Nate Berkus Show Love

I have a love/hate relationship with The Nate Berkus Show.  Now don't get me wrong, Nate Berkus himself can do no wrong in my eyes.  He is uber-talented, has the most amazing personality and is really nice on the eyes.  This is often where the "love" for his show comes from. 

The "hate" towards his show (definitely a stronger word than necessary) comes from being frustrated that he offers phenomenal topics on his show but they are nearly impossible to impliment.  For example, the other day he dedicated almost the entire show to couponing and while I watched that thinking "wow, I really need to start couponing", the only thing I learned about how to actually find valuable coupons and begin saving money was that you get the best coupons by dumpster diving...no thank you...I don't think there is a single bit of savings that is worth having to go through other people's trash.  While the point was made that couponing can offer incredible savings, there was no guidance on HOW to actually do it.  And this happens with a lot of the features on The Nate Berkus Show, which I find frustrating.  To make matters worse, his website consists of clips from the episode without any additional information, essentially making the website useless if you have DVR.

So now that I'm over my rant, I can say I LOVED his episode today.  Between some of the super-easy kitchen "fung shui" tips, finally having another entertaining feature (with the fabulous Kelley Moore, no less), the 70s design trends and having Centsational (one of my favorite blogs) on House Proud, it was (in my mind) the perfect episode. 
Kitchen Fung Shui

While the tips weren't ground breaking, I did love the reminder of how nice it can be to put photos in the kitchen (other than all over the refrigerator) and have beautiful ways to store your spices with easy access.  I'm not a big fan of clutter in the kitchen.  We don't leave appliances out and when we moved last year, I actually hid the spatula bin that Nate used to keep on the counter because I hated out messy it made the counter look.  But I think you can find a balance to make your kitchen look homey and photographs can be that perfect touch.

Entertaining Like Royalty

Yes, yes, yes...I am so happy when Nate did an entertaining piece because it's something we don't get to see all that often.  Add Kelley Moore to the mix and it's sheer perfection.  I think I'm becoming inappropriately obsessed with the High Gloss editorial team, which is beginning to scare me.  The only thing that was suprising is that Nate didn't mention High Gloss Magazine when introducing Kelley but he always mentions Lonny when Michelle Adams is on the show.  Certainly not a big deal...I was just curious.  But regardless, Kelley always impresses. 

What I enjoyed about this piece was the simplicity and easy access to creating a look like this.  My favorite tip was using porcelain paint to create customized plates.  I can't wait to use this idea because it's so much fun to change out dinnerware but it can get so expensive.  This is a really cost efficient way to add a personalized and elegant look to your table.

70's Trends

Jonathan Adler is probably my favorite designer and I think he's merged the fun and creative aspect of the 70s without the out-of-control aspect that makes us not want to relive that time in design literally (I can just look at my parents wedding pictures as a reminder).

Centsational Girl is House Proud

I also want to congratulate Kate Riley from Centsational Girl for being on House Proud today.  It's really not all that suprising because her house is beautiful and her blog is full of so many great ideas.  One the parts of blogging I've really enjoyed is getting to know so many talented and sweet people.  I've always enjoyed Kate's blog and you feel like you know the person through this daily manifests but it's interesting to actually see the person you have gotten a glimpse from their blog.  Kate, you came across just as friendly, confident, and talented as you do on your blog.  Congrats!!