DIY Farmhouse Kitchen Remodel

Did you know that Clint and I have only lived in big cities, but recently we moved to a small town (population 713)? It's kind of amazing and we are in a little bit of culture shock!

We are now the proud owners of 7 acres on A MOUNTAIN. It's insanity. We own the top of a mountain. Gives me chills!

Anyways, we plan on starting a garden in the spring along with getting some chickens and bees! It's a brave new world out here (and so many bugs). But for now... it's remodeling time! 

Red Beach Themed Guest Bedroom

Over the last year the idea of decorating the guest room has been one of those daunting tasks that float around in my brain constantly, but I keep pushing it away because it just seemed like so much to do. Since I have limited space I am making my spare bedroom function in two capacities: Guest room and Craft room, but because of the small space I had no idea how to make it work. 

I was really concerned about making the space livable for guests, but also a functional work space for me without making it look tacky. It's so difficult keeping a smaller room multi-functional and looking organized and I just was never sure where to start. 

But then it happened. The man's mother said she was coming for a visit and that put some urgency into the decorating situation!

I never took a before picture of the room as it was when I purchased the house, but it was painted navy blue. The Man didn't think it was "that bad", but it just wasn't me. I had to go!  

This is what it looked like partly into painting:

BEFORE:

I know. I know. It's a horrible mess. I don't even like looking at this picture. Ugh!! 

From the same angle, this is what the room looked like afterwards.

AFTER:

So much better, right?

I decided on painting it red because red gives you creative energy (or at least so I have been told) and most of my house is gray and blue so I thought a little dramatic ump would be nice! However, I didn't want to do a bright red. I wanted a romantic red that would be soft and warm so I turned to my favorite pillow for inspiration.

My entire color palate for my house is based off a pottery barn pillow that I found and I fell in love with  called the Josephine Lumbar Pillow. So I took that pillow to Ace Hardware and I color matched the red color to Spiced Apple Cider by Benjamin Moore and it is PERFECT.

A DIYer Guide to Creating a Centerpiece

Be forewarned: I am not an interior decorator, but I have spent a lot of time with one. I love making things look pretty and I am very particular and a slight perfectionist when it comes to the "rules" of decorating. In fact, many of my friends and family as me for decorating advice, particularly with paint colors and centerpieces.

Which leads me to the entire inspiration of this post: my bestie is decorating her new house! Yay!

She has been trying to find a centerpiece for her dining room table, but she was having trouble making it look natural. She really wanted it to be balanced, but she was placing the objects in a very symmetrical way which was making her feel uneasy about the project. She asked me for some advice about how to make a centerpiece visually interesting and organic looking.

I thought I'd share what I told her!

By no means am I an expert, but I have spent a lot of time with my interior designer, Celeste. She has helped me on countless projects in my house and taught me a bunch of things along the way. It helps that I like to pick her brain constantly so that I can come up with my own ideas and stop paying her (I, of course, did not share my motivation with her). Most of this information is what I learned from speaking to her about projects (she is awesome and I love her) and most of the pictures are what I've done with the information she has given me and then a few inspirational pictures as well.

Basic Centerpiece Concepts:

Pieces that are grounded by some object-- a tray, a placemat, a table runner--- will give you boundaries so you know what you have to work with. For most people, this is the easiest way to create a visually appealing focal point.

Always remember function-- using trays as a place for your make up, perfume, or daily beauty supplies is perfect in the bathroom. It will make things look neat and less cluttered even if they are scattered around the tray.

To add interest, opt for objects that have varying height or place some objects on books, in a bowl, on a butcher block or other objects to create a height difference.

I really like odd numbers because I think they automatically look less contrived. So if you find three to five objects to put on your base then you will have a good foundation. They can be big or small depending on the space that you have, but always remember to think of function and not just how it will look.

Yarn Wreath and Felt Flowers DIY Tutorial

I love the look of yarn wreaths-- they are also so welcoming. They are also great for people who aren't all that artistic-- just pick a color and wrap it around a wreath. Not rocket science. I also love felt flowers because they are so easy to make! I decided to combine the two for a new summer wreath!

It's so simple! It takes some time simply because of wrapping the yarn, but it's so easy!

How To Make The Flowers
Buy sheets of felt at the craft store in the colors you like. You will need about half a sheet per large flower. At Joann's they were only $0.34 per sheet.

Make sure you have a hot glue gun or fabric glue and scissors! That's all you need!

