Thanksgiving Mantel

Our fall mantel this year is a mixture of rustic-ness and elegance.

Kind of an odd combination, I know, but it works for us.

It all started when I saw a sign similar to the one below in a local shop, 

for way too much money.

I knew I could make the sign myself for much less moolah.

And as it turned out, it ended up being totally free!

There are currently a bunch of new houses being built in our neighborhood and the builder had piles of scrap wood sitting out, waiting to be disposed of.

So I rummaged though the piles, found some scraps, made a few cuts, and nailed my sign together.

I already had some Minwax Early American stain in the garage, 

which I used to coat my sign twice.

Then I used my good ol' white paint pen to fill in all of the letters.

That's it. Not a penny spent.

The book page wreath was something I made last year (using THIS fabulous tutorial). 

The two mercury glass pumpkins were Costco finds (a few months back) as were the flameless battery operated candles (which I love!).

The glass pillar candle holders were from Ikea.

And speaking of DIY projects, I thought I'd share this chalkboard sign that hangs on our front porch to welcome guests. 

It was made using an old white cabinet door found at Habitat for Humanity ReStore. 

All I did was paint the center with chalkboard paint and added the rope to hang it.

Can you believe Thanksgiving is only 2 weeks away!?

Linking up to:

Delightful Order: Delightfully Inspiring Party

The Shabby Creek Cottage: Transformation Thursday 

My Repurposed Life: Catch as Catch Can

Rustic European Inspired Family Room Design Plan

Recently I completed a family room design plan for a client how described her style as "European Primitive." 

To be perfectly honest, I had no idea what that would look like. 

So after lots of research and online shopping, this is the plan I came up with...

 The client already owned the leather sofa,  

Chunky Wool and Natural rug (Pottery Barn), 

and industrial style end tables (Home Decorators) 

and I added in all the rest to bring the whole room together.

1. Ponderosa Lumbar Designer Decorative Pillow (Etsy)

Navy Blue Trellis Geometric Pillow (Etsy)

Textured Linen Pillow Cover in Flan (Pottery Barn)

Cable Knit Throw (Pottery Barn)

2. Pair of Armless Slipper Chairs in Abstract Blue Floral (Target)

3. Kenroy Home Stacked Rock Table Lamp (Lighting Direct)

4. Button Tufted Upholstered Ottoman in French Yellow (Target)

5. Wooden Dough Bowl (Etsy)

6. Quinn Tripod Round End Table (Target)

7. Margo Medallion Drapes (Pottery Barn)

8. Sutter Adjustable Table Lamps (Pottery Barn)

9. flat stone fireplace surround with chunky wood mantel

10. Charleston Club Chairs (Overstock)

To give you a visual of how all of this furniture would be laid out, 

here is the floor plan I created for the client... 

 I was absolutely thrilled when the client told me that she loved the plan. 

This design plan really stretched me as a decorator, so to hear that I created something that the client was excited about really gave me a major confidence booster.

While the client loved the overall plan, I learned that she wasn't crazy about the color navy blue, so I came up with a few alternate plans for her, swapping out the navy blues with other options.

Interested in creating Rustic European Style in your home?

Here are some pointers:

Incorporate simple, natural elements, such as wood and stone.

Choose furnishings that reflect the wear that comes with age (i.e. weathered farm tables, distressed side tables, metals with patina).

Accessorize with baskets, pottery, and utilitarian objects. 

Furniture should be relatively simple and able to stand up to hard wear.

Stick to a color palette that is mostly inspired by earth tones; marigold yellows, sage green, merlot red, soil browns and ochre. That doesn't mean you can't add in pops of complimentary colors, though!

The Reality of Chalkboard Walls

On a whim last week, I painted a small wall in our kitchen with black chalkboard paint.

The kids absolutely loved it.

 

I mean, how cool is it when your mom lets you color on the wall!?

And I liked it too...

at first.

Then reality set in.

If you're a type A personality like me and like things just so,

you'll see what I mean...

After the kids were done with their 'art' and the wall was scrubbed clean,

it never really looked clean.

I'm not sure if it's because the wall is textured or what, 

but it just ended up looking messy no matter how much I cleaned it.

