511 Meets 116: Knots and Weaves

My dear friend, who is now in the very last leg of her pregnancy, has been giving me the pleasure of helping her to decorate her new beautiful home. I’ve featured her here several times as 511 meets 116. Yesterday, she told me about a fabulous store that I just had to check out, for unique, one-of-a-kind decor items, vintage finds, gifts and rugs.

Knots and Weaves has a longstanding reputation as being a fine rug store; from Moroccan to traditional, oriental to ikat, they have it all. I was enamored with many of their  rugs upon first entering. I wish I had room for these two amazing pieces in my home. I have a rug crush.

More recently, however, was the gem my friend told me about, the upstairs called The Loft, that features many little nooks of all different design aesthetics and styles. Upon walking upstairs, with my 5 month old and very pregnant bestie in tow, I was immediately drawn to so many unique pieces; tapestries, wall-hangings, and a mirror that I am coveting for my bedroom gallery wall.

I thought this piece was super cool, and almost Jonathan Adler-esque

and obviously I loved this leopard moment

I love how in one store, on one floor, you can find this totally mod lamp

and turn around and be in a beach-inspired room with amazing accessories like this amazing piece

Also in the loft were rooms of incredible clothing and accessories, both vintage and new. Look at this bag. This totally looks like Missoni. And it was on sale for $20. I loooooved it.

Finally, they had a room that was more of a traditional gift shop, with candles, tumblers, and tons of personalized and monogrammed gifts, from wall hangings to clutches. Fabulous present potential.

I will definitely be venturing back to Knots and Weaves (maybe for the mirror I am still thinking about!) and suggest that you check it out if you are looking for something completely unique, extraordinary and personal to you. For updates (and possibly an adorable pic of my son lounging on their couch) you can check out their Facebook page here.)

Trust me; I would Knot steer you wrong.

Don’t judge me; I am the worst at jokes. Ever. Like ever ever. But I tried!

Check out the store, I hope you enjoy!

 

Advertisement

Dining Time

Our dining room is probably my favorite in the house. I love the aesthetics of it, but more than that it is a woven tapestry; a journey through time and across the world and a fine blend of contributions from many of our cherished loved ones. It is also the room in which we signed the deal when our offer was accepted on the house nearly 18 months ago.

The room had great bones; Big, sunny windows, incredible molding, french doors, all covered in dull paint and tired window treatments and, literally, dust.

Here is a before shot:

I mentioned earlier that I had (have) a thing for paint colors, and the story of my dining room transformation begins with an obsession to find the perfect paint. I should mention now that before we moved into the house we did several things: First, we installed central air. Second, we did some structural work like building a bannister to the third floor and some window seats. But the greatest transformation was the painting. We painted every single wall of the house. Every wall, every door, every single thing I could think of to paint (including an antique mirrored table I found while antiquing in Lambertville, but more on that later). And 90% of the walls in my house I painted in some shade of white. This house needed a fresh start, and to me, warm white was the way to go. However, not in this dining room. This dining room, I felt, had the potential to be spectacular. And so, after much agonizing, I chose Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray and I could not love it more. The molding and French Doors we painted in Benjamin Moore Decorator’s White. It is so special.

And so, here are some shots of the After. As always, click on the photos below to see them in their full size.

So here it is. Our dining room. 

This table is one of our newest pieces, originally from Material Culture, the two pieces bookending are from Nadeau and the Frame holding the tapestry is from my go-to, Home Goods, all being some of our favorite furniture spots. Inside the frame is a very special piece, fabric my parents brought back for us from their trip to Vietnam. It finally has a home.

The table and chairs, which are a rich terra cotta, were given to us by my husband’s father, as they had formerly been used as his board room set. His parents also gave us the Kilim rug.

I love this little nook. This chair has an interesting story; we saw it in one of our favorite (but extremely expensive) stores in Lambertville this past summer and thought it was beautiful and reasonable, but could not think of a place for it. Weeks later, we thought about using it for our Living Room, so we called the store and it had not been sold, but it had been moved back to their warehouse, so if we wanted it, we had to come immediately. So my husband made the round trip drive, 90 minutes each way, and the chair came to live with us, where it had always been meant to reside. The botanicals hanging are also special to us; one was a wedding gift and the other from my parents from London. The large painting which is a depiction of Eve is from my grandparents. See what I mean? This room has so much history. So much soul.

Our credenza is a spectacular marble and carved piece given to us by dear family friends, to whom it had been gifted by their dear family friends. The tapestry of our story continues…Most of the decor on top of the credenza is from Home Grown, not to be confused with the other HG. These are some of my more high end pieces, and also some of my most meaningful. The beautiful candlesticks you see were an engagement gift from my Aunt and Late Uncle. I love seeing them every day. The “Art” displayed is another example of a picture that I liked, printed and framed. It cost me next to nothing. High/Low strikes again.

Our light fixture we brought from our old house’s kitchen. It came with the house and was always my favorite. The sconces are from good old Home Depot. Fahn-cy, indeed.

In the shot above, to the left of the French doors, you can see another one of my most meaningful pieces; a gift from my parents that says “Woman of Valor” with a Hamsa. It is an honor to have it hanging in my home. From this vantage point you can see into both our Living Room and Sunroom, which is one of my favorite attributes of our house; the openness. It also gives a bit of a sneak peak for what’s to come…