Spring Fever: A Patio Revamp

Hola my lovelies!

How has the weather been in your neck of the woods?  Here in Atlanta, we have had the most BEAUTIFUL weather!  Gorgeous blue skies, cool breezes, and 85.   Over the weekend, the beautiful weather really inspired me.  My patio was in sad, sad shape.  So sad, I was too embarrassed to take a full “before” shot!   Imagine a little concrete block with a couple of pots spouting foot tall clover, a sad little rosebush that was on its last leg, old plastic bowling pins laying around where ever the kids last dropped them, and a few miscellaneous balls of various sporting types hiding in corners.

The piece de resistance was my 3 piece retro aluminum seating set, pathetically lined in a row, waiting to receive the TLC I promised it late last summer when I picked it up for a steal @ craigslist for $50.

50s aluminum loveseat

The full aluminum porch set - a craigslist steal from last summer @ $50

It was a sad, pitiful sight.  The kind you avert your eyes as you pass through to enter the townhouse.  The kind you sorta don’t notice when you leave home at 7:30am and get home as the dusk begins around 6:oopm.

The kind that becomes a GLARINGLY obvious eyesore when the weather’s gorgeous and you realize that you’re wasting perfectly liveable outdoor space that you REALLY want to use to soak up the previously mentioned gorgeous sunny day.

Yup.  It was that kind of pitiful.  And, truth be told, I might have been able to ignore it one more weekend if I hadn’t been doing a little blog maintenance on Saturday.  I was clearing up my blog roll when I ran across this great post from Nicole over at Making It Lovely.

Nicole and 4 other bloggers had been invited by BHG.com to participate in the 48 hour challenge.  As I understand it, they were given $500 to use materials from Home Depot to revamp their outdoor spaces in 48 hours.   Nicole and her husband created this amazing space:

MakingItLovely.com 48 Hour Challenge Project

Beautiful, right?  Every part of it… right down to the handpainted faux rug that Nicole did FREEHAND!  And the most important part of this (at least to my slacker self) is that Nicole is currently a week overdue with their first baby!  Yes, you read that correctly… she did this while ready to burst any minute with newborn baby girl goodness…

So I’m reading all about it (and you should go here and do that too) and I’m glancing out my back window at the pitiful view to my little patio.  And I thought… really Shauntelle, there is NO excuse.   After all, I’m not even close to bursting out any newborn baby goodness.  I couldn’t even complain that the weather was bad.

Of course, I didn’t have anyone offering me $500 for a redo, but heck, the whole reason I started this blog was to encourage people to beautify within whatever budget they have.  What I had was $25.  So I made myself a little challenge… I’d reuse, recycle, and use whatever ingenuity I could come up with to revamp my little patio with just $25.

I have to say, I’m pretty proud of my results.  The project is still in progress with $13 spent so far, but by Sunday evening this is what I’d accomplished (with the help of my youngest son and partner-in-crime):

Painted furniture and new layout

It felt so nice to sit on the patio and see the progress.  In fact, everyone in the family enjoyed it so much, we spontaneously ended up having Sunday dinner out on the patio.

Working on this reminded me why design is so important.  I can’t tell you how much happier I felt sitting on my attractive patio, and it was obvious to me, as I sat out there enjoying dinner with my family that evening, that my family felt better too.  That’s what good design does; provides an environment that encourages you to enjoy your life and the ones you love a little bit more.

My hope is to finish up a few more projects for the patio over the week.  I’ll definitely take more (and better) photos and keep you updated as I go.

’til next time!

xoxo – Shauntelle

P.S.  I almost FORGOT!  Please be sure to go over and vote for Nicole’s space on bhg.com!  You can check out the other 4 finished spaces as well, but her’s is by far the MOST gorgeous!    Plus really, who can beat saying they handpainted a faux rug while a week overdue… you gotta win extra points for that!

Inspiration Friday: Sneak peak of Nate Berkus’ new HSN line!

