Friday, January 31, 2014

Things I'm Loving This Week...

Happy Friday everyone! I have a feeling it will be a quiet, quiet one here as my oldest has a temp of 104 degrees. Let's all say a little prayer that the rest of us don't catch this nasty virus he has!
 
I really love all of the things I found this week while online browsing!  Two of them (the bins and lamp) are actually meant for children.  Something I frequently do when shopping is to look at the kid's line from stores that I love. Often times you can get a great deal and the majority of the pieces can be used universally throughout the home.
 


Thursday, January 30, 2014

Kitchen Styling with Uncommon Goods

Hey friends! Welcome to my kitchen! You all know I have (over the past year +) been changing my kitchen to something less dated and more our style and in tune with the rest of our home.
  
This is seriously as low budget as it comes. Painted cabinets, a kitchen supply island, an estate sale rug and tag sale furniture have made this a spot in my home that I now love to be in!
  
 

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Copper & Twine Lamp (Guest Post by InDIYvidual)

Hey everyone! Please welcome my new friend, Yana from the blog InDIYvidual (seriously cool blog name, right!) I am loving her creativity!


You would love a unique lamp bringing a lot of texture to your home?

Then check out my tutorial on how to create this beauty out of a simple Ikea lamp!


Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Pinterest Love... & Contributor Post

Morning friends! I have been super hard at work around here painting, tweaking and decorating with frequent breaks to check out Pinterest (both for inspiration and for back up when my husband thinks my idea is super crazy)!
 
Here's what I felt most inspired by this past week...
 
1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5/

Monday, January 27, 2014

Painted Mid-Century Hutch & My ASCP Experience

Fellow furniture painting friends, have you ever worked on a piece that was just beyond a challenge? I'm talking about furniture that you just wanted to pick up and hurl out onto the curb so it could become someone else's problem? 
  
This hutch put up such a fight that it has taken me a full month after finishing it to even share it with you all. And for me, that is a record. And also, it has taken me that long to accept what I went through and to actually fall in love with it again.
 
 

Sunday, January 26, 2014

DIY Leather Fish Scale Art

Just so you all know, I am super obsessed with leather lately. This is already the second project I have done in the last week with leather scraps from the craft store. (The first project will be revealed soon as my contributor post on Jen Rizzo's Blog).



Friday, January 24, 2014

Things I'm Loving This Week...

Hey there friends! I hope you've all had a fantastic week! I am so super busy with projects and deadlines that's I am seriously looking forward to this weekend. Saturday nights my husband and I always put the boys to bed early and I make a special dinner, drink wine, chat and catch up on our favorite cheesy shows; think The Goldbergs, New Girl and Bob's Burgers. I love a good, ridiculously funny show.
 
Anyway, here are my favorite things from this week. I actually went to pick up that Threshold cookbook holder yesterday and there was only one, and it was broken. Boo.
 
 4 IKEA  5 Target
 

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Inspiring Bloggers Series: Furniture-Ology

I'm super excited to introduce you all to my next feature in my Inspiring Bloggers Series! I love, love, love Furniture-Ology! They completely had me at their fab chalkboard wall. Welcome Steve and Meg!


Hello! Hello!
We’re Steve and Meg and we’ve been do it your-selfers for many, many years now. We blog over at furniture-ology.blogspot.com where we post our transformations, DIY projects and our favorite design inspirations.
We were beyond excited and honored when Angela asked us to participate in her inspiring bloggers series
 
I happened upon Angela's Blog http://numberfiftythree.blogspot.com several months ago when I started linking/sharing our projects at various blog parties. I spotted a few of her pieces which peaked my curiosity. I started following her Blog and Facebook pages and fell in love immediately!! I love her ideas, creativity and style!

I racked and racked my brain for ideas for a blog post….

Something that we could use to introduce ourselves and share what it is we are passionate about.

We decided to share with you a few of our favorite furniture rescues as well as a few of our favorite recent home projects.

So here goes….

We chose three furniture flips that were our favorites.

Which was hard to do because we love them all so much!

First up is Little Boy Blue.

We picked this guy up on a road trip through Mississippi a couple of years ago.

Blog post seen here


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Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Pinterest Love...

Hey there! It's Tuesday again and it is frigid here in Massachusetts. I am seriously not doing well in this weather! I miss my outdoor time and working on furniture in my garage, rather than having to lug it all into the house.  It think these cold temps are having a direct impact on my wanting to decorate and cook more than anything else right now. What about you?

