headboard progress

So as I slowly proceed with our bedroom makeover, I have updated the headboard.  I  got the inspiration from some pillow covers I got from Lowe's Home Improvement for a whopping $6.99 a piece and then just went right on over to the painting section and picked up a fabric painter's drop cloth.  I washed and ironed the drop cloth and then did the Greek key style design with black ribbon.  The room is no where close to being complete but I thought I would give you a sneak peek at the updated headboard.

pretty packages

So Christmas is literally right around the corner.  I still can't figure out how I keep letting all of these Holidays sneak up on me.  I have bought a total of one present so I am officially in the running for the Procrastinator of the Year award.  With that said, I think pretty packaging is a huge part of the fun when giving gifts.  Here are a few ideas out on the word wide webs for inspiration.  Once I have the actual gifts to wrap I should be good to go.

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sheep skin is in

So now that Fall is here and it's a brisk 75 degrees here in the good old south I thought I would focus on a nice warm and fuzzy trend, sheep skin in home design.  I actually like how it adds a bit of texture and warmth and is usually a very mobile piece so you can move it, store it, bring it back out, whatever you want to do.  Here's a few little pics to get you inspired for some furry cozy comfy design....word!

Amber from Amber Interiors did this.  I love her work, it's so youthful, eclectic and fun.  Her website also has a great DIY project for the artwork.

Glam, trendy, rustic awesomeness.

Love this and the fiddle leaf fig.  

What a cute work space.  

Amber Interiors again, she is so good it's sick.... in a good way.

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Closet Overhaul

So last week  I took on the daunting task of organizing our closet.  Now, let me just give you folks some back story so you know where I am coming from.  Paul and I share one closet...yes you heard that correctly.  Our home was built in the 1950s and is a very quaint 1050 square feet so,obviously closet space is at a premium.  So, in an effort to get that thing organized I took to the good old internets, and you know what I found... only pictures of big fabulous spaces.  Like so:

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So, that is great and all but this chick doesn't have the space or money right now to have a closet like that.  So back in reality I asked around on people's thoughts for space savers etc.  My friend, Missy, suggested the "huggable" hangers and I can not even tell you the difference they make.  They are very streamlined, come in a variety of colors and they keep the clothes on the hangers... what a novel idea.  I haven't replaced all the hangers becauseI don't have that kind of cash right now but gradually I will phase out the old and bring in the new.  So here, it goes... the before and after progress of the closet.  If anyone out there as any space saving ideas for a small closet I would gladly appreciate them. :)

 This chaos above created so many temper tantrums on my part when trying to get ready, it's insane.

 Progress

I mounted a hook to the left of the closet to hang my outfit for the day, especially during the work week this helps me immensely to get to work on time.

I organized my jewelry by covering an old cork board in burlap and framing it.  It is a perfect place to corral some of my jewelry and a great way to see what I'm working with.  (p.s. the pink hair clip on there was from Breast  Cancer awareness)

Anthropologie .... what, what!

We don't have an Anthropologie store in our town, the nearest is about an hour and a half away so whenever I am in a city that has one I do my best to make a trip there.  Now, as much as I would like to scoop up the vast majority of the store's contents, that is just not in this ladies budget.  But, I do love to wander through the home goods section of the store and admire how well they style spaces.  Most recently, when we were in Monterey I took a couple of snapshots to file as "future inspiration".

I love the wall mounted shelves and the furniture turned kitchen station.

Don't you love this bench?  It looks like a pretty simple diy project and it would match my coffee bag art.

They have some of the prettiest & unique bed linens.

This one is a little blurry but don't you just love the owl cook jars?

Cushions are getting covered folks

Covering cushions on a bench or chair is a fairly simple thing to do and can make a huge impact to a space.  I recently had a friend ask if I could re-cover the cushions she had on her chairs at her kitchen table and I was happy to oblige.  All you need is:

Quality scissors (to best insure a straight line and limited fraying)
Staple Gun
Staples (obviously but thought I would share)
Fabric of your choice & cushions

Outdoor fabric is great because it's extra durable and for a space like a kitchen table it will get it's usage.  Also, i recommend treating it with a scotch guard or similar treatment to help keep stains at bay.

Here's some pics to walk you through.  Enjoy!!!

 Step 1: Cut fabric to correct size, I like at least  2 inches excess on each side to assure the space to pull it tight enough.

Step 2:  Begin by stapling in the middle of the side you start on and I move from either side after to ensure it stays centered.

Step 3:  Repeat on all four sides and corners.

Step 4:  Once complete, trim off the excessive fabric, hammer in any staples if needed and voila!

Sputnik...

