Pinterest Challenge: Picture Frame Headboard

When Sherry (Young House Love) and Katie (Bower Power Blog) announced their seasonal (completely unofficial) pinterest challenge, I did a little happy dance in my seat. As a new blogger I am excited to have an opportunity to get my little blog out there.

My sister has been wanting to give her room a makeover for a while now and we had been searching for some DIY headboard inspiration so I called her up to see if she wanted to take part- she was all in. She wanted something simple with big impact and that could easily be reused in another room if her and her fiance ever upgraded. We thought about trying our hand with an upholstered headboard but their bed is the only king sized bed in their home, so reusing it for a different bed wouldn't be ideal. We finally decided on this pic for our pinspiration...



image via bhg.com

And it was almost a success- keyword being almost.

Saturday was a marathon of running around gathering stuff for the room, which somehow expanded to us repainting the entire thing (FOUR coats of paint!) at 8:00 in the evening. After all that we ran into a little hiccup printing some black and white photos of my sister and her fiance's recent trip to Europe. So sadly this is all you get for now.

I promise to have full before and afters up early next week! In the mean time check out the projects Sherry, Katie, and their co-hosts Megan and Michelle turned out for the challenge.

In other news I got to spend today celebrating this amazing man's birthday!

 

 

Trent is my absolute favorite person in the world: the best dad I could ever wish my kids to have, a great partner in all things life, his creativity and compassion for others inspires me every day. He's always looking for ways to better himself as a husband and father and friend and I am so very grateful to have him in my life.

Closet Decorator: Coral & Navy

This post was inspired by my younger sister, Erin.  Since the day Erin was born she has  loved fashion.  She would ask for shoes and clothes for Christmas instead of toys, much like my oldest daughter Tayah. She always looks fantastic and has no problem pulling an outfit together. She isn't afraid to take risks but when it comes to her house she's stumped. She knows what she likes but she's never quite sure whether or not something is really "her". 

We've been getting dressed and making choices about what we wear almost everyday of our lives and decorating a home for only a small fraction of that, so it makes sense that most of us would feel more confident in our clothing choices. If you are one of these people this post is for you. I'm going to show you how to turn your favorite outfit into a space that can't help but reflect your taste.

First choose your favorite outfit. It doesn't have to be one you own, just something that you know is you 100%. After a little pinterest browsing I came across this prettyiness...

Next you'll want to identify what exactly it is you like about your outfit. In this case, I love the updated 50's vibe and the colors. It's has a structured look to it and classic porportions but the fabrics aren't fussy and theres a casualness to it. If done properly I should be able to say all the same things about my finished room.

Now let's get down to decorating. It's bussiness time (side bar: if you haven't seen it, check out this Flight of the Choncords video, I think it's funny, you might too). Start with the color foundation. The three main colors in this room are going to be white, charcoal, and coral. These colors will be the colors of the major pieces in the room.

I chose white walls, because I love white walls. This skirt was dying to be reinvented as romantic draperey so coral curtains it is. Charcoal for the sofa, because as much as I love a dramtic colored sofa or even a bold patterened one, the wiser long term choice is to use something more neautral for the most expensive items in the room.

The style of the pieces you choose is also important. I chose a sofa that reminded me of the retro vibe I liked about the outfit and the buttons on the couch were inspired by the buttons on the skirt. Along those same lines the woven rug reminded me of the strap of the purse. A good start but boring, unfortunately this is where a lot of people quit and are left frustrated wondering why there space still doesn't quite feel right.

Time for some secondary furniture pieces. We could use some more pieces in white, coral, or gray but I wanted to make things a little more interesting. Since there are no visible shoes in the picture I decided that if I was wearing this outfit I would want to where some cute navy flats with it. With that in mind this is where I ended up in phase 2...

Don't navy and coral look great together? Yum. I chose the leather safari chair because it's classic and casual and the leather ties in with the belt in the outfit. The amazing chandelier is gold like the earrings. I think a room could be empty with only that Jonathan Adler chandelier and still look gorgeous. It's been a long time favorite of mine and in my dreams it hangs happily in my home. 

The room is starting to take shape but still a little lifeless, let's take it one step farther and add in some accessories...

(sofa, ottomans, chair, chandelier, rug,  picture frames, pillows)

Personal photos in black and white (shirt and cardigan), white and coral cushions and another hit of gold. 