Do you love these pins this week? The floor to ceiling bookshelves in picture one are amazing! Maybe that's what my office needs. And I'm in love with that chair in picture two. Seems like a pretty reasonable DIY to me and I could totally picture it in my home. My husband is super big on having lots of plants around and cactus are my favorites. There are so many cool varieties! And, I think I'm going to make that yummy meal in picture five; shrimp, avocado and quinoa are a few of my favorite foods. Oh, and picture four. Don't judge. My boys have been straight up driving me crazy lately. It happens.
 
 1/ 2/ 3/ 4/5/
 

Monday, January 20, 2014

Painted Mid Century Desk & Design Challenges

Since the office is completely the bane of my existence and I have attempted to (but never successfully) update the space more times than I can count, I have vowed to myself that 2014 is the year that I will really make a difference in there. 


 

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Friday, January 17, 2014

Things I'm Loving This Week....

Hi friends! Super TGIF this week, for sure! My boys have had a tough week. I have had a tough week. I am so ready for the weekend! How about you?
 
Want to see all those fantastic things I've found online window shopping and just wish I could bring into my home?

Here they are!
 
 

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Office Updates and Rug Pad USA Review

Last week, after my Mom pointed out to me that I really only ever share my entry, living and dining rooms and that I need to branch out and invite you all into the rest of my home, it got me thinking. That should totally be my goal for 2014!

 There are so many things I want to do in our upstairs hall, bathroom, master bedroom, office and even kitchen, and I invite you all to be a part of this with me. (Which, doesn't mean you won't see my other overshared spaces because I definitely have a couple of things in my dining room that I would love for you all to see, too.)
 



Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Design Idea: Incorporating Pastels

Dare I say I am having a little love affair with pastel colors lately? Maybe because it has been miserably cold and dreary and the hint of soft happy colors make me think of spring.
 
And before I continue on, let's just make it clear that I am, in no way, referring to the dusty rose and light blue prevalent in the 1980s. Just saying. Because my Mom was horrified when I confessed my recent obsession.

I'm thinking more of this...


Source

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Pinterest Love...

Hey there Pinterest loving friends! Want to see what's been catching my eye this week?
 
I shared the 2nd pin on Facebook a few days ago and, just to clarify, I never ate paste as a child, but art was my favorite class!
 
And how cute is that puppy! I'm not a super big dog person (you all know I have, Figgy) but oh my gosh is this little gal not the cutest!
 
I felt so inspired by the other three pins. They make me want to tweak and freshen up my home!
 
 
 
1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5/
 

Monday, January 13, 2014

Gold Dipped Wooden Planter & Dresser Styling

You know when you're watching home buying shows on TV and the agent tells the client that you can make cosmetic changes, but the one thing you can't change is the location? Yeah. I sort of feel that way about thrift store shopping. But, instead of a bad location (like a house) something at the thrift store might be total trash or completely unusable. (Tell me I'm not the only one who wonders how some of that stuff has even made it onto the shelves). Other items might just need that easy cosmetic change.




Sunday, January 12, 2014

The Perfect Red Vintage Dresser

I always feel like everything happens for a reason. Like every good thing and struggle is there to teach us something or give us some sort of opportunity. I even carry this over to shopping. A lot of times I will have trouble deciding on whether or not I want something and I won't initially buy it. Then, if I go back another day and it is still there and I've really been thinking about it then I know it was meant to be. (A totally risky thing when we're talking about thrift store merchandise, right!)


Friday, January 10, 2014

Things I'm Loving this Week... With Primitive & Proper!

I don't want to come off all crazy and stalker-ish but, let me just say the following things...
 
1. I started reading Primitive & Proper way before I started my own blog and loved it (still do, obviously).
 
2.  I discovered about a year and half ago that Cassie and I actually grew up just two towns apart (we now live hours away).
 
3. Although I've never met her in real life I would love to! She is so genuine and always makes me burst out laughing.
 
5. Chances are, if Cassie has pinned something on Pinterest, I have repinned it. What can I say, we love a similar style.
 
5.  It was Cassie's idea to have my fave bloggers contribute to this weekly post. I thought it was a brilliant idea. However, I wanted to slap myself for not thinking of it first.
 
So, without further adieu, here are Cassie's Things I'm Loving This Week...

Hello Number Fifty-Three'ers!   I am Cassie from Primitive and Proper and I blog about my home, my shop, my projects and family.  I am so excited that Angela let me crash her "Thing's I'm Loving This Week" post!  I don't do a lot of shopping mainly because the budget doesn't allow it, but I do like to window shop online and locally in downtown Frederick, MD.

 Thank you, Angela, for turning the blog over to me for the day!  Now are you ready for some eye candy?

