Lennon's Nursery Reveal- Part 1 (The Gallery Wall)

I'm so excited to finally share Lennon's nursery! I've been working on her nursery for months and I'm so happy with how it turned out. The first step in designing the nursery was searching for inspiration. I always start with Pinterest, since it generally provides images that are similar to my aesthetic. Every nursery I came across was a similar vibe and really repetitive. The decor was either very neutral (think white, beige and llamas...kind of like Navy's nursery before I redecorated her room and I'm so over it), or too girly for me (bright colors and ruffles...no thanks). 

For Lennon's nursery, I went with a more moody vibe and added a few girly elements. I knew I wanted to paint one wall an olive color, with floating clouds and soft pink balloons above the crib. But I wasn't sure what to decorate on the other wall, above her changing table. 

When we did our photoshoot for our pregnancy announcement and gender reveal, I decided that displaying the pictures in the nursery would be perfect. The pictures were too beautiful not to display (so often we take pictures and they end up staying on my phone or computer and I never really look at them). 

So that is how I decided to do a gallery wall surrounding the changing table. When I was researching frames I came across Desenio. They have gorgeous frames and wall art. I fell in love with the dark oak frame, which fit my aesthetic of the room perfectly. I've done gallery walls in other areas of my home, but with this wall I really wanted it to be a statement. To create the vibe I was going for, I went with the 50 x 70 cm size frames, which you can see here. The frames are very lightweight and include a shatterproof acrylic glass. I also added these mats. 

Once I chose the frames, I had to figure out the layout. I wanted it to be symmetrical (I know the trend these days is purposely mismatched frames in different sizes and colors arranged asymmetrically but that's not really my style).  I decided to go with six frames, three on each side of the mirror. 

When it came to the installation, I removed the protective film on the acrylic glass (make sure to remove it on both sides), inserted the mat and taped the picture behind the mat to ensure they stayed in place. Ray then measured exactly where I wanted the frames to go and installed it himself. The whole process was really easy. I absolutely love how it turned out. 

Get The Look: My Guest Room

Yesterday I posted a picture of my guest room on Instagram and so many people saved it. I won't lie, this makes me incredibly happy as I put so much work into this room. One of the reasons I enjoyed decorating my guest room so much is that I was able to incorporate elements Ray would not want in our bedroom (like a huge picture of Kate Moss, haha). I really wanted a Scandinavian vibe. I linked all of the products below. The "Oh, Baby, Baby, It's a Wild World" poster was from Etsy. The Kate Moss poster is a picture I found online. I printed both using Framebridge. The wooden chest is vintage (from the house I grew up in). And, of course, I couldn't forget the most bougie slippers xox

Framing with Framebridge

I've been getting so many questions about these frames so here we go. As you know, redecorating this bedroom really pushed me outside of my comfort zone. I've gone from shabby chic fanatic, to more clean/modern shabby chic and now to "let's see what I feel like this month." And this month I felt like embracing the LA/Palm Springs vibe. I wanted the color palette to be blacks/whites/dark greys and green plants. A sort of boho chic mixed with a Moroccan and Scandinavian flare. 

I knew I wanted the wall art to be a focal point in the bedroom. I spent hours on end scouring the Internet and Pinterest to decide which direction to go with. There was one Kate Moss print that kept on appearing in all my related pins. I loved the concept but wanted to do something different. My lengthy research eventually led me to Etsy where I found this Cat Stevens "Wild World" lyrics poster. I then remembered seeing this Kate Moss picture with her cowboy hat and thought it would be the perfect fit. 

Once I chose the two prints, I needed to get them framed. You think this would be the easy part. Try having two prints that are different sizes and having zero understanding of pixels/resolutions let alone access to photoshop. 

I decided to use Framebridge and they made the process so easy. The two prints were different sizes and I was having serious trouble figuring out how to stretch and crop them without ruining the pixels/resolution etc (even writing this is pure gibberish to me). So I decided to try the online chat on the website and the woman was so helpful. I sent her the two prints I wanted, told her what I was looking for, and she resized them for me. Then I got to choose what kind of frame I wanted. I love that you can see what the print will look like in the frame and even get a sense of its dimensions. It takes the whole guessing part out of the equation and makes you confident with your choices when you checkout. Not to mention, it's so much fun to play around with all of the different styles until you find the perfect one. 

When I got the frames in the mail I was so happy. They turned out exactly as I wanted. If you're looking for somewhere to frame your pictures or art I highly recommend using Framebridge. It's also a great gift idea for Father's Day, an anniversary, birthday etc. You can use the code "shewentwest15" to get 15% off your purchase.

Choosing The Perfect Carpet

This week on Instagram I revealed the first picture of my guest bedroom. For those of you that don't know, Ray and I get a lot of visitors. Any by a lot of visitors, I mean around 46 weekends out of the year. So our guest bedroom gets a lot of use. 