I think this girl could happily live here...

 What do you think? Are there other Flight of the Conchord fans out there?

I had so much fun putting this post together I'm thinking of making Closet Decorator a regular feature. If you have an outfit you'd like to see turned into a room send me a link.

Operation Little Man: The Reveal

(In case you missed parts 1 & 2 of this project: 
Operation Little Man: A Man With A Plan

Operation Little Man: Pulling It All Together)

Once upon a time there lived a little man in a little room....

I think it's safe to say that the little man loves his new big boy room.  Trent and I  took to heart Ferris' vision of "A green and blue room, the walls dark blue. There can be a little orange and yellow too, but NO red.". We finished about a week ago (wall color is Benjamin Moore Normandy Blue), and after getting everything set up, we snuck Ferris in there around one in the morning so he would wake up in his new space. He was a very happy boy when he came running down the stairs the next morning. For the next few days he wanted everything to happen in there- reading stories, watching movies, building train tracks. Him and his sisters would appear only for food. I love it too. 

Let's start with my favorite thing in the space. This painting of a map by my favorite artist Rachel Zwambag (she's also responsible for that sweet doll on the bed). It seriously makes the space. It really balances the weight of the bed and smaller art pieces on the opposite side of the room.

Rachel is a good friend of my younger brother. She was attending Arts College and this was a school project. I first saw this painting in my mom's basement where my brother and all his friends would hang out. Squealing did happen. Rachel had run out of room for her work at home, so the basement became home to a number of great pieces. I'm pretty sure every time I saw it after I would comment on how it would be so amazing in a little boys room. After my brother moved away from home, Rachel generously offered to let me have it. More squealing. She said it wasn't getting enjoyed at my mom's place anymore and would love for me to have it. It is very enjoyed now. Huge thank you to her for making my little boy room dreams come true.

This book trough is in the running for second place, along with everything else in the room. My sweet hubby, Trent, built it for me after my original metal bin plan was too overwhelming for the space. It will get stained when the winter weather let's up here in Calgary.

The ornament chandelier turned instagram mobile is probably Ferris' favorite thing. He loves staring at the pictures and seeing all his favorite people and pictures from favorite events.

The goofy picture is one that hung in my husbands room when he was a kid. When we were dating, we were organizing his storage space and I came across this picture. He said he kept it because he thought it would be fun to have it in his son's room some day. That pretty much sealed the deal right there. I love my man a lot, probably even more than that map.

The writing in the little black frame is a poem my Grandpa Moishe wrote and gave to us when Ferris was first born. Ferris' middle name is Moishe and my grandpa was beyond flattered. He is an amazing man and I hope my little man inherits much more than a name from his great grandpa.

Here's a shot of the ikea hacked drawer under the bed...

And last but not least the closet...

The dresser needs to be stripped and refinished but again that will wait for warmer weather.

This metal car was in my husband's condo when we met.

These blocks were a gift from my brother a couple of years ago, and they make me laugh...

I loved carving out a little place for my little man to dream and process and it makes me so happy to know that he loves it too.

All photos in this post taken by Kristy-Anne Swart of upandawaystudios.com

It would make my day to hear from you- what are your favorite additions to your kids spaces?

Operation Little Man: Pulling It All Together

(For part 1 of this project check out Operation Little Man: A Man With A Plan)

Right off the top can we talk about this wallpaper?

Honestly, I adore it and can see myself being in love with it all the way until my face caves in and the saggy skin hanging down over my eyes prevents me from staring at it. True Love. I desperatly wanted to wallpaper Ferris' closet but by the time it got it here from the uk with shipping and duties and handling fees it would have made the little closet project around $200.00. Too much for me to justify for a house that we may end up selling in the next couple years. I've been consoled by convincing myself that if this house turns into our forever home, I can always be added later.  So instead of wallpaper, I used this stencil that my sister bought me for my birthday back in October.

I had been wanting to paint my front entryway with this stencil and thought trying it out on the back wall of a closet would be a good way to break in my stenciling skills. What I didn't know was that in order to break in these skills, one must actually possess the skill in the first place. I do not. It was way harder than I had anticipated. Maybe stecilling skills and patience are the same thing? Either way it will not be happening in my entryway. However, I am happy enough with the results in Ferris' room and glad that my sisters gift didn't go to waste.

