Guest Post! { Stark Contrasts: Light & Dark }
Here is the awesome guest post from Joanna at Arcadian Lighting!! 🙂
Hi y’all! I’m Joanna, a home décor writer from Texas. I write daily for Arcadian Lighting guest posting on blogs such as this one. Arcadian Lighting offers lots of information on light fixtures and lighting trends. I spend my days searching for and discovering some of the most beautiful interior design images and décor ideas on the web and then sharing them with blog readers like you. Thank you to Make Mine Eclectic who’s gracious enough to let me share with you today.
When you think of contrast in terms of light and dark do black and white immediately come to mind? Apparently it does for me since the majority of rooms I’m sharing with you today are variations of light and dark, black and white. I love seeing images of these rooms, I just don’t know if I could live with it every day. What about you?
The dark wood flooring might be too much in this room were it not balanced with medium shade furnishings and white walls. The clear acrylic table is a nice touch allowing light to filter and brighten the floor.
Ink black walls contrast heavily with pristine white floors, furnishings and fireplace surround. A small touch of black on the twisted chair legs and modern black table legs offers some balance to the space.
Boastful black lacquer walls are not for the decorating faint at heart, so try a small bit of black before going all the way. Interestingly the designer kept the molding around the door and around the floor white. I love the bright little wall sconces.
Purple at the stair rail and red on the steps contrast nicely with oyster walls and concrete floors.
Lately, I keep running into black and white claw foot tubs—I’ve haven’t found one I didn’t like. The contrast between white porcelain inside a black surround is bold and beautiful. I was going to suggest more lighting fixtures for this large space, but I do believe those are clever wall sconces flanking the mirror.
A black egg chair and striped sofa pop against a fuchsia rug, a pendant light, and white walls. Contrast can also be found between the modern furnishings and traditional architecture of the room.
This room offers an eclectic mix of light and dark, old and new, part shabby chic and part men’s club.
A built in china cabinet gets a boost of personality from a simple addition of black paint in its interior. The black chair makes a nice silhouette against the pristine white paint. Images 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
What do you think of these contrasting rooms? Visit Arcadian Lighting for more inspirations and a gorgeous selection of lighting fixtures!
Chair Love
I love love love metal dining chairs. Especially these roughed up Tolix chairs!
See many more gorgeous photos on this blog, even if you can’t read a word of it!
Also, stay tuned for a GUEST POST this week!! 🙂
Thinking Spring and Weddings
So, not only have I been super busy with the new job and projects around home, but I am also planning our wedding for September 8. I didn’t tell you? 🙂
The groundhog may say there’s more winter, but I think if I keep imagining beautiful flowers like this, spring will be here before I know it.
These are also some of the wedding colors and style, so stay tuned for more ideas in that area too! Anyone else ready for spring!? Stay tuned for more projects around here as well!
Kitchen Curtains
I don’t sew. I wish I could, but I am just not good at it. I hope to start practicing and at least be able to make a basic straight line someday, but for now, I don’t sew. So, when I am on the hunt for new curtains and all of the pretty options are out of my price range, what do I do? I get out the iron and the hem tape and I “fake glue” myself a pair.
Remember these kitchen curtains?
The valances above the windows were here when we moved in. They were fine. Actually, they were god quality and in good shape. Just not our favorite color choices. The curtain on the door was brought from my old house. I used it to cover the window temporarily, until we could figure out what we wanted in here. Now the floral curtain is on the door window just beyond that, which leads outside. After all these months of looking at these mismatched curtains, I finally wanted to get busy. I knew I wanted something more neutral, as we plan to paint in the near future. I liked the shape of the valances, and I didn’t mind the deep red roller shade (for now?). Then I happened upon the perfect twist of fun stripes and neutral colors…
Ticking fabric. A little rustic and old school, yet funky and fresh as curtains. The cream/tan combo will go well with the new colors to come. And I tied the faux roller shade with twine.
And I did all of it with iron on hem tape, even the tab tops! What do you think??
More projects to come 🙂
Evolving Living Room
We finally have some progress! No, the walls are not painted. Still peach. But, the little love seat has been replaced with a large L shaped sectional couch!! This makes the room so much more cozy and functional for us. Now I just can’t wait to entertain. And paint!
