I Could Practically Live Here

There's this segment on a popular blog called Design Sponge that was called Living In and it was an ongoing post type that revolved around a certain style of a certain movie. It dissects the clothing and sets of a certain movie and they found coordinating products that fit in with the style of that film. Pretty cool. 

Here's some awesome ones: Living In: Cruel Intentions, Living In: That Thing You Do!, Living In: You've Got Mail, Living In: Downton Abbey, Living In: Rear Window, and this one especially Living In: The Secret Garden (I would have jumped into that movie so quickly when I was younger if I could've! Who wouldn't want to live in a huge house with a million rooms and discover strange keys that unlock new places on the grounds and turn it into the most beautiful garden ever? But, I digress.)  

If there's one film that I could jump into and just live there, I'm pretty sure Practical Magic would be at the top of the list. 

Here's one awesome thing: it was filmed on Whidbey Island which is a little ferry ride away across the water! I can go and tour Coupeville where they filmed the town scenes! 

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Why would I want to live in this film? Look at that house! The film's setting is what really made me fall in love with it. I love the story too, of course, because it's filled with witches and magic but the setting is just gorgeous. Unfortunately the house pictured above was just a shell for outdoor scenes and was torn down after filming. :( Boo. 

I want to sit at a rustic table outside in my garden in a huge hat!

I think the set designer did a beautiful job of making the interiors look antique, worn, and collected without looking too old or stuffy. It looks very lived-in and comfortable. 

This attic! How cool is this huge attic?!

The kitchen is an ideal blend of clean, white cabinets and tiles and a worn, farmhouse feel. 

I wish this were a real house! It's quite a convincing and elaborate set, isn't it? 

All photos courtesy of here. 

Getting Some 'Rast' Ideas

During our last trip to Ikea (which is amazingly only like 25 minutes away!!), I wanted to check out some dressers to see what could possibly fit in our tiny bedroom. I had scoured the Ikea site before our visit and measured what was most likely to fit but, you really need to see a piece in person before making any decisions. And also something that looks pretty online can be really cheap-looking in person. 

I had originally wanted something like this to fit near our closet and maybe slide our queen sized bed over toward the wall a bit more. My mom has the red version and I loved the sturdiness, legs, and hardware and thought the white one would be cute in our room. 

It was just too wide and tall for the space I wanted it. I also didn't care for spending $199 when they had a few other unfinished alternatives for less. 

After deciding that I'd be okay with refinishing something, I checked back to ikeahackers.net which is an awesome resource for some great ideas using Ikea products. There's everything from wardrobe hacks to cat litter box hacks. It's very interesting to see what people have come up with to solve some of their home problems using inexpensive Ikea fare and a little ingenuity. 

I stumbled on some incredibly beautiful hacks using the Ikea 'Rast' dresser. Surprisingly, the dimensions were so perfect I figured that I could buy two and use them on either side of our bed as night tables for even more storage than I had originally planned. 

This is the good, old, knotty-piney Rast dresser. It's pretty solid and was pretty simple to put together (even for Ikea standards):

At $35 dollars each, the price was right and I knew it wouldn't break the bank to spiffy these babies up. 

Here's some inspirational hacks that I was contemplating:

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But ultimately, this captured my heart. I liked the idea of the stained top being durable and I could stain it to complement our platform bed. I also like the idea of the white drawers being able to go with pretty much any type of bedding I could get. This could be a design that would last a few years without being the wrong color and I wouldn't have to worry about refinishing it when I choose different bedding. 

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I'm pretty excited to get my materials and get started.  Yet, I'm still wondering how I'm going to keep all the cats away from me while I'm working. :/ That could be a problem...

Turquoisey Moody Bedroom Mood Board

I've already been dreaming of my new bedroom decor... I can't wait to get new bedding!  And surprise! I've picked gray again. I don't know why I just love the moodiness of gray. And it's a pretty tame and peaceful color for the bedroom.

One thing I really wanted to do in the new bedroom was not have to buy a ton of new things. I've got plenty of wonderful pieces that I knew I could repurpose in a new way in the new house. 

1.) Already owned turquoise mirror

2.) Ikea wall lamps (for more space) ($20 each)

3.) floating nightstand from here, great space saver!

