My Office Tour

Our office has been through several changes in the short two years that we've been in California. I've changed all of the furniture once, and the layout three times. What have I learned? Go with your gut and just do it! Especially in your office. If you work from home, having an area that is inspiring, comfortable, and productive is SO important.

Here's a little tour of the space and my must haves for a home office.

























The first important change was adding a credenza to hold all of my printers and papers. Getting all of my office clutter off of the ground and behind doors that could be closed when I was done for the day really helped. It's amazing what a little organization can do!































Then doors can easily be shut and everything is out of sight.


March we made this statement chandelier for Creating with the Stars. We also added stripes to the ceiling and trim attached with small finish nails. It didn't go with our office at the time, but I loved it so much, that I decided to make it work :)


I also made Zimba inspired draperies for Creating with the Stars in light gray and later painted them charcoal (go with your gut the first time!) Free download for the stencil available here if you'd like to try.


David made a campaign style desk out of poplar wood. I love the wood grain, simplicity and x legs. After searching high and low for a good desk chair, we purchased a pair of Eames shell chairs. They needed a lot of love, but they turned out perfectly!


To eliminate the rest of the clutter, we made an open shelving unit. The white storage boxes from Ikea are the perfect way to organize on the cheap.



We found this round this round table on the street outside of our house. It was the perfect size for a second work/dining table! We stenciled the top and added crown molding to the base. We sanded and re stained and re upholstered a pair of Mid century Modern Chairs, one of my favorite chairs in the house. 

Then added a few large scale prints that read as one quote. I love the impact that the large font has! Even more, I love the price! I had them printed at Staples as engineering prints for a few dollars. Free download for text here


Finally to finish the office, I added this large black and white abstract painting. I've changed this wall 4 times and finally found a good mix of scale and contrast! I feel like this finally pulled the office together, it's amazing how one piece of art can do that! 


I love my office! It took me a while to get here, but SO worth it! :)

I still have a few room tours and a final house tour, look for those soon!

Weekend in Photos | San Francisco

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw that we were in San Francisco this weekend! Family moved there a few months ago and just closed on a house, so wanted to make sure to visit before we left the west coast!

We definitely wanted to visit Alcatraz, so we booked those tickets a few week's in advance (a must for summer time) I was there when I was little, so it was neat to see what I remembered. Turns out I just remembered not wanting to go behind the bars since I was afraid I would get locked in. Not much has changed :)

Next, we had lunch on pier 39 at Boudin. It was good, nothing life changing, I'd call it SF's version of Panera. Then went to Ghirardelli. Having coffee with ice cream makes me think of my Grandma who likes a little ice cream in her coffee when she doesn't have cream :)

After we were full on bread and ice cream, we crossed the Golden Gate bridge on the way to Muir Woods.





















We got there in the late afternoon, so parking wasn't bad. I've heard that it can get busy, so they also offer a shuttle. One of the redwood parks is definitely a MUST see on the west coast. 





















The next day we visited a a few parks along the coast. The photos above are from the Sutro Bath ruins, a massive indoor swimming pool complex built in the late 1800s.

We tried bubble tea (tea with milk and tapioca balls), at first it was good, then it was ok, and then it was, I don't think I like this ... This photo was taken just before we discarded it. I'm weird with texture and sipping little jello like balls while drinking tea ended up not being for me. We then made our way to the painted ladies, aka house from Full House intro.

We did a lot of touristy things since this was our first time staying in SF, so if you've been you probably know about all of these things :)

Other places that we went with no pics, lombard st (the curvy one), Coit tower (best view of the city), Tony's pizza (yum!), Sausalito and Marin (cute cities with cute shops) 

Have you been to SF? What did I miss?? :)


Designer Inspired Stenciled Pillow Shams | Contributing Post @ Infarrantly Creative

Hi! I hope that you had a great weekend!! :) Today I'm at Infarrantly Creative sharing how to get a designer pillow for a lot less! I used $3 pillow shams from Ikea, stencils, painter's tape and paint! 

Make sure to stop by for all details (a few free downloads too!) and let me know what you think!!

p.s. here's a few outtakes ... 

Annabelle modeling her new Jonathan Adler collar from TJ Maxx :) 

Winners!!

Congrats to Paige and Ann-Christine E for winning last week's giveaway!!! Check your inboxes!!


Thanks so much to everyone for entering!! and an even bigger THANK YOU for reading and following along! Your support means SO much to me! :)

 Hopefully I'll find lots more fun things to giveaway soon!