Nate Berkus (photo courtesy NateBerkus.com)

One of the reasons I LOVE blogging is the interesting emails I receive.  A lot of times people email me with stuff I would NEVER mention to ya’ll… but ever so often, I receive an email that makes me bounce in my chair or get up and dance across the room.

This was one of those weeks.  On hump day (Wednesday), I got to work in a mood… rainy day and lack of sleep combined to put me in one of THOSE moods, ya know?  And then… it was like the clouds parted!  I opened my email to find a note from the publicist for Nate Berkus announcing his new HSN line!!!!

If, somehow, you’ve managed to avoid Oprah fever, you might not be familiar with Nate Berkus.  (If not, go visit his website RIGHT NOW, and come back here afterwards!)  Nate is an amazingly talented (and really good looking!) interior designer who is regularly featured as the design expert on Oprah.

Ya’ll don’t know how much I love Nate!  I will save all my pennies to buy an issue of O!Home anytime his work is featured just so I can drool over it.  If there was a designer that I could spring for to come redesign my home…. Nate is THE ONE!  Top on my list!

So you can imagine how OVER THE MOON I was to get a sneak peak at his new HSN line that launches on Monday, April 27th.  Picture me doing the cabbage patch in my office chair… yes, I was THAT over the moon.  Especially when I found out I get to share that sneak peak with all of you!!!

But wait… it gets better!

I GET TO INTERVIEW NATE FOR A BEAUTIFUL ABODE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, even now, just thinking about that makes me squeal with happiness!  Just think, tips from the expert himself on how to achieve that gorgeous combination of color, texture, warmth, and comfort that epitomizes his style to our homes in a way that fits our budgets.  I can’t wait!

I’m also drooling over his new collection.  Everything in the collection retails for under $500, so it’s budget friendly.  The thing I REALLY like is that you can buy accessories in sets.  You know how it can be so hard to figure out which pieces to put together to create a great tablescape to get that pulled together look?  Nate’s HSN collection makes it easy because he’s grouped certain elements together for us.  And not in that matchy-matchy Rooms to Go way.  Nope.  These groupings look like items you would have naturally collected and arranged together over time (well, if you had Nate’s great sense of style and design eye! I do not have that and that’s why my coffee table is bare right now!).

Alright, I know… you’re thinking that’s MORE than enough chatter Shauntelle… bring on the sneak peak pictures!

Nate Berkus for HSN Astor Tablescape

Nate Berkus for HSN Studio Sofa in Driftwood ($499.90)

Nate Berkus for HSN Ahmad Tablescape

Nate Berkus for HSN Wrap Bed and Prince Street Bed Set

Isn’t it all beautiful? And there’s more;  I had to work hard to pick just a sample to show here.  Be sure to watch the big HSN design event presented by Elle Decor on Monday at Midnight, 1 am, 8 am, noon, 4 pm, 7 pm and 10 pm eastern to see the rest of Nate’s collection.

And please feel free to send me any questions you’d like me to ask him during the interview.  You can email them to me at snhamlett at gmail dot com or leave a comment.

’til next time!

xoxo – Shauntelle

SO excited!!! An “In the trenches” update…

Tree of Love by Nina in Vorm

So do any of you happen to remember the wonderfully talented Nina in Vorm? She was our In the Trenches feature just about a year ago now.  At the time of the interview, she had all these great art pieces on show in her home that no one could buy and I thought it was such a shame!  I am SOOOOO excited to tell you that I just found that she now has an etsy shop!!!

Take a look at what precious lovelies could be yours:

Nina's drop shaped bowls

Nina's Branches Bowl 6

Nina only releases a few original pieces at a time, so you want to be sure to visit her shop often!  NinainVorm

’til next time!

xoxo – Shauntelle

Goodbye to Domino Magazine…

March 2009, the final issue of Domino Magazine

I just found out the saddest news…. this month’s issue of Domino magazine is the last one they’ll publish. 

