Bookmarked

I recently a did a little update to our living room, I sewed some new pillows, and added a new color scheme { navy's, greens & yellow } I'm loving the new colors and think its time to reconsider our curtains. Right now we have the Ikea White Vivain curtains hanging, which I've loved. But with our greige walls and white curtains, things can look a ho hum some days. Plus I love how dark brighter curtains look in rooms that gets a lot of natural light, just like Avery's nursery. I bookmarked a few ideas, and like the look of the solid curtains against light walls. 

Another idea I've been thinking about is patterned curtains, which would look good and add more color in our living room. I like that patterns add another layer of interest and almost feels like artwork on your windows.

Love this in progress picture from House Beautiful { here }

{ via here }

If we end up going with a solid color, I'm thinking navy linen will look nice. I like the look of linen, its pretty and light filtering. As soon as we decide I'll be ordering some fabric and making curtains. Here's a quick reminder of how our living room currently looks.

See, were in need of more color STAT.

What do you prefer white curtains, solid darker brighter curtains or patterned curtains? And Why?

One Color or Two?

Now that our little guy's nursery is done { except for finding the *perfect* rug } we are wanting to starting on mini projects in our kitchen. A few weeks ago, we had the middle section of our cabinet doors removed to replace with glass inserts in the doors { will sahre soon }  we also plan on painting the cabinets & making our kitchen more functional. When I think of functional I'm thinking more cabinets, open shelving, better use of interior cabinet space etc. But, lets talk the fun stuff today :)

I've been looking at amazing kitchen for quite awhile and have been going back and forth between all white kitchens & kitchens with white upper cabinets / open shelving with a different bottom color cabinet. Here are a few of my favorite all white small kitchens { while I adore the big ones, the small ones really help keep our kitchen in prospective } You can see how our kitchen looks here.

Why I love these all white kitchens: Open Shelves for cookbooks & dishes. Clean look of all white cabinets makes the kitchen look classic. I also love the under cabinet CD player, which is a MUST for our tiny kitchen!

{ via Southern Living }

{ via here }

{ via here }

Why I love white upper kitchens and dark bottom cabinets: Love the combination the of classic white with black or grey bottoms, so fresh!! Love the open shelves below the cabinets in kitchen # 2

{ via here }

{ via here }

So that's what's been on my mind lately. I know when we first start painting the cabinets it will add so much light to our kitchen and make the room feel larger. We plan on painting the uppers first, and painting the lower ones after we replace our fugly counters. Then I think instead of painting our lower cabinets we could leave then the dark stained brown they currently are, but then it might be hard to color match the stain when we add new cabinets. Simple decisions such as painting, really mean so much to me and are time consuming! lol :)

What do you prefer in kitchens one color or two? Have you painted your kitchen cabinets, if so what color did you go with? 

Finally the Nursery Reveal!!

The moment we've { ok me } has finally come, our little guy's nursery is finally done! It feels so good to have have his room completed. Even if its a whole 2 1/2 months after his arrival, but hey that's ok. I planned on having Avery's nursery completed during the two weekends before his scheduled due date 6 /18, but he arrived early on 6 /3 and due to my surprise C - Section working on his nursery, progress happened here and there. Before sharing the afters, here's a reminder of his room before it turned into a nursery. The once just held misc. junk. After finding out we were expecting we cleaned out the room and started with a blank slate.

We painted the room a soft grey Silver Drop by Behr color matched to Olympic paint and refinished the hardwood floors Early American in April before really starting on the nursery. We also made the baseboards taller, by adding extra molding to the existing baseboards.

The room now has been truly transformed into a serene yet playful place for the Little guy. I fell in love with the color I call Artichoke Pear, after falling in love with the color in this nursery. We both loved the classic look of the Jenny Lind cribs and decided to go with white for a clean look { our older son also had a Jenny Lind Crib } We replaced the boob light fixture pretty drum shade light fixture found on Overstock, and installed a dimmer shade to make late night diaper changing and feedings easier. This is the view from the hallway when you enter the nursery.

I found the perfect bedding at Target a design from Dwell Studios and DIYed a long crib skirt with Artichoke Pear and White Pattern. I created the artwork above Avery's crib and framed them in Ikea Ribba frames. I like how the three large frames balance the crib nicely.

I bought the dresser for a steal at our local Salvation Army { only $ 50 bucks } and replaced the old brass pulls and knobs with polished chrome pulls and white and polished chrome knobs. I painted the dresser delicate white, which is my favorite white of all time. I love that this vintage dresser has SO much storage a total of nine drawers! Plenty of room to store Avery's diapers, wipes, onesies, blankets, and much more. To save on space the dresser top doubles as a changing table { we simply attached the changing pad to the top of the dresser } For a pop of color, I used green tray that holds two clear containers, one full of baby q-tips the other baby stuff { nasal aspirators, nail clippers, pacifier thermometers }

I built two deep ledges { the same style as our entryway ledges } to hold Avery's toys, pictures, books and toys. The two stuffed giraffes I sewed for Avery act as bookends. The framed giraffe print, is actually a card I found at Raley's grocery store, I wrote a little note inside for Avery.

I placed the little wood magazine rack that Mr. CLH sprayed painted avocado next the dresser as you walk in the room. Behind the bedroom door, I framed another card. I found a little owl card while shopping at Barnes & Nobles. I loved the little card so much I knew it would be perfect in Avery's nursery. I framed the little card and also framed the envelope { placed behind the card } It's the cutest little owl ever.

I didn't want any 'dead space' in the nursery, so this little corner in between the crib and dresser became the perfect play nook for Avery's toys. I placed Avery's toys in a colorful woven basket.

