Friday Finds + Sneak Peek for Monday

Happy Friday! I survived the DMV yesterday while getting my car registered in Maryland .. I rewarded myself with some thrifting and Home Goods .. thrifting was extremely sad because I got lost on my way there, got there 5 minutes before closing and found something similar to this with a sold sign on it, why must they taunt me? Can't they move it to the back?? I even sent Cassie a text asking if she bought it .. hoping she would sell it to me. She didn't .. BUT I scored an amazing rug at Home Goods!! So it almost canceled out losing the amazing dresser :)

and it wouldn't be Friday without sharing a few of my favorite finds!!

1. Target Threshold Lattice Pouf Target has been killing it recently with their pouf selection. I was going to include two, but the link to my other recent favorite isn't working .. so maybe next week :)

2. Target Counter Height Andres Seagrass Stool Every room needs a little texture, these are great!!

3. #whistlewhileyouwork pencil set Pretty and motivational? I think I would be more productive!

4. West Elm Gold Flatware This would make everyday feel like a special occasion!

5. Target Black and White Pillow Love a good stripe!!


and here's a little preview of our latest project!

Stop by Monday for all the details!

Hope you have a good weekend friends!!

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Contributing Post at Infarrantly Creative + Updates

Sorry for no post yesterday, Annabelle and I drove to Maryland to take care of a few things .. my CA tags expire at the end of the month and since we're leaving Ohio in March or April, it didn't make sense to get tags there. Oh and the well motor died in our Maryland house, so yesterday was spent driving and taking care of that. Hopefully, the car inspection and DMV trip goes as planned today (probably my least favorite places to go ..) fun stuff!

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Onto happier things :)

Yesterday, I was over at Infarrantly Creative sharing our latest project! Feel free to stop by!

and congrats to Clarissa for winning last week's stencil giveaway! Check your inbox!!

I did take a few pictures of our latest project before I left .. hopefully I'll have those ready to go soon! :)

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Updates!

Just wanted to quickly stop in .. I ran into a few roadblocks (inevitable when you're trying something new ..) so I didn't finish in time for Monday.

Getting close!! Sneak peak via instagram below :)

I'm now a master at the jigsaw :) Hopefully I'll have finished pictures tomorrow or Thursday!

Also, thanks so much for voting in Apartment Therapy Homies awards!! We made it as a finalist in the DIY category!! There is one more round of voting, so if you haven't voted yet - we'd love your vote!
You do need an Apartment Therapy account, but it's super easy, no email verification and no daily or monthly emails. Thanks friends!! Click HERE to vote

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Friday Finds!

Happy Friday!! For today's Friday Finds I'm including a room look. A bedroom with white, pops of bright color and contrast, mixed metals, and lucite.  I kinda want to move right in ..

Wouldn't it look great paired with a grasscloth feature wall?

Here's the sources!

1. West Elm Carved Headboard - I love the small scale pattern - it looks perfectly with larger scales!

2. Horchow Aerin Hampton Pendant  SO gorgeous - this could make the room!!

3. Crane and Canopy Linden Coral Border Duvet and Shams // Scalloped Embroidered sheets White bedding is classic and the pop of coral gives it a high end, custom look. It can work with almost any pattern - so it's easy to change up your bedding.

4. West Elm Organic Ikat Key Euro Sham // Jacquard Leaf Pillow If you've been following me for a few months, you probably know that I have a slight obsession with a greek key pattern - these are great! Also, love the chartreuse accent pillow (reminds me of Schumacher's Betwixt, but a third of the price!)

5. Jonathan Adler Happy Chic for JC Penney Chevron Wool Rug - Great pattern and love the contrast to the light bedding!

1. Target Threshold Desk - I love a desk as a night stand! The angled legs are great, and that it's on sale!

2. Target Threshold Starburst Mirror (currently unavailable, but here's something similar)

3. Ghost Chair // armchair // side chair  Once we get into our new place .. I really want to find a place for one of these .. love them!

4. Horchow Mirrored Double X Bench Tufted, mirrors? Yes please!! Target has a similar version minus the mirrors (currently sold out online, but maybe you can grab one in store)

5. Jonathan Adler Happy Chic for JC Penney Lotus Lamp JC Penney has stepped up their game, I need to stop by!!

(Images created in Photoshop)

Hope that you have a great weekend!! :) I'm working on finishing up this project, hopefully I'll have that to share on Monday!

