Guest Bath Before and Afters

This is what the guest/kids bathroom looked like when we toured our house.

The tile, tub, sink, and toilet were all in great condition but it needed

to be updated and prettied up a bit.

We took down the mirror, light fixture, and towel rods and got to work!

Finding wallpaper under the mirror was not something we expected

but it only took about an hour to remove it.

Our first house guests are arriving today and the bathroom is ready for them!

It took lots of paint and time, but it was an inexpensive update that 

makes a huge difference!

 In the words of Outkast,

it's "so fresh and so clean clean"

Now on to the next room! 

Addyson's Design Board

When Addyson told me that she wanted a pink and purple room in our new house 

I was a little worried.

I wanted to give her what she asked for but I also wanted to keep

it classy since it will be used as a guest room when we have people come in town.  

So with a little bit of work I put together this design board.

The floral fabric from Caitlin Wilson was what really pulled the color scheme together.

It's pink and purple, but in an unexpected way.

Her room is coming together nicely, and I can't wait to post some pictures of it soon!

Look for Less

I have been eyeing this new fabric from Caitlin Wilson Textiles.

I adore her line of fabric but it's on the pricey side.

This new Greige Greek Key pattern is gorgeous but it's also $50 a yard.

I recently saw this similar pattern on Carousel Designs website.

It's similar in color and design but it's only $7.50 a yard!

Such a similar look, for a fraction of the price! 

I love it and I might need to find a place to use this in my new home 

or in a clients home soon!

Owl Bookends

You know when you see something at a store and you don't

buy it, and then it haunts you for days so you finally go back to get it 

AND IT'S GONE!!

That's what happened to me last month when I found a cute 

pair of owl bookends for $16.  

At the time I didn't have a bookshelf for Eli's room 

so I decided not to buy them and then I found a bookshelf for his room 

THE NEXT DAY!

When I finally went back to get them they were gone!

When designing the Inspiration Board for Eli's nursery

I chose these owl bookends from Z Gallerie

With a price tag around $30 they're not terribly expensive,

but then I would need to pay shipping, and when accessorizing a nursery

I like to check out the items in person to make sure they're "kid friendly" first.

 I also found these cute ones on the Barnes and Noble site.

I haven't checked to see if they have them in my local store,

but at $40 for the pair, they're a little more than I wanted to spend

There's also this pair by Jonathan Adler, available at JC Penney

They're on sale for $33 which is a great price for Jonathan Adler,

but they seem a little too girly for my little guys nursery!

So this my friends, is why you buy the $16 set of owl bookends 

even when you don't have a bookshelf.

Because when you do have a bookshelf, the bookends will be gone!!

Fireplace Lovin

I know I JUST posted about the fireplace yesterday.

But I came home last night to see this beauty

 My husband found this antler a few years ago while hunting

and it came home with him.

At first I thought he was crazy, but then antlers started to become

a popular design trend and it started growing on me.

We were hoping to display it on the mantle, but it is just too big,

but I kind of love it just sitting there on the hearth.

So bravo to my hubby for accessorizing in such a stylish way.

He's a keeper, and so is the antler.

Fireplace Before and After

This is what our fireplace looked like before we moved in.

It was UGGGLY, but I saw the potential!

When we moved in we stuck a TV up there (or maybe 2)

because we had NO furniture and no entertainment center.

Well, with a little bit of love the fireplace got a drastic makeover!

I can't tell you how much a little (or a lot) of paint can help 

to transform something so quickly!

The rest of the living room still needs some work, 

but at least the fireplace is looking fab!

Office Design Board

We have a million projects going on at our new house and one of them is my office.

I decided to put together this design board to see how the 

ideas I have floating around in my head work together, and I love it!

Now it's time to get it done!

I found this burlap fabric with silver dots today at JoAnns and decided it would

be the perfect fabric for the cork board above my desk.

The desk and a few of the accessories have already been purchased and I 

can't wait to get the rest!

If you remember from the house tour, my office looked like this before we moved in

It's the dining area of the house, but I will be using it as my office area instead.

It's open to the living room and kitchen, so I'm keeping it light and bright 

and will add a few colorful accessories.

Starry Ceiling Tutorial

When I started designing Eli's nursery I stumbled upon this

wallpaper by Osborne and Little called Coronata Star.

I fell in love with it and new I wanted to achieve the same look on Eli's ceiling.

Here's what you need:

                           - Light blue/aqua paint- mine was a mis tint I picked up for $3

                           - Painting supplies

                           - Chalk line reel with dustable chalk

                           - A ruler to measure out your ceiling grid

                           - Silver vinyl- I used THIS one

                           - A Cricut (or Silhouette machine)

                           - The Cricut George cartridge 

                             (the standard cartridge that comes with the Cricut)

                           - A ladder or step stool 

                           - A rag to dust off your chalk line grid once complete

                           - And a patient assistant!

Eli's ceiling started off looking like this

FIRST

 measure your ceiling, have someone help to get an exact measurement.

I did it on my own and had to fudge my numbers later because of it.

Then decide how far apart you want your stars. 

My ceiling was about 144" by 144" 

I didn't want to deal with measuring partial inches so I decided 

I would do my grid every 9 inches to make it even.

That means I would have 16 lines vertical and 16 lines horizontal to

make up my ceiling grid. Multiply those (16x16) and divide by 2 and that means 

I needed 128 stars for my ceiling. 

 Once you have your math out of the way get painting!

While your ceiling is drying you can cut out your stars using your Cricut.

I used the sun shape but did the shadow, and set my scale at 2.5 inches.

I was able to fit 8 stars on each 6" by 12" piece of vinyl.

I did this one night while while watching TV and it took about 2 hours

Once my ceiling was dry I measured out every 9 inches around my ceiling.

Here's where your patient assistant comes in!

Using your chalk line reel, make a grid on your ceiling.

This part is time consuming, but it makes sure that your pattern stays straight.

Once your grid is up you can start putting up your stars

This is when it starts to come together!

Only put stars on every other line intersection so you get an alternating 

pattern like so:

 Once your stars are all in place take a rag and dust off your chalk line.

Then lay down on the floor and admire your hard work!

This project was time consuming but it was pretty easy and inexpensive.

And the results are so worth it!