Sunday, January 13, 2013

MOOD BOARD: MASCULINE MASTER BEDROOM INSPIRATION


Where to buy?

Bed - Here

Bedding - Here

Rug - Here

Curtains - Here

Light - Here

Chair - Here

Pictures - Here, Here, & Here

Ottoman - Here

MASTER BEDROOM


Howdy howdy!!  It's been a really long time since I posted!  Hope everyone is doing well and had a fantastic Holiday.  I've had a pretty low key weekend at home cleaning and organizing.  Fun fun, right?  :)

Today I'm sharing my bedroom with you.  This space has come a long way since I bought my house but there is SO much I want to do in here.

Right now I'm using a foot-board I picked up for $5 as my headboard.  It's not working!  The problem is, it's so low you can't even see it and it doesn't provide any type of support for pillows, etc.  When I bought it I had a DIY in mind for it, but so far that hasn't happened.

The rest of my furniture is mostly hammy down type stuff I've had since I lived at home.  Someday I will buy furniture for my room! :)

I LOVE the Hudson bed at Pottery Barn, but it's almost $1,600 so it's not happening...at least for now. :)















I have two baskets in my nightstand that I use for storage.  I keep my Kindle in one and I keep candles in the other.




I try to keep the nightstand drawer free of clutter.  Here's what I've found works for my.

1. Remote for the TV and the DVD player 
2. PM pain reliever
3. Eye mask
4. Burt's bees lip balm
5. Scissors
6. Notebook and pen
7. Coaster




Ok, I almost didn't share my little sock trick with you...but because it's been such a good thing for me I decided I should share.  Maybe you already do this and I'm just behind the times here.

I used to cuff/fold my socks like this.  


The problem was the elastic would get all stretched out AND it took time to sort and fold socks.  A friend of mine showed me this and I thought it was the most ingenious idea ever!  :)

First of all you have to buy 'like' socks for this to work, which I do.  I always buy Gold Toe socks in brown, black, and white.  This keeps the sorting to a minimum.  It's great, trust me.  Then instead matching and folding I just stack all the like colored socks together like this.  It's so great, you must try this if you aren't already!  I promise you it will make sorting laundry so much faster. :)


On top of my dresser I keep a little box to hold a few pieces of jewelry I wear most days.  I have a jewelry box for everything else, but I like having the things I wear daily where they are easy to grab and put away. 


Hope you enjoyed the tour.  :)




Where did I find my things?

Duvet Cover & Shams - Here

Velvet Quilt & Shams - Here

Striped Pillow - Pottery Barn (no longer available)

Pillow with button - Here

Sconces - Here

Clock - Here

Picture Frames - Here

Baskets: Pier 1 (no longer Available)

Candlesticks - Target (no longer available)

Curtains - I sewed using white duck cloth material

Socks - Here

Paint Color: Sherwin Williams Balanced Beige (SW 7037)



Monday, November 26, 2012

DIY CHRISTMAS PILLOWS

I had EVERY intention of coming home from work and cleaning my basement tonight...BUT...that didn't happen.  I sat down at my computer for...seriously like two minutes...and the next thing I know I'm setting up light room on my patio and in my dining room.  (Sigh) 

I'm really excited to share this idea with you though!  I made a really neat Christmas pillow that was super easy and the best part is, it was totally FREE because I already had all the materials needed.  I have seen a lot of really cute pillows online with little Christmas sayings and I wanted something similar for my living room.  A lot of the techniques required freezer paper to transfer an image to fabric, which I didn't have, so I needed to figure out an alternative method.  I found one that worked great!

I started by setting up a light- on a vacuum box of course- and shined it at the sliding glass door in my dining room.


I printed the words 'Silent Night' onto regular paper and I just taped the papers to the door with the light shining in the background.  

Please ignore the snowflakes on the back side of my 'Night' paper.  That was for a project that didn't happen so I reused it. :)
Next I hung a 20ish by 20ish piece of painters drop cloth on the door and started to trace the words with my Sharpie maker.  I know this is super high tech, but please try to follow along.  Hehe.  I'm totally kidding.


Once I had everything traced I just filled it in and voilĂ ! 




Here is the finished product...well almost finished.  I still need to sew the actual pillow.  In this picture the fabric is just laying on top of a pillow.  I was that excited to post this.  :)


 So what do you think?  It was really easy and cheap.  Do you have an idea of how you could use this same technique on one of your projects?  I think I'm going to make a second one the says 'Holy Night' and put them on my living room sofa.

Even thought I didn't exactly do what I was planning tonight, I still had a fun and productive evening.  The cleaning can wait for tomorrow.

Update:




Sunday, November 25, 2012

SWAP TILL YOU DROP

I hosted a swap party, and it was a lot of fun!  I asked everyone to bring a few home decor items that they no longer wanted and then they were able to swap them for something new.  We drew numbers to see who would go first.  Then I called numbers three at a time and those people went to pick out their new items.  Once everyone had their chance to pick an item we did a second round.  Each person was able to go back through once for each item that they brought.  I think everyone left with some great stuff!

I tried to keep it simple, but anyone who knows me well will tell you that is impossible for me. :)  Soooo, I kept it as simple as I possibly could.  I decided to make a few treats and serve with hot chocolate on a stick.  Mmmmm, it was so yummy.

I would definitely recommend a swap party to anyone who is considering it. :)


I set out tags so people could label their items in case it wasn't obvious.  I also set out name tags since not everyone knew each other...yes I am that person.  :)






















Wednesday, November 21, 2012

PROGRESS IN THE BATHROOM

A few months ago I told you about a tool called Chip It.  Chip It takes any image you have and creates a coordinating color pallet.  You can see that post here. 

Almost a year ago I bought a shower curtain for my bathroom, but I never put it up because I wanted to paint first.  Well, after almost three years in my home I FINALLY painted my bathroom.  I'm so happy to finally be making some progress in this room.  It was the only room in the house I hadn't done anything with.

I'm not done with the room yet, but here are a few picture of the new paint color, shower curtain, and wainscotting.  Have I ever mentioned that I <3 wainscotting.  :)


I took these pictures on my phone, so I know they aren't the best.


 This light REALLY needs to go.  It just glares at me every time I walk in the bathroom now. :)


I know the space isn't finished, but progress is progress, right?  For now, the little changes I have made make me happy when I walk in the room.




THRIFTY CHRISTMAS DECOR

I know it's not even Thanksgiving, but I'm already super excited about Christmas.  I want to make this Christmas season special.  Too many times I look back after the holidays and realize there was so much I didn't do.  I get too wrapped up in the busyness of the season that I forget to sit back and enjoy.  I've made it a goal of mine to soak it all in this year and to remember what the season is really about.  

I know it's a little early, but I started putting up my Christmas decorations and I wanted to share them with you.  Everything here was really inexpensive...bonus!


I already had this hurricane so I just added the fake snow, trees, and the little family picking out their Christmas tree.  Isn't it cute?  I absolutely adore this. :)  I found everything at Menard's.  I think this whole thing cost under $10.


Here is a closer look.


This is actually just a Christmas card I got from someone last year.  I LOVED the picture so I decided to save it.  I already had this frame, so I just swapped the picture I had in it for this Christmas card.  Cost: FREE!


I used the leftover snow (from my hurrican above) in these Ball mason jars and added a flameless tealight and a sprig of evergreen I had leftover from another project. I did buy these mason jars, but I imagine a lot of people already have most of these items on hand already.  I know they are simple, but I think that's what I love most about them.  They look beautiful at night too.  

I hope that everyone has a happy Thanksgiving and spend some good quality time with friends and family this year.  Think of all that you have to be grateful for and remember to ENJOY this holiday season.