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Humpday Giveaway | Stencils!

I haven't had a giveaway in a long time, so it's time!!

Up for grabs are the two stencils that I showed you last week ..

large trellis 

and intersecting octagon 

One winner will receive both!!

(They are used, so they have paint on them ..)

Use the widget below to enter!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!! (open for one week, winner will be announce next Wednesday)

Sorry international friends, open to US and Canada only.

p.s. I also added a few digital print files to my etsy store (since my printer quit on me) feel free to stop by and check them out!

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Wood in our house | to paint or not to paint part 2

Thanks for all your feedback on my to paint or not to paint post the other week!! I didn't expect so many comments, it was nice to see what you all think :)

We've been thinking about it a little more about the painting situation and I wanted to let you know where we're at. Since the entire house is post and beam I decided to play around with the main room (living and dining lower and my office upstairs) today.

Here's the room as is.

and here's a few (roughly) photoshopped drawings. I decided to remove the fixtures and include a few glass globe pendants instead (2 shown, but we'd probably have 3 ..) (also, David and I both dislike ceiling fans .. prior to removing and reconfiguring the lights, we'll see how it goes this summer ..)

1. white walls, wall beams, and banister, ceiling as is.

2. white walls, beams, and banister, ceiling stained darker and more neutral.

3. Beams stained darker and more neutral, walls, banister and ceiling planks white

4. Walls, beams, and banister white, ceilings stained darker and more neutral.

5. white wash the beams, banister and walls white

6.  Walls light gray, beams and banister white (probably not, while I love a light gray, white goes with everything .. I definitely don't want to be painting this again in a few years)

7. white walls, beams, and banister

Like I said in my last post, I know that painting the wood won't be for everyone, but in the end we have to do what makes us smile :) Right now, I'm leaning towards leaving the ceiling as is (at least for now). I think the wall beams have to be white, I hate how it chops up the wall now. We still have a good bit of time since we'll be in Ohio for another month or two.

If you have an opinion, I'd love to hear it!

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If you haven't voted in Apartment Therapy's Homies Awards head on over! There are TONS of great blogs, so you can vote for as many as you'd like (I'm nominated in project + DIY category and home design + inspiration)!! If you have voted for me, thanks so much! Your support is definitely motivation for me to keep posting and sharing :) Thank you!

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Coral and Bold Pattern | Pillow Shams for the Sofa

Hi! I hope that you had a great weekend! David had to work, so I was busy with a few projects, some cleaning and the laundry (no major incidents to report!)

I've been a bit of a fabric hoarder recently .. most of our linens are at our MD house, but the linen closet  in OH is full of my recent finds. Last week, I found Thom Filicia City Square for Kravet on eBay for 3 yards / $40 .. I've been obsessed with it for a few years, so even though I didn't have a specific project in mind, at that price, I had to grab it!

I made a few new pillows for the sofa the other weekend, and wanted to make a few more for the other side. So this weekend, I made a few more!

Solid coral with linen border, I had some coral left over from my greek key sham and the border is from a table cloth), gray diamond - Richloom Dixon Slub (originally purchased from fabric.com a few months ago, but I can't find it there), and Thom Filicia City Square for Kravet (purchased on eBay)

Coral and bold pattern is the perfect pick me up for this long winter!

Thrifting has been pretty slow recently, but I did find this brass bowl at Goodwill last week (and a little lucite clamshell)

Tutorial for my no-sew designer inspired pillows at Houzz. Perfect for anyone that has been looking for their favorite designer print with no luck or if you don't have a sewing machine.

Annabelle was there for a little bit too :)

Total cost was about $5 since I already had a lot on hand and I still have 2.5 yards of City Square left for another project!

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Finally, thanks SO much to anyone who's voted for me in Apartment Therapy's Homies Awards (project + DIY category and home design + inspiration)!! Your support means so much!! :) Feel free to stop by and vote for all your favorite blogs!

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Friday Finds | White, Wood + Jewel Tones

Hi! Happy Friday! Today I'm sharing a few of my favorite finds of the week!

1. Land of Nod Scalloped Pendant I love the shape and the black border! Plus it's super versatile, you could easily move it from room to room!

2. Threshold Scalloped Mirror I haven't seen this in person, but online looks really good for $28!! This could work great over a small dresser flanked by two lamps or above an entry table!

