SLC style: modern houses.

One of my favorite things about Salt Lake City is the architecture of the homes. Although the city is well-known for its brick exteriors, I thought I'd first share with you some of the modern style homes I've come across. Think floating staircases, floor to ceiling windows, brushed nickel house numbers, and desert landscaping.

Getting the look.

Have you seen this hotel room designed by Kelly Wearstler? It's at the Tides Hotel in South Beach, Miami.
This 5'x7' faux zebra rug is available at Overstock for only $91.

(Overstock)

Sunburst mirrors are everywhere. Here is an inexpensive option online, but you can also find them at your local Target store right now.

(Amazon)

This amazing orange leather upholstered headboard is from Williams Sonoma Home. Check Urban Outfitters for more affordable options.

(Williams-Sonoma Home)

Thursday's Things to Love:

scented candles

(anthropologie)

(bath and body works)

These are two of my current favorites. I like mine in pretty glass jars that coordinate with the decor of the room they're in. I love lighting a candle when we have friends over, or when I curl up to read at night, or any time our home needs to feel more cozy.

Pillow giveaway.

Alice Lane (a fun furniture and decor store located in Utah County) is giving away one beautiful pillow from the company Adam & Viktoria. Head over to this link by Sunday to enter the giveaway. In the meantime, here are a few of my favorites.

Includes a solarian sunroom.

When we first read the real estate flier on our home we had no clue what a "solarian sunroom" was. Turns out it was a carpeted glass box off our master bedroom that smelled awful. We've spent the past two months enjoying our mountain view through a closed sliding glass door. Last week the hubby tore out the carpet and pads revealing some water damage. Fortunately it was only in one spot, and since we were having the floors tiled (and a subfloor installed) we were able to get the spot patched the same day that the tile was laid. With the stinky carpet out of the way it's like we've added a whole new room to our home. Here are a few quick photos of the process.
The tile we used is the Armstrong vinyl commercial tile I mentioned in this post. We are hoping it will be the perfect workhorse for a room that gets direct sunlight, humidity, heat, and cold. We also replaced the cheap baseboards along the wall of the house with a thicker and taller version, and tore out the sun faded tiki blinds. Now that the flooring is complete we plan to buy plants and do a wall treatment to add some color to the room. We hope it will become an extension of our master bedroom - a place to read, relax, and enjoy our beautiful view.

Paint color tips.

I received this special publication from House Beautiful a while back, and finally had a chance to read through it. The idea was to find paint colors that reflect your style, as well as get advice from big name interior designers. These were three of my favorite tips:

1. Find your color personality.
"I look at what a client is wearing and what's in his or her closet. Once I know what their color preferences are, I choose a complementary color. A great all-blue-and-white room will have a fillip of another color to set it off... Often the complementary color will be from the opposite spot on the color wheel." -Tom Scheerer

2.Neutral is beautiful.
"These are the colors most of us want to come home to... beautiful, interesting, yet still so easy to live with." -House Beautiful

3.Just say no (to accent walls).
"Painting one wall says 'I'm afraid of commitment,' not 'I love this color.'" -Nate Berkus

Getting the look.

You may remember this living room from the most recent issue of Lonny Mag.
Well, over at Urban Outfitters you can purchase this chair in the same fabric as the drapes in that room. (The fabric is also available for $24/yard from Calico Corners.)
Also, for those of you in Utah, this pendant light is finally available at our IKEA store.
Finally, that rug is still available from World Market (as sourced in the article), but IKEA has their own cowhide rug for one whole dollar less.

Meet our friend Eames.

I found him this weekend while doing my daily search of online classifieds. He is a 1960's knockoff of the original Eames design, but the general shape and style are very similar. The hubby has wanted this lounge chair and ottoman forever, and it seems like the perfect addition to our home office.

Up and running.

In an effort to make my blog easier to navigate I have added a row of new links that can be found below my "Very Fine House" header. They direct you around the site, which now includes a tour of our house. The hubby and I have some big projects in the works, so I will try to update the pictures on that link often. Stay tuned this week for our sunroom reveal and a fun new furniture purchase we made this weekend.

Thursday's Things to Love:

down pillow forms

(restoration hardware)

The inserts that come in many store-bought pillows are filled with polyester stuffing. I've found that they are difficult to prop up on a couch or chair, and they go flat quickly. I've replaced my pillow covers with down forms, and any time I have a pillow made I purchase a down insert for it. You can buy them online for anywhere from $10-$20 for a standard sized pillow. If you live in Utah check out DownEast Home for Pottery Barn brand down inserts at half price.