ambience inspired interiors

Blush and Bashful - A new series featuring my favorite colors

Remember when Shelby declares her wedding colors with such conviction? I remember being so enamored with that movie and, at a time when big bows and big hair were all the rage, I was more than a little jealous of her fancy southern house and her fancy southern wedding... Their thick southern accents weren't so bad either... But, more than anything, the colors "Blush and Bashful" have left a very lasting impression...

 

 

I have never once vilified pink. Even when trends have come and gone, I've loved me some pink.  And, I guess the good thing about pink being "in" right now (ie. Pantone color-of-the-year Rose Quartz), is that I can pick up a few things that might have otherwise been hard to find when, say, colors like Chocolate Brown/Robin's Egg Blue, or Charcoal/Mustard were hot and on-trend.

Here are a few reasons why maybe you should re-think pink....

 

1) It doesn't have to be all syrupy and oozy and full of child-like sweetness... It can be sophisticated and grown-up and rich, as Nicky Haslam proves in the space below, courtesy of One Kings Lane (click photo for link.): 

2) It is a color that flatters almost EVERYONE, so not only can your room look chic, but you'll look all flushed and pretty in a pink space:

I mean it. Y'all would look HOT in that sassy powder room by Carmel over at Our Fifth House...

3) It's not just for interiors anymore. I dug around for a while to find the source for this image, and can't seem to locate the originator. But this is just about the BEST color pink, in my humble opinion. 

4) Pink goes with lots of colors. Lots. In the storyboard below, which I created for a sophisticated young adult, I paired pale pink with a mustard-ish yellow and charcoal. I think it works.  If she doesn't use this plan, I think I'll implement it in Smallest Assistant's room. (minus the Hermes pillow, of course. Who would put such things in a toddler's room?!)

 

Book / Bed / Rug / Barnacles / Opaline box / Pillow / Chandelier (similar) 

(Exact paint colors are not referenced as I always tweak them to actual colors once products arrive...)

 (some affiliate links are used on my board links.)

Next on my list of favorite colors? A beautiful, bright blue. I'm more than a little obsessed...

Real Estate Ramblings - Midwest Edition

Superhubs and I have made a strange hobby of scouring real estate listings and texting each other whenever we find something notable in a price range that appeals to our conservative sides. We have dreams of being debt-free / having a house paid off so that we can afford to travel, spend summers at the beach, and generally be free of a mortgage while our kids are still living at home. With many jobs now offering the option to work remotely, it is enticing to think of having such employment that allows the flexibility to move to a lower-cost area while still keeping the earning levels that corporations used to reserve only for larger cities. That's not our situation, but it's part of that dream...

Recently, SH found a little enclave in Ohio that just about made our heads explode. Yes. Ohio. Never once have I ever thought of Ohio as a place I would live, until I saw these:

For less than our current, ho-hum suburban home would sell for, there is this lovely lady that boasts 800 more square feet than we have. And she's a charmer. It's not decorated to my tastes, but the potential!!!

That floor is all up in my bizness and that little breezeway at the entry reminds me of our old house - I loved that feature. Put some pretty lighting in here, and give those walls some life with some pretty paper, and this entryway is adorable!

This window situation is all kinds of great in my opinion. Of course, they're swing-open windows that probably just invite the snow in on winter days, but they are GOOD. LOOKIN'. This room has a weird wallpaper thing going on, but I have just about a million fixes for that, so the takeaways from this room are the great windows, the pretty hardwoods, and the casings/trims that make this space ripe for old house awesome.

The sunroom. Yes. My next house will have a sunroom. I love them. I recently lost my mind when this blogger revealed her sunroom as part of the One Room Challenge. I would lock myself in that room and never leave:

 

She rocked that room. And now I have another fun blog to follow, so it was a Win-Win or something like that.

Back to Ohio... Here's another looker.

Now, that's a lot of brown for this girl, but I think that some paint and new countertops/backsplash would make this work for my eyes. I might remove a few of those upper cabinets while I'm at it, just because they offer only a little extra storage and a lot of extra awkward. It would be super dreamy to add three HUGE windows there, with a long marble windowsill for holding pretty potted herbs. I would say "adios" to the fan and add a pretty chandelier in there, and I think this room would be on its way to awesome!

