{ project patio }

{one}

{two}

{three}

I'm in the midst of working on a patio project that needs to get finished pronto {like, tomorrow} so I'm spending the majority of my day making a plan for the items that need to be picked up and styled. I found these three images while perusing for inspiration and MAN are they making me wish this patio space was my own. what i would give for a little outdoor area to sip coffee in the morning, drink wine at night, and sunbathe with a book. one day, one day.

stay tuned for more project patio updates later this week!

lovelovelove.

C

{ style your space with caitlin creative interiors & styling }

Happy Friday everyone! I, for one, am SO excited for the weekend. All I know is that tonight will involve wine and Sunday will involve pancakes. Good enough for me.

I also wanted to let you guys know that I've just added a new service to Caitlin Creative Interiors. The Style Your Space package caters to those who either may not have the budget for a total room redesign, or have all the basics in place but need some guidance with that final layer to make the room feel "special." I really wanted to make sure I had a service that would be feasible for more of my readers, so  I hope you guys are as excited as I am! Another bonus? As of now the package will only take 1-2 weeks to go from my inbox to yours, so it's perfect if your in a pinch for an upcoming party or dinner gathering where you want your home to look it's best.

If you would like to get started or want to know more about my services, feel free to visit the site here, or send me an email at caitlinpaigebrown@gmail.com.

Happy weekend everyone! 

lovelovelove.

-C

{ decorating with a boy: his & hers living room chairs }

i know i still owe you guys a full apartment "before" tour, so stay tuned for that. 

for now, lets chat a little bit more about decorating with a boy.

as i've mentioned before, one of my biggest decorating concerns when trevor and i moved in together was that our home would feel either too feminine or too masculine. stepping back and looking at our apartment yesterday, i realized we're actually doing a pretty good job of keeping things balanced. in fact, one of my favorite corners of our little place is this his & hers area in our living room. the wingback silhouette definitely contrasts the masculine plycraft lounger on the right (scored on Craigslist a couple of years ago) making it an area that feels layered and comfortable. it sort of reminds me of this shot from Lonny, which has always been one of my favorite inspiration photos:

For now, we've styled the area with a floor length mirror, some bright blooms and a cocktail table. I could definitely see a few things changing over time - I kind of love the idea of switching out the mirror for a leaning frame of instagrams - kind of like this:

I guess we'll have to wait and see where we end up!

i'm wrapping up a couple of projects today, and also hoping to make it to the gym for a good workout. is the heat making anyone else feel sluggish? yuck.

thanks for stopping in y'all. see you tomorrow!

lovelovelove.

-C

{ tablescapes & flatware & such }

so you can't quite tell from my lovely iPhone photo (the good camera is currently without a charger - sad.) but i acquired these amazing (FREE) brass napkin rings and napkins over the weekend. i was so excited about using them that I made myself a fancy breakfast setting this morning so i could give 'em a whirl (are you judging me yet?).

sadly i don't have any brass/gold flatware to pair the napkin rings with so i settled for a set of silver, which was just fine. trevor and i have been going back and forth on investing in a set of good flatware just for when company comes over but we're having trouble deciding which direction we want to go in. 

gold is obviously lovely but it's feeling a bit tired. we've been considering this set of matte black flatware for a whiiiiile now:

i do actually think they're pretty baller, but then i think i'd miss the warmth of the gold (which this set also comes in) for occasions like thanksgiving and such (and ya know, in general). 

if only we could get both. thoughts?

happy monday y'all! lovelovelove.

-C

{ sick day }

happy thursday, everyone. i hope your week is treating you well! i woke up with a super sore throat/cough thing (which i believe i picked up from trevor who was sick with the same thing just two nights ago) so i'm taking it easy this morning before delving into a productive afternoon.

hope you all have a great day. i'll see you back here tomorrow!

lovelovelove.

C

{photo via}

{ design inspiration: american horror story master bedroom}

Have you guys seen American Horror Story? Probably so, because for a while there I swear it was all the rage. I finally watched a marathon of it last winter with Alaina, and while I can't say I'm a huge fan of the show (although I couldn't stop watching it - why is that?!) I was a huge fan of this master bedroom.

Well, mainly the bed. And those sconces. But I couldn't stop staring at that damn bed. And then this morning the bed happened to pop into my mind and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. 

Here's the thing. Trevor and I are basically sleeping in a boat. Except it's not as cool as it sounds. See, Trevor had this cheap-o Ikea bed (which I'm not hating on - I love Ikea and they have great deals on bed frames) but it's been put together and taken apart several times now, and again, while I love Ikea, their furniture just isn't really made to live forever as a family heirloom if yaknowwhatimsaying.

So the bed is broken but we semi put it together anyway thinking that it was fixable. 

Long story short, it broke again. Our mattress is now living inside the bed frame but on the FLOOR, which means you have to crawl out of it in the morning like your sleeping in a friggin canoe.

