Fans

The bedroom makeover so going slowly but steadily. I'm in the market for a new fan. We like the sound of a desk fan on while we're sleeping, but the current one I have is pretty ugly.

I think a metal retro looking fan would be much better.


Top Row - $34.50, $89.04, $49.99
Bottom Row - $53.91, $69.99, $96.99

Design Advice : Cindi's Family Room

We have recently moved into this house and just threw some things up. I want a new entertainment center. I don't think I want a large one since that wall isn't too big and that is where the cable is so the tv has to stay on that wall. Maybe something like the one we have but sits up higher??? As far as colors I am not sure. Our family room opens up to our kitchen and the kitchen is red and green. So I am thinking a color that would go with my kitchen.
OK sorry for my life story on my family room!!! Just wanted to let you know what I have been thinking. As far as a price point, obviously less is better!! But I don't mind spending some money.





I like the red accents Cindi has chosen, but I think the space would benefit from even more color to give it a little more depth. Here is what I put together.


1. Curtains, $9.99 a panel
2. Mushroom Prints, free from Vintage Printable
3. Baskets for Topiaries, $3.99 and $4.99
4. Ikea Bjursta Sideboard, $249. (I think this would be a great solution for Cindi's TV stand.)
5. Green pleated pillow, $34.95
6. Yellow pillow, $24.95
7. Floral rug, $109.99 for a 5'x8'

I think the TV wall could become a great feature wall and focal point for the room with a little artwork. The mushroom prints I found are from Vintage Printable and are completely free to download! I think they bring just the right amount of red in to tie back to the rug. Here's what I would do with that wall.



I hope you like my suggestions Cindi, and good luck!

If you are looking for design advice like Cindi, shoot me an email!

Bird Lamp!

Here is another little preview of the bedroom. One of my bird lamps. I bought two of them at Goodwill for our nightstands. Probably not for everyone, but I love them.

Before


After


Full disclosure, these lamps came with some lampshades that I thought I would simply recover and glue ribbon trim on. Hahaha that was so funny when I thought I could recover lamp shades.

Complete disaster ending in my fingers covered in fabric glue and throwing the shade on the ground in disgust. Bought new shades at Target instead.

UPDATE: I've gotten some e-mails asking how I painted these. All I did was wipe them down with a damp cloth, tape off the light bulb socket area, and spray paint. I used about three coats. The spray paint was Valspar from Lowes.

Posters!

Some people think posters are tacky, I do not happen to be one of those people. I think with all the beautiful designs out there now, a poster can be great artwork in the right space with the right frame.

Here are some very affordable posters from two of my favorite sources.



Top Row - The Poster List
Bottom Row - Keep Calm Gallery

Organizing Photos

Like most people, I've got a crap-load of photos from the pre-digital years and they are scattered throughout my house in boxes and mismatched albums. Yesterday I declared to Zach, "I am going to gather ALL our photos and ORGANIZE THEM!!!" He was like, "Cool."

I haven't decided if I'm going to use albums or photo boxes, or some combination of the two. But I mean look at these pictures I found today. Don't they make you want to cry from happiness?


Becka Higgins


Martha Stewart


Ali Edwards


Ali Edwards

I hope to start the Great Photo Organization Project of 2010 this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes.

Living Room Jealousy

I'm sure you have heard of the online accessory shop Old Soul, New Heart. Well Shea is a co-owner of the business with her mom, and today I happened upon Shea's personal blog. And her living room is making me green with envy.



And I love that it looks like she put it together on a budget. I spot items from Target, Ikea, and Pier 1 to name a few.

Furniture Knobs

So Anthropologie is the easiest answer when it comes to shopping for cute knobs. But I need 7 knobs for my dresser and at Anthro they cost 6 to 12 bucks. So that's like 50 bucks, at the very least, on new hardware. Yikes.

Here are a couple other resources I found, Cool Knobs and Pulls and House of Antique Hardware.

All of these are in the $2 - $4 range:


UPDATE: Commenters pointed out Hobby Lobby also has great knobs for cheap. You guys are geniuses.

