well, you probably knew it was coming sooner or later. i mean, just about everyone wants to live in paris at least once in their life, n’est–ce pas? some people with real gumption, like jordan ferney of oh happy day and her sister gabrielle blair of design mom, actually did it — they packed up their families’ belongings and moved to france for a year! so today, in my dreams, i live in paris! i think of this as Amélie’s paris. bright, happy, and oh so carefree.

i imagine my living room will be like erin fetherston’s apartment and will have high ceilings and a weathered old fireplace mantel, and it will be quite eclectic, displaying many treasures from my world travels. because you know, when you’re living in paris, you just hop on a train to just about anywhere, and you’re very cosmopolitan, much like the swan house, as photographed by petra bindel.

i’ll no doubt have a tres jolie little bedroom like this one from lonny, with lots of beside reading, like the seven faces of love to inspire my romantic adventures, from paris hotel boutique and this sweet idea for a book by artist jacqui lee, les quatre cents coups. i like the idea of stacking them on a bentwood chair, like this one in family living magazine, via emma’s design blogg; and, oh ouí, i plan on eating lots of pretty macarons in bed completely guilt free, via tina danut.

naturally, like a good parisian, i will ride my bicycle everywhere around the city, especially to pick up my morning crossiant and fresh fruit. this vintage turquoise one will do nicely, from pony_tail; i’ll bring back my breakfast goodies to enjoy in my little breakfast nook before i begin my day, perhaps leisurely perusing an old issue of holiday magazine, via kate spade. vive la france!

• top photo via artistlanas.

i saw this photograph of magazine editor magazine Darcy Miller Nussbaum’s dining room nook in architectural digest, and was quite taken with this gallery arrangement of family photographs — not to mention that is one stunning light fixture! what i think i really like, is the juxtiposition of the very fancy chandelier with that of the simple box frames. it creates such an interesting and unexpected contrast. i like that. i even covet it.

• bottom images: frames via country living; chandelier via this is glamorous.

so lovely, right? but i want, no i’m sorry, i need to hang some art in there! my first thought was to gather up a whole bunch of tiny, vintage looking portraits by oregon based artist elizabeth bauman, and hang them in a little cluster, like this:

love! oh, or maybe just three simple, absolutely gorgeous textile assemblages {all of which are 22”x18”} by vancouver based artist jessica bell. i think the colors and textures in these pieces are fantastic,  don’t you?!

see – gorgeous! now, the other option is to ‘go big or go home’! this huge {60”x48”!!!}  pen on canvas piece by korean born, brooklyn based artist il lee is definitely in that camp:

gah! amazing. and created using only blue ball point pen – kinda perfect for a home office, no?

well that was fun! virtual rearranging might be exactly what i need! see you back here in a couple of weeks with a new room, and more art. if you have any suggestions for spaces, or pieces you’d like to see hung, please leave a comment here, and let me know! ~ the jealous curator

the idea of pops of pink and white with a dab of black inspired this round up of rooms — all with lovely light and happy colorful hues. all very cheerful spots to hang out that exude a kind of eclectic charm, each in its own unique way. p.s. i’d like to get my hands on one of these amazing paintings!

lucite looks so great with pops of color in this fun workspace, via lonny; lovely pastel twist on a mid-century modern room, via elle decoration uk; love this dramatic dining room with all that pink and white in strong contrast to the black background.

pop of pink walls via home life; stylist pippa holt’s home on living inside, via automatism; raya carlisle photographs jaime morrison curtis’ patio makeover for babble; and i love this little bar cart from hannah’s room.

pretty, pretty office designed by Betsy Burnham, via lonny magazine.

• top photograph beautiful home from interior magasinet; via damask & dentelle.

i’ve been trying to figure out what the heck to do with my dining room for a while now. i hung the patrick townsend white orbit chandelier, but since i painted over the black walls, it’s been just looking terribly drab in there – lacking drama! so last night, i got this idea — what if i went pale, pale pink and added some kind of statement piece, as those in the know like to call it (clench your teeth and say it all fancy-like: staaatemeent peeece). so here’s what i’m doing. wish me luck!

i’ve painted the walls benjamin moore’s ‘wispy pink’ – it’s real pretty and adds a light glow to the room. then, i ordered anthropologie’s etched arcadia mural, which i’m going to hang on the wall loosely – like a tapestry. at least in theory, that’s what i want to do — i like the idea of it feeling a bit 3-dimensional. then, i ordered west elm’s grommeted iron velvet drapery panels for the window, and their Industrial Pipe curtain Rod in rubbed iron — it’s got a loft-curtain feeling that i really like, and kind of tones down the idea of velvet, if that makes any sense — perhaps more edgy.

