Accessories: The Icing of Your Room

Today I had to deal with a parent’s worst nightmare (well, in my case, a stepparent’s worst nightmare). There’s definitely nothing worse than being forced to standby helpless as a person makes bad choices, especially when they affect other people as well. I’m so upset with my teenage stepson that I can’t even talk about it!

Of course, being me, I turn to design to drown my anger. The plus for you is that this means I’ve lined up a whole slew of inspirational eye-candy to share! :0)

Today’s eye-candy centers around accessories. Accessories– things like curtains, paintings, photos, plants, and vases– are the finishing touches to a room. They’re like icing on a cake. Even with the best furniture in the world, a room missing the right accessories will feel cold and unfinished.

The following rooms are accessorized in a way that really make the rooms shine. I hope you find them as inspiring as I do! (And if you happen to be a mom who has survived teenagers, please let me know how you did it!)

Designer Erica Islas made this room pop through the combination of color on the wall, eye catching art, inviting pillows on the modern sectional, and texture with the rattan coffee table.

Lori Dennis’ room is a study in perfect balance. Her modern room is enhanced with the simple but fitting round pillows on the sofa, glass balls on the coffee table and gorgeous art on the wall. Notice how the lines of the coffee table and the shape of the wall sconce echo the rectangles in the art.

Designer Don Raney uses accessories to create a romantic, dreamy living room.

And last, but not least, is this beautiful room by designer Shelly Riehl David. I love everything from the zebra rug, faux painting around the mirror, white vases on the coffee table, and especially the starfish!

Happy accessorizing!

Note: Opening Mirror from West Elm

Inspiration for Decorating AND Life…

I found this marvelous new (to me) blog today: The Inspired Room. If you’ve ever read an Alexandra Stoddard book, you’ll understand what kind of blog it is… Melissa is a professional decorator (I think… if not, she should be, the opening photo is her beautiful kitchen!), and her blog has loads of gorgeous eye-candy to inspire you. Even better, her blog has loads of posts about living an inspired life. If you can’t waste hours of your time going through the archives (yes, I do have an internet addiction!), you HAVE to read her new year’s post Balanced Living in 2008.

The Inspired Room is a perfect example of what the best blogs can be– inspiring you to make your home AND your life more beautiful! Be sure to check out her “Inspiration Week” posts that start on February 4th.

Craigslist Monday

I absolutely love craigslist! It’s the first place I go when I’m in the market to buy any type of electronics or furniture. And I’ve gotten really awesome deals from there, including my beloved iBook that I bought a little over a month ago. Or the free iMac that my youngest children are now sharing. Or the lovely pair of armchairs I scored for $300 brand new which sell for $595 a piece at Pier One right now.

I also sell or giveaway pretty much anything my family isn’t using there too. I’ve held Ebay auctions, and they’re okay. Craigslist is just much simpler. No fees, no waiting with bated breath to see where the bid ends, and, most importantly for me, no post office trip for shipping.

I’m so addicted to craigslist that I often find myself browsing even when I’m not really in the market for anything. And that’s why I’ve decided to haveCraigslist Monday’s. Every Monday I’ll post the best craigslist deal I’ve run across over the weekend or that morning. Starting off, I’ll be posting from the Atlanta Craigslist because that’s where I live. However, if you’re looking for something particular, send me an e-mail or leave a comment with your city and state and I’ll troll that craigslist too!

On to the deal of the day:

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/fur/553906170.html

Wouldn’t this make a lovely kitchen table for a person with a Country, Shabby Chic, or French Provencal style? For $245.00 you get the beautiful 40″ x 66″ table and six (6) chairs. The table looks like it’s in excellent condition, and if the chairs hold up upon inspection, this is a deal you really can’t beat! Add a lovely table runner, a few candles around some pretty flowers in a vase, and you have instantly transformed your breakfast area or informal family dining room into a welcoming space. Or you can add a little paint and transform this piece into something Pottery Barn inspired:

But you’ll have saved over $1600!!! Better jump on it, if this is your style, cause this deal can’t possibly last long. http://atlanta.craigslist.org/fur/553906170.html

I <3 Pottery Barn!

