Adorable New Baby Arrivals!

We've received some wonderful shipments of new styles from some of our tried and true baby lines and are so excited to share them with you!

From Trumpette, five fantastic new offerings arrived today of their set of 6 baby socks including Jenny's, Olivia's, Benny's, Cowboy and Rosie's. (Jenny's & Olivia's shown top left)

From Swaddle Designs, maker of what I have to say are the absolute best swaddle blankets on the planet, are colorways of 3 new patterns including adorable chicks, owls and sparklers. (Shown top right and bottom center)

From Sugarbooger, we received "Cupcakes" a new pattern of divided plates, utensils and sippy cups (these are great gifts for the older brother or sister when a new baby arrives -- always so nice for the parents to have a little something for them to open when the new baby is getting all of the attention). (Plate shown bottom left)

Finally, from 3 Sprouts, we have introduced two new storage bin styles including the Unicorn and Dragon and we also now have their wonderfully useful hanging storage organizers. (Storage bins shown bottom left)

We hope you'll stop in soon to see everything in person and let us help you pick out a baby gift that is sure to please!

Welcoming Fall! Our Favorite Items

We love welcoming Fall at The Nest Egg! Our store is full of new merchandise to ring in the new season. From home decor to festive scents, gifts and more, here are a few of our favorite items for fall that are currently in stock. Happy Fall from our nest to yours!

Nora Fleming Fall Minis including Gourdy Gourd shown above

Art Glass Pumpkins

Pillar Candles by EtAl

Rosy Rings Botanical Candles & Diffusers (Spicy Apple is still our best seller!)

Cake Mixes wrapped in Flour Sack Towels by Mary Lake Thompson -- an annual favorite!

Fabrics in Fall Colors like the gorgeous Arthur Spice on this chair from Lee Industries, paired with the geometric Labyrinth rug from Company C

Fall Forecast Canvas

Pumpkin Chai Candle by NEST Fragrances

Regina Andrew Soleil Pendant . . .there's nothing like the glow of light in a brass fixture as the days get shorter and the temperatures drop

Back in stock this season is our squirrel nut holder from Roost

Tuscan Pear Foam Soap

Eva Walnut Pillow by Lacefield Designs

Calypso Tangerine Pillow by Lacefield Designs

Khaki Chevon Throw by in2green

Our End of Summer & Floor Model Sale Starts Tomorrow!

Just Announced! Our End of Summer & Floor Model Sale starts tomorrow, August 23. For 5 days only, enjoy terrific savings on upholstered floor model pieces, small tables and a wonderful selection of lighting, wall art and accessories. We've got so many exciting new things on the way for fall and winter and we're marking down to make room. Take a look at what's on sale! We hope to see you.

Our Woven Wally Lives at Reese Witherspoon's House Too!

Last year I started following a really fun blog called "Hooked On Houses." My husband is actually the one who told me about the blog, which he found while doing a Google search on the house in the movie "Something's Gotta Give." I (along with many other people) have always commented about how much I love both the house and the interior design for the movie set. He has a habit of often going straight to Wikipedia or Google after we watch a movie to get more "facts" so this time it worked out in my favor (I'm not into "facts" so much) and I found the Hooked on Houses blog. They had a great post about the house in the movie which led me deeper into the blog to find it also often features open houses from around the country. Some of the open houses are fantastic, some are hilarious and some are from her actual readers.

So, onto the point of this blog posting, today's Hooked On Houses post features Reese Witherspoon's "retreat" in Ojai, California. Her home is absolutely gorgeous! It's a terrific blog post and includes many images that will be featured in the September issue of Elle Decor Magazine.

One of my favorite images of the home also includes one of my favorite items that we carry in our store, our "Woven Wally" dog. Wally arrived at The Nest Egg earlier this year. We had been waiting and waiting for his puppies to arrive and were so excited when they finally did. Wally and his pups are made out of water hyacinth tightly woven by hand. They add such personality to a room as well as great texture.

