Mid-Century Suitcase as Decoration

I like using everyday items as unexpected design details. For example, we're using this beautiful red mid-century American Tourister hardshell suitcase as a design element by our front door. It reminds me how important travel is to my life and adds a nice splash of color to an otherwise boring corner of the house.

The inside is just as pretty.

Modern Outdoor Patio Furniture

One of the goals on our to-do list is to turn the carport into an outdoor living area. It should be pretty easy to do: install a fan, buy some new patio furniture, maybe an outdoor rug and call it a day. Well, we got one of those steps done. We picked up the West Elm Tillary sofa, ottoman and corner piece, and it should be a perfect fit for under our carport; after I spend a few hours putting it all together that is.

There were a few other modern patio furniture sets that we considered, that might be a better fit for your space:

The Havana sectional from CB2 was a close second

The Wood Slate seating collection, also from West Elm, has a nice, clean look to it

The Naples 7-piece patio furniture set from Overstock is OK, but we wanted something that didn't look like wicker

Same goes for the Savannah patio furniture set at Costco

The Red Star Traders Cantina set at All Modern is pretty swanky, but we really wanted something with a sofa

Picking Authentic Exterior Colors for Our Mid-Century Ranch

Decisions, decisions. We have narrowed down our exterior paint colors to a select few. After looking into authentic mid-century exterior paint colors we decided to go with a blue door - we'll install a new door and fit it with a Crestview Doors Westhaven kit.

And we've narrowed down the field of gray to a select two. We'll be putting one of them on most of the trim on the house. I think what we're going to do at this point is get sample cans of each and see them on a larger scale, without totally committing. That way we can get it right on the first try and hopefully never have to paint again.

Awesome Austin-Made Address Numbers

There's no question that Eames house numbers would be a lovely addition to any home, but I wanted to give a little local love to a couple of people who are making equally interesting address numbers.

Modplexi address plaques come in a wide range of colors (red, orange, yellow, blue, light blue, coke bottle green, green, black, brown, grey and clear) and can be made to hang verticle or horizontal. A few of my neighbors have Modplexi address numbers and they look pretty spectacular next to any door.

Austin Outdoor Studio makes house numbers out of 1/4" hot rolled steel, which will quickly develop a deep rust brown patina. The plaques can be created in a variety of fonts and have studs on the back for easy attachment to a home.

Neutra and Eames House Numbers

I first mentioned Neutra and Eames house numbers a while back, and if you've been patiently waiting to pick some up, today is the day you've been waiting for. Heath Ceramics is going to start selling the Neutra and Eames house numbers today.

We're still planning on a more Eichler house number look, but I can see these Eames address numbers being a nice addition to any home.