Sing with me: “Pottery Barn saved my soul… oh Pottery Barn saved my soul to-night! Yeah Pottery Barn saved my soul…”

Earlier today, I was having a mental breakdown. You moms out there will understand what I mean. The kind of breakdown that happens when you’ve heard “MOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!” one too many times. The kind that makes you wonder exactly why you thought motherhood would make your life so much fuller? And what drug did they slip in your epidural to make you multiply more than once?

Yeah, it was that kind of weekend. (And if you’re childless and don’t understand… well, God bless you, I’m jealous!)

Anyway, in the midst of it all, right as I was squeezing back tears and abusive tendencies, I discovered that dear hubby had hidden the new Pottery Barn catalogue from me. It must have come with the mail on Friday, and, bless his heart, he decided to do me a “favor” and put it away with my other inspiration catalogs. He couldn’t manage to put the junkmail away in the trash can… but he managed to put my much coveted catalog away. So thoughtful…

Couldn’t have been better timing for me to find it though. I ran that baby straight to the bathroom and locked the door. You’d have thought I was a 13 year old boy with the latest Playboy, I was in the bathroom so long! My youngest kept knocking on the door to check on me. I told him I was making the world’s worst stinky. Actually, I was sitting on the counter, lusting over page after page of pretty sofas.

Whenever I finally have my downstairs clean long enough to take pictures for ya’ll, you’ll see my design aesthetic leans toward mid-century modern. Today however, if I had the available credit, I could have EASILY charged a good $10,000 in Pottery Barn furniture. The styling, the colors, and the photography in this newest catalog made me want to throw everything I own out, rethink my budget conscious philosophy, and completely redecorate.

So, without further ado, I present you with beautiful eye candy from the latest Pottery Barn. These are the pieces I’m lusting after the most; if the spirit moves you, I’m definitely welcoming donations to my “I need some PB in my life” fund via Paypal to my e-mail address!

The secret to budget decorating: planning your space!

Tricia asked a few days ago how I determined a budget for my decorating projects and I promised ya’ll an answer. The truth is, I’ve made a game of spending the least to achieve my goals. I don’t really spend a lot of time figuring out a specific budget. I do spend a lot of time, however, planning my projects. I’ve learned the hard way that when I don’t develop a decent plan for whatever the project is, I end up wasting money. For example, before I figured out what I wanted to do with my downstairs I bought:

• a $160 futon from Walmart
• a $200 chaise lounge from Overstock.com
• an antique desk for $50 from an antique dealer
• $100 bar stools from craigslist
• a $40 wicker side table with storage drawers

Those are just the things I can remember off the top of my head. None of those items are in my home at this point. That’s almost $600 gone down the drain in a little over a year’s time. Which, now that I think about it, could easily have bought me a brand new loveseat for my office.

sigh.

I learned my lesson the hard way, so I hope by sharing my experience, it will keep you guys from going through the same thing. Whatever you do, take some time and plan your space. I listed a couple of programs you could use in my post “Tools of the Trade.” I use the free one from Jordan’s furniture.

So, I can hear you asking, how exactly do I plan my projects? Well, I’ll let you in on my funny little rituals, as long as you promise not to laugh at me (unlike the hubby, who thinks my rituals are little obsessive-compulsive!).

First, I sit down in the middle of the room that I’m working on and just look at it. I try to remember what the bones were like when it was still empty. Then I make a mental list of the activities that go on in the space (or, the activities I’d like to happen in the space). For example, I recently did this in Catie and Ian’s room. Their room is not quite a square, with two closets and a huge window. Right now it only has Catie’s twin bed, a tall chest of drawers, and a tv (plus their toys overflowing from the closets).

In addition to both of them sleeping in there, they need a space for doing homework (Catie is in second grade and I homeschool Ian until he starts preK next fall). They also need a place to hang their artwork, a place to play with cars and action figures, and a space for relaxing and reading. They definitely need storage for books and toys.

During this same little meditation session, I also try to get an idea of the feel that I want for the space. In their room, I want it to feel as spacious as possible, with fun colors, but not too baby-ish since Catie is a “big” second grader now. It also has to balance that line of masculine and feminine really well; a big problem since Ian is the most boyish boy you could meet and Catie is pretty girly.

