Friday, July 29, 2011

Design Details :: Windows

I am drawn to them without fail as I flip through a design magazine or enter a friend's home.
Windows.
You can't begin to imagine a house without them!

Windows allow beams of light and nature to flow inside.
The view outside can set the backdrop for an entire room.



Their architecture also adds great curves & details to the exterior.





Obsessed with both the garage doors and the windows above.




Other favorite images interior windows...

 love how they act as an open wall between rooms.

amazing shape. 

yum.

again, love how the interior window closes off yet opens up the space.



Ok, so now it's your turn!
What do you think?  
Are you just as obsessed with windows?
inside and out?


Thursday, July 28, 2011

Design Details :: Painted Front Doors

The very first thing I did when we moved into our house,
was paint our front door red. 
Our neighbor said I had moved "MidTown to the Suburbs."


I took that as a great complement. He noticed that I'd added some spunk!

It's such an easy "Dress Me Up" for your home.
Over the past years of blogging, 
I have definitely collected my favorite images of painted front doors.
Some subtle, some bold, all add their own bit of spunk.











No color is right or wrong.  They all add that needed touch of personality.
Inside or Out.
Just imagine those doors without color. They'd probably be really sad.
Is your front door painted?
If so, share a link to it in the comments.
We'd all love to see the spunk added to your home!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Project Mode

A few weeks ago I was looking at the pregnancy app on my phone,
the countdown said "88 days." 
stop.
double take.
WHAT!?!?
that's not a long time! I panicked.
we went into full, all-out project nesting mode.
today the countdown is at "73 days."
{and we can't wait to meet our little girl so soon!}



We have made huge progress,
some projects are complete, some halfway there,
others were completed/begun during project week 
Yes, I know I still need to finish that series! I will! I will! 

 Hubby & I are definitely enjoying the satisfaction of scratching things off our to-do-list!
It's been fun, but will be nice once we can sit back and admire our hard work.
I am waiting to post the projects until I can "wow" you with all of them 
in their completed glory...
So for the next week(ish), I am going to be sharing some of my favorite
interior design styles, elements, and inspirations.

I hope you enjoy them!

Friday, July 22, 2011

picking paint colors

Do you ever wish that picking paint colors was as easy as asking for:

"navy blue"
"gray"
"white"

I am constantly amazed by the vast amounts of shades, 
when it comes to just one paint color!
Yesterday, this is what I held up to the nursery walls and stared at...








I want gray walls...not too blue...definitely no hints of brown...
These paint decks/ fans are the way. to. go.

TOTALLY beats stashing 57 small colored pieces from the painting section
at your local hardware store, in your purse.
 Which I have definitely done before.
Done way too many times.
You just can't argue the ease of this method.
It helps the elimination process because you can immediately push out the ones that
are "too blue" "have hints of brown" and you're left with "good grays"
or whatever color you may be searching for.

Before I purchased mine, I assumed (which you should never do. i know!) 
that they were $20/ea or so...no idea why i thought that.
But when I went to purchase my own,
I bought both of them for $10!
steal.

And I think it's kinda fun to have,
for those rainy days,
when you just feel like looking at paint colors?
ha. 
I don't know. 
I just like them.
They're hip. They're cool.
They save you time and purse space.
Go get some if you are in the process of choosing a paint color.
You can thank me later :) 


Monday, July 18, 2011

pops of green via neighbor

One night a few weeks ago, my sweet neighbor rang my doorbell,
her arms were overflowing with beautiful green trimmings from a bush in her backyard!
She knows I love flowers and natural greenery in my home,
and I was so touched that she thought to bring them to me!


I just plopped them in a vase with some water, and tied on a burlap ribbon.
lovely. easy. free. 




The branches are just what that table needed.

And now, two weeks later, they still look great!
They've faded to a soft green and still add great natural texture!

Thanks, Tiff!


Go ahead, now it's your turn.  
I bet some plants out back could use a little trimming.
Head outside and clip some branches, stick 'em in a vase, and take some to your neighbors!
Will you stick with one variety? or mix a few together? 
...both options will add a great natural touch to any room!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Project Week :: Tuesday :: Stenciling

Tuesday, a jumble of words floated through my mind...

janky.
wompy.
tilt.
womperjod.
wonky.
crooked.

My mind's full concentration was focusing on creating
straight. level.even. traces of the stencil as I went up and down the walls in the laundry room. I was trying to avoid later describing my work with the words above. Just getting to the point of stenciling on Tuesday was quite the accomplishment. After this post some things went rather awry... but I'll save those details for another time!

