Scarves as Pillows

I've had an ongoing love affair with scarves. Whether I'm at J. Crew or a vintage shop, I always browse the scarf selection and often buy them, regardless of whether or not I'll actually wear them. I get sucked in by the colors, fabric, and/or design and start forming a relationship with the piece of fabric before it's even officially mine. Scarves work in my wardrobe because my fashion philosophy is similar to my general decor philosophy. Essentially, I keep the anchor pieces timeless and neutral and add style and personality through trendy and colorful accessories.

Via Hermès

So, if it works for my wardrobe then why not work scarves into my home decor? I'm particularly transfixed by scarves with bold colors and patterns and I love a statement-making pillow, so naturally, I want to turn every scarf that I fall in love with into a pillow. It seems that I'm not the only one with this problem...a favorite Etsy seller of mine, Sayso Design, offers an awesome selection of Vera Neumann scarves-turned-pillows.

Anyhow, I've decided to start putting my ideas into action. Although it's not technically a scarf, here's a batik (that I inherited from my grandmother) that I've been using to play pillow dress-up...

These scarves by Theodora & Callum would be great if you're looking to get something similar to my batik:

If you've been following this blog for a while, you might know that I've been toying with new color schemes for our guest room. Instead of using Schumacher's Chiang Mai Dragon on an oversized bolster pillow across the bed, I'm thinking of using a vintage scarf to make a pillow. Maybe the fun polka-dotted one below...

I still have the urge to use the Chiang Mai in the Mocha colorway...and with the blue in the scarf, I could easily make it work. If money was no object, I'd use the CMD on one of the following:

1. A custom, super tall, nailhead trimmed headboard
2. The wingback chair in the corner
3. Floor-to-ceiling custom drapes

 Schumacher Chiang Mai Dragon in Mocha

Until I win the lottery, I'll just keep dreaming and the scarf pillow might have to stand alone. I suppose that if I won the lottery, I might just buy three identical square silk scarves from Hermès (like the ones shown in the first pic) and make them into euro pillow shams. The lottery-winning dream world is so much more fun, isn't it?

Have a wonderful weekend!

Paris Loot

During our trip, I made sure to work in a little shopping time. Shopping in Paris sounds like the pinnacle of retail therapy, however, two buzz-killing conditions loomed over me: 1) the exchange rate is still not awesome and 2) I'd have to lug any purchases home with me. I got over the negative factors and found some great stuff...making the rule to only go into stores that we don't have in the US.

Some of my favorites included Flamant, Habitat, Maison de Famille, Zara Home, and Hermes. I'll do a whole other post on the stores themselves since all were gorgeous.

On to my loot...from Flamant I got a darling new decanter (it has polka dots!) and a few tiny silver cups.

I came home to blooming hydrangea and rose bushes so I cut a few buds for the cups.

I didn't actually buy anything at Habitat, but I'm sure I would if I lived there. It was like Crate and Barrel meets IKEA. They also were generous with the air conditioning (unlike everywhere else in Paris), which was heaven.

At Maison de Famille, a little glass butter dish found its way home with me. Now if I can only get my hands on some of the fresh French butter I had...

 At Zara Home, I got this lucite tray table and box. I had to take the table as my carry-on for our flight home...the customs guy clearly thought I was nuts.

I also stumbled across this shop, Les Toiles du Soleil, which I was thrilled about because I've seen their website before and they carry mostly striped goodies, which I adore. I picked up a pair of these super cute placemats. It's located at 101 rue du Bac - 75007.

I saw this turquoise melamine tray in the window of a store (that I can't remember the name of) and went directly in and bought it. Since it's melamine, it'll come in handy for poolside booze/food too.

Hermès was completely amazing. Their home section made me want to become a drug kingpin so I'd have enough cash to actually buy things (only kidding). Among the best - and actually attainable - things were the table linens. I especially loved the H bordered placemats and napkins. They had them in tons of different colors.

Speaking of Hermès...drumroll please...I came home with the long-coveted Avalon blanket! It wasn't purchased from the flagship store on rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré...it came from the duty free shop that was right by our gate at Charles de Gaulle. My sweet mom got it for me under the condition that she gets to use it when she visits :) The orange one has always been on my radar, but the shade was a big disappointment. It was way more yellowish brown than it looks on their website. I'm considering exchanging this oatmeal/ecru color for the dark gray, but the warmer neutral is really growing on me. Thoughts?

Finally, I got big, acrylic salt and pepper grinders from the Peugeot store.

They will enjoy their new lives here in America :)