At this point, I make a list of the specific furniture pieces that I think I’d need to meet the activity goals of the room. In their case, Ian needs a big boy twin bed, both of them need bed frames, they need a desk large enough to share and to hold their Mac, and a bookshelf or shelving for additional storage. I also need to rethink the toy storage because it’s not so good right now.

With that list made, I’ll play around for the first time in the room planning program. I want to make sure that there’s room for everything that I think needs to be included. Because I’m a visual person, I need to be able to move things around to find the PERFECT configuration. (And believe me, my husband is so happy that I’ve found this program because it saves him from doing the physical moving!)

This is the part that can really save you time and money in the long run because it shows if you have space constraints. After about thirty minutes of moving stuff around, I figured out that the only way to get everything I want in their room without making it feel squished is to place their beds by the window. And I have to be very careful when I buy a desk because I need it to be long enough that they can sit there together, but not longer than the 59″ of wall space they have available for a desk.

Here’s the plan as it stands right now:

Now that I have that under wraps, I focus on the fun stuff: planning the touches that will make it look special. For me this requires putting lots of inspiration into the pot and letting it percolate. For kids rooms, I spend a lot of time visiting Pottery Barn Kids and PB Teen. I’ve also checked out Ikea’s children’s rooms (both the U.S. and the U.K. versions). And finally, I spend a bit of time viewing pages from flickr and from HGTV’s Rate My Space.

I let all those images mix around in my head until I get that Aha! moment. For downstairs, this has worked pretty well. I find myself running into problems in Catie and Ian’s room because I thought I’d be a good mommy and ask for their input. Note to self: never ask for anyone in my home’s input! They’re very picky and particular and can never see the potential in anything. Right now Catie’s pouting because she wants this $200 bed:

It’s a great bed (from Walmart, if you’re interested), but we just can’t afford to buy two of them (and a new mattress for Ian!). I suggested this Ikea option instead:

Yes, I have eyes and I can see it’s not as attractive. But it’s $35.00!!! Add some cute bedding, a nice paint treatment, and a metal pipe to hang the curtains, their room would be rocking a fun, modern, loft look. Something I could accomplish with $250 or less. But she’s not feeling me. : (

Anyway, there you have it. My humble design process. I hope that helps some of you who are trying to find a place to get started. Thanks for hanging in with me this long!

Before you go, I have one more thing to tell you…. something I’m very excited about! Next week you’ll see the start of two new types of posts: the “In the Trenches” budget designer interviews, featuring tips from a new fabulous “real life” budget decorator, AND the “$20 decorating projects” tutorials, so you too can start making your home more beautiful $20 at a time!

Thanks for visiting, see you next time…

Budget Decorating Inspiration

living room summer decor

Originally uploaded by revolutionarygirl

Isn’t this a lovely room? It was posted by revolutionarygirl to the Ikea Flickr group and is an example of what you can accomplish on a budget. She acquired her coffee table from craigslist, the curved woven chair for $5 from a yard sale, the futon from overstock, and, of course, several of the decorative items from Ikea.

What I love most about the room is the striking but simple use of the color yellow. It’s amazing how a dash of the right color brings a design to life. Just imagine how dull this room would be without that sprinkle of yellow…

I wanted everyone to know how much I appreciate all the comments. I will respond to each of you, although it may take me a little bit since I spend most of my day chasing my children around!

My next post is actually going to be a response to the question Tricia asked: How do I determine a budget for my projects and how do I find time to look for the items I want to buy? I’ll tell you all about my moodboards and inspiration book with suggestions for starting your own.

So that’s what you have to look forward to. See you in a couple of days!

Inspiration and my 2008 Project List

It snowed again today.  Amazing, two days of snow in Atlanta.  That’s almost unheard of.   We did go out and play a little bit with our youngest.  And, of course, we HAD to build a snowman.  He’s only 2 inches tall.  Don’t you love his fabulous green polka-dotted ribbon scarf?

Now I’m cuddled up with a blanket and my laptop, surfing the web and dreaming of decorating.  (Yes, I do that a lot!  I can’t help it, I’m obsessed.)

After an hour of drooling over the sneak peak rooms at Design Sponge, I started thinking about my own decorating goals for this year.  We rent a 30 year old townhouse in the near suburbs of Atlanta.  Even though we rent, I’m pretty lucky that we can paint the walls and add our own touches.  Last year I focused mostly on getting bigger pieces of furniture and making our downstairs look more presentable.  I’m proud to say that it looks pretty good, not completely finished, but nice enough that we had two dinner parties during the holiday season.