Here's a picture of Wally in Reese's home as well as a picture of Wally and his puppies at The Nest Egg. Reese put a collar on her Wally . . .hadn't thought about that. I just might need to dress ours up as well!

The Witherspoon's Wally as featured in Elle Decor

Wally and his pups at The Nest Egg

We only have 2 Wally's left available for adoption along with 6 of his puppies (perhaps Reese needs some?!). They are super sweet and sooo easy to care for!

Learning Something New Every Day!

Someone recently turned me onto Picasa for photo editing and now I can't get enough of it! This morning I'm working on our July newsletter for the store in which we always include an online photo album called "What's New In Our Nest" featuring new arrivals for the month. I've always done this using Picasa Web and this morning I saw an option in Picasa Web to create a collage using Picasa. In a matter of minutes, it downloaded all of my slideshow photos into a collage with all sorts of options for the layout, sizing, text, etc. It also gave me an option to blog the collage too so I couldn't resist sharing!

If you're not already on our mailing list, we'd love for you to join. Once you do, you'll soon receive our July newsletter that includes a full slideshow of the sneak preview images above! Love learning something new every day!

Picks from The Nest Egg for House Beautiful's "I'm Looking For A Storage Ottoman"

I always enjoy the "I'm Looking For . . ." feature in House Beautiful magazine each month where their writers scour the design landscape looking for the best of certain types of rugs, accessories or furniture pieces. We've featured one such issue in our blog before where the subject was "I'm Looking For A Banquette" and which highlighted "The Wong" by Joe Ruggiero which is one of my favorite settees. I recently read the "I'm Looking For A Storage Ottoman" piece and enjoyed all of the wonderful colors, shapes and sizes included in the feature. I thought I'd share some of our favorite storage ottomans from a few of our terrific manufacturers that we carry in the store.

Brunner Small Storage Ottoman by Uttermost (23w x 20h): I have the larger version (37w x 21h)of this in my family room. It's faux leather which makes it wonderful for small (and messy) children. It wipes right off, doesn't scratch easily and can store throws, extra pillows, stuffed animals, etc. The larger size also holds children quite comfortably (with the top off of course) -- our boys love to snuggle inside the ottoman with pillows and a blanket and watch a movie. The price ($595 for the 37" round and $310 for the 23" shown above) is also hard to beat for a piece that gets tons of use and holds up so well. It's nice to not cringe when you find a 4 or 6 year old boy standing on the top.

The Laughton by Joe Ruggiero for Miles Talbott is a truly beautiful and functional piece. It has wedge feet and standard biscuit tufting on the top. It stays open when lifted which is also a nice feature for small children and has two lifting tabs that hide inside for easy opening. At 53w x 27d x 18h, it has ample room for storing large blankets, magazines, sweaters, toys and more which makes it a nice piece for the end of a bed or for a family room. It is available in all of the gorgeous indoor Sunbrella fabrics by Joe Ruggiero, any of the Miles Talbott fabrics or in leather.

The Article No 54 wooden cube by Aidan Gray is a favorite piece of ours at the store. It brings such wonderful textures to a room with the washed wood, metal nail head edges and burlap cushion. At 18x18x18, you could tuck a pair under a console or place a tray on top and use as a cocktail or side table.

This is the 9491-40 from Lee Industries. At just 20" deep, it's a nice size to tuck into a hallway or into a family room to use for extra seating.

Eastern Accents makes gorgeous bedding as well as lovely storage ottomans. There are so many terrific fabrics and trims to choose from. You can order one of their pre-designed fabric pairings or customize to make your own. We love this Paris map fabric on the bottom of the piece. This would be lovely in an office or bedroom.

A storage box ottoman, also from Eastern Accents. Ottomans are a great way to bring in more pattern and color to a room. They aren't overpowering but you can add some playful or modern elements with the fabrics you choose. It's much easier to commit to a bold pattern when it's on an upholstered accent piece versus one of your main upholstered seating pieces.