Good grief. This is amazing! All of that paneling and the windows and GAH! I would have rugs to help with the great expanses of brown, and I'm guessing that the reason there are fans everywhere is that there isn't central air conditioning. But that can be added. It would be added. Ohio can get right sweaty in the summer.

Dining room. This is beautiful! I would be way tempted to paint that paneling, but I would talk myself out of it because it would seem irresponsible to do so after this room has been respected and in original condition for so long. But it would be so pretty painted out. It appears to be oak, which will always show grain when painted, so that would another reason to leave it alone. Instead I would dress it with large artworks, pretty curtains, a rug, and a big table, and probably get a super-fancy chandelier to set it twinkling. This house also has this:

Goodness. A bit of attention and this is one heckuva sunroom for moi.  I would finish my patio table overhaul and also have a corner full of plants (I vow to be a crazy plant lady at some point in my life) and a spot for relaxed reading. This kind of thing would be my inspiration for this room:

 

Image via Lonny (click image for link)

Image via One Kings Lane (click image for link)

I would paint out the dark trim in that room, add a better chandy and layer in lots of lamps. There would be colorful curtains layered over bamboo romans, a gob of potted trees, and a jute rug to soften up the seating area.  I would love to cover the brick with the lattice and paint it a contrasting color like the first photo above. I would hang - or lean - a big mirror on the left to brighten up the wall where there aren't windows... I could have lots of fun decorating this space...

Good grief. Talk about rambling. Sorry, folks! I guess this real estate in Ohio has me daydreaming! I think I am conveniently omitting winter from these fantasies, and also the fact that this area of the midweest is in the top 10 places that people are moving AWAY from (vs. Austin, which makes the top 10 places people are moving TO...) Maybe that's a good thing. ATX has traffic at 1:00 on a Tuesday, making it hard to enjoy what the city has to offer, as you never know when you'll get locked up in traffic trying to do things that make this one of the top cities to live in. Doh.

Upholstered walls: A DIWHY story.

It's been almost a week, and I'm finally getting around to that post I promised. You know, the one where I show you a bunch of process photos and try to explain how we upholstered the walls in Mini Mister's room. Consider this a general discussion, not a tutorial of any kind. There are some details that might not be covered to your satisfaction if you are planning to do this, so a little more research on your end is probably a good idea...

My last post outlines why we chose to try our hands at wall upholstery. Let's just summarize the problem down to one word: COST. This little room re-vamp was on my radar, but not necessarily something we had planned for (I decided to dive in the day before the ORC started!) so I was not about to green-light a $2500.00 wallpaper install.  

I felt pretty strongly that we needed texture in that space. There is ZERO charm in this house - it is a 1989 build that we bought for 3 reasons:

1) The schools. We wanted the schools.

2) It was for sale.

3) It was in our price range and left us some budget to do some things we hoped would make it resemble something we liked in the long run.

So, I ran the idea past my Superhubs, and he did a little YouTube recon.  He nailed down (ha! Get it?!) the method, and I supplied the fabric and the batting and, eventually, the welt that would finish the edges and the corners. 

This is how it started:

We decided the height of the upholstered area and got to work framing out that area with strips of wood that were compatible with the dimensions of the trim that we would be butting up to. This framing gave us something sturdy to apply the fabric to/stretch the fabric over, and gave us some nice, crisp lines. We left a little space alongside the door trim to give us space to the tuck the trimmed end of the fabric and to apply the welt. We also framed the outlets, and treated them the same way that we treated the top wood frame - we carefully stapled the fabric to the wood framing we made (nowhere near the actual electrics of the situation) just inside where the outlet cover would cover the trimmed fabric. ALWAYS BE CAREFUL NEAR ELECTRICITY. USE YOUR JUDGEMENT, AND DON'T BLAME ME IF YOU DO SOMETHING STUPID LIKE SHOOT A STAPLE INTO AN OUTLET. I AM NOT LIABLE. :)

My superhubs also had the genius idea to lay the fabric on the floor and apply the bottom piece of wood on top of the underside/bottom edge of the fabric so that we could pull the fabric up and get a nice, clean edge at the baseboard without needing welt at the floor. Word of caution: You really need to get the fabric LEVEL so that you don't twist or angle the fabric as you pull it up. We didn't have a discernible pattern to our fabric, but any little bit of twist would make the fabric angle off in one direction, leaving things crooked. 