I’ve always loved Domino magazine.  To me they held a unique position in the design magazine category.  They have always catered to what I’ve come to think of as Gen X’ers style… that mix-mosh of modern, traditional, retro, and contemporary with a little “where the heck did that come from?” whimsy thrown in.  You know, the kinds of things you’d find if you shopped for furniture and accessories at Urban Outfitters.

They weren’t always the most budget friendly (not for lack of trying, of course!  I mean really, they did have to sell ad space after all and people who sell on craigslist aren’t generally inclined to purchase big spreads in glossy magazines!), but everything they featured was normally so lovely and often so inspirational, that it didn’t matter that it wasn’t within my price range.

And they’ve often managed to feature some of my favorite bloggers, like Grace over at Design*Sponge, as well as interesting new artists and designers that I would never have found otherwise.

Sigh.

Goodbye Domino magazine!  You will definitely be missed…

xoxo - Shauntelle

Invitation to the Makeover Party!

An inspired eye turns trash to treasure (photo: Better Homes & Gardens)

I’ve been crazy busy lately with everything BUT decorating so I have nothing interesting to share… but Jen, over at Sanctuary Arts at Home, is having a PARTY!!!

Jen, you may remember, is not only a fabulous painted furniture artist, but also one of the first In the Trenches interviews I ever conducted.  She’s truly a reuse and recycle QUEEN and the perfect role model for something all us budget decorators need to become expert at… seeing possibilities to reuse or remake items that already exist.

That’s why I was very excited to receive an invitation to the Makeover Party!  And why I’m extending that invitation to you as well!  Here’s a chance to not only see Jen in action, but to gain inspiration from bloggers all over the place who have remade and reused items they already owned to create something beautiful.

Head on over… the party is going full blast today!  And if you happen to have a little something you’ve worked on recently– be sure to submit it!  You never know if YOUR piece will be the one to inspire someone else to reuse, remake, or remodel to beautify their world a little more…

Until next time,

xoxo- Shauntelle

Giveaways, Free Classes, and Budget Inspiration!

 

Angel Wings by Barbara Carter

Hello my budget decorators!

 

Sorry that I’ve been MIA lately; I’ve actually been helping my friend Tricia Ballad work on a project that’s very dear to my heart… Tricia is launching a new website tomorrow (Monday) that is dedicated to helping us live well through economic hard times. It’s all about being creative and thoughtful while managing your spending and your life… so that even if things like layoffs happen to you, you can still have a fulfilling life that doesn’t feel like you’re steps away from the poor house.

You’ve heard me talk about Tricia before; we helped to plan her nursery, remember? She’s a freelance writer and mother of 4, so you can trust that she knows what it means to stretch a dollar.

Anyway, I wanted to tell you all to PLEASE help me support her efforts with this new website… drop by for a visit, sign up for a seminar, and enter the drawings for the giveaways! There are two different giveaway prizes each day and it’s pretty simple to enter… just leave a comment on any post. Leave two comments, get two entries for the day…

That’s my brief update! I’ll be back soon with more budget decorating ideas and inspiration. Spring is finally showing here in Atlanta and I’m feeling the need to work on the patio and brighten up the downstairs!

xoxo – Shauntelle

P.S.  Silly me, I forgot to give you the name of Tricia’s new website… It’s Budget Artists @ budgetartists.com.  Hope to see you there!

Dream big, spend little…

Haute House Purple Medallion Chair from Neiman Marcus

The morning after I made the “If I won the lottery…” post, I had a person unsubscribe from my feedburner list. Mostly I don’t pay attention to who subscribes and unsubscribes. Don’t misunderstand me; like any other writer/blogger, I WANT people to read (and hopefully enjoy) my posts. I just don’t spend an inordinate amount of time obsessing about the number of people who read them anymore because I found it sucks a little of the joy out of the whole process for me. Plus, since I’ve been a marketing professional my whole adult life, it’s nice to do something where I’m NOT tracking and analyzing the numbers.

