Two Dressers, Lamps, and a Bed | Before

This is where you'll find me catching up on Downton Abbey on flake out Friday, or from 5:00 - 6:00 a.m. hitting snooze, or sipping my early morning coffee on those days I work later.  Our bedroom! The camera died about halfway through shooting our room, so this is really only part of the space. I know, I'm sorry! To the right of the bed are two windows, which are brilliant - literally. They give of so much light, and I intend to embrace that fully, you know, harness that clean and bright feel with crisp white window linens and such. And to the left of the wide dresser is the bathroom. Consider this an official before post (even if it's a halfsie). Half of the things in this room are old, thrifted, or waiting to be refurbished. Can you figure out which is which? There are a handful of Target and West Elm finds in here to. A gold star to the most correct guesses!

Oh and P.S. Went to Ikea today, and walked out a happy lady with the perfect pendant lamp. 

Color Translation: Blue Skies

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The sky has captured my heart and soul lately. Maybe it is the majesty, wonder, and novelty of bright blue, melting sunsets, and the ever rearranging clouds. I feel like God puts things in perspective a bit for me when I look up at the sky and realize how vast and wide open it is, and how small and singular I am. One moment it is sunny and hot, and the next moment the thunderclouds roll in to put on a spectacle, changing the bright blue to muted grey. This weekend we rode bikes all over, played volleyball at the park, drove up into the mountains, and went on walks. The sky was bright blue, and the neutral tones of the city with its pavement, washed out brick, and other hardwares paralleled the natural colors of the dirt, rocks, fall turning trees, and brush in the mountains. Regardless of the undertones, the blue skies stood out as the beauty of my surroundings. This post translates just that, beautiful blue skies with hints of neutral tones and pops of sunny hues into home design, decor, and style. How have you been enjoying the sky lately? 

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[Above] I love the idea of a painted blue floor. Especially the hue of blue in this design. The Rugs and blankets are reminiscent of a sunset, while adding texture and warmth to the space. [Below] The bright blazer and sky blue necklace are the perfect accessories to go along with a warm and bright smile.

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[Above] Not only is this embroidery just darling, but the clouds cut out of graph paper make this photograph so perfect! The vintage feel of this room, it seems effortless, lived in, practical for a child's space, and that embroidery would be a cute addition to the space, don't you think?

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Bright blue, peely, rusty, and weathered reminds me so much of our ride through Denver this past weekend. I think this tin and kitchen space are perfect color translations.(And I want to know where I can find a dish rack like that green one below!) A color pairing that works flawlessly is vintage sky blue with cherry red (refer to the counter in this last photo and the kettle to see what I mean).

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Maybe the sky where you live has been muted, grey, rainy, or cloudless, hot and blindingly bright. Or maybe you've been stuck inside and too busy to notice. I challenge you to take 5 minutes at least to tilt your head back and peer up at the beauty above you. Cloud watch. Enjoy the sunset, sunrise, or fog passing by (oh how I miss the coastal California fog!) Maybe you'll be inspired like I was, to translate your sky into home design, decor, and stylings. 

Thoughts for Thursday: Leopard Print.

This weekend, these shoes found me. I had fallen for a similar pair back in March when reading this post by Jenny at The Little Green Notebook. Now, compliments of Target, there is a little bit of leopard print in my life. And now for a bit of color {print} translation:

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I just love this rug! I think that leopard print can really bring some interest to an otherwise neutral palette. The clover shape of that chair back is darling also. I am craving a scoop of vanilla icecream in a cone after looking at this one.

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And what about this print for fall? This dress would be lovely with tights (black or navy) and boots. And I also love the messy twist the girl in this photo has done with her hair. We should ask the ladies at Le Coeur De La Vie what they think.

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The mix of leopard on the staircase combined with the red plaid rug in the hallway, large artwork, orange upholstered chair, and classic decor items like the vase creates a very modern yet traditional mix.

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Not only do I love the end of the bed bench (and how wide it is!), the print, books, and frames on the wall make me so curious about the couple who lives here! And I must ask this simple question, what are your thoughts on leopard print? 

