The Bedroom

Bedding, Boho Stripe by Lush Decor. (Purchased on allmodern.com.) Throw pillows by Land of Pillows.
Dresser by Ikea. Rug is actually a bathmat from Target. Bed, I believe, was purchased by my parents at Big Lots.

Everything I know about giving home tours, I learned from MTV Cribs. If I were to keep with the tradition of using what I learned there, this would prompt me to label this room as the place "...where all the magic happens."

Although, drooling on my pillow for not enough hours a night, only to be awaken to a fuzzy feline gnawing on my arm, would hardly seem magical to most... so, let me just welcome you to my "bedroom". The Room containing The Bed. Period.

The "magic" also involves Netflix and cat gymnastics.

It's a very comfortable bed, however. Cheerfully donated by my parents from their guest room when they downsized. Which leads us to my other affectionate name for this room: "The place where leftover furniture goes to die." Yes, as in...

...everything that doesn't match the public spaces in the house, but is chock-full of stuff so it must stay somewhere for the time being. Old dressers, curtains and bookcases. File cabinets from my old place that I used leftover paint from the living room on, just so they feel that they somewhat fit in. Plus, as you see here, all the unpacked boxes from over nine months ago, that are pregnantly waiting to give birth.

It's not all bad, though. I inherited some artwork from my parent's downsize that fits right into the color scheme:

The extra dining chair also feels right at home here:

Chair by Target. Dresser, part of bed set from Big Lots.
Mirror painted in Annie Sloan's English Yellow.

My favorite thing about this room: The color!!! Salzburg Blue by Benjamin Moore to be exact:

(Fun Fact: This is also how I became so very good at karate.)

UP! DOWWWWNNNN!

And, I love the easy access to the Florida room! It's great in the warmer seasons and provides a good amount of natural light year-round:

What this room will be used for: I was planning on putting a home office in one corner here, but I've come to appreciate having a bedroom that's solely used for resting, for the first time in my life. Reading, sleeping, and dressing. The bedroom it stays! (I've even banned the laptop from here, which took some getting used to...)

What I'd still like to do with this space: Get rid of those boxes! And, decide on a furniture scheme that works for me. That "leftovers" corner of this room is totally impeding my sense of rest and needs to go! 

The Living Room

I gave a little bit of a living room teaser in a previous post. Well, it finally dawned on me to push some boxes out of the way, take some pictures and do things proper already.

I think the living room may be my favorite room in the house. I spend the most time in here (like, right this minute, even...) and every day I look at something in the living room that makes me smile.

Let's talk color!

I have two rules when it comes to picking colors for a room.

1. Pick colors you look good in. If you're not sure, think of your favorite outfit and literally go out shopping with those exact colors in mind. Use these staple hues in the large scale areas. (Wall color, curtains, upholstery, rugs, larger furniture and art pieces.) If these are the colors you feel best while wearing, that will translate into ambiance as well. (Not to mention, you will always photograph well in that room too!)
2. Accent with a color you love, but never get to wear because it looks hideous on you. Incorporating colors you've always longed for will give your space some extra zoom-zoom. (The only adjective that's coming to me at the moment...) Just like when dressing, I'll sneak these colors into small accessories, shoes or toenail polish. Even though it may not be a color I look good in, using it in smaller pops won't clash with any selfie-taking. (And, you know you're taking selfies in the living room. Let's be truthful!) 

But, you say you don't look bad in any color? Well, you can just keep that information to yourself, Miss Perfect! Pick another favorite color then and go back to your beauty sleep.

My good color is teal. I used it in an entire wall of curtains, pillows, throws, furniture accents and other accessories big and small. My living room doorwall also opens to the Florida Room, which is screaming teal at all times. Bring on that universally flattering color!

My color I look ugly in, but always wanted to decorate with, is yellow. I used it in lamps, picture frames, a chair, some art pieces and... oops... one of my largest pieces of furniture. It's okay, though. I toned it down with some antiquing wax so it won't bite my face if I accidentally bring the camera out over there.

Two solid colors are good any for basic interior design. But, that was a little basic-basic for me in my largest room.

I'm a bit of a color screamer, so I added lots of red into the mix as well. I personally prefer three main colors to a living space. 