The air staple gun was our tool of choice for the wood application and also for the fabric attachment. A hand staple gun was our tool for applying the batting, which we cut and fit into the frames we had constructed on the wall.

Sorry for the weird crop on this one. Superhubs does NOT want to be a blog-star, and demanded that he be cropped out of any photos. You can see that we have the fabric cut with a little extra on each side so that we can trim it off, rather than come up short. We also were lucky in the fact that we chose a fabric that was not directional, so we railroaded it (used it horizontally rather than in vertical pieces, which would require lots of seams) and that made for lots less waste. And work.

Superhubs stapled the bottom edge of the fabric to the wall first (face side to the wall, if that makes sense), added the wood strip, and then we pulled the fabric up and stapled it to the top of the upper frame, starting in the middle of the wall and working out in either direction, stapling a little on the left, then a little on the right. Our fabric had a reinforced backing on it so it didn't stretch, but you need to be careful of the stretching - you don't want to pull the fabric too tight. 

We made sure to get the staples as close to the top/outer edge of the wood strips as possible, because we were using a trim piece that had a notch cut from the back, and would be applied over the top of the wood base, again saving us from having to apply welt at the rail, and saving us WORK.  We also needed to be able to cover the staples along the sides and corners with welt, so those had to be really close to the edge of the wood framing, too, so that they would fit under the welt. 

The above is the only outside corner we had. We put a scrap piece of material over the edge of it, just to protect the top layer from any rubbing that may cause it to wear if something (like a small child) decided to scrape against it repeatedly for no reason but that would result in destruction of the fabric. You can never be too careful, right? We didn't want it padded, but protected.

So, we repeated on every wall, and then came time for the welt. I know in my head that it is not hard to make, but since I was not in possession of the tools required to make the welt, I was planning to see if my dependable upholsterer, Juan, would agree to make me some. But the more I thought about it, the more I was like, "Teach a man to fish and he eats forever, you know?" SO we ordered this bad boy from Amazon, and I got to work. This is funny, because I pretty much suck at sewing, and have approximately no patience for crap going wrong with sewing machines. Which it did:

$&*(#^$@&)#@*(&)$^!!!!!! I had to walk away from the tantrum my bobbin was throwing. I eventually got it finished, and we put it in all of the vertical intersections; along the door trim, and in the corners. I had to purchase a glue gun for applying the welt. I am one of those folks who blistered my fingertips in the 1990's with all manner of crafty behavior, and then got rid of that dang thing the minute that Martha Stewart went to prison and I put my crafting days behind me. It might have had more to do with having kids, but let's blame Martha for my disillusionment. 

After all the chair trim was put on/nail holes filled/ touch-up painted, we had a finished product, and I was freaking pleased as PUNCH. My photos do it no justice at all. It is quite cozy and turned out well enough that Superhubs, without me saying a word, said "Don't get any ideas. We're not doing this in the other rooms, you know." I'm hoping he will soon forget that he really doesn't like projects and will agree to do this again in our bedroom. I have big planz for that space. I think it will be my October ORC space. I had so much fun this time around that I'm planning to play again in the fall!

Well, there you have it. Another DIWHY!? project on the books.  I think I would put this one in the low-trauma category, and label it more of a DIWHYNOT!? Yay!

 

 

ORC: THE REVEAL

Well, friends, this is the day. The final post, the big reveal, the nail-biting conclusion of the One Room Challenge, hosted by the lovely Linda and media partner House Beautiful. The 20 featured bloggers ROCKED their projects, and the guest bloggers also really brought their game. You could spend days out here on the interweb, sucked into each project and enjoying the process and completion of all of the participants' spaces - and you should! There's some GREAT stuff going on...

