Monday, August 26, 2013

Entryway Decor

Our entryway has received more makeovers than I can count. I have recently done another. Since I'm participating in the Style Cure challenge, I will be hosting a shindig to celebrate all my hard work pretty soon.

I'm still not 100% sure I like the changes. Hopefully it will stay up long enough to evoke a response from guests. The hubby jokes that he never knows what exactly to expect when he comes home from work. One thing he always knows to be true is the house will be decorated just a little bit differently than when he left that morning.... He also says he likes the most recent configuration the best! Spoken like a man who already owns my heart.






Console Table!

The hubby made a wonderful console table this past week. It exceeded my expectations and fits the wall perfectly- which is no small feet. The wall is about 12 feet long- give or take a few feet.

We ended up using an old glass/chrome bookcase the previous owners had left in one of the bedrooms. It sounds divine but was actually just a very dated piece of furniture. When I saw it on its side in the garage I had a visionary idea of recycling it into my dream console table!

                                                                               this


+ this:


= what we ended up, which with was this:



I'm pretty happy with the results and the price tag: $30
PRICELESS.



Thursday, August 22, 2013

Dining

The hubby made this light fixture when we first moved in and I'm still in love....


The dining room was the first room in the house I worked on. Probably because as a kid, my parents and I never sat down for a meal together.  I vowed that when I had my own family we would always eat meals together. Granted, it is currently just the two of us and our dogs, but whatever.

The room has a evolved a bit since this picture. I'm currently using it for miscellaneous projects since I don't have a craft room set up yet. Once it's back in order I will take some new pictures!

Monday, August 19, 2013

New Art

I finally got around to painting a new art piece for the living room. I think it turned out okay. My main goal was to bring much needed color to the space with out the big price tag that comes with purchasing large scale art. Despite my fantasizing about purchasing pieces like this:


or this:


or this Michelle Armas print:

or this other Michelle Armas:


But in the end what I went with was this:
I ended up having to make it... cause it was free.

And this is what it looks like in the living room:

Thoughts?!

I'm Back!

I've been busy re-decorating and tweaking... and not doing my Style Cure homework. Then, they finally gave a homework assignment I can do: SHOP! In addition to shopping, we have recently inherited some furniture from the hubby's very sweet grandma. They are some wonderful midcentury pieces in pristine condition. Don't get me wrong, they need a bit of revamping to be good as new- meaning there might have to be some upholstery work done to the cushions... but ain't nobody got money or time for that right now! Below are some changes I've made. Let me know your thoughts!


Here is the before... 

                                  and the after... Not too different, right. Just more subtle. We added the coffee table (courtesy of grandma). The Danish modern chair, which I have not reupholstered. I did throw some IKEA fur throws over it and an IKEA cushion and called it a day. There are two of these awesome Danish chairs. I just didn't have enough fur throws. Down the road I was thinking of recovering them with velvet and some contrast piping? or should I go with a fun loud print? I have plenty of time to decide.

                                                                         Before



After. My faux deer head came. I don't know if that's where it will stay. That's where the hubby deems to think it belongs. I had originally ordered the bronze but didn't like the finish. I got some spray paint at Michael's and viola! Gold makes everything better :)



Before



                                           After. I've already tweaked it again.. I moved that pesky plant out of the way. I purchased another floor lamp. and the side table is new. I'm still not sure about it. Them rather- I bought two. But the pillows I made out of Target placemats. I think they bring some much needed color to the space. The art above the sofa is getting changed. I'm going to try something with bold colors, probably an abstract.



                          I also revamped this little nook with some IKEA Besta cabinets.
It needs a little more, but I'm stumped for now.




                                                           It looked like this before:



Well, that's all for now. I'm sure I'll have more to share soon!

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

We are focusing on the art piece above the fireplace


From this:



to this:




or this (of course both pieces need to be centered, so just imagine them centered):

I would put another item by the console table. Probably this sun mirror which I already own:




                                                This lovely piece on the console table:
(by Clare Elsaesser)
is by far the one I constantly want to look at.



Better or worse? or just eh? I can't decide. I'm rather attached to both pieces. Even though I do not know the artist of the piece (group) above the fireplace.  I got it at a thrift shop. The black and white art piece was made by me via Pinterest. I would love to hear feedback in the comments and can link you to that DIY if you like. Thanks y'all! 






Monday, August 5, 2013

How to Style ... a console you don't own yet

I haven't gotten very much sleep. This decorating assignment is tormenting me. To top it off, we are hosting a rather large event in September. Style Cure couldn't have planned this better. Deadline is on.

For my living room, I would like there to be:

  • enough seating areas
  • places to put drinks
  • places to put hors d'ouvres and appetizers
  • surface areas to have a drink station (perhaps this will have to be in the kitchen)
  • have the party flow freely to the deck but minimize the bugs entering into the house!
This may be a pretty tall order but if anyone has any ideas I would welcome them.

I am thinking of perhaps purchasing this budget friendly option for a long console table on the art wall.
Styling it maybe like this, but with art all around (I do not own these images, but found them. If they belong to you, or you know the source of the first one please share. Thank you!):

                                                                          (image via Krrrb)






I found this which is what I want ideally, just the wrong aesthetic (for me).

Of course, I can just imagine the table as the white MALM, and more modern kitschy accessories and one faux animal head that is this:

I just bought this off Amazon with gift certificates that had been just sitting in my purse. They have so many beautiful options. If you are interested in paying homage to the hipster faux head trend this could be yours, or this one, or my personal favorite here.

Well, I better try to get some shut eye, or the hubby will start to worry.


Corner Nook Revamp and A lot of Before/After photos

So Style Cure has me going on a bit of a roll. I will post what the living room looked like before:



and now:

It stills needs a lot of work....




              BUT  before both of those before pictures it looked like this:

                                                                           Before before

           

             Now the after/ in between phase (before the end of the Style Cure challenge):





Now for the actual post. About that little nook pictured above. I went to Target and found this neat little  desk and decided to style it as a console table. Does it look cheesy?











Sorry for the all the bad cell phone photos. I can't promise I'll be getting a special camera for this assignment. I will definitely try to take pictures in better lighting though.

I'm still not sure about it. I love the pop of color it infuses into the space. For the price, you really can't beat it! Maybe it will look different in the daylight. Please leave your constructive criticism in the comments section. Thank you!




Style Cure Day #3


Yes, I missed a few days. Apartment Therapy  is hosting a Style Cure event this month. I've decided to take part. This is assignment number three.

Here are some before photos of my living room space. We have already painted the walls white and I will not be painting them another color. I am not against having an accent wall though. I'm partial to wallpaper, the easily removable kind of course.






Yes, that is a baby gate. My small dog likes to pee on things despite constantly being trained not to. 




The brick will not and cannot be painted. Despite my attempts at convincing the hubby to paint them white, that color they shall remain. 

Ignore the throw on the chair! The back wall there is also giving me trouble. I want to do a gallery wall,  console table, large round mirror- but again, current budget constraints! Like this:










Back to my living room:

I was thinking of adding wallpaper and shelving and storage unit to that back corner where the rocker is. Kind of like this:

Ours would be a much much smaller version, of course. Still unsure if budget wise this is a viable option for that space at this time. 












Here are some pictures of what I would like my space to look like: 





There you have it! Any constructive criticism would be most appreciated and welcome. Although, I guess ultimately the Style Cure shall dictate which direction I will take with the room transformation. Thanks y'all!