To maximize space in this small space, I placed the chair diagonally in front of Avery's closet. We were looking for an affordable chair option that didn't lack in style or comfort, and we were thrilled when came across one from Cost Plus World Market. Instead of buying the matching ottoman, I found one at a thrift store of $ 10 bucks. I upholstered the ottoman using fab the Waverly Cross Section fabric. I love kicking my feet up and relaxing while nursing Avery.

Here's the breakdown what we spent transforming this once empty room into our little guy's nursery. I also included a quick source list of the main elements in Avery's nursery.

Jenny Lind Crib $ 99.99 { on clearance from Sears }

Serta Nightstar Crib Mattress $ 99.00

Curtains Ikea Ania $ 49.99

Black Iron Curtain Rod Target $ 12.99

Light Fixture Overstock $ 100.00

Dwell Studio Crib Bedding via Target $ 37.99 { Sheet & Bumper pad }

DIY Crib Skirt Fabric $ 16.99

Luxe Chair & Chair Cover World Market $ 222.49

Vintage Dresser $ 50 { Thrifted }

Dresser Hardware via Hardware Hut $ 35

DIY Ledges $ 8

Magazine Rack & Spray Paint $ 7 { Thrifted }

Vintage Ottoman $ 10 { Thrifted }

Grey Cross Section Fabric via Fabric.com $ 11

Changing Pad from Sears $ 15

Terry Cloth Changing Pad Cover, Ross $ 4

Woven Basket for Toy Storage, Target $ 7 { on clearance }

Green Tray West Elm $ 22

Large Ikea Ribba Frames $ 45 { $ 14.99 each }

I rounded the total up, we spent $ 853 bucks, which is great!! We found many deals using coupons, shopping online, shopping thrift stores and a ton of DIY projects { crib skirt, refinishing the dresser, upholstering the ottoman etc } I had a blast working on Avery's nursery. Creating a special space for for our little boy to play, learn and grow in makes me so happy. Whenever I walk in Avery's room, I smile. For now we consider Avery's room completed, but we still plan on adding a rug to his room very soon. I've been on the hunt and most likely will go with Flor carpet tiles next time they have sale. I'll update changes we make in his nursery over time. I hope you all enjoyed Avery's nursery!!

What do you think?

Project Nursery: Dresser is Done

The dresser saga in Avery's nursery has finally come to a close, with the second dresser we purchased is done! The first dresser turned out to be far to much work { we are on a time crunch people! lol } too much damaged veneer.. Then I come across an amazing vintage dresser for $ 100 bucks, but only paid $ 50 bucks thanks to a 50% off sale at our local Salvation Army. I'm really glad I came across this dresser, it turned out to be a great buy. It's a super solid piece all wood construction on the inside with dove tail drawers.


* Thrift Store Furniture Shopping Tip: Confirm all drawers open smooth and close perfect. Nothing sucks more than a stuck drawer.

I painted the dresser Delicate White Satin { this finish complemented the crib better } by Olympic Paint and used the same painting steps I did on our dresser here. I replaced all the old hardware with shiny polished Nicol. I LOVE how polsihed crom shines against a white dresser. I found the pulls at the Hardware Hut online for $ 4.19 each. I bought the knobs at our local HD Home Supply, I liked the mix of chrome and white { faux } porcelain.

After the dresser was completed and before all the drawers were put away, Mr. CLH hung two deep ledges above the dresser. I built ledges very similar to the ones on our entryway except made these ones much deeper. I wanted them nice and deep to hold a wide range of Avery's baby stuff, from books to piggy banks etc. Mr. CLH drilled the ledges into the studs, to ensure an extra strong hold.

Here's the dresser after!

I lined the inside of his drawers with srcap booking paper in colorful funky prints.

I'm a happy camper, not much left to do :) Just put away Avery's baby gear in his dresser. This dresser as so much storage its insane. I also need to fill up the shelves. So the next time you see the nursery it will be done :)

Follow Along: As we create a nursery for our baby boy due in June 2011 (He arrived early on 6/3/11) From the beginning; Nursery Bare Bones, Paint Makes the Difference, Bye Bye Boob Light &Hemming & Hawing, Crib Notes, To Rock or Not To Rock? Nursery Artwork, Vintage Ottoman, Nursery Dresser Saga

Second Sunday of the Month

Once a month on the Second Sunday of every month in Midtown Sacramento, there's a huge antique faire held under the freeway { Mon - Friday its a parking lot } I've been wanting to go to it, for like ever :) and finally this past Sunday we went. There were a ton of vendors all with a wide range of items from sale from nick knacks to mid century modern. These old school suitcases started at only $ 10 bucks and up.

So stealing this idea. Large glass water bottle + wine corks = goodness.

I love these vintage crates, don't they remind you of the ones Pottery Barn sells? They would be great in a kids room for storage and adding wheels would be even better. Next time we go, if I can locate the vendor I might get one.

I fell head of over heals in love with this Mid Century Modern sofa and love seat. When we came around for a second look there were sold. Oh well, that's the way it goes at Antique Faires. I was picturing them on our patio with the wood refinished and the cushions slip covered in outdoor fabric.

The star burst clock also caught my eye, I'd prefer popping out the clock and replacing it with a convex mirror. Maybe it will be there next time? The large shop fan? Was also cool.

We all had a fun time, looking at all the goods and plan on going back soon. It's a good way to spend a Sunday morning with my family. If you live in the Sacramento Area of Northern California like we do, you can check out more information about the Sacramento Antique Faire here. We ended up buying a cast iron grill press and a vintage ice cream scooper :)

What was your last vintage purchase?