entryway update

Remember my recent love affair with hot pink?

It was the inspiration for my entry shelves, which now look like this:

I had originally wanted to include a white border on the back of each shelf, but my painter's tape failed me miserably. I actually ended up making a huge mess, but somehow managed to pull it together with a few touch ups. Next up: white flowers, accessories and a bunch of new art for the entry and hall. And hopefully soon a beautiful new runner to replace our "temporary" one from Ikea.

office board

I finished spray painting our office chairs white over the weekend (upper left - I'm obsessed with the bamboo detailing) and I hope to make the pillows for them this week. I've gone back and forth about whether our office should have some sort of sleeping space for guests and I think the West Elm daybed shown here could work (a sleeper won't fit through the door and the room is too small for a full). This board is about half pieces we have and half pieces we don't have (yet). I've known all along that I wanted grassy green and I'm loving pops of pink (and yellow?) in the artwork and accessories. The question is, where does my boyfriend's prized, signed hockey stick that he insists should be hung up somewhere fit into all this???? :)

click to view larger

hot pink

Just a preview of a little something I'm working on...

dressing up plain white drapes

I blogged yesterday about how I reeeeally want to dress up the plain white linen drapes in my dining room ($15/pair at Ikea... ridiculous). So what to do? Add trim?

Or attempt stenciling a pattern?

I'm tempted to try the latter... even though I'll probably drive myself crazy trying to perfectly paint two sets of drapes. I found a little tutorial here. Either way I'm making my DR a priority for the weekend - wish me luck! Happy Friday :)

diy lampshades

Cool looking lampshades can be expensive so I love the idea of dressing up plain ones with ribbon, fabric, etc. I love this X pattern for the white lampshades in my office (minus the cute envelopes)...

via Pink Wallpaper

project updates {bellevue bedrooms}

I'm helping my parents decorate two bedrooms and have some recent pictures to share. I posted about the downstairs bedroom (my moms new space) a week or two ago and we've since added a white storage bench and baskets, a large print floral rug and a full length mirror (which is giving off a crazy glare in the bottom of this picture!) This room is dying for some art and I'm still pulling together some different ideas.

The upstairs bedroom is a little more masculine. I kept the Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter that was painted recently and the Ikea rug and white linen drapes that I bought when I was living there. The throw pillows I made with inexpensive fabric from Ikea (remember these? I'm in love with the navy and white stripes). The lamps and side tables are from Target and pretty much everything else we had on hand. There is a dresser on the other side of the room, which needs some serious sanding/painting/refinishing, but for now it does the trick while saving a little money.

I'll post some more pictures when I finish up with the art and accessories...

PS - gallery wall love

Loving this gallery wall as inspiration for mom's bedroom. I'm definitely thinking a mix of frames and prints in an organic arrangement vs. a grid. Erin at Elements of Style just moved into her new place and it already looks amazing!

via E of S

project sneak peek {mom's bedroom}

I'm helping my mom re-decorate her bedroom and here's what the space looks like so far. Originally I was thinking of using some higher intensity blues, but after shopping around (and seeing the paint go up) I chose a pretty quilt in muted blues, greens, gold and white and am building the palette from there.

First, we refinished the original hardwood floors and gave the walls and ceiling a fresh coat of paint. We kept her old bed to save money (a little weird with it's built in side tables - no room! but working on a solution for that) and bought new bedding and lamps. Next up - finish the drapery panels (a creamy white linen,) find a great upholstered bench or ottomans for the foot of the bed, and a small rug. We're also going to lean a large mirror against one of the walls to open up the space even more (I made her get rid of 3 large pieces of furniture that were so not necessary - she has two closets flanking the doors across from the bed, and tons of under bed storage). I'm still deciding on art and have a bunch of ideas to try. So far she loves it!

inspiration {mom's new bedroom}

We're giving my mom's bedroom a little makeover - fresh paint, refinished hardwood floors, new bedding, art and accessories. She loves blue (and our entire house is blue) so we're going to stick with it. I'm loving a quiet, restful palette of subdued blues, grays, creams and whites (with hopefully a little pop of color in there somewhere). Her style is a little bit country (no more red gingham, sorry!) so I'd like to do layers of textures and patterns in the bedding and an interesting vintage piece or two. We starting by painting the walls Martha Stewart's Heavy Goose (below). It's a very soft blue-gray color and SO pretty, I love it. (Her new line is great by the way - one coat covered beautifully). Here are a few images that I'm using for inspiration...

