Leather Sofa

leather couch | American Furniture Warehouse    curtains | Target    

teal side table | thrifted    white pottery | ikea    stitched pillows | Pottery Barn    

monogram plate | Anthropologie    striped cushion cover | ikea    

tufted chair | American Furniture Warehouse    white dresser | second hand 

wall paint color | Sherwin Williams Agreeable Grey

We had been eyeing a navy couch at American Furtniture Warehouse for months. Labor day was finally here, and the sale validated us taking the plunge to purchase a sofa. But then, right when we walked in that Warehouse's doors - bam! We saw this couch. The lines, the color, the nod to vintage. All thoughts of the navy couch vanished. We needed a bit of an anchor in this room, especially one that was masculine and classic. We have visions of this room eventually being more of a library feel, with floor to ceiling bookcases on the far wall, maps and botanical prints framed in a gallery collection, and a hint of mid-century modern meets Wes Anderson meets crisp white simplicity. It is hard to describe just yet (and I know that decryption really does contradict itself) but I tell you, the vision is there -- I can see it. In the meantime, this couch is doing a wonderful job pulling things together. The walls are bare (yet painted!), fixtures still need to be changed out (that chandelier, yikes!), yet I don't care if that takes a year because we have a place to lounger when the morning and afternoon light are just right, and the sun creates dancing sparkles in the air, making you never want to leave. We have a place to sit with friends, Pale Ale's in hand, after a rousing game of Settlers of Catan and a belly filling supper. Plus, this couch feels like autumn to me. I'll choose a leather couch over pumpkin spice lattes to help transition our little home from summer to fall, any day.

Heirloom White Dresser

One of the perks to having a living room with only a dresser and secretary desk is that they can be rearranged over and over. I felt so inspired after painting what used to be the brown wall grey, that I played around with decorating the one lone surface of the dresser. This room is the first room you walk into from the front door, and even though we don't hang out on sofas in here yet, we still like to have a place to drop our keys and "land" in a sense before traipsing through to the rest of the house after a day of work. That, and we do spend quite a bit of time on the floor. I had forgotten how nice it is to sprawl out on carpet. But anyways, like I was saying, having a place to catch all our odds and ends became the purpose of this little white dresser's table top as I rearranged things today. (Also, how much better does that wall look? SO MUCH better!)

The dresser was actually a hand me down from my cousin Natalie. They recently moved and hadn't a need for it anymore. Its been in our family for years, so it only makes perfect sense to keep it as so! She actually painted it white the summer I first moved to Colorado. We spread out in her front yard painting, sanding, and painting. (And sanding, sanding, sanding for what seemed like a millennium.) Somehow, the memories of sanding furniture seem to stand out the most (perhaps because those are the most brutal DIYs?) Anyhow, she has twin taste to me, so it basically works out to pass anything and everything on to each other. Natalie is also the one who told me to paint my walls Sherwin Williams Agreeable Grey in Eggshell. Having cousins who are wonderful friends AND wonderful decorators is too good to be true.

Even in an empty room, there are always small and simple ways to decorate even just a portion, without having to spend a ton of money. Besides the dresser being second hand, the lamp, wooden tray, and frame were all on sale from Target. The books were thrifted, the yellow runner are actually placemats on sale from Anthropologie, and the framed "Hello" print a card I saved that was sent to me in the mail. It's all about saving little bits and pieces that you find while running your errands, cleaning out your closet, or thrifting. In the end, they all come together to make your home uniquely you :) That's the beauty of decorating.

(*The wall in the first photograph/the far left wall seen in the second photograph is the only one that's been painted grey so far. The other walls are a khaki color that the previous owners painted).

Ciao, Brown Wall

Today is the day I sing my final goodbyes to the brown wall. This accent wall did not make the cut, fortunately, and its about to be covered by Sherman Williams Agreeable Grey. The grey is almost white, but grey enough that with white baseboards, or white linens, the crisp white still pops against its subtle shade. I debated going darker and richer, but I think that when it comes time for a sofa and furniture in here, those will be the rich dark colors - like a navy blue upholstered sofa and patterned accent chairs.

How easy it is to sit and analyze the color grey for hours on end. I am going with my gut on this, guys, and am thinking the color may even over take the entire entry way room today. I'd love to eventually redo our kitchen cabinets in a slate grey, so this lighter grey will peek through into the kitchen from the dining room and compliment darker shades if I go that route ( which I really would love to...with white subway tiles in the kitchen too, these are my dreams…). Now off to tape and drop cloth!

Two Toned Walls

There are so many more rooms in our new house than I'm used to. Three of the rooms are small bathroom spaces, which means more small spaces for me to experiment with paint color combinations. Our spare guest bathroom has been on my mind lately, because all that really needs to be redone is some new paint and framing of an off-center mirror. Long-term, I'd love to fix the cabinets, but they work just fine until that day, and the budget, arrive. The tile for the shower/bath is original to the house, it seems, and its a tan/neutral tone. I always love aqua paired with tan. But really, what I would love to do is play with the aqua or robin's blue tone and white paint with the tan tile. I was thinking that a two toned wall would be pretty fantastic in such a little space. And then getting some beetle kill wood to frame out the mirror plus some new knobs on the cabinets, and voila! Plus, fresh white linens also make a room seem new and bright. What do you think about the two toned wall? I'm thinking this project could be done in a day - so maybe one of my days off coming up I'll whip it out on a whim, and surprise ya'll!

