Right now I am loving their lamp options.
Pottery Barn Teen
My friend Malia always makes fun of me for occasionally shopping at PBTeen.com, but they have some great stuff! And most of their products are much more reasonably priced than the regular Pottery Barn.
Right now I am loving their lamp options.
Right now I am loving their lamp options.
Easter
Love these Easter centerpiece ideas from Martha and Better Homes and Gardens.
This one is my favorite, colored eggs and carnations. So easy and cute.
This one is my favorite, colored eggs and carnations. So easy and cute.
Sarah Richardson
I just discovered Sarah Richardson's show on HGTV called "Sarah's House". It is an HGTV Canada show, and it is fantastic. The show follows her as she remodels an entire house, every episode is one room.
And now I love her.
Behold her rooms:
And now I love her.
Behold her rooms:
Spring Cleaning
I get super pumped about spring cleaning. Like if you hear some sort of maniacal joyous scream this weekend, that's just my spring cleaning war cry. I decided to start this weekend because I noticed my carpet was smelling a little musty and I wanted to die. I hate carpet, but alas, my house is 90% carpet. Here are some spring cleaning tips I gathered.
- Freshen your garbage disposal - Run hot water, drop lemon peels down the hatch, and turn on the switch. Lemon, lime, and grapefruit rinds work too.
- If your Tupperware smells like food - Soak plastic containers in warm water and baking soda overnight.
- Freshen carpet - Sprinkle liberally with baking soda, then vacuum up a few hours later.
- Make your stainless steel sink nice and shiny - Buff with a cloth dampened with club soda, then wipe dry with another clean cloth.
- Clean the microwave - Wipe out any excess crumbs, and fill a microwave-safe bowl with about 2 cups of water. Put a fresh cut lemon half into the bowl after squeezing some of the juice in as well. Microwave until the water is boiling. Let it sit for a few minutes to let the steam penetrate the interior, remove and wipe down the interior with a damp cloth.
- Mrs. Meyers Cleaning Products - This brand has been praised around the blog world forever, but I finally got around to trying it. (A good trick if you don't want to buy expensive cleaning products - get your mom to buy them for you.) The Geranium scented counter wipes have completely changed my life.
Furniture Knobs
So Anthropologie is the easiest answer when it comes to shopping for cute knobs. But I need 7 knobs for my dresser and at Anthro they cost 6 to 12 bucks. So that's like 50 bucks, at the very least, on new hardware. Yikes.
Here are a couple other resources I found, Cool Knobs and Pulls and House of Antique Hardware.
All of these are in the $2 - $4 range:
UPDATE: Commenters pointed out Hobby Lobby also has great knobs for cheap. You guys are geniuses.
Here are a couple other resources I found, Cool Knobs and Pulls and House of Antique Hardware.
All of these are in the $2 - $4 range:
UPDATE: Commenters pointed out Hobby Lobby also has great knobs for cheap. You guys are geniuses.
Bird Lamp!
Here is another little preview of the bedroom. One of my bird lamps. I bought two of them at Goodwill for our nightstands. Probably not for everyone, but I love them.
Before
After
Full disclosure, these lamps came with some lampshades that I thought I would simply recover and glue ribbon trim on. Hahaha that was so funny when I thought I could recover lamp shades.
Complete disaster ending in my fingers covered in fabric glue and throwing the shade on the ground in disgust. Bought new shades at Target instead.
UPDATE: I've gotten some e-mails asking how I painted these. All I did was wipe them down with a damp cloth, tape off the light bulb socket area, and spray paint. I used about three coats. The spray paint was Valspar from Lowes.
Before
After
Full disclosure, these lamps came with some lampshades that I thought I would simply recover and glue ribbon trim on. Hahaha that was so funny when I thought I could recover lamp shades.
Complete disaster ending in my fingers covered in fabric glue and throwing the shade on the ground in disgust. Bought new shades at Target instead.
UPDATE: I've gotten some e-mails asking how I painted these. All I did was wipe them down with a damp cloth, tape off the light bulb socket area, and spray paint. I used about three coats. The spray paint was Valspar from Lowes.
DIY Headboard
Still deciding on what I'm going to do for my headboard; but I'm leaning towards this idea:
Making one out of moulding! Genius. Seems easy enough? Famous last words.
Making one out of moulding! Genius. Seems easy enough? Famous last words.
DIY Art
The bedroom makeover is in full swing. I didn't quite finish the painting this weekend and therefore we've been sleeping with no blinds on the windows, and the bed and dresser are pushed to the middle of the room. Zach is thrilled.
