House Tour: Master Bedroom in Progress

A few weeks ago, I asked you if I should buy this bedding from West Elm.

While many of you cautioned me against purchasing it, I had to buy it on ebay because it was such a good deal.  I have a hard time passing up a deal!

Can you see why I can't go with all white bedding?  That dog is like a mud magnet who thinks our bed belongs to her.

As you can see, the room is definitely "IN PROGRESS."  The mirror needs to be moved.  I also need soe fun throw pillows or I might pull out my embroidery machine and monogram the pillowcases.

My coral desk is also not quite the right color with the bedding...nothing a coat of paint can't fix.  But, that's the risk you run when buying things online.  I'm never quite sure what the color will look like in person.  I also want to paint the file cabinet to match the desk.

That window needs some kind of covering besides the shade.

I have plans for this blank wall that I will share with you tomorrow.

While it's definitely not finished, this room has come a long way from being the most neglected room in the house.

To Do

 

• Throw pillows for bed.
• Window covering.
• Wall art.
• Repaint desk and file cabinet.

Color My World Challenge: Week 2

As you might remember, I'm participating in a challenge where a group of bloggers has been challenged to add a new color to our homes.  This week we're adding decor in our new colors.  I chose navy.

If you missed the kick-off to this challenge, you can click here to read all about it.  Remember that we're having a big link party/blog hop on the last day of the challenge where you can link up a post showing how you incorporated a new color into YOUR home.

I had picked up a brass lamp at the local Goodwill recently for $2.99.  The lamp came with this ratty old shade.

I had originally planned on just replacing the shade with a new drum-style shade and maybe embellishing it with some sort of trim.  But, then I remembered that I had some Waverly Cross Section fabric in navy left over from when I recovered an old corkboard.

Why not attempt to cover the lampshade in the fabric?  A quick trip to Pinterest and I found lots of tutorials on how to cover a lampshade.  Unfortunately, most of them only worked on a drum shade.

I ended up improvising this project and it really wasn't that hard.

1.   First I cut a piece of fabric that was a few inches larger than the shade. 

2.  Next, I sprayed spray adhesive on the shade in small sections.  I attached the fabric and smoothed out any bubbles or creases before moving on to the next section.

3.  I wanted to make a straight seam, but since the shade is angled, it worked better to make a diagonal seam.  I just folded the end of the fabric over several times and used hot glue to firmly tack it down.

4.  Finally, I folded the fabric down tightly around the top and bottom of the shade.  Again, I folded the fabric over twice so there aren't any unfinished edges and then glued it down.  This was the most difficult part.  Mainly because I kept burning myself with the glue gun.  Ugh!

In the background you can see a little sneak peak of my new wall color.

I originally planned to spray paint the lamp, maybe coral or white?  But, I like the way the brass looks against the navy blue in this inspiration photo:

Source: jillianharris.com via SaraJane on Pinterest

Do you remember Jillian Harris from The Bachelor?  I didn't know she had her own blog, did you?  She bugged me on The Bachelor, but her blog is pretty cute.
Here's my new brass lamp against my navy wall.

What do you think of the brass?  Does it bring back bad flashbacks of the 80's?

I'm happy with it considering the entire project only cost me the $2.99 I spent on the lamp.  I had all of the other materials on hand from other projects.

Stop by the other Color My World challengers to see what they've been up to this week.
Ange - The Blooming Hydrangea
Anna - A Newfound Treasure
Carmel - Our 5th House
Cassie - Primitive and Proper
Jadyn - Dutch.British.Love
Jessamie - Bird and Branch Redesign
Julia - Black Tag Diaries
Julia - Pawley's Island Posh
Kristy - Hyphen Interiors
Lisa - Shine Your Light
Lisa - Trapped in North Jersey
Maury - Life on Mars
Shaunna - Perfectly Imperfect
Shelley - Crazy Wonderful
Suzy - Saved by Suzy
Tiffany - Living Savvy
Tiffany - Worthwhile Domicile
Vashti & Jamie - Like me Some...

Come back on Thursday where I'll reveal some more navy goodness as part of the Spring Into Action Challenge.  Is it cheating that I've rolled both challenges into one?  Wait, you really don't have to answer that one!

