Pepper Design Blog

Living Room Refresh: A New Antler Accessory + the Rose Bowl Flea Market

Hope you all had a lovely weekend! A while back I had the chance to visit the Pasadena Rose Bowl flea market, something that I absolutely love to do, but a visit I rarely get the opportunity to make because Los Angeles a bit of a trek (a couple of hours from San Diego) and the flea market is only held on the 2nd Sunday of each month.

The best of both worlds collided when friends decided that a trip was in order, and I was able to convince Kev to accompany me to Tinseltown for the weekend!

Photo from here.

Kevin did boy things with a few of the other husbands and kids during the morning while a group of us headed out to peruse the many, many aisles.

Photo from here.

The problem with this whole flea market thing is that once you’re there (with list in hand and measurements of near every wall in your house), it can become incredibly overwhelming. I go in with the idea that I’ll find this cool vintage chair or that neat side table, but I find so much goodness that I end up buying very little. It’s hard to commit under pressure.

A collection of images from various blogs.

BUT I picked up some cool antlers (among a couple of other accessories), and they’ve found a place on my living room mantel to be on display for all. (Don’t worry, I spoke with the owner of this little stand and he confirmed that most of the antlers found out there for sale today are from natural seasonal moltings of deer. Yep, that happens annually so there are enough antlers for all! And thankfully Bambi was not harmed in the making of this post).

Here’s a bit of antler inspiration from Pinterest. Yes it might be a bit trendy… but if you truly love the look that you’ve created, then sometimes a little trend is a-ok by me.

Beautiful.

And here’s my new mantel vignette, with its own version:

PS those great billy ball-ish branches can be found here. A side angle view:

Peeking through the dining room! Flea market finds have turned into a great way to tie together the rustic-meets-modern spaces. I like to think of that blend as comfy, casual chic. Is that a style yet?

I also picked up a wooden golf club for Kevin – which was his one request. Here are a few of us post-Rose Bowl grabbing a snack before driving back down to San Diego. Kevin is holding his prize.

Photo by the Rose Bowl companion, Jen. The lovely Jill is missing from this pic!

Later on, that golf club was cut down and turned into this for Liv. Watch out, Tiger.

We’re still working on which way is up, but that’s to be expected when you begin training at this age.

I can’t wait to visit my favorite flea market again! It’s such a wonderful treasure hunt and it might be in the top ten of my ideal ways to spend a Sunday morning. If that comfy, casual chic style resonates with you, you might check out the portfolio of this blogger who visits this particular flea market every month! and is my idol when it comes to spotting and styling such fantastic finds.

Still on my must-find list in the used-furniture department (actually, that might apply to all of the furniture in our home): dining room chairs, a nightstand for our bedroom, a neat chair for the living room, fabric (always!), an over-sized mirror, an industrial floor lamp, a pair of swing arm wall lights, storage for Liv’s toys… but sometimes it’s the little accessories and details like this single antler (for a great deal) that are the happiest finds!

More mantel transformation and living room posts can be found right here.

Friday Guest Blog Interview: Emily of Jones Design Company

Welcome to another Friday! Ahhh… I can already feel the adventurous (and relaxing) spirit of the weekend beckoning. There’s nothing like a good Friday.

I’m very excited to be joined by Emily of Jones Design Company today as I welcome another guest blogger to this very irregular Friday Guest Blog Interview series. I am always thrilled when I come across a like-minded blogger that someone somewhere recommends that I follow… and I hope that through this interview series you will find a few new wonderful, captivating blogs that you really dig, too. Plus it is always fun to hear design tips & tricks from other friendly and fun bloggers out there.

Jones Design Company is a blog that I have subscribed to for a while now primarily for the wonderful family values that Emily shares through her regular design/home related posts. She’s creative, thoughtful and very conscientious of the beauty of design – from the simple (a delicious recipe) to the detailed (the homey abode that she’s created for her family – a preview after the jump). I think that you will enjoy {love!} her style too, and I invite you to listen in as she answers my usual four interview questions.

I’ll see you after the jump!

Read more »

Hallway Makeover: Lighting Ideas

Our home has a pretty big hallway in the center of the house:

Which is part of the reason we used a corridor of the old hallway to create a second bathroom and pantry, and I’m pretty sure we’ll cut into the hallway even further when it’s time to redo the master bedroom and bath.

The space gets a really great bathing of sunlight because of a large skylight, and it’s also where I used painter’s tape earlier this year to create my own wallpaper design and chalkboard fun area for Liv.

These days the little seating area is gone (I’m looking for a less bulky solution) and the chalkboard chair rail area has turned into a full blown art wall.

The above photo actually brings me to the purpose of this hallway lighting post – I would really love to switch out that above light with something fantastic! The hallway is regularly used by us and guests alike, as it leads to a bathroom, Liv’s room and our bedroom. I’m thinking something oversize? or extra bold? Maybe a store bought solution (if I find it at a great price) or maybe a DIY version inspired by images from my hallway Pinterest board. Here are a couple of examples:

Ooooh the beaded options are intriguing, and how great are the various basket/wood shades! Or perhaps a store bought cone or farmhouse light that’s then painted gold on the inside? I also love the idea of messing around with some sort of transparent plastic to create some unusual shape. I’m all about creating some sort of lighting from scratch, here’s a link to the capiz shell light that I made for the guestroom/office.

Our current light isn’t horrible, actually I really like the style and I’ll try to find a good home for it elsewhere in the house.

Here are a few Ikea inspirations:

For a slightly better visual, here they are photoshopped into our hallway:

First up, something made of a transparent white plastic – kind of fun?

Maybe not first in my book but it’s different.

The next is along those same lines:

I love the idea of a black shade in here! Though I wonder if all of that excellent light in the hallway will become blocked or filtered, depending on the type of shade used. A gold lining would be a neat accent:

I would love to bring an organic basket texture into this space. I love the basket light on my Pinterest board even more, but that one’s a little pricey. Could be a neat DIY:

More ideas! I really love these hallways:

Any thoughts or ideas? I’m hoping to make up my mind on this this weekend to cross one more item off of the to-do list. But there are just so many choices .