Funky Art Around the House

My mom (in particular) and dad have very great taste in design and art.  Not only is the house I grew up in beautiful and well designed but the artwork in the house is quite unique.  I love art and everything about it.  Throughout my house there are very interesting pieces and I wanted to share some with you.

This piece my dad found on a wrecking job.  There is nothing better than free art!

Kinda wacky but I love it...Jolly Green Giant?

Ah Marilyn...I love thee.  Looks like the plant is outgrowing the painting.  I'll take it Mom! 

This piece is so wild.  My parents found this at an art fair and the actual artist is the guy eating on the lower right.  This is a definate conversation piece. All my friends from high school have a great story about this artwork...you know what I'm talking about?

Not only is this piece extremely unique, but the size and shape fits perfectly in the Great Room.  

Artwork done by kids with autism

They probably can stay in the lines better than me!

I have to give my Dad all the credit on this one.  This amazing floral piece is in our dining room and once my Dad saw it at an artfair he knew it was ours.  Kind of love at first sight.  He is really proud of his find and I am too.  Its so amazing!

Frame details.  Made from random objects

Peter Max drawing.  I like sketchy-looking art

Michael Jordan.  An artist himself...in basketball.  

I couldn't resist.  This is one fine piece of art

 

A Hidden Treasure...

So yesterday I planned on going to the antique malls to look for some furniture that had amazing potential for my clients.  On my way to the malls, I stopped at one of my favorite, most amazing furniture stores, Nadeau.  This store/warehouse sells imported one-of-a-kind furniture pieces as well as some funky odds and ends from Asia.  Nadeau recieves shipments weekly and sometimes daily of just amazing stuff.  My family and myself are HUGE Nadeau fans and frequent shoppers.  And the BEST part about Nadeau...the WHOLESALE prices!  Unbeatable!!!! Lets put it this way, I found a piece for a client-bought it-and went straight to her home to deliver it.  No antique malls were visited that day.

Nadeau's warehouse.  Its actually a bit empty, believe it or not...

Saw this piece and flipped out!  It's the perfect media credenza for my client and I immediately bought it and stuck it right in my car.  Will blog about the install of it later on...

Unique wooden love seat

AMAZING wood/glass display case

TDF doors...this would be an awesome tabletop, just slap a piece of glass over it

Interesting cabinetry

LOVE LOVE

This piece is so awesome!  I love the use of different materials and the asymmetrical drawers/cabinet

Cheetah-print ottoman anyone?  Um, I am considering buying this and reupholstering...thoughts?

Shabby chic 

My coffee table is from Nadeau!

This HUGE pot (whatever you call this) is from Nadeau!

Best item a Mandell has ever bought from Nadeau.  Its just so amazing!!!

If anyone ever wants a partner to venture off to Nadeau, let me know!  I love an excuse to go there.  I sometimes go there when I am bored and have an hour to spare!

Nadeau-Furniture with Soul

4433 N. Ravenswood

Chicago, IL 

60640

Meet the Queen

She may be small, she may be starting to get gray hair, but she is THE Queen of the house.  Maggie May, known usually as "princess" "poos" "meeeeeeegiee" and now "sausage" is probably one of the most popular dogs I have ever known-obvi shes my dog.  Born in Norbourn, Missouri-Maggie lived as a Jayhawk for four glorious years in Kansas, moved to Chicago for a few years, vacationed in the Bahamas several times, moved to Colorado with my brother, and now the bitch is back in Chicago.  She is a force to be reckoned with and will take nothing from nobody (other dogs especially).  Poor Lulu-her roommate on Ryders Lane is now being dominated by The Queen in her own home.  Maggie is currently living with my parents and Lulu in Highland Park because she needs the exercise by running up and down the stairs 100 times a day and circles around the pool.  This is for you, my dear Maggie.  xoxoxoxo

Maggie dominating her kingdom

That tongue can touch the floor when it all hangs out...

A bit overweight (thanks to my brother and his fellow friends in Boulder, CO) but still beautiful

The proportion of Meeegs head to her body is a bit off... 

Why people say "this is a face only a mother can love" about Maggie is beyond me!  How could you NOT love this face.  

Best Birthday Gift

Yes, today is my birthday...I am now 26 years old, yikes!  I got the best surprise this morning.  A FedEx box come for me and when I looked at the return address, it was from my seester all the way in Saigon, Vietnam!  I am so touched and excited that she sent me a gift from around the world.  I was laughing out loud when I opened the package.  Here is what is inside...

Vietnamese coffee!!!! SOOOO excited!!  Brew the beans and add some condensed sweet milk and you got a cafe su da!

Grass placemats.  Love them

A toothbrush and an iPhone case.  You know I have a BB ash.  Hahaha, I love them anyways!

Thank you so much for the great gifts seester.   I love you with all my heart and I miss you even more!  xoxoxoxoxoxo

Fabric, anyone?

My afternoon started off with a meeting from one of my fabric reps from an amazing company!  He was so amazing and shlepped all these books of fabric to my office!!

Thats a whole lotta fabric!!  Anyone need any furniture recovered?

How about any window treatments??

I am VERY excited to now have this company apart of my library and ready to use these for my future projects.  Not only are they beautiful but the price point is so fabulous!  Very affordable and super durable!

These fabrics are GREEN...

...69% Organic Cotton 31%Bamboo

Simply beautiful...really liking the organic looking patterns...

Unique vinyls!

 

Looks just like natural wood

If you are looking for any cool, unique, and green fabrics-contact me!  I would be thrilled to help!  My library is expanding like crazy and my options for finishes seem to be endless.  I've got something for everyone!  

GREEN TIP OF THE WEEK (GTW)

Happy Monday everyone!  Hope everyone had a great weekend!  Here is a simple, easy green tip to start your week of:  Slowly shift your daily home products to "green" products such as cleaning supplies, light bulbs, grocery bags, water bottles, and many more!

If you are a novice  greenie thats ok!  It can be a progression and slowly shifting your lifestyle can make the biggest difference!  Here are some small ways I am green in my own home and life.

These are amazing!  For all of you who have dogs, you go through a lot of poop bags-switch over to these 100% Biodegradable bags.  

See!  Even your pets can be green!

I try as much as I can to not buy water bottles.  Plastic is one of the primary waste component that consumes our landfills.  Do your part and carry a reusable water.  I have a cabinet full of them.  If you HAVE to buy water bottles, buy ones that are made from recycled materials or have a low level of plastic content.

This one is SO easy!  Buy reusable canvas bags- they are in every store and super cheap!  You can never have enough canvas bags.  These are so great for when you go grocery shopping-I keep a bunch of these in my car at all times to make it easier for me to remember to use them when I go shopping.

This shift was kind of hard for me.  I am somewhat of a neat freak and constantly cleaning my apartment.  I was going through too many rolls of paper towels and collecting too much garbage.  After realizing how terrible disinfectants are for indoor air quality, I switched over to using green cleaning products that are made of natural oils and plants.  They do just as great of a job as any other home cleaning product.  The cleaning bottles are also biodegradable!  DOUBLE WHAMMY!  Instead of using paper towel rolls, I use old kitchen rags, towels that I cut into pieces, and even old t-shirts.  My waste consumption from this shift alone has made such a difference!  You can too!