// photos via Pinterest //

The Studio

Upstairs, at the very end of the hallway, there is what I've donned as "the studio." You see, I've always dreamed of having a space for art. A room to sprawl out with a mess: paper, paints, pencils, fabric, glue, and all the goods that messes typically spill out as when I make them. So when we moved, and ended up with three bedrooms in addition to a basement, this room emerged as the space I've always wanted. One filled with natural light, a big wide desk, and room to sprawl out. 

An art room really needs materials right at your fingertips, am I right? That way no setting up really has to happen. Its all right there, whenever you need it. It's kind of funny to think that the over the toilet shelf that we built for our tiny place in Denver has now become the perfect set up for all of my art supplies. You wouldn't even know it if I told you that is was in a bathroom for the past two years. Between the shelf, the wire drawers from Ikea, and the closet; this room has such great storage.

Secretly, I chose this room not only because of the lighting, but because it feels like you are in a treehouse. The ash tree in the backyard nearly reaches into the window. Its so calming and pretty to work on a piece of calligraphy or paint up here.

Although the closet side of the room is basically art storage until they each find a home on walls throughout the house, I feel like this room is pretty well under way. Eventually I'd like to have a little lounger or a comfy retro loveseat that can go between the door and the closet. Wouldn't it be great to just curl up with a book in here with a view into the winding branches of the ash tree outside? I've been playing with color ideas, and want to stick with something that is bright and clean, and still allows the aquas and red that are in the collection of art above the desk to have that pop. I may stick with the neutral for awhile until maybe just going with white, but I've also been toying with the idea of a color blocked/two-tone wall. Like this, this, or this. Kind of bold, BUT lately I'm obsessed with this idea. I'm just so thrilled to have a home. And so thankful to have this studio and space to make messes. Trust me, this is the cleanest its looked since we moved here ;)

Dark Grey Bedroom Walls

Right now the master bedroom is neutral, tan, beige, skin tone. Oh how I want that to change. But something I've been challenging myself to do is patiently plan each room, and map out colors and aesthetics that Matt and I are both drawn to. Simple, crisp, and vintage is an overarching theme that I find myself mapping out in my mind over and over. And grey. Or gray. Grey/gray. The color keeps cycling back to the house plans, sneaking its way into every single room I redesign in my head. Gray so light it is almost white in the family room, grey base cabinets with bright white top cabinets in the kitchen, and subtle grey shelves in the laundry room. Leaving the the darkest of all the greys in the master bedroom. I've been trying to picture this bottom look in our room. What do you think? I kind of love it.

image via here

Target Secrets

We all love bargains, right? I've talked about this in terms of thrifting, but Target can be the queen bee too. Finding that little red sticker that says now: $5.98, was: $29.99 just makes you want to run around the store and tell everyone that there is a deal being had at the end of aisle 7. It makes you want to stock up like a dooms day prepper because you might need those 6 lamp bases, 10 picture frames, and 8 pillows one day (clearance prices do something to your mind and make you think a little bonkers). Okay, so I don't stock up, but I can't lie about not thinking about it when I see the red clearance sticker.

So let me give you some advice. If you see something at Target that you like: WAIT. Honestly, more times than not, that same item will be marked down in a few weeks. Or a like item, that is a bit different, but still gets the job done. With buying a house, and having 400% more space than I've ever had in my entire life, I've been frequenting my Target a lot lately, in the same fashion as a thrift store. My eye is looking out for red signs sticking out from shelves in Home and I look on the back side of the aisles : that's where the clearance treasures are found, and I kid you not it can be a gold mine.

 Threshold lamp Base $7, Threshold side tables $20.

Another word of advice: If there is a crack or small damage, but it isn't that noticeable to you, or it really wouldn't bother you in the end when the home item is styled in your house, ask for a discount at checkout. Most recently, I found two clearance items, a glass lamp base and a Nate Berkus tray (both now in the guest bedroom), that had a chip and a crack. The lamp base chip is hidden when its standing upright on a table and the tray's crack is covered with mindfully placed decor on the tray. Both were already end of aisle clearance items, but because I pointed the damage out at checkout, I got an additional discount. So yes, ASK! You can always send it as a go back if you change your mind at checkout.

Four Threshold wooden frames, $2 - $5 each.

Media center $60, was $140.

Gold bowl on sale, discount at check out because of small scratch.

Sale on poufs (the best new word for fun ottomans), $30 off marked price.

Something else I've observed, Target markdowns are best found mid-week. I find the best clearance items the further away the day is from the weekend. And, it never hurts to ask for a price adjustment if you bought something earlier that is now an even greater mark down. I just did it yesterday with a few frames, and saved $10 (it all adds up, friends!).