Weekend in Review

Did you know Superbowl Sunday is second only to Thanksgiving in the number of calories consumed?  I did my part to up the average of calories consumed.  However, those calories were well deserved after a bunch of painting on Friday.

I painted by entryway Benjamin Moore Gray Owl at the beginning of January and wanted to carry that color through my living room, kitchen and back hallway.  I loved the Gray Owl in the entry.  It's a nice neutral gray, not too blue or bright.  Here's what it looks like:

However, as I covered more of the walls, the gray is taking on more of a bright blue look.  My daughter told me she likes the color because it makes her feel like she is outside under a blue sky.  My husband commented that it's "nice and bright."

I don't this is the look I was going for.  The problem is that I still have 2 gallons of this paint. Do I continue to press on?  Ugh!  I was so sure this paint was "the one" after painting the entry.  I like the gray/blue better than the dirty brown, so I will probably continue with the paint.

You can see the brown that I'm covering up in this picture.

In other news, look what we saw as we left our neighborhood to head to a Superbowl party:

Yes, that is a tightrope walker!  You don't see that every day?!?!  This reminds of the Modern Family episode where Phil decides to try tightrope walking.  Do you watch Modern Family?  I watch it online.  Phil is my favorite character and always makes me laugh with his quirky personality.

February Project

My friend Lisa at Shine Your Light hosts a monthly before and after party...post your "before" pics at the beginning of the month and your "after" pics of the same project at the end of the month.



I have lots of things that I want to accomplish this month.  Tops on the list is finishing my daughter Mary's room.  I also have a much less fun project that needs to be finished and I am using Lisa's party as motivation.

One of my house goals for 2012 is to repaint my living, dining, kitchen, and hallways.  So far, I've almost finished the front hall.  I need to get cracking on this project.  It bugs me to look at half-painted walls!

There is no way that I will be able to finish all of the painting this month, but I would like to finish the walls, trim and maybe door in my back hall.

Here's part of the area:

I need to do some general beautifying in this area too: maybe replace the rug, clean up the bulletin board, do something with the doggie door, etc.

I'm also considering painting the door out to the the garage (the one with the doggie door) black to match my other exterior doors, like this one. 

But then would I have to paint the door on the right (into the laundry room) and the door on the left (into the pantry) black as well? What do you think?


What are you up to this month?

How did I get here?

I promise this will be the last post reflecting back on 2011!  But, as I sit here in my living room looking around, this space is totally different than it was one year ago.  Last year at this time, my home was maybe a "Tuscan" style.  Paintings of the Tuscan countryside, lots of dark iron, olive branch metal wall decor, reddish-maroon and gold accents, fake plants...you get the idea.

Source: tuscan-home-101.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: savvyseasons.com via Theresa on Pinterest

These are not my home, but similar in style.  In fact, both of these rooms are much prettier than mine was.

I don't have any pictures of my home decorated like this because I didn't really care about my home or how it looked.  I just bought whatever decor was readily available.  I thought we would only live in this house and this area for a few years.  This was not our "forever" house, so why should I waste time, money, and effort on decorating it?

In February 2011, we had our five-year anniversary of living in this home.  Around the same time, I stumbled upon some design and decorating blogs and was hooked.  I started to realize that my home is a VERY important spot.  It is the place where my family is together and should be a place that is comfortable and relects us.  In other words, it should be a place where we enjoy spending time and not be treated as a mere stop-on-the-road to something bigger and better.

I knew I wanted my home to be brighter and lighter.  So I made my first of many trips to the good old home improvement stores and picked up a can of turquoise spray paint.  I painted some dark brownish-black candlesticks that I had for years.  The transformation provided instant gratification.  What else could I spray paint?

Everything that was not "me," I either sold, donated, or repurposed.  I tried to get rid of a lot of clutter.  The tops of my kitchen cabinets were the resting place for all kinds of dusty old decor.  That all was removed.  I had a huge, dark Tuscan countryside painting over my piano in a fussy carved wood frame.  I brought that to a consignment store and replaced it with a gallery wall of images that represent our family.  I also picked up a huge lamp at Goodwill that I spray painted white to bring more light to this dark area.

Next, I started browsing fabric websites and fell in love with this fun print from Robert Allen.  It replaced an old, gold-tasseled, maroon and bronze valance.  I had never really sewed anything in my life, but I made this valance.  While it's not perfect, it's so much better than what was there.

