authentic, is a chair that will work in any home you have for the rest of your life. It will never go out of style, and if it's the "real" thing, made by a quality company that stands behind its products, you can trust that it will last. It has integrity, beauty and endurance. Plus it's made in Michigan!*

Then there's the cheap one. It's less than half the cost of the high-end. I wouldn't have a heart attack too bad if someone spilled on it, or Fatty and Blackie decide they need a scratching post. Once it was in the house and not sitting next to the other one, would you even notice? (I'd know). At least when the arm fell off or it lost a button, I could comfort myself with, Well it was never the real thing anyway.

For the record, I don't even have the cash to buy the cheap one. I just like to think about these things a lot. I like to think about dining room chairs a lot too. These kill me. They're almost $650 a piece.


In this case, I would sacrifice the integrity and the dream, though, for these. About 10% the cost of the chairs that would be perfect. So that would mean the good lounge chair would be worth it, right? I just saved about $2400 on dining room chairs.

This is what's on my mind. I want that $3600 chair and ottoman. I can hear my Mom in the background, whispering, Just get it, you know you'll never be happy with the others.

* I've noticed that just about every piece I look at at Room & Board is made in USA. There's a little map with the location highlighted and, Made in Michigan or whatever. It makes me feel better about spending too much money on trendy, over-priced furniture. Or rather, it makes me feel good that rich people are spending it, on stuff that's keeping Americans working.

Nicole | The Habit of Being.

I did a Flickr search for "before" and "after" hoping to find some decorating ideas and came across this image browsing a photostream that came up in the results. This was about the third image I looked at and the first I wanted to *favorite*. Then as I clicked, I kind of wanted to favorite every one. Somewhere along the way, I noticed images I recognized. The cat on the rock in particular I know I've seen before. These peaceful photographs are by Nicole The Habit of Being.


I seriously don't know what I like more, her home or her photography. The contrast between textures is so beautiful. It's all so natural and calm. I am so completely drawn to these colors.


She also has a blog, The Habit of Being. This I know I have also seen before.


This last picture right here? Yeah, this just seals the deal that of course I'll be getting another kitten some day. Look at Ralph!

House Updates.

THE "BOUDOIR" CHAIR


I was going to give this, after it was recovered of course, to Brad as a surprise, but now I'm thinking, Not so much. I might like to return it to the original burnt orange crushed velvet state I remember in in and put it in the living room as the "occasional" chair. I think it was originally my grandmother's. I have no idea if it's officially a boudoir chair or not, but that's what I think we call it?


Look what Fatty and Blackie did to it! Some things wait until Post F/B, but this will not.

THE GUEST ROOM/STUDIO


I wasn't using this room except for like, a storage closet, unless of course someone was over. I decided that was a colossal waste of space about 99% of the time. So I put my easel and a desk in it but it still never got used. Until a couple weekends ago when I decided to try it – and I liked it.


I decided it needed a make-over asap. I have hesitated to reverse the set-up because I thought it was bad feng shui to have a bed in front of the door like this. Is it? I don't care. I like it so much better. Now when you walk by the room, you don't have to glance at that cluttered mess on the desktop, which is much worse feng shui anyway, right?


Instead you see a cute bed arrangement and some fake branches* and portraits.

Of course now I need to get all the old nails out of the wall, and patch and repaint everything right away. I put up Benjamin Moore Manchester Tan in swatches on all the walls. Not quite. I would like to at least replace the curtain rods and shades. That, and paint the dresser and maybe desk top white, but I have to wait until it gets above 25º on a more or less regular basis before I start sanding and priming in the garage.


For now I can at least look out the window when I work and there's a natural space to tack things up (and shade the window (and me)). Maybe I will actually use one of those paint brushes? I have three other things I think would make this room close to perfect-ish, but more on that later. Something I realized: If you're not using a perfectly good room, ask yourself Why? and figure out what will make you want to go in there. Duh.

*I know fake branches are the worst. I will get real ones, I swear.

THE KITCHEN

The kitchen needs a rug.


Aside from the island, stools, garbage can and wall hangings, I had nothing to do with the design of this room. I daydream about the day it makes sense to redesign/renovate. This is lowest of the low priorities – but getting a new rug to "finish it" isn't.


After I get rid of that dingy, dinky, lame-o rug under the sink, this space would perfectly house a 4 x 6. For the longest time I thought I'd figured it out. The Stella Rug from Crate and Barrel.


But then I saw this kitchen from The Kenmore Arms over at A Bloomsbury Life. That Stella looks so lame now, no? Tell me what you think if you want, but the search for a new rug just started.


And, check out A Bloomsbury Life's blog. Her house is amazing and she's really interesting.

Jonathan Adler.

Katy and I took a walk over to Jonathan Adler today during lunch. My favorite thing in the shop was this lamp. Is it obvious they're boobs? Well it snuck up on me. I can't really picture it in my house anywhere – yet – but I would definitely take this vase!


On the website I found this guy. If it was in the store I don't know how I missed it. Clearly I am in need of a rhino in my life. This one is about 1/3 the cost of the Nymphenburg. Plus, it's functional – you can rest your feet or sit on it! I need it!


The pig is pretty great, too.


This Philippe Club Chair I also really liked, and I think it would work in my living room. Particularly the color combination in the store. I really liked how it's done in the combination of fabric and leather. I wouldn't plop down and read a book in this chair, but I'd have a sophisticated conversation. This gets filed under "Post Fatty and Blackie" because I would have to break their legs if they shredded it the way they did my poor sofa.


On the way there we also stopped at Hydrology, which had some of the coolest sinks and tubs I have every seen.