January is the month of organization!  I have a pile of mismatched plastic containers, and would love to use these glass storage containers for my leftovers!  Available at Relish in downtown Frederick and ALSO online here.
Fishs Eddy Storage Set Vintage Flower

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Design Idea: Adding Pattern in Your Home & My Favorites

Hey all! I love adding patterns into my home. It's so fun to mix and match to achieve a beautiful balance and create interest.  Usually when I do this, I try to focus on a couple of things...Mostly, I like to group patterns based on colors. I have several in my living room alone, but since they are all unified with a light cream color it works great. A bit bolder option would be to focus on patterns. Try mixing several elements that have varying colors, but a similar pattern. 
 
I've been teetering with the idea of buffalo check for a while now. I love it, especially in black and white. It is so graphic and has a wonderful country modern feel to it, but I'm just not sure it's right for our home. What do you all think? Maybe one throw pillow on my couch or as an accent in my master bedroom which is primarily decorated in black, white, pale gray and cream?

 


Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Charcoal Gray and Brass Antique Dresser

Oh how I love the combination of charcoal gray with brass! Don't you just love the classic lines of this dresser and how the darker paint gives it such a modern feel? 
 
 
 

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Pinterest Love...

Hey friends! Are you following me on Pinterest yet? If not I would love for you to. You can find me pinning all sorts of things there. 

Here are some of my favorites that I've pinned over the past week or so. The frosting in #4 is amazing, but the way. And, I am actually not a frosting person at all as I'm not a fan of super sweet (and yes, my family thinks I'm crazy because of this). But, this is a combo of fresh whipped cream and cream cheese. We made it on New Year's Eve to top some chocolate angel food  cupcakes, but we ended up with tons of the frosting left over. I shared on Facebook, that I used it up by making pancake muffins (just pancake batter baked in muffing tins), topping them with fresh berries and adding a little bit of the frosting. My boys were in heaven!

And, I'm seriously considering recreating the second image in our office. I already have the shelving on one wall, so it would just be a matter of continuing it to the adjacent space.
 
 
1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5
 

Monday, January 6, 2014

Zero Budget Home Tour

Hey friends! Remember last week when I shared my tips for Decorating on a Zero Budget? It looks like I'm not the only on who was trying to change up my winter home without making a financial commitment. Thank you so much for all your wonderful comments!
 
Today, I'm sharing a more in depth tour of some of the spaces in my home and how I reused and repurposed holiday decorations and décor that I already had on hand.
 
In our entry, I cleared everything out of my IKEA hutch and replaced it with antique and vintage books stacked backwards (I wanted to keep a neutral color palette) and just a few pieces of pottery from my stash. My Book Page Christmas Wreath had been hanging on the ladder in our dining room in December. (I guess I like hanging wreathes in weird places). I topped the cabinet with a wood box and one stick. By the way, that stick was from my Gold Star Tree that was on my coffee table at Christmas. The faux fur pillow on the settee was previously in my living room and the Oriental rug had been in my upstairs hall.



Sunday, January 5, 2014

Living Room Update & Rugs USA Review

You know I'm always game to change things up a little in my home. Plus, I love super cozy and comfy (especially during these cold winter months). So, when Rugs USA offered to send over a rug to us I was thrilled. Seriously. They made my day, my week and my month.  And, my rug arrive on Christmas Eve. How doubly sweet is that?
 
I've worked with Rugs USA on a professional and personal basis (yes, I have actually purchased several rugs from them on my own) and every experience has been fantastic.
 
Are you swooning over my rug right now? I totally am!


Friday, January 3, 2014

Things I'm Loving This Week...& Contributor Post

It feels so great to be back blogging and sharing some of my fave online finds!
 

Two of these (the Target bench and the Container Store basket) both really, really need to be in my home right now. I totally have the perfect place for both.
 

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Decorating on a Zero Budget

I'm sure most of you will agree with me that when you constantly like to decorate and redecorate it can get a little bit tough on the wallet.

I am so there right now. Since Christmas is put away, it's like a fresh start in my home. And, I feel like I want to decorate, switch around and make everything new for 2014. Problem (or challenge) is that I really, really don't want to spend any cash. Seriously. Those stores are just calling my name to come and pick through all those fab after Christmas sales. But, I must stay strong!
 
I have bigger plans that I need to save my money for. Boring stuff like paying the orthodontist bill and car payment every month. And exciting stuff like saving for a new counter top and other home updates.
 
So, here are my tips for decorating your home after Christmas on a zero budget. 



Take all of your favorite things and set them in a central location like your dining room table. At this point, your Christmas decorations have been put away, but keep things that read winter, versus holiday, out along with any plants you may have purchased during that season.  (Notice my little helper!)