Frames, maps, and a sewing machine {the beginnings of a functional guest bedroom and workspace}

The other day I wrote about glorious gallery walls and how my plans in the second bedroom were to piece together my very own frame covered wall. I have so many frames, with photographs, thrift store prints, my own art, etc. etc. After countless times stumbling around in that room and tripping over frames, I decided to get my picture hanging on. It was getting ridiculous and too messy for too long, so this morning I got to work and have some progress to show you on this long awaited guest room (which for the past month you could call a storage closet of sorts).

windmill sketch: thrifted
wooden shoes: bridal shower gift from Matt's mom
hand painted pot: from grandma's house
hard-cover books: thrifted
glass votive: anthropologie sale
wooden library box: thrifted
vintage desk: craigslist
green runner: Ikea

We have very little storage space in our Park Hill home. We do have a garage which is wonderful, but storing inside items (linens, coats, games, photographs, paperwork, wedding dress) that should steer clear of extreme garage weather are left for me to get creative with in the home storage dept.  The closets are filled to the brim, and even then, there is still more to store. With this second bedroom, I used a lot of trick storage. The wicker hamper next to the desk is filled with board games. The box setting on top of the hamper is actually a wine rack. We have a hutch now that houses all of our wine, so this wine storagebox is full of letter writing materials, sewings bits, maps, and travel books. The maps are not vintage, but merely trail maps we've gotten from various hikes. Instead of having them folded flat in a drawer, I rolled them up  add some visual interest. I like that this box has built in handles, making it easy to lift the box and access the board games in the wicker hamper below. (You will get to see more of this room soon, and the rest of my visually pleasing "store it" tricks).

Sewing Machine: from my grandma
{chair missing because it is being painted}

I merely created this space with things I already had. It was fun to put together because I had to make do with whatever was not being used in the rest of the house, and piece by piece hang each frame until it looked just right. Now I have a great corner of the room to learn to sew in, write letters, map adventures, sketch, read my Bible, and work on other small projects. 

Little grand living room tour.

Our new living room functions as more of a big catch all of rooms. From the moment you walk in the front door you can see the kitchen and the entire living space and even into the second bedroom if the door is ajar. I love grand rooms. Ours is not the grandest of grand, but it has that fluid feel to it, especially with the kitchen peering into the living room like it does. Mmmmm, grand rooms. Open and bright and functioning as place to relax and lounge on a cozy couch, play a riveting game of Settlers or Rook, BBQ and have a night of baseball watching, sort mail and write letters as if an office, dine on fine china with pinkies up, enjoy a gallery of art and finds from travels, and spend time with the people that matter most. 

Just like our kitchen, this space is very mix and match. I love that about it. I get a lot of my design ideas from subconsciously taking note when I look at other blogs and design images, but honestly, I just "set up house" in a way I think looks good and what makes me happy. If I look at something and have one inkling of doubt after I style it that way, I most likely rearrange it ten more times until I'm happy (something you don't get to see in these photos). Maybe its from my childhood days of dressing sets and setting out props when I'd go with my dad to work. I used to put a lot of thought into "will others like the way this looks?" Now, I've realized, that is silly because I am the one who lives here. Life is short, so make your home unique to you, reflecting your experiences, personality, and style. And for me, well, you've probably picked up some clues as what makes me me from this blog AND you can see for yourself in our home tour continued. (But, really, I do hope yo like our little grand living room!)

Hang your coat here.

Cozy up.

Framed flower photo captured from our camping trip to the Rincon, CA (celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary).

Wine hutch turned everything hutch. 

These vintage prints are more fitting in our Colorado home.

Love this jute rug from Ikea.

Three is the magic number. 

Fernandolito has been with me since college

He is from a little artsy shop in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Table lamp: Ikea, Books: Goodwill

 

This is our functioning office. It hides a wealth of mess inside. You would never know! 

All that is left for our home tour is the second bedroom and garage. It may be a bit for those, so hang tight, the garage needs to be finished first and then the cave can be turned into a lovely room.

What is your favorite living room detail? What is something that makes your home uniquely you?