Friday Focus: January 08

GET THE LOOK

PATTERN MIXING WITH PILLOWS

Have you seen the Progressive commercial with the guy who “helps new home owner’s avoid turning into their parents”? I am totally the girl with the sofa full of pillows. Even though most of our pillows end up on the floor through the course of the day I can’t help but fill our sofas with them! They add personality, depth and necessary layers to a room while allowing you to quickly change up the look and feel of a space if it’s in need of a refresh.

When selecting pillow combinations for a sofa I like to think in terms of pattern and size. The easiest, fool-proof equation for pattern mixing is combining geometric + floral + texture:

stripe + floral block print + bucle
plaid + sketched floral print + fringe linen
wide stripe + watercolor floral + vintage mud cloth

When selecting coordinating pillow sizes I like to build my pillow pile back to front, with my textured or geometric pattern at the back – and also the largest in size (24×24, 22×22) – building forward with my floral prints and vintage fabrics (20×20, 12×24, 12×20).

You can easily find bargain texture and geometric printed pillows at Target, HomeGoods and other big box stores, but often floral prints & vintage dupes at a good price also tend to look like they are inexpensive. I like to practice high-low here and buy my larger “base” pillows at affordable prices and splurge on designer floral and vintage pillows.

Shop a few of my favorite stores to build your own beautiful pillow combinations:

LATELY

I came across this image a few weeks ago by W Design Collective and I immediately fell in love. Our bedroom has never been a space that I have put much energy into and this room gave me the fresh inspiration that I needed! The paint color is Farrow & Ball Lamp Room Gray, and it’s the prettiest, muddy, warm gray that I think will give our room the personality it lacks.

This style of ottoman has been trending and I love it’s structured and modern shape. It’s hard to fine one of these for less than $1,000 so I am going to take to DIY and make one for our living room. I ordered fabric this week and can’t wait to share the whole process with you!

Homemade cheesecake has become one of my favorite desserts to make for special occasions. I particularly love this recipe because its rich yet light and has just the right amount of sweetness. You can add toppings to your preference and it stays good for days in the fridge.

New York Style Cheesecake

Crust:
15 graham crackers
4 Tb melted butter

Filling:
*Set all ingredients out and bring to room temperature before starting*
4 blocks cream cheese (I use 1/3 less fat)
1.5 C sugar
3/4 C milk
4 large eggs
1 C sour cream (I use light)
1 Tb vanilla extract
1/4 C flour

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9″ springform pan with butter. For the crust, pulse graham crackers with a food processor or blender & add melted butter to combine. Pour mixture into prepared pan and press firmly to form the crust. For the filling, cream cream cheese and sugar. Add milk and mix until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, just until incorporated. Add sour cream, vanilla and flour until just combined (the trick is to not over mix your batter – air bubbles in your batter will lead to a cake that will rise and crack as it cools!). Pour filling into prepared crust and bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour. After 1 hour turn off the oven and crack the oven door, allowing the cake to cool slowly for an hour or so. Move cake to the fridge to set for a few hours before serving.

WHAT’S IN MY SHOPPING CART

I’ve been shopping for new jeans and I’m trying out Old Navy’s Rockstar jeans (in place of my beloved Madewell 9″ high-rise) because I’ve heard so many great things about them!

Until next week!

XO —

Lauren