Changes to the living room

Outdoors In

Hinson Martinique wallpaper

I believe I got this pic from Houzz.com

M Design Studio via Shelter

O Interior Design

No new posts...

I'm working on a ton of stuff to post, so stay tuned. Haha. Sorry for the long wait. In the meantime... a picture from Vegas, because I love the framed vintage photos, and I strongly believe that pictures from decades past bring real character to a home. (FYI, the best pasta is at a little restaurant hidden in the Venetian shopping area, but I can't recall the name.)

And a picture in which there is an extra large sheepskin on the bed (which I would LOVE on my own bed).

http://heightsoffashion.typepad.com/

New for Spring

Ah, just got the most beautiful tablecloth and table runner with my birthday money, and the husband finally hung up my painting. I love lavender right now.

Very Attainable

We've all heard it at some point: "Sometimes less is more." I agree. Sometimes, simple really is better. There are those who master the cluttered look so that it does not look cluttered at all, and others who have a lot of stuff in their space because they can afford it. For some us of, our spaces are simple not by choice, but because we can't afford to buy the things we would like. So how do we make it look like that's the style we intended to have? We wanted it to look simple and slightly empty? One of those things is, as I've mentioned before, using furniture, blankets, art, books, etc that were handed down from family, bought at garage sales, antique stores or even picked up out of the trash. Another way is to set your mind on "simple" and "cheap." Take a look at this picture, below, to see what I mean.

bohemian hunter

I can make up a story on how this room ended up looking the way it does in the picture. This house (and remember, I'm using my imagination) had those brown paneled walls from the 60s and 70s, ugly carpet, no crown moulding. The new owner ripped up the carpet, saw wood floors underneath, refinished them, and painted the walls white, adding a strip of simple crown moulding. Can you see the dramatic difference already? Next, they found an old iron bedframe at an antique store for one tenth of the price of the bed they saw in a magazine, painted it white, and found a side table to use as a nightstand at the garage sale down the street. Their parents gave them an old cabinet they no longer wanted, which was also painted to make it look new, and then a broken three leg table was later pulled out of someone's trash. The person used artwork from a different garage sale and bedding from their grandmother. With a little love, the room ended up looking like this. All in all it cost about $400 to make it look like this, but the money was spent over a period of time. Now, I have no idea what the real story of this room is, but I thought it would be the perfect example to show how you can make a beautiful room on short cash and a little patience.

Furniture the Cheap Way

I really hate looking online or in magazines for furniture because it always ends up being so expensive (yet somehow you try to justify buying it because it is so pretty). Out of all the people I know, probably only two can afford to buy a $1,000 wingback chair or a $400 side table, and even so, it just isn't practical. Not many people act on the alternative way to buy new furniture - antique stores, fleas, and garage sales...even dumpster diving. While I got most of my furniture from my mom after she moved and restocked her new house, I do have a few pieces from antique stores and friends basements. One was a simple, outdated wood kitchen table chair that had been painted pale yellow. $18, and it will be the perfect desk chair. Another is my friend's laundry hamper that used to be white and clean (and had turned yellowy and faded) but with a fresh coat of paint and fabric over the top, it will look brand new again.

Another thing I noticed is how many stores offer vintage or antique looking pieces, and so many people search for things that look this way, but no one seems to hunt for them used. Everyone wants new, new, new.

Anyway, I thought I'd share a couple pictures of my backyard this winter.

Thank You!

Thanks everyone for 20,000 pageviews! I would love to hear from you, so tell me what you like, what you don't like, and stuff you'd like to see here in the future.

Red bedroom roundup for your viewing pleasure:

Belle Maison

Decorology

Habitually Chic flikr

Room Envy via Maison Boheme

Kohler

Domino

http://www.genuinestyle.net/

source unknown

Campagne Decoration via Cote de Texas

Montelle Totah

Eclectic Revisited

Some online magazine (Sorry, I forgot)

Alistair Nicholls

I believe this is from Decorpad

source unknown, some magazine

Wishlist

My birthday is around the corner, so I thought I'd share some of the stuff on my wishlist (always pretty to look at)...

In love with these ASOS shoes and thigh high socks! The shoes would be a plus for work.

Shoes: http://us.asos.com/ASOS-PICKLE-Heart-Print-Platform-Mary-Jane-Shoe/x34tm/?iid=1782614&cid=4172&Rf-300=1902&sh=0&pge=1&pgesize=200&sort=-1&clr=Blackwhite&mporgp=L0FTT1MvQVNPUy1QSUNLTEUtSGVhcnQtUHJpbnQtUGxhdGZvcm0tTWFyeS1KYW5lLVNob2UvUHJvZC8.

Socks: http://us.asos.com/ASOS-Wool-Cable-Over-The-Knee-Socks/x0zkb/?iid=1749542&cid=7657&Rf900=1578&sh=0&pge=0&pgesize=20&sort=-1&clr=Grey&mporgp=L0FTT1MvQVNPUy1Xb29sLUNhYmxlLU92ZXItVGhlLUtuZWUtU29ja3MvUHJvZC8.

This would be a great spring/summer skirt with colorful heels.

http://us.asos.com/ASOS-Maxi-Skirt-in-Color-Block/xig6m/?iid=1884618&cid=2639&sh=0&pge=0&pgesize=200&sort=-1&clr=Grey%2flimeaide&mporgp=L0FTT1MvQVNPUy1NYXhpLVNraXJ0LWluLUNvbG91ci1CbG9jay9Qcm9kLw..

And this entire outfit, head to toe. I used to have the most amazing hat and then my mother's car swallowed it, never to be seen again.

Sweater: http://us.asos.com/ASOS-Knit-Sweater-Skirt-Dress/wvob5/?iid=1702345&cid=2637&Rf-300=1920&sh=0&pge=0&pgesize=200&sort=-1&clr=Grey&mporgp=L0FTT1MvQVNPUy1Lbml0LUp1bXBlci1Ta2lydC1EcmVzcy9Qcm9kLw..

Boots: http://us.asos.com/ASOS-ALEXA-Chunky-Lace-Up-Leather-Ankle-Boot/wb22s/?iid=1590151&cid=4172&Rf900=1447&Rf-200=4&sh=0&pge=0&pgesize=200&sort=-1&clr=Black&mporgp=L0FTT1MvQVNPUy1BTEVYQS1DaHVua3ktTGFjZS1VcC1MZWF0aGVyLUFua2xlLUJvb3QvUHJvZC8.

Even though these Frye boots are much better (therefore more expensive)

http://www.zappos.com/frye-vera-hiker-chocolate-soft-tumbled-leather-shearling?zlfid=111&recoName=zap_pdp_sub

And last but not least, a Breville juicer for my effort to "go green"

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?sku=13687110&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=shopping

Valentine's Day

Hope you all had a nice, romantic Valentine's Day. I sure did. Check out how my day went... nice dinner, roses and a teddy bear, followed by a movie and much needed cuddle time. Now, if only the cats would stop eating the roses.

By the way, I am a strong believer that all you need for a pretty dining room is a nice tablecloth, a chandelier, and a centerpiece of some kind. In this case I have roses, but normally I have a fruit bowl.

Pinterest

Let me tell you...don't visit Pinterest. You'll go on it Friday, and before you know it, it's Saturday night. Your computer will send you a message saying there's no room left on your hard drive. It's addictive. Obviously that's how my weekend went, but I did find the lovely http://kikis-list.blogspot.com, images below.