A Touch of Greek Key

Want just a smidge of Greek Key in your house? 

I think these drawer pulls are so cute - and a steal at only $1 each from Ebay seller creativemerchandise.

So Not Fair!

What are the chances that this set of 2 matching dressers plus a nightstand will still be hanging out on Craigslist once we get moved?

Well, since the seller is only asking the ridiculous price of $80 for all 3, not likely.  So wish I could buy this set.  I would give them a lovely white paint treatment and some new pulls.  The nightstand would be sold to cover most of the cost and the dressers would flank my bed.

I hope whoever gets them loves them as much as I would.

CB2 Pixel Pillow

I just love this gigantic (23 inches) pillow from CB2:

I think it would look great in my son's new bedroom.

The Maggie Dress

The boyfriend and I had a really wonderful Valentine's Day - actually a good Valentine's Day Weekend since he had to go back to Austin on Valentine's Day and that kind of sucked.  We're not the kind of couple that usually celebrates Valentine's Day - but this last one was such a milestone moment in our relationship that I declared it like a second honeymoon.  Only we've never had a first honeymoon since we're not married.  Which led the boyfriend to talk about getting married...

No, he didn't propose.  After being together 5 1/2 years and having a kid (plus helping raise 3 others) together, I don't expect a big diamond ring moment.  In fact, I was always the one who nixed any wedding talk.  Before I start getting hate mail, I'm not anti-marriage in any way.  I love weddings - other people's.  But I have never envisioned myself in the bride scenario.  So when the boyfriend started talking about wanting to get married it really threw me for a loop.  Honestly, when I try to think of what kind of wedding I would like to have - I kind of come up blank.  Something very small and intimate with our kids serving as the wedding party...  That's about it.

I've been thinking about it off and on since last weekend, and I'm not at all sold on the idea yet.  If it's something that he really wants, then I'll go along with it.  Honestly, I think it would probably change how some people envision our relationship, but I've never needed outside validation.  A piece of paper won't change the fact that we're already a family. 

Anyway, most unmarried women could probably draw you a picture of their dream wedding dress within 3 seconds.  I'm not one of those girls.  In fact, the only dress I could think of that I really liked was the one Elizabeth Taylor wore in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

In case you haven't seen it, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is hardly the portrait of a happy marriage - so it might be a very odd choice for a wedding dress.  But just out of curiosity, I searched around a little and found someone on Ebay (PinkPurr Studio) who makes a close replica for $500 (a steal for a custom-made wedding dress). 

That's about as far as I'm going to go with this wedding talk for a while.  But it's still a beautiful dress.

This Little Piggy....

I'm not the craftiest person out there, so please don't laugh when I say I'm very happy with my latest little craft-y project.

I bought this piggy bank from Target for $2.50 when their Christmas stuff went on sale.

I'm sure somewhere there is a big demand for Christmas-themed piggy banks, but not in this house.  So, I set out to de-holiday it for my son.

I did a couple of light coats of Rustoleum's Bright Coat Metallic Finish spray paint in Dark Bronze from Lowes.  (Don't buy it from Amazon for $10, it was less than $4 at Lowes - I just wanted to show the exact product.)  I was very pleased with the finish - kind of rough with lots of sheen to it.

I made a special trip out to Hobby Lobby to find a cool stencil for the side, but in the end didn't like anything I saw (lots of cute girly options - of course), so I ended up making my own by printing out a giant cents symbol and tracing it on both sides with a pencil.  (Not too creative - I know, but I wanted it to feel a  little old school.)  Vinyl or stickers would be adorable here if you would like to do this project yourself.

Then I used some leftover antiqued gold craft paint to carefully paint in the cents symbol and add the eyes back on (he looked a little soulless without them).

I think he's adorable.  My son is already having the best time filling him up and he's definitely learning the value of a dollar.  I like to let him walk on my back when I want a cheap massage - and now he's decided to start charging me for the pleasure (!).  I've been using it as a teaching tool by going over the names and values of the different coins, as well as talking about the value of saving up for something big.  Not bad for $2.50, right?

JC Penney

Bought two coats on clearance at JC Penney yesterday...

Possibly my best receipt ever!

P. Kaufmann Treasure Island Fabric

Anyone with a son knows that the amount of cute stuff available for boys is at least 80% less than the cute stuff available for girls in just about every store you go to.

So I was thrilled to see this cute new fabric from P. Kaufmann's new Dream Collection:




Treasure Island, Teal Colorway, $12.98/yard


I love that it's soil and stain repellent as well - perfect for a boy's room.  Maybe some cute floor pillows?

