Inspiration: Copenhagen, Denmark!

A recent visit to Copenhagen -- my first trip to Europe -- has me itching to blog again. Stay tuned!

photo credit: Nyhavn winter classic by Flumm_Jesus2

Big News: I'm moving to...

...Washington, DC! Yup, I am one month away from my big move to DC and I could not keep it a secret any longer. Now you know why I have been feeling incredibly overwhelmed. Posting will continue to be light here on Cayenne + Carob but I'll pop in every once in a while to say hi!

photo credit: vintage luggage picture from Emblem Magazine's Tumblr

Inspiration: Olive Juice for Little People

I could not resist these cute outfits from Olive Juice that were on the Gilt Group website this weekend. My niece will have a few new school outfits for the fall! Shhhh...don't tell her.

images from Olive Juice website

Gilt Groupe is one of those invitation only websites where some great designer fashions are listed. I browse often and buy little because I am not really needing anything right now. Click here for my personal invitation link and check it out for yourself.

Inspiration: Lichen

Tie Dye sleeveless shirt dress made by Wiksten; Rachel Comey suede dress at Jumelle; fabrics from Uniform Studio; Shabd "aurora" tights; Portal grey felt ipad bag (for the entire Mac family); Winding Indus Tank from Anthropologie

photo credit: lichen on rock in Denali National Park taken by TEB 05.18.10

Celebrate: Walnut Wood Bed Frame

Finally, there is an end to the bed saga. I had sorta given up on finding a bed, until of course I found the perfect bed. Within 3 days the new bed frame was installed in our bedroom.

The new bed frame with evening sun coming through the window.

Now lets get into some of the specs on this wonderful bed. It was made by a local (Long Beach, CA) craftsman named Peter and I feel truly lucky to own one of his pieces. The bed is perfect: solid walnut wood, low profile, small footprint, industrial strength brackets to hold it together with easy deconstruction for moving. Peter designs and builds simple, modern furniture that is very versatile.

Check out the square post legs (similar to the Anders bed from Room & Board) and the swirling grain of the headboard.

My home is a bit of eclectic mid century modern and the bed fits right in. Check out Peter's blog, Pete's Furniture, for a peek into his wood working world. I personally fell in love with the teak booster seat, as I am part of the 1% of the population who will issue a ban on any neon colored plastic junk from entering the house.I really could not be happier about our new bed. Now off to get some zzz's!

photo credit: Cayenne 09.26.09

Inspiration: DIY Bed

Grace of Design*Sponge's DIY fabric headboard

After being very dissatisfied with the particle board beds in our price range and swooning over budget busting, but beautiful hardwood bed frame pieces, we moved onto brainstorming how we could DIY a new bed.

We started at the cheapest price point and thought we could scavenge some used wood pallets, sand them down, and repaint them for a little bit of shabby chic. Sounds good in theory but we quickly realized that we did not have the space to do a full on sanding job for some 8+ pallets. We also have a relatively small bedroom (think room for just the bed and nightstands) and there is NO WAY to configure pallets so that they are the same footprint as a queen mattress (trust me on this, we spent hours adding numbers). Pallets were out.


Then we thought we could hire a local wood craftsman(woman) to make us a super simple bed frame from reclaimed wood. We sourced wood from Reclaimed Wood Products in LA and contemplated using wood flooring or counter tops for the headboard. Really it would have been easy for my dad to make but he was all the way in Alaska.

Once I had pretty much given up on finding a bed, Apartment Therapy LA scavenger posted their favorite picks, I saw exactly what we were looking for. Coming up next, the big reveal and the first time I show you a room in my house.

Images from the new online magazine Lonny!

Inspiration: Muir bed + Plus Petit Platform Bed

Plus Petit Platform bed from Andre Joyau (NYC)

Muir Bed from Amenity: Modern Organic Living (LA, CA)

Follow my quest for a low profile platform-ish, solid wood bed with inspiration from the pallet bed and the hull bed. Yes, I will reveal our new bed later this week!

Inspiration: Lapland, Finland

Napapiiri Jeans create what they call ecolux clothing above the Arctic Circle in Finland. Almost all the fibers they use to create these beautiful pieces are from recycled materials, like wool. These photos remind me of my home, cuz yes the mountains do look that beautiful and the snow that sparkly. Wishing for snow, but living in a heatwave...

photo credit: Napapiiri 2010 lookbook

Inspiration: The Pallet Bed

Guest bed in a Paris apartment
by Pia Jane of Enhance the Everyday found via Design*Sponge

light, bright, and airy loft pallet bed by Sandbox Studio, found via Desire to Inspire.

nursery daybed from Ashley Ann Under the Sycamore

Inspiration: Kennedy's Beach Style

I love this black and white photo of John and Jackie Kennedy walking on the beach.

photo credit: no idea, please comment if you know!