Well... maybe more. 

Since, I had a bit of olive in my existing art mix, and I'm not shy of a fourth color if it's practically a neutral (in my world), I was planning on purchasing an adorable Strandmon chair from Ikea in a lovely shade of olive green. But then the fridge went kaput and robbed me of my wing chair funds. I ended up using green in my dining space, anyhow, which is open to the living room... so I guess that makes it a whoppin' FOUR big colors in the mix.

Do it if you dare! Your eyes will stop you once it's too much! Be brave and trust those eyeballs. (And, for the third and fourth colors, be sure to go back to those hues you look good in!)

To offset all this color mania, I made sure to use large amounts of neutrals in the backdrop to prevent major headaches in my relaxation space.

I went against my past design history and decided to leave almost all of my walls white. (A color I do not look good in.) I knew I'd be bringing in lots of color in the artwork, so it was alright. (Plus, I didn't want to end up having to wear sunglasses in my own home.)

When I was younger, I used to despise white walls. Then again, when I was much younger, I also had carpet the shade of Pepto-Bismol on my bedroom floor. Let's just say, I got over it. Baptism by Barbie-toned fire. I eventually learned to incorporate white, and you will not find a drop of pink in my home today! (Don't look at that stripe on the chevron pillow...)

My favorite thing about this room: Is it wrong to say "EVERYTHING!"?

What this room will be used for: Once again, EVERYTHING. I eat in here. I drink in here. I binge-watch in here. I fold laundry here. I catch up on social media here. I read right here. Sometimes I accidentally fall asleep in here.

 

Of course, this is also the place for quality kitty time.

What I'd still like to do with this space: Not much, really. Maybe eventually another end table and lamp to replace the floor lamp. And, who knows... maybe once the rest of these boxes are put away, I'll unearth the perfect place for that olive wing chair.

This room is chipmunk approved!

Bit 'n Pieces

dotandbo.com

I'm now at the stage where I don't have another completed room to share with you.

It's that odd limbo that happens between appliance deliveries, cable hookups, uHaul rentals and finishing up with a spackle and paint job.

I've spent the last two days supervising a carpet install, making lists, scheduling services and bringing lightweight bits and pieces out of storage, while waiting on my stronger-than-me helpers who are coming to my rescue later in the week.

All while nursing a pulled hip. (Don't ask! It's a non-juicy story whose setting can be found at Ikea.)

I've got carpet! (And, way too frizzy of hair to be posing for this...)
Carpet by Home Depot. They were incredible!

While I keep you waiting on the next room, here's some favorites of my "bits 'n pieces" that have made their way home, so far:

Hepburn graffiti print:

Canvas print purchased at Veramar Arts at ebay.com

I always thought that Holly Golightly could have been alot nicer to Cat, so this revenge piece has me completely enamored with it! 

The best part is, I hung it just so that when you stand facing my hallway, it looks like she's being dragged away to her doom.

Disclaimer: I absolutely love Audrey Hepburn.

I've got my towels back! 

Most towels from Target. T.P. too, if you're interested!

This is definitely the stage of the "little things". I've been using the same three borrowed towels for the past year, while mine set sat buried in storage. They're not new. They're the same ones I'd been using, wearing out, and replacing for the last decade or so. But, they're back! And, they're mine!!!

Living Room Curtains:

Patterned curtains from jcp.com
Sheer curtains from Kmart
Double curtain rod from Bed Bath Beyond
Cubed storage (that's not staying there) from Target
Chair from allmodern.com

I've been dying to add some privacy to my doorwall all week, but was waiting on the carpet to hang the curtains.

The day finally came to hang these pretty teal things up and whoops! As you can tell, I only had half as many panels needed to fill this 125 inch-wide space. Total user error on my part when ordering. And, they sat, undiscovered, in their shipping packaging for over a month before I bothered taking them out and having a look. The other half is on its way! (Thankfully, they still had this color and pattern in stock!)

Today, I also spent way too many hours running around town trying to find the perfect pair of plain white sheer panels for the curtain rod's second layer. Every store in town was super fancy with their patterned sheers, textured sheers, colored sheers, pre-crinkled sheers (why?!). But, I could not find a plain white pair in the entire metro area to save my life!

