Friendly Inspiration

At the end of last week, Dave and I schlepped down to Massachusetts for the wedding of our friends, John and Danielle. Oops, let me clarify - Dave was the officiant, so he actually MARRIED them! Apparently, in Mass., any ol' person off the street can apply to be, essentially, a justice of the peace for 24 hours. Pretty cool, huh?

Other than the fabulous, special wedding, we were lucky enough to see (and stay with) our awesome friends Josh and Melissa. Dave's known them since...well, for plenty of years...and I'm lucky that they've become dear to me, as well. Seriously, it was like love at first sight when I met them. They had arrived early for an overnight visit last year and I scrambled to meet them at the house, admittedly nervous about greeting them solo (since Dave was at work). But, after showing them into the house, we all started talking, and several hours later when Dave arrived, he still couldn't shut us up. They. Are. Awesome.

And so is their new apartment. I won't show any pictures that indicate where they live or any crazy thing like that, but I MUST share the inspiration that struck me while staying with them. They very, very recently moved into a new place, but you could definitely feel their sense of style and awareness of space (mostly brought about by their years living in NYC...and because they're truly artistic souls). My faves:

Awesome pillow.
I believe Melissa made this with Ikea fabric.

Rustic kitchen table - with storage underneath!

Sorry, gentlemen. Just loving the colors in that quilt.

Another incredible handmade pillow.
(On a slipcover couch. WANT ONE!)

Pay no attention to my chatting husband.
DO, however, notice the spray-painted lamp. Gorg.

 

And the beautiful Crate & Barrel trunk coffee table.
Chunkiness. Storage. Rusticity. Room for wine. Perfect!
(And see the red entertainment center in the back?? :-D)

I should admit that the inspiration that Dave and I come away from Mass. and seeing his/our friends is clearly more than decorative (although we hit up their Christmas Tree Shop on the way home - way more stylish than ours! I went a little nuts). It's almost like our perspectives on everything are reset. We return home feeling jubilant, ready to conquer any challenge, inspired (of course)...but also missing the heck out of the folks we'd just left.