Here is the view into the living room from the doorway. The sectional is a perfect suede in a neutral cream color. The button tufting at least makes the more modern shape a bit more traditional. We all know I love button tufting, right?
What do you think? Better, no? When the walls are a nice gray I think things will come together even more. I am also working on making a tray for the ottoman, because we are now not using the old coffee table. I will update when I get that brainstorm finished!
One More Office
Things have been busy. Extremely busy. But, I have been productive, and coming up in the next week or so I do actually have some updates and projects to share! I finally started a new job in Iowa and have settled in living in our new home all the time now. This has kept me on my toes, and also been stressful, but at the same time I have been able to spend more time in our home and accomplish A LOT!
So, to tide you all over I wanted to share another adorable office I came across on VT Interiors blog. And, stay tuned for some peaks and projects around our house! 🙂
Chair Love
This week’s chair love is so fun! Enjoy!
I’d love to add some fun chairs to the new looking living room! 🙂
Home Offices
I have been pining away at lots of beautiful home offices lately. There’s a reason… I finally got a job in Iowa! Not only am I completely stoked to be officially living in Iowa full-time, but also, this job allows me to do a lot of my work from home! 😀
This is the perfect set up for me. It will allow me more spare time to get projects done, and we also have the office space set up for me to do it! But, currently our bright red and semi-cramped office space is needing a major spruce. So, enter blogland inspiration.Â
Some photos of offices out there are gorgeous. However, social work doesn’t allow me to be glamorous or clutter my work space with pretties. That leaves me fewer options. I need a functional space that I also feel comfortable and like myself in. Plus, we are hoping to leave the futon on the other side of the room and use the space someday for a partial play-room as well. Oh, and did I mention that I can’t change much as far as items because I am working with a non-existent budged!? Let’s see if I can pull this off…
Here are some faves for you all!
I love the bookcases in this photo. It utilizes the space well, which is what I really need to do!
This office also has great shelving for storage, while also remaining a bit feminine and glam. I need an office that can work for me from everything from my personal business, to kids and family projects, to social work moments.
I also like having my desk in the middle of the room or at least facing outwards instead of towards a wall. It helps if I need to meet with clients. Here is another one like that.
I’m not a huge fan of green walls, but I love the black frames in this office.
This office has been my dream office for years now and was the inspiration for the office in my last house being light blue. This one might end up light blue as well, with the addition of the red items. Again with the black frames!
Another blue office. Reminds me of mine with the couch. Something so sweet about this one!
I adore this desk. Enough said.
This one is so sweet and has that touch of glam I’d love.
I love the outward facing desk in this one too.
Well? What do you all think? I’d love suggestions for my new home office!
Our Christmas Style
Yes, it’s a little late, but I thought that I would share our Christmas decor with you. Inspiration is good anytime, right?Â
So, here are a few of our first tree together! (we did eventually find the perfect green skirt! ) We went with a bit of a “camo” theme with colors this year. That was my nod to Jeremy. We used golds and greens and bronzes on the tree. My photos don’t seem to do it justice, but it was really pretty.Â
See the antler ornaments? Shimmery pinecones helped add sparkle too!
Our rustic bronze star was really pretty too.Â
Camo snowmen…
My “dance in the snow” pillow…
In the dining room we displayed my grandparents’ jewelry tree. Grandpa made this out of Grandma’s old jewelry.Â
Here is a close up of the sparkle, as this may be the last year for this tree. I might be using the jewelry for another very special project. Might, as in I have not made up my mind to tear down this beauty. Hmmm…
The two of us spent our night alone together quietly, so here’s a peak of our simple blue table.
It was basic but cute, and also easy.
And, although there was no snow on Christmas in Iowa, I took these a bit before hand of the first snow at our new house. Come to think of it, I don’t think I have shared a view of the outside of our home, so here is the front…
The side…
And a view towards our barns…
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!
Dining Chair Love
Browsing some gorgeous photos today I came across two dining room photos that I just loved. The first is so bright and fun with its mismatched chairs. I wish I was bold enough to pull this off!
The next is something I’d absolutely love to try someday, with a bench being used on one side of the dining table. This bench is no regular bench, rather, a gorgeous antique bench!
I absolutely adore that bench! Enjoy!
Oh, and I want to share a peak at my Christmas holiday decor with you, but I’m running a bit behind. Still to come! Hope you all had a great holiday!
Make Mine Eclectic 
