making progress

The office is still a work in progress...slowly but surely.  The next project all started when Amanda sent me this stunning picture from Lonny.  I'm sure you've seen it by now....

I just love this room and decided some touches of magenta in my office were just what the designer ordered.  You see, the office was starting to look a little drab to me, like it needed something.  So, I started by adding this simple magenta design to the top of the desk.

I started by painting a broad border of pink around the edges.  I let it dry and then taped over it with Frog  tape.

Then, I painted over the whole thing again with magenta paint.  This helps to "seal" the edges and prevents bleed through.  It works every time.

I didn't take a picture of the next step, but I painted over the whole thing with white and then peeled the tape away to reveal my new design!  I probably could have done this the opposite way but for me this was the best way to get the pattern I wanted.

and here she is...

p.s.-the lamp was $2.99 at Goodwill!

Million Dollar Decorators

Have you seen Million Dollar Decorators?  I hadn't seen it until this weekend and only caught the tail end of it.  Saturday was a lazy day for us, we just hung out and watched TV after running a few errands, (the hubby surprised me with a Starbucks and a yardsale date, it was awesome)  it was so nice to have some down time too.  So, anyways onto the show.  They happened to be working on an office makeover that had me drooling.  I love everything about it.  The bold striped curtains, the chevron floor, the desk, the chair, all the black and white, those lamps, the gallery wall, and especially those pops of coral.  Makes me want to redo my office again ;)  

  

all pictures from here

happy day, turned sad day

I was so elated when I saw the UPS man walking to the door with a large box from Overstock.  I knew it was my lucite tables I had been anxiously awaiting to get.  Of course I tore the box open, only to discover the top one (the largest one of the three nesting tables) had a huge crack across the top.  If it had been the smallest one I could have camoflauged it, made it work, but it had to be the biggest one...Thankfully Overstock has great customer service and they offered me a full refund (including return shipping.)  More bad news, they were out of stock, no replacement to be found.  They were going to go in my office and they would have been perfect.  So, now the hunt continues for a lucite side table or bench that won't send me to the poor house.  Any suggestions?

Here they are in all their splendor...and they were nesting tables, I love nesting tables.

ok, enough of the lucite saga, there are bigger fish to fry...

Happy Friday!



Before & almost after

I know I've been leaving you hanging with the office makeover, it's moving along much slower than I would like, partially due to my indecisiveness.  But, it will get there.  So as to not keep you hanging any longer...I have decided to show you some progress I've made on the hutch.  You'll notice one thing is missing...the doors!  Part of the veneer is missing on one of the doors so I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do with that.  So anyways, here's my "doorless" for now hutch.

Reminder of the before

then, the first "after".  It just didn't feel right to me, like it needed something

I painted the inside purple just for fun

Then, I decided to paint the back gray, just to give it some more dimension and I think it did the trick.

striking the perfect balance when dressing a bookcase can sometimes be a challenge.  Here a few things I always try to think about or include to keep it looking balanced.

Something personal, this is my sweet nephew

something quirky/eclectic to keep things interesting

something vintage, like this old bird picture from a book I bought at an antique store

something bright (like this bowl I madeover)

here's the before...

and after a little spraypaint, I like that the inside is a different color than the outside

and of course books, I always try to go with books that color coordinate with the room.  That's not always possible so, in this case, I covered several of the books with white craft paper for a more cohesive look.

and the less attractive books found a home in the cabinet below.

Guest Posting

Today I am guest posting about my master bedroom over at Sadie & Stella.  Thank you ladies for having me!

Hop on over and check it out here.



Playing with my Silhouette

This weekend has been a busy one, tying up loose ends, trying to finish up the office, and we got a new car!  (well new to us :)  It's an SUV so I'll be able to haul more furniture around, so exciting.  Anyways, I had a a little time to do some silhouette projects I've been wanting to work on.  All of these were done with vinyl (it came with a free roll when I bought it)  If you haven't heard about the silhouette yet, it's awesome, you can find out more about what it is here.

I've been wanting to make labels for my canisters for the longest time and the silhouette made it so easy.  In case you are wondering, I combined the light and dark brown sugar which is why it looks a little funky, kind of like an ant farm?

I found this glass jar at Goodwill and jazzed it up with a new label.  

I added the "room service" label to this yard sale tray to give it a little more character.

and lastly, I added "his" and "hers" to these soap dispensers

I've made some progress in my office this weekend, I'll share photos soon!  

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful dad!  Love you!

More on the office...

The office is moving right along, I'm hoping to get lots more done this weekend and have more pictures to show you!  That's the fun part. 

Here are my plans...

Find a loveseat just like this one, been scouring Craigslist with no luck yet...



image via full house

make this awesome DIY light...

image and instructions found here

recover my chair cushion in something fun like the nester did here

Spraypaint this Hobby Lobby mirror gold, I'm just not feeling the current finish on it, doesn't really "go" with everything else I'm doing...

or return it and make this DIY wood shim mirror from addicted to decorating.

hang some curtains, I'm thinking either these solid gray ones from IKEA...(these curtains come in several different colors and are my favorite to use, they are extra long and only $19.99!)  I wouldn't use the tie backs, just let them hang

or do a DIY version of these curtains the Kristen has in her living room using the same IKEA curtain panels (only white) and a dark gray for the pattern.

image via 6thstreetdesignschool

and get a fiddle leaf fig tree!  I love the look of them and always think it's a great idea to add something living to a room.

I first saw these lovely trees on Design Star in Emily Henderson's final room.  I thought it was so cool and a little funky, just the right touch for that room.  Ever since, I've been smitten.

image via Emily Henderson. 

unsure of the source for this one?

I think I'm going to stop by a local nursery this afternoon on my way home from work and pick one up.  I hear they are fairly easy to take care of, let's hope that's the case because my thumb is far from green.

Also, a HUGE thank you to Megan from A Lived in Home for featuring my black bathroom.

Check it out here!

Hobby Lobby Mirrors

I stopped by Hobby Lobby yesterday to get a few crafting supplies and ended up in their mirror aisle.  You can always find so many great things at Hobby Lobby.

I thought these were some awesome mirrors and they are all 50% off this week!  (in case you are wondering I am not being paid to post this, just thought they were cool and some of you might like them :)

this one is my favorite...

I bought this one for my office...