Happy Monday folks, it was a great warm weekend here and now we're back at it starting another work week.  I am really digging the sputnik light and and working to convince Paul to change out the light fixture in the dining room for a sputnik light.  Fingers crossed!!!  What do you think sputnik light, too mid-century trendy or classically retro?

Here's a few to think on...

 I love this pop of red in the neutral  room and the suzani bedspread is right up my alley.

I absolutely love this dining room, the rich neutrals, the mid-century furnishing mixed with the traditional built-ins and that art work is amaze balls.  

This one is a diy from Little Green Notebook.  She used an ikea chandelier and created this beauty. (link below)

What a fun way to introduce the playful vibe to home, sputnik in the entry.

This dining room is capital D-ramatic.  The rich colors and bold choice for wall covering works well in the space.

So fun and playful... nuff said.

I love how traditional this space is and that the light fixture is the show stopper.  Absolutely love.

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You know I have a thing for stripes...

I love stripes, I think they are the perfect way to add some interest to a room without being too trendy.  I posted about painting stripes on my walls here. So, I wanted to share some stripey (is that a word?) inspiration for you all this fine Friday.  What do you think about stripes in design?

This is from Lonny Mag, and if you aren't peeping that online mag monthly, you should.  It's chalk full of beautiful, eclectic spaces.

This beautiful bathroom from Sarah Richardson Design has a subtle, yet creative way to inject stripes into the space and I love it.

This living space is glamorous times 10.  I love everything about it. The graphic stripes, the Lucite table, the convex mirror, the list goes on and on.

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This outdoor room is awesome sauce.  How could you not want to enjoy every moment outside in this beautifully designed space?

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This bedroom is so peaceful and chic.  I love the tone on tone combo for the stripes and the injection of gold finishes to up the fab factor.

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Happy Friday

I hope everyone has had a good week so far.  For a short work week it sure does feel like I've worked three weeks in one. Unfortunately, I don't think the weekend will allow much time for relaxation.

We plan on having a multi-family yard sale at our home on Saturday Morning, bright and early at 7:00am.  I can only hope ours is as organized and successful as the one pictured here from Real Simple.  Somehow, I doubt since I just starting getting stuff together last night, haven't cleaned the dust off of anything, priced anything or even thought about how it would be "styled" at the sale.  On a plus note, I did put the add on craigslist last weekend for it, so I guess that's a step in the right direction.

I also need to starting working on the pillow covers I'm making for a client, she chose this beautiful coral fabric and I love it.  It will add such a nice pop of color to her living room and it's perfect for a home that is filled with two beach lovers.

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I myself have been sitting on some table napkins from World Market that I'd hope to turn into throw pillows for my bedroom and would like to tackle that too.  World Market has a great selection of cloth napkins at really great prices and they are the perfect size for covering throw pillows. We'll see...no promises.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, enjoy!! 

Maps

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend.  I was pretty lazy this weekend and didn't do any projects around the house.  I hope this weekend to get some things done and possibly work with a friend/client on her casa.  I will be sure to share.

So, a while back I posted about inexpensive wall art and part of the post was regarding the use of maps in design.  I now have a borderline obsession with finding a really cool old map to display.  Here's a few pics of pretty spaces that I found are chock full of inspiration.


Love the colors int this one.


This is a unique take on the use of maps and gallery wall.  I love the multi-colored frames and the variety of styles.


These are really graphic and pretty and I love how cohesive it is without being too structured.


This one is probably my favorite, I love the saturated colors in the map and all of the really unique pieces sharing the wall.

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ikat

So, remember way back yonder when I discussed a major score with regards to some ikat fabric?  Well, I finally got around to doing something with it rather than the having it folded and put in a pile on my dresser.  It was only a couple of yards to work with, so what I could do was limited but I was able to cover two very small pillows  as well as make a "coverlet" if you will, that is currently draping the back of the hideous couch.  So here's a little look at what I did.  The coverlet was just trimmed with ready made trim at Joann's, gotta love that place.  Again, please excuse my photographic skills, if you saw the camera I was working with you'd completely understand.

Burlap Curtains

This morning I was browsing the new Ballard catalog , dreaming of the day when I can actually afford to purchase massive amounts of fabric, furniture and accessories when I saw these beauties.

 

They are damask embroidered burlap and they are the perfect mix of glam and earthy.  I love them, but starting at $179 a panel this chick cannot even for another second think about getting these.  So after coming back to reality I figured, why not just stencil the burlap curtains I have in the kitchen to create a look a like minus the fancy embroidery.  So that's just what I did.  

 This is the before

I am pretty happy with the way they turned out and at zero cost since I had everything I needed already.  I definitely didn't have any rhyme or reason with the stencil so they aren't perfect but that's OK with me.