I’m so glad to be partnering with a fabulous online antique shop that just opened called Vintage Adirondack, a growing source for rustic furniture, cabin decor, and lakeside living. I LOVE encouraging new emerging businesses and since being obsessed with rustic, cabin-like decor in the last little while, I was super glad to be able to feature them!

Vintage Adirondack is a small family owned business that basically sells what they truly love and collect along their journey of living on the lake. The owners realized their love for this unique décor after buying a cabin on a small lake as a summer home. The cabin is Adirondack style and they search antique shops, and garage sales looking for primitive, rustic, one-of-a-kind finds!

Having grown up myself in a BIG city and experiencing the hustle and bustle of the busy urban lifestyle, it is especially important to find ways to wind down and enjoy the little things! Even though I may not have a little cabin on the lake, just including a few vintage finds in my home helps tone down things a LOT and completely change the mood of my home.

Distressed wooden furniture, mismatching patterns like floral and plaid, as well as including natural elements like stone, hides, and antlers are some of my favorite ways to bring the outdoors and wildlife in!

Here’s the perfect example how you can incorporate lakeside living with modern decor. This lovely home is situated in Upper Saranac Lake, NY.

Here are few things that I really liked from their store that caught my eye, the deer antler table lamp stole the show for me! How neat is that? Take a look:

This room snapshot is from my favorite source for decor trends: Architectural Digest. They really seem to have jumped on the rustic lake house trend!

Lake house décor includes a lot of weatherworn, and aged furniture that looks like it has been through a lot but still manages to look amazing – it’s part of the whole look! Try to focus on finding things that already look old, and have a charming appeal like a big wooden dining table with nicks, dents, and scratches. Even tufted leather Chesterfield sofas look amazing as well as worn-in leather Parsons chairs. Also use distressed wood flooring without a shine or stain and layer on rugs made from natural fibers like sisal or wool.

Visit Vintage Adirondack here to check out what’s in store!

KEEP CHECKING BACK – new things are always popping up!

Choosing the perfect carpet for your space is tough – and it can surely make or break your room! Believe it or not, there are a few rules when it comes to carpet shopping. Don’t just roll out a funky rug just because it caught your eye, you are surely headed for disaster if you haven’t taken these few things into consideration! Keep reading for some of my simple tips that ought to save you lots of money and time:

Use Rugs to Define Living Areas

Are you looking to define a specific area? If you have an open-concept layout, use multiple rugs to separate areas such as your dining room and living room. Quick tip: To avoid making your space look small or choppy, choose a huge oversized rug that spreads over the whole space and goes underneath your furniture. It’s okay if your sofa’s legs cover part of the carpet!

Turn a Room Up or Turn Down!

Is your room missing some oomph of color? Turn it up with an exciting colorful rug! Is your damask wallpaper looking a little too busy? Then settle for a muted, solid colored rug. Whatever your situation, keep in mind that a rug can quiet or turn up a room’s volume if needed.

Choose the Right Material

Keep in mind where you are placing your new carpet. Is it a high traffic area that will get lots of wear and tear? Or is it a room that’s a little neglected otherwise only used for special events? Keeping this in mind will really dictate the type of material carpet you should buy. Stay away from any natural fibers or rugs that have been vegetable dyed for high traffic areas – these will definitely not last long. Synthetic rugs with a low pile are easy to clean.

Hang up a Carpet as Art

I have an old antique Persian rug at home that’s just too beautiful to place on the floor. Instead, I mounted it on the wall as a beautiful, unique piece of art! This is a different way to decorate your walls and it looks amazing especially if you have a rug with a picture woven into it. The rug below doubles as a huge headboard!

Ann James

Layer Your Rugs

Using multiple rugs layered on top of each other is a trend that’s been around for a while. To do it right, layer a decorative, colorful rug onto a muted, solid colored rug. My favorite look is placing a zebra hide over a beige sisal rug. It really gives a wild, safari type feel to the space.

Archevie Design

Try Different Shapes

A carpet doesn’t have to always be a boring, rectangular shape. Instead, let the furniture in your room dictate the shape of your rug. If you have a round dining table, perhaps a huge round rug will work well. Or if your sofa and seating is arranged in a circular placement, a circular or oval shaped rug may work as well. Play around with your options and see what fits in best.

Susan Manrano Design