My Sarah Richardson Moment

I heart Sarah Richardson, and especially her new HGTV Canada show called Sarah 101. In this show, she breaks down the requirements for gorgeous design and style for a room - like a crash course in interior design. LOVE IT!  

She always says you need a jumping off point - something to inspire the feel of the room.  So yesterday I went to the fabric store to be inspired for our sad little dining room.  Currently our dining room is a barren landscape of whiteness. Our furniture is in the basement, waiting to be painted and re-upholstered, but all of that is dependent on my fabric choice.

I drove down to the amazing Ottawa Street in Hamilton and felt like I died and went to textile heaven! There are SO many fabric stores.  I was completely overwhelmed. I fancy myself to have some sense of my style, but I was totally out of my element in these stores.  There are  thousands of bolts of fabric to choose from - where was I going to begin? And how will I know that the fabric I choose is the right one?

Then, in the 3rd fabric store, after trudging around with Little A in her giant stroller for more than an hour, I spotted the fabric. I knew that this was my inspiration - My Sarah Richardson moment, if you will.

My less-than-stellar camera on the iPhone doesn't do this beauty justice.

The fabric is a crisp white cotton with shades of gray, black and a pop of yellow.  I also love the nature theme {it also goes well with the carpet I already purchased months ago!}.  

I wanted my dining room to be all tone-on-tone white, but once I saw this fabric, I changed my mind.  This fabric was my inspiration for other options.

A bold stripe perhaps?

A gray menswear-inspired tweed for the settee?

I even spied this rug at HomeSense for $79 - I didn't buy it, but I may go back and get it :)

These are the swatches I came home with - photo was taken in the dark!  At least Ginger approves!

I don't know for sure if I'll end up going with this colour scheme, but having this experience really improved my confidence in my own design aesthetic. You know what you like and you know what looks good - so trust your instinct and go with it!