4.) Ikea curtains, really cheap ($20)

5.) Already owned starburst mirror

6.) Target Gray Threshold quilt with shams ($110)

7.) Beach poster from allposters.com ($39)

8.) Herringbone Chenille Pillow

9.) Chevron Pillow

10.) Already owned Target candleholders

11.) DIY lacquer lookalike box

12.) Ikea dresser ($100)

13.) Already owned DIY streaky art 

14.) Already owned Target turquoise vase

15.) Already owned Target Buddha figurine 

16.) Color pallet from Design Seeds

So I can complete this look for under $300, not bad!... Stay tuned in the coming weeks for my attempt to bring this board to life! :)

Book Review: Young House Love

On Tuesday I happily received the book I've been waiting a while for: Young House Love! I've been following their DIY blog for what seems like forever and I've been anxiously waiting for their book to come out. 

And I was not disappointed!

Those are just a few of my bookmarked pages... 

I have some awesome projects lined up for when we finally move into the rental house (did I tell you guys that we were getting a house? I can't remember... well, we are. Does that mean I need to rename the blog?... maybe 'rental to rental'? Doesn't sound as cute to me...).

I loved this project which is using foam board and fabric or wrapping paper to line the backs of your bookshelves. It would be so fun to just switch them out at random!

I would love to take a sisal or jute rug and imprint my own design on it (though... that's the material that the kitties' scratching post is made out of so I probably won't get the opportunity unless I want them to scratch up the rug!). 

I liked this guide for choosing some classic pieces that'll go with many different decor styles- such a good tip for people who like to switch things up (like me) without buying new furniture!

I thought this was an interesting idea and it looks like something you'd find at Pier 1 or something. 

I've been wanting to make an upholstered headboard forever and I love that this one is so lightweight that I won't have to worry about heavily anchoring it to a wall (especially in a rental). 

LOVE this pillow made with a cheap Ikea cover ($7) and some blue dye. It would be perfect for what I'm planning for in our new bedroom.  Might have to try it... 

I love the gold-dipped look of this lamp. For some reason I'm really liking the look of glass lamps (which is sad because I haven't a one). 

I'm loving this look for a bookcase. I really like the colors they chose too. 

And those two gray vases: Target!

I'm in love with this dresser! 

One cool aspect of the book: they featured other bloggers who brought their own projects to the book. This coffee table was done by Katie from Bower Power, which I've been reading pretty regularly. 

In the back next to the 'thank you' page there's a list of their favorite blogs/sites for inspiration- I thought that was a great inclusion. Their readers get more decor tips and that shout out helps those bloggers get more readers; a win-win!

I would definitely recommend picking this book up. I got it through Amazon for $15, which is a steal, and well worth it for all the tips and inspiration it provides. 

The Petersiks write in such a cheerful, encouraging, and helpful way which makes them seem so personable and so relatable. They shop at places where I shop (Ikea, Target, World Market, HomeGoods, etc.) which makes their projects so doable and like I'm actually able to attain a wonderful looking home on a budget. 

After looking at so many decor blogs and feeling like I could never have a stylish home because I didn't live in the glitzy areas of NYC or have a huge, beautiful loft to call home- Young House Love has made it all very accessible, attainable, entertaining, and fun. 

Sadly, when they make their Richmond book-signing appearance we'll already be on the road to Washington. But, they're due to be in Tacoma, WA in January on the 25th so I'm going to try really really hard to make it to that book tour stop. 

Go buy this book!

Using What You Have

It's amazing that just by changing a few accessories, you can completely change the look of your room.

I played around with my living room decor just to see what I could come up with by using my dark brown sofa. 

Here's the before:

Ahh! Ian looks scary! Cat laser eyes!

Red, brown and white turned out to be pretty together. I used my bedroom picture and red pillow to bring more red into the room.

I used one of my floral scarves to wrap a pillow and bring more of a girly element to this living room look. I don't think Russ would ever let flowery pillows into our house... The green bowl on the coffee table brings out the green leaves on the scarf.

This room was a little more modern (and ideally the art would be bigger of course but I was using what was on hand). I used a black and white scarf to cover one pillow and one of my shirts from my closet to cover the other (haha) just to bring in some more blue into the room.