For reasons of fun, camaraderie, a deadline, and accountability, I decided (the day before the challenge started!) to play along and I'm really glad I did! It is the first time I've done the One Room Challenge, and I am glad I chose a room that had a moderate expectation for completion. I am high-fiving all of those folks who took on MAJOR renovations and are posting their reveals today - go you!!!! I didn't aim that high, but I did tackle a project that I had really been wanting to do for a while. 

Mini Mister's Room - BEFORE (but after a good cleaning...)

This room was basically just everything from our last house, tossed into the room and shaken up a bit. It might not seem like it here, as these photos were taken at the exact hour of the day when peeks of sunlight could be seen, but this room was DARK. And, while technically functional, there wasn't really any FUN going on in FUNction. Blah.

Things we kept:

1) The bed, which is part of a pair. In our last house they would both have been in his room, but in this house - not so much. The other is in Smallest Assistant's bedroom. 

2) The dresser. We all really like that piece. It goes with the bed in finish, but isn't really an exact match.

3) A cozy chair I had picked up over the winter from a consignment shop. It is a nice size for the room, and for his little self.

4) Most of the artwork. I have collected these things over time, but the horse is one from his original bedroom, and we feel a little sentimental about him.

I told you in this post that I had officially exited my comfort zone, and decided to take on a DIY wall treatment that I'd never done before. I am so very glad that I did. I couldn't have done it without my exceptionally handy Superhubs and his pneumatic tools, so he gets major props for pulling this off...

 

You: What in the helvetica is THAT!? 

Me: Upholstery.

You: *SMH*

Me: I KNOW!!!! ISN'T IT COOL!?!?! 

Bumpy walls: 10, Steph: 1. Yep. I won once against those wretched textured walls.  

It was thousands of dollars cheaper than wallpaper would have been, since we could DIY this one and not pay someone to do the work. It still wasn't CHEAP, as we needed approximately 30 yards of material and then batting, wood, staples, nails, and a SEWING MACHINE (!!!), but man... I really love the outcome. I actually think I love it more than I would have loved the wallpaper. It is soft, absorbs sound, has a similar weave to a grasscloth, but is very washable, should anything unfortunate get on it...

You: What color is it?!

Me: Dark, mossy green. 

You: It doesn't match.

Me: Not everything has to MATCH. It just has to GO. And, I didn't like how the matching looked after I had tried that route...

I love contrast and unexpected combinations of color. I'm not always very good at doing this, since most people like to match and matching is, quite frankly, the easiest way to decorate. But, this room inspired me (as most of Miles Redd's rooms have a way of doing.)

A favorite of ALL TIME. With the blue and orange in the rug, and that spectacular sofa in the mix, I was pretty set on green... I got to work and found some heavy-duty fabric at JoAnn's that was just the thing. And even better!? It was on sale for $10 a yard! BOOM!

Anyway, I suppose you're probably scrolling past all of my words at this point, just hoping I'll zip it and get on with the job, but know this: I'll be doing follow-up posts to give some additional details on the walls, in case you are as crazy as I am and want to do it yourself. 

So here they are, my amateur photos of the project, as taken from - you guessed it - my phone... This was a tough one for me to photograph, just because of the high contrast between the wall paint and the upholstery. It kept messing with me. Sorry.

 

And another BEFORE:

 

Yes, Darth made the cut...

That chair corner still needs a bit of work. I'm looking for more artwork for that wall and for a better side table. (This side of the room was tough to photograph without getting the footboard in the frame... I need some photography classes.)

I took a few photos with the lights all on, just so you can see how much brighter this room is capable of being. The above photo makes it look like the light is blinding. It really isn't. It's quite nice, actually...  

And some of the little-boy moments that Superhubs was worried would be missing:

A bedside bin of books for the little bookworm.

A patriotic quilt his Nana made...

An adorable book I bought on ebay, to add to what I found out was an unintentional collection I had already accidentally started. 

I mentioned last week that this probably isn't the exact final version of this room. Since I love the thrill of the thrift, I just have to be patient until I find just the thing (the art, the side table, etc.) But, for now, Mini Mister really, truly loves his new room, and he had everything to say about what we displayed and what got put away. I am glad he loves it. There's really nothing better than a happy client. Well, maybe a happy client that pays, but whatever.

