DIY Christmas Article

My newest article for the Arizona Republic came out on Saturday. I wote about five affordable do-it-yourself Christmas decor projects. Read all the how-to's here!

DIY

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Joy's Room Board Results

Back in July I did a room board for Joy's living room.

Here is the room before:
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And here is the room board I put together for her:
Joy's Deluxe Room Board

Well recently she sent me the pictures of the results! She made a few changes, the blue chairs were out of stock - so I suggested chocolate brown leather club chairs. She also had planned on painting the adjoining room a blue-gray, which is why my suggested paint color was green. They changed their mind and decided to paint this room blue; she chose Benjamin Moore's "Quiet Moments". I think everything turned out beautiful!

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Great job Joy!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, see you Monday!

Elle Decor at Kohls

Did you know Elle Decor has a line at Kohls? Well I didn't. I never go to Kohls, but found myself there the other day. Then found myself pretty much drooling over everything in the Elle Decor display. Then found myself staring in disbelief at the 70% OFF sign. 70%! Then found myself sending my mom this text, "OMG Kohls is a goldmine." Oh. em. gee. you guys.

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Those tables are regularly $150, right now they're $45. That big white vase is regularly $70, right now it's $21. The chic horse statue? Regularly $60, right now - $18. You get the idea.

Tart House Design : Client's Office

Here are the before and afters for an office install that my mom and I did over the weekend! We helped this client organize and accessorize her room, integrating some of the things she already owned, including all of her furniture. Because of this, we were able to stick to her budget of $300 for the whole room.

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This client's needs for her office were pretty unique. She works from home; and in the morning while checking her e-mail at her desk, she also does her make-up and hair. So she requires a hybrid office/vanity situation. This was her set-up before we stepped in.
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After:
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We found this desk at IKEA in the as-is section (even though we couldn't find anything wrong with it) for $50!

In addition to helping her organize her vanity area, we also took on her armoire where she keeps pictures, craft supplies, etc. It was in dire need of an overhaul.

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Just shows what organization, a few new accessories, and some rearranging can do!

DIY Christmas

My next freelance article for The Arizona Republic will be coming out soon (other two articles here and here). This time my 5 DIY projects are all about Christmas decor. Here's a sneak peak.

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Mr. and Mrs.

My friend Malia is addicted to buying dishes; mixing bowls, glasses, plates - you name it. I've never really shared her enthusiasm until now - I'm obsessed with this Mr. and Mrs. glass set. Wouldn't they make a great wedding present?

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New Bookshelf

This is the sad little bookshelf I had in my office that I've been needing to upgrade.
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Well on Saturday my mom and I went to Ikea to shop for a client, and I picked up this little ditty for myself. Went with the tried and true Expedit.

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I'm feeling much more organized.

The Garage

Whenever I talk about sprucing up our garage my husband roles his eyes and says, "It's just a garage."

But look how pretty it could be!

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decorpad.com

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decorpad.com

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marthastewart.com

Cherry Branch

I'm usually not a fan of wall murals, but this cherry branch silhouette over at House Tweaking has changed my opinion. Dana and her husband created it using an overhead projector.

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Apparently I've been living under a rock, because I just discovered Dana's blog today after Apartment Therapy posted her house tour. Here are some other great spaces from her home.

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Chezerbey

What I love about architects is they have no shame focusing on the smallest of details when it comes to their home. Which is why I love Chezerbey, "a blog about the adventures of two architects and their 1910 fixer-upper." They've devoted entire posts to things like trash can organization and bar stools.

If this picture of their organized and hidden trash system makes you weak in the knees, we are kindred spirits.
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Impressive before and after of their home's exterior:
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Beautiful!

Their finished bathroom. Sometimes I am a true minimalist at heart so I'm loving this.
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More drool-worthy organization:
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Closet Love

As I've mentioned a few times on this blog, I love closet organization. I love organizing my own closets, I love organizing other people's closets, and most of all I love looking at pictures of organized closets; it soothes me.

So I'll be sharing my pretty closet finds with you every once in awhile. Here's today's Closet Love.

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via here

Bad Blogger

Have you ever had that feeling of being so over-inspired that you're actually left under-inspired? Makes no sense? Well sometimes it's like there is so much great decor stuff out there in the blog world that I feel drained and over-stimulated just from looking at what everyone else is posting, and then I've got no juice left to post on my own blog. Plus, I've been busy. That Halloween candy wasn't going to eat itself.

Enough crazy talk. I'll try to be a better blogger. And if you've e-mailed me and I haven't written back, I'm sorry; I promise to respond soon.

For now, let's look at french doors. Because I have an ugly sliding glass door and I've been dreaming of shattering it with a sledge hammer and replacing it with beautiful french doors.

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All photos via Decorpad