Hello friends, happy new week to you!

I just came across these cool “Pantone” folding chairs. Love them! A set of six, please! (They come in 7 colors, including a gray…!)

Pantone is the standardized system for the selection and accurate communication of color. Every conceivable color has its own reference number, used globally throughout the design industry.

Finally a chair that I would have no problem mixing with a contemporary chair like this one (when extra seating is needed).

… or with old style chairs like these.

I think they blend in just about anywhere. They add a splash of color and are so fun. Guaranteed conversation pieces! (And so easy to fold and put away).

Friends, I am a little on the busy right now with everything wrapping up before the end of the school season, here in Seattle. Just give me a little bit of time and I will soon catch up with my blog friends and share some some good posts with all my readers. Love to you all!

Inspiration for this blog post via DesignersBlock.  Image 1. via The Holding Company, image 2. via Living Etc, Image 3. via Skona Hem.

Before I start, I would like to say that in my monthly “In The Spotlight” interviews, I feature people who I personally find very interesting & inspirational and have something to teach about design & art. Now, some of them also happen to have blogs (I have met them in lovely blog land!). But that is not why I pick them.

Meet my dear friend Ally with From The Right Bank. (I have known her since my early blog days and she was the one who pushed me when I thought blogging was so hard). Ally has a fabulous blog which is a must read for all my readers but what I am really interested in is her eye for design. Eclectic living. She has such good taste, this gal (and she shares her personal interior design ideas and her home with her readers) . I just want to explore design through her eyes and hear her thoughts! I personally look to her for inspiration. So enjoy what she has to say and her hand picked images!

Ally, describe your design style for us.

This is always tough for me to do. My style is all over the place as I really do love just about everything. It’s a combination of global bohemian influenced by my travels along with some French froufrou from my years living in Paris, balanced out by a bit of clean and modern Scandinavian simplicity.

Hmmmmm . . . looking back at all of my homes, they’ve all been a bit hodge podge in decor so I guess it’s always been my thing.

What is key for a perfect eclectic room or house?

Mixing styles, time periods, textures, price points, . . . everything!

Tell us more about your new home. What is the biggest difference compared to your last?

My new house could not be more different from my last one. We used to live in a contemporary, open-plan house with lots of glass, concrete and exposed beams. Our new house is a traditional brick with a much more formal layout and feel.

Did you already know how you wanted to decorate the house, before the moving truck arrived?

I think you already know the answer to this question, Monika! Of course! From the minute we made an offer on the house, I was decorating in my head, sketching floor plans, and picking out fixtures and paint colors.

Does your husband have any say in the design process?

I run some things by him but for the most part, he’s happy to let me do whatever I want because he trusts my style. Thank goodness!

Any brand new design ideas you are going for this time around?

In keeping with the architecture of the house, I’m incorporating more traditional elements than before. But I want to put a twist on it. (Of course!)

Are there any budget friendly DIY projects close to your heart that you have tried or are looking forward to trying?

I bought a set of 4 red leather chairs at a thrift store in New York back when we lived there and they’ve definitely seen better days. So I want to try my hand at reupholstering them. I’ve been inspired by all the amazing chair makeovers everyone seems to be doing lately. As much as I like decorating, I’m pretty incompetent when it comes to DIY so it’s going to be a real experiment!

What ‘s on your design object wish list?

The top three are probably: 1. deGournay wallpaper, 2. Arne Jacobsen’s Egg Chair, 3. Union Jack rug by Vivienne Westwood for the Rug Company.

Any sentimental design objects you never will depart from?

Most of the art we have has been collected on our travels or have been gifts so they all have special meaning and I can’t see parting with any of it.

Do you have any secret places for good design finds?

I’m just starting to discover all the amazing antique shops all over Atlanta. I had no idea of the treasures they have here! I’d say the whole Atlanta area is a very well-kept secret.

Have you settled down for good in Atlanta? Or will we see you living in other areas or countries down the road?