I cut the felt in strips that were about 1 1/2 inches wide. The length will be dependent on the size you want the flowers to be-- the longer the length, the larger the flower. You can keep adding strips to a already made flower to make it bigger.

Fold the strips in half and glue them together.

This is the fun part! Cut little strips into the folded felt to create your "petals". They can be thick, thin, diagonal, straight, cut from the side you glued or the seam where you folded.. whatever you like. Each flower will come out differently when you change things just slightly.

Adventures in Painting

I hate painting, but there is one thing I hate more: deciding on paint colors.

God, what a headache!! I spend more time analyzing paint chips than I do actually painting (which did I mention-- I hate).

Now this is preference, but I really, really love Benjamin Moore Aura paint. They only typically need one coat of paint which is awesome because that's less painting. Yay! Because I hate painting. :)

Did I get my point across?

My biggest problem is that I never know which paint colors to choose! And that's when I met my favorite interior designer!

Did you know that Pottery Barn offers FREE in store interior design consults? FREE. There is no minimum sale or gimmicks. It's FREE. Of course, they push their own products, but you don't have to buy anything. But I'll be impressed if you don't buy something. :)

Poor Celeste (my interior designer). She had no idea what she was in for. I came to the appointment with a binder of ideas. Haha! After three hours, I left with a lot more knowledge about colors than I ever thought I could have.

CELESTE'S COLOR TIP #1:
Pick your colors based on your favorite decorative accessory in your home: a pillow, curtains, bedding, or artwork. 

If you don't have one, then she said it's important to find it before you start painting. She said if you find something you love and it doesn't match your color scheme, then you're back to square one or you're repainting your room. 

I decided on my three main colors based on my favorite pillow, the Josephine Lumbar Pillow. Isn't it pretty? I loved the burnt red, hints of green and the dreamy blue mixed together. 

CELESTE'S COLOR RULE:

To keep a good flow pick only a handful of colors, three maximum, and repeat them throughout the house in different degrees. Neutrals (whites, grays, tans, blacks) can be without taking one of your three color picks. You can even use the same paint in different rooms to bring cohesion to your house.

For example, I used red, purple and blue as my primary colors. I use gray, white and tan as my neutral colors. 

She told me that you should pick a color for the walls in one room and use the other colors for accessories. When you move to the next room, select a different color from your palate, and rotate the accessory colors.

Ex: My bedroom is blue with purple and white accents, the guest room is red with white and tan accents, and the living room is gray with red and blue accents. 

The repetition of colors throughout the house makes things cohesive.

How to Pick Complementary Colors:

When in doubt of what colors to choose -- look at a color wheel.

The easiest way is to pick a color next to your primary color or directly across from it. Let's look at GREEN: 

If you had a green room, then accents of blue or yellow would be appropriate. Red accents would be a more of a bold statement, but hey girl-- you can rock it. 

CELESTE'S COLOR TIP #2:

When choosing a color, always consider the things you cannot remove (cabinets, countertops, tile) or are too expensive to change (bed headboard, sofa, dining room table). 

She focused mainly on my granite when deciding on a color for the great room. We looked at the granite next to color swatches and put them in a pile if the combination made us happy. It seemed like everything I liked was in the taupe gray family so, obviously, that was the way to go.

Ben Moore Cumuls Cloud and Kentucky Haze

In this picture you can see the granite next to the wall color, "Cumulus Cloud" (Ben Moore).

In full sun it looks gray, in a darker room it looks more taupe, and in certain lights it looks like it has a hint of green. You can see a little bit of difference in the wall color in this picture on the left and the picture (above) of the Josephine lumbar pillow-- the walls look darker and more gray in the other picture, but they are the same color.

Celeste recommended that I paint the entire great room "Cumulus Cloud" to make it look bigger. She said that painting each room a different color will actually make the room look smaller and if I want to add color, then use a different color on accent walls or niches or add colorful accessories.

CELESTE'S COLOR TIP #3:

If you want to paint an accent wall, a niche or a door something differently than your trim, a good "safe" rule is that you go up or down on the color swatch at least 2 colors from your main color.

I decided to do just that on an accent wall in the living room: River Reflections (two shades darker than Cumulus Cloud).

Painting Clay Pots: Easy DIY Cheap Pots the Way You Want Them!

I was really frustrated because I was trying to find two medium size pots for under $50 to use by my front entry way. I originally wanted something that was NOT plastic and was either a dark gray or a dark blue. IMPOSSIBLE.

