CURRENTLY IN LOVE WITH

Image courtesy of West Elm

I came across this gorgeous bed frame while searching for pillows I saw on the Today show. I'm not usually into canopy beds, I prefer simple platform beds, but the beautiful headboard sold me on it!!! Its simple, graphic, and perfect!

TWO HOOTS

My Mom and I have a very special relationship.  She is my best friend and role model. My passion for life and design comes from her. She has a distinctive design style all her own that always feels like home.  Everyone who steps into my mother's house can clearly see who she is and her design philosophy, which is rustic, warm, and woodsy. 

Recently she has taken to collecting owls figurines (only the very very cute ones of course)! Much debate is made over how cute each owl is and whether or not it is worthy to be added to the collection, so when we were at an antique store and stumbled upon a little owl salt and pepper shaker the debate began. We agreed that they were VERY adorable, but my Mom couldn't decide if she wanted or needed them. The only sensible thing I could think of was for me to get them for her.  They were just too cute to pass up! They now have a place in the house with all of the other owls (and I secretly want them for myself).

VAY-CAY

I recently made the trip back to childhood home for a visit and to celebrate my brother's 23rd birthday.  I always get so excited to go back because I love everything about home and the surrounding area. There are mountains on one side of you and the Puget Sound on the other.  How can you not love that? One of my absolute favorite places to go when I'm home is to a place that is a 5 minute drive from my house and offers so much. It is a golf course with a 3 mile trail for biking or walking around it.  This place also offers a park at the bottom of the hill and recently an overhang has been built to go over the train tracks, so you can access the beach.  My boyfriend and I made the trip down on a very chilly afternoon, but loved every minute of it (especially the doggie).

new overhang to get down to the beach

It was refreshing to walk on the beach and search for pieces of sea glass to add to our collection.  There were also beautiful logs of drift wood and an abandoned building with gorgeous beams inside that I wish I could steal and mount to my ceiling at home.



abandoned buiding


As we were leaving the sun was just starting to peak through the clouds and I was able to capture this gorgeous picture of my boyfriend.

The next day we celebrated my brother's birthday, which turned out to be a relaxing day of reading and eating. In the evening we went to a casino to have some fun. Only one out of six actually came away with some money.  However, it was a successful trip because we were together and got to play!

A couple of days later my Mom and I went to a flea market and boy did we score big! We found the most gorgeous and interesting trunk.  Usually something like this at an antique store would run between $100 and $200, but guess how much we got it for, without bargaining? Only $30!!! We could not believe it and snatched it up immediately.

We also ended up going to a bunch of other thrift stores, as well, but will write more on those findings later. Overall the trip was great and got to spend tons of time with the fam. Now back to daily life and home!

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT



Images courtesy of 1. apartment therapy 2. chelseavictoria 3. decorology 4. bythewayside 5. sionhanbarrett
6. markhed 7. boheimiennes 8. riverofromansk


I've seen some of these collages of "favorites" done on some of my favorite websites, so I thought I would give it a go.  These are some of the products and pictures that I absolutely fell in love with, and this being the month of love I thought it was only appropriate to do one!

Treasure Trove

After dating my boyfriend for nearly two and a half years, we recently discovered that we had a common interest of digging for gold in thrift stores. One of our new favorite places to go is our local Habitat for Humanity store. My boyfriend in particular loves digging through the many bins of little random do-dads and thing-a-mabobs and while he was off digging, I was looking at the cast offs of furniture.  I wandered around for awhile and then came across a rickety chair that had definitely seen better days. The edges were worn and the fabric on the cushion was definitely old, but it had some classic lines and with a little bit of work could be a gorgeous chair.  I quickly grabbed my boyfriend to show him my find and we decided it would be a great project for me.  We purchased the chair for a bank-breaking $2 (now you know why we love this store) and brought it home. 

The next day I was so excited to get started and made the trip to Jo-Ann's to get some fabric.  I found three different patterns that could change the chair in numerous ways, but had a hard time decided which direction to go in. I could make the chair traditional or go super funky and fun.  In the end I purchased all three fabrics since they will all be used eventually anyways!

I already have a few ideas of what I want to do to the chair, but I would welcome any suggestions about which fabric to use and what color the frame should be, it could be funky or traditional, there are no wrong combinations.  Once I have decided which direction I'm gonna go I will post again the results!

Happy Love Day

Happy Love Day to everyone who loves love!!!

Image courtesy of Pink Sherbet Photography



FIRST DIY ATTEMPT

So everyone this is my first attempt to do a DIY project! I decided to start with something easy and small. I found a $4 shelving unit at an antique store. The shelving unit was old and banged up with loose nails, but what makes this shelving unit so great is it can be used for multiple purposes while being art on the wall.  Its great either square side up or turning it so they make diamond shapes.


Please ignore the clump of dog hair in the corner that was neglected to be picked up! My boyfriend and I have a giant 120lb. dog that requires vacuuming the house every other day.

My first steps were to hammer the nails securely back into place. I then lightly sanded the entire unit including the edges and wiped it down with a damp towel. Then the painting began! 

A week before starting this project I had picked up a bunch of $2.50 paint testers and decided they would be great for this project. I picked two different colors to paint the unit. 

Colors: Glidden Blue-Grey Slate and Teal Lake

To make it more difficult I chose to paint the different squares opposite colors with the exterior of each square in the opposing color. YIKES! However, what made it easier was to map out each side by marking it with the chosen color. Then I just went for it!  The next day I taped off the edges and finished painting.

Perfect for over my desk in order to clear up some free space.

That ends my first DIY project, which may I add was completed for under $10! Thanks to everyone who read about my first project and hopefully it will keep getting better and better!

WELCOME

Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog about reinventing design! Please feel free to leave comments (good or bad) and enjoy my posts about inspiring design.