It's the Little Things

I still have a long way to go to truly transform my home into the way I envision it. After recently taking a pay cut, I have had to be even more patient when decorating. Sometimes, though, it only takes some small pieces to make you happy in your space.

I have recently found some fun little pieces that make me smile when I look at them! Case in point, this adorable bunny ring holder :)

I have a small obsession with rabbits, so it was a no-brainer to purchase these little guys when I saw them (at Urban Outfitters.) They work really well on top of my dresser in the bedroom.

Next were these Anthropologie bowls. I have been coveting them since the very first time I saw them. I had been looking for the perfect accent to put on top of my pile of books, so I finally decided it was time to get them.

I couldn't decide on the color, so I bought my two favorites. I am so glad I did, because they worked out perfectly on top of each other, for just a touch of color and pattern.

Finally, I had been searching for something to sit on my somewhat new glass coffee table. I have learned that I don't like to have too much sitting on the table, especially since it is constantly getting used (it practically serves as our dining table) and cleaned, thanks to the glass.

How fun is this giraffe print tray? And it was only about 6 bucks! It serves a great dose of pattern in the living room, and is just the right size for the essentials: an orchid, coasters, a candle, and the not-so glamorous remotes that constantly sit on top of the table despite my best wishes. I have had this for about a week now and it has truly kept the table more organized. It is so easy to move everything out of the way when we need it. I'm very happy with my purchase!

Tell me, what small items around your home are currently making you happy?

Dark, Moody Bedrooms

Last week I was talking to a co-worker about paint colors. She happens to have a north-facing bedroom, just like I do. Despite having done some decorating odds and ends to my bedroom, I find it keeps falling completely flat. That's exactly what she said to her once all-white room. In a room with little sunlight it just doesn't work - it ends up looking dingy no matter what you do.

Hers is now painted a beautiful deep taupe, and she is completely in love with her room. She says it's so warm and cozy, so conducive to sleep. It got me thinking of painting my room a nice chocolate brown. Only thing is I am a bit afraid of dark paint colors! To help convince myself, I've been searching for images of dark, beautiful bedrooms.

Phoebe Howard

Country Living

Country Living

 

 unknown

 Lonny Mag

 Tom Stringer

The Lennoxx

I may go a little lighter like the last photo (above) but either way I think it will warm up the room and provide some much-needed contrast. I still have a huge to-do list for my home though, so it will be some time before I see what this room will become...or if I can actually go through with it!


Do you have a dark room in your home? How do you feel in it?

My Striped Hallway!

Hello, hope you had a good weekend! What were you up to? I finally managed to get some things done around the house, including finishing up my hallway! For a couple of weeks now I mentioned that I was painting stripes in my boring hallway with leftover paint. I am happy to say it is now complete and ready to share with you all!

What was once a seriously drab space has now become a cheery, much more polished area. Check it out:

(Ok, so the "rug" is just a piece of fabric (wrinkled, no less...) standing in for a future rug that I have yet to find)

The paint is a combination of Benjamin Moore Light Pewter, which I have in my adjoining living/dining room, and one shade darker, Nimbus. I love the tone-on-tone contrast because it is not too jarring.

A big part of the project was to create a gallery wall of family photos, something we had wanted to do since moving in! I was debating between all black or all silver frames. In the end, I left them mixed and actually like it that way.

I am still trying to figure out what to put on either side of the "H." Any suggestions??

The other big part of the project was painting over all the trim and doors. My condo came with the trim in an off-white, creamy color. A coat of bright white was in order for a while. I cannot get over the change! The whole space feels so much brighter now. I plan on painting the rest of the trim throughout the house asap!

The stripes themselves ended up being the easiest part of the project! I used the new Scotch painters tape with Edge Lock, and had no problems with bleeding. I was pleasantly surprised to not have to deal with touch-ups.

The stripes have been a big hit with my friends! The hallway was a place I never really thought about decorating, but I am so glad I did. I am now considering striping another wall...either in my tiny entryway or maybe go bold and paint a wall in my living/dining area! We'll see...

Do you have any striped walls in your home? If not, would you consider it?

