Archive for April, 2011

Office Space

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

I’ve been slow to make a dent in my to-do list for 2011, but today we took another baby step towards crossing things off. Item #13 was to buy a small desk and set up a little office space in our over-sized master bedroom. We weren’t looking for anything fancy, in fact, the biggest criteria was that it could fit into a nook that is only 35″ wide, so size was a key factor. Today we were at Target and decided to take home the Carson Anywhere Desk in Espresso. The color worked well with our existing furniture and the size, 34″, was a perfect fit!

{ image from Target.com }

The main use of the desk will be for my husband to have a little work space at home for his new job, but I know I will utilize it as well. We haven’t even taken it out of the box yet…so I’ll have to wait to share some pics of the office nook and check one more thing off my list!

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Guest Bedroom

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

One of the reasons we decided to go ahead with our impromptu office project is that we really need a proper guest bedroom.  Today when we have guests, Violet sleeps on an air mattress in our room and our guests use her bedroom.  It works, but it’s not ideal, and it doesn’t allow for our whole family to visit at the same time.  So, the plan is to turn the office into a guest bedroom with all of the office and sewing supplies stashed neatly away when guests are in town.  The cabinetry is a huge first step, but we still need a few other things, like a bed and some window coverings.  Here’s my master plan for the room:

  1. The reading sconces are already in place on either side of the window bench.
  2. I’d like to replace the wimpy and dated ceiling fixture with something like this fixture.
  3. The overall color scheme for the room will be dark brown and white with some punches of coral, like the pillow I made with fabric from Williams and Sherrill.
  4. The window bench needs a couple of other pillows to fill it out.  I’d like to use this brown geometric print fabric from Schumacher.
  5. We will actually swipe the bed from our master bedroom,
  6. and I plan to make white linen curtains like these (image from Cottage Living).
  7. I’m getting back into brass – not glossy brass but a softly burnished brass.  The knobs
  8. and pulls on the cabinets match the finish on the sconces perfectly.
  9. Last but not least is a chunky, natural fiber rug.

I’ll add a few other finishing touches along the way, I’m sure, but this is the plan for now!

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The Cover Up

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

I’m back home after a quick visit to my parents’ house.  Despite my minor injury, I managed to get a few things done.  I’ve been working on a project that wasn’t planned for this year but came up as part of our plan to remove the radiators.  Here’s what I’ve been up to:

I made a cushion and pillow for our new window bench in the office.  Instead of repairing the floors under the old radiator, we decided to cover them up with some much needed storage.  Here’s what our office used to look like (see the radiator under the window):

Here’s what it looks like now:

A friend of ours is a carpenter, and he built these custom cabinets for us.  The drawers under the bench are file cabinets for all of our papers, and the closets are a combination of shelves and hanging space.

I still have a few more projects planned for the space.  I’d like to make 2 more pillows for the bench and an inverted box pleat valence for the window.  These will have to wait until I’ve finished sewing cushions for the front porch swing and curtains for the dining room, especially since I already have the fabric for both of these projects.

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Boxed In

Monday, April 25th, 2011

I love the opportunity to wrangle a bit of chaos into something neat and tidy, organized and functional. Kitchen cabinets run amok…sign me up! File cabinet overflowing…bring it on.

So days 1-3 of packing our house to move felt pretty good. I got my plan in order, gathered supplies, made a few lists and even a good bit of progress:

  1. packed and stacked all the books
  2. wrapped up all the surface decor
  3. moved all the plants to the bathtub
  4. pulled all the wall hangings, packing the small pieces and stacking the large ones
  5. labeled furniture so the mover’s will know where to put it in the new house
  6. patched the wall holes

But, somewhere in there I had a major meltdown as the last six plus years flashed by me and I’ve lost my momentum. Even when I know it’s time to move on, when exciting things rest ahead, this kind of change always gets the best of me.

I’m going to try another walk with the dog…

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Posted in Leave the Nest | 4 Comments »

Outside Oslo

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

I am really excited for the debut of Jessica Jones’ new line of fabric, Outside Oslo. The home decor fabrics are being brought to life by The Needle Shop in Chicago and will be available for sale in May. If you are a retailer or manufacturer you can also visit their web site for wholesale information.

{ images from The Needle Shop Etsy store }

Will you purchase any of these designs for your next home project? Any favorites?

{ images from How About Orange blog }

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Posted in Inspired Nest | 2 Comments »

Snag

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011

This week I’m on a little working vacation.  Violet has a break from preschool for Easter, so I hit the road with the kids to visit my parents and brought a few sewing projects with me.  The plan is to take advantage  of  some help with the kids and get a few things done.  I made good progress early in our visit – here’s a peek of what I’ve been workin on:

Then yesterday I ran into a little snag.  Actually, I ran into my finger with the rotary cutter I was using to cut fabric. I spent a good part of the afternoon at the emergency care center here having my finger repaired – not part of the plan.  The good news was that the doctor thought the cut was the perfect candidate for glue, so I avoided stitches (phew!).  Now I’m pretty much back to normal, just need to get motivated to start cutting again…  With any luck I will have a fully completed project to share in a few days!

