A while back, I mentioned that I had pretty cool news about an upcoming feature. I am excited to show you the i village article that I was lucky enough to be a part of! I was contacted by i village, a web site about everything from health and beauty to decor and food, to talk about my favorite design trend for 2013.

Eeek- that’s our dining room! It didn’t take long before I decided on my favorite design trend for this season… mixing metals! To give a space a collected over time look, I love mixing metal finishes in one room. Stop by to see what I have to say about this trend {slide 5} and also take a look to see what some other amazing designers had to say about more trends happening this season! Read the article in its entirety HERE. Thank you so much to Lia for writing a great article and to i village for this opportunity!  🙂

Thank you to everyone who entered the Kimberly Blok Photography giveaway! Even if you didn’t win, I am sure you will enjoy going back to her shop for some amazing prints. I went through random.org to find the winner, and it’s…

Raelena, from her blog Throuthehaze Reads. Congratulations, Raelena! E-mail me at simpledwellings1(at)gmail(dot)com for more info.!

Happy Monday! Is anyone in the mood for Valentine’s Day shopping or gift giving of any kind?? If you are, I have a treat for you today! Kimberly Blok, one of my favorite etsy artists, is giving away a print from her shop, to one lucky Simple Dwellings reader! If you haven’t been to Kimberly’s etsy shop before, take a look at her amazing photography skills…

I could keep going, her work is that amazing! She has the ability to capture any moment and make it look more beautiful than if you were there, in person. Now for the details of this amazing giveaway! Kimberly will be giving away one 8×8 or 8×10 print of your choice! {And by the way, all of the prints above fall under that category!} Here’s how to enter:

1. Stop by Kimberly’s etsy shop HERE and then come back to this blog, telling me your favorite item.
2. Like Kimberly Blok Photography on facebook, HERE.
3. Follow Simple Dwellings on Google Friend Connect, over on my sidebar.

For an additional entry:
* Add Kimberly’s etsy site to your favorites HERE. {+1}
* Blog about this giveaway, with this post’s link included. {+1}
* Tweet about this giveaway, with this post’s link included. {+1}
* Mention this giveaway on facebook, with this post’s link included. {+1}

{Leave separate comments for each additional entry.}

That’s all there is to it! 5 chances to win!! The winner will be announced here this Wednesday, 2/6!

I am now on Instagram! It has definitely become a fun new addiction. Follow along at AmberBInteriors. Here are some recent design ideas and happenings around the house…

Over the past year, I have noticed my eye sight getting worse. Every time I couldn’t see things as clearly as before, I kept reminding myself that it was time for an eye exam and new glasses. It must have been my lucky day, because the amazing eyeglass company, Firmoo, e-mailed and asked if I would like to review their product and receive new prescription glasses. I jumped at the chance! I was so happy to find about this company, because I was ready to pay at least $150 on new glasses! I went and had a quick eye exam at the eye doctor and then went to the Firmoo site to browse my options! I was so excited to find so many different frames to choose from. I knew I wanted new black framed glasses and there was a huge selection! This is what I ended up selecting…

The type of frame I chose can be found HERE. I was a little nervous that I wasn’t able to try them on in person, but Firmoo offers the next best thing. Not only can you see multiple images of your chosen frame on models, you can also upload your own photo to virtually try them on! I was also worried that I didn’t fill out my prescription correctly and they would be a blurry mess when I put on the glasses. I was so excited to try them on and see that they were a perfect match. I loved the style, the fit and how crisp everything looked. I could see again!  🙂 Firmoo offers prescription and non prescription glasses and sunglasses. Since I wanted mine with a prescription, I just needed to fill out the necessary information that was already given to me when I had my eye exam.

The glasses came quickly and well packaged. The package included a soft case, hard cover case and a smudge cloth for cleaning. It also included the tools to tighten any loose areas of the glasses, when needed. I was so happy with my decision and I would highly recommend using Firmoo for any eye wear!

Now comes the fun part for you…

How do you take advantage of this great deal??

Firmoo offers a First Pair Free program! The only payment will be the shipping! And if you are not happy with the glasses, you can receive a refund/exchange. Why not give it a try?!?

Prescription glasses can be so expensive, so this site was right up my alley. I loved the trendy selections to choose from and the ease of use with the site. Now, I just have to work on my model pose!  🙂

Stop by Kirsten’s blog, 6th Street Design School, where she is featuring photos of our home’s holiday decorations! I have been following Kirsten’s blog since I began my own, so it is a huge honor and treat to have a little time on her amazing blog.

Kirsten has a weekly home tour series every Friday, but this month she has decided to include multiple bloggers for a holiday re cap! Stop by and see the other featured homes and decorations HERE.