i’m also adding west elm’s souk rug. i’ve been hankering for it since they brought it for the catalog shoot, and had to have one. this will all live with my dining room set, and then, i think i’ll hang rico suave above the buffet — that will be on the alternate wall, across from the mural wall. and the faux white fireplace mantel will live at the end wall. voilá! i hope this works as well as it does in my head!

i got it into my head that i’d like to move the little ikea HÅVET sofa bed that was in my office, out into the breakfast nook, because it gets a lot of nice light off the sun porch, and it would be a nice spot to blog from. so i dragged the darn thing (it was like a dead body) out there to the nook, and i think i quite like it. the office has more space for actually getting work done now, so that’s a plus as well. more on how i redecorated the office space soon.

i grew up in los angeles, and lived there most of my life until coming to san francisco sixteen years ago. so, i’d say i’ve got l.a. in my blood. i know the streets of the valley like the back of my hand, and spent many a rebellious and youthful night trolling the streets of hollywood, not sure looking for what, but enamored with it’s tarnished glamour. i love a good bit of los angeles film noir and fantasize about living in a neutra or lautner home high in the hollywood hills, my view of the sprawling city layed out before me, filtered by a slightly smoggy sunset. this is los angeles, and sometimes, in my dreams i live here again.

i think i’m gonna go high-powered, ultra cool and stylish in the living room like this one from richard powers photography. a mid-century modern flagstone fireplace would be awfully swell, too, even if it is too warm out to ever light the pretty thing.

morgan of the brick house has the epitome of l.a. cool going on in her kitchen and dining room, so i’m gonna go for this look. i find los angeles to be this unusual dichotomy of cheesy spots like the big donut and then it’s all stylish and vintage-modern, like a Butterfly Chair, via moma and morgan’s rad kitchen (below).

i’ll probably dress like this (because this is a fantasy, afterall); and have a view of the hollywood hills, via lonny, which i’ll take slightly for granted and scarcely appreciate as much as i should. i’ll have great mid-century fixtures and eames chairs scattered about carelessly; and some skateboard art called fringe by ryan kapp, via the beholder.

i think i’ll go with a sleek and modern bedroom, via lonny and maybe have a vanity that’s a little bit old-hollywood for those nights i need to glam it up and hit the l.a. scene, because that’s how i’ll roll.

• top image via the life of an architect.

artist Olaf Hajek seems right at Home in Berlin on the selby this week, but he says he has a love/hate relationship with the city. it doesn’t show. his home is beautiful and bright and cheerful, much like his incredible illustrations. plus, he has the most rad socks ever. go have a look at the full tour on the selby.

for shame — it’s been utterly way too long since we’ve had an unexpected guest! but today i’m quite elated to be sharing designer and artist jill danyelle’s apartment in manhattan’s east village. i’m extra excited about this apartment, not only because it’s lovely, but because this coming may i’m headed to new york for the ICFF show and a bit of fun, and jill has very generously invited us to share her space for a few days! so i’m pretty thrilled to be staying in such a beautiful home. born in woodstock, formerly a therapist, jill danyelle is primarily an interior designer now, but has creativity bounding from her in countless artistic avenues — from fashion design to writing and photography. here’s what she had to share with us…

You’re kind of a creative entrepreneur with your hands in a bit of everything design related — how do you define what you do?

Currently, I am focused on interior design, but am hoping to grow the art/ photography/ print side of the business more this year. I definitely explored a lot prior to beginning this business and those experiences were invaluable. They contributed to my abilities, to who I am and allowed me to meet a lot of great people. Ultimately, they were not the right fit for one reason or another, but I am thankful that they led me to the path I am on today.

Is there anything you’d like share about your work, who you like to work with etc?

Doing interior design has been great so far. I find it creatively fulfilling, but I also really enjoy working with clients and solving problems. They may not be the kind of problems I was solving as a therapist, but I still feel good about the work I am doing. Being able to hire an interior designer can be seen as a luxury, but many of my clients opt for DIY plans which are fairly affordable. Sometimes it is hard to hand over the DIY plan and not be able to see a project through, but it makes me happy when I get emails from clients who have implemented their plan with good results.