ORC week 5... A few days late

Sometimes, even my best intentions aren't enough. I really meant to post on Thursday with my week 5 update of the ORC, but I was besieged by allergy symptoms and was really dragging and not feeling well. And, since you know that I've been hearing a little too much Despicable Me lately (week 3), it shouldn't surprise you at all that I was identifying a lot with this scene this week. There may have been a few days where getting dressed was not happening. (Me = Vector, and I just wish there had been cookie deliveries...)

 

Turns out I was just warming up for some SUPER COOL STUFF YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND.

Or something.

Anyway, things happened this week. They did. But most of them were in my head as I pondered if the space was becoming everything I had hoped for. It mostly is, but since I have to be realistic about things like budget and lead-times, I have decided that the FINAL REVEAL won't actually be the final design for the room. I don't want to settle for second choice just to reveal a room on a deadline. (I want to get it right, and while shows on HGTV might lead you to think so, six weeks isn't enough time to get things - like windows - right, unless you sew yourself. More on that next week.)

I am fine with the window treatments that are there, but maybe this fall I'll upgrade and do some wood roman blinds and some new panels made from this orange fabric. For now, what we have is just fine.

What we have:

What will be (top right is the fabric/shade combo):

You'll also see some wood flooring there - that is in the works for the whole upstairs. As an allergy sufferer, I love rugs that can be sent out for cleaning. Wall-to-wall carpet is a big trap for all things that allergy sufferers should avoid, so even though modern homes don't usually have wood floors throughout, ours will.

I also have a few posters that will be framed, but those lead times were long too. Mini Mister loves Calvin and Hobbes, so he picked the cute one (above) to put up... Yes. I conceded to Superhubs that maybe my plan was a bit grown-up, so I am trying hard to bring more 10-year-old and less middle-aged-bachelor. I made a point to find a few ways to display his collections:

A note from the tooth fairy, his silver baby rattle, a valentine, a golf score card, etc...

A turtle his auntie sent from Bali, rocks from our lake trip, a thrifted eagle... (I drag him to thrift stores, too!!!)

And the chandy arrived from Italy! Yay! The seller was amazing and re-wired the sockets to work here - what a gem! We were all set to install when we realized that the original canopy just won't cover the junction box (d'oh!) So, tomorrow I will be scouring Lowes for a simple ceiling medallion to help save the day... Home Depot didn't have much selection at all. *sad face*

Sigh.

Check out how giant these glass discs are!

When it finally does get up there, it's going to be goooood.

So there you have it, a day late and maybe more than a dollar short. Budgets.

Be sure to check out what the 20 bloggers and all of the guest participants are up to! It is so fun to watch it all come together!!!!

 

 

A Pretty Palette

As a little break from all of the boy's bedroom posting I've been doing, I'm showing you a bit of work I'm doing for a master bedroom concept. You may recall my previous DIWHY project that landed this (not quite finished in this photo) dresser in our master bedroom:

 

As much as I loved this little vignette - the thrifted art makes me exceedingly happy! - I found that this palette felt a little too limiting for my taste. I did find a pretty Frette duvet cover at Homegoods that brings in that mauve color, and I love that too, but the idea of building the rest of the room based on a single duvet cover, and this limited amount of color - well. That felt restrictive.

I realized, after getting that far, that I missed being able to use my (extensive) collection of duvet covers and when I saw new ones that I loved, none of them went with my current look/palette. These, for example:

And all of this got me thinking: What colors COULD I commit to?! I like colors. Pretty much all of them. When this Schumacher pattern arrived in my memo delivery, it triggered an idea for a palette that would be pretty inclusive, both to the colors I love, and the styles I love:

I scrolled through my One Kings Lane (affiliate links used) favorites and realized that I have been leaning this way in a lot of the things I love... The collection on the board below is indicative of my line of thought...

