Mirror Mirror on the Wall

A very chic MoS friend recently asked about Venetian mirrors, so since then I have been on the hunt for some fabulous options. "Shabby chic" has certainly tried to corner the Venetian mirror market, but we prefer to focus on the very stylish art deco/ regency vibe that can be achieved through these beautiful mirrors!

This Venetian mirror is just stunning! We love it layered with the red berry wreath (we always hang wreaths over mirrors and art at Christmas) and the grouping of items on the mantle. It makes the room cozy and comfortable, and we love the coral walls!

Miles Redd

You can definitely use a Venetian mirror in a modern space! This bathroom (complete with Waterworks fittings no less!) is definitely on the clean, modern side, so they chose a mirror sans all the curly-Qs and scriptiness that sometimes accompanies Venetians. My Decor Pad

In Annette de la Renta's bathroom, you can catch a glimpse of the Venetian mirror hanging over her sink. We would love to see more of the mirror, but we love the casual elegance of the room. Carrara marble, formal moulding, yet a wicker chair and chintz fabric.

Oscar de la Renta





Check out this little nook for a dresser! We love how the chest of drawers mirrors (sorry) the looking glass above. And of course we love the drama of chocolate brown walls contrasted with the mirrors and white.

Lisa Shepley Design, courtesy of Shelter


How gorgeous is this pink daybed with a modern round Venetian mirror? It's a perfect look for a young lady (and that canopy is fabulous)!

Katie Ridder Designs



The colors of this room are a little dull, but we love the Venetian mirror against the striped walls. These stripey walls look identical to the stripes in MoS Charlotte's hallway. And we do love the touch of glamour that the mirror adds to this room.

House to Home


This is one of our favorite dining rooms. We love the contrast of the casual Stark sisal rug with the formal Gracie wallpaper and fancy Venetian mirrors. The chairs are rather casual too, contrasting with the formal crystal chandelier.

House Beautiful

This New Orleans home is one of our favorites! And what a gorgeous entryway, with a Venetian mirror, lavendar walls, and a turquoise chest of drawers. We love that they are not afraid to use color. And we love the palm wallpaper we see peeking through the doorway!

House Beautiful



Black adds a fantastic layer of depth to this mirror. It is perfect for this room!

Elle Decor, photo courtesy of Habitually Chic



Such a pretty little bathroom! This room might have a little bit of a shabby chic vibe, but not enough to bug us!

Country Living

This layout is just stunning. To quote Jonathan Adler, "Minimalism is a bummer." We hold tightly to that belief, and this room is no exception! We love the red walls, the fabulous mirror, the salon-style art, and the oversize bouquet of white lillies!

Cote de Texas

We dream of being like Aerin when we grow up. Aerin inherited this Venetian mirror in her beautiful dressing room (!!) from her grandmother Estee. We love everything about this room, from the Gracie wallpaper to the mirrored desk and the oversize lucite ottoman. Divine!

Harper's Bazaar


For a particularly grandiose look, how beautiful is this pair of Venetian mirrors flanking a large framed mirror in the center? It takes a special room in a special house for this look to work, but I do believe the Paris apartment of Ms. Coco Chanel fits that bill!

Coco Chanel's Paris Apartment

If you want to replicate any of these looks in your own home, here are a few options:

How gorgeous is this intricate mirror? And we love the large size (45 x 64).

Leila Mirror from Simply Mirrors, $1600

This mirror has a fabulous art deco feel, don't you think? We love the Greek key trim and think Ms. Wearstler would approve.

Minerva Mirror from Simply Mirrors, $600

Even Restoration Hardware has put their (typical toned-down) twist on the Venetian mirror. We think this mirror could definitely work though- just promise us you won't hang it horizontally!

Restoration Hardware Venetian Beaded Mirror, $599



This Wisteria mirror reminds us of Greece more than Venice, but it is beautiful and could work well in an entryway or powder room.

Wisteria Venetian Art Deco Mirror, $329

And for something a little more ornate (and expensive)...