For a long time I've felt that our guest bedroom was very mediocre. It tended to be where the leftover furniture ended up (aka the furniture that has moved with me from place to place but that I don't really know what to do with anymore). Let's just say, it was never my favorite room in the house. So a few months ago I decided it was time to focus on redecorating it. Following my own tips from this post, I starting finding inspiration on Pinterest, blogs, Instagram and magazines. I really wanted to do something outside the box for me and make it very "LA." I decided on a modern Scandinavian vibe with a moroccan twist (very different than my normal shabby chic...which I'm a bit over I might add).

I picked out the headboard, frames, lamp, plants etc. and then had to decide on a rug. A rug really ties the room together. It can be overwhelming, since there are so many options and if you're buying it online you can't see it in person. I got my rug at Rugs USA and it's honestly one of the best places to choose a rug. The site has so much selection and it's easy to filter through categories, sizes, color etc. 

My suggestion is to first decide what "theme" you want. Do you want a pattern (and if so, geometric, traditional, bohemian, vintage etc). Then decide what color you want. I knew I wanted a bohemian print and for it to be black and white. Lastly, decide what size you want. For me, I wanted the rug to fit perfectly under the bed and chose an 8 x 10. I'm so happy with my choice. The quality is amazing (it's so soft) and the print fit perfectly with the decor. 

Since I did so much research I thought I would share with you some of my other favorite rugs : Bermuda Lattice Rug, Bermuda Easy Shag, Bosphorus Rug, Tuscan Rug, and Berta Rug. Let me know if you have any questions! xoxo

How to Style a Bar Cart

When I was younger I dreamed of coming home from work, putting on music, pouring a drink and making dinner with my hubby (yes, I dreamed about this and not my wedding day). And that is essentially our routine. We get home from work, walk Luca, pour a glass of wine and make dinner. We usually look to the bar cart to see what alcohol we have at home. There is something about the bar cart that makes the routine even more enjoyable. 

A bar cart is one of my favorite pieces in a living room. Not only is it a great piece in terms of decor, it has a lot of practical use (i.e. storage and wine, two of my favorite things). [This is a total side note but am I the only one that finds I NEVER have enough storage? We move into bigger and bigger places and the problem seems to follow me around. I refuse to accept that I just continue accumulating more and more stuff.]

We bought this bar cart on Craigslist when we lived in Montreal. I will say the most beautiful bar carts I've seen are usually from places like flea markets and eBay. I knew this one was a gem. I sent Ray on a mission and when he brought it home I was in love. Once I stopped staring at it for a while I had to figure out how to decorate it. Decorating it wasn't as easy as I thought so I thought I would share with you some of my tips. 

Tip 1: Decide on a theme

There are so many ways to decorate a bar cart. Just like I mentioned in my Tips for Home Decor post, I think it's a good idea to spend some time scrolling through Pinterest to discover what kind of bar cart decor you are into and what you can live without. Do you want it to revolve only around drinking (glassware, different alcohol, straws, accessories etc)? Do you want it for show only or to have a practical use? I knew I wanted it to hold wine but also to be a place where I stored items I wanted visible in the dining room, but had no where to put them. 

Tip 2: Decide on the alcohol to other items ratio. 

Some bar carts are used primarily to store alcohol. While I am ALL for an endless supply of alcohol, we tend to purchase a couple of bottles at a time rather than a box at a time. We are rarely in a situation where we have 12 bottles of wine at home. So I knew I wanted to have room for around 4 bottles of wine and a few bottles of sparkling water (which is just for show). 

Tip 3: If you have any fancy glassware, display it. 

Most of our glassware is from IKEA or Home Goods. Since we didn't register for our wedding, we never ended up investing a lot of money in items for the home (like glassware, pots and pans etc). Blame it on my shoe addiction if you must, but I kind of feel like the cheap glasses do the trick and there's no point in spending money on that. Nevertheless, if you do have fancy glassware, display it. I have fine china from my grandmother and I make sure that is displayed. There is no point in hiding it in a cupboard. I did take a fancy Ralph Lauren decanter and glass set (pictured above) from my dad that he never used and made that the focus of the top shelf. 

Tip 4: Add some fake flowers (or real ones if you keep it up) and books

Flowers (real or fake) are the easiest way to add a pop of color and fill up an empty space. The ones on my bar cart are fake from Home Goods. You don't need to spend a lot of money and there are a million variations. Books are another great way to fill up the cart. I currently have a vintage looking edition of Great Expectations from Anthropology on my cart. I also have my wedding album on the bottom shelf. 

