My Gallery Wall

Hey everyone!  I hope you are all enjoying this gorgeous weather we are having here in Central Oregon!  Before I get out there and soak it in, I wanted to get my gallery wall done this morning.  Way back when, I posted about how every home needs one.  Over the last few weeks, I've been collecting photos and ideas for my own and finally got it done!  

The plan is to continue to add to it over time.  I decided to use photos that represented the things, people and places that I love.  I found a big "G" at Michael's on clearance so I painted that aqua and printed out my pictures at FedEx.  I bought the frames at Kohl's on clearance after Christmas last year, so I spent a total of about $30 on this project.  

I'll be on the hunt for items to add to the wall, but I think this is a good start!

A Very Green Chest

Hi everyone!  I hope you are all having a great summer so far!  I feel like the lamest blogger ever since I haven't posted anything in months!  I've been busy getting settled in Bend and working full time.  There's so much to do outdoors here, that I rarely want to be at home working on projects.  But, over the last few weeks I've had a chance to work on a chest of drawers that I bought last summer at a garage sale.  It's been living in my grandparent's shop for the past year.  Here it is before the transformation.  

I had a hard time deciding what to do with it, so I was browsing other people's projects on Pinterest and came across a chest of drawers painted a really pretty, but BOLD shade of green called "Happy Camper" by Behr.  I decided to be daring and go for it.  I wanted it to sit in my very small entry (if you can even call it an entry - it's more of an open wall next to my kitchen) so it needed to work with my living room decor.  I plan on using it to store craft supplies since I'm pretty limited on storage space in this tiny cozy apartment.  

I spray painted the handles Oil Rubbed Bronze, painted the dresser Happy Camper green, and did a black glaze over the top to darken it a bit.  It is VERY green.  I do like it, but I'm not sure it will live with me forever.  I'll probably end up selling it or giving it away when I move to another place in the fall.  

 PS...I get to go meet my new nephew this weekend!!  Look at his face!  Isn't he adorable?!  Love these two so much! 

Just a Few Updates

Hey everyone!  I hope you had a great Easter weekend!  I spent it with friends enjoying the beautiful weather.  We had a delicious brunch, went for a hike to some local falls, got some hard cider to cool off, and then went to dinner and drinks.  It was a day full of laughs and it was SO good to catch up with some friends I haven't seen in a while!  

Last week I did a few updates to my apartment.  My cane chair got a bit damaged during the move, so instead of trying to repair it and make it look perfect, I embraced the damage and distressed it even more.  Here are some pictures of the damage. 

I touched up the paint on the badly damaged areas and then lightly distressed it with a sanding wedge.

I also changed my starburst mirror up a little bit.  During the move, a few of the wood shims broke off so it needed some repair.  I used leftover shims to repair the damage, but decided to also add another layer so that it was more full looking.  I then spray painted the whole thing a gold color.  I don't LOVE the way it turned out, but I'll use it until I come across something I like better.  

Here are a few shots of my living room.  I'm sorry for the terrible pictures.  My apartment is VERY small and the living space is awkward to arrange furniture in and hard to photograph!

 

Ombre Painted Canvas

Hi everyone!  I haven't posted in quite a while because I've been in the middle of my move to Bend.  I'm finally feeling a bit more settled and had a chance to work on a little DIY project for my bathroom so I thought I would share.  The shower curtain I found at World Market inspired the palette for my bathroom.  My all time favorite color is teal, so it is very me.  I needed some artwork in there and have seen people do ombre painted canvases on Pinterest so I gave it a try and think it turned out fabulously.  It is super quick and easy to do, not to mention very affordable!  

I bought a 16" x 20" canvas at JoAnn's and some acrylic paint in a dark teal.  I ended up mixing in some other colors (black and midnight blue) to get an even darker version.  I taped off the sides of the canvas and then did two stripes of the original color on either side of the canvas.  Next, I mixed in some white for a lighter shade and painted my next stripes.  

I repeated that two more times, with the lightest shade being the middle stripe.  

After only about 10 minutes, the piece was done and I peeled off the tape to see the finished product!  It's the perfect addition to my bathroom, don't ya think?

  

Color Combo: Aqua and Rust

Hi everyone!  I hope you are all having a good week.  I am in the process of getting my house packed up and ready to move to Bend in a week and a half!  I can't believe my time in Corvallis is coming

to an end after calling this place my home for the last 6.5 years.  

Once I get settled in my tiny cozy new apartment I want to finish up my bedroom decor.  I've had accents of light blue in there for a while now which all started with the dresser I painted.  I've recently found that I LOVE the combination of aqua and rust, so my plans are to incorporate that burnt orange color into my room. This photo was in House Beautiful a few months ago and I love everything about it.  That chandelier, the mirror, the upholstered bench and bed...perfection and to me, the definition of serene.  

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Here are some others I've come across online.  You can use mint green and brick or tangerine to get the same effect.  I love all of these combos!

This one is so soft and tranquil.

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A little more vibrant and warm.

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Subtle color with lots of neutrals.

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Fresh and fun! I love that bedspread and those floral shams.

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Such a cute little console.  The pillows underneath are perfect. 

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So what do you think of this color combination?  Love it or hate it?

A Traditional Living Room

Hey everyone!  I thought I would share a few before and after photos from a design project I just finished up.  The clients recently moved into the home they plan to retire in.  The living room was the main focus of their project, but we did make changes to most of the other rooms in their home as well.  Here are the before's of the living room.  The pictures I took were more for me to be able to reference for layout and wall color so the angles aren't great.  I'll remember to take better ones next time.

The clients used the words 'warm' and 'traditional' repeatedly when they described how they wanted their home to look and feel.  They had furniture that they moved over from their previous home, but it didn't quite evoke those warm feelings.  I used golds, deep reds, and traditional style furniture in the space and they absolutely love the way the room turned out.  I had so much fun on this project because they really put their trust in me to make their home reflect their tastes.  It definitely isn't MY style, but it's not my home.  

We didn't have the artwork hung when I took the after pictures so imagine a beautiful Tuscan painted landscape hanging behind the sofa. :)  

Also, the accessorizing is done by the client.  She is working on filling up those bookcases and adding more accessories on the mantle.  I'll add more pictures later if the artwork we ordered comes in before I move away from Corvallis.  :)  

Ikat Love

Hi everyone! I don't know about you, but I've been on a bit of an ikat kick lately. One of my favorite parts of my job is that I get to be surrounded by beautiful fabrics and furniture on a daily basis.  I love it when customers seek and appreciate my design abilities in selecting their furniture and making their home beautiful.  I also love it when I get to choose fabrics for items we'll have on our showroom floor.  Last week I had fun with an ikat fabric that I love!  We are ordering in a transitional frame with the wheat colored fabric as the base cloth, and the other two as pillows.  It will be perfect for the coming Spring months.

I spotted this lampshade at Target a few weeks ago and carried it around the store for a good half an hour trying to decide if it needed to come home with me.  I ended up putting it back, only because it wasn't on sale and I couldn't justify it at the time.  I think it would be perfect on the lamp next to my sofa though, so I'll be keeping my eye on it to see if it goes on clearance. 

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Then I got to thinking about other ways you could incorporate ikat into your home decor. Here are some ideas.

Put it on your walls!

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Cover your windows.

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Use it on an old chair or throw a pillow on your sofa.

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Add an ikat accessory like a bowl, lamp, or area rug.

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I especially LOVE that rug! Do you have any current fabric obsessions?