Design Advice : Tesi's Bedroom

I was going to try a light almost white purple on the wall with gray and then it kind of stopped there, but I'd love to hear what you think. I am looking to be "budget friendly" as you said, and I'd like to fit a small desk in there. Thanks again, I really appreciate it.

Taking into account Tesi's purple and gray color scheme, here is what I came up with:



1. Striped gray bedding from Walmart if you can believe it.
2. Circle mirrors for above the bed. These are more affordable than one big mirror, and can be arranged in different ways.
3. Curtains from Ikea. Love this color of purple.
4. A pair of these cute lamps from PB Teen to put on either side of the bed.
5. Tesi wanted to fit a desk in the room, I think the best way to do that in this small space, is use a desk as one of her nightstands. This one is only about 28" wide and would work like a charm.
6. A wire wall letter for above the desk, T for Tesi of course.
7. A chair for the desk.
8. For the other side of the bed, this small nightstand.
9. Throw pillows for the bed, this cute purple one from West Elm.
10. This crisp white one is from Target.

Here is my suggested layout for the room:


Good luck Tesi!

Spring Cleaning

I get super pumped about spring cleaning. Like if you hear some sort of maniacal joyous scream this weekend, that's just my spring cleaning war cry. I decided to start this weekend because I noticed my carpet was smelling a little musty and I wanted to die. I hate carpet, but alas, my house is 90% carpet. Here are some spring cleaning tips I gathered.

• Freshen your garbage disposal - Run hot water, drop lemon peels down the hatch, and turn on the switch. Lemon, lime, and grapefruit rinds work too.
  
  
• If your Tupperware smells like food - Soak plastic containers in warm water and baking soda overnight.
  
  
• Freshen carpet - Sprinkle liberally with baking soda, then vacuum up a few hours later.
  
  
• Make your stainless steel sink nice and shiny - Buff with a cloth dampened with club soda, then wipe dry with another clean cloth.
  
  
• Clean the microwave - Wipe out any excess crumbs, and fill a microwave-safe bowl with about 2 cups of water. Put a fresh cut lemon half into the bowl after squeezing some of the juice in as well. Microwave until the water is boiling. Let it sit for a few minutes to let the steam penetrate the interior, remove and wipe down the interior with a damp cloth.
  
  
• Mrs. Meyers Cleaning Products - This brand has been praised around the blog world forever, but I finally got around to trying it. (A good trick if you don't want to buy expensive cleaning products - get your mom to buy them for you.) The Geranium scented counter wipes have completely changed my life.

Ish and Chi

Just when I think I've seen every design blog that is out there, I find a new one that makes me really excited and inspired. I just discovered Ish and Chi today while browsing around on flickr. Viv blogs about decorating her home among other things, she is very talented and I am completely drooling over all of her rooms.

This wallpaper nook in the kitchen is making me die. DIE.


Master bedroom. What a great and simple idea, she put wallpaper in three Ikea frames.


Love the mirrored console table.


From her son's nursery.


Her studio.


And her laundry room just might be my favorite.


Are you kidding me with these labeled baskets. LOVE.

Sarah Richardson

I just discovered Sarah Richardson's show on HGTV called "Sarah's House". It is an HGTV Canada show, and it is fantastic. The show follows her as she remodels an entire house, every episode is one room.

And now I love her.

Behold her rooms:

Color Me Friday : Black

Elements of Style


House of Turquoise


Canadian House and Home


Door Sixteen


Decor Pad


Jeremy and Kathleen

Easter

Love these Easter centerpiece ideas from Martha and Better Homes and Gardens.





This one is my favorite, colored eggs and carnations. So easy and cute.

Striped Dining Room

I got a wild hair on Saturday afternoon and decided to paint stripes in my dining room.

Here's how the room looked before we moved in.


And here it is in its striped glory.






There are still a few things I'd like to do in here, like probably get a big art piece for the striped wall that doesn't have the window, and a big rug to bring in some more color. But I am liking the progress so far.

I used this tutorial from Young House Love. I also tried FrogTape for the first time, and I am a believer. My wall is textured so I was worried about paint leaking through the tape, but the FrogTape worked like a charm.