Finally, I just happened to drive past a Kmart store. (Yes. There's still at least one left in existence!) I thought, "Well, I'll kick myself if I don't stop in and later find out they had them." Sure enough, there they were. I got two 60 X 84" panels for $5.99 apiece. Score! 

New chairs:

Both chairs found at allmodern.com

Both purchased to be used at a desk (one in the bedroom, one in the living room.) But, I'm tempted to just place them in the epicenter of the joint to be stared at like the pieces of art that they are.

My favorite!

Disney wall:

Replications of vintage Disney posters
found at ebay.com

I hang prints of vintage Disney World and Disneyland advertising in my cubicle at work. I love them so much that I've always planned on buying more and having a feature wall in whatever place I ended up buying. (And, they're beyond inexpensive. We're talking $5-10 each! Then, I just used basic frames purchased at Michael's to hang them in.*)

These are in my dining room. Now that I've temporarily placed my favorite chair in there and snapped a photo, though, I'm tempted to turn the room into a library/office instead!

Alas, I already have a hand-me-down dining set that I'm committed to (and frightful of) refinishing. But, I will do the deed! The deed will be done!

And, I'll be sure to blog it once I've made a mess of things.

*If you're planning your own feature wall, be careful to check the poster sizes before piecing together your collection. Several different vendors sell these and I almost ended up with a couple that were and inch or two smaller than the rest of my set!

The Bathroom

Wrinkled rug. Doh! I have already failed at homemaking.

My bathroom cracks me up!  But, I guess it's okay to laugh in there. (Oooohhh... and I just said "crack" and "but(t)" right off the bat in my bathroom post.)

I didn't have to do much in here, which is why it's already pretty much done a mere two days after closing.

When it comes to bathrooms, white is right! (I just wish a little more whiteness on that tile floor in there. Here, bleach! Come 'ere, boy...")

Soap dispenser and trash can from Target
Bath mat by Ikea

I actually touched this room first on closing day. The previous owner had already installed this fine-by-me sink and cabinet. So, all I had to do was bring some soft soap and artwork into the mix.

Oh, why does my bathroom crack me up, you ask?

Well that leads us right into my favorite thing:

"Bat Brush" and "Cat Brush" by Greg Guillemin. Purchased at iCanvas.com

Moonrise Kingdom poster purchased at ParadoxParade on etsy.com.

White frame from Michael's Arts and Crafts

My favorite thing about this room: The artwork! It's fun, it's me, and it happened to come in the colors I wanted for this room. Moonrise Kingdom is one of my top ten favorite movies, which is why I initially chose the print on the wall opposite our Gotham heroes. The reason I'm laughing is because I placed that poster directly above the place in which many moons will be rising. *wink, wink. nudge, nudge.*

What this room will be use for: Duh! And, probably also several impromptu fights with Cat Woman over toothpaste and our main squeeze.

What I'd still like to do with this space: Bleach those floors! Possibly remove the glass shower doors. I've never been a fan, but I'm also kind of starting to like the airy lightness they provide in this all-white space. We'll revisit that topic once I've actually showered in there. Also, the counter space will soon be cluttered with way too many products once I've officially moved in.

That's all for now. Keep it fresh and clean out there!

Designing From Afar

If you've been keeping up with this blog, you may have come to wonder how it is that I've been home shopping with accuracy, when most of my belongings have been in storage for a year now. And, how on earth I've managed to be designing for a piece of real estate in which I don't yet have the keys?!

Two words: Pinterest and Fotor.

If you're not familiar with the website, Pinterest, get off your lazy keister and check it out. (Actually, you'd be perfectly safe attempting this while staying on your lazy keister. As a matter of fact, some might argue that your keister will become even lazier once discovering the site... but, I digress.)

Pinterest is a photo-sharing site in which you can develop virtual inspiration boards about anything your little heart desires. It's usually used for sharing hilarious memes, inspirational quotes, pop culture references, fashion ideas, recipes and the like.

But, I've also found it handy for piecing together home decor ideas as I was leading up to my home purchase. 

I created a private board to save every piece of artwork, furniture and DIY idea I thought I might be interested in purchasing or using because---let's face it---if I don't pin it now, I'm never going to remember where I saw it later!