Smitten

I came across this bedroom on DecorPad when I was looking at black and white bedrooms.  I love the art.  I have no idea about how it's made, but it sure is pretty.  I need to figure out how to DIY something similar - stat!



Son's Room Inspiration

Lately I've been obsessing focusing so much on the living area and master bedroom, I haven't given much thought to my son's room.  We were in the middle of redoing it when we packed up, so I'm not starting from scratch like the other two areas.  I'm going to keep the very loose theme of "Retro Futuristic" as my inspiration point, but I think I'm going to go a bit more modern.

For example, in the old house we had an old (1920s) brass bed with a lovely patina.  It was already beat up a bit, so I didn't feel too badly about putting it through the abuse of a toddler.  However, since we're downsizing to a two bedroom, we are definitely going to be need of a set of bunk beds.

In my inspiration folder, I save lots of bunk rooms.  They're adorable...


Traditional Home Magazine



... but maybe not too practical for us since our kids range from 18 to 4.  And we would be very lucky to find a second bedroom big enough for two sets of bunk beds and lots of room to play plus toy storage.

I want to build this set from Ana-White.com:

(based on Land of Nod's Clark & Addison Bunk Bed):

And paint it a bright orange like this inspiration picture (LOVE!):

I've had my eye on this comforter from Land of Nod for quite a while:

But I might end up doing something in a solid with some cool pillows (much like the orange bunk bed picture) and pairing it with this set of sheets from Target (only $18.99 for a twin set):

My color inspiration is based largely on this CB2 bedding, only it's too girly for a boy's room:

Stuff that will stay includes the framed artwork I talked about here.  I'd love to actually buy a couple of more since Atticus is now really into the solar system.

And I bought this pair of small wingback chairs off of Craigslist forever ago ($20 for the pair) to recover.  Of course, I haven't touched them yet.

I'm thinking a solid green like this from Fabric.com:

And I have two bookcases I built (from Ana White's plans) painted in "Mariner" from Home Depot's Martha Stewart line (at least I think it's Mariner - I don't have the paint with me to double check).

If I build any more storage, it'll probably be painted that color as well.

So that's where I am right now on my son's room.  What do you think?

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Here's the bedroom that is serving as principal inspiration for my new master bedroom:

I found this mirror at Z Gallerie, and although it's completely different, I believe it would work well as a substitute:

Pierre Mirror $279

I like that it's not a starburst mirror and that it still has a tiny amount of gold trim.  But the price is a little yikes!  It's a fairly large mirror (34" overall diameter), so if something smaller is needed, I also like this one from Wisteria:

Octagonal Horn Mirror $199

It's only 12" in diameter, so much smaller. 

Aesthetic Oiseau found a great knock-off version at Kirkland's for $79!  And it has a 40" diameter.

Although it's already perfectly coordinated with the black and gold, I kind of like this version better (also at Kirkland's) - it would just need some painting.

$69.99 - slightly smaller at 32" diameter.
I'm still looking for more wallet-friendly options online and at stores like TJ Maxx, on Ebay and Craigslist, etc.  In the end I might end up with a starburst mirror after all.  I think so many of them are gorgeous (like the inspiration picture), they have simply been overdone.  I saw one advertised at the Dollar Tree the other day - and when that happens you have to think it's become less "classic statement piece" and more "fad we'll all hate in a year or so."

Pharmacy-Style Floor Lamps

Another idea I'm going to completely steal from Nicole's drool-worthy apartment at Sketch42 - pharmacy-style floor lamps behind the sofa. 

I dream of a living room large enough to float a sofa like she's done, but if I can't do that, there's always the option of putting a table between the sofa and a wall to provide a little bump-out and room for some lamps.

She got her pair at Restoration Hardware - they're currently on sale for $279 (down from $379) and probably worth every penny.  I love them in the polished nickel:

But they also have a darker bronze finish:

However, I looked around and found some fairly close imitations at Lowes.  Only $93 each!  Unfortunately, they don't have polished nickel - but they have brushed nickel:

And oil-rubbed bronze:

Tilbury Lapis

I found a picture of this great fabric by Kravet and knew I wanted some throw pillows made out of it for the new living room. 

It's Laura Ashley Tilbury Lapis and I've heard rumors that it is priced around the $50-60/yard mark, but I didn't find any online to buy.  Even looking for remnants on Ebay or FabricGuru.com.  I should have known to look to blogs first - they have the answer to everything.

Habitually Chic and Bazaar of Serendipity both had posts uncovering the knock-off.  At Calico Corners, of course.

