eBay Find of the Day: Blue Opaline Vases

I don't think I could ever get tired of looking at this particular shade of blue.

The vintage vases are made from French opaline glass with a handpainted bird-and-branch design on all four sides, and measure nearly 7 inches tall by about 2 inches deep. They would look equally stunning filled with spring-flowering branches or simply adding a bold dash of color and a dose of old-school elegance to a room.

Current bid: $63 for the pair

(P.S. To learn more about French opaline, check out the beautiful and informative post on the subject that blogger and Houston interior designer Joni Webb recently put together over on Cote de Texas.)

eBay Find of the Day: Retro Lamps

Vintage turquoise goodness.

Current bid: $105 for the pair. (Hurry -- the auction ends Thursday evening.)

Cool Stuff: Dining Room Inspiration

Photo by Jeremy Samuelson for Cottage Living

I can't stop looking at this image of the dining room in Cynthia Good and Joey Reiman's Atlanta home, from the latest issue of Cottage Living magazine.

We've been toying with painting our deep red, too-grown-up dining room a similar aqua shade, but weren't sure how it would look with our dark-stained, somewhat rustic table and antique sideboard. Judging from the results here, though, I think the juxtaposition of new and old, pop and primitive works beautifully.

I love the gallery of psychedelic Beatles images, too -- they add a sort of louche bohemian vibe to the space, not to mention injecting a lot of vivid color. It just seems like a bright, happy, fun place to hang out.

Let's break it down:

The paint is Benjamin Moore's Surf City, which in person is almost the exact color of a Tiffany's box.

The four Beatles portraits, taken in 1967 by famed photographer Richard Avedon, are $650 for the set from Poster Classics or $1,250 through GO Antiques. (You can also find reproductions -- licenced or otherwise -- going for as little as $5 each on eBay.)

The table in the Cottage Living spread is an antique -- as are the painted chairs -- while ours is the Basque, $799, from Crate & Barrel.

We'd go white and modern for the chairs. (I bought a set of vintage Saarinen tulip chair knockoffs super-cheap on eBay awhile back. Unfortunately, they're too short for the table, so I'm still on the hunt for something that will provide similar contrast.)

What do you think of the space?

eBay Find of the Day: Robin's Egg Blue Armchair

Screw what I said before about ergonomics -- I want this as my desk chair.

Current bid: $10.

(Psst -- the seller actually has two of these, plus two matching side chairs.)

eBay Find of the Day: Turquoise Ceramic Lamps

I know, I know -- I blog about lighting with obscene frequency. But really, can you ever have enough great lamps? I think not.

Take these beauties, for instance: Look at that mouth-watering color. Consider their stately proportions and classic form. Feel yourself get just a little bit giddy about how awesome they'll look on a pair of end tables, an entry console, or your bedside nightstands.

See what I'm saying? Now, grab these before some other lucky soul nabs 'em. (But hurry -- the auction ends at 6:45 p.m. Pacific Time on Monday.)

Current bid: $99 for the pair.

eBay Find of the Day: Vintage Room Divider

This three-panel wooden screen has such presence. It'd look gorgeous used as a room divider, as an object d'art against an expanse of wall, as a colorful backdrop for a reading chair and lamp, or even as an unusual headboard tucked behind the head of a bed.

I love the vibrant aqua color and the delicate scrollwork on the top of each panel. Such a great piece.

Current bid: $106.

P.S. Speaking of eBay finds, Girl Meets Glamour has some awesome ones up today (including this very screen -- great minds think alike!). Check 'em out here.

Color Obsession: Tantalizing Turquoise

I’ve always been utterly immune to blue’s charms. As I’ve said before, the shade simply left me cold, and I failed to see why anyone liked it. At best, I was neutral on some of the prettier French and robin’s egg blues. Even turquoise didn’t do it for me.

But suddenly, I can’t seem to get enough of the happy hue -- whether it’s called turquoise or some variation like “pool,” “azure,” “aqua,” or "Caribbean blue." I’m even trying to figure out which room in our house I can paint the exact color of a Tiffany’s box (and to prove it, I have an actual Tiffany’s box filled with paint chips that are a pretty close match).