1+2. House Beautiful 3. unknown 4+5. Domino

design boards {baystate road project}

We presented our projects today and class has officially come to an end. Overall I'm pretty happy with how mine turned out - I could have spent hours mulling things over, but I had to make choices and I think I achieved what I originally set out to do (inspiration here and here). C - you'll have to let me know what you think!

Since I've been pretty devoted to this class now I can focus all my attention on my new, half decorated apartment. Lot's of plans for the coming weeks...

project update {chairs}

Remember these? After a lot of prep work and some very careful spray painting, they've gotten a big makeover.

The silhouette is pretty traditional/country so I chose glossy black paint and a chevron print for the seat cushions to achieve a dressier, more modern look. Total cost for the chairs (from craiglist), materials and fabric = about $20/each.

fabric instead of wallpaper

I've been wanting to try a project like this one for a while now. With something pretty like this? (Only way less expensive!) Hmmm...

Schumacher's trellis knot

a steel bar cart?

My little brother has always been so talented at building and making things and now he's taken on welding. He made this steel cart in one afternoon this weekend with scrap metal my dad had laying around. I'm thinking he may have to weld me a little industrial-looking bar cart... sans all the rust and designed for a home rather than a garage! I'll post some drawings if we can pull this crazy idea together.

projects {chairs}

The gorgeous weather this past weekend gave me an excuse to get started on my craigslist dining chairs. I removed the seat cushions, sanded all 6 and now they're ready to be primed and painted:

I also picked up 2 of these cute chairs (with our 'new' dining table - also getting an update) on craigslist for $5/each. They're painted yellow and in rough shape now but I'm hoping that they'll be perfect for our new office:

diy dining chairs

I bought 6 not-so-pretty dining chairs on craigslist for only $40 for my new apartment. I'm hoping I can paint them and reupholster the seats so that they will be as beautiful as the chairs in this image. I'm thinking glossy black with a bold, graphic print. We've never had room for a dining room table so I'm excited to tackle this project. Stay tuned!

image via House and Home

industrial table bases

I LOVE the design class I'm taking. My concept for the project we're working on right now is eco-industrial (more on that later) so I have funky vintage/industrial tables on the brain.

via Get Back Inc. (they have tons of cool stuff...)

home office re-do before + after {bellevue}

I posted about my home office last week and now have some before and after photos to share with you!

Before the space lacked storage and as a result, was really disorganized. There were books, magazines, papers and photos everywhere. My personal files and projects were mixed in with my work binders and I felt stressed looking for things. And the daybed didn't really function as a place to sleep or sit, it just took up space...

After it's clean, organized and pretty! I had painted the walls this summer in coordinating vertical stripes (one color has a luster/sheen to it, which you can't really see in the pictures) so I left them as is. Everything is either found/re-used or from Ikea, Homegoods or Target. I love the HUGE fabric board that I made for above my desk, and the new storage credenza and baskets/bins have helped to organize the clutter. I tried to keep it fresh and modern with bold black and white graphic pillows and acrylic + silver accessories - and the natural rattan storage bins + basket (for catching mail) and the jute twine I used on the memo board provide a nice balance. The drapery panels are super sheer and let it tons of natural light (plus they were a steal at $15 for 2!). I'm sure I'll continue to tweak the space as I go along but I'm pretty happy with the changes over the last week...

(still working on what I want for art above the daybed... I'm thinking of doing some crown molding art shelves, or creating 2 big frames out of molding for some architectural interest, maybe some mirrors... more on that soon I hope...)

Here are some of the details:

(click the image to view larger)

diy fabric inspiration board

Wanted to share a little project I worked on yesterday...

I made this huge fabric inspiration board for my office using 2 yards of a really bright, colorful fabric, a 36" x 48" artists canvas, natural jute twine and metal brads. Directions here. It was really, really easy (staple guns are amazing). Now I need to work on pulling some images to fill it up.

I'm putting a few final touches on the space and will share before and after pictures soon!

animal print stencils

I've been playing with the idea of stenciling the closet doors in my bedroom... to add a little and texture and pattern... and because I'm completely obsessed with projects around the house. But, I haven't been able to find anything quite right yet. I came across these today and thought how cool would an animal print look in a neutral color profile... maybe gray or gold? Hmm...

***

bellevue {before + after}

Before...

After...

Total spent ~ $475 (not including paint and the cost to refinish the floors).