Things To Do Around the House

The year of doing continues so I am making lists.  They are all over my house and in my amazing Day Designer.  How do people do it?!  Spend time with the kids, cook, keep a clean house, travel, and all that jazz?!  I'm baffled by those who "get it all done."

This year I'm scaling back on what I feel NEEDS to be done around my home.  It's not my forever home.  It's not perfect.  It doesn't have everything I NEED it to have, but it can't.  It has limitations.  So because of that there are only a couple of things on my to do this list year when it comes to household renovations or repurposing. 

UNO ::  The Pantry Office.
I've been discussing this for a couple years now.  Our pantry has an area where the washer and dryer was supposed to go had it been kept downstairs.  I decided to move the laundry upstairs {BEST DECISION EVER} and make the open area in the pantry more of a mudroom.  Over the years I've wanted it to be more of a dropping ground for our coats and such, but now Momma needs a place to work! 
I'd rather turn it into an office now.  I'm sure I'll still incorporate coat hooks somewhere, but I need somewhere I can sit and work and somewhere that has some organization and storage to it!  I need a mini office.
I've blogged about my office inspiration here but I feel like this picture still is the best representation of what I'm going for...

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DOS ::  The Painting of the Cabinets.
Our kitchen is small.  It's coming together nicely.  The table.  The bench Seat.  The island >> See Tres.  I am starting to love it.  It's becoming functional.  But the cabinets are still an eye sorer to me.  Most say they are so nice, but I'm in love with the whites and the grays.  If I had the balls, I'd even paint them navy as it's my newest obsession, but see Uno Inspiration above for more on that. 
I really think this could be a weekend project with the help of Rustoleum Kits.  I'm hoping to do a dark gray on the bottom and white on the top.  I think this is totally doable.  It's 3 cabinets each.  Small kitchens sometimes have an upside.

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TRES ::  Finish the Island.
Remember when I got this amazing cabinet from EBTH?  It sat in the garage for a while- probably six months.  Then I started to worry it wouldn't work.  So I put it in it's place.  Now it's our unfinished island.  That thing has been cleaned more times over than you can image.  The top needs replaced with butcher block that I plan on getting from Menards and then I need to spray the bottom with somesort of sealer so that I don't look any more of the amazing color.  The drawers and cabinet need new hardware and some contact paper to clean them up a bit.  Other than that, it's almost done.  And when it's done, it'll be one of my favorite pieces in the house I'm sure!

CUATRO ::  A Bench Cushion.
This has been on the list for sometime now too. I've been super wishy washy about it.  Finding the right mix of fabrics seems hard to me.  I was going to use drop cloth for the wash ability and cost factors, but it's a bit too creamy colored I think.

CINCO ::  A New Bed for the Master. 
Is making one a good idea?  I don't know.  I think I'd rather buy this one.  Here's what I'm going for...

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SEIS :: An Organized Garage.
This will have to be a summer task.  I swear we talk about this every year.  It usually stays clean for 2 weeks.  But I'll get it to work this year.  I swear.  It's going to stay clean and organized!  It will make my life so much easier and I can't wait!

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So there you have it!  Six things I'd like to get accomplished this year... I don't think that's too much to ask!  There are other projects I'd like to tackle that don't involve my house specifically that I'll share next time!  But for now I get to drool over inspiration for these projects!

Chairish Style Challenge

A few days ago I received an email from someone working at Chairish...
Have you heard of it?
It's only one of the coolest and most unique collection of vintage pieces for sale out there right now!  They have the best Vintage Furniture that is so easy to style!

Well anyways, they invited me to participate in a Style Challenge and I gladly accepted!  Admittedly, I have not purchased anything from Chairish but only because it would involve shipping furniture which is never cheap or a drive to Chicago which I'm usually up for, but nothing really fits in my car...so I'll have to wait until I have a truck.   hah.

They sent me a list of items and I was supposed to pick my favorite...

The winner... ???
Tada!

I'm not sure why but I was just drawn to it.  I love the subtle curve in the back and of course tufting makes me swoon.

Then I needed to design a room around it.  I used Olioboard to create it so I will say that some of these extra pieces are from places like One Kings Lane and are probably not available exactly as is, but I'm sure you can find similar pieces that probably would work and at even better prices if you look.  I love to look at thrift stores and on craigslist for deals!  The key... keep looking always!  Everyday!

Ok... so can I just say how much I would love to put this room in my house somewhere right now?!?