Humpday Giveway | Prints!

Happy Wednesday! I'm having another humpday giveaway from my Etsy shop! (kinda, you pay shipping)  I'm cleaning up and found a few extra prints. Some were misprints, some I've used and don't need anymore.

I have 13 available for free + you pay $3.50 shipping. Pick your favorite and leave a comment with your selection. 1 per person for the 1st to leave a comment with their selection, I only have one print per number, US only.

**Update: All are claimed. Hopefully I'll find more to giveaway soon!! ** 






























1. Fabric printed, linen with gray text, you are and always have been my dream, 11x14
2. I love you more than cupcakes, coral with gray text, 8.5x11
3. I love you more than my morning coffee, brown, 8.5x11
4. dot ampersand, blues, 8.5x11
5. south tampa fl, turquoise with light blue stripe, 8.5x11
6. ca with heart near central coast, no text, green with gray dot, 8.5x11
7. in order to irreplaceable, one must always be different, gray 8.5x11
8. in order to irreplaceable, one must always be different, coral 8.5x11
9. jeremiah 29 11, blue ombre 8.5x11
10. oklahoma city, mint with gray stripe, 8.5x11
11. B with gray scalloped background, brown, 8.5x11
12. home is whereever I'm with you, burnt orange
14. sacramento, ca, blue stripe, green state, 8.5x11 


Thank you! :)

p.s. a few more hours to enter last week's giveaway, winners announced tomorrow!

Master Bedroom Tour

Over the past few weeks we've finished our CA rental, so over the next week or two, I'll be sharing room tours!

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At the end of March we started redoing our bedroom, now that we're done, here's a little tour!


Our first projects were a large grasscloth and nailhead feature wall and the coral upholstered headboard with curved arms
































The coral headboard is one of my favorite projects, it's simple but the color really makes it pop! The curved arms were a last minute decision, mimicking the edge of the nailhead pattern.


I DIYed a few pillows. The euro sham is a mint and polka dot scarf from World Market (lined with a white table cloth), the toss pillow is a white pillow sham from Ikea with a painted border created with painters tape. The bolster is a kitchen towel from World Market. 


We moved the drum shade chandelier in here from the guest room, it puts off the softest light, love it!





 The writing desk was one of our first refinishing projects.



I could tweak things forever (starting with a smaller tv), but overall, I'm SO happy with how it turned out! 


Other sources: Moroccan Pouf, Striped coral runner (Target), White urchin (Target), Candle (Target), His/Hers letters from a local consignment shop

Looking at these photos, I've realized that we've made or customized just about everything in our place. Wow! That's a lot of hours... I'm thinking next time it might be best to mix store bought/investment pieces with DIY projects, lets see how I do :)

Moving Update!

Hi everyone! Thanks to the overwhelming response to our moving sale!! I think I've replied to all of the emails, so if you didn't get a response, feel free to send me another message :)

I also got a few questions on why we're selling so many things. We get a limited amount of weight covered in the move, and anything over we pay for. So we'd prefer to sell a lot here and then use that as a furniture budget when we move :) 

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Just wanted to stop in quickly to share a little moving update! We were originally leaving end of August, but that got pushed to the end of September (officially this week).

End of September, we'll be packing up our car and driving to Ohio. We're trading the Pacific ocean for lake Erie ... I'm not going to lie, not too excited ... no offense at all to anyone who lives in Ohio, I've never been, but I think it's almost impossible to beat the 70 degree mostly sunny year round weather on the Central Ca coast. We've been so blessed to have the chance to live at the ocean. BUT we will be a lot closer to most of our family and a lot of friends on the east coast, so that makes it worth it!!!



Why Ohio? We're moving for David's work (more on that here) and we'll be there through April. After that we'll be moving again ... I think I know where, but it could change, so I'll hold off on saying it until it's for sure (don't want to jinx myself :)

We don't know where we'll be living yet, so hopefully we'll find something great! Anyone looking for an interior designer and a can do anything guy to fix up a rental in northern Ohio?

Since we're only going to be there about 7 months, I'll be including more super budget friendly, temporary easy to take down projects. I've been brainstorming :)

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If you haven't yet, don't forget to enter yesterday's stencil giveaway!! 

