Design Inspiration Friday: Design Boards

The Layered and Mixed Living Room by tracylaverty 

I made my first design board on Polyvore the other day. This site is known as a fashion site to put outfits together, but they have a new home section now. I had fun putting a layered room together- a challenge from Kristin at the Hunted Interior. For a newbie blogger, like me, this was fun to do and I know it will be a useful tool to designing a room. I still need to figure a few things out, but for the most part it was not difficult. What design board tools do you use? Have you used Polyvore before for your mood boards?

This weekend, we have basketball games to go to and some home projects to work on, so it should be fun. Hope you have a lovely weekend!

Fixer Upper

   

Welcome to my blog if you are coming over from Savvy Southern Style. I'm working on several projects in my home, so please keep coming back to see what is new here.

Isn't half the battle of decorating just knowing the colors and feel you want a room to look like? I'm excited for the way our daughter's room is coming together. The colors are bright and fun in here- perfect for her. I think it's okay to sometimes take time to figure out what people use their rooms for and how you want the room to feel.

However, I've been thinking too long about this yard sale dresser I got in her room and now it's time to act!I love the shape of it, but I think this is a piece that we want painted. I'm going to paint it a bright red with white knobs. What do you think? I will show you some pictures soon.

This was my other bargain beauty I got for her room. It's a perfect dainty size for her and she loves to curl up here and read books and look out the window. I think we'll keep this one as is. It's a bit old fashioned, but I like having a mix of modern and vintage in a room. Have you found some great yard sale deals that you want to paint or just enjoy the beauty of it?

Our Unfinished Basement Tour And How We Built Storage Shelves

I wanted to take a minute to show you our unfinished basement and how my hubby built some storage shelves. This space has much potential and we are just starting to make it into a more usable space. Steve drew out plans for the basement when we first moved in to section it off into some different rooms (he's an engineer).

This side will be a wood shop area (aka, man cave) and you can see the little white door, on the left, where we made a small play area, under the stairs for our children.

Some work has already started but there is much more to do. This is the first wall we put up. The basement right now has been super fun for our girls as a pseudo-scooter park during the cold winter. 

Welcome to the Lumbar Yard! We ordered wood and drywall from a local lumber yard to start framing.

Onto the shelves-

Steve's brother and his family came to visit last week and while my sister in-law and I chatted and the kids played, the guys started work in the basement. The first thing they did was to build storage shelves. This was a fairly simple and inexpensive project which added a lot of storage. Here's how we did it... 

Standard plywood comes in 8' by 4' sheets. To limit the cutting we had to do, we made our shelves 8' by 2' (exactly half the width of the plywood). To make one set of these shelves, here is the cut list:

• 8' x 2' of 1/2" plywood (3 pieces) - These are the shelf tops. If you buy your plywood from Lowes or Home Depot, they will rip the plywood for you in the store. This makes it a lot easier to bring home!
• 2" x 4" x 7'9" (6 pieces) - These are the long shelf supports
• 2" x 4" x 2'3" (6 pieces) - These are the end pieces for the shelf supports
• 2" x 4" x 1'9" (3 pieces) - These are the middle shelf supports
• 2" x 4" x 6' (4 pieces) - These are the legs

We started to lay out the lumber. Shown here are the end pieces for the shelf supports.

Here are all of the pieces for one shelf frame (minus the plywood)

All three shelf frames nailed together

Then we added the plywood tops.

Then all you need to do is nail the legs in place at the desired heights. We spaced our shelves 2' apart. 

My sister-in law and I tease our husbands that they are like HGTV's Property Brothers! Ha! They each needed to take a turn to look cool with the big nail gun. 

We built three sets of these shelves (the closer two we made a bit shorter (6'). These super sturdy shelves cost about $40 each in material and not too long to make. They are a great addition for storage downstairs. Thanks Mike for your help! Now- onto making it look good and organized! Have you ever built storage shelves or worked on making rooms in your basement? I would love to hear about it!

Design Inspiration Friday: Art In The Bathroom

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Don't you love something to look at when your in a bathroom? Bathrooms have such potential to be a serene or inspirational space. I tend toward the nautical look when it comes to bathrooms, and I really enjoy a gallery wall look in there too. I'm still working on our navy powder room with some art and thought I would give us all some pretty images to get inspired.