Anyway, this year my main focus will be on our bedrooms upstairs.  You already know that I want to kick the toddler out of our master bedroom and create a mini hotel retreat.  In addition to that I plan on:

• Redecorating Catie and Ian’s room.  I’m so excited about the plan for their room.  We spent the last month trying to find colors that they both could agree on… something not toogirly and not too boyish.  Not too baby-ish because Catie is 8, but not boring because Ian is only 3.5.  Finally, we settled on a pale green, orange, and blue.  The walls will be painted with all three colors (I won’t even attempt to verbally explain my idea; you’ll be the first to see pictures once it’s done!) I may sew duvet covers for their twin beds, as well as pillow cases and their own special decorative pillows.  Fortunately, they don’t need much extra furniture, just a new desk and some shelving for all their books.  And curtains to replace the blinds that they’ve destroyed twice already!

• Redecorate Xavier’s bedroom to reflect his almost teenage tastes.  We got a jump-start on that at the end of last year when I scored a great new futon sofa on craigslist.  He needs a new desk and new posters.  Most of all, I need to make him give every surface a good dusting.  Geez, the dust in there is crazy.  But I will NOT be the maid for an 11 year old.

• Paint the hallway and put up some artwork.

Downstairs needs a little bit of tweaking.  I’ve arranged everything as if we were in an open concept loft.  It works well for the space and allowed me to keep a dining room “space” for formal dinners while also freeing up the actual dining room area for my office space.  Right now the office space is mostly empty and that’s going to be my first priority.  Goals for downstairs include:

• Finding the perfect modern loveseat or pair of chairs for seating in the office space.
• Adding the right coffee table or occasional table for that seating area.
• Two DIY art projects that I already have planned out
• Recovering the dining room chairs.
• Painting the hallway and adding family portraits.
• Adding more lighting.

Whew!  When I write it down like that, it seems like a lot.  In my head though, it doesn’t.  I guess it’s because I know where I started this time last year– pretty much at ground zero.  Now I understand the look I want to achieve, so the work of acquiring the right pieces and putting in the elbow grease doesn’t seem so bad.

Before I go, I have to leave you with some of the eye candy and links that have been inspiring me today:

• The most lovely nursery inspired by a handmade doll (by Laura Normadin)
• The artist book gallery at The Paper Studio
• Sneak Peaks at Design Sponge Online (hours of inspiration here!)

And finally, this awesome picture from artist Kim Carney, which reminds me of the return of Spring:

Tools of the Trade

If you’re embarking on the budget decorating lifestyle (and believe me, once you start, it WILL become a very addictive lifestyle), you need to be prepared to get dirty. Less cash means more hands-on work. It’s like being a vintage car collector. You know going in that if you can’t pay a fancy mechanic lots of money to restore your dream car, you’re going to be putting in the hard work, getting under the hood, stripping the engine, and getting up to your elbows in oil.

And just like a car collector, over time you will find that there are certain unavoidable tools you’ll need in your toolbox… tools of the trade, so to speak. That’s what this post is all about. The tools of budget decorating that you shouldn’t live without:

1) Imagination.
Okay, imagination isn’t a concrete tool that will fit in your toolbox. But it’s definitely the most important tool that a budget decorator can have. Imagination allows you to see the potential of a piece. When you’re on a budget, you have to be able to see the hidden beauty that lies inside an item. An excellent example is this great DIY post by Manuela of The Feathered Nest blog. And if you think her redo of that charming little table didn’t require a large enough stretch of imagination, then you should check out this headboard project from Leigh at Found, Now Home.

Afraid your imagination isn’t up to snuff? Don’t worry, this is a trait you can work on. Reading blogs like this one and surfing interior design websites will help. You’ll be amazed how all the inspiring images you view start to influence and build your eye. Before you know it, you’ll be seeing potential EVERYWHERE.