That said, sometimes I wonder why people choose to unsubscribe. And on that particular morning, seeing the unsubscribe notice poked at a little fear I had hounding me as I fell asleep the night before. I was worried, you see, that my lottery post would somehow suggest that I was no longer concerned about creating a beautiful home on a budget.

Just to clarify things… I HAVE not won the lottery! Not by a long shot. Right now, my family of 5 is living on my single income because my husband, like so many others, is struggling to find a new job. I’m still VERY budget conscious from necessity. More importantly, I’ve discovered that I possess a sense of stewardship. Even if I won the lottery, I’d still be trolling craigslist.com for the best deals on whatever I needed. I have a strong belief that I should be mindful of whatever resources I have available and make the best of them. A little money or a lot of money, I’ll always be the one shopping for the best deal.

And no, that doesn’t imply that I’m cheap either. Value isn’t always about spending the least amount on something… it’s about really being thoughtful about how you spend. For instance, this winter, I splurged on a great pair of Tahari oxford shoes:

Tahari Leather and Patent Oxford

This one from DSW is very similar to mine, except mine has suede rather than flat leather. I bought mine on sale for a little over $50, so they were a deal compared to what they normally retail, but even $50 was pushing it for me. Regardless, I LOVED them on sight and they have been my go-to shoe all winter long. In fact, my happy little feet are wearing them right now and they totally provide the icing for what would be a very simple casual Friday outfit of trouser jeans and black square neck t-shirt.

My point is, I knew the value of the shoes, and even though it was a splurge budget wise, they were worth the splurge. And the reason I knew the value was because just like I spend time virtual window shopping about expensive furniture, I spend time virtual window shopping for clothing. Both habits allow me to understand current trends as well as pinpoint my own “ideal” style. Later, when I’m really shopping, I’m able to use that knowledge in a few ways:

• Judging the true value of an item. (Just because it’s on sale doesn’t mean it’s really valuable to me for my life.)
• Choosing items that really represent ME. (On sale also doesn’t make it a good deal if I’ll spend most of my time feeling like I settled for something that I don’t REALLY like.)
• Selecting the right budget friendly items to recreate a look I admire. (By understanding the elements of design that speak to me, I can focus on finding pieces that possess those same elements.)

Dreaming big, in reality, is exactly what allows me to make the most effective use of my time and money in decorating my home. It allows me to lust after this $5700 leather sofa:

Tufted Leather sofa from Neiman Marcus

and spot the similarities in this $1200 Rooms To Go Cindy Crawford Home collection piece:

Cindy Crawford Home Chestnut Leather

and it’s exactly what lets me know that there is true value in this $2000 4 piece set for sale right now on craigslist.com:

Cindy Crawford Home on Craigslist

(A 4 piece set, by the way, that’s NEGOTIABLE!!!! Oh craigslist, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways… )

So there… a little peek into my mindset, for those of you who might have thought I was straying from my budget decorating roots…

’til next time,

xoxo – Shauntelle

Oh, I almost forgot! If you want to learn some awesome but simple tricks for creating really pretty home accessories check out these posts on Joy’s Joys of Home blog:

Joy's monogrammed silver platter

• How to monogram a silver platter.

• How to create antique-style burlap wall art

Joy’s the newest addition to my RSS subscription list and I bet ya’ll will enjoy her blog just as much as I do!