While a new couch was not in the budget, I was able to buy more fun fabrics to add pops of color to our dingy old olive-colored sectional.

I actually purchased the pillow in front.

I was getting braver with my cans of spray paint and decided to move on from painting picture frames, candlesticks and lamps to larger pieces of furniture.  I also tried my hand at reupholstering these antique chairs that we had owned for years.

Around this time (May 2011), I decided to start my own blog.  I had received so much inspiration from other blogs, I wanted to be a part of the blog community.  If a non-creative, average mom like me could take on redecorating her house one DIY project at a time, anyone could do it!  Other bloggers were so supportive and I got more confident in the projects I tackled.  I hope that I motivated or inspired at least one reader along the way too.

Our biggest investment was ripping out disgusting old carpeting and having it replaced with wood.  I'm so happy we did this.  Three out of five family members have allergies and getting rid of the carpet has made such a difference.  Wood floors were also something my husband and I really wanted and we had the money saved for the project, so we went for it.  I would not advise anyone to go into debt decorating!

That dog loves to be in pictures!

As the year went by, I started to hunt for more "treasures" at thrift stores and garage sales and got addicted to making over furniture, which I then would put in my house or sell on Craigslist.  I got more confident and tackled some other sewing, painting, tiling, and wall papering projects.  I don't think I would have done any of this had I not stumbled into the blog world.  Blogs gave me inspiration as well as confidence to try new things.  There is no right or wrong way to decorate.  I learned to make a space special by using items I actually liked or that had meaning.

I think my blogging journey over the past 8 months has been very rewarding.  I've created a nice space for my family and I know that I can always change things if I want to.  I've realized that I can create a space I like on a budget and through DIY projects.  My home does not need to be a mirror image of the latest Pottery Barn catalog for me to be happy.  In addition, I think my daughters have also enjoyed painting, sanding, and whatever else they can get their hands on!

Blogging is a great exercise in reflection.  It forces me to sit down at my computer, and think and write about my life rather than just rushing through it trying to get everything done.

Thanks for sticking around for all of my self-reflection and ramblings!  I'm looking forward to what 2012 brings for all of us.

Wreaths, Wreaths, and More Wreaths

One Christmas look I'm loving this year is using multiple wreaths around the home.  If one wreath is good, three would be better, right?

Source: sadieandstella.blogspot.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

I love everything about this picture...the wreaths, the blue door, the lanterns.  It looks so classic, but in a fresh way.  Does that make any sense?

Speaking of classics....

Source: keepingthechristmasspiritalive365.blogspot.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

Burlap and silver, on my!

Source: evolutionofstyleblog.blogspot.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

How cute and easy is this one?

Source: grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

I think my favorite look is the wreaths hung on windows.  However, my house only has a few windows on the front (something about living in the desert and not wanting to let too much sun in).  So, wreaths out front wouldn't really work.  But, I have five windows along the back of my house in the living and dining room.  I thought it would be cute to put wreaths on the interior. 

Michael's had all of their wreaths 50% off, so I got a great deal on all of the wreaths I needed and proceeded to hang them.  I love the look of fresh greenery, but it's not an option for me.  I'm allergic to it and in my dry climate it would turn brown almost immediately.

Here's my dining room and its wreaths.

A few years ago, I made this ornament wreath, by stringing ornaments on a coat hanger formed in a circle.

The wreaths continue along the family room windows.

I hung a mercury glass ornament in the middle of each wreath and then put a few silver balls on each wreath.  My uncle and aunt have given my family these collectible silver balls for years and I wanted somewhere special to display them, rather than just mixed in on the tree.

 Don't mind the tarnish...who has time to polish silver these days?

Does anyone else have a hard time photographing things against a bright window?

Here's a peek at the tree and looking back towards the dining room and its wreaths.

Of course, a visit to my home would not be complete without a sneak peak of our little Christmas pup, Emma, undecorating the tree!

If you are interested in checking out more of my Christmas decor, here are some other posts:

Christmas Yarn Wreath

Christmas Vignette: I used wrapping paper to cover a large painting to make it blend in with my holiday decor.

Green and Silver Christmas Mantle: Do you have oranges in your stockings on Christmas morning?  I did a little research to see where this tradition originated.

Linking here:
Michaela Noelle Designs