Seriously it's making my little heart pitter patter. 

I love that the sofa, even though it's gold, acts as a neutral and works with many different warm colors.  

I tried to think of something that would work for my family but also had a touch of whimsy as well as different textures and patterns which I love to mix.  

Every room in my house has a basket and this one would be no different.  

I love jute rugs (from Chairish), but the cowhide (also from Chairish) really warms and softens it up. 

The leather chair on the right has some wear to it which I love.  I did worry that two leather chairs in one room might be too much but I think in this case it works only because the colors of leather are so different and the wood tones on the carmel colored chair really differentiate it from the dark more traditional chair.  

I've also got a major crush on Aztec prints these days which is why I choose this ottoman as the coffee table.  

It lightens the space up a little bit, but also ties in with all the coordinating colors of the chairs.  

This one was listed through One Kings Lane on Olioboard, but I bet you could either find one, probably on Chairish, or reupholster one to resemble this. 

Besides the sofa, I am loving the cute little patterned stool in front of the leather chair.

  I have a really odd love for stools and I swear there is one in almost every room of my house, but I love this little guy.  Along with the bulldog statue, it adds that bit of whimsy which I appreciate in any room.  

I'm not a fan of NEW and Matchy Matchy so this challenge was right up my alley.  

I decided to keep the furniture and "staples" of the room more neutral so that you can constantly change up accessories and the look of the room without having to spend a fortune.  

Like look how cute it looks all dolled up for the holidays?

Well what do you think?  Do you like this space? 

Was the sofa your favorite piece? 

Can't wait to hear what you think!  

And a huge thanks to Holly at Chairish for inviting me to participate in this style challenge!  

Can't wait to keep watching all the Vintage Furniture on their site! 

Moving My Gallery Wall

Things tend to move around in my house.  My husband hates it.  

I swear he secretly likes the element of surprise I keep in the relationship hahaha!  

But recently I gained a new piece and had to take down this gallery wall. 

Which left me with a ton of frames that I had no idea what to do with.

So.... at the moment I have a bunch of frames laying all over and leaning against walls needing a new home... 

And until I figure out exactly what to do with them, here's a few gallery walls that I'm loving... 

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Welcome To My Office

My pantry has a little nook in it for where you could put the laundry room if you so desired.  I decided when we built this house that we wanted the laundry upstairs.  So this area sat empty for a while...


Then was a place for the dogs stuff...


Then was a place to hang our coats... with a bench, then another bench, then another bench...
See the transformation here.

And I realized that I haven't really touched on the Pantry in two years.  It was time. 


And while it's still not done, it has changed and I have plans for the future...


So... welcome to my office.  It's my little nook in the pantry turned mini office for me. 




There are some issues with it...
It constantly looks like a hot mess, like here. 
The coats need a new home and we need some serious storage in here. 





There's also no outlet which I'm not sure why because if there were going to be a washer and dryer in here then it should have had one, but I guess that's something to put on the list... And for now, I just charge my laptop before heading in there.





Right now it's a mix of things... and a ton of blandness.  The trestle legs are from IKEA, the wood I've had hanging around for a bit.  I had used one piece for my Ruler Growth Chart and the others were just from the cuts.  So they were already stained and one had numbers on it, but I kind of liked that it wasn't all uniform. 


The Bulletin Board was not staged for these pictures.  This is what it always looks like.  Utter craziness!  I think there are four invitations on it right now... some old pictures... a picture that Ella & I drew... some fabric swatches... a calendar... etc... Not staged. 




And much needed motivation from Lara Casey (which is where I bought this print from).  Haha. 


Anyways, this area wears a lot of hats.  It's storage, pantry, office.  I'm not even showing you the other side of this room... It's just chaos. 


So anyways, I have some mighty plans for this space and I'm really hoping they can work themselves out here in the next couple of months. 

1. Paint Navy.  Remember my color crush on Navy?  Well yea, I still have it. 
2. Wall to wall floating shelves - white with gold flecks... more on this when I get to it! 
3. Storage!  Boxes!  Hide!  Everything! 
4. I might even make the desk a floating desk... otherwise, I'll probably be painting those trestle legs white so they pop... or gold! 

Here's my design idea.  I did this really quickly on Polyvore last night so no judgement.

Navy Office Inspiration by babs625 featuring a swivel-stool

And I'd like to use a lot of what I have so that will be the trick...


Here are my inspiration photos... Enjoy!
Hopefully this project gets going soon!