I am so excited to tell you that all 4 of my laundry room walls are happily stenciled! In case you are new around these parts, this was the stencil I chose.


A handful of people doubted my idea to hand stencil, 
They said things like:
"won't that pattern be too busy?"
"that's going to take forever"
"i'm not sure how it will look"
"perhaps you're a little crazy"

Now, all I have to say is, "Don't let others' doubts cause you to doubt yourself!"

I looked around that laundry room, and was beaming from ear to ear. Yes, it was difficult at times, but the effort put in was SO SO worth it!

This weekend I hope hope hope to complete the walls by painting the traced lines, and next week the finished product will be revealed!




Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Project Week :: Monday :: Organizing

Project Week is in full swing!

Monday was a huge success, and I slept like a baby knowing all of our closets were neatly organized. The highlight of my day was showing Hubby the "before" pictures & then giving him a tour through the house of the "after". He is so encouraging and cheered after seeing each of the 6 closets.

Now it's time for your tour of our clean closets. If you so choose to judge me on the before pictures, I understand. I judged myself a lot yesterday!                           


Former Guest Room/ New Baby Nursery
::before::

::after::

                 {before}                                               {after}
Office

                        {before}                                                {after}

Hallway #1


                                    {before}                                  {after}
 Little Man's Room


                   {before}                                              {after}
                                            Hallway #2                                                                                  

(disclaimer: Hallway #3 closet was also organized, I just didn't take pics!)

Are you completely disgusted with me from those before pictures? I couldn't believe that I actually let the closets get so cluttered. I hate clutter!

Sometimes I just get used to looking at stuff the way it is...
I'm so glad it doesn't look that way anymore! In case you find yourself wanting to clean out your closets, here are some helpful tips::

{1}
Take a before picture.
It will help you appreciate all of your hard work.



{2} 
Give yourself plenty of time without distraction,
this is serious stuff. You need to be able to concentrate!

{3}
Clean everything off the shelves and out of the closet.



{4}
Clean the shelves.
Why?
because it's not like you'll clean the shelves once everything is back inside & organized. If you're like me, this process doesn't happen very often.

{5}
Create categorical groups.
For instance, one closet is categorized by candles, candle sticks, pillows, vase fillers, small decor items, large decor items, frames, and party decor/ supplies.


This allows you to add some sort of method to the madness.

{6} 
Begin placing items back onto the shelves.
If you change your mind about the placement half way through, it's ok! Try, Try, Try again.

{7}
Take note of what organizational tools you need to purchase/ find
to add the finishing touches.

Example:
Our hallway closet is categorized as shown above, but by placing candles, small decor items, & vase fillers in baskets, the closet will appear neater, and make me smile brighter each time I open the doors. I'm basket shopping on Friday :)

{8}
Look at the before picture, now at your closet. Now at the before, now back to your closet. Pat yourself on the back. Job well done!

{9}
Divide items you're getting rid of into piles of
trash/ recycle/ donate/ sell/ etc.

(those runners sure do make that pile of stuff look good)




Do you have any other organizational tips?
I'd love for you to share them in the comments section, and share links to your organization projects, too, if you have them!

sharing the progress with:
Savvy Southern Style


Monday, July 11, 2011

Project Week :: Summer 2011


Little Man is attending Vacation Bible School Monday-Thursday this week. Which means lots and lots of time for me to check things off my to-do-list!

Below is my tentative schedule...
Perhaps the goals are a little lofty, but I like shooting for the stars!

{Monday} 
Organize closets:
Old Guest Room/ New Nursery
Little Man's 
Hallway 1 & 2
Office



I am already looking forward to sleeping like a baby Monday night, knowing all those closets are orderly and junk has been trashed/ recycled/ donated/ posted on C-List!

{Tuesday}
House Projects
Finish stenciling laundry room
Complete stripping of living room chairs

{Wednesday}
Run Errands Around Town
Pick Fabric:
upholstered rocker
living room chairs
Hit up favorite thrift stores for hallway/ nursery lighting


some of my favorite lighting styles:






{Thursday}
Sew duvet cover for Little Man's Big Boy room 
the fabric : stripe : navy blue

{Friday}
Hubby is off work, so hopefully he can entertain Little Man
while I complete any task left unfinished!

I will try my best to post pictures of the progress each day!

In fact, if you find yourself being productive this week,
share links to your projects in the comments or on 
Peace of Home's Facebook wall!

I'd love to see what all of you have been up to lately!
We may even have a linky party on Friday...
so get busy!



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