Rachel Noble – A Noble Home

A review of the Brynn Swivel Chair by World Market

February 24, 2021

I have a second living room in my home that up until recently was fairly empty but I have big dreams for this room. I picture it as a formal living room, a room where I can curl up with a coffee and a book and read. A room where I can have family or friends over (when we’re allowed to do that again) and chat and laugh. I’m hoping to create a space that’s welcoming (since it is the first room in our house you see when you walk in the front door) and cozy while also being sophisticated.

I picture four armchairs all facing each other to create a relaxing and cozy sitting room. These are a few of my inspiration photos:

image via the lettered cottage

image via Pure Salt Interiors

image via My Domaine

I recently adding book shelves to this room and I talked about them in this post (click on the link to read about them). I also have a hutch in this room in a beautiful light wood finish and I just added the first of four armchairs to the room. After a bit of research I ordered the Brynn Swivel Chair by World Market. I decided to order one to start to make sure I liked it since I was ordering it without seeing it in person (Canadian problems ha).

Here is my review:

According to World Markets website this chair is:

Crafted of pine solid wood frame with polyester-nylon performance upholstery, feather filling and swivel base
180-degree swivel
Removable and reversible cushions
Comes fully assembled
Spot clean only
World Market exclusive

Overall: 32″W x 36″D x 35″H, 54 lbs.
Seat: 25″W x 28″D

There was no assembly required. It arrived in a cardboard box, inside the box the bottom of the chair was wrapped in plastic wrap and the entire chair had a thin fabric bag over it to protect the fabric. The dimensions are a little off from the website description in terms of height. Since the back cushion is higher than the chair, the total chair with cushion is actually closer to 37″ high.

During my research, I noticed the seat cushion of this chair tends to get a bit flattened but the cushion cover is zippered so I figure I can always add more stuffing over time if this becomes a problem for me.

The details.

I love the shape of this chair and how the back cushion is taller than the back of the chair. I feel like it creates a modern and cozy feel to the chair.

The fabric on this chair is incredible. It’s a creamy colour (not a bright white but definitely not a beige) and it’s so soft. Almost so soft I do wonder if it will pill easily. I’ll be sure to update if that happens but right now it is super cozy to curl up in. The fabric also has a nice texture to it, almost like a linen weave and the chair has a nice skirted bottom with polished looking pleats in the corners. Although it looks fully slipcovered, World Market claims you need to spot clean it.

One criticism of this chair it that it’s often out of stock! I had to check regularly for a restock (don’t merely rely on the email notification because I found it in stock and did not get an email that time). So when it does come back grab it fast!

How did I get it in Canada?

If you are a Canadian reader you may be wondering how I got it here since there are no World Market locations in Canada and they don’t ship to Canada.

Whenever I order anything from a US store I always use a service called Cross Border Pickups. They basically give you an address to ship your items to and then they go and pick it up and bring it to Canada for you, where you can either pick it up from them or they can deliver it to your home (for an additional fee). You still pay applicable duties and taxes and a small service fee but I do find this to be the most economical way to order items and sometimes the only way if the store won’t ship directly to Canada. I myself have never had an issue with this service. I will warn you the fees added up on this purchase though since it was a larger and more expensive item.

I’ll be sure to update this post after a few months to let you know how the chair is holding up. As of right now… I highly recommend this chair. Stay tuned for more updates on how this room comes together.

xo,

Rachel

Shop this post:

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog.

Home Decor

Everything You need for the perfectly Styled bookshelf

February 9, 2021

If you follow me on instagram (@anoblehome) you may have noticed that I recently purchased some new bookcases for my front living room. I would love to have built in bookcases in this room one day but for now I’m enjoying styling up my new free standing bookcases. I purchased these inexpensive ones from Ikea. They also have the option to add drawers but I didn’t need that look, though its a great option too. I love how simple and clean these look. I took this photo right after I had built them and placed a few things on them quickly. They may not seem like much in this photo but once all the decor comes in, they’ll be perfect!

Since they arrived, I’ve been spending some time shopping my house (you would be surprised how much decor you can find that you already own and can move around) and online for accessories to fill them up with. These are quite wide so it takes quite a bit of decor to make them perfect. Here is what I’ve learned are essentials for bookcase styling.

Books – I mean this one is pretty obvious right?! Bookcases need books. Though I do love novels, I don’t love to display them all, I find for me it’s too busy looking. I chose to focus on larger scale books like coffee table books. I like them stacked in 2’s or 3’s with a nice accessory on top like a plant or a candle. Click here to see my post on my favourite coffee table books.

Bookends – These are great for adding a touch of decor and for allowing your books to stand up. It just creates a more interesting look when you have the books flat and upright.

