Beautifully decorated rooms are usually the result of a well-trained eye for detail, thoughtful purchases and the desire to live well. What makes them personal, warm and inviting, magazine-worthy is how they are styled.

Pick one or two pieces that bring an element of surprise to the overall look.

Like the brass lamp and patterned sidetables in this (above) guestroom,

and this brick wall that makes this dinner for two tablescape look even more inviting,

and this bubble chandelier. Little details but these make a huge impact to the decor.

images: design sponge and house beautiful

Came across Casa de Perrin in the sneak peek of Rue Mag’s upcoming anniversary issue, LA-based Casa de Perrin is a boutique rental company specializing in tabletop and decor, a love-child of husband and wife photographer and stylist duo. I instantly fell in love with the styling of their pictures, I think you will too.

I have never seen food look this good….dont you agree? And they sure do have an amazing collection of china and stemware curated from their travels around the world.

Speaking of tabletop, my collection here at Casa Hidalgo, while probably modest compared to Casa de Perrin, is still pretty substantial. Professionally and personally I am constantly adding new plates, glasses etc, and this leads to a constant battle for storage. One day when we do our kitchen reno I hope to have enough space for it all but for now I seek out affordable ideas to store my tableware. So when I spotted this mid-century modern credenza by Charak Furniture on sale at the local goodwill I knew I had to bring it home. The manufactures note says it was made in 1961 and what I love most is how deep the storage is. There is a drawer on top and three shelves behind the sliding doors. I love the tambour doors. After bringing it home I did some research and found a very similar one on ebay for $400! I feel so good because I got this one for $56!! woohoo!

Toying with the idea of staining it darker but kind of digging it the way it is.. It looks awesome next to the forest green chesterfield. I accessorized it using some of my old stuff but want to get a more modern lamp, tray, art etc for it but for now it is super functional and I love it.

Dexter loves it too and insisted on being in the pictures.

From my casa to yours have a great week. xo

 images: casa de perrin + manvi drona-hidalgo

Allow me to introduce you to my latest tumblr blog find: buddha interiors. I spotted many spaces which instantly energized me. Love the mix of modern practicalities with old world sophistication. See for yourself.

Have a great week.

ps: if you havent already, dont forget to enter the $100 giftcard giveaway.

via

A dose of glamour-infused luxurious-looking eclectic rooms to energize and get those decorating juices flowing. These rooms are totally delicious!

Details Im absolutely loving: grasscloth/linen wallpapers, branch/antler inspired chandeliers, gold and brass furniture, and art walls.

Which details catch your eye?

ps: just got the pics from our design camp party! yet to sort through the tablescaping pics but we have some up on mochatini facebook page. Check them out!

images via luxesource, decorati and sukio

Finally..As promised…pics of our basement apartment/ future paul’s mancave-media room budget-friendly makeover.

oh yes, he did. True Story.

My husband Paul did 95% of this!!

No way can I tell that this was the first time he has done ANY home improvement projects as major as this! Knocking down walls, kitchen pantry, bookcases, etc, yes but this was huge!

Hello, the guy has skills, friends. Thanks to him we now have better soundproofing, media room wire-ready, personality-filled living space in our walk-out basement apartment. As a matter of fact we had offers from prospective tenants even BEFORE he was finished. It is a really nice space. So so proud of you paul.

We knocked down the wall separating the kitchen/dining area and a bedroom and created one large open floor-plan living space. The wood ceiling I LOVE LOVE!! doesnt it look absolutely amazing? Hubby and his powernailgun “nailed” it.

so what do you think? much better, no?

images: manvi drona-hidalgo

ps: so sorry for the poor quality of images. new tenants had already moved in and I didnt want to invade their space for too long.