3. Land of Nod Teal Maze Rug I'd love to see this in a bedroom with mostly white and pops of jewel tones and pattern.

4. West Elm Saddle Office Chair The shape reminds me of my chevron ikat chair. Plus I love the mitered stripes!

5. Threshold White and Wood Barstools I find myself drawn to mixing the touches of warm wood with white recently. These are great!!

Now I'm picturing a whole bedroom (minus the barstools, but they can go in the kitchen!) around these things .. maybe next week I'll include a whole room look in my Friday Finds!

Also, today I'm guest posting at Julia's about our sweet Annabelle!! Make sure to check it out!

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Updates

Hi! Here's a little bit of what's been going on around here ..

Last weekend I tested a few of my new stencils, took a some pics and added them to my shop. 

a larger trellis, it's a good scale for walls. I also just got an image from Cat ( @catpham on instagram) who purchased my smaller trellis, which looks amazing!! Just takes a little more time than the larger one, but so worth it!

and a larger octagon stencil, also a good scale for a wall.

I'm busy working on a few new stencil designs - so I'll be spending more time on that to get it going!

Right now (while we're in a rental) I'm just stenciling on a left over piece of plywood .. for our new house I'm envisioning an accent wall in a tv room / project room in the basement that I could change whenever I have a new stencil.

Also, a few changes on the site .. David and I started updating some pages the other week, design services and projects are new! More to come, but this was a good start!

Hope you all are having a great week!!

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Ikat Chevron Office Chair ReUpholstery

When I first saw this chair in Habitat Restore, I immediately thought of Emily Henderson's chair makeover for Oh Joy's Studio - the shape is almost identical!

I didn't need another office chair at the time, so I passed. BUT when I got home I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I went back later that day - luckily it was still there! (plus I found an amazing pendant that was hiding!)

It was $20 or $25, so a great deal!! The fabric was faded and stained, so needed to be replaced (plus I HAD to try Emily's solid and pattern fabric combination).

I found the amazing fabric at G Street fabric in Rockville, MD (funny side note, it is located underneath a gym (we were there the day after Christmas - so you know it was busy!) It was SO loud from people dropping weights, etc., I afraid the ceiling was going to cave in) But so worth it because I found this ikat chevron and grayish turquoise chenille in the remnant section. (Sorry, no markings or tags on the fabric - if anyone knows, let me know!)

I won't be giving a full tutorial, but hopefully the photos will give you good idea of our process in case you'd like to try it!

First, I tore out about 1,000 staples, there were layers and layers. The staples connecting the back to the seat were about 2" long, so David clipped them and then used a hammer to loosen and then pull them. I took out all of the seams and cut along the stitch line (since the fabric wasn't even outside of the stitch line), then I laid the fabric on kraft paper.

I traced the fabric and then added .5" for my seam allowance, drawing a second line and then cut it out. I enlisted the help of my Mom since she's a whiz with the sewing machine. For the back, Mom doubled the fabric and folded the template in half to make sure it was even on both sides, pinned and then cut. Finally, Mom sewed the pieces back together, exactly how they were.

(Sorry for the photo quality, the battery in my good camera died)

As you can see, there was too much fabric to make up by just pulling. The original back never got flat (see photo above) so I'm thinking that it was really stretched. I couldn't get the fabric to lay flat, so ..

I folded it where it naturally fell and marked it with tape I removed it from the back, laid it flat and then cut down the center (of where it naturally folded) (stopping about .5" from the top seam).

I stapled on one side, and then folded the other side over and stapled at the bottom. I put a little permanent fabric glue in the seam to prevent it from gapping. Also, you can see here that we kept the original foam, it slide over the back like a glove, so it would have been hard to replace.

Once I finished the back, it was time to reattached the seat to the back. I opted for 2" screws instead of 2" staples (it's stronger, plus I don't have have a stapler for that). 

I carefully adjusted the seat so it was even with the back and pre-drilled holes (slowly so it wouldn't catch the fabric. note: some fabrics may need to be pre cut first) and then I used 2" screws (about 6)  

Finally, I pulled the back tight and stapled underneath. Since it is one continuous piece of fabric going around a curve, it helped to staple a few inches away from the edge and gather the fabric towards the back - this prevents folds at the visible edge. Staple a few inches apart and then go back and pull tight between the staples.

I reattached the base (after a good scrubbing) and that was it! 

Isn't it dreamy? I LOVE that fabric!!

The back is a drapery weight - which works well since it won't get a lot of wear and the front is upholstery weight. 