I think that my trend should over-ride any design trends that I may, or may not, be enticed to participate in. Whenever I veer away from my "ohmygoshisuperduperlovethis!" items in favor of something trendy that catches my eye, I usually tire of it within 12 months, and then I regret ever being affected. It's an industry hazard, I suppose. The trouble with trends is that usually they sneak up on you, and then you like them, and then they catch on, and then they are everywhere, and then they are tired. That is the life-cycle of a trend. So, as a decorator, when you see that life-cycle from start to finish, you're tired of it long before the general, non-design-obsessed public is. I feel the need to stick with my gut. My gut says things like this:

fabric//ashtray//painting//garden stool//runner//chandelier//pillows//planter//glasses

 

In the background neutrals of the fabric, are ivories and taupes that are creamy enough to incorporate the off-white leather of our West Elm Headboard,

The range of colors and styles (I am a style mixer) makes me feel like I could be pretty successful in layering up this room over time without being backed into a corner. Since I view navy as a neutral, and am not afraid of mixing it with black (my dresser and nightstands), I think I have found a new, more "me" direction. What do you think? Do you like to change things up, or are you a once-and-done kind of decorator? Or, do you really not care at all and think that I'm a lunatic for caring so much about such things? *plugs ears in case it's the latter.*

ORC: Week 4.

Howdy, friends! And welcome back for another post for the One Room Challenge! (<--  Click that link to see what the selected 20 bloggers are up to!) You can see my previous week's updates here: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3.

This last week was a good one. We banished the kids from the room for two days, and got to work. The wall treatment turned out WAY better than I imagined, and that it got mostly finished feels like some major progress.

Since the wall treatment was a project I have never done before, I was a bit angst-y about the whole deal... However, the minute Superhubs got hold of the idea and started You-Tubing, Googling, and doing whatever else he does when researching whether or not to say "no" to my absurd requests for his help, I was feeling fine. He was ON IT, and since he has some serious skillz in the DIY arena, there was no way we could fail. We could get annoyed with how long it took, act like tired old people with creaky backs and knees, and let the rest of the house fall apart while we work, but I don't call him Superhubs for nothing. He's perfectionist and skilled. It's a (mostly) great combo. What? Pictures? Not a chance. There are a few steps yet to finish, and also I am saving it for the big reveal.  

I am trying to strike a balance in this room between the mid century mahogany pieces (his bed and big dresser, both of which he loves) and the Mid Mod desk that I got him. I'm not really into Mid Century Modern as a style to strictly adhere to, but I like bits and pieces of it mixed in. So, when that chandy fell through, I knew I needed another something similar to keep that balance. High and low, I searched... I felt like Little Red Riding Hood:

 

Too French:

TOO AWESOME. But too much money.

 

Too tall. (Also too much money.)

 

Too small:

Too expensive:

 

Too Fragile:

 

Too Girly:

Ahhhhhh. JUST RIGHT.

Now, will it arrive from Italy in time for the big reveal? FINGERS CROSSED!!!

 

Don't forget to scamper over and see what all of the other linking participants are up to!

 

 

One Room Challenge: Week 3

Oh hay, friends! I can't believe we are already at week 3 of the One Room Challenge! If you're joining for the first time with this post, you may want to check out Week 1 and Week 2; They explain the challenge and my plans... And ohhhhh, the plans... These are kind you make and then change and then make FOR SURE and then CHANGE AGAIN. You know that kind, right? 

As we know, I was all full of the sads when this guy went missing... (And by missing I mean someone else wisely bought it and broke my heart into a zillion pieces.)

I have been on the prowl, and I think I have a suitable vintage alternative, but I'm STILL not pulling the trigger. WHAT IS MY PROBLEM!? HAVE I NOT LEARNED MY LESSON? Well, I think in my head the above guy, with his gold-tone metal, iridescent Italian glass, and 8 bulb structure was really the cat's meow. And the other one, while similar in style and vibe, is chrome and has, like 20 bulbs. I need bright, but that might be a bit much. And I'm just not sure I can accept the chrome. I'll keep you posted.

I also mentioned my extreme distaste for the wall situation in our house. The texture makes wallpaper cost-prohibitive (or just not a good choice for a small dude's room) and so this week I needed to find something else that would feel special, but not have that $pecial pricetag. I think I have it figured out, but Ima gonna save that one for the reveal.