From the Inspiration Folder

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a good Easter (those who celebrate!) Mine was great. It is always nice to have some time with family - there is nothing like it.

During my days off, I also tried to make progress on my little hallway makeover. I thought this would be a quick and easy project, but once I started to paint out all the trim, it became a much bigger task (our condo came with the trim painted in a bad off-white, and I've been slowly painting over with a brighter white.) The hallway has four doors, and once you paint one side of it, you have another, which leads into painting another room! I ended up running out of paint and oddly enough so did my local Lowes, so I have to wait another week before they restock semi-gloss paint! Hopefully I will be able to share with you all soon though - I really like how it is turning out.

Anyway, I wanted to start the week sharing a very inspirational space I just came across. it is the dining room of Erika Brechtel of Small Shop. When I came across her blog, I became an instant follower. This room is one reason why:

Her dining room is so glam! I love the wall color, all of the gold accents, and the La Fiorentina pillows! Erika did such a great job styling it. You can see more of her home on her blog, here.

Have a great week!

What I've Been Up To...

Hey guys! Sorry for my absence last week. I am not really sure what happened...just a stressful week, really, that left me without motivation to do much. Thankfully once I had a couple of days off, I finally got a dose of motivation to get some things done.

As if I didn't have several other projects mid-completion, I randomly decided to tackle a new one. After spending several dollars buying paint testers for my living room, I was left with all these sample pots laying around. I've been itching to come up with a way to use them, and finally I had an idea. I have a small yet very drab hallway that was in serious need of a touch up. I figured why not bring some life to this space, while using up all that paint...so I am painting stripes!

There it is, in progress.  I just completed painting all the stripes and I'm loving it! The final photo will have to wait a little, as I am also repainting all the trim and doors in a fresher white (I'd been dying to do that since moving in nearly three years ago!) I also have plans for a gallery wall of photos here. Overall this was an easy and fun project to tackle!

I also went out and bought some curtains for my sunroom! I haven't talked about this room much yet, but will start sharing photos once I make some changes I have planned. Anyway, the window in this room is also the main window in my living area, so it needs to have curtains that can handle center stage. 

I found this beautiful pair at World Market, and was sure it would work perfectly with the existing blue walls in the space, as well as an accent pillow I had planned to make.

However, once hung, they look a little dark (too much brown), so I am having some second thoughts... what do you think of them?

So that is my little update for the week. What were you up to this past weekend?

My New Purchase

Good morning! I hope you all had a great weekend. I am working weekends now, so things are a little different. But my new job is going well, making it all worth it!

I wanted to share a recent purchase for the condo that I'm excited about. I know sunburst mirrors have been around for a long time, and many people are ready for them to go away. I however, only recently developed a big crush on them, and have been searching for an affordable one to call my own. I think they add such a glam touch to any space.

Luckily, thanks to winning a giveaway for CSN Stores over at Small & Chic in C-ville, I finally bought one! It now sits above my bookcase, but I can see it one day looking great over a fireplace or in an entryway.

What do you guys think? Thanks again Jeannine!

New Coffee Table

So I have picked out my new coffee table based on your suggestions (thank you!) and I finally made the purchase! It arrived a couple of days ago, and I'm really happy with it. Want to see which one I went with?

The #5! I am really happy with it. The glass top really opened up the space and feels modern and fresh. I got a great deal on it too, so it was a good decision!

I also finally started painting the living room! It's taking quite a while because I am doing one wall per weekend. Between moving all the furniture, adding primer, then three coats of paint takes quite a while. Three coats of paint is a lot, but I was not happy with the color at two coats (I think my old blue paint was still showing through), but the third one thankfully did the trick. The picture above shows some of the wall, and the one below shows a part of the old blue next to the new color (to the left):

Please excuse my dog Mac's head :)

I'd been planning to buy a new rug to help define the area. I even won a gift certificate to CSNrugs.com towards the purchase (thanks Jeannine!) But I just used our flokati rug from another room and now I kind of like it here! So I am not sure if I'll keep it or buy something else for this space. Either way, these changes I've made so far are helping this place feel more home-y than it's ever felt!