Tip 5: Make it seasonal

A trick I learned from my mom is to make it seasonal. For example, over Christmas hang little Christmas lights on the top shelf. It's an inexpensive way to change it up and give that Christmas feel in your home. 

My one caution when it comes to bar carts is be realistic. When I first started decorating it I would put fresh lemons in a bowl on the lower shelf every week. While it's a cute idea, slowly I would forget to replace the lemons and it just became annoying to remember. Same thing could happen if you choose to decorate with fresh flowers. While I wish my house would always look like a Pinterest picture, it doesn't. You want to make the decor as easy and realistic as possible. 

I hope these tips helped! I also pinned some of my favorite bar cart inspiration pics on my Pinterest page. Let me know if you have any other tips xoxox

Photography by Felicia Lasala

Living and Dining Room Tour

I am so excited to share with you my living and dining room! When I first decided to start She Went West I knew I wanted it to be primarily fashion.  Then I had to decide whether I wanted to incorporate beauty and lifestyle. Given my obsession with lipgloss, highlighters, Home Goods and Zillow (yes, I stalk homes online every night) I knew it wasn't even a question. 

As I mentioned in my Tips for Home Decor post, I've moved five times over the past seven years (from my apartment in Soho in New York, to a place I rented in Montreal, to a condo my husband I bought in Montreal, to a place we rented in LA on Doheny Drive and now to our condo in Beverly Hills). With each move I've refined my style. 

 I got my love for home decor from my mom. Growing up I remember constantly getting compliments on the interior of our home.  It was written up in several home decor magazines and books. Here is one of the books that featured our hallway on the cover. Needless to say I was so excited about the opportunity to decorate my own home. And much to my mom's dismay (just kidding..not really) I went for the complete opposite look. My color palette is..well...white. I loved the idea of coming home to a clean, fresh, bright space. 

Before leaving New York I went into Shabby Chic and purchased a dining room table and chairs. When I moved back to Montreal I visited antique shops in the suburbs of Quebec. There I found some gorgeous rustic pieces for cheap.  And, of course, I filled my home with pieces my mom gave to me from the house I grew up in.

The condo building we live in now is four floors, with two units per floor. We're on the top floor and therefore the unit is so bright, with tons of skylights. It is incredible that with every move I manage to fit the furniture in just right. That's the beauty of good pieces- they will follow you forever.

A friend of mine on Instagram asked how I keep the white couch so clean. I don't! I bought this couch when I was 18 and didn't really think it through. While I love the all white look (obviously) it is such a pain to keep clean! Every now and again I will remove the slip covers to wash them. Eventually I may need to replace them. 

Here are some questions I often get asked: 

1. Where are your favorite places to shop for furniture and accessories?

Home Goods, Wayfair (we recently purchased our King size bed and mirrored side tables from there),  Shabby Chic and vintage stores (the Melrose Trading Post has some great pieces). 

2. Where is your white couch from?

It is from a store called Montauk. Don't ask how we got it into our home. We moved here just under a year ago. As expected, it took the entire day to move all of our furniture. By the time 5:50 pm rolled around, I was dead. The couch was the last piece of furniture the movers needed to bring in. They tried to fit it in the elevator and it wouldn't fit. Then they tried to carry it up the staircase and it didn't fit. I was literally speechless. Were they going to leave the expensive sofa on the street?? In the end they had to take it to their warehouse and bring it back the next day AND we had to hire a crane to bring the couch in through the window. What an ordeal. 

3. Where is your coffee table from?

Home Sense. It was only $300! I knew I wanted an oversized coffee table and I loved the way the wood looked with the white couch.

4. Where is your bar cart from?

I bought mine on Craigslist from an elderly couple. Stay tuned for a post on how to style a bart cart. 

5. What's the story with that ladder?

That was my mom's idea. We saw it at a boutique that sold vintage pieces and she said it would be a great piece to have in my living room. At first I tried to have plants on it but since I don't have a green thumb that idea didn't last long. Instead I draped a green throw over it. 

6. If you had to invest in one or two pieces what would it be?

Definitely a couch and dining room table (although I have to say we recently switched to a King size bed and it's kind of incredible). 

7. Where do you get your inspiration?

I love to browse the Internet, especially Pinterest. However, when I lived in New York (and Pinterest didn't exist yet), I would go to Barnes and Noble in Union Square, get a Starbucks, and flip through home decor books. Reading the books in the store is the best way to do it since they are so expensive. They can give you some great inspiration and help you narrow down your style. 

8. Are you renting or do you own this condo?

We're renting. We still own our condo in Montreal that we rent out. If we owned this condo I would definitely invest to fix a few things (the floor, kitchen countertops, fireplace etc). However, it works for us for now. I wish you could see the view! If you want to see what it looks like check out my Instagram (I've posted a few pics).