So today, Superhubs and I did this:

We cleared the room, removed window treatments and wall decor, and got down to the messy business of painting. I had tried several blues on the wall, as you can see, but all of them felt gross so I went in totally different direction (plan b, or c, or something. I quit keeping track). I also went with a different brand of paint. I thought I would try out the new Behr paint from Home Depot, as Consumer Reports seems to dig that stuff and it is notably less expensive than my usual go-tos, Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore. However, after sampling, not only did I really not like the colors for this space, but there was this:

See that shine? I wanted a flat, so they gave me the sample sizes in the Marquee Interior Matte/Exterior Flat. No bueno. I am not sure how that qualifies as a Matte finish. Satin, maybe, but that is not Matte nor is it Flat. Sorry. Anyway, back to Benjamin Moore with me! The trim all was painted in their Aura paint, which I am quite pleased with, and the wall color is ON. No, that's not the new wall color, and yes, I know I colored outside of the lines. It will all make sense later.  (What I wish I could make sense of is the invention of these cheap, hollow-core doors, but that is a rant for another day.)

By the way, today was the first day of the rest of my painting life. I am the Cutter of the family, and Superhubs is the Roller. So this was a PREEETY BEEEG DEEEEAL. (Ohmygosh. We have been watching too much Despicable Me in our car. It may, or may not, be on a continuous loop as a pacifier for Smallest Assistant as I make paint/lampshade/thrifting for decor runs. Gah. You know it's bad when you're quoting Gru.) Anyway, today was the first day I used THIS:

Even with my bumpy-a$$ walls, this guy gave me the tightest, cleanest edges, and made the job SO much easier... It might be "Built for the Best Painters" but even I knew it was good.

Ok. So we are at an awkward stage in the challenge where work is getting done, but I almost hate to reveal TOO much, as then the final reveal will be all "Whatever. We saw that already." So let me leave you this day with this little view of my Excellent Helper, who was just DYING to get her hands on a paintbrush today. I gave her lollipops instead. And... Minions. #worstmomever #stillhatehollowcoredoors

PS) Don't forget to go and check out all of the other linking participants in the challenge! So much good stuff is going on!!!

One Room Challenge: Week 2

This, week two of the One Room Challenge, has been a week of deliveries, paint samples, and heartbreak. Yes. Heartbreak.

I am a girl who knows better than to fall in love with something vintage and NOT PULL THE TRIGGER IMMEDIATELY. I should have known that this bonkers-good light fixture wouldn't last long. To be honest, the price was a bit steep for my budget, so I was trying to justify it in my head. I think the real justification is that it was unique, one-of-a-kind, and when something is amazeballs you should really just get it. As the wise Miled Redd once said, "Buy the best and you only cry once." My sentiments exactly. Now I'll cry every. Single. Day. (Or at least until I find another hot Italian fixture for the ceiling in this space.) Sigh.

So, here are the bones of my plan for Mini Mister's bedroom. (And here is last week's post, if you need to catch up: Week 1)

Darth? Why is Darth on the board? Well, Superhubs has seen this plan, and is a bit worried that I have mistaken our ten-year-old for a grown man. Maybe I have, a little. This guy isn't a big "toy kid" - he's never really played with toys. He's mostly a sporty person and likes to be active and ride bikes and play any sport that uses a ball. We have lots of books, but not lots of "kid" things. So, as I pulled the plan together, I thought I'd put that Darth mask on the board to remind me he's still a little guy for a bit longer. (That, and because Superhubs instructed "the Darth mask STAYS.")

That desk may be the score of the room. I went with my girlfriend to a giant clearance sale that an auction house in town was having. She found this puppy (for $125!!!) and I bit! I have been looking for a small desk for a couple of years, and this was just the thing. It has Transformer qualities that I think MM will appreciate; ie the roll-top and the pull-out workspace... The storage with a LOCK/KEY is something he'll surely use when trying to keep things away from the nosy little Smallest Assistant.

Speaking of... I put Smallest Assistant in charge of unpacking and placing the rug... She likes to fancy herself an "excellent helper." Mmmmhmmm... Anyway, the rug was my springboard for the space. MM loves him some blue-and-orange, and so when I saw this vintage Turkish number on Etsy, I knew it was the start of something good. It, too, cost a bit more than I meant to spend, but I really think he will have this to take with him when he moves off to college. It is that classic.