We haven't fixed the situation yet because we just can't spend the money right now, but oooo how I can dream. And when I dream, I dream of a bed like the one in American Horror Story. Although if I'm being totally honest with myself, we probably don't need anymore big leather pieces in our apartment. We sort of have a lot.

But its just so pretty.

{and so is he}

There really aren't many budget friendly options for a looker like that one, but here's a few on the web that I found enticing:

I like the profile and lines of this guy from Restoration Hardware - but maybe not quite enough to invest in it (not that that's an option at the momentttt).

I would probably prefer cleaner lines and I'm not in love with any of the leather options, but this Ballard Designs guy is definitely more budget-friendly than the rest.

Another option from Restoration Hardware. Definitely the closest match to the one in the TV show. Especially if you order it in Old Saddle Chestnut...

mmm mmm good.

Alrighttt, I'll get over it now. I'm happy to have somewhere to sleep. I'm off to get a bit more work done. Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday! Thanks so much for stopping in. 

lovelovelove.

-C

{ scenes from a weekend in new york }

 hi guys! how was your holiday weekend? i must say, if spending some quality time with a few of my favorite ladies in the world wasn't enough, it was even more splendid to spend it in the beautiful city of new york. 

i hadn't been to the city for anything other than to "take care of business" for quite some time, and though i went in fairly often when i was growing up (its just a three hour drive from baltimore), i felt like i was seeing it with fresh eyes this weekend. i admit, its nice to be on the east coast again.

that being said, im ready to dive into a productive week, filled with work, workouts, and some downtime with trev. it's good to be home :).

happy monday, y'all! thanks so much for stopping in. 

lovelovelove.

C

{all photos via my iphone  - follow me on instagram here}

{ new york, new york }

Happy 4th of July everyone! I couldn't think of a better place to celebrate how lucky I am to be an American than New York City, so I'm off! I'll be indulging in plenty of fireworks, lady talk, and cocktails and I am ridiculously excited for it all.

 Hope you all have a wonderful day.

lovelovelove.

C

{photo source}

{ patio styling on a budget }

Nothing says summertime like cocktails on a patio. That being said, furnishing and styling an outdoor space can be a pricey venture for something that many of us only use a few months out of the year. But lately I've found quite a few budget-friendly pieces around the web that I thought I'd share with you.(Despite the fact that I do not have an outdoor space. i'll just have to live through you guys.)

Btdubs, those chairs are my current obsession. Can you BUH-LIEVE they're Ikea? Me either y'all. Read on for the rest of the source list - enjoy!

PATIO STYLING ON A BUDGET SOURCE LIST:

CHAIRS: Ikea // $99/each

TABLE: Ikea // $149

RUG: Target // $74.99 - $265.99

HURRICANE CANDLE HOLDERS: Target // $14-16

PAPER LANTERN: World Market // $16.99 for set of 4

NAPKINS: Target // $9.99

FLATWARE: World Market // $11.96 for set of 4

BOWLS: One Kings Lane // $39 for set of 4

WINE GLASSES: One Kings Lane // $39 for set of 6

WINE: Pomelo Sauvignon Blanc {my summer favorite!}

WOVEN BASKET: World Market // $59.99

ARTIFICIAL PLANTS: Ikea // $4.99 each

{ on a boat }

One of my favorite ways to wake up is with coffee and AirBnB. I could (and do) literally spend hours perusing all of the adorable little cottages, castles, seaside villas - you name it. My wanderlust is in full swing right now (I think it's something about summer) and when I happened across this quaint little houseboat in Amsterdam this morning, I was wishing I could click the "Book It" button and hop on the next plane over. Mostly because I think the simplicity of a little boat (not too decorated or with too much fuss) with all of the essentials (like a sweet outdoor space to enjoy the canal) sounds like the perfect place to get inspired.

Ah...one day, folks. Have any of you tried AirBnB? I haven't yet, but I plan to the very next chance I get.

lovelovelove.

C

{ design inspiration: the bun shop }

I've mentioned it before, but my love of a good coffee shop just can't be expressed enough. No matter how organized and inspirational I try to keep my home office, a change of scenery is always appreciated.

The Bun Shop is a quaint little coffee shop that opened up in Mt. Vernon just a couple of months ago, and it's definitely on my list of favorites at the moment. The charcoal grey walls, the well curated furniture collection, the terrariums, the gold beams and big windows all make for a pretty inspirational coffee break.

This place is actually a big part of what inspired me to go dark in our little bathroom. Is it just me, or does moving and decorating seem to speed by in the beginning, before coming to a sudden halt? We haven't made much additional progress on our home in the last week, (still trying to get my little plan approved by my other half and figure out our budget ;) ) but just taking a walk around the neighborhood gets me inspired to keep going.

Happy Monday to all of you! Thanks so much for stopping in.

lovelovelove.

C

{all photos via The Bun Shop's Facebook page}