Large Venetian Mirror from Inviting Home, $7300

And from good old 1st Dibs, where we will shop when we win the lottery:

1st Dibs


Do you like Venetian mirrors? Tips for making them not too shabby chic?

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Heads Up

Today's post is inspired by one of my most cherished possessions. It's not valuable jewelry or silver, not a high tech gadget, not an it bag. Rather, I give you...my stuffed boar's head.

Lest you think I am some taxidermy nut that spends saturdays at Bass Pro Shops, I will clarify that it's not just any boar's head. I acquired it from my grandfather's house after he passed away about 13 years ago. A lawyer by profession but cowboy at heart, he shot this boar on his ranch in central Florida and had it hanging in his home office in south Florida along with various other trophy heads and hunting paraphernalia. When I was little I was petrified to go into his office because the boar's head was so scary. But once I grew up I realized it was perhaps the neatest thing ever. Funny what memories really stick with us, isn't it?

Right now the boar's head is hanging in a home office of my own but one day I hope to have a more exciting place to put it. So in anticipation of that day, we're looking at chic taxidermy today. Yes those words can co-exist! Take a look at some of my favorite rooms. I think you'll be surprised at how fab a trophy head can be, and there are no wood-paneled libraries or plaid upholstery in sight.

Below is one of my favorites- here we have a Daryl Carter-decorated room that is 99% white yet cozily inviting. Best use of a boar's head I've seen, and the antlers are another nice touch. The wood burning fireplace and the tree-round table lead me to believe this house is in the country, but Darly's version of country is awfully chic!

Darryl Carter room from Elle Decor via Point Click Home

The trophy heads in the room below are the icing on the cake of the room's eclecticism. Lots going on here but it all works, sort of a Miss Havisham meets the 20th century kooky British vibe. Do I also spy a taxidermy bird?

Eclectic room via Living Etc

I am noticing a trend here- white walls definitely keep antlers and trophies looking modern. I love how this room makes use of a grouping of little antlers. And I even love those antler candlesticks!

Caroline Roehm decorated room from House Beautiful

More eclecticism- I wouldn't think to put a deer skull/antlers in this room given the wall color and the tropical artwork, but I also wouldn't think to layer a purple floral rug over a yellow geometric carpet, and look how well that works! Another example of how antlers/trophy heads can complete that "madcap chic" vibe.

Living Room via Domino

The trophy head really pops against this wallpaper, doesn't it? Offices with heads don't have to be the stuffy, dim wood-paneled realm of a cigar smoking hunter...they can be cozy and modern as Domino shows us. Bonus points if you have an adorable husband and child to complete the look.

Home office, Domino via Stylecourt

More little antlers, more white walls. We are not wowed by the gingham looking bedspread, but we do love those whitewashed wood paneled walls.

Mini antlers in bedroom by Cheryl Tague via Alicia B. Designs

If you cannot stand to have a mammal looking down at you from the wall perhaps you should try a fish! Mounted fish are sort of taxidermy-light. They give a more coastal vibe and a fabulous pop of blue.

Image via Coastal Living

The room below is a little blah, but it is made infinitely better by the mounted marlin (or is it a sailfish?)

Image via My Home Ideas

And if you absolutely cannot fathom hanging anything once-living on your wall, you're still in luck. These days there are a plethora of trophy heads out there that would even make PETA proud, and they can look just as stylish as their authentic counterparts.

Balsawood deer via Domino

This plaster deer head below is a little kitschy, but it would add whimsy to a room.

Resin Deer Head by Cody Foster, Well Dressed Home

I spied one of these cardboard heads on the basement wall at MoS Charlotte's house, and loved the stylized look.

Cardboard Heads, Uncommon Goods

So what do you think about the use of trophy heads and antlers on the wall? Would you put one up, or is this something you'll skip? Any tips for pulling off the taxidermy-chic look? Let us know!

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Delightful Desks

We can't believe it is already "back to school" time. Seeing all the ads for school supplies and dorm accessories has made us think about that stylish yet functional part of nearly every home- the perfect desk area. Whether you use it for studying, blogging, or paying bills, it IS possible to have an office space in your home that looks fabulous.