So that was my productive weekend. What were you up to?

Living Room Paint & Moodboard

I hope you had a great holiday weekend! Mine was just amazing, in part thanks to the beautiful weather we had in DC. I can't believe Fall is right around the corner...

As I mentioned, I went shopping for paint yet again this weekend. I am now on my 7th paint sample! I know, crazy. This paint situation has been nothing short of a nightmare. Every paint I pick looks so extremely different (darker and "muddier") on my wall than it does on the swatch or even on a painted piece of paper with the exact same paint.

I recently said I was going for cream on the walls. Well, once my (beige) sofa came in, I realized cream would be too similar. A friend of mine suggested going with gray, and at this point I figured I had nothing to lose. I picked up a couple of samples, tested on a couple of walls, and basically my condo is starting to look like a Mondrian painting:

BM Light Pewter top left, BM Edgecomb Gray top right, BM Nimbus bottom

The good news is that I think I made my decision! The top one on the left! The photo is awful, but it doesn't matter because the paint (Benjamin Moore Light Pewter) looks nothing like it does anywhere else anyway...but it works in my condo and that's all that matters! It's a little light, but it should look nice. I think the actual painting process will be a piece of cake next to the color selection issue!

So now it's off to the fun stuff - accessories! I put together a moodboard to see how everything will come together. I am still debating over coffee tables #2 and #5 (THANK YOU all for your suggestions), and the pillows and artwork are just placeholders, but here's what I am thinking:

I can't wait until it is all finished!!

Seeking the Perfect Coffee Table

Now that I have my new couch and Eames rocker, it's time to start looking for a new coffee table. The one I have is a little boxy and out of scale with my small living room to begin with, but with the shape of the new sofa (the sectional curves instead of shaping a perfect "L") the existing table's rectangular proportion simply looks out of place. And I am ok with that because I got more than my money's worth of that purchase and have been dying to replace it for a while. Not to mention it's got puppy teeth marks on the corners...

Given my undecisiveness, this won't be so easy. So, I would love your help! Please let me know your favorite of the below options in the comments. A little background:

- I am maily focused on round tables, but square could potentially work.
- I've got a budget. I could spend up to $300 but am much more comfortable staying under $200
- I am thinking of going with either this rug or this one underneath (although this won't happen for a while.)
- All of the below options have been "pre-approved" by my husband :)

1. Overstock (sadly currently out of stock), 2. JCPenney 

 

3. Overstock, 4. CSN Stores (you've got to look past the horrible sofa in the background!)

 5. CSN Stores, 6. Amazon

 7. Overstock, 8. Overstock

I feel like everywhere else I've looked, the tables were either too pricey or the style wasn't quite right, but I am open to any other suggestions you may have! I look forward to your comments!

Living Room Transformation Begins!

This weekend was an eventful one for me. Apart from attending one of my best friend's wedding, on the decorating front I had not one, but two pieces arrive on Friday.

First, my new sofa was delivered! I must admit when it got inside the house, it was not love at first sight. In fact, I almost had a meltdown because the sofa seemed enormous and took over the entire living room (despite having measured it.) Thankfully I finally got used to it (and it helps that it is incredibly comfortable, which was the main goal in the first place). Wanna see it?

The photos are not exactly styled, and the lighting is making the color look funky, but you get the idea. I am of course planning on changing out (or covering) the pillows, and still need to find the right paint color for the walls. I am also now on the hunt for a new round coffee table. It's a bit hard to tell the shape of the couch from the photos, but the couch is basically a small sectional with a curved shape.

I am just glad that the old couch is gone. I never showed you pictures of it before because it was a horrible hand-me-down that had seen better days. The pillows had to be fluffed about 500 times per day, plus the couch was far too small for us. The only thing I miss is the symmetry I had with the two side table and lamps:

I can't believe I am even showing you this picture! Though actually in the picture it is not looking as bad as it really was...

The couch is now history! We took it apart and into the trash!

Anyway, the most exciting part of my day is that my new Eames Rocker chair actually came as well! Now this one really was love at first sight!