But I did finish some artwork for the room, easiest project ever. I will warn you, it's a little cheesy.
I typed these up and printed them at home. They are lyrics from "Earth Angel" by The Penguins, it was the song we used for our first dance at our wedding (I warned you about the cheese). Then I painted the mats gray using a leftover paint sample I had, and threw them in two Ikea RIBBA frames that I also already had. The font I used is called Traveling Typewriter, and you can download it here.
I love how they turned out! I think I am going to hang one above each of the nightstands.
But I did finish some artwork for the room, easiest project ever. I will warn you, it's a little cheesy.
I typed these up and printed them at home. They are lyrics from "Earth Angel" by The Penguins, it was the song we used for our first dance at our wedding (I warned you about the cheese). Then I painted the mats gray using a leftover paint sample I had, and threw them in two Ikea RIBBA frames that I also already had. The font I used is called Traveling Typewriter, and you can download it here.
I love how they turned out! I think I am going to hang one above each of the nightstands.
Lengthening a Curtain Panel
I failed to notice that the two windows in my front room/dining room are not the same height and that one window is 10 inches higher from the ground; because I'm super smart and observant. So the curtains I bought were too short.
I had some leftover fabric that matched the curtains so I decided to use it to add the needed inches.
The curtains I bought were 84" long, and the top of my window is at 90" from the ground. I wanted to hang the curtain rod higher than the window, and I wanted the curtains to pool a little at the floor. So I added 14" of fabric - making the curtains 98" long. I hung the rod at 96".
I do not sew or own a sewing machine. I did this whole project with iron-on bonding tape. It was really easy. I "hemmed" three sides of the fabric with the tape, and then attached the fourth side to the curtain with the tape. Done and done!
I had some leftover fabric that matched the curtains so I decided to use it to add the needed inches.
The curtains I bought were 84" long, and the top of my window is at 90" from the ground. I wanted to hang the curtain rod higher than the window, and I wanted the curtains to pool a little at the floor. So I added 14" of fabric - making the curtains 98" long. I hung the rod at 96".
I do not sew or own a sewing machine. I did this whole project with iron-on bonding tape. It was really easy. I "hemmed" three sides of the fabric with the tape, and then attached the fourth side to the curtain with the tape. Done and done!
Planning
My plans are to tackle the master bedroom next. Even though we aren't buying a king sized bed yet, I decided to decorate anyway. I can't take the beige box of ugly any longer.
I'm going for a color scheme similar to this:
I have many projects in mind to save some cash money. First is to give my dresser a makeover. My mom bought this for me when I moved into my first apartment and it is still truckin'.
Here it is in our last apartment:
I'm thinking wallpaper maybe?
via Knack Studios
Or stripes?
Via Life in the Fun Lane
Or paint it a sexy color?
via Knack Studios
Decisions.
I'm going for a color scheme similar to this:
I have many projects in mind to save some cash money. First is to give my dresser a makeover. My mom bought this for me when I moved into my first apartment and it is still truckin'.
Here it is in our last apartment:
I'm thinking wallpaper maybe?
via Knack Studios
Or stripes?
Via Life in the Fun Lane
Or paint it a sexy color?
via Knack Studios
Decisions.
Wallpaper
Still trying to pick a wallpaper for my dining room.
Samples I ordered from Sherwin Williams.
Not sure about any of them so I just go in there and stare at them every once in awhile. It's really productive.
Here's how they looked online.
So while I continue to fail, here are some pretty wallpapered dining rooms that are not mine.
Top Row: Sarah Richardson, Design*Sponge
Bottom Row: Little Green Notebook, Decor Pad
Samples I ordered from Sherwin Williams.
Not sure about any of them so I just go in there and stare at them every once in awhile. It's really productive.
Here's how they looked online.
So while I continue to fail, here are some pretty wallpapered dining rooms that are not mine.
Top Row: Sarah Richardson, Design*Sponge
Bottom Row: Little Green Notebook, Decor Pad
Elephant
I fed my new elephant obsession and bought this little guy at Ross. He was $3 so I bought two.
I know Ross is gross; but that doesn't mean I don't find myself there on my lunch break from time to time.
Also Rachel bought me a very cute silver elephant ring holder but I do not have a picture. That's the good thing about blogs, you post about things you want and then your friends go and buy them for you.
I know Ross is gross; but that doesn't mean I don't find myself there on my lunch break from time to time.
Also Rachel bought me a very cute silver elephant ring holder but I do not have a picture. That's the good thing about blogs, you post about things you want and then your friends go and buy them for you.