Your time in life can determine your style

Happy Friday!

Every once in a while, as I am decorating our apartment, I get torn between two styles, my apartment style I need to have now and the home style I can’t have until I have a home. Right now my life is in a 450 square foot box. It is clean and built well, but the finishings. . . well, there are none.  We don’t feel stuffed, but my style has needed to be adjusted. Furniture pieces are smaller, not as chunky, and there is a huge lack of windows. 

I've made the layout ideal though. Most people push their couches to the wall and leave a big open space in their living room. I’ve been able to shrink a normal house layout into a small apartment by placing the couch in the middle of the room facing the wall with the tv. The dining room table is on the opposite wall and there is plenty of space for floor lamps, a coffee table and walking traffic. It doesn’t feel cramped and looks great!

But every so often, I pine for that white or grey comfy sofa that would be perfect for lounging instead of our tough small blue sofa or a gorgeous circle coffee table instead of our tiny Ikea coffee table. These photos are so light and clean and the furniture picks are absolutely classy and fresh.

 Pictures via here

 Oh, what I would give for those comfy and classy looking chairs and sofa. Those windows are to die for and that chest of drawers with that huge, but perfectly sized sunburst mirror. I'm in love.

A New Project

My husband and I are going out for a bit of a celebration tonight. Today he got a new job and gave notice to his old one. It was a great job, but he was looking for a change. So, please excuse me while we go have some fun, but before I go I wanted to show you a project in the near future.

I'm taking on these Ikat curtains that Amber made over at Amber Interior Design. Aren't they beautiful? I'm not a fan of the $60 stencil pricetag, but I am going to attempt making my own. We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!

DIY Table Runner

I did this project back in January during the Super Bowl. I wasn't super impressed with any fabrics I was running into a while ago and so I decided to make my own table runner. I took some white fabric that I had left over, used some heat bonding strips to "hem" the edges and then I went to work.

I decided on a lattice pattern. All I did was grab my masking tape and started taping. After I was full on food the Super Bowl had little appeal for me. After the taping was done I tried the runner out on our dining table. I purposely did not want the ends hanging off so low.

The next night I got to spray painting. I am not sure if it was because I had not washed the fabric, but most of the spray paint bounced off the fabric and I ended up with a thin coat of blue paint on every surface. Fortunately it washed right off, but not before my husband found blue on the bottom of his feet. Lesson learned.

 After taking the project outside to finish I ended up with this.

 I was pretty please.

Our new addition to the Living Room

Late late lastnight my husband and I purchased a lamp for our console table. 

This lamp

It had gone on sale, only $5 cheaper, but I told myself it was a sign. Like all design purchases I make, I told my husband all the reasons why this was a good purchase. It’s pretty much to make me feel better but I pretend it is just to show him that I’ve thought this purchase through and not wasting money even though he already knows I’ve thought it through because I’ve been talking about it for the last three days.

My biggest pull for this item was that I don’t mind DIYs and even find pride in them, but sometimes it is worth spending the $35 on a brand new lamp instead of taking the same amount of time and money to redo an old lamp to make it look new.

 Imagine two pictures hanging to the right of the lamp and the console table filled with colorful accessories, 

filled picture frames and a small plant names Herbert.

So, our slate blue little man will be donning the newly assembled console table in the corner of the room. There is currently a mock lamp in its soon to be home just to give us an idea of what it will look like. Having that extra source of light has already brightened up our living room so much.

A Blue Glass Fancy

I saw these tumblers online the other day and knew the green one had to be mine.

Pier 1

 

I picked up just one, I would have bought 4, but I have no more room in my dishes cupboard. My husband and I walked to the counter and the man ringing us up said, "You can buy more if you'd like. I can go in the back and get more."

I thankfully said no, but he was still confused. "Why would you need only one glass?"

He found it odd that I would want to use it as a mini vase, but I walked happily out to the car with my tumbler in hand.

The whole way home I would hold it up in the car window and tell my husband to look at how pretty the glass looked with the light shining through it. He know mocks me when he sees it, by saying how pretty the glass looks and how it is such a gorgeous glass.

NOW. . .

Blue glass is another favorite of mine. I am now deciding which blue glass object I should stick on out new console table that we assembled this weekend (pictures to come later). So, here are the blues I am looking at

Not necessarily blue glass, but the blue is what I am liking here.

West Elm

Furbish

West Elm

Here is the glass part of what I am talking about. These are great options for vases, plant holders or just for looks. I am partial to things that offer function though, instead of JUST style. 

West Elm

Ikea

Ikea

Ikea

I'm searching for a lamp for the console table so this would be killing two birds with one stone. I would like to change the shade out though to something more neutral.

  

Ikea

I'm actually leaning towards the blue tumblers or the pure glass vases from West Elm, but that blue bubbled plant holder from Ikea might be my easiest bet. Those bubbles inside the glass are really getting me. I want to put it in front of a window with pink or yellow tulips.

My Sunburst Mirror Find

I have been pining over the gorgeous array of sunburst mirrors that have filled so many beautiful rooms over the last little while and the prices has always been just as grand.

I considered attempting the many DIYs that are out there right now, but, before I could buy the supplies, Target came to the rescue. Insert awesome enough mirror here:

This little puppy costing $24.99. I called my husband from work, explained how much money and project time it would save me AND HIM and he was sold.

It was not gold as had been claimed online, but a couple coats of Gold Krylon spray paint and my mirror was here.

This is the. . .

Before:

 And the. . .

After:

(Please excuse the masking tape that is our future headboard)

I was afraid to post the current after picture because right now I know that the mirror looks too tiny for the space, especially after seeing those chunky Ikea pictures frames in the before, but once our headboard is built and we get our new side table lamps, I'm sure it will all look proportionate and stylish.

Worse comes to worse, I can make one of those beefier DIY sunburst mirrors or the Ikea picture frames can go back up. I've already have thought of two other places I would love my new mirror to go.

My perfect room I wouldn't have picked

This weekend took too long to get here. I am off to enjoy the gorgeous spring weather that I hope is here to stay. My husband and I are getting together with family to watch this. Before I leave, though, I wanted to show you my perfect room.


The first time I saw this room I was in love.

Let me know if you know the source for this photo. I'm sorry that I can't remember.

I don't think I would have designed it up in my head for myself, but once I saw it it made sense. A floor to ceiling one whole wall window equals my insane love for natural light. I love the spacious feel while still having stocked bookshelves, plenty of seating. It's a filled room, but so airy at the same time. I am a sucker for organization and straight lines and this room keeps with the clutter free, organized, crisp feel while still looking lived in.

It is easy for me to see myself sitting on that couch reading a book or, my favorite thought, chasing a couple of happily screaming children from the kitchen to the bedroom sliding on those hardwood floors.

My life fits into that picture and that's how design should be. You shouldn't design or have someone design a home you think others expect you to have or in order to look like everyone else. You should design a room that fits your life. Design just cleans it up and makes it look good :)