Urban Nest

We are starting something new here at Urban Nest!  On Fridays (give or take a few), we’ll be featuring a regular series that we’re calling “Take 3″.  Here’s the idea – every week one of us will pick something for the home (a piece of furniture, a couple yards of fabric, an accessory) and each of us will tell you what we would do with it – that is, our “take” on it.  You’ll get more glimpses of our personal styles and hopefully some great ideas!  I’m really excited about it and was happy to win the round of rock-paper-scissors that meant I got the first to pick.  So, here goes.

My family room is in desperate need of more storage.  As Nathan’s toys join Violet’s collection of stuff, we are in danger of no longer being able to see the floor!  I’ve been looking at dressers to stash some of Violet’s craft supplies and games in and am considering this one from Gothic Cabinet Craft:

The goal, a piece of furniture that doesn’t scream “kid-gear lies within” and also has some character.

Juliet’s take:  Surfer Girl Preppy

“I’m feeling a little surfer girl preppy with this one. I would order the Flat Shaker Dresser in the Midnight Blue premium finish and label each of the six drawers with oversized numeric stencils — 01, 02, 03, etc. — in Ballet Slipper Pink by Martha Stewart for Home Depot. If you can’t tell online, this pale shade of pink actually has some gold undertones to it — think champagne. 

I can’t decide if I’d align the numbers straight down the center of each drawer or if it would be hip to align them to the center of the dresser (right align left drawers; left align right drawers). 

Finally, I would line the interior of the drawers with Marigold Wrapping Paper from Paper-Source. I’d top the whole thing off with this Rustic Whitewash table lamp from Shades of Light, a straw beach bag and my sunglasses!  

A perfect fit for a fresh and breezy beach bungalow.” – Juliet

Stephanie’s take: Vintage Coastal

“I was inspired by a tutorial for a coastal style wooden flag from The Lettered Cottage. Basically, I would paint the dresser Picket Fence by Martha Stewart for Home Depot and sand it to give a weathered look with a slight vintage effect.  I would use Sea Glass also by Martha as an accent for the 2 stripes on the front and add this hardware from Lee Valley.” – Stephanie

My take: Subtle Glam

My inspiration came from these lucite knobs from The Paris Apartment – they would add just a hint of glam to the dresser.  I would keep the color scheme fresh and clean and frame out each of the drawers with simple moulding and have it spray-laquered in Vanilla Milkshake by Benjamin Moore.  The Harriet lamp from Jayson Home & Garden would sit next to a stack of books topped with this yellow glass by Jonathan Adler filled with white flowers.

I have to say that I love what Juliet and Stephanie came up with and think I need to tweak my design to include some beachy vibes!  Maybe a driftwood lamp and a hint of color.  I just might do it!