Baby Stylings

We are purchasing a crib this week along with a stroller and car seat. We are very aware that, with the countdown at 26 days, we are cutting it pretty darn close. In my search over the last few months I have either found super pricey or very inexpensive cribs. I will have to check on the durability of the cribs I have selected below before buying, because they are the cheapos, but these are the cribs I am considering.

 DaVinci Jenny Lind 3-in-1

 Baby Mod- Olivia 3 in 1

Baby Mod- Modena 3 in 1
(This is actually the Babyletto Hudson, but I couldn't find it being sold anywhere)

Graco- Sarah Classic 4 in 1

I think the Olivia is out of the running because of the natural wood color on the bottom. I'm looking to keep all the baby furniture white. So, out of the other three cribs, which one do you think I should purchase?

images 1/2/3/4

Mixing and Matching Fabrics

I received a few comments asking what fabric I used on my cane back chairs. I purchased it at Fabric.com, but they no longer sell the fabric. It was called Phillip Jacobs English Rose Lavender and it wasn't more than $6 a yard.

While searching their website I did find a few fun fabrics that would be great for mix and matching as throw pillows as well as reupholstering small furniture pieces. I believe only two of these fabrics was over $9!

When mixing and matching fabrics you do exactly that, mix and match.

• Pick 2 or 3 different colors you want to accent your room with

• Put solids and patterns together like florals and geometric shapes in order to get away from only solid colors

• Also, throwing a wild card fabric in works a lot of the time too

row 1: Differing shades of floral purples and a grey geometric pattern

row 2: Shades of blue and another grey geometric pattern

Throwing solid pillows into each of these mixes works great too!

row 1: These fabrics are very matchy matchy, but you already have your colors, white, pink and navy blue. Using similar colors in an abstract pattern would really complete the look. Or go super classy looking and throw in a solid dark blue fabric. This would create a crisp clean look in our room while still bringing in pops of color.

row 2: Here is matchy matchy again. Perhaps pair opposites by using the light and dark turquoise swirly fabric with the pink elephants. These fabrics placed on a neutral colored couch would really add some interest.

row 1: I see these fabrics maybe being used in a bedroom, young or old. I think by now you are getting the look we are going for here. A couple different colors tied together with similar and contrasting patterns.

row 2: This is more of the wild card pick. I love solid coral and then you have a geometric pattern and florals. All have some shade of pink in them, but they really just kind of do their own thing. Risky can be a good thing!

Living Space Transformation: Dark to Light

Our apartment feels too dark to me. No matter how many colored pillows I throw onto our sofa or pieces of art on the wall, the dark carpet and large dark furniture pieces really ugg up the space. For months I have been bouncing around ideas of giving our ikea malm dresser, which serves as our entertainment center, a facelift.

Now, I've seen some great "hacks" of these dressers, but I can't bring myself to glam up this piece too much. I don't really want it to stand out, but become more of a classic neutral piece that looks good, but mostly serves it's purpose of holding our tv and our stash of dvds, games, etc.

Enter my most favorite idea. . .

images

In addition, in order to tie my natural wood cane back chairs in with our living space a bit better I am thinking of covering them in this fabric. I do not want to paint the gorgeous wood and I figure black and white fabric will tie into the overall room quite well and then I can add a splash of color with some awesome colored throw pillows.

What do you think? Do the drawers pop too much? Am I headed in the completely opposite and wrong direction with such a stark look? Any ideas would be most helpful.

A Bit Overwhelmed

image
 The past few days I have been waking up very stressed about the next few days and the next few weeks which will end in the great finale of the arrival of our Baby Girl. I pinned this bedroom this morning when I found myself staring at it for a good 10 minutes wishing I was there and it were mine. 

Beautiful.

My Apartment on Made By Girl

Today I am over at Made By Girl sharing my loves and ughs of renting. Go here to check it out and to get a look at my apartment. I've made quite a few changes since these photos were taken and I'm excited to show you those updates soon!

The Space Between

I haven't given a tour of our little apartment yet because it feels so incomplete that I just keep thinking I will show it off when it is done. We all know that will never happen!

However, here is a small change I made just before I left for Pittsburgh. In between our window and television there is a large space of white wall. I have disliked it a lot only because I love symmetry and on the other side of the TV is are some oddly placed built in shelves. They are ugly!

Say hi to the empty wall space

So, for a while I toyed with the idea of creating a piece of large art to add color to a blank space but never felt certain about the idea. The other night I decided to change some stuff around the apartment, going $Free.99 is always a good way to start a design idea. Always look at what you have first and see what you can use. I decided to disassemble our entryway gallery wall (I've never really loved the entryway since I threw it together just to have it done).

I took some paper, cut the exact size of my frames and started playing with them. 

Here is where we landed. The top frame has a Monet (my favorite artist) print that I picked up in Paris while studying in London and the bottom photo is of our wedding day. Once we get a bigger picture I will swap it out, but I love the overall look. Not too much color, but the look is simple and clean which is always a good way to go.

Again, sorry for not showing a larger view of the room, but hopefully that will be coming in the next couple of weeks. 

Happy Friday!

Good Taste plus Patience

After 2 1/2 unexpected weeks in Pittsburgh I am back in Chicago with my wonderful husband and couldn't be happier. My sister had her beautiful baby boy and his 4 brothers think he is the coolest little guy.

Coming back means I have to face the many design projects that are laying around our apartment. With the arrival of Baby Girl in 6 1/2 weeks and the hope of a move to a larger apartment shortly after, I really need to get my butt in gear.

I spotted this quote on The Decorista quite a while ago, but it continues to bring me so much comfort and the confidence needed to keep up with decorating our apartment and also staying positive about many long term goals of mine.