Then, comes in my favorite photo app, Fotor. (You can use any app of your choosing that has a collage feature.)

I had already uploaded pictures of my existing furniture, artwork and recently acquired goods. I then grouped these pictures into a separate collage for each room that I'm working on.

I've always designed any room that I'm decorating around the artwork. If you have art pieces that you love and you place them into a room you want to spend time in, you already have a built-in color palette! This simplifies matters significantly and this method has never done me wrong.

I'm moving into a mid-century building. So, I was excited at the chance to mix some modern and pop art into my existing collection of vintage advertising, Norman Rockwell and Edward Hopper pieces.

Next, I made a collage of the existing prints that I already own and slid in images of pieces that I might want to add to my collection. Seeing them grouped together in one place gave me the opportunity to slide them back out if it turned out a piece clashed with my working color story. (Which means, sorry to Banksy's "Yankee Stadium Tiger". You just didn't fit!) Planning ahead in this way is priceless in the form of not having to make returns on regretted purchases.

From there, I ordered what I needed and had a completed collage for that room. (Above, is the collection of what will be my living room art.)

Now that I have my color story, I can start adding in pictures of furniture pieces, before purchasing, to make sure the picture in my head makes sense in real life.

This is also handy in having one place to hold up carpet and paint samples to before making huge and regretful purchases.

Well, that's how I'm pulling things off! I'm not the type to want to sit around with an empty floor plan and bare walls on move-in day, so I think I'm off to a healthy start.

I'm sure I have boxes of extra artwork in my storage unit that I've forgotten to include, but I haven't even started on the bedroom or kitchen yet, so they'll find their place.

The countdown now stands at 3 weeks and 6 days. I'm sure you'll be hearing from me again soon!

Now, You Shall Wait... And Shop!

Today is exactly one month 'til my closing date.  Tick tock, tick tock...

My bid was accepted. My inspection and appraisal have been completed. My loan documents are all in order. I'm now at the stage where a team of underwriters, whom I have never met, sift through my personal business and scrutinize every financial decision I have made as of late. But, I am assured by my mortgage officer that my situation is a no-brainer of one and I have nothing to worry about.

Basically, this means that I have now reached the point where it's finally safe to go shopping!

I've had my whole design plan in my head for months. I had mentally committed to colors, layouts and furniture design before even setting foot in a store.

It's been both exhilarating and overwhelming. Especially once I've come to realize that not everything I am looking for actually exists. (I may soon be found Googling "how to forge your own curtain rod".)

This was the mood swing I encountered after today's trip to Home Depot:

Carpet stress aside; I did manage to procure two ceiling fans, a spray paint nozzle (but not the actual spray paint) and some face masks intended equally for assistance in said spray-painting and for looking hilariously creepy in future blog posts.

I'm also learning alot about myself during these trips.

First off, for being someone who has always thought of herself as a "planner", I'm awfully impulsive!

I almost snatched up this TV console solely on the grounds that it's the same shade of yellow as two pieces of artwork I own and because it was shiny. (Am I part pigeon now? What is up?!) 

Is anything else I own shiny? No. Is it the right size for the space I'm filling? No. Was I even looking for a TV console today? No. But, oooh, it has customized DVD storage!

Ikea fever. That's the only explanation.

Of course, most of the furniture pieces I fall in love (lust?) with in stores are the pieces that I'm not even shopping for. I have a running mental dialogue that sounds something like, "You already have three bookcases! Step away from the headboards! You're refinishing your dining set, don't even look at those tables!" on a constant loop.

I may have found a couch, though, which actually was on the mission list. I just can't purchase it yet, due to lack of storage space and lack of keys to my future home.

It looks like this:

And, speaking as someone who's 25% Swedish... I can't say I understand if this is some strange Nordic stereotype pictured in the ad. I am equally offended for my kind and jealous that I'm lacking in the Swedish sex appeal of the hot momma pictured on the right.

Either way, it's fun to finally allow myself to touch the savings I'd been hoarding all these years. And, no matter how exhausting home shopping can be... 

...at least there will always be a home-cooked meal waiting for me at Ikea.