All the nice pots are $50 or more for one! The cheapness inside of me scoffs at such thievery! So I decided that I'd make my own pot my own way.

This Is How You Do It: 

• Tera-cotta pots
• Clay Sealer
• Paint

On a sunny day or in a well ventilated area, sprayed the pots with clay sealer completely both inside and out (or as much as you're willing to paint). This will prevent the paint from soaking into the clay, so it is essential unless you want to use a gallon of paint! 

After it dries (usually 24 hours), painted the pots whatever color you want! You can add stencils or designs, paint in your address. Have fun!

It was so easy, so cheap, and it looks perfect! And, yes, it was under $50 for both. Win!

Clay pots: $14 each = $28
Clay sealer $7
Paint-- I already had it (and no you do not need fancy paint, but outdoor paint is recommended if they will be outside)

Total: $35.

My Home Tour: The First Year

Welcome to my home! I love my house and I can't wait to share with you it's progression into my dream home! Do you want a tour? I'd love to show you around! 

Exterior of the house when purchased:
When we bought the house it looked ALMOST like this-- just imagine this house with a bile green door. {barf}

It's the perfect size house! Just shy of 1900 sq ft, but who wants anything bigger than that?! Someone has to clean it (aka me!). 

Since we bought it (about a year ago) we repainted almost the entire inside of the house (previous owner's fido's fur was attached to the walls), painted the shutters, changed out all the doors, put in new windows, mounted TVs, screened in the back porch, added fans, build some furniture, improved the irrigation system, upgraded kitchen hardware, added hardscape, and changed all the lighting.

Whew! I'm tired just thinking about all of that. 

EXTERIOR IN MAY 2013

Nantucket Gray exterior with Mysterious trim by Benjamin Moore

Decorating a Niche with Family Pictures

Whenever people come to my house they always stop in my foyer to stare at my family wall. They often comment on pictures, ask questions about family members and talk about how good of an idea it is to use the old pictures in that way.

When I decorated my foyer I knew that I only wanted to use old black and white picture. I wanted to use pictures that meant something to me and pictures that had a story. I wanted it to be a statement with emotion that showed the importance of family and where you came from.

I had a really hard time trying to figure out what to do with this space, but I'm so happy that I decided to give the entire niche to black and white family pictures.

I added the basket (from Pier 1) with some flowers I got at the craft store and the rustic stool from Pottery Barn. I also added the little candles on the wall and they are also from Pottery Barn and I've seen the on sale quite a bit, plus they are always free shipping! I love free shipping.

I still want to paint the back of the picture wall either two shades darker than the color it is now or I want to stencil something in the same color, but in gloss. I really am at a loss about this which is why nothing has been done-- if anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear it!

I love the top picture! It's my great-grandmother (dad's side) and her friend. She's the skinny little thing in a hate. Now Ms. Ona Lee Garrison was a bit of a crazy thing and she always pushed the boundaries. I never met her, but what I've been told is that she lived her life to the extreme and didn't much care about what anyone thought about it. That's saying something for a lady who lived at the turn of a the century!

The bottom picture is my mom's mom, my Granny-- Ester. She is the cute little thing on your right hand side. My Granny is also an independent woman, but she has class. Don't get me wrong-- she also has a lot of sass! There really was no hope for me! The other lady is her sister, Nancy. They were both just teenagers when this picture was taken.

I love how these picture are near each other because they show the difference in the two sides of my families. My dad's side is a little bit crazy and my mom's side is more traditional and normal (still a little bit crazy).

This is my Grandpa's Army picture. He is in the first row third from the left. I have a lot of military pride and I like to display these old military pictures.

Decorating a Porch for Fall

Fall is my favorite time of the year! Finally, the weather starts to cool down and I can eat more because I don't have to worry about being in shorts and bikinis all the time. Seriously, I wish someone would invent a double chocolate brownie with ice cream on top which had 10 calories per serving (and the serving would be HUGE).

Until then I will satisfy myself with shopping. ;)

I went to Hobby Lobby (awesome store) and started dreaming about fall outdoor decorations. Pumpkins, scarecrows, ghosts and candy were dancing around in my mind.

Unfortunately, I didn't find any black birds that I really likes, but I did find these amazing fruit bushel baskets, scarecrow, pumpkins and hay bundles. Suddenly, I didn't care that I couldn't black birds. I even forgot about the ghosts.

I made one more trip to Home Depot and then came home and created this....