Thinking Spring!

It's a cold, rainy, and somewhat snowy day here in Oregon on this last day of February. I'm ready for a little Spring in my life and it looks as though it's not going to happen outside any time soon. Of course we all know that it can happen indoors any time we want it to. This small vignette is just enough to give me the small touch of sunshine that I'm longing for about now. I had these daffodils from last year that I plunked into one of my favorite vases. I put some "moss rocks" from Walmart ($3.00 for a bag) into a cute bowl. Added my favorite birds and a little nest with eggs. It's so simple to create a little spring in your home! This will have to do me for now~

I'm working on several projects right now but they are still a work in progress. Stay tuned and I'll share them soon!

A Redesign of my own!

It comes as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I really like to rearrange my furniture. That's why I even surprised myself that I actually left it the same way for a year and a half! To me, arranging furniture is much more than scooting things around until they look good. It all has to make sense. The sofas need to face the focal point of the room. If you're going to watch TV in the room then that's certainly going to be part of the focal point. The furniture needs to be placed in a way that allows good conversation when visiting. There needs to be adequate lighting, spaced out in a way that not only compliments the room but has each sitting area well lit to be able to read by, sew, or whatever. I also like to make sure that there is a place to sit a drink or a plate no matter where you're sitting. It's important to my husband to have a place to prop his legs up on an ottoman. In this case, I was able to relocate the armoire that holds our TV because we have a cable outlet on both sides of the room. This is something to consider as you think about rearranging. If you want to move your TV and you don't have a cable outlet in another area, you need to consider if it's worth having a new one installed.
Ok, so those are the basics but after taking all of that into consideration, I want it to also look welcoming, pleasing to the eye, and most importantly for there to be PLENTY of space for my grandbabies to play and scatter their toys around!

(Click picture to enlarge)



Two more views

So on the day that I finally talked myself into making the change (didn't have to talk too hard), I decided that I was going to do an actual Redesign the same way that I do for my clients. The first thing I do is look around and consider all the options with all of the qualities above being considered. In this case, since it was my home, I drew it up on the designer program that I design house plans with (you can see it sitting on my sofa in my pictures above). It allowed me to know that things would definitely fit the way that I planned before I started moving stuff. (I don't typically do this part with clients since most of the jobs I do are done the same day and I want to save time by getting started).



First I clear the room of almost everything, furniture, artwork and accessories. Even though this is a lot of work, I find that it allows me to accomplish a whole new look more easily by giving me a clean slate to work with. After I cleared everything out, I rolled up my rug and gave the floor a much needed mopping!



I put it back together piece by piece.


Lucy wanted to be in the picture




Here's an easy idea for a vignette. I needed some height behind my sofa, and the table that I had to place back there wasn't quite tall enough. I put a box on top of the table and covered it with a throw (it's actually an inexpensive curtain panel that I got at Ross and it works great for draping over things).


When I accessorize a bookshelf, I like to start by placing the larger items on the shelves first. Then I fill in with smaller accessories and books. I guess it's safe to say that in this case, it's not as much of a bookcase as it is an area for display!

It's fun to change things around even when you don't necessarily dislike the way it was before but you're just ready for something different. I'm enjoying the change! This might even last longer than a year and a half, although my family doesn't believe me when I say that!

Finally~ A bedspread that fits!

I'm not sure if my mattress is extra thick or what the problem is, but I've always gotten frustrated that any bedspread or comforter that I use is too short to cover the sides of my bed. I knew that it would especially be a problem when I recently found a quilt that I wanted and it was only available in a Queen size. It was the print that I wanted and most definitely the price that I wanted to pay, (thank you, Ross!) so my plan was to take it home and make something work.
Here's what I did. I measured the length of the quilt and then headed out to Joanne Fabrics to find some plain black fabric. Since most fabrics are at least 45" wide, I knew that I would only need 2 1/2 yards for the 90" of length that I needed. What I hadn't even anticipated was the fact that the edges were already finished, which was a bonus since I was determined to make this a "no sew" project. I just cut the fabric in half, turned the quilt over and used this amazing discovery that I found. Sewing with a tube? Who knew this amazing stuff existed? Well, I didn't before now but you'd better believe that I'll be getting some more of this stuff! All you do is squeeze it out, run your finger across it and place the other fabric that you're attaching to it on top. Just run your finger across it to seal it. Could this have been any simpler?




I really love the way the the quilt has a scalloped edge, so by placing the fabric underneath it, I think it looks like it was made that way. That's what I'm telling myself anyways!
Such a simple solution! Why did it take me so many years of frustration to figure this one out?

~ New room for a 9 year old boy ~

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to help a family by turning their son's bedroom into a "big boy room". Blane is a sweet boy who has many collections from sports cards to sea shells.
(Click on picture to enlarge)

He wanted to have a room that was organized and looked more grown up. The first visit to this client's home consisted of sorting things into collections, a donate pile, things to sell and things to throw away. We cleared out the room so that the family could paint and get new carpet. They had already picked out new bedding so we knew what colors to work with. Blane really liked the blue color that was in his new comforter. I suggested that he consider painting just one wall that great blue color so that the small room didn't feel too dark. We chose Sherwin Williams Great Falls # 6495 for the aqua blue. Network Gray # 7073 was the perfect gray to compliment his bedding without darkening the room too much.

We discussed the items that he wanted to keep in his room and what would need to be added. After "shopping" the house of any items that they already owned, we made a list of things that they would need to purchase. When I left, they also had a list of things to get accomplished before I came back to put the room together. It was amazing how they got everything finished in just one week! They sold the old water bed on craigslist, changed out the carpet, and painted walls and some furniture.
The day I came back to put it together, Blane came home from school so excited to be getting his new room, finally! He and his Mom did some last minute shopping to get his mattress and a few more items while I worked on getting things placed around the room and things hung on the walls.