I'm planning on keeping my black and white striped chair here, I like the height, plus I think it works better with the stenciled panels. This one might go in my office in the new house. 

One last before:

and after

I'm in love!! The only thing I'm not crazy about is the base .. it has some rust, so I'll look into removing that. I'd love an all stainless one, so maybe I could sand blast or sand this one down to the bare metal and then put a coat of clear on it? I'll have to look into that. 

This wasn't the easiest chair to reupholster, but overall it wasn't too bad! For the price, I'd definitely do it again! 

Total cost was only about $35-40, $20 or $25 for the chair and $15 for the fabric (gotta love remnants!) 

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Weekend Finds | My Wishlist + My Favorites

Can we pretend it's Friday, for today's Friday Finds? Yesterday was David's only day off (currently working 6 / 12s) so we went to Cleveland to meet an adorable new client/blog reader (hey Alison!), go to Trader Joes (I miss having one 5 minutes from our house .. p.s. they have the cutest mini hydrangeas there for $4.50), Home Goods (found an 18" diameter drum shade for only $10!) and a few other stores - so it was a great trip!

Today, I'm sharing what's on my birthday wish list since it's my birthday Monday! As well as, my top three favorite purchases over the past year.

First, my wish list .. you'll notice that I have our new house on my mind, since almost everything is related to that!

1. Crate and Barrel Taraval Sectional  I love the clean lines, and oak base. The price tag is high, so I'll probably look for a cheaper alternative (maybe the oak base could be a relatively easy DIY?)

2. West Elm Souk Rug With all the hardwood in our house, I'd love to add a few rugs. This one has been at the top of my list for a while. I love how it's neutral so you can easily change up your pillows and draperies.

3. West Elm Globe Pendant Due to wood ceilings and zero space for recessed lighting in our house, we'll be purchasing mostly pendants for the overhead lights. I love the simplicity of this glass globe pendant.

4. Nikon 50 mm F 1.8G AF-S I've been using this 50 mm lens for the past year, but it doesn't autofocus with my Nikon D3100. While I love the lens, manually focusing is time consuming!! At the time, I didn't do very much research, so I didn't know it wouldn't auto focus .. now they have drop down menus that tell you if it will or will not work with your camera. I'm selling my old one - if anyone's interested, let me know (check the drop downs and see if it will autofocus with your camera!). Something tells me that I will be getting this one for my birthday :)

Finally, my favorite shoe, home decor, and beauty product purchase of the past year.

1. Steve Madden Albany (looks like they're sold out of the cognac, but the brown is on sale!) I've been looking for the perfect riding boot for a while, and it was love at first sight when I saw these online. When I got them, they fit perfectly (I have average to larger calves) and the size was great (I wear anywhere from a 6 to a 7 and the 7 was perfect) The quality is super nice too, the leather is so soft and not cheap looking. Zappos is my go to shoe source since the customer service is amazing and returns are easy (a must for buying shoes online!)

2. West Elm Organic Chevron Duvet You probably know that I DIY a lot, but love when I first saw this duvet, I had to have it .. having bedding that I really love makes me smile :)

3. Ole Henriksen 3 Little Wonders I love how light this feels going on, plus it's helped make my skin smoother and brighter!

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I'm going to work on a few (indoor) projects now, it's been so cold .. hopefully spring is around the corner!!

Hope you all have an amazing weekend!!

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Designer Pillow Look for Less | Houzz Contributing Article

Good morning! My latest Houzz article is up! I've found another way to get the Zimba print for less, and I love it (if you'd like a free copy of my stencil, click here)

Make sure to stop by and check it out. I'll be back a little later today or tomorrow with my Friday Finds!

Make a Designer-Look Pillow Sham for $15

Architecture, interior design, and more ∨

From designer chairs and desks to the perfect bulletin board and credenza, create your dream home office.
As you get ready to host an event, be sure you have enough dining chairs and dishes for dinner guests, as well as enough bakeware and cutting boards for food preparation. 

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Geometric Pencil Cups + Tiny Prints Collaboration

Hi! Today I'm sharing a super easy office accessory and a collaborative project with an amazing company, Tiny Prints! When they asked me to provide a DIY project for their blog in exchange for  office accessories. My first thought was yes!! I've ordered cards from them in the past, so I was excited to try Tiny Prints personalized stationary!

Stop by Tiny Prints to see how I made these geometric pencil cups!! It's super easy and cost me ZERO dollars!

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