through the view finder with nicolle.

hello everyone, it’s nicolle from sacred lotus photography. a couple weeks ago i shared a few images that were inspiring me while on my quest to decorate my new place. i’m still in the process but i thought it would be fun to share a few photos i took of how it’s coming along. back in the beginning of february my husband, son, and i rented a townhouse in southeast portland, oregon. it’s a small space (only 900 square feet) so i wanted to purchase a few used vintage pieces that were small yet would provide enough storage space for our living room.

the first piece i picked up is a vintage credenza that i bought for only $20. it holds our tv and has a lot of drawers for storing our sons games, toys, and art supplies. the next piece i purchased was a vintage side table to go next to my reading chair. i love the fact that it already had lovely vintage wall paper lining the drawers when i got it. i’m sure it must have belonged to some sweet old lady! my living room also doubles as my office so i did some shopping around and found a tiny white desk for a great price at ikea that fit the space perfectly.



well, i hope you had fun taking a peak inside my home. i look forward to sharing more with you when i finish the other rooms! have a fantastic tuesday! oxo, nicolle
[ thanks to tuesday's regular guest blogger nicolle from sacred lotus. you can visit nicolle's shop here. ]
moving on out!

eclectic simplicity via emma’s design blog.
i’ve got some pretty exciting news today! sfgirlbybay is moving! or more precisely, i am moving into a cute little rental house in san francisco’s noe valley neighborhood. and you may have seen this house before, because my good friends eszter & dan used to live there, so i’ve shared it here, and it’s also been on atsf. the house has come available again, and i swooped on it! now the packing and purging starts! i’m one of those weirdos who actually likes moving, and looks forward to starting fresh in a brand new (old) place!

a couple of eames eiffel dining room chairs to mix it up, via the brick house.
so, you guys are gonna be forced to watch me redecorate the new place, and i’ve got quite a few rooms to contemplate. it’s two bedrooms, one of which will be my studio/work space, a living room, dining room, a funky old kitchen complete with beautiful old gas stove, with a breakfast nook and small patio off the nook. it’s also got a garage (if you don’t live in san francisco, you can’t understand the significance of a parking spot!) and a small backyard with a patio and garden! i am excited beyond words (although, i’m doing a pretty good job of gushing right about now, aren’t i?).

some butterfly chairs for the patio, via the brick house.
i went to some of my usual suspects — the brick house, door sixteen, design*sponge and emma design blog, to name just a very few — in search of inspiration and i’ve got a pretty good inkling of what i’m going for. thanks ladies, as always for your excellent taste! here’s what’s inspiring me right now for the new place. you know how obsessed i can get, and how much fun this is for me, so stay tuned for more!

i’d like a painted chalkboard wall like this in the dining room, via emma’s design blog (above) and maybe in the kitchen too, which has black & yellow vintage tile, like this wall via door sixteen and design*sponge (below).



maybe some black and natural wood kitchen accessories, via emma’s design blog.

a simple, well organized studio like some of these via emma’s design blog, design*sponge and the brick house.




maybe some spalshes of bright colors in the studio, like these from the brick house (above), and skinny laminx (below).


fun & funky chairs like these i found on skinny laminx (above) and design*sponge (below).


a clean, simple looking bedroom with lots of calming white and dramatic black here and there, via the brick house.



lots of comfy white bedding like this from design*sponge and emma’s design blog (above), and maybe even one black wall via door sixteen (below).


london loft candy.

i discovered this london loft via my salmagundi’s tumbler page today, and just had to share. tucked away in london’s old Spitalfields market place, what stylish old bones to fix up and make your very own. at least that’s where my mind was traveling to when i took a look-see. ah, i do love a lot about london!


good reads: appartements de filles à paris.

i love paumes books, even though i can rarely read a word of them. the photographs speak volumes, though, so a pretty picture book is never a waste of inspiration. paumes is a small, family-run Japanese publisher, working in close contact with artists and designers all over the world to bring you these beautiful books featuring designers’ homes, apartments, studios and ateliers.

the lovely yvonne from yvestown blog is a distributor for paumes, so you can easily order these books directly from her website. she recently sent me this beautiful new paumes, called ‘appartements de filles à paris‘ which is the sequel to the well-received book ‘Petits appartements à Paris‘. the new books are so popular, they hard to keep in stock, but if you don’t mind a short wait, you’ll find the wait well worth it, and plenty of older titles are readily available in the yvestown shop! thanks yvonne!









ivy style.

i couldn’t help but notice how lovely this penthouse apartment was, when ivy style33 added it to the sfgirlbybay flickr pool. Ivy style33 is a freelance decorator and interior design consultant living in frankfurt, germany, and writes the design blog busy bee, as well as running the handmade and vintage-inspired etsy shop ivy style 33.

being me, always in love with crisp white and eclectic interiors, i wanted to share how ivy style33 puts affordable ikea pieces mixed with natural woods and neutrals to use beautifully in her home. you can easily see where ivy style33 got her taste – the mosaic below is her mother’s lovely home which she helped to renovate. thanks ivy style33 for sharing your inspiring images in the pool!












