(Ally wanted to be in the picture)!
I talked to Blane about a couple of different options for where he might want to have his bed placed. He decided he'd like for it to be under the window. The table to the left of his bed is where his TV will sit, so this allows for he and his friends to sit on the bed to play his video games. I hung his shelves on the blue wall to stand out and showcase his collections. Along with painting the walls, I suggested they paint the shelves black to coordinate better with his new items. He also got a new decorative storage unit to hold toys and legos (although I probably picked up enough legos originally to fill up 3 of the baskets)!
(Click on picture to enlarge)


(Blane and Ally)

Kids rooms are so much fun, especially when they enjoy the process and are excited about the changes. I hope that Blane will be happy in his room for many years to come!

~ Jewelry display ~

One day recently, I walked into my local Salvation Army on a 1/2 price sale day. As I walked up and down the isles, this is what caught my eye.

Remember these? I believe you can hang your wall calendar in them. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with it, but at $4.99 regular price, making it $2.50 on sale, I knew it was going home with me.
I decided that this would make the cutest jewelry display for the little Princesses in my life. Here's how to make one of your own.
1. Pull the board off the back and and paint the frame. In this case it took 3 coats of cream paint. I would have spray painted it but I had ran out of Ivory, so I hand painted it.
2. Iron the fabric you choose and attach it onto the board. At this point I would recommend spraying the board with a spray adhesive. I didn't do this but wish I would have. It would allow the fabric to lay down smoother. Place the fabric, right side down, and put the board on top. Super glue around all the edges. Add ribbon at this point if you want to and glue it as well. Cover the edges of the fabric with duct tape to hold it all in place

3. I used these little key holders because they're flat on the back and I didn't want to worry about screwing any screws through the board. I put wall putty in the holes where you would normally attach these to the wall. After letting that dry, give them a light sanding to smooth it out. Spray paint (I used "Ballet Slipper" from Krylon)

4. Attach the board onto the frame using hot glue.
5. Screw on hanging hardware if it's not already on the frame.

6. Turn over and glue the hooks and any other items you want to add.

I'll be keeping my eyes out for another one of these! I'd like to make one for my own jewelry!

Now Starring...

This past Christmas I was trying to come up with something fun for my husband and I to make for our Grandbabies. We were watching our funds but still wanted to figure out something that would provide them with years of fun. I thought about how much they love to put on shows for us (or anyone who is willing to watch). They love to sing and dance, what child doesn't? I thought about how they would love a stage to perform on. First off I needed to get both of our daughter's permission to add such a large addition to their homes. Yes, as much as I was looking forward to making these, there was no way that I was going to find room in our house for one. They both loved the idea and found the perfect spots for them. I drew a sketch on paper for my husband to figure out the materials needed to build the frame. Luckily he had some leftover lumber from one of the current homes that we're building. The most expensive part of the project was the indoor/outdoor carpet that we bought from Home Depot.
I had planned to take pictures of the whole process but my Christmas projects got out of hand this year and these stages were actually being finished up on Christmas Eve! If you're interested in building one, they're pretty self explanatory. Please send me a question if I didn't explain something well enough.
After my handyman (husband) built the base, he covered it with the carpet and used the staple gun to attach it. Meanwhile, I painted all of the wood black, except for the top board for the sign. The 2 x 4's to hold the sign were attached right to the base, over the carpet. We made sure to use a level to get them straight and used large wood screws to hold them in place. Then it was time to create the sign. I painted the whole board white. I took painters tape and taped an area all around the board to paint black. I used a level to make sure that I kept the line straight. After the paint dried, I positioned my stencils for the letters. After tracing them with a black sharpie marker, I painted the inside of them. I wanted their names to "pop" so I used red for those. Then I took a circle stencil, some yellow craft paint and a sponge brush and went around the black edge to create the "lights". After hanging the sign, we screwed a closet pole cut to size directly behind it. This is how I hung the curtains. I tied the curtains back but they can be left straight if they want to close them.

*Click on picture to enlarge*
Max is helping his Grampy put his together!

*Click on picture to enlarge*
I think it's even cuter when they're performing on it, don't you?

~2 room Redesign~

Today I had the opportunity to Redesign the Family room and Dining room of a nice family. They live in this beautiful home as a rental so changing the color of the walls isn't an option. They plan to live there awhile so their desire for the home is for it to feel warmer and more lived in. They hadn't hung many pictures since they had moved into the house.
In the family room, I pulled the sofa and love seat closer together to create an "L" shape, giving them a perfect view of the TV and beautiful fireplace. By moving the rocking chair to the opposite corner, it also creates a good setup for conversation. I took the available art pieces that were colorful and vibrant and incorporated them into this room. I created a grouping above the large sofa of their children's pictures. In the far corner of the room (to the right of the TV) I placed the families surf board and sled that had previously found it's home in the dining room. My goal for this room was to have it be warm and inviting and to say "family" as personal pictures and the family's hobby's are a focus of the decor.

*Click on picture to enlarge*



The husband used to live in Hong Kong so they've collected a beautiful assortment of Asian inspired art and decor. I brought the majority of these items into the dining room to allow them to showcase together. I placed the small buffet table on the opposite side of the room and hung a tapestry above it for warmth and texture. After placing the artwork, I removed the table cloth from the table and replaced it with a pretty square cloth that brought in some color but also allowed the wood from the table to show.

*Click on picture to enlarge*



This home was a fun project and it's my hope and desire that the family will enjoy their "new" space!