Also from Eastern Accents, this pattern would be really fun in a young girl's bedroom or playroom. This is a great option for injecting a pop of color when you're using a softer base color that you can grow with.

As House Beautiful described them, storage ottomans can be used as "an extra perch, a little table, a secret hiding place" (they may not have known how true that was)! You'll never regret purchasing a storage ottoman. Any piece that can serve dual purposes is a smart choice in our book.

Summer Stripes

Stripes just seem to say summer! From fashion trends to entertaining essentials and of course, home decor, the crispness and clean lines created by the contrast of colors is always appealing. Here are some of our favorite stripes currently in the store and available to order from our manufacturers:

Sunhaze Yacht Stripe Woven Cotton Rug from Dash & Albert

Slate Candy Stripe Throw by ASI

Striped Pencils from Curly Girl Design

Lollie Monkey in Striped Shorts from Bla Bla

Barbara Stripesand Coral Pocket Rocket by Scout

Germain Cactus Sunbrella Fabric by Joe Ruggiero for Miles Talbott Furniture

The Best Of: Lee Industries Chairs

This week's "Best Of" series features our best selling chairs from our beautiful upholstered furniture line, Lee Industries. For over 40 years, Lee Industries has had a mission to create expertly styled, high-quality home furnishings. All Lee pieces are handcrafted in Newton, NC by their team of craftsmen and women that are experts in their field and take pride in their spectacular workmanship.

During our April visit to the High Point market, our Store Manager, Jennifer and our Assistant Store Manager, Marguerite had the pleasure of spending an entire day at the Lee Industries factory. They were so energized when they came back and eager to share all that they had learned. They were amazed by the skill of the men and women who build the furniture, sew the covers and manage all of the intricacies of such a complex business. Here are some pictures from their visit as well as a highlight of a few of our best selling Lee chair frames and fabrics. Enjoy!

Here a craftsman is inserting the nails into the frame to begin the 8 way hand tying process.

Here one of the Lee craftsmen is working on the construction of a sofa and creating the 8 way hand tied suspension system. 8 way hand tied springs have a wide range of movement providing a very even and individual sit because they move up and down and from side to side.

A closer look at the 8 way hand tied suspension system.

And we thought we liked to be organized...this is pretty impressive. Pictured here are all of the COM fabrics (customer's own materials) that stores and designers have sent in from all around the country. Each bolt is labeled with information on which frame it belongs to and which order it is from.

Huge cutting machines measure and cut the fabric for upholstery.

All of the stitching is still done by hand by the very talented sewers.

We're grateful to Lee Industries for sharing such a fabulous behind the scenes tour of their factory. Now a look at the beautiful finished products and a highlight of our best selling chairs from Lee (stay tuned for a best of "sofas"):

1011-01 Available upholstered or slip covered and as an optional swivel. This is a wonderful chair for both men and women. It's superbly comfortable and the styling is very current with the high back and thin arms. It's a wonderfully versatile piece.

This 1011-01 just arrived in our store upholstered in one of our favorite fabrics, Luna Smoke.

1935-01 Available upholstered or slip covered and also as an optional swivel.
It's a terrific scale for tight spaces but still sits like a larger armchair.

We're crazy about our new 1935-01 arrival in Patton Spice. Such a vibrant and gorgeous color!

3794-01 Available upholstered or slip covered and as an optional swivel, glider or swivel glider. A great every day chair that works well in a family room, nursery or a more casual living room.

 

3477-01 This chair just makes you want to sit back and relax. It's big enough to curl up in for reading or movie watching yet so tailored that it works for more formal entertaining as well.

Our 3477-01 (shown on the right) in Bennett Linen is a wonderful pairing of frame and fabric.

L1367-01 A new take on the classic leather club chair, this frame has a rounded back that just hugs you in and begs you to sit and stay awhile. 

We hope you enjoyed our "tour" of both the inside of Lee Industries as well as the final pieces once they arrive to us and then into our customers' homes! Come by soon to try them all out in person.