If I won the lottery…

I’ve been hard at work on a craigslist challenge post to recreate the look of a $3000 sunroom for less. It’s turning out to be a little more difficult than I thought! To stave off frustration, I took a little break and wandered over to my favorite daydreaming site, Neiman Marcus . I have friends who swear that you can find the BEST deals if you stalk the sales at Neiman Marcus, but for me, everything I fall in love with there whether clothes, shoes, or home decor, ends up costing upwards of $500. And that’s why Neiman is my “If I won the lottery” daydreaming spot…

Anyway, I thought it’d be fun to share my “money’s no object” living room with ya’ll, starting with this FABULOUS $4800 Monroe sofa:

Haute House Sofa from Neiman Marcus

Next I’d add this luscious $1700 chair, also by Haute House (yes, I said luscious! lol):

Haute House Purple Medallion Chair from Neiman Marcus

Unfortunately, the chair put me at a stand still… I’m a nut for symmetry, so I lean toward a pair of armchairs to flank a sofa but I feel like the Medallion chair is like a piece of art… one is WONDERFUL but two? Overload! So I decided that two of this chair would be better:

Annie Selkie O'Hara Chair from Neiman Marcus

 If you’re keeping track, that’s another $3400 ($1699 each). And, in case you’re wondering, since this is my lottery dream, I’m still keeping the Haute House chair! Money is no object after all, and I’m I’d make good use of it in my sitting room or SOMEWHERE. It’s art I tell you!

Anyway, now we need some gorgeous tables to complete our sitting area. I think this would be the perfect coffee table:

 

Neiman Marcus Leather Trunk

At first I thought I’d add a mirrored coffee table, but the more I thought about it, I decided I liked the idea of adding an eclectic twist to the otherwise very sophisticated room.  This $1800 distressed leather chest has a texture that I find very appealing.

I’d also add this handpainted cabinet ($1299):

 

Handpainted Cabinet from Neiman Marcus

It looks like something I might have brought home from my exotic travels and even if I’ve hit the jackpot and can buy everything all at once, I still want my fancy living room to look like it came together organically over time.

And for end tables, I’d a pair of these hairhide nesting tables ($1099) :

 

Hairhide nesting side tables

Now let’s add some icing to this cake… accessories and lighting!

Definitely this chandelier for overhead lighting ($3100):

 

Shaded Chandelier from Neiman Marcus

And a couple of these for table lamps ($485 each):

 

Orbit Shade Lamp

and this mirror ($1900):

 

Concentric Circle Mirror

Whew!  That’s around $25,000 dollars of imaginary money gone in the blink of an eye!  I can’t bear to spend anymore… even if it IS imaginary lottery money. 

This has been pretty fun but exhausting at the same time.  I thought shopping with little money was hard!  Shopping with no constraints is SERIOUS work!  I’m all ready to get back to my original goal of creating a craigslist version of the $3000 sunroom…

Until next time!

xoxo –  Shauntelle

Mailbag: Where can I find…

Ammie Kim sitting area

I am ALWAYS tickled pink (who came up with that term?!??!) to get comments and emails from my readers. So you can imagine how this email had me bouncing up and down in my chair from excitement:

” love your blog…I saw the Ammie Kim sitting area and loved the chairs…any idea where to get them??

Debbie in Stow, OH”

Ya’ll know there is NOTHING I like better than a virtual furniture hunt! So today’s post is all about finding these chairs for Debbie.

I start my hunt by honing in on design details for tell-tale clues of the possible retailer. (Yeah, maybe it would be easier to contact Ammie Kim’s design firm and ask, but where’s the fun in that?) The modern fan shape of the chairs send me running over to Room & Board’s website but the closest chairs I find are:

Room and Board Guffman chair $799

Room and Board Astoria $749

No, I’m not blind… I can see that those chairs aren’t exactly like the one’s in Ammie’s sitting area! But they do have a similar feel, just a little more modern.

My next stop is Ethan Allen. Why Ethan Allen, I can hear you asking (come on, play along!)? It’s all about the details… turned legs and the channels on the back, evoke a more traditional take on a contemporary chair. And that, my friends, is all Ethan Allen.

Unfortunately, Ethan Allen isn’t the exact answer either! They offer a similar chair, the Colby, starting at $1000, but the Colby is missing the sleek profile and has a thicker seating cushion. So the hunt continues.

