I am so happy to announce that my new logo, website and blog has gone live! I will no longer be posting on this site so please visit me at my new digs!

See you over there and let me know what you think!

Good morning friends! I hope your weekend didn’t include a sick child like mine did, poor guy. He’s all better now though and we are ready for a busy week!

Today is a quicky on one of my favorite colors, green. Treat green like a neutral because it goes with everything!

Would you put wallpaper on your ceiling?

Large paintings are almost always a good idea.

I absolutely LOVE this green velvet. Beau-tee-ful!!!

This vignette is so cheerful! All resources here.

I hope you guys are off to a great week, lot’s of love!

In our bedroom we have this armoire and two nightstands. My parents got them for us as a gift and they work great in the space. I haven’t been real thrilled with the knobs though so I decided to spray paint them, what a difference it made!!! They were’t bad before but I like them better with more contrast.

Before shots…

When I took the knobs off they were in two pieces, no big deal though!

I left the screws in so we could open and close the drawers for a couple days without the hardware.

I used oil rubbed bronze spray paint from Meijers and primer (which I also used on my lamps) from Home Depot.

One coat of primer…

Two coats of paint! Easy peasy!

After…

I like the darker look but could really do any color. Bright green? Gold? This is how you can create custom touches for little moola!

I hope you guys have a great weekend. Hubby is at school so I will be making the boys and I busy with projects, a birthday party, and hot yoga for me!

Make your home look well cared for and the people who enter it will feel well cared for. Breath some life into your house by incorporating these simple changes!

1. Add some plants or flowers

Nearly EVERY picture I like of a dining table, coffee table, bedside table or hall console has flowers in it! Are we on to something here? Of course I love live flowers and plants but if you can’t keep them alive go for a really good fake or dried plant. Instant decor uplift.

2. Pull furniture away from the wall

Keep your living room from looking like a dormitory and float furniture away from the wall! If you don’t have room to pull everything away, pick a few pieces.  It makes a room feel more cozy and conversation more intimate!

3. Go for a larger rug size

Rugs that are to small look like an island in the middle of the room, and are just plain silly! So instead of doing this….

Do this! Tuck rugs underneath furniture to help “pull the room together”. If you don’t have a larger rug on hand, layer smaller rugs on top of one another. Layering rugs is so in right now!

4. Put fruit in a bowl

First of all it’s super cheap and usually around the house. When you need a quick color splash fruit is an easy way to go. Plus it exudes “I’m healthy and active!” What isn’t inviting about that?

5. De-clutter

When in doubt, take it out. You will have room for more important things like thinking clearly and visiting with friends.

We had a blast this weekend up north in Michigan (the most beautiful state I must add!), skiing, snowboarding and water-parking. I took my very first ski lesson and loved it, so fun!

It snowed a ton while we were there and looked a lot like this beautiful photo from photographer Alicia Bock titled Frost and Fir, www.aliciabock.com.

Here’s my first born, soooo pleased with his new skiing skills! He also was able to snow board, such a cool dude!

Despite the look on my youngest’s face he did enjoy skiing! This is the only up close pic I got though, he didn’t understand having to return rentals :(…

I am so inspired by nature and the changing seasons. You NEVER know what you are going to get around here, a couple weeks ago it was raining and 40 degrees, and now there’s a blanket of snow! It never gets boring!

In the fall I met with a client/friend about a complete remodel of their kitchen. We met again last week to come up with a less intrusive strategy because their plans have changed, fancy that? Plans change, whoa?? They have decided to put the house up for sale in the spring, if it sells they’ll move, if not they are happy to stay where they are. We decided not to gut everything and put together a design they could execute quickly on their own (the hubby is VERY handy). It’s still going to be a lot of work, but a lot less money! Here’s the plan:

• remove the small unusable dishwasher and put in drawers
• replace all cabinet doors
• replace countertop
• take out 1970’s plastic colored window above sink
• paint cabinets and walls
• put on new door hardware
• look for stainless steel appliances on Craigslist
• install new tile backsplash

Here are the before pictures…

I’ll get to show you the after pictures in a couple weeks. In the mean time here’s an inspiration teaser…

via

I am getting busier and spring will be here before you know it. Let me know how I can help get your house projects under way!