Another way we saved money on this room was by using a lot of stuff we already owned and tweaking it. The bed, dresser, storage drawer, and window treatments, shelving and art we already had on hand. 

This bed was from back before Lena was born and Tayah had her own room.

Too girly for a boy's room so my husband did a little ikea hacking and removed the scrolly part. Now the footboard and the headboard look the same.

We also had this ikea drawer for under the bed- I used a $5.00 sample pot from Lowes and painted it green and then added some rope pulls.

We purchased the orange throw and the sheet set from the moodboard. The sheets were a splurge but they are the perfect blue with "a little bit of yellow". The pattern is playful but not too juvenile for guests and they feel great (also nice for guests). The grey striped duvet cover from Pottery Barn was just not in budget for this project and after a little searching I found a look alike in the bargain bin at ikea for $16.00. The fabric is obviously not nearly as luxurious but with good quality sheets it's no big deal. We also used an ornament chandelier from our Christmas decorations to make a really fun instagram mobile. 

I can't wait to show you all how it turned out. Check back tomorrow!

Operation Little Man: A Man With A Plan

This is my little man...

Ferris, will be four in March.

And since this amazing surprise (little Lena) made her way into our lives 2 years ago...

Ferris has been sharing a room with his big sister Tayah (age 6).

All photos by beautiful friend and talented photographer Kristy-Anne Swart

As great of friends as these two are we always planned that once Lena turned two we would move her out of the crib and into the shared room. Ferris would get his own room- a room free of pink and flowers- and not only that he would get the bigger bed so his room could also double as the guest room when we had company.

A couple of months ago with his little sister's birthday quickly approaching I asked my little man what he wanted his room to look like. I braced myself as Ferris is probably my most design oriented child- he asks to go to show homes for fun and he's very purposeful when placing throw pillows back on the couch. I knew he would have some definite ideas about his space. Surprisingly his only request was color related. "A green and blue room, the walls dark blue. There can be a little orange and yellow too, but NO red." ummm ok...I could work with that although the strong opposition to red caught me off guard. Up until that point there had been no mentioned aversion to it.

After a little fooling around on olioboard- trying to strike a balance between a room he would love right now, a room he could grow with and a room that wouldn't feel like a theme park when guests slept there- I came up with this...

wallpaper, striped duvet cover, orange striped throw, blue and yellow sheets

It got the thumbs up from Ferris! This was the first space I ever started with a mood board and I have to say I loved it! It was so nice to have a strong vision for the space before I started shopping and making over some things we already had. Check back tomorrow for some info on how I brought my vision to life on the cheap.

And it's ON...

Starting a blog as place to share my ideas and inspiration has been on my to do list for far too long. This year it is ON! No turning back now. Well actually seeing as this is my blog I could totally turn back whenever I want- but I won't. A huge part of me has been afraid to start this because I want to have the whole blogging thing perfected before I put any posts out there to the world. Great photography skills, perfect blog layout, super inspiring content, but I don't expect anyone else to be perfect and I'm not going to get anywhere by being scared. It's time to put on my big girl panties and make it happen. I hope you'll all hang in there with me as I figure out some of the blogging basics.  I'm not much of a writer but I do know a thing or two about interior design/ decorating. I should, as I spend most of my free time reading, sourcing, and dreaming up ideas for my home, future home and pretty much anyone who's home I've ever been in. 

I really desire to create spaces that reflect and inspire the people who live there (no perfect, lifeless, matchy matchy, "showhomey" spaces here). We as people are designed to be drawn to beauty. I think there is a reason that the most popular places to travel are the ones with beautiful views, oceans, mountains, amazing architecture- moments and memories from these places are all enhanced and made more special because of the beautiful backdrop. People spend hours researching and planning their holidays because they want them to be perfect and special.  If we place so much emphasis on spending a week or two a year somewhere gorgeous why wouldn't we want our homes to evoke those same feelings and enhance the life and memories that take place in our own little boxes?  I hope my random brain dumps on this subject can help to inspire you to create your own beautiful backdrop!

P.S.

These little people are my biggest inspiration for wanting to make this world just a little bit more beautiful...

Photo taken by the incredibly talented Kristy-Anne Swart