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I ♥ They Draw & Cook

Monday, April 18th, 2011

Have you seen this website? I stumbled on it a few weeks ago via skirt! Magazine.  They Draw & Cook is an outpost of brother and sister design and illustration duo, Studio SSS.

{click on the images above to view larger)

I often come up short on inspiration when planning a menu (er, getting dinner on the table). They Draw & Cook is not only full of visual fodder, but you can even Dial-a-Dinner and get a random trio of nicely paired recipes! Fun to look at it, easy to print, decision made! How fun…

{illustrations: They Draw & Cook}

Posted in I'm Lovin' | 2 Comments »

Ladies & Gents

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

JulietI was hoping someone would incorporate these into a fun bathroom design! Nicole at Making it Lovely has been working on a bathroom renovation for a few months now and these are a perfect addition to her fresh and playful aesthetic.

Aren’t they terrific?

Posted in Inspired Nest | 3 Comments »

Checking In

Monday, April 11th, 2011

It’s been a little while since I’ve talked about my “list“…  Remember the list I shared in January?  The idea was to complete my top 25 home projects before 2012, and I hoped by putting it out here on our blog that it would increase my chances of following through.  So, in the interest of holding myself accountable, I thought I’d give a little update.  Here’s my list:

Hmm, a quarter of the year has gone by…  At first glance, I’m not looking too great.  The good news – in a couple of weeks I can check off a big project, #4.

The radiators in the living room and dining room are gone, and taking them out made a huge difference.  The rooms seem much bigger and less cluttered.  The walls are repaired and repainted, and I picked a local company to repair and refinish the floors after getting a couple of quotes.  I’ve also started on a few other projects (like #18) and should be crossing more things off my list in the next month.  The truth is, I’ve been distracted by a project that came up when we took out the radiators.  It’s a fairly big project that wasn’t on the list, but I’m excited to share the details after I wrap up a few loose ends.  So, check back for the reveal of my unlisted project, and I promise to keep working on the list!

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Exposed Brick

Monday, April 11th, 2011

I’ve had a thing for exposed brick walls for a long time. Some brainstorming this weekend about the new house yielded two ideas to incorporate this look.

First, we’re planning a master suite addition at some point in the near future. Since the house is a pretty pinkish/red brick we decided it would be perfect if we could maintain the brick on the new interior wall, rather than covering it with drywall. I have no idea what we’re getting into yet, but I’m hopeful we can somehow make it work.

Source: designmanifest.blogspot.com via Juliet on Pinterest

Source: countryliving.com via Juliet on Pinterest

We have a finished sun room that would have originally been a screened porch on the side of the house. When the room was finished, the brick was painted a glossy white and I’m wondering what it would take to strip the paint. It’s a small wall, but it would add so much character to this space. It could even have that worn, whitewashed effect — can you just power wash it?

Source: designspongeonline.com via Juliet on Pinterest

Source: brightbazaar.blogspot.com via Juliet on Pinterest

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Sheer Bliss

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

I have always loved the artwork of Jill Bliss. It’s light, whimsical, and dreamy and is so detailed you can find so many hidden treasures in each piece. I recently realized, in addition to her paper goods and small prints, that she has created some larger paintings and it got me thinking that this might be a fun direction for my guest room.

{ images from jillbliss.com }

It could bring in a lot of great colors to my otherwise monochromatic room, which is something I’ve been looking for. What do you all think of her style?

These are some other inspiring images from her web site. I’m in love with those birds, the attention to detail, and colors. I just need to pull the trigger and finally get something up on my walls!

{ all images from jillbliss.com }

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I ♥ upholstered beds…

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011


…especially these new ones from Dwell Studio:

{images from Dwell Studio}

One of these is now on my wish list for our master bedroom.  The hard part would be selecting just one style and fabric!

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Posted in I'm Lovin' | 2 Comments »

Between a Cape and a Colonial

Monday, April 4th, 2011

It’s been a really busy couple of months for me. I started the year with a vigorous effort to prep our cozy little Cape Cod for sale in March. Once the sign went up in our yard, I switched gears in hot pursuit of our new house. In just a few short weeks we sold the Cape and bought a Colonial.

We are still finalizing all the details and won’t close on either one for a few more weeks, which leaves me stuck (comfortably, mind you!) between a Cape and a Colonial.

I’m packing up our current house and putting all my design ideas for these windows and walls to bed. And while I have lots of ideas for the new house swirling around in my head, I can’t seem to zero in on the details yet.

It’s the details that get me going creatively. I love to putter around and play with colors and textures and form and flow. I can spend hours alone immersed in magazines and blogs. And I can get lost in beautiful storefronts re-imagining my own spaces. But I’m in that weird place where the best I can do at home is pack my boxes, and in this place, I cannot be tempted by new spring collections and little design treats.

All that to say, I’m lacking creativity and inspiration. How totally boring for you!

Thankfully — for you and me — Rachel and Stephanie share this space with loads of great ideas!

I promise I’ll have lots of photos and details to share soon. The ever-so-slightly superstitious side of me feels like I should wait until it’s all wrapped up before I put it all out there! In the meantime, I’m loosely cataloging some ideas on Pinterest. Feel free to drop by and see what’s catching my eye…

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