With me, there is always another move somewhere on the horizon(!) and I would love the opportunity to live abroad again. But I just got here so there are no immediate plans!

Today you running a very successful design blog. What do you see yourself doing 2-3 years from now?

I see myself continuing to blog, write and photograph. I’d also like to get back to painting more and creating a body of work to exhibit.

For more on Ally’s blog, go here.

Images via: 1. Private, 2. Living Etc, 3. Elle Interior Sweden, 4. Domino, 5. Marie Claire Maison, 6. Lonny, 7. Abigail Ahern, 8. D Magazine, 9. Marie Claire Maison, 10. From The Right Bank, 11. Fritz Hansen. 12. The Rug Company, 13. New York Magazine, 14. Domino, 15. Marie Claire Maison, 16. Ngoc Minh Ngo

Welcome to my home in Seattle! The very talented (and funny!) Patricia Van Essche made this drawing of my home. I absolutely love it! (it has kind of a retro feel to it, which is what I wanted and she made the house look even better than in real life! Haha!). Thank you Patricia! This was a winter picture. We are now starting to get more greenery in our front yard. And yes, the sun shines even in Seattle!

Here is a montage of some things/areas at my house. (If I am brave enough, I might share more with you. A little bit of remodeling will begin soon and I would love to bring you along on my very personal design trials and tribulations!). My blog style “Edgy classic with a Swedish twist” is also my style at home. I like to mix old with contemporary and high-end with flea market finds. (I have no problem pairing original 18th c. dining chairs with Ikea chairs. (As a matter of fact I encourage it!). Our love for art and books is real and of course my home would not be called “home” without a good dose of “Swedish”! Not many pieces here are brand new. I like classic pieces and I am not  a slave to trends. I know what I like and what works for me and my lively family (3 kids + two cats!). Comfort has highest priority for me and a good welcoming vibe for people of all sizes. The kids climb on very single piece of furniture in our house – 24/7. (I grew up in a family where we kids were not allowed to enter the dining room except on very special occasions). If you look closely you will find signs of markers on my dining table and chocolate fingerprints on just about anything upholstered. And I love it! A house needs to breathe life).

This is pretty cute. When I was taking a picture of the foyer, little William (2.5) decided to park his bumblebee vehicle right in front of the camera – on his way to grab a snack in the kitchen! This is why I love kids!

An old, antique Italian secretaire paired with a cubby shelf from Pottery Barn! You can read more about that here.

Do you remember my little chest dilemma, a while back (read here)? My question to myself (and to you!) was if I should paint my antique chest navy blue? And perhaps add new hardware? The majority of you said yes.

And after some soul searching and looking at it from all angles – I went for it! And I could not be happier! Let me introduce to you my new night stand table!

I had the chest first primed and then painted in Benjamin Moore’s ” Old Navy” (oil based, high gloss). I replaced the dull ornaments with these wonderful and substantial lion pulls from the fabulous hardware company Whitechapel Ltd (the pulls are in brass and originally from England).

Now, I would not recommend painting just any kind of antique. Actually, in many cases I dot not recommend even touching them at all. But having imported antiques in the past, I can assure you that this is not a a quality piece. And instead of it not having such a prime spot in our home, it is now the delight of our master bedroom!

I also decided to leave my consignment shop gold mirror ($27 dollars!) in its original state. Gold is back in vogue again and several of you convinced me not to touch it!

Old marching band music cards!

So, there you have it! My chest makeover. I could not be more pleased!. This  folks, is the ONLY area in the entire house that is mine – ONLY mine! It feels so luxurious to me (and yet this project cost me less than a good pair of shoes)! Here I keep things nice and organized and I surround myself with only things that I love. This corner is my own little piece of heaven!

Thank you for letting me share my home with you. Happy, happy to you all! And check in on Thursday when you will meet a lady with really good taste (and who inspires me!)