Archive for January, 2009
Sara’s Second Design Dilemma
*Update: Oh happy day! Sara sent us her after pictures, so check out our mood board below and then click over to see her room’s progress!
When Sara came back to us for her second mood board makeover (the first one is still in progress), we reached for our goggles and dove right in. Just kidding, but we did grab our laptop and start trollin’. Here’s her letter:
Problem #1: My hubby is trying to bring a commercial filing cabinet into our home office (you know the big chunky metal ones.. eek!). And, he has all but threatened divorce if I don’t get a home office set up asap. He runs a business which comes with A LOT of paperwork. I would love a place to scrapbook. This will one day be the nursery, so we need pieces that can easily be moved into other spots in our house. Can you please help us figure out a good office setup and ways to control the receipts, incoming/outgoing bills, filing?! I’d like the wall color to stay and really want a brown, green and white scheme in here. I have the poster trio from Ikea with the green flowers in white frames (same ones you have in LR) so I thought those could work. Here’s the rest of my wish list (which I know may not fit): $99 dark wood floor mirror from Ikea (similar to one you have) chair for vegging out, a clean-lined desk, window treatments (before the neighbors begin to hate us) and a cover for the closet. This room is small 8 x 10 to be (almost) exact. Thanks a million. -Sara
We’re no strangers to a tan 8 x 10 room (it’s almost the exact same size as our craft room/3rd bedroom which will also get turned into a nursery someday). Sara and her hubby will be surprised at just how much function they can cram into such a modest space. So without further ado, our fresh green, brown and white mood board:
And now for the mood board breakdown.
Read the rest of this entry »
Oh My Gourd.
Yup, I did it. Last night I looked lovingly at John and batted my eyes until he agreed to… take me back to Target’s Home Design Event to snag my beloved gourd lamp! After nights of laying in bed fantasizing about the smoky glass base and the generous linen shade (which we featured at the end of the list here) I had to make at least one of ‘em mine. And after walking around the house debating where my new favorite lamp could live (always an important step before the purchase) we opted for the guest bedroom, and off to Tar-jay we went.
Look how happy this lamp makes me. I didn’t even bother to take off my coat before sweeping her off her feet and into the guest bedroom. Smell ya later piddly old lamp in the background, there’s a new girl in town- and she’s eats lamps like you for breakfast.
And now for a few more shots of her in all of her gourdy glory:
Gourd-geous, no? And get this. Our baby was marked down from her original $89 price tag to just 54 smackaroos thanks to the recent Home Design Event sale (some items are already 50% off so be sure to grab the goods before they’re gone). And thanks to the fact that we just saw nearly-identical-but-not-as-cool oversized glass gourd lamps at Big Lots for $150 a pop (!) we obviously feel pretty darn good about our score.
How about you guys? Any plans to snag some Home Design Event stuff before it sells out? Anything you’ve already grabbed that you’re loving? Tell Sherry all about it.
Hey Ottoman, Where Ya From?
We did it! We finally compiled a room by room source list for almost every item in our entire house. You can find a link to the list at the top and bottom of the House Tour tab under the header (and another link on our FAQ page) but you can also cut straight to the chase and click here for the goods.
So whether you’re looking to find something in particular, or just want to suss out a few of our favorite home decor stores (Ikea and Target make quite a few appearances) click on over and have at it. Oh and we’ve also included each room’s paint color so that will also hopefully come in handy.
And while we’re on the subject, when you guys look around your house, are there any home decor stores that you seem to favor? Any unexpected places where you’ve picked up an item (we once got an ottoman at a craft store)? Do tell.
Reader Redesign: Room To Grow
This kids’ room transformed in such a major way that we just had to share the almost unbelievable before & after pics. Here’s Kelly’s letter:
Here’s what our kids’ room looked like when we moved in: drab, dark and depressing. Needless to say, I wanted something more cheerful and happy for my children.
Now it’s FINISHED! I hung a bunch of paintings that I made when I was probably in 9th grade in an asymmetrical collage on the wall and added fun color in the rugs, window treatments and bedding. Pretty cute!! And of course just repainting those walls a muted blue tone made all the difference. Now on to another room… -Kelly
Isn’t that adorable? We’re sure Kelly’s kids are enamored with their newly swankified space. Fabulous job, Kelly… and good luck with that next room!
Let’s Be Fronds Freebie Winner!
Thanks to the 307 of you who were lookin’ to get frondly in our latest giveaway from Art.com. From the sound of things, this framed austral fern would be a nice addition to lots of bathrooms, bedrooms and other rooms out there. But unfortunately, this gift of greenery is headed to only one random winner, and the lucky (get this!) guy is…Kyle Day!
Congrats, man! We can’t wait to see how the fern looks in your entryway (yes, you owe us pictures). You’re totally right that it’ll be the perfect piece of instant relaxation as you walk through the front door. I think we could all use a little bit of that, so don’t forget to check out the rest of Art.com’s botanical collection here.
And don’t fret if your number didn’t come up this time. The generous folks over at Art.com are offering 20% OFF EVERYTHING ON THEIR SITE WHEN YOU ENTER “YOUNG” DURING CHECKOUT. The offer’s good for the next month (until February 15) so be sure to snag all the fronds (and any other eye candy) that you’d like before then.
(PS: I should note that I barely managed to restrain myself on the friend/frond puns in this post. I think I almost popped a vein in my forehead resisting the urge to pepper each sentence with cringeworthy frond jokes. Phew!)
