urban exodus

Christmas week is upon us! Its been a little hard to get into the spirit of things between busy schedules and travel but this past weekend we were able to take some time at home and enjoy some festive activities - Christmas movies, holiday parties, hot chocolate and cookies. This morning, I woke up feeling ready for vacation and excited for things to move at a slower pace - even if its just for a week. So while this post isn't holiday themed, it does honor this time of year by recognizing people who have taken a step back from the normal chaos of life and are choosing to live more simply. 

I just recently read about Urban Exodus in the current issue of Modern Farmer. Created by Alissa Hessler when she moved from Seattle, Washington to Camden, Maine, the site celebrates and shares the stories of young urbanites choosing to leave "the concrete jungle for greener pastures" (Urban Exodus). Seeking to represent a realistic picture of both the struggles and rewards of living a country life, the site interviews people all over the country who have made the switch. 

Each story follows a similar format of questioning with pictures of the interviewees spaces to go along with it. I have only read a few of the pieces top to bottom but I like the repeating question format which gives an understanding of what makes all the stories similar yet different. 

The site also includes stories of "Urban Havens" - urbanites who bring the best of the country to them. So many great stories to read so head on over to the site now. 

wall fans

The overheard light/fan in our second guest bedroom has died. This comes as no great loss as the thing was about the ugliest fixture you could find. However, it does bring about some conflict in our house as Jeff wants to get a new fan with light and I am adamant on the no light + fan combo. I caved and broke my rule of no lights in ceiling fans (read this post) for our other guest bedroom and I absolutely despise the thing. I selected this Home Decorator's Merwry fan from Home Depot and while it looks ok in the picture - its not. I wasn't home when it was installed which was a mistake seeing as I would have never put it up in the first place. The blades are shiny and don't match the motor and it casts the most horrible light. Needless to say, I dream of replacing/destroying it. 

In our second guest bedroom, we have just the one overhead electrical hook up. An obvious compromise would be to do a center no light fan and then have cans installed. However, that would be much more of an involved project than we are looking to tackle. So while I am confident I could hold my ground this time and refuse the light + fan, I did want to at least attempt to find a solution both Jeff and I could be happy with. Enter the wall fan -  vintage in style and would provide the solution of having a wall fan and then an overhead light fixture. Bingo!

Matthews Fan Company makes the most beautiful ones out there but we will most likely opt for one of the cheaper ones from Home Depot or Lowe's and then refinish it. Take a look at these examples below. Now just figuring out where and how to wire it....

Have a good weekend everyone!

from top left - Michelle Parede fan by Matthews Fan Company via All Modern - Michelle Parede fan in brushed brass by Matthews Fan Company via Lacquered Life - Melody fan by Matthews Fan Company via HGTV - Fanimation fan via Lowe's - Home Decorator's Bentley II fan via Home Depot - Home Decorator's Bentley II fan via Home Depot - via Lonny -  Harbor Breeze fan via Lowe's - Land of Nod nursery

purchasing a new sofa part 2

We did it!! There was a holiday sale at Pottery Barn that ended yesterday so in order to capture maximum savings, I made the purchase. The sofa won't be ready for 8 - 10 weeks but with how fast life seems to be flying by that almost feels like no time at all. To pick off where I left off on Friday, we had decided on the Carlisle Grand Sofa with a down filled bench seat but were unsure about the fabric selection. From the start, I knew we needed a performance fabric. The sofa is Booker's favorite place to nap and while, I have grand illusions of restricting access to the new sofa it probably won't happen. He just looks so cozy and cute snuggled up! 

I also had determined that we wanted something neutral. As discussed, the sofa is BIG! So I wanted to minimize its scale with doing a light colored fabric - one that would also hide dog hair. My gut reaction was to do ivory as that is what the sofa is always photographed in and what we saw it in at the store. 

Carlisle sofa by Pottery Barn

Now ivory might seem in contradiction to my desire for a performance fabric but it is not. Pottery Barn carries several lines of performance fabrics that are stain resistant regardless of color. Now would a navy performance fabric do better than an ivory one - yes. But an ivory performance fabric would win over a navy non-performance fabric. Interesting right? Or at least this is what I have been reassured to by several sales people. I also did my own stain tests on a selection of fabric samples. I tried soy sauce, sriracha and butter. The butter proved to be the hardest to get out but I also really rubbed it in there. The soy sauce pretty much just beaded up and I could whip it away and the sriracha for the most part came out with a little work. 

Ultimately, it came down to two fabrics - the Sunbrella Sahara Weave in Ivory and the Premium Performance Basketweave in Ivory. The Sunbrella is a Grade C fabric while the Premium is the highest grade above E. The overall color is really the same between the two but their nap or texture is different. The Sunbrella has a flatter and more striated weave while the Premium (which is a Perennials fabric) has more texture and looks like linen. Aesthetically, it was a clear winner for me - the Premium. But, the Premium would have been $550 more and I had concerns about how the texture would do with dog nails and little pulls in the fabric. So the winner - the Sunbrella Sahara Weave in Ivory! I still have some reservations about the fabric but with the dollar savings I am already thinking about finding two vintage chairs to reupholster for the room.... 

Fingers crossed the sofa fits through the doorway...eeks!