Humpday Giveaway | Stencils

Hi everyone! Thanks for all of your interest yesterday! I still haven't gotten to all of my emails, so I'll try to work on that today :) I'm currently trying to get our rental back to it's bland self, so I'm filling nail holes, swapping lights and painting (I know you're jealous :)

You can still take advantage of our move without buying anything! (see yesterday's post) I haven't had a giveaway in a while, so it's time!

Today I'm giving away all of the stencils that I've made and used (the one's I could find :)

There will be 2 winners who will get 4 stencils each!

Here's what I'll be giving away ... 

Large Border Key and Small Greek Key



Interlocking Greek Key


Trellis



Moroccan Trellis


Overlapping Octogan


Small border key


Small Trellis

Use the widget below to enter! 2 winners will win 4 stencils each! Giveaway will last one week. Good Luck! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Moving Sale!

I got several emails about what we're selling (thanks SO much guys!! :)

So I decided to make a list of what we're definitely selling, definitely not selling, and things that we're maybe selling.

Items that are easily shippable have prices listed (I'll then calculate the shipping, but most will ship USPS Priority Mail for $6-$15)

Also, there are a lot of links, so if you'd like to see more info, most are on my projects page, or try the search bar on the right

I'll try to respond as quick as possible, but might not get to my emails today, so I'll plan on responding in the order received :) Feel free to send me an email at sarahmdorseydesigns{@}gmail{.}com with what you're interested in. For the larger items, we're in Pismo Beach for local pickup.

Here it goes, definitely selling:


Nesting tables with Greek Key top


Tufted headboard with nailhead and arms (might be holding)+ light gray dressers



Writing desk chair (I'm planning on keeping the desk, too many hours spent sanding :)


One of the table halves (I want to keep one ... just have to decide which one)


Long turquoise ottoman and custom cornice


Fabric wrapped table + upholstered lack ottomans (qty2)  Mirror is promised to a friend.


TV stand with pivoting door to hide electronics



Frame shelves $20 + calculated shipping (qty 3, 33" L x ~3" deep) (to install, there is a hole that goes through the 1x3, cabinet anchors screw into wall, and then glue the lip on with wood glue, hold in place till glue sets a little, then use tape to hold in place till the glue dries. I just took these down, it was easy to pop the front off and the holes in the wall were easily filled with spackle)


Stenciled round table 


Folded dome rope light $50 + calculated shipping (recommended install over a recessed light and mounted to the ceiling with small cup hooks)


Ombre frames - mat opening 11x14 print $80 + calculated shipping


Aqua tray with paper covered with clear resin, $25 + calculated shipping.


Refinished rattan chairs (qty 3) Enjoy the little things framed prints (might be holding the frames)


minty blue shelving (might be holding for a friend)


Maybe Selling:


X leg table (maybe ... still deciding, David put a lot of time into it and I really love it :) Plus it will look good pretty much anywhere ... 


Bamboo nightstands - not sure, I really love the pull out drawer (keeps things organized and off of the top!) Holding coral headboard and grasscloth nailhead feature wall

Chartreuse caning chair ... I was originally wasn't going to sell, since I was having problems finding seating that I really liked, but over the past few months I've found lots so maybe ... also I'm concerned that the caning will break in the move. Last time they damaged all my furniture ...

Not selling:

Herringbone driftwood table (TOO many hours invested in this, it will be packed well! :)

Writing desk ... hours of sanding = too hard to part with


Refinished MCM chairs ... unique and a versatile chair ... accent chair, desk chair, dining chair


Eames chairs, again lots of time invested and will go with so many things! A classic chair! 


Statement pendant

As you can see everything that we're keeping is pretty neutral and/or has a lot of time invested! 

Finally a list of everything sold or promised: square light gray tufted ottoman, chevron credenza, glass mirror, small coral dresser, white secretary with blue stenciled back, gray bookcase with stenciled back, greek key coral pin board, coral headboard with curved arms, teal ikat belgrave headboard, chartreuse sofa table, fabric wrapped rast dresser, grasscloth and nailhead feature wall, living room shams, white draperies with mint chevron border and black pom pom trim. I probably forgot some things, feel free to ask if you don't see it here :) 
 
Like I said above, last time the movers damaged every single piece of furniture. We did get compensated (and didn't have anything too special then), but a lot of these things have so much time invested in them ... I'd be really upset if things got broken. I'm going to be a lot more involved in making sure that they are wrapped up well!!

If you're interested in anything, Feel free to send me an email at sarahmdorseydesigns{@}gmail{.}com with what you're interested in.

Thanks!

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