As far as the art side of things, I need to be more diligent about making, making, making. I am not talking about making things to market and sell necessarily, but just developing more consistency in my practice. It is really therapeutic for me and I want to see myself progressing. When I photographed my garden over the course of a year, I felt like that was a really magical and productive time. Just by the nature of the project, I had to continually go there and shoot. Prioritizing time to create and make art is definitely a goal this year.

what are a few of your favorite things to do in the east village?

Some of my favorite things to do in the neighborhood are…share a meal with friends in the amazing community garden that I belong to…walk through Tompkins Square Park. I live just off the park and try to always make a path through it to admire the trees, see people of all walks of life and catch a glimpse of our resident hawks…grab a coffee at Ninth Street Espresso. I was never too particular about coffee, then came Ninth Street.

What’s your favorite flea market, or secondhand find?

Half my world seems to have been found secondhand or in a flea market, so picking a “favorite” might be difficult. I am quite fond of my Lightolier sconces and Dansk Kobenstyle pots and pans, recent additions in the last couple of years. My Danish Modern daybed probably wins for combined points of aesthetics and utility. I scored it many, many years ago at The Salvation Army. I think it was $75. There used to be a great flea market in the parking lot on the corner of Ave A and 11th St. You could find a vintage dress for $20 to wear out later that night, get some authentic tamales and horchata and pick up some old school music. It was the best. I bought this huge, kind of abstract print there of sailboat masts and rigging for $5. I was sailing on tall ships out of South St Seaport at the time, so thought it was extra cool.

What’s your favorite possession?

I am really fascinated by our relationship to our possessions. I am trying to get my feng shui on more and more in recent years and I think it takes a bit of detachment. As New Age as it sounds, I try to have faith that the Universe will bring what I need, when I need it – although, it still hasn’t answered my prayer for some brutalist brass chandeliers or a set of bottom basement priced Dansk Fjord teak flatware… maybe when I finally close on the house Upstate. Seriously though, if there is one thing that shopping at flea markets will teach you, it is that there is always another killer vintage dress and Danish Modern credenza to be had somewhere.

I liked Marion Melbourne’s 52 objects…I think that was a really nice practice to meditate on the things in her life, show appreciation in some way. Like her, most of my favorite things are imbued with some emotion, connected to some memory — a Mexican silver bracelet that I wear a lot, which was given to my Mom by my Dad. I actually love it aesthetically, but it is the history that gives it meaning and makes it special.

What five things can’t you live without?

love, nature, creative expression, challenges and growth.

I also find brunch to be pretty important. When I lived in Barcelona people did not brunch and everything was closed on Sunday. Five people sitting around the kitchen table, hungover, staring at one banana and a cup of yogurt is not pretty.

If you could go flea market shopping with anyone in the world, who would it be?

Lisa Eisner. Maybe we’d just skip the flea market, sit in her garden having cocktails and then try on some of the Sammy Davis Jr suits she owns or maybe some feathered hats. Then Roman Alonso would come over and offer me his apartment for any time I wanted to crash in L.A.

What bores you to death?

Chronic negativity.

• all photos courtesy of jill danyelle.

last week, i shared a round up of pia jane bijkerk’s “it list”, but i’ve also been hounding the poor girl to share some images of her new home in sydney, australia. even though pia may be delivering into the world a brand new baby this week, she was kind enough to share some little corners of her family’s home as she’s been getting it ready for the baby, and getting her home settled with their furnishings from Paris, and Amsterdam, where they once lived on a houseboat.

something else to keep in mind, Pia’s new book My Heart Wanders will be available in the united states early Spring — exact dates and shop locations to come, so check her blog for updates.

“Some things I’m loving about our new home: the garden where I’m now planting organic veggies and herbs, the front porch where the morning sun comes streaming in (my partner and I have our breakfast out there nearly every morning), and the light! There is just so much light in this house – quite a contrast to our cavernous houseboat living in Amsterdam over the past few years.”

“Some more notes about the house: it’s an old worker’s cottage in an inner west suburb of Sydney. We glimpse the famous harbour bridge from the front porch, and it’s in walking distance to some fabulous cafes, bars, farmers markets, antique shops and restaurants. We have two french patisseries only a stone’s throw away (which makes my french man very happy!), and the neighborhood is so friendly and laid back. I was at first a little concerned about moving back to my home town of Sydney, fearing I would miss the energy and eclecticism of living in Europe, but we’ve picked a great suburb and house, and I am enjoying it immensely. And it’s certainly nice to be near family and old friends at this time in my life, starting a family of my own.”

• all photos courtesy of pia jane bijkerk.