It drove me nuts.

And see the baseboard?

Here's a closer look...

Chalk dust all over the baseboard and floor.

After living with the wall like this for a week, I decided I'd had enough.

I mean, do I really need one more thing to keep clean?

So today I painted back over it,

and now we're back to a plain ol' vanilla wall 

(which will hopefully be getting some color soon!).

It's really a shame because chalk board walls can be so dang cute!

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Stenciled Curtain Panel Results

I thought I had finally found the perfect solution for curtains for our kitchen/breakfast nook area and family room (read about it here), 

and after spending several days stenciling curtain panels,

I do love how they turned out. 

I just don't love them in this space.

 After finishing one set for the sliding door, I hung them up real quick next to our old curtains just to see how they would look.

They are super cute, so I'm not entirely sure why I don't love them.

Maybe there's just too much white.

Or maybe it's the pattern.

I'm just glad I didn't do all 4 panels before deciding they aren't going to work!

Anyways, I will be hanging them in another room 

and moving on to Curtain Plan D 

(since these will be the fourth pair of curtains I've tried in this space!)

Here's a sneak peak at my next plan of attack...

Fingers crossed that the fourth time's the charm!

Kitchen Chalk Board Wall

I am a project-aholic. 

I almost always have a few irons in the fire and if I don't have some sort of project going, I get anxious.

Today was one of those days where I was totally itching to do something. 

Change something. 

Create something.

So while the kids were taking a little nap, 

I whipped out a can of chalkboard paint that had been sitting in the garage and gave a wall in the kitchen a couple coats of black. 

I was in such a rush to 'do something' that I forgot to take a before picture.

The wall that I painted used to be cream, so it's a bit of a shock to walk in to the kitchen and see black!

But I think I'm liking it.

To break up some of the black, I hung a metal perpetual calendar (Joyworks), 

which I think happens to be pretty dang cute.

And I love that I now have a place to write the weekly dinner menu.

The kids are pretty crazy about getting to draw on a wall too :)

Oh, and just an FYI, chalk pens do not work well on chalk board paint on walls. 

It doesn't wipe off! I learn that lesson the hard way :(

Good old fashioned sticks of chalk seem to work best!

Linking up to:

Happy Hour Friday at Craftberry Bush

The Accessorized Hemnes Entertainment Center

After finally convincing my hubby to let me buy the Ikea Hemnes Entertainment Center, 

it took me quite a while to accessorize it. 

I didn't just want to fill it up for the sake of just filling it up. 

I wanted it to look pretty, but also contain items that are meaningful to us as a family.

I also didn't want to spend much money.

So I shopped around our house for most of the items 

and filled in the rest of the bookcases with a few other minor purchases.

basket with balls (Michael's)

white square Ribba frame (Ikea) with keys from our past homes

faux plant (TJMaxx)

silver Ribba frame (Ikea) with sepia picture of the kiddos

old toolbox (Antiques Warehouse in Shonomish, WA)

blue jars (M&M Antiques in Monroe, WA)
wooden spools (M&M Antiques in Monroe, WA)

books covered in brown paper

artificial plant and Fridfull planter (Ikea)

blue jar  (Ruffles and Rust in Snohomish, WA)

Kvarnvik photo box (Ikea)

blue wood box (Goodwill, painted with Benjamin Moore Woodlawn Blue)

white Ribba frame (Ikea) with picture I took in Seabrook, WA

hourglass (TJMaxx)

vintage books (Goodwill)

brown Ribba frame (Ikea) with picture of my daughter's hand

knick-knacks collected from various vacations

gray Byholma baskets (Ikea)
white fish plate (TJMaxx)
silver frame (Target on clearance last year) with picture of the kiddos
round glass vase (World Market) filled with sand collected from past vacation spots

wire "locker" basket (Fred Meyer)
shell prints above entertainment center (Art.com) in Ribba frames (Ikea)

It may have taken me a while to fill up, 
but I absolutely love how the unit has the 'collected over time' look
and that most of the items were things I already had around the house. 

Light, Bright and Airy Master Bedroom Design Plan

A recent client needed help creating a vision for her master bedroom. 