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                                           Jules Duffy

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The only problem with this bathroom is if you have littles- don't you think this might be hard to keep things in working order and clean with images and prints that low? However, I do love how it's a mixed gallery throughout.

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Plates? Yes please! I think of plates like art so they can go on any wall in almost any space.

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                                                   Elle Decor
           I love how all these prints are used like wallpaper- this is amazing!

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                                      This one is super serene and classy. 

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You can't go wrong with a classic navy and a collection of images.
Have you put any inspiring images in your bathrooms? Do tell.

Snowball Ice Cream

We've had quite a bit of snow this winter. When we get a good snow fall I like to make snowball ice cream for my girls. My mom used to make this for my sisters and I growing up in New England (where we get a lot of snow). It's fun for kids to make and enjoy on a winter day. 

Ingredients:

Clean, fresh snow 

Sugar

Vanilla

Pitted cherries and juice of cherry

Sprinkles

Mix sugar (usually a few tablespoons) and a tablespoon of vanilla in a bowl and then scoop into individual sized cups. For the toppings add as much or as little of each to make your snowball ice cream. It really ends up being like a slushy. Kids really go crazy for the idea that you can make your own sweet treat with snow in the backyard. 

What's not to love eating snowball ice cream in warm cozy pajamas? Have you made snowball ice cream before? Hope you try it the next time it snows, or next winter. I think we are done with snow now- right Mother Nature?

Simple Tips: Rub N' Buff Lighting

I discovered Rub N' Buff! 

BEFORE 

I loved the look of the sconces this way too, but really did want a gold-ish/copper color, that everywhere I looked was more expensive. We got these brushed bronze lights for a sale price on Overstock.

Here are the supplies I used:

Rub n'Buff

toothbrush

tape

small cloth to wipe and buff

After I taped it I started brushing it on with a toothbrush. You can see here I was overly excited to get started since I didn't finish taping. I know some people use their fingers to rub the paste on, but I felt a toothbrush did a fabulous job (and bonus, my fingers didn't get messy).

After you rub on the paste, take a cloth and wipe it a bit until you get the look you want. 

                                       This project was super fast to do and I love the results. 

I think the gold/copper sconces highlight the other gold colors on the books too. And who doesn't enjoy navy and gold together? They are like two peas in a pod. 

                    I think it's okay to mix metals in this room too since it gives it a bit more variety.

Side note: This room also houses our phantom sofa that is still being rescued, but got put on the back burner while I had Christmas and 'not wanting to work on it issues'. I've ordered a beautiful navy blue velvet to reupholster the sofa. All I need is some more courage and will power to get it done! More on this one, later.

I really like the look of our sconces now. The Rub N' Buff tube lasts a long ways since I used only a small amount of the tube for all four sconces I have plenty left over for more projects. What say you? Do you like the Rub n' Buff look? Have you ever tried doing this?

I'm linking this post to:
Shine Your Light
Savvy Southern Style

Design Inspiration Friday: Elements Of Romance In The Home

Happy Valentine's Day! We are still covered with snow from a big storm. The kids and I made a lot of fun Valentine crafts and cards for their school parties, which are all delayed now because we got so much snow. Since it's a day of romance and love I've been thinking about what makes our homes feel more romantic. Here are some ideas-most have to do with layering a room to make it cozy.

                                   Home and Garden Designs
Layering the window treatments and bedding make this room elegant and cozy. A simple white bedding with wallpaper and accents of black are striking.

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Don't you want to just curl up here and read a good book?

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                                                 Nate Berkus
This is one of my favorite rooms since I love a good gallery wall and the mix of fabrics.

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Books give any space a cozy feel and so does a rich dark color on the walls. The rug ties all the colors together too.

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I love old homes and their beauty and charm. This one has plenty of molding details and a classic black and white checked floor.

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Plate walls have such a simple, elegant feel to them.

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Who doesn't love a hutch that shows things we love and use?

All these rooms bring in romantic:
Elements of nature (i.e flowers, greenery, shells),
Mix of fabrics
Eclectic lighting
Collections and art. 
Putting all these elements together can help any room feel more cozy and happy. I know I'm more inspired to create more of a romantic look in my home. I hope you have a lovely weekend with your valentines.