As part of my bedside table redo I am re-purposing lamps I already have. They are really old and I’ve been tired of the look for a long time. These puppies are getting a coat of “hammered metallic gold” and a spanking new white drum shade!

First, I wont be reusing the shades, so those went.

This little doo-hicky is called a lamp harp. Comes off super easy and I wont be using it with the new shades I bought.

Then within seconds my boys turned the lamp shades into hats and megaphones!

Can you hear me Mom?

Ooooh I love that little face!

Before spraying with primer I wrapped the cord so they wouldn’t get covered with paint.

This winter I turned our main floor bathroom into a spray booth. This room of the house needs to be redone badly and I don’t even care to use it in it’s original state. I can seal the room off from the rest of the house, put a fan in the window and spray away! It moves the air through pretty well!

After a coat of primer and two coats of paint I put on the new shades and was pleased with the new look!

I love gold right now!

This was such a simple project with a big change. All supplies totalled less than $25!!

Need help transforming your bedroom or another room in you house? I can help put together a plan to make you love your space again. Contact me here!

I was really happy last week to get the chance to spend the day with my Mom and no kids. It was a one day staycation! We went out to lunch and spent some serious time at a couple thrift stores in town. We both tried on A LOT of clothes. Here is what I love about thrifting:

• it’s a cheap thrill
• low commitment
• you have to hunt
• you never know what you’ll find

Here’s the other thing I like, If I get sick of the item after a couple months, donate it back!! No biggy. 

This trip I got a few accessories for the house (more on that in another post), some clothes and a new purse. Here is one of the tops I got and my massive (fake) fur purse. So fun!!

This top is really comfortable. I had the belt to throw over it already.

This purse is cavernous! Which I kind of need right now. I love that the brown fur has hints of black which tie in my winter coat.

Happy Monday friends! Hope you’re off to a good week!

I am a hands-on tangible-results driven kind of gal. I love dreaming big, making plans and anticipating the future. Without a doubt this past year has been the most challenging and in many ways did not turn out the way I had anticipated. Jeff being in school was/is REALLY getting old and now we are down to the last three and a half months! I am excited for him to graduate, but what does the future hold?? AHHHH!!

And then I read this in my devotional:

“You will not find my peace by engaging in excessive planning, attempting to control what will happen to you in the future…. Turn from the path of planning to the path of peace.”

Freedom can be mine.

But wait, I’m still anxious and a little worried. Then a mentor and friend gave me a wonderful idea. 

1. Get a box.

2. Write down five things that worry me. Things that I’ve prayed about, tried to solve, and do not have an answer to. 

3. Put them in the box. I made boxes and instructions as Christmas presents for my sisters and Mom too.

4. Put the box away for a year.

5. Open and reflect on what has happened in the last year.

I am excited to see how this little exercise turns out. Who doesn’t have worries or stress? Who doesn’t want to feel free? One step at a time, right?

I struggle with having way too many things on-around-under-inside my bedside table. I love to read in bed, sometimes write, talk on the phone, make grocery lists, watch Portlandia on my computer, look at paint colors, design magazines, wait for my nail polish dry, wait for my curlers to set, pray, plan my next day’s events and talk it up with the hub’s. Soooo, I think it’s time to make a project out of my night stands and spruce them up. Totally embarrassing but here they  are in their present state:

The Mrs.

I really wanted to pick some of this up before taking the photo, but let’s be real here, this is what it looks like 90% of the time. NOTHING has been purchased or planned for these tables and everything is  a left over from somewhere else. Not romantic, not beautiful and not relaxing. At all.

The Mr. (yes he has a leopard print lamp, don’t get jealous)

Jeff has school work, his laptop, and an alarm clock the size of a cereal box.

Not hot.

I want to keep in mind both pretty and functional ideas (I need to keep all my bedside activities organized!). A few things I would like:

• a small lamp that I actually like
• a cute clock
• some type of greenery
• a basket for the shelf to hide ugly books
• a pencil and paper to jot down brilliant ideas when they strike
• a tray for jewelry, glasses and randomness

I also have to say that most of the time when I walk into a clients bedroom they start appologizing about the mess on their bedside tables. It’s kind of funny, since so many people have the same type of mess!!

I will post pics soon of how they turn out, we’ll see how far hubby let’s me take his. AND if we both keep it up. Just being real here.

I searched though images to get me inspired and amped up. Here ya go friends!

Happy Friday everyone!