2 ) A Sense of Adventure
Once again, this isn’t a physical tool, but it’s one you can’t live without. The way I see it, this is a necessary life tool! You can’t be afraid to try things and step outside the box when you’re decorating on a budget. This is an adventure. You’re on the hunt. And like a safari hunter, you have to be willing to go the extra mile to find what you’re looking for. A sense of adventure sends you out into the world, ready to scour theGoodwills , the thrift stores, the pawnshops, and the junk yards of the world. And, sometimes, it lets you try the unexpected, like maybe turning milk crates into a low divan for your Moroccan inspired sitting room (now there’s a thought!).

Decorating (and life) becomes a little more joyful when you approach it with a sense of adventure. Try it, you’ll definitely like it!

3) Power Tools
Yeah, now here’s the good stuff. You need some power tools. Nothing too fancy to start off: an electric screwdriver, a cordless drill, a sander, and, if you’re feeling reallyDIY, a brad nailer and a small saw. These will get you started off right. Oh, and a staple gun. An electric staple gun preferably, unless you want a work out while you’re reupholstering chair cushions.

4) A measuring tape
Not just any measuring tape. If money is not object, get a sonic laser measuring tape. Then you don’t have to worry about having a second pair of hands to keep things straight. If high tech is too much for you though, a regular Black and Decker tape measure still works.

Which ever you choose, use it religiously! Measure everything… and measure it twice! Like carpenters say, measure twice, cut once. Even if you’re not cutting, measure twice. You’ll thank me when you avoid bringing home the perfect piece that’s about four inches too big. Been there, done that, and trust me, it’s not a nice feeling when you’ve bought a chair from a place where returning it will cost more than you paid for the chair in the first place. (It’s a sad and long story… gee thanks, Overstock.com!)

5) A hammer
What’s to say? Get one you can wield and practice on spare wood until smashed fingers are a thing of the past. (And, of course, a hammer is nothing without nails… just buy the huge variety pack. You might not know when you’ll use half of them right now, but you’ll thank me later.)

6) A Space Planning Program
Technically this isn’t a requirement, but oh, how nice it is when you have one. Got a troubled area? You know, that one room you have NO IDEA HOW TO DECORATE. Just plug the dimensions into your room planning program and play with furniture arrangements to your heart’s content. Before you know it, you’ve got it all figured out.

Happily, I even have two free resources for you to test out. The one I use is the online room planner provided by Jordan’s Furniture. (Never shopped at Jordan’s but I’m very appreciative of their room planner!)

I’m also very excited to report that Google, king of all awesome free things, is now offering a free 3-D planner, SketchUp. I only found it today so I can’t tell you how easy it is to use. It’s Google though, so I’m sure it will rock!

If all that is too much for you, the low tech, pen and paper way will also work. Personally, I can’t draw straight lines, so this isn’t an option for me, but if you were into paper dolls as a kid, pen and paper might be the way to go. Think of all the fun you can have cutting out furniture!

So that’s my recommended list. I’m sure it’s not the end all list… I’d love to hear what ya’ll keep in your toolbox, so leave me a comment!

Patience is a Virtue…

I’m not the most patient person in the world. Oh, my friends and my husband would tell you differently. They would say that I have the patience of Job. But that’s only because they mistake my laid back attitude for patience.

The truth is, I really want everything yesterday. And that’s the hardest part of budget decorating for me. I’ve made this commitment to myself that I will NOT go into debt to furnish our home. It’s important to me to live within my means as much as possible. This is a trait I want my children to learn and I think the only way for them to truly learn it is to see it modeled by their parents.

That means I pay cash for everything I buy. We’re not rich. My husband has a good job, we live a decent middle class life, but we’re definitely frugal. So, not only do I pay cash for everything, I also have to get a great deal on an item or save up for it… or BOTH.

This translates into a heck of a lot of waiting. Waiting for the right piece to show up on craigslist at the right price. Or waiting for the right piece to go on clearance. Or waiting to save up enough money to get the right piece that has gone up on clearance.

Which is why I’m a little bit in agony right now! Do you see that beautiful vision of loveliness that started this post?

It’s Silho Furniture’s Miles chair. I spotted it today on an episode of Dress My Nest and absolutely fell in love. I have a big empty space in my office area that is absolutely begging for two of these lovely chairs and a nice side table. They even won my husband’s approval.

The only problem? There’s two really. First, Silho Furniture is located across the country from me, in Los Angeles, California. Second, (and most importantly) at $1500 a pop, even one of these chairs is out of my price range.

sigