Chandelier

I change up my kitchen chandelier a few times a year.  This is January...

(small bird nest and eggs - actually a Christmas ornament)

There is a combination of silver stars from Restoration Hardware, small beaded lanterns, oragami made by a friends daughter, a paper machee skull I found in the Dominican Republic and strands of fabric beads from India.

This is my "Shop Local" girl from Anthropologie.  I never change her out.

Silver stars from Restoration Hardware. 

A New Rug

Well, not super new (I bought this back in early November).  I had looked long and hard for a new rug for our living room and came up empty handed for months.

Finally, I was walking through our local Target and discovered this beauty:

It fits our room perfectly.  You know how you are looking for a new rug/couch/lamp/etc. and at the end of the day you don't know what you want but that when you find the EXACT thing you will know it? That is this rug.

AND...my husband likes it as much as I do.  Win Win all around.

A Little Sparkle?

I would LOVE to do this on our backsplash...

You see a lot of tiled backsplashes but rarely something like this, right?  Looks easy enough to tackle.

And here is another use of sparkle in your home: the penny floor!

I have always wanted to do this.  But maybe in a small room, like a powder room?  Anything larger feels a bit overwhelming.

So think about adding a little sparkle to your otherwise utilitarian surfaces!

Make-up on Magnets

 
OK, this is brilliant.  Simple to execute but such a great idea, especially if you have some wall space in your bathroom, bedroom or closet where you get ready.

The website appears to be in Russian (?) but the photo steps give you all the info that you need.

I have a wall in my bathroom that is crying out for this awesome DIY idea.  January project perhaps! 

Making Memories...Balloon Style!

 

I saw THIS recently on Pinterest and had to share.  What a brilliant idea for an anniversary or a birthday for that someone special in your life.  Think of how fun this would be to do for a child or teenager too?!  The possibilities are endless.

Just one more reason that I love Pinterest.

Room Tour: A 3 year old's space

One of my daughters is 3 and she recently moved into her own space.  She is happier in her own little space and the size of this room suits her well.  We kept it simple, with the things that she likes.

I took this "S" from Michaels and wrapped it in fabric years ago; vinyl wall decals from Target.

This is her favorite element in the room, a thrifted and cleaned up play kitchen.   My favorite item I added was the coat hanger repurposed as a faucet!  I also added trim and bun feet to the base to give it a little more height.  It is REALLY solid and heavy - great piece.

I made this fabric banner garland for the back wall of her room and hung some ribbons from either end.  It is too high up for her to pull on but still adds a little visual interest to an otherwise blank wall.

This quilt was made a few months ago from my stash fabric and backed with really soft minky chenille.  Pink down comforter from Ralph Lauren.

Finally, this has always been her dresser; originally found at a local Goodwill for about $15 I refinished it with a high gloss pink spray paint and then added pink glass knobs.  Its not the sturdiest dresser ever but it functions well for now.

Such a happy little room.

Room Tour: A Girls Room

 

My daughter recently turned eight.  We have four kids...and each currently NEED their own rooms.  So after shifting people and rooms around, my eight year old again has her own room.  And she lucked out in that its the largest kids bedroom.  She requested purple purple purple.  We had a ball getting it all ready and she loves the space.

Her bed is SUPER comfy and has lots of mixed patterns and colors. (Bedding a mixture of Ikea, Pottery Barn, Target, Home Goods.  Bed itself a hand-me-down from a friend and painted purple by moi).

Tissue poofs hanging from the ceiling.

(Horse painting from Target)

 This dresser is as old as I am (37) and has gone through numerous coats of paint over the years (it was my dresser when I was a baby).  Its latest incarnation is a lovely lavender with clear glass handles.  Its a great, solid piece.

And finally a place for all of her trophies and ribbons.  I believe that it is important to display these; sometimes you need to remember how far you have come and what you have accomplished...even when you are only eight.

Halloween Decor: Make a Creepy Tree

I was at Target a few weeks back and was admiring their very creepy black Halloween trees.  I grabbed one to put into my cart...and then I saw the price tag $49...per tree! 

No thank you.

Upon closer inspection I realized I could make my very own creepy Halloween decor for a fraction of what I would be paying for the Target version.

I set off to find 1) creepy looking branches, 2) black spray paint 3) floral foam and 4) terra cotta pots.

Finding branches was easy; me and my oldest daughter found what we needed on our side  yard in about 5 minutes.

I picked up the rest of my supplies at Michaels.

Step 1: unwrap the styrofoam floral ball and shove it down into the terra cotta pot.  Repeat for the 2nd one.  Really jam it in there good.

Step 2:  arrange the branches you found in a "creepy manner" (I just made that up...just now).

Step 3: spray paint everything black.  Multiple coats.  You want this to be really really black.

Step 4: admire your handiwork.

I love how it turned out.  I also love that I spent about $15 total for both creepy trees. 

Book this Bookboard!

Love books?  Need a great headboard?

Introducing Bookboard!








Isn't it just so pretty?  I love this idea. For the first 3 years of our marriage, me and my husband didn't have a headboard.  Comfy mattress, yes.  But no headboard.  I came up with a few ideas that worked but THIS I would have tried and loved.

That RUG

I have a thing for amazing rugs.  Now, I don't actually own any amazing rugs...but I appreciate the great ones as works of art.

So here is a lovely gem:

One of the coolest I've seen yet.

Spooky Steps

In honor of the approaching Halloween holiday, I bring you this gem:

 
So easy to do with just breaking open glow in the dark bracelets and necklaces! So spoooooky!

A British Bedroom

I have a 9 year old son who is interested in all things world travel.  He is also a boy...and not terribly interested in room design/ interior fashions.  I've made a little headway in his room but I'm not sure that it accurately captures what he is interested in or what he LIKES.

Then I saw this bedroom and thought, "BAM!  What a great room!  Pulled together, stylish, a little out of the box".

Makes me think I need to revisit that room at the end of the hall again and see if we can come up with some better design choices :)  Perhaps I need to sit him down with Pinterest!