Candles – I personally love a nice clean candle. I also think it adds a pretty touch to place a cloche over top of one. You can buy cloches (the one above is Ikea!) but also if you have any cake stand lids those work too! Add a pretty bottle of matches, a candle snuffer or wick cutter and it creates a pretty layered look.

Vases – these are great decor pieces especially in a larger size as the larger scale helps to fill those bigger spaces. You can also add greenery but it’s not always necessary. The compote bowl/vase above is from a local nursery but is linked here.

Storage boxes – I love decorative boxes stacked on shelves both for style and function. They are great for storage. I often keep receipts, loose change and charging cords in mine.

Large scale bowls – These are great to fill up a larger space too but they also add additional storage – a great place to drop your wallet and keys without them being visible. They are also a great way to change up your decor seasonally… fill them with lemons in summer, Christmas bulbs in winter.

A decorative wreath – I love the wreath trend and it adds a pretty feminine touch to your shelves. They can be quite expensive but I have also found some at my local home sense too. They are worth searching for.

Woven baskets – I like to fill the bottom shelf of bookcases with baskets to ground the shelf but also to add needed storage. I keep everything from cords to novels to fabric samples and even toys in mine.

Frames – Frames are a great way to bring in art and photographs into your shelves. I like to place a smaller frame in front of another larger frame for a layered look and smaller 4×6/ 5×7 frames are great for on top of a stack of books or next to a larger vase.

Plants – Every space needs a touch of nature both for texture and greenery. I prefer real if the space allows but faux is good too!

Small decorative objects – Everything from wood prayer beads draped over beads, candlesticks to small photo frames. These are great to layer in front of other pieces or place on top of books.

I am waiting on a few orders to arrive so I can finish styling mine and I’ll of course share the finished results once they’re done!

xo,

Rachel

Shop this post:

Lifestyle & Family

All the books I read in January and MY reviews.

February 8, 2021

I used to love reading novels so much. I even studied English literature in University. Over the last few years though, I let my passion for books dissipate as motherhood and life in general became so much busier. I finally decided late last year that I needed to get back into reading and so I decided my goal for 2021 would be to read 21 books. I mentioned this goal on instagram and asked if anyone would be interested in book reviews and the majority of the responses said they’d love to read a review. I’ve taken to reading again much easier than I thought I would and I read a total of 10 books in January!

So here we are with the very first book reviews of the year! I don’t want to spoil books for anyone so I’m going to try to review them without giving too much of the plot away. Keep in mine these are just my thoughts and I’m a pretty easy going reader.

The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Wood

5/10

I have to say I did not love this book. I also didn’t hate it though. Hence the middle 5/10 rating. I had high hopes for it since it is a Reese Book Club pick but ultimately I just could not like it no matter how hard I tried. A disconnected family takes a cruise together – is basically how this book sums up. I found the characters to be pretty cliche at the beginning and it took about 200 pages before I even found the book interesting. I found the writing very placid and never once was I excited about what was going to happen next or interested to see what any of the character did. In the end I found it left me with unanswered questions and characters who I really didn’t sympathize with or like at all.

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

10/10

I have had this book on my nightstand for probably 6 months or more. I started it and instantly thought… why have I waited so long to read this! It’s the kind of book I found myself underlining sentences and highlighting paragraphs from to refer to later. I have not read her other books but that doesn’t seem necessary as she sums up anything you’d need to know. A brilliant memoir about finding your true self and owning who you are, especially as a woman and a mother.

The Selection Series by Kiera Cass. (books 1-5)

The Selection – 7/10 | The Elite – 7/10 | The One – 8/10 | The Heir – 6/10 | The Crown – 6/10

This series is sort of broken up into 2 part (books 1-3 follow the story of America and the 4th and 5th books follow the story of her daughter). These books are teen fiction with a love story and set in a kind of dystopian world. It’s sort of the bachelor meets hunger games haha. The world is divided into districts and America (the main character) is convinced to enter a contest to marry the royal prince and is selected as a contestant. She is moved into the palace with other young women to compete for his heart and the crown but she’s also involved with a boy back home. They are a light read and I enjoyed the first and third books quite a bit. The second was a bit of a filler for me and I think the series really could have ended after the 3rd but if you want to keep following the story you can read 4th and 5th though I found that storyline significantly less enjoyable. There is a final book in this series as well called Happily Ever After but I have not read it yet.

