January 28, 2015

DIY Balustrade Coffee Table

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I'm so excited to finally share details on our DIY balustrade coffee table. This was our first building project, and I'm elated with how it turned out. When I was searching for a coffee table that I wanted to purchase, I immediately fell in love with the Restoration Hardware Balustrade coffee table. Only problem was, it cost $1495 which was way more than what I wanted to spend. That said, when I came across Jen Woodhouse's tutorial and Ana White's building plans  on how to build a look alike version of the Restoration Hardware coffee table, I was literally jumping up and down and couldn't wait to get started on this project. I will be sharing a link to her building plans at the bottom because they are the reason I was able to create this beauty! Also I changed up her original building plans of a rectangle coffee table and made mine a 38.5" x 38.5" square coffee table and a little taller, so if you're interested in the rectangle version make sure to check out her plans .

January 26, 2015

Lamp Lookalikes For Less

When it comes to putting a room together, there is one thing that can often but overlooked but is very important to consider when creating a comfortable and inviting space. That often overlooked thing that I'm referring to is light. The best way to use light in a room is by layering it. One way to do that is by using different light sources. It's also very important to consider the type of bulb used as well. Bright white lights can be very harsh to the eye. I prefer the soft white lights because they make the space feel much softer. Our family room has all recessed lighting, so I'm planning to use table lamps to help layer the lighting in the room. As many of you know though, lamps can be very expensive. During my own search for a table lamp I came across several lamps that look very similar to the lamps sold at the well known home furnishing stores , but cost only a fraction of the price. Here is a list of lookalikes that I've come across so far (Note:my lookalike comparisons are based on the lamp base, not the lamp shade since most shades are sold separately anyways). And of course the beloved HomeGoods is also a great place to find more affordable lamp options.

January 23, 2015

My Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, everyone! This week I had to go on a last minute work trip so I was unable to share details on the coffee table this week, but I thought that I would at least do a Friday Favorites post! Although my projects have been on hold for the past 7 days, I was still able to spend some free time finding things I love for some rooms in our house. It's safe to say Pinterest, my mood boards and I had a lot of bonding time these past 7 nights! In the 4 months since buying our first house much progress has been made in terms of painting and structural things, but much of the house is still not decorated and many of the walls are bare. This is okay though because A. It takes time to make a house a home and B. I'm a very indecisive person so I'd  rather take my time on making a decision than buying something on a whim and regretting it shortly after. For the most part we have the large furniture pieces in each room, but we don't have all the fun accent pieces that bring a room together like the accent pillows, vases, art, rugs , etc (or according to my husband are the adult knickknack stuff that costs a lot of money). Now that the coffee table is done and we have all the major furniture pieces in or family room, I'm hoping to make progress next month with accent pieces in the family room and other areas in the house. That said, today I'm sharing some of my favorite accent pieces that I've recently come across and am loving for our house and anyone else's house for that matter. 

January 19, 2015

Guest Bathroom Design Plans

When we bought our house we knew that we definitely wanted to update the look in the guest bathroom. The bathroom has peachy brown walls, light vanity cabinets, and a builder grade mirror. It is in great condition but lacked the personality and style that I wanted.   

January 15, 2015

Organization House Tour

I hope everyone is having a great Thursday, only one more day until the weekend (Woot Woot!) Today I'm going to be sharing an organization house tour of our home. I had a couple Instagram followers ask me about ways that I organize and tips that I might have regarding this topic, so I thought this would be a great way to share those with everyone!  By no means would I consider myself a great organizer, but I definitely have come a long way. I used to be that person who would misplace stuff constantly, and  would end up in a tizzy while digging frantically trying to find stuff. It drove both me and others who had to experience my frantic outbursts nuts, and eventually I forced myself to change and become more organized. 

The thing that has helped me most in being organized is having a place for everything. Like the phrase goes, " a place for everything and everything in it's place" meaning, everything should have a place to be stored and it should be returned there when not in use.  By having a specific place for everything, you will never doubt where you put something.

January 13, 2015

DIY Board and Batten Fireplace

Today marks exactly four months since moving into our house, and during that period our board and batten fireplace has definitely been one of my favorite projects! We wanted to add the board and batten above the mantel for several reasons: A. Most importantly, we thought it would look good B. the ceilings in our family room are 10 ft. high so by adding the board and batten above the mantle, it complimented the tall ceilings and made the wall feel taller than before C. In our family room we have a mixture of dark and light furniture. We thought by adding this large board and batten extension and painting it white,  it would help balance the large bronze clock that will be hung on the wall across from the mantel. Paul and I came up with the design plan for this project, and together my husband and father-in-law made it come to life. They did an AH-Mazing job, if I do say so myself, and I'm so grateful for all the time and effort they put into this project! 

January 8, 2015

Mini Nightstand Makeover

Today I'm going to be sharing the easy mini makeover that I did on our night stands. These were the nightstands that I used during college, so when we moved into the house we decided to just keep using them for now instead of buying new ones. 

January 5, 2015

2015 Goals

2014 was an incredible year filled with numerous milestones! This past year I graduated from college, started my first full time job, got married, and my husband and I bought our first house. 2014 was the best year of my life and for that reason part of me has been sad to see this year end. At the same time, however,  this year I'm excited to see myself develop and grow into the roles that I acquired during 2014 (employee, homeowner, wife, etc.), and look forward to focusing on the resolutions that I have set for myself. That said, in 2015 I have 3 main things I want to focus on: 

Resolution #1

January 2, 2015

12 Wall Plate Ideas

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years! For the first blog post of this year,  I'm talking all about wall plate arrangements. Might seem like a random first blog post for the year, but for Christmas my parents got Paul and I the matching buffet to our dining table, so now with a new piece of furniture in the kitchen all I can think about is what I want to do with the space!  Our kitchen currently has many blank walls that I plan to fill with pictures and shelves, but I'm also loving the idea of using plates on the wall to diversify the wall art in the room.  Using plates as wall art is a great option because not only can it be very affordable, but it is also a great way to add different colors and shapes into a room.