HIYAAAA!
This post makes me supremely happy. It is the second in my French inspired series. In my last post about my French inspired KITCHEN design, we talked about what makes it truly French inspired? What are the elements of classic French bistro design? If you missed it, check it out here.
I have a funny story about this post involving Mr. Kate saving the day. More on that in a minute.
First, we are going to ‘oooo’ and ‘ahhh’ over some French bistro dining areas so you know where I drew my inspiration from. Get ready!
Tell me about it, stud. I did my best Sandy impression from Grease. It didn’t work out so well. Let’s keep looking at amazing French bistros, shall we?
Now the story about Mr. Kate. Do you see how amazing the black and white floor tile I used in my design is??? If you don’t want to scroll up, here it is:
For some reason, past me decided to save it without saving the name. LIKE A FOOL. Usually, when I save an item, I name it very specifically and include the vendor and website. SO WHO KNOWS HOW THIS HAPPENED. So, I have this beautiful tile that I want to use, but I cannot locate it anywhere. I spent so much time googling every variation of “black and white tile”, “french bistro tile”, “french tile”, and every other combo. I finally gave up and instead started searching for similar options. That has to be ok, right? But still, that makes me feel weird. I’m ok doing it if the item is sold out, but it makes me feel crappy that I couldn’t find it because I was a dumb person. It bugged me that I couldn’t source it, not just because I need it for this project, but because I love it and could use it in future projects. And once you have your heart set on something, none of the similar options were remotely good enough.
I MEAN LOOK AT IT.
Now that I’ve lost all hope and am officially crushed, here comes the precious unicorn creative weirdo, Mr. Kate, to save the day. I was in bed waking up while casually scrolling through instastories. I am currently invested in Orlando Soria’s feud with Nate Berkus and Target (it’s all about scissors–this is hard hitting news) and his serious FOMO about Martha Stewart’s friends. BTW, Martha Stewart has a better social life than I do, and she’s in her 70s. So, there’s that.
Back to Mr. Kate. Her instastories were after Orlando’s and what is she doing in her VERY FIRST story? Posing in her bathroom in front of her beautiful shower…clad with the exact tile I have been looking for. Isn’t that funny how life works out? I then remembered that I watched her bathroom remodel on Youtube in her “OMG We Bought a House” series. So I watched it again and BAM, I now have the make and model of that tile I searched endlessly for. Mr. Kate for the assist!!! She saved me. Her pink hair and fairy princess-ness saved me. And it makes me feel super cool that I chose the same tile that Kate owns. Does that make me famous?!?! Or at least noteworthy?? Does a tile count as the rule of 7 where you’re only 7 people from a celebrity? Or maybe just someone you bring up if you’re in need of something anecdotal when there is an uncomfortable silence to fill? Yeah, probably the latter.
MORE IMPORTANTLY! Can we also talk about WHY, OH, WHY in all my google searches for black and white tile, that tile did not come up??? GET IT TOGETHER, GOOGLE. Someone needs to work on their SEO (search engine optimization–it’s what picks out key words on a page and allows you to be found in a google search–my fiance is a software engineer and you pick up a few things after 6 years). I can also code “Stop; Hammer time”. But that is a story for another time…or never. Probably never. Ok, I’ll just tell you. This is how I spice up a 6+ year relationship with a tech guy: by teaching myself how to code (poorly) so I can send my fiance something funny. He was impressed. I, however, discovered coding is super hard and now have a tremendous respect for Karlie Kloss, who teaches “Kode with Klossy” to allow girls to learn to code. Girl Power what what!
I guess now I’ll tell you about this design, since you stopped by and all. I wouldn’t want the best thing you read in this post to be about how I can code “Stop; Hammer time”. Although, that probably will be the best thing because it’s an awesome story.
Lately, I’ve noticed myself taking a more minimal approach to designing. MAYBE BECAUSE MY APARTMENT IS AN APARTMENT FOR ANTS. Everyday in NYC, I feel my own walls closing in, so I guess this is my way of decluttering my designs. Not that they were ever cluttered, but just looking at a rendering that is minimal gives me such a sense of peace. Like maybe I can someday have space. I’ve been doing guided meditations and at the part when they say to picture your perfect place, I always picture a scene with rolling hills of wheat (how freaking American does that sound? Sheesh lol), at dusk, with a tree in the distance and nobody else around. Ahhhhhh. So nice. As Liz Lemon would say, “I want to go to there”.
The Design
So for the dining space, I decided to go sans-rug. Here’s a pro tip: if you’re on a budget, GO MINIMAL. Don’t do a rug, don’t do many accessories, and the result will be something that looks so high end and sexy that you’ll cry happy tears and vow to never leave your place until you run out of food. Which, for me, would be literally months. I’m a chef at heart, so your girl’s gotta have that pantry, fridge, and freezer stocked to capacity. A few months back our freezer was so stocked it started making noises like it was going to explode. I have yet to learn my lesson. BECAUSE FOOD.
I also wanted to take the minimalism of French bistro style, and update it. That is why I chose this TO.DIE.FOR wallpaper by Hygge & West. To be a pal, I want you to know Hygge is pronounced ‘hoo-gah’. Just like I wish someone told me that Glossier was pronounced ‘gloss-see-ay’ instead of ‘gloss-see-er’ so I wouldn’t go around embarrassing myself. Ugh, thank you nobody.
Obvs, I chose French windows, which are my favorite windows out of all the windows, ever. And we accessories with plants and art that is casually leaning against the wall on the floor so that it doesn’t look too finished, and also resembles a sexy French lady with red lipstick leaning up against a wall smoking and saying “who? me?”. The patterns are playful and the palette is minimal and it just WORKS. Black and white will forever be a favorite color scheme of mine because it is so classic and timeless but also SUPER modern and artistic. It’s so easy to give a nod to French minimalism while also including contemporary touches. And there you have it folks. Tah Dah!
You can shop my design below; everything is tagged because I love you and want you to have pretty things.
Mr. Kate, call me! (lol)
Catch ya on the flippity flip! (Said like Michael Scott)
-K
SHOP MY DESIGN
- Chandelier 2. French Style Casement Windows 3. Art 4. Wallpaper 5. Art 6. Art 7. Art 8. Terracotta Vase 9. Wall Planter 10. Planter (similar) 11. Olive Leaf Mirror 12. Dining Table 13. Bistro Chair 14. Tile 15. Olive Leaf Mirror Oval