She knew she wanted it to be light, bright and airy feeling, but just didn't know how to achieve the look.

The following is the design plan I created to guide her in creating a relaxing bedroom retreat.

 

1. Genevieve Sky Duvet & Sham, Ruched Platinum Euro Sham, Rosary Sky Quilt & Sham, Rosary Platinum Sham (Pine Cone Hill)

2.  Carlton Bed in Microsuede Oatmeal (JCPenney)

3. Stamford Reclaimed Wood Finish Side Board (Overstock)

4. Stacked Ball Lamp Bases with Drum Shades (Target)

5. Comfort Gray Paint (Sherwin Williams)

6. collection of sunburst mirrors for above headboard (various sources)

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7. Peyton Linen/Cotton Drapes in Oatmeal (Pottery Barn)

8. Hamilton White X Slat Office Desk (Target)

9. Nimes Putty Grey Side Chair (Overstock)

10. Worn Wood Candlestick Table Lamp (Lamps Plus)

11. Levanger Oval Mirror (Ikea) spray painted white

I actually ended up loving this design plan so much myself that I'm thinking of making some changes in my own master bedroom! I especially l.o.v.e the Stamford Reclaimed Wood Sideboard tables from Overstock. So cute.

Family Room Curtain Options and GIVEAWAY winner

I have been struggling with what to do with our family room windows. 

Currently we have cream honeycomb shades on them. Since the windows on this side of the house face west, we get hit with the afternoon sun in this room. It's bright and gets way too hot. The translucent honeycomb shades do little to help this.

I thought about bamboo shades or roman shades, but Jacob didn't like those options. And I'm not crazy about blinds because I like having clear, unobstructed windows to enjoy the view of the backyard.

So that leaves us with curtains. And there are oh so many choices!

Whatever curtains I choose for the family room have to be the same as the ones over the sliding door. Originally I was going to do the same tan/white striped curtains in the family room as the ones I made for the breakfast nook, but I felt like that would just be took much tan in the space. While I love the look of the striped curtains (and they were a lot of work to make!), the color just isn't working.

I have been shopping for fabric for a few weeks and below are some of the options I've been considering...

1. Annie Selke Scramble Slate (JoAnn Fabric)

2. Braemore Conservatory Bark (Fabric.com)

3. Halo Mist (Beautiful Fabric)
4. Dwell Studio Botany Flora taupe (Fabric.com)

5. Premier Prints Towers Village Blue/Natural (Fabric.com)

6. Premier Prints Ozborne Village Blue/Natural (Fabric.com)

7. Annie Selke Links Slate (JoAnn Fabric)

8. Kravet Sommer 35 (Inside Fabric)

9. (Pottery Barn)

10. Braemore Fioretto Graphite (Decorative Fabrics Direct)

11. Dynasty (Designer Fabrics Online)

12. still looking for the source on these ones...

13. Gray Damask Fabric (Carousel Designs)

14. Fancy Lattice by Frontdoor (Spoonflower)

15. Grey on White Jaali by Emmy Upholstery (Spoonflower)

16. Taza by Dena Designs - Geo in Natural (Etsy)

 Obviously I want something with white/cream and a gray blue color. I was leaning toward #1, 10, and 14, but the prices just seem a bit steep for my liking ($49.99/yd, $34.25/yd, $18/yd respectively) and since I change my mind so often, I just can't stomach spending between $288-$800 on curtains!

When I saw these panels (fabric #10 above), I absolutely fell in love...

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So I started brainstorming how I could create this same look for cheaper. And then I came across Beth's tutorial for using a stencil on white Ikea drapes to create customized curtains!

Genius!

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I already hit up Ikea this week and purchased the Lenda curtains ($29.99 per 108" pair!) and I just ordered the Small Moorish Trellis Stencil from Royal Design Studio.

Total cost for fabric, stencil and stencil tools = $146 + cost of paint

I like that price much better.

The winner of the NOVICA gift certificate is Tamara, who wrote,

"Hi Erin, I would order the Soapstone jar, 'Jasmine Rose'. Love this new site, I'll have to visit often. Thanks for the tip!"

Congratulations, Tamara! I will be contacting you via email with the gift certificate info!