Here are some inspiring desks!

Kelly Wearstler has toned down her signature look a bit for this study! We love the pair of bookshelves flanking the chest of drawers, and the desk centered in the room. Perfect!

We love the canopy and lantern Nick Olsen added to his fabulous NYC apartment. It looks great, and if you know Nick, you know he probably managed to do his (amazing) work on a budget!

Domino

What a fun splash of pink in this otherwise black-and-white space! We recognize the little ikea lamps (I think they are around $5!) on either side of the desk, and the hot pink chair is just so much fun!

Athena Says, photo courtesy of Elements of Style

Gray and white! We love the moulding here that really frames the desk area perfectly! And this desk has to be one of our favorites, with the curved lucite legs. We would guess that it's from The Paris Apartment. Not alot of storage, but with laptops and jump drives, who needs file drawers anymore?!

Steven Miller Design

Sawhorse desks are popping up everywhere! And we love the unexpected pairing of the clean lines of this modern desk with a traditional, dark wood chair. The pink walls and inspiration board make the space so pretty and feminine. And of course we love the oushak!

Ruthie Sommers



Love the color of the walls in this cozy little corner!

Rayman Boozer, photo courtesy of Style Court


This West Elm Parsons desk is one of our favorites! We love how it is paired here with the ghost chair, zebra rug, and pair of lamps!

Mary McGee, photo courtesy of Decor Pad


For a masculine office, Nate Berkus just nails it! Once again, we love the sawhorse table and the chrome chippendale chair- looks great on the striped rug.

Nate Berkus

Lavendar walls! I'm not sure if I have the guts to do this in my house, but it looks fab here! This room is so elegant (and functional).

Elle Decor

I would happily pay my bills (okay, maybe "happily" is a stretch) in this bright, cheery space! Love the yellow lucite chair, lampshade, and bulletin board. And take note of the silver mint julep cup turned vase (or pencil holder)!

House Beautiful



We are obsessed with Molly Sims' house that was in InStyle a few years back. How fab is the cluster of shiny black framed mirrors over her desk paired with her black jet crystal chandelier? And we love the beautiful wallpaper.

Designed by Kishani Perera, seen in InStyle


This feminine office is our favorite of the bunch! We love the blue walls and white desk, contrasted with the black and white photos. The lamps are gorgeous, and the shades mirror the chinoiserie style of the beautiful desk.

Mary McDonald for Domino


Animal prints really work in a study! We love these gray and white zebra curtains with the gray chippendale desk chair and parsons table. We think you could easily copy this desk chair with this guy and a can of spray paint.

House Beautiful, photo courtesy of Newlywed Diaries


Like the rest of her apartment, we love former Domino editor Tori Mellott's fabulous little office nook! The splash of pink on her saarinen chair, and the pair of lamps on either side of the desk is such an elegant look.

Tori Mellott



Love the idea of elegantly framing children's artwork and hanging over a desk. And this lamp is just the perfect periwinkle blue!

I cannot for the life of me remember where I found this photo. Does anyone know? Thanks!!


Charlotte Moss's desk is definitely over the top but fabulous. What an amazing art collection! I'm not sure I would take it quite this far, but it definitely works for her. And we are really loving art hung salon-style over wallpaper!

Charlotte Moss

Love the yellow and turquoisey blue in this Celerie Kemble designed office. Such a great color combo that we don't see too often, and the vintage feel of this room is so classic.

Celerie Kemble


How gorgeous is this formal-feeling desk area?! The extravagant gold leaf detailing on the desk, the leopard chair, and the zebra rug- sounds like an over-the-top combo, but it really works! And it's refreshing to see an old-fashioned Rolodex every now and then.

Amy Fine Collins in Elle Decor

Another gorgeous chrome sawhorse desk. We love the navy inspiration board (I guess that is the fancy new name for "bulletin board") and the orange geometric curtains. The green tufted chair with a little bolster neck is fab too!

Amanda Nisbet

Which one is your favorite?!

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