Contemporary Living Room by Gastonia Interior Designers & Decorators Emily A. Clark

Contemporary Family Room by Ardmore General Contractors Pinemar, Inc

Eclectic Living Room by Dallas Furniture & Accessories Horchow

Eclectic Kitchen by Arlington Interior Designers & Decorators Sara Tuttle Interiors

House Tour :: Living Room

Wow.  My living room is clean.  Well picked up that is.  And if you are good, you will still see the many imperfections lingering in this room.  So I apologize if you clue into those... I took these pictures this morning at 5:25am before I left for work so they are a little dark and some are grainy because I took them on my phone. 


I had every intention of taking them last night in better light and with my real camera, but that was a no go with my sinus/allergies/headache mess that had settled in yesterday.  Finally took some Allegra D and am starting to feel a little bit better! 


But this has been a post that is a long time coming.  Usually this room is a mess.  It's the first room you see opening the door.  It's a dropping zone.  It's where we LIVE, hence Living Room.  But I went on a mad cleaning spree this weekend and 2 days into the week it's still clean! 


So... without further ado...
Our living room

This is the view looking in from the kitchen/dining area.

My boyfriend sits over the TV.  I think I'd like to add something up there, but am still unsure what.   

If you look directly right when you walk in, here's what you'll see.  My sunburst mirror wall. 

I think this wall brings together all the mixed wood tones and golds going on in the room.

It also sort of anchors it.

Here's the view from just walking into the door. 

I'm in love with my new-ish ladder. 

I got it from The Vintage Farmhouse in Zionsville and I absolutely adore it! 

It works perfectly for our blankets and adds a little character and country at the same time.

Here's my little what I call nook.  This chair is orange underneath. You might remember it from my craigslist finds years ago.  It's a pottery barn wing chair and I love it, but the color doesn't work. 

And quite frankly neither does this slipcover.  We have two black dogs an a child and for some reason everything clings to this chair - chocolate milk, dog hair you name it.  I recently ordered a navy slipcover but decided against it becasue the fabric was a canvas and almost hard.

Any thoughts on how to re-do this chair on the cheap? 

I have a few, but I always love suggestions!  

Clearly I have a child... Hello Mickey!

Another view from the Kitchen.  I really do love how this space has changed for the better over the years.  It's on it's second coat of paint and pretty much the same furniture since we've moved in. 

I did recently make this end table and I'm seriously loving it too! 

Someday I'll get to that on the blog -- easiest process ever!

My recently updated horse with the tassel on his ear. 

Yesterday Ella said to me "Mommy, you painted my horse" and I said, "Yes I did!"

It cracked me up that she (1) just noticed it and (2) left it alone because it was a different color! 

Crazy Kid!

And lastly a new addition to the coffee table!  A while back wrote about dressing a coffee table. 

This is the best I could do on limited resources!  I had the antler.  Think about tipping it with gold. 

I found that copper creamer at goodwill the other day for 49 cents!  Steal! 

And the book is an old Reader's Digest that I've started collecting from Goodwill for Maeve.

I love the patterns that are on them! 

The tray painting tutorial is on it's way!  Love this tray, also from Goodwill - $3.99.

In Navy, now it POPS! 

So there she is... my humble living room.  Very simple, plain, kinda blah if you ask me but the little details all over seem to be helping.  Loving my new succulents too!  Hoping I don't kill them since they are inside! 

Friday Favorite : Sarah M. Dorsey Designs

This might be one of my favorite DIY blogs.  I know, I know... I probably say that about everyone!
But this girl can do anything!  She's amazing!

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I've been following her for maybe a little over a year?  Maybe longer... but I found her after she won the Creating for the Stars Challenge last year.

I love that she tackles anything!  And tries anything!  And rarely seems to fail!

When she made these curtains, I almost went out and bought all the supplies, but knew mine would not turn out as good.  She did provide a free download of the stencil which made the process even more tempting!

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When she made this chandelier, I was sold.  I need more time to try to make something like this.. but would you know that it was DIY?

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Then she posted these printables and I decided they needed to be some in my home.. A second one might be getting printed shortly!  They cost $7 to have printed at Staples.

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And here they are in my house!

And those are just three of my favorite projects she's done!  There are plenty more on her blog!  So hop on over and check out Sarah!  What she does with some things will seriously blow your mind!

Now off to cater to my sick child now... we have a cough that won't go away.

Happy Friday!