It is so cute. It's funny because it is so petite compared to the couch. I'm not sure if I will be keeping it in the living room or not, but for now it's there so I can keep admiring it. The best part? It is an authentic Herman Miller reproduction and only cost me $180 due to a 70% discount through work. I still can't believe it!! 

Let the living room decoration officially begin! I am still a bit stuck on the paint color, but am hard at work to find new pillows, tables and decoration for above the sofa. I had been waiting so long for this!

Slight Change of Plans

Ok, I lied. The paint I had praised last week, thinking it was the perfect color for my living room, won't work after all :(  I am amazed at the difference it made between painting on a piece of bristol paper versus painting the actual wall.

On the paper, the color came out a beautiful taupe, whereas on the wall it ended up looking kind of "muddy." Part of the problem is the space I have to paint is fairly large, with inconsistent lighting throughout, which means the color looks different everywhere I look. I had moved my painted paper throughout the room, but it just didn't have the same effect.

Plan B was to try Benjamin Moore's Edgecomb Gray, which I thought would be a bit gray-er version of the original Behr Parisian Taupe. Wrong. It looked absolutely nothing like the picture below, and was just bad.

Canadian House & Home

SO! We realized taupe is just going to look a bit dark and not quite right for our already dark space. Instead, I am changing directions completely with a a very neutral color that has been on the back of my mind all along - cream! Take a look at some inspirational images:

Source Unknown

Nuevo Estilo

Apartment Therapy

Micasa Revista

I think the lighter color just may do the trick, but I hope I don't have to buy too many more samples before I nail this one! Picking a paint color is just not as fun as it looks, is it? If you have any good cream paint recommendations, I would love to hear it!

Unfortunately this is making me reconsider my entire color scheme (seen here), so now my head is just spinning with ideas...

My Brother's Apartment ~ the Bedroom Moodboard

Hello! So glad the weekend is approaching, aren't you?

This past week I have made some progress on my brother's apartment redesign. We went to look at sofas and he thinks he found 'the one.' We're still deciding on a concrete design direction for the living space though. However, the bedroom came together very quicky. He had a good idea of what he wanted for it, which ultimately was a very serene space to relax at the end of the day. I showed him the pictures below and right away, we had a plan.

Lonny

So here is the moodboard we came up with (so far):

I say so far because it is definitely a work in progress. This just gives us a direction. For one, we may be doing an upholstered bed instead, which will up the cozy factor. He also mentioned wanting a small desk in the room, but I am not sure if we'll end up going with it or something more discreet like a secretary.

He is pretty decided on the wall color (SW Green Trance), so hopefully we can start painting soon and start buying some furniture! I'm so excited for this room to come together.

Have a great weekend!

Brazil Design

Hello! I'm so excited Brazil is playing their first game in the World Cup today! Many of you probably don't know, but I'm Brazilian, and even though I have been in the U.S. for several years, I still, of course, hold a special place in my heart for my dear country.

Recently, a friend let me borrow a book on Brazilian design, Living in Bahia, and I thought today was the perfect day to show you a few images from it.

 

  

 

Ahh! Makes me miss my country (though I lived in the city and it was nothing like this!) 

Are you following the World Cup?  

Blue Living Room - Hmmm...

Just when I decide I am absolutely sure I want to repaint my living room, which has been blue for two years, I come across this:

From Lonny Mag - have you checked it out yet?

This is almost exactly the same color we have on our walls. I have tried, and feel like I failed, to make our place feel an air of sophistication with this color. It just felt too "beach-y" or something. Granted, the living room was never fully decorated (but it will be soon, hopefully!) I guess I just needed a few chic accessories to complete the look.

Our living/dining room

At this point, I am not backing down though. I am hoping this weekend I'll have some time to stop at the paint store and pick up some samples of a more neutral color. One of the colors in the running is BM's Edgecomb Gray, as seen here:

Canadian House and Home

I also liked BM's Annapolis Gray, also seen in Lonny:

Lonny

I'm a little hesitant about how this will go as our living room is North facing and gets very little sunlight. The blue did help make it feel brighter, but I guess I've just grown tired of it. If you have any suggestions for darker rooms, I am all ears!