Things Farah Loves (For the Home)

I am constantly finding ways to re-decorate my home. Of course, living with a significant other, it's hard to keep my home feminine. I always have to find a happy medium. This is why I usually purchase some feminine pieces to decorate while keeping the rest of my home consistent with dark cherry wood furniture and various rustic pieces.

Anthropologie has so many vintage pieces that I love! You can tell that a lot of my favorite items come from there. They are just great with floral and always carry my favorite combination: blue, white and gold. They currently have these decorative pillows (that are reversible) that would look amazing in any home that needs a quick pop of color. My current pillow combination is a little muted so I can't wait to purchase these to liven up my living room.

I own the smaller of the vases but recently purchased the tall vase. These look amazing with hydrangeas, sunflowers, etc....  The pitcher from Tory Burch serves more as a vase to me. It's a great centerpiece for a large coffee or dining room table.

The remaining items kind of go with the vintage look I constantly seek. I love a clean white plate to take the best quality photos of my kitchen creations. The Kate Spade set and the Anthropologie tea cup and saucer are just so timeless and classy. I can't wait to update my dining accessories with these items. The gold coasters are from Pier One Imports and just ties all these items together. If you can't tell, I adore white and gold!

If you are looking for some vintage, feminine pieces, hopefully these items give you some great inspiration. Happy Decorating!

Sources: KateSpade.com, ToryBurch.com, Anthropologie.com, PierOneImports.com

Top 5 Thursdays! Coffee Table Books

So I decided on starting Top 5 Thursdays! I just love a good list and todays edition features my Top 5 Coffee Table Books in no particular order. I tried to pick books that are between the $10-$20 range which I think is pretty reasonable. I have seem some high-end fashion coffee table books that are about $50-$60... One day...

1. Lauren Conrad Style - Great book with amazing fashion tips and staple wardrobe pieces
2. Humans of New York - It's a conversational piece with amazing photography and compelling stories behind each photo
3. Dirty Side of Glamour - I love celebrities! Tyler Shields is a very unique photographer with some wild and crazy celebrity portraits
4. Post Secret Extraordinary Confession from Ordinary Lives - I just love the anonymity it offers with a gamut of feelings and personality
5. Lauren Conrad Beauty - (I know it appears twice but I'm just a huge Lauren Conrad fan) she offers great beauty advice ranging from makeup and just having that radiant glow!

Coffee Table Decor

We have a large rustic coffee table in our home which my boyfriend built. It's about 40 inches wide and desperately needs centerpieces and decor to cover up all that dark wood. Below I have some photos from my home which shows how arranging colorful decor the right way can make your coffee table beautiful and liven up your home!

I love to start off decorating my coffee table with a centerpiece. My centerpiece right now is my Anthropologie vase. (Since I actually staged it with two different decorating ideas). You can always add faux florals, but nothing comes close to a fresh bouquet of flowers. I used hydrangeas that I found for about $5.99 at Trader Joes. I love the neutral look which helps showcase and highlight all the other pieces. Everything else I picked as a decor complimented my central piece (my vase). I purchased some blue coasters, and kept my candles simple with white, gold, and a hint of turquoise so it didn't look over-cluttered with color overload! Note to self: Clutter is the ultimate enemy

The second photo includes more color. I'm really into blue, gold, white, and different shades of pink. I love the vintage look of gold with a touch of femininity of pink. The flowers were a gift from my boyfriend and were $9.99 from Whole Foods. As for the candles, I kept those more neutral to focus attention on the flowers and teapot. Now... the teapot. Seems like an odd choice, I know. It was given to me by my friend Jeni, and I never want to use it because it is such an awesome decoration piece. The white and gold chevron print really compliments the vintage, cottage chic look.

The remaining two images are actually ones I found on the web highlighting ways to decorate coffee table books and decorative trays. I just started my coffee table book collection, but websites such as Gilt.com offers great sales to allow you to stock up!

Images: Blue Coffee Table Decor, Decorative Tray Decor, Coffee Table Decor with Hydrangeas, Paris and Pink Hydrangeas

Crazy for Candles!

I love candles! I really can not get enough of them as I am completely obsessed with smell and scents. Here are some of my all time favorites. (The list is actually much longer, but I figured I should truncate it.. for the sake of not making this post a novel)

1. Nest Moss Mint: This retails for about $34 (mini is $15) and can be purchased on Amazon.com or Nordstrom.com. Its a light, refreshing scent that will freshen up the entire house. I know I cook a lot and this really helps eliminate those cooking odors. It may be a little pricey but definitely worth the money if you want a great staple candle for your home.

2. Diptyque Baies: The Diptyque candles are actually very popular and very expensive. These retail for about $60 (for the large size) and about $30 for a mini candle. Baies is a berry-perfumed scent which makes your home smell without it being lit! I know I usually prefer cleaner scents, but this berry doesn't give you a headache 20 minutes later and smells like a luxurious and light perfume. It's a great gift and stocking stuffer for the holidays as well. This can be purchased at Bloomingdales.com and Nordstrom.com

3. Voluspa French Lavender and Cade: This may be my favorite yet. It's a very clean, linen scent.. I would probably pair it with Nest Moss and Mint. Light and Refreshing. This retails for about $26 for a large jar, $18 for a medium jar, and $12 for a mini. Can be purchased on Anthropologie.com

4. DW Home Vanilla Bean: I'm a huge vanilla candle fan but am very picky. I don't like a strong buttery vanilla scent (e.g. cake batter, etc...) but prefer something lighter. This is it! It retails for about $7.99 for the large jar and can be purchased at any Home Goods or Marshalls location. Ironically, Harris Teeter (if you live in the South) as well. Make sure you stock up if you see these because inventory is never guaranteed. If you want a great vanilla scented candle, this one may be it!

Images Courtesy of Google.com