For this, I blame my 9-year-old daughter. She has an abiding obsession with anything -- and just about everything -- sporting the beloved color she calls “aquamarine.” Half of her wardrobe falls under this category, as does a good amount of the items in her room. Even the rubber bands on her braces are turquoise.

So at our house, it’s all aqua, all the time. I guess I couldn’t help but be won over.

(And happily, I’ve discovered that turquoise mixes really well with a whole host of other colors, from light neutrals like white, beige, and gray to deep neutrals such as brown, taupe, and charcoal to other poppy brights like yellow, green, and orange, and even deep, dramatic colors like red. Which means that it’s super-easy to migrate in and out of your décor as the mood strikes you.)

Apparently, I’m not alone in my growing appreciation for this summery shade. Textiles, accessories, and even furniture featuring the hue abound these days. Here, a collection of my favorites:

Left to right: West Elm Baton Vases, $4 to $6 each; Jonathan Adler Chroma Small Bottle, $95; Lotus Bleu Lacquer Bamboo Vase, $62

Top left: Urban Outfitters Spindle Lamp Base, $36, and Flocked Mum Lampshade, $28; top center: Pier 1 Teal Drum Table Lamp, $50; top right: Oscar de la Renta Turquoise Lamp, $300, from Horchow; bottom: 1940s French Turquoise Ceramic Lamps, $1,250, from 1stDibs

Left: Shine Citrine Pendant, $490, and Palisades Pendant, $640, from Cottage & Bungalow

Top left to right: Flocked Flower Pillow, $15, from Pier 1; Jonathan Adler Big Sur Pillow, $68; Avis Pillow, $98, from Anthropologie; bottom left to right: Flocked Floor Cushion, $100, from Urban Outfitters; Designers Guild Tatami Turquoise Pillow, $145; Judy Ross Trellis Pillow, $190, from WeegoHome

Left to right: Urban Outfitters Danish Dot Bedspread, $32; Designers Guild Esperanza Bedding, $45 to $280; Mod Coverlet Set, $100, from Pier 1

Left to right: Hollywood Turquoise Fabric, $8.50 per yard, from Contemporary Cloth; Dandy Damask Turquoise Fabric, $9 per yard, from Tonic Living; Denyse Schmidt Katie Jump Robe “Allure Bows” Fabric, $9 per yard, from Purl Soho

Left to right: Florence Broadhurst Dusty Turquoise Shadow Wallpaper and Turquoise Yvans Geometric Reversed Wallpaper, both $448 per roll, from Wandrlust

Left to right: Urban Outfitters Paisley Flower Rug, $28; Jonathan Adler Lacquer Wastebasket, $45; Rainbow Wall Shelves, $49 for three, from the Company Store

Top left: Urban Outfitters Brocade Slipper Chair, $100; top right: ModernDose Trellis Table, $175; bottom left: ModernDose Pop Pedestal Table, $399; bottom right: Eames Molded Plastic Armchair, $329, from Room & Board

Top left to right: Cayman Dinnerware, $1.50 to $7, and Comma Plate, $1, from CB2; Pier 1 Hibiscus Dinnerware, $5 to $6; bottom left to right: Acrylic Diamond Goblet, $6, and Ethereal Decorative Plate, $8, from Urban Outfitters; Le Creuset Caribbean Cookware, $60 to $160, from Sur La Table

eBay Find of the Day: Fabulous Fifties Footstool

Did I mention that I'm just a little ob-
sessed with turquoise right now?

This funky footstool is seriously tempting me. I love the atomic-age pattern on top, and the slim-and-sexy black legs. It'd be perfect in my daughter's mostly white (with hints of aqua) room, though I might steal it for my own ...

So grab this now, or I just might. (But hurry -- the auction ends Wednesday afternoon.)

Current bid: $3.25.

eBay Find of the Day: Marbro Lamp

Somebody buy this lamp before I do. (Current bid: $49.57.)

I've never cared for blues: French, powder, Navy, robin's egg, whatever -- they all leave me cold. But this particular shade of turquoise is making me salivate lately, and that glass has a luminescent quality that's killing me.

Please, go bid on this now -- because god knows, I don't need any more lamps.