Make Life Beautiful – Syd and Shea Mcgee

9.5/10

It’s no secret that I love home decor and Syd and Shea Mcgee are definitely a powerhouse in the interior design world right now. I bought this book originally thinking it was a coffee table book (as so many others did too haha) but I soon found out it is actually a biography of sorts detailing how they started their business Studio Mcgee and shop Mcgee & Co. I found it very well written and comedic with a lot of inspiration in there for anyone who wants to follow their dreams. I knocked off half a star purely because I wish it had a few photos. They mentiuon a few of their projects in the book and I found myself googling them to visualize what they were referring to. It would have been nice if some of those projects were included as photos.

A Man Called Ove – Fredrik Backman

10/10 – One of the best books I’ve ever read!

My mother in law loaned me this book suggesting I read it. I kept it on my bookshelf for probably 6 months or more. After seeing more and more praise for the book I decided to give it a read. I went in actually not wanting to like it. I was told it was such a good book so many times that I didn’t want to like it just because everyone else did. But honestly I loved it despite trying not to. It’s a love story at its core (my weakness) though its subtle in its development throughout the story… actually there are a few love stories within this book (both romantic and familial). I don’t actually want to tell you much else about this book other than you should read it. It is soooo well written and though it does have moments of sadness it was also filled with joy and comedy. I will definitely be looking into the other books by this author.

This Time Next Year – Sophie Cousens

7/10

After reading A Man Called One I wanted a really light read next. I read this one as it was recommended to me by a friend. I liked it but I always go into these types of chick lit light romances without high expectations. I think this allows me to enjoy them more but I found this one enjoyable without too much of the typical cheesiness these types of books can often have. Basically, a girl and boy are born on the same day at the same hospital and meet randomly 30 years later… as they get to know each other and the story unfolds you realize how many times they were in the background (and sometimes foreground) of each others lives since they were born).

So have you read any of these books yet? If so, what did you think? Let me know in the comments.

You can follow me on instagram (@anoblehome) to see what Im reading next.

xo,

Rachel

Shop these books:

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog.

Home Decor

An honest review of my new faux olive tree from Amazon

January 10, 2021

After I took down our Christmas tree this year, our living room felt so empty. It usually feels this way after all the garlands and decor gets put away but this year it felt even more empty… especially where the Christmas tree was. I felt like I really wanted to have a tree in this room year round. I used to have a faux fiddle leaf tree in the corner of this room but it was really too short so I moved it to our master bedroom before Christmas. I decided to order a faux olive tree off of amazon since it was such a good price and it did not disappoint.

It is often noted as sold out or on backorder but you can still purchase it and it will ship when its back in stock (which from my experience is very often). I purchased when it was out of stock and it still arrived within 3 weeks of purchase. The box was a bit mangled when it arrived but it was packaged well enough to survive.

My favourite part of this tree is how tall it is … almost 7 ft! Once I place it into a larger pot and prop it up a bit inside – it will be well over 8 ft tall.

My only criticism of this tree is that there are a few spots where the branch turns into a smaller branch and it looks incredibly faux but its only a few spots and not noticeable from a distance but Ill show you what I mean below.

I haven’t added it to a pot yet as I’m still looking for the perfect one. Below you can see the one it comes with and it definitely needs a basket or a larger planter.

I have seen faux olive trees that are very full looking but this isn’t one of them. I, however, really like the daintiness of this trees branches and for the price I do think this is an excellent faux olive tree option, especially if you’re looking for a taller one.

So what do you think of the olive tree trend? Do you have one too? Let me know in the comments!

xo,

Rachel

Shop this post:

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog.

Home Decor

My favs from the new Hearth and Hand x Target Collection

December 27, 2020

There are so many pieces Im loving from this new collection. Everything from decor items to outdoor garden items to board games… I’ve linked my favourites!

Adorable Kids Games

My first thought was these would be perfect for Easter baskets (ugh, am I already thinking about those?!)

Furniture

Loving that black dining chair and the fabric magazine stand especially.

Home decor

The greenery napkin rings and the jute striped runner are so gorgeous. Also loving that sweet white metal basket.

xo,

Rachel

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog.

Home Decor

Accessories for the home office

December 5, 2020

It looks like a lot of us may continue working from home well into the new year and so setting up an organized and functional home office is becoming pretty essential. I’m a firm believer that beautiful spaces really do make you happier and more productive so I’ve rounded up some of my favourite work from home items that are both functional as well as beautiful.

Calendars and Agendas

To keep track of important meetings and quite frankly to keep track of what day it is haha

Notebooks and Notepads

For quick to do lists, notes during meetings and daily goal setting.

Desk accessories

Staplers, tape dispensers, hole punches, push pins (how cute are those heart ones), and pens.

Technology

From label makers to flower shaped mug warmers and blue light glasses to ring lights; all the little tech items your home office needs.

xo,

Rachel

This post contains affiliate links. Thanks so much for supporting my blog.