Inspiration: The Ideal Bed Frame {UPDATED}

Jeremy Levine's Eagle Rock bedroom, seen in last month's Dwell. Really it is the bed frame that we admire for its sleek design and what we think are drawers underneath (but hard to tell).

{UPDATE: heard directly from J. Levine that those are drawers underneath the bed! The bed is made as a collaborative project between his firm and Workshop Neirman-Smith. See full details of the HULL bed here} After scouring the internet, I've come to the conclusion that most beds are crap -- made from particle board, are ornately decorated, or have a footprint that far exceeds its queen-size mattress. I did find a few alternatives in case I just cannot track down a J. Levine replica.

San Francisco, CA:
First up are the beds by Ohio Design, which I saw on an AT post for Good Hotel in SF (side note - next time I'm in SF, I'm staying here).

Christiane and the LW

Los Angeles:
Cliff Spencer makes a beautiful adult bed. But their bamboo children's beds are more my speed. If only they did not have foot-boards...Portland, OR:
Back up north we go to check out Delia Furniture, etsy store here. Can you believe this bed is entirely made of steel. The headboard looks like wood or leather to me and each affordable bed is oxidized making no two beds alike.photo credit: Jeremy Levine Design bedroom inside and outside

Inspiration: Julia Child's Kitchen Peg Board

Julia Child's kitchen, as I saw it in the Julie & Julia movie, might be enough to convince TEB that peg boards in the kitchen are cool. I've been wanting a peg board in my kitchen ever since we moved into our coastal apartment, complete with limited cabinet space, 2 years ago.I hope this post seals the deal. I see painting peg boards in my future!

photo credit: dark green peg board, white on white peg board

Inspiration: Yellow Coffee Table

I have been thinking that our living room needs a new fall look. I like the yellow table above and it would definitely be a change from our current red coffee table. Now that just might be the cheeriness that I need to come home too. I can always paint it another color later. Also considering a bright turquoise for a little punch of color.

photo credit: view towards living room and living room coffee table by tobiasmilk

Weekend: Yosemite

We are off to start our trek in Yosemite. See posts on backpacking here.

Have a wonderful weekend!

photo credit: El Capitan Canyon, found via suziebeezieland

Inspiration: Wilderness Retreat

I would like to go to this small wilderness retreat. It seems like the perfect way to take a break.

photo credit: The Tiny House Blog

Inspiration: Hidden Closet Desks

office closet from 100 decorating ideas magazine 2007 via darth cena

I tracked down these beautiful space-saving, office-in-a-closet pictures for my sister. She has a guest room that is small and currently the office and craft room. I think moving the desk or building one in the closet would free up some space for over-night guests (that's me) or make room for more sewing projects.

photo found via AT and from decorology

A bright yellow with some frills. Love the desk chair!

photo found via decor8 and from Country Living home tours

This mostly white built-in style is my favorite. I love the pops of blue against the white background and classic hardwood floors.

tiny closet from here

The first three images are highly styled and from magazines. Now if I was to actually build an office-in-a-closet myself, I think it would look more like these two pictures. Above is a small cozy nook desk and below is a bright multi-purpose space. I do like the idea of keeping the closet doors or adding curtains to close off the space when used as a guest room.

AT's Final Frame

Inspiration: Green

In need of some inspiration on this grey day. I always turn to green. You?

photo credit: cabbage for the vase, green kitchen, bright., beachy, modern bedroom, green Italy sofa, I used to 2..

Inspiration: Karmann Ghia

I saw a beautiful blue Karmann Ghia this weekend. It inspired me to do a quick flickr search. Now this would be fun southern-california-beachy-hair-blowing-in-the-wind car.

photo credit: Karmann Ghia by mr.analog; Karmann Ghia vintage advert by pheester; Blue Karmann by CitroenAZU; 1964 VW Karmann Ghia by f letter

What is in your fridge?

What is in your fridge? Mine is full of fruit from Henry's Market double coupon Wednesday. The fruit is so pretty that I have a close up for you below: cherries, red grapes, kiwi, yellow peaches, white peaches, mangoes, watermelon, and strawberries. I am trying to work up the courage to post my fridge on Fridgewatcher. Maybe when I get a shot of the freezer, but there is no freezer light so I need another person to help me.

photo credit: Cayenne 05.30.09

Inspiration: Dansk Kobenstyle

Dansk stockpot and small sauce pan sitting on the stove (pictured above).

Pitcher from the same Apartment Therapy house tour here.

The paella pan is certainly unique in its original use or as a fruit bowl from this house tour here.

Dansk dishware can be found by searching for "dansk kobenstyle" on ebay. See the results from my search today here. Learn more about the history of dansk kobenstyle dishware from The Kitchn's impressive research here.

My wishlist includes the square baking pan and the butter melter or gravy pan with the wood handle.