Now I am trying to figure out the walls. The board shows some lovely grasscloth which I would love to do, but the walls are textured, and between skimming and buying/hanging wallpaper, it would cost about $2500.00 to do it in here. Superhubs and I agreed that this investment might be lost on a small guy who doesn't think twice about playing catch with himself by bouncing rubber balls off of the walls.

Then I had this terrible idea... (I say terrible, because of the faux-finish PTSD that I still suffer from, the likes of which stems from the '90s era of sponge and feather duster painting. I actively detest faux finishes unless done by highly skilled artisans, and those folks cost far more than the wallpaper ever could.) 

This Ralph Lauren texture looks a lot like grasscloth. However, I fear the reality would be disappointing, also because the walls are textured and the lines wouldn't probably stay straight. This stupid wall texture is ruining my vision. Meanwhile, I have 5 patches of blue paint on the walls as I try to find a blue paint that is somehow bright and not brash. I'm pretty sick of the grey-ed out blue that is on the walls. (I'm tiring of grey, in general.) But blue can be bossy if bright, baby if light, and blah if browned. It's a tough one to get right without going deep indigo/navy, which is going against my dream of a brighter, less depressing space.

The duvet cover arrived too. I really love the simplicity of it, and I love that it's made of organic cotton. We sleep with our duvets "European style" and don't use top sheets, but rather just use the duvet cover as our top sheet. It makes bed-making a breeze, and prevents claustrophobic tangling situations from happening while we sleep... So that this soft, organic fabric is against the skin - well that's a good situation.

So that's the stats, friends. Next week at this time I hope to have the walls all figured out, and maybe even executed... I will update you on the lighting search, the window, art, decor etc. and hopefully I will have found an equally amazeballs light to replace the (RIP) one I missed. * boo hoo *  #firstworldproblems

 

Click this link to see all of the other linking participants in the ORC!

 

 

ONE ROOM CHALLENGE: Week 1

Several years ago, when I realized that blogging was a thing that you didn't need computer programming skillz to do, I started a blog. And then I started following blogs. And then after a little while I learned about this thing called the One Room Challenge, and it was like hitting the jackpot answer to the question "what decor blogs should I follow?" Twice a year, 20 featured designers tackled their renovations from start through to completion in just 6 short weeks and documented the processes on their blogs. Linda, from Calling it Home, is the mastermind behind the event, and in addition to the 20 participants she formally invites to play, she graciously lets little fish like me swim in the big pond and tag along for the big adventure. Click here to see the featured 20, and here to see the folks who are linking up.

My son (who I will refer to as my Mini Mister) and his sad, overlooked bedroom will be my client. He's not that thrilled about it, to be honest. He likes things as they are, but his room depresses me, and it's all about me, right? Actually, I think if he is involved in the process, he'll really like the design that I force on him we end up with. He is a sentimental and nostalgic guy, so we will have to keep some of the things we have, as they are a big comfort to him. However, he is 10, and at an age where anything theme-y (which is not my thing anyway) is behind us, and the pieces we are working with or buying will be what probably take him most of the way into his teens. 

Here are some befores.... Let these be exhibit A that we may have a pack-rat situation on our hands. More on that later.

Lego Lunacy...

Those were the as-is pics. I spent two hours in his room today, removing things I hope he won't miss, and thanking Hefty for black, opaque trash bags so that my purging can be done without anyone second-guessing my choices as I carry the trash to the bin. After a good bunch of work, and some terrifying encounters with dust bunnies, sharp lego pieces, and no fewer than three recorders, two football tees, and 8 knee-hockey sticks (ARGH!) the room was feeling a lot less depressing already. Maybe CLEANING was all we really needed! 

The tidy nature of the space apparently almost made his sister lose her mind. She had to quick go pull a book off of the shelf and leave it on the floor just to make herself feel at home in there... 

 

Anyhoo, check back with me next Thursday. I will show you what I've got planned for this space, and I may even have some progress to show! A special delivery is slated for this Friday... OHHHHH. Stay tuned!