Luxe Report

Monday, May 20, 2013

Luxe Lifestyle: Favorite New Purchase: Raffia Clutch

This week's favorite new purchase comes courtesy of my mom...thanks mom! Last week we were lunching in Ft. Lauderdale, and stumbled into LF where we picked up a fabulous raffia box clutch. I posted on box clutches last fall, and am still loving them! The raffia is especially perfect for Palm Beach summer nights and I love the long chain for the optional crossbody style.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Luxe Fashion: Espadrille Envy

Have you noticed the explosion of the Chanel espadrille lately?

images via my Pinterest

Despite the apparent abundance of these, they are no where to be found. Believe us, we've looked. (Unless you count the not-so-good colors, or if you want to pay almost double the price on E-bay)

So we turn to some alternatives for what might just be the ultimate summer flat.

LUXE PICKS

Soludos espadrille
shopbop.com

MICHAEL Michael Kors espadrille flat
cusp.com

Stuart weitzman espadrille
footnotesonline.com

L'espadrille Tropezi Striped Espadrille Flat | Kirna Zabete
kirnazabete.com

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Luxe Travel & Fashion: A European Vacation

My husband and I are thrilled to have just booked a European getaway. I'm heading to France for a week this summer on business, so Joe is going to meet me there afterwards. We'll stay in Paris for a couple days, head to Rome for a few and spend the last part of our trip in Positano and Capri. I CANNOT WAIT! The trip is over a month away, but of course my immediate thought is, "What will I pack?!".

I've put together a little bit of inspiration below, but I'm generally thinking classic basics, shirt dresses, gauzy tops and coverups, hats, strappy leather sandals, espadrilles, leather tote and a cross body bag... Got to keep it simple, yet chic...like those Parisians and Italians! Stay tuned for more.

And if you have any suggestions for places to go, eat, drink, etc, please send them my way!

Merci. And Grazie!

PARIS

ROME

POSITANO

CAPRI

photos via my pinterest

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Luxe Decor: DIY Raffia Headboard

One piece of furniture I've had my eye on for a long time is the Oly Ingrid Bed. The beautiful, unique lines, raffia material and brass nailheads are the perfect combination for my dream headboard. Sadly, this bed is a few thousand dollars more than I want to spend right, which one reason it has remained a "dream".

My mom has also shared my fondness for this headboard. But her typical response is, "I can make that!". Never being afraid of a "Do It Yourself" project, she got my dad on board to help tackle this huge undertaking. Between my mom's creativity and attention to detail and my dad's craftsmanship, they created a nearly identical version of the raffia Ingrid headboard!!

Oly Ingrid Bed

DIY

Paper Template

Foam on plywood

Batting over foam and plywood

Before Nailheads

Nailhead Detail

Finished Product

INSTALLED!

Awesome job, Mom and Dad!! The only thing that would help it look even better is if it were in my house! ;)

Mom, while I got every bit of my creativity and passion for design from you, I'm not sure I could take on this major project. So impressive!

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Luxe Report Marketplace: Outdoor Sofas

Calling any reader in need of outdoor furniture! In the marketplace this week are two sofas from the West Elm Tillary Outdoor Collection.

Lighter Wood Base

Cushions show normal wear from outdoor use.

Complete Item Description and Specifications

$300 each (2 available)

E-mail luxereportblog@gmail.com to purchase or for any further info!

Monday, May 13, 2013

Luxe Lifestyle: Favorite New Purchase: Shell Back Chair

Last weekend I poked into Palm Beach Home Collection on a whim... They were having a moving sale, so of course I had to leave with something! I spotted a chair I've been loving for some time now. Vintage shell back chairs have been popping up more and more lately. They're so perfect for a "Palm Beach" dining room. There was only one, but for $50, how could I pass it up?! Perfect for a desk or vanity chair.

Now to find a fun fabric to recover the seat. Stay tuned!

Of course, now I wish I had two since it looks great in our dining room.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Luxe Fashion: What I Wore

This past Monday we had some photos taken to celebrate Hank being with us for 7 months! If you follow me on Instagram (@lkukkamaa) you saw this photo I posted with the caption "Photo shoots with 7 month olds are EX-HAUST-ING!"

No Joke.

Let's zoom in on Hank's level of cooperation:

It didn't help that once the photographer arrived, I went to get Hank dressed and the 9 month outfit that I bought him specifically for his 7 month photos DID NOT FIT. Could barely get my poor chunk's arms into it. And for some reason I had no good backups that fit him either! This put both my husband and I, and poor Hank, in a fluster as we changed Hank in and out of three different outfits.

On top of the outfit mess, it started raining as soon as we were about to step outside and begin. Which meant all of the pillows/cushions/flowers that I had just set up had to come in. And in South Florida, rain means humidity. So now we were all sweating and my hair was growing frizzier by the second.

So, all this has me hoping that our photographer got one good photo. One's all you need, right?! One where all three of us are actually looking, hopefully smiling, and not visibly sweating! But if there isn't any good ones, we are fortunate for a very understanding photographer who would gladly reshoot. And in the meantime, I am thankful for a couple of great iPhone pics that my husband snapped while we were shooting!