It's even called Tilbury Lapis and looks identical - except for the $24.99/yard price tag.

Robert Allen also has a fairly similar, but not identical, version - Khanjali Peacock:

It looks really green in the sample pic, but here is a pillow for sale on Etsy made with the same fabric and it looks more blue:

The Robert Allen version is currently backordered on the Lewis and Sheron's website, and priced at $49.99 at Joann's, but another blogger, Lauren Losefast, found it at Online Fabric Store for $15.25/yard. 

I'm leaning toward the Robert Allen version and not just because it's cheap.  Although, cheap is good because ikat is fairly trendy and you should never invest big bucks in trendy items.  Overall it is more green than I would like, but unlike the original it has more of the peacock blue that I'm using in splashes throughout the room.  So overall I think it will work better.

Yay for blogs - where would I be without them?

West Elm Rug

If money was no object and I had no qualms about putting a $400 rug in a kindergartner's room to be completely destroyed, I would totally put this cutie in my son's bedroom.

$400 isn't a lot for a rug, I know.  But he's 4 and I do believe that kids should be able to enjoy their rooms - even if that means toys are usually not in their right places and the bedding is permanently in a rumpled state.

The Jorun rug from Ikea is much more in the price range I'm going for - and it's cute to boot!

Living Area Inspirations

Although it doesn't have to be one grand room, I'm leaning towards apartments with an open concept living/dining area to them. 

I've posted these colors before when I was thinking of colors for my son's room.  Well, now that I get to redo the living area, I'm totally stealing this color scheme for that room and I'll come up with something else for Atticus's room.

It's from Sherwin Williams and I love it.  I wanted to go with brighter colors because of the white walls we'll probably be stuck with in a rental.

I haven't seen this rug from Urban Outfitters in person, but it's the right price ($48).  I'm thinking of putting two side-by-side under the dining room table to create a 8X6 rug.  The dining set is black and I'm still looking for the perfect fabric to recover the seat cushions.  I'm usually not an animal prints kind of gal, but lately these two have been really speaking to me - can't tell which one I like better.

Option #1

Chenille Congo Flare - $15.18/yard

Option #2

Chenille Spots Ruby - $15.98/yard

Option #1 is on clearance, so whether Fabric.com has enough when I'm ready to buy, or whether I can score an additional discount might be the deciding factors.

In the living room area, I'm gravitating towards a graphic, yellow-based rug.  I love this one from Ikea:

The "Alvine Ruta" is 7'10"x5'7" and only $159.  That's usually a pretty good size for a rug, but if we need something smaller, I like this one from West Elm:

The 3'x5' "Andalusia Rug" is only $99.  That seems really small to me for a living room rug, but it all depends on the space - which is totally up in the air until we pick some furniture.  (They also have a 5'x8' for $229.)

We got rid of our old matched sofa and loveseat in the move.  They were khaki, slipcover-style from Ashley and we bought them used off of Craigslist for $300.  And they were worth every penny and more.  Talk about abuse - they lived through my son's toddler's years - not without a few scars to prove it.  I am totally over the idea of a matched set.  I would love to get a small sectional similar to Kyle's from Knight Moves, if it would work well in the space.

The color is perfect and I love the nailhead trim.  (Her entire house is perfect, by the way.  I have more pictures saved in my idea folder marked "Knight Moves" than just about every other website combined.)

West Elm has the "Blake Sectional" for around $2000 that looks fairly close.

Ikea has the much cheaper "Karlstad" in a beige for $998 (the white is only $698 - it might be worthwhile to buy it in white and then re-upholster in a fabric I actually like since I'm not crazy about the beige).  The Karlstad screams "IKEA!" to me, but Young House Love recently bought one and will manage to make it look chic, so there's always hope.

However, if a sectional won't fit, I love the swooped arms of this sofa:

And a pair of these Wishbone chair knock-offs from Overstock.com:

I love the look of the natural wood and the fact that they won't take up a lot of visual space.  They're $196/chair, which isn't super cheap (or, as I like to say, "my kind of price"), but the real deal starts at $799 each over at Room and Board. 

If that doesn't work out I'd love to use this fabric by Dwell Studio for Robert Allen on a lovely reading chair, like this:

Maybe with a throw pillow made from Ty Pennington's new fabric:

As well as a few from this Kravet Ikat gorgeous fabric:

It's a whole lot of pattern and colors, but in my head it's turning out gorgeously.  One day I'll figure out how to make a mood board and actually put it all together visually before I start shelling out the cash.  But we need to find a new home first.  Prioritize!