A Few Easter Additions!

I've JUST started decorating for Easter... here's what I've done:



Botanical Prints & Resto Frames

I'm slowly working on the den... My most recent addition includes these two weathered gray picture frames from Restoration Hardware Baby & Child.

I like that the gray color ties this room into the living room beyond.

I then framed botanical prints from this site. I saved the PDF images, resized them, and printed them from my home computer. I think they look pretty darn good! I love that the prints and frames tie together all of the colors throughout our home.



Fixing Another House Design Mistake!

We started painting our living room the DAY we moved into our house...

It took 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint... We could not wait for it to be finished and we loved the color when it was complete!

HOWEVER, it was our first house ever with plaster walls, we didn't realize how much a semi-gloss paint would show all the flaws in the wall. The more time that went by, the more and more it started to bother me! It was so blotchy, and when the sun would shine on it, you could practically see each paint brush stroke.  (It's really hard to catch on camera, but here is the best I could do!)

Last weekend, I'd had ENOUGH! I went to Home Depot and bought the same paint - Martha Stewart's Flagstone - but instead of in a semi-gloss finish I bought it in a flat finish. I sanded some of the really uneven parts of the wall (I'm not sure I've ever been so sore in my life!) and then gave it one quick coat of paint.

The difference? You would not even BELIEVE!! Amazing!

It seriously looks like a new room. The walls look p-r-i-s-t-i-n-e!!

The only problem is that now I want to repaint every other room in this house I painted with this paint... the kitchen, the entry, the stairwell, the upstairs hall, and the master bedroom.... !! Wish me luck :)

Ah, spring!

Getting out the spring flowers....

You would not BELIEVE how good these smell.... !!

Today is Tucker's Birthday... He is 3!!! Love that pup :)

A Design Decision I REGRET! Ugh

You may remember my post about the den a few days ago... Well, I'm having major "Designer's Block" when it comes to this room. I think it all traces back to this bad decision I made...

You see, I bought these curtains for our den from West Elm... Beautiful right? Thats what I thought too...

I thought I carefully planned out the room ahead of time.. The room gets a ton of sunlight and we decided that we wanted the room to be light and airy (As you know, I typically gravitate towards darker, earthier, cozier colors) 

Anyway, I thought I had the perfect plan... At first I had no trouble picking out the curtains, the upper wall color, the beadboard, and the new carpeting.

I thought I'd get one of the following couches to go in the room:

(1st one from Restoration Hardware, 2nd one from Pottery Barn)

The problem is that once I got the blinds up and lived with them for awhile, I decided they looked so YELLOW!! 

They perfectly match the dirty, faded blinds that are going in the trash. And now I can't look at the curtains without thinking of faded, dirty yellow. It makes me want to puke!

I also hate how close the curtain rod is in to the blinds.. I wish I would have gone with a 96" curtain instead of an 84"... They look so scrunched!

I also think the room just looks and feels TOO light. There is nothing grounding it and that just doesn't sit well with me. It's uncomfortable!

But maybe the blinds, ugly carpet, terrible bold brown rug, and temporary couch are just clouding my vision....

Although I typically feel like at any time I walk into any room and instantly envision a great design scheme for it in my mind, in this room I'm completely stuck!!!! I can't envision my old vision nevertheless a new one. It keeps me up at night! Lol ;)

Unfortunately, no matter what I decide, I bought these curtains too long ago to return them. Oh well, sunk cost! 

But have you ever made it halfway through a design plan and then decided it wasn't feeling right to you, and then started over? And how did you get re-inspired?

HELP!!!

J.Crew Tops & Madewell Shoes - Basics for Spring

The weather here lately has been crazy.. one day its in the 60s... the next day its POURING.. the next day it is back to snowing! I'e been shoping for some transitional items to get me through this wacky weather. Here are my favorite basics from Madewell and J.Crew:

I also want this Longchamp bag (big enough to hold my umbrella!) :

And I'm also kind of craving this yellow sweater from J.Crew...

Reconfiguring of the Built-In's

This is what the built-ins looked like when we moved in...

The built-in's did not fit our TV... so Evan took a saw and sander to it and reconfigured them! 

I primed and re-painted them this weekend :) 

We still want to add a piece of trim under the shelves above the TV to give it a more finished look!

We are also going to get new oil-rubbed bronze hardware for the cabinets... new carpet... new blinds.. and a new couch (hence the reason I'm not showing you the other half of the room!)