Words cannot even express the heartfelt sympathy we all feel for the victims in the Connecticut tragedy. My hope is that time and happy memories will help them heal during this unthinkable time. My thoughts and prayers are with the families. Our greatest wish is for peace on earth…

I am excited to introduce a shop that has something for everyone! When a representative from NOVICA contacted me about a product review, I did not know about this site. I am so glad I do now! NOVICA is one of the leading fair trade artisan websites. They work with National Geographic to give talented artisans around the world a place to express their artistic talents and we have the opportunity to own handmade, well crafted pieces. They have thousands of  accessories, jewelry and home decor items on the site. I was surprised and excited to see how much there was to choose from, which made the narrowing down even tougher! The fun part was browsing through their site and thinking about what to pick out! I was torn between a few things, but ultimately decided on…

Happy Friday! I am happy to introduce Eva as a guest post for today! She has some great inspiration for us, as well as some clarification for design styles!

Vintage with Elegance

Hello Simple Dwellings readers. I am Eva Stephen from Shop 4 Furniture and I am feeling so happy and excited about being guest here. I dedicate my guest post to the fans of vintage styling and decoration as I am also a vintage fan.

In recent years, the hot trend for bedrooms has often revolved around the ‘shabby chic’ style. Old pieces of furniture and well-chosen antiques have all held a place close to our hearts in our most intimate room in the house, and for once many of us have learned to accept the flaws and tattiness that comes with original pieces as part of their charm and have embraced the shabbiness of older furniture.

Image Credit: Pinterest

As time has moved on, so have tastes, and today it seems that the style to embrace in our sleeping quarters has more of a vintage flavour. You might be forgiven for thinking that vintage and shabby chic are one and the same, but when you start to scratch the surface of these styles, you will start to see that there are some fundamental differences in creating that perfect look for your contemporary bedroom.

Vintage vs. shabby chic – what’s the difference?
Over the past decade or so, vintage has risen from the depths of totally uncool to become one of the hottest trends around. In fact it seems to have swept up everyone from the old rockabillies of the 40’s through to the lovers of 80’s chic and emerged as a fairly dominant sub culture in the world of style. But what does ‘vintage’ mean, and how do you get the look?
Here are some key points about vintage style, which can relate to everything from clothing to furniture and even music:

• Vintage means ‘original’, so no reproduction items here!
• Good vintage items will capture the style of a period
• Vintage items can be anything from 30 to 100 years old, as long as they are original and represent the style of an era
• The hottest form of vintage style is definitely revolving around the 20’s to the 40’s, although you could focus on the 80’s and still be classed as ‘vintage’.

Image Credit: Pinterest

Shabby chic, on the other hand, has been a popular style of decorating and furnishing a home over the past decade or so. The style hasn’t really applied itself to clothing or music, and is really only used to describe furniture, soft furnishings and ornaments. The whole ethos of it is to give the home a pleasantly worn, distressed look and feel, whether the pieces in the room are truly old or not.
Here are the key points about shabby chic style, which you can compare and contrast with the vintage elements above:
• Shabby is all about looking old, worn and distressed
• Often pieces of ‘shabby chic’ are actually not period pieces, but more modern items that have been purposely fashioned to look older and more tired
• A typical shabby chic piece will be heavily painted, often in white but also sometimes in pastel shades, and frequently the finish will be rough and scratched in places
• Shabby chic allows for new creations and homemade styles, using old fabrics to customise or upcycle things like chairs and cushions to match your style

So, in summary, vintage items are period pieces, whereas shabby items can be non-period but customised to match the style.

Getting that vintage look in your bedroom

For many people, the vintage style holds lots of positive elements, particularly in the bedroom environment. Some householders may not relish the idea of having shabby looking pieces and peeling paint in their bedrooms, so the introduction of a vintage style allows them to create their own, unique look whilst still keeping everything clean and in good condition.

The elements of a vintage bedroom are easy to adopt, without spending a fortune. Soft colours, textured fabrics and delicate patterns all add up to create that vintage style you are looking for. The beauty of vintage styles is that you have the flexibility to create a style that is all your own, as there are no set rules or formulas to follow. However you choose to create your vintage bedroom, you are sure to be able to inject your own personality and style into the mix. Don’t feel like you have to spend a fortune on iconic pieces for your room, as many great bargains can be found in charity shops, car boot sales and online auctions. Once you know what you’re looking for, hunting out those bargains will be half the fun in creating your unique vintage bedroom style!

Thanks for being here, Eva! I love what you have put together. And great design definitely doesn’t have to cost a fortune! Classifying the 80’s as Vintage definitely makes me feel old!  🙂 Thanks for inspiring us today.

Happy weekend and welcome to the series Why This Works… where I highlight a designed space and discuss what I love. Today’s classic living room was designed by Kate Jackson and is seen in Houzz. Take a look!