I popped in to Crate and Barrel because… well, because they seem to have new buyers and now you never know exactly what you might find as they try to differentiate themselves their younger sibling CB2 and their competitor, Pottery Barn. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they did have their own take on the tub chair, the cherry blossom covered Azure chair:

Crate and Barrel's Azure $1299

Still not quite what we’re looking for though.

Overstock offers the Rosemary for $299:

Overstock's Rosemary Chair

Yeah, I know that’s a reach… but this IS a budget decorating blog and for $299 I’d be okay with this chair as a replacement option! And since we’re talking budget friendly options, I’d also be consider this pewter club chair for $159:

Overstock's Pewter Club Chair

At this point, I decided that I had to admit defeat. So sorry Debbie! However, I did send an email to Ammie Kim’s design firm and will update with an answer as soon as I receive a response!

xoxo – Shauntelle

What Inspires You?

Badgley Mischka Spring 2009 RTW

My friend Tim recently asked me to help him decorate his fairly empty two bedroom townhouse. Now ya’ll know I am ALWAYS down for a new decorating project, so I jumped at the chance… I mean, seriously, how could I possibly pass up a REAL excuse to spend hours scouring craiglist, TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, and every furniture store in a 15 mile radius for furniture and accessories?

Generally, I think of budget as the “be all and end all” challenge to getting a home decorated. If you’re like me, you see 15 pieces you love (like this and this and oh, definitely THIS) and they are extremely out of your price range, so you have to start thinking out of the box to get the look you want. Working with Tim, however, has shown me a whole different challenge.

Tim doesn’t know his own style.

Oh, he knows which things he likes. And he likes a wide range of things. But there’s nothing he can point to that really makes his heart go pitter-patter.

Yeah, I know you’re thinking “well… he’s a guy.” True. But he’s a web developer guy– he definitely has an EYE for design. He just doesn’t know his own style. He hasn’t developed an eye for what really speaks to him.

Which makes our decorating conversations interesting because I think he thinks I’m gonna just pick out pieces for him and put it all together. I’m sooooo NOT going to do that. Cause I firmly believe a person’s home should be a reflection of them and my eclectic urban modern bohemian taste is probably not a good reflection of Tim.

So this little situation started me thinking… how does a person develop their personal style?

You know I have a theory, right?

My theory is that you find your personal style by learning how to pay attention to what inspires you. Which is both a simple and a complicated answer. It’s simple because inspiration can come from ANYWHERE. Like for me, inspiration is found in that lovely Badgley Mischka dress at the top of this post. (I know you were wondering why that picture was there!) It represents my style in many ways… a simple, sophisticated shape, with bright color and interesting pattern. Sure, it’s a dress, but you can also see those elements reflected in this vignette of a sitting area created by designer Ammie Kim:

Ammie Kim sitting area

and this Pottery Barn Mirror:

Pottery Barn Raindrop Mirror

and this beautiful photograph by etsy artist Barbara Carter:

Angel Wings by Barbara Carter

(All of which are items I would pull together to make a lovely sitting area in my dream office. )

For me… since all I can really tell you is what has worked for me… the first step in decorating a room is developing a good sense of what truly inspires you. Because I’m visual, I collect pictures of everything that inspires me and through reviewing those things, I have finally developed a good sense of the colors and shapes that really scream ME. Before that I wasted way too much money buying things that were attractive (and ALWAYS a good bargain!) but weren’t a real reflection of my style. In the end those items weren’t really a bargain because I never felt at home with them… and most found their way to goodwill or craigslist before long.

So– learn from my mistakes! Before you spend a dime on decorating, take some time to explore what truly inspires you (and yeah… that means you too Tim! lol).

xoxo – Shauntelle

P.S. Hey, if you feel the urge, I’d love to see what inspires ya’ll these days! If you create a post that you want to share, add it here with Mr. Linky: