Get The Look

A Spring Spruce Up

stepping into spring with ebay
Filed Under > Get The Look

With pollen season in Atlanta officially behind us, I’m ready to throw open my doors and welcome spring with open arms.  You see spring is my favorite season. There’s something just so fresh and renewing that comes with spring.

For me, along with welcoming warmer weather spring is also about spring cleaning and sprucing up my home.  I spend at least three weekends going through my entire house and taking stock of what I have. Donating what I no longer love.  Organizing what I do. And freshening up the spaces I live in most.

While this is a spring time ritual for me, this year it was fun to partner with Ebay to invite spring into my most lived in room during eBay’s”liven up your living room event.”

I love shopping with Ebay because I’m able to find those new, trending pieces I crave and also vintage pieces I love adding to my collection. Plus did you know that 68% of items on eBay ship for free?!?!

To freshen and lighten up my living room I added a few new items and switched up a few old.  I folded up and put away my heavier blankets and throws until next season and replaced them with more appropriate ones like this and this.  I also snagged a great seagrass basket to store them all in along with pillows at the edge of my sofa.

I updated my coffee table with a new vintage found vase from Italy filled with the mascot of spring, tulips.  And while I wasn’t searching for him, I couldn’t turn down this brass turtle.  I mean how adorable is he perched on my favorite coffee table books!

While I never believe you can have too much greenery, that thought never rings more true than in spring.  So along with the tulips I added a topiary in a bright green vase.  The combo really makes the room come alive, and topiaries are so easy to care for.

Lastly, I added a few additional calligraphy brushes to round out my collection and complete my coffee table.  Which coincidentally I got from Ebay years ago.

These few simple changes really spruced up the space and made it feel like spring had arrived both inside and out.  Truly, MKR
 


 

This post is in collaboration with Ebay, a brand I love and adore. All opinions are 100% my own. | Photography Rustic White Interiors

Creating A Cozy Space with Serena & Lily

Switching up my favorite little nook with the help of an amazing rattan daybed
Filed Under > Get The Look

Styling a daybed, Waiting On Martha Styling a daybed, Waiting On Martha rattan daybed styling, Waiting On Martha Styling a daybed, Waiting On Martha rattan daybed styling, Waiting On Martha

I’ve always been a fan of the daybed, and as of late daybeds are showing up everywhere in the home.  Outdoor space, add a daybed.  Nursery, add a daybed. Breakfast nook, add a daybed.  Plus they’re chicer than ever.  Take for example this Avalon rattan daybed from Serena and Lily.  When I first spied it I knew I had to find a space for it.  That space turned out to be my sitting room in my bedroom.

Let’s pause right here to discuss something for perspectives sake.  When you read the sentence above you probably thought, if I have a sitting room in my bedroom then my home must be quite spacious.  Not exactly.  My home is great, but it’s not a McMansion by any stretch of the imagination. For some reason when they built our home they added a sitting room to the master making it larger than our family room and dining room combined.  However, because we don’t have a basement and only a family room, I was committed to making the sitting area an actual space that was used and not just a pretty room to look at. 

Since my husband and his abnormally large television took over the family room, I naturally retreated to our bedroom.  Which was fine by me because the bedroom is, and always has been, my favorite room in every home I’ve ever lived in. I know most sleep experts would warn against it, but there’s nothing I look forward to more than cozying up in my bed with a stack of magazines, a great glass of wine, and the apple tv fired up and ready. It’s like that Drake song; “I only love my bed and my momma.” Preach Drake, preach.

Anyway, I’ve gotten off track, back to the Avalon rattan daybed.  Before the daybed entered our life I had a whole sitting area set up with two very large chairs, a coffee table and ottomans.  That worked, but over the years how I’ve used the space has changed.  Before I really only used it to watch a movie.  Now I was craving a new space I could spend my morning quiet time, work, and watch a movie when the mood hit.  And the daybed was the perfect way to make this new vision become a reality.

The chairs and coffee table went bye-bye, and the whole room shifted.  I put the Avalon rattan daybed against the wall and loaded it down with my favorite gingham sheet set and quilt from Serena and Lily plus a few throws, and a good amount of pillows. This created the perfect, and most cozy spot, to spend quiet time in the morning and movie time at night.  Because there wasn’t room for a coffee table I added an end table that can easily move around to where it’s needed most.  And lastly, I brought a small white desk up and placed it opposite the daybed. By positioning the furniture like this I maintained the square shape which helps it feel like a separate space rather than just an extension of the bedroom.

I’ve been living with this new set up for a few weeks now and I’m loving it.  And I’m not the only one, you can see that Addison has really taken to the daybed as well! Truly, MKR

Photography, Rustic White Interiors | This post was in collaboration with Serena & Lily.  A brand I love and adore.  Opinions are 100% my own.

How to Style a Coffee Table: Dissecting the Design

The simple formula to a well-styled and functional vignette
Filed Under > Get The Look

how to style a coffee table, waitingonmartha.com

I have this love affair with coffee tables.  Maybe it all started when I first saw MKR’s in her home; an oversized silver trunk with gorgeous coffee table books, candles, vintage calligraphy brushes and fresh flowers.  Ever since then, my appreciation for a well-styled coffee table has only doubled.  We’ve shared tips on how to style a coffee table here before, but we also believe it’s something that will never grow old…so here’s a short and sweet reminder with inspiration.

The pattern I find with the best coffee tables is that they all include a variety of depth, texture and height.  Stacked coffee table books and flowers are easy ways to add the height, while trays and accents infuse different textures and interest to the styled vignette.

I’m including five key pieces to consider when styling a coffee table.  What would you add to the list?  Do you style and re-style your coffee table often, like I do?!  Cheers, Kat

P.S. A few weeks ago we dissected the design for console tables, too.  Check it out here.  xo 

SHOP THE STORY  / CLICK LEFT & RIGHT ARROWS TO EXPLORE


  

Wainwright Coffee Table, White

One Kings Lane, $529

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The Surface
A great coffee table allows for room to showcase your personality and favorite objects, along with a coaster or two with your glass of vino!  

Don’t limit yourself to default coffee tables, however.  Think outside the box with vintage trunks, ottomans and poufs too.  

Hand Painted Leopard Tray, Waiting On Martha

Hand Painted Cream Leopard Tray

Waiting on Martha Home,$170

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Trays
Trays are quite possibly the most important thing you can have on your coffee table; they corral objects and separate the surface from small objects, creating much-needed depth.  

What’s great too: trays can be added to unconventional surfaces like ottomans and poufs to instantly create a coffee table look and feel. 

The Book of Chic

Amazon, $85

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Books
Coffee table books instantly add personality and interest; they make the space feel like a home, and of course entertainment for the lingering guest.  And the best part?  They’re easily edited and changed whenever it strikes your fancy. 

Stack your favorite books by color, by topic and/or size.  Get creative; don’t take the stacks too seriously and change them around until they’re just right. 

Gold Banana Palm Leaf Large Tray

Waiting on Martha, $58

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Accents
Accents are the fun part!  Incorporate items that reflect your travels and passions; the things that make you happy.  You can edit your collection often, keeping the space looking fresh and inviting all year long. 

Some of our favorite accents include anything and everything gold, trinket trays and dishes for matchboxes, candles, vintage calligraphy brushes, crystals and palo santo sticks

 

28" Cymbidium in Pot, Faux

One Kings Lane, $99

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Flowers
You can never go wrong with fresh flowers or greenery in a vignette! They serve as a vibrant focal point for the space, and offer added height and texture.

While fresh flowers on a weekly basis can get expensive, another great option is a small plant like a topiary, succulent or cactus that’s easy to care for (see our list of our eight favorite, easy indoor house plants).  Oh, and faux flowers are really quite impressive these days too! 

Featured image, Rustic White for Waiting on Martha

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