This room could be called "The Traveler." It has my awesome Urban Outfitters map, map pillow from Ikea, a globe and the Eiffel Tower. 

I actually really like this last look! I'm used to seeing my tree picture strictly in the dining room but this definitely proves it can fit into a living room.

So go on, switch up your rooms for free!

Side note: my Android camera took some rotten pictures today. :( I guess it's time to bite the bullet and get a new camera. 

A Little Bathroom Update

It's no secret that I get sick of things in my house after a while and I like to switch things up for a fresh new look. 

I was a little bored with my key picture in my bathroom.  I still love the picture but I was ready for something new to look at. (I didn't throw it out of course, just stuck it behind the new art in case I change my mind later...) 

I often find myself in the scrapbook paper aisle at Michael's and found this 12"x12" printed clock canvas piece. It was more expensive than scrapbook since it was actually fabric but for $1.99 I had to have it. I can use it as art or to cover something small later (like on a mod podge box...). 

So... I made it mine. 

Cute, huh? 

Whitewash This Project

It's that time of year again... time for the air conditioning to not work! I've been dreading this day all Spring long but secretly hoped that I was wrong. Nope. It's been about three to four hours since I've complained about it not working and now I've finally got someone here working on it (and he's more drenched in sweat than I am...). Makes me feel bad.


But I've been working on two projects today and one of which I'm saving for tomorrow. After debating for a while what to do with my picture frames from IKEA, I decided to take one (.66 cents each, I still can't believe it!) and whitewash it with acrylic paint. I wanted some of the wood grain to show through and it's a great way to insure that I can easily change the color down the road. 

After a minimal drying time I took some spare fabric from my other project and cut it for the frame. Cute, but it still needed a little something. 

Then, I remembered a quote on Pinterest that I pinned because it seemed to fit Russ and me so perfectly: 

I thought of typing and printing it out but ultimately laziness won and I just decided to freehand it. 

After practicing it with permanent marker and black pen. Pen was the clear winner because I liked the way it made the writing more delicate. 

I think it's adorable! And I'm done in time for Russ to get home so we can play the "What's different about this room?" game. He really hates that but I love to see what he notices and doesn't. We definitely are silly. 

Puzzlement

The weekend went too fast! Especially since Russ had to go into work on Saturday... after the cake class it just seemed like Saturday was mostly over! I managed to make it to Michael's because I had a 40% off coupon that was going to expire and I thought for sure there would be something that I wanted to spend it on.


While moseying along the aisles not looking for anything in particular I stumbled upon some mini wooden blocks that were in the shapes of pyramids, spheres, half-spheres, and cubes and was immediately reminded of something I saw in TJ Maxx not too long ago that I had wanted to emulate. 

The wheels began to turn and I gathered my supplies for this "puzzling" project. Now my shapes don't look exactly like puzzles like the inspiration piece above but, I think it turned out similar and just as interesting. 

I found a cheap shadowbox/ collectible case and bought my wooden shapes.

Supplies:

Plus: gold leafing pen and/or gold craft paint, glue gun, black cardstock (or color of your choice)

I already had some gold craft paint and a gold leafing pen at home.

The gold paint was very very watery and only seemed to give them a slight gold glitter. I was after more gold than that I I waited patiently for the paint to dry.

I used my gold leafing pen and rubbed it on a paper towel and quickly rubbed down the surface of the blocks. I wanted a gold twinge instead of the all-gold puzzles in the inspiration piece. 

The paper towel method worked out pretty well and here's the before and after:

After gold leafing the rest of the pieces I was finally ready for gluing. 

I was going to measure the distance and make sure the pieces were evenly spaced but decided ultimately to eye-ball it. What's fun about this is you can place the pieces in any order you like and whatever appeals to your eyes the most.

Then I adhered the black cardstock to the case backing (as you can see the backing got ripped from the paper that had been inside it, the glue ripped the paper... oh well, it's covered up).

Then I pieced it all together and hung it up!

I might paint the frame black later on down the road but I think it looks pretty cool for now.... 

This project cost me:

Wooden Pieces: 2.99

Shadowbox:        4.19 (with coupon)

Glue gun:             2.79

Glue sticks:          3.99 (MORE than the glue gun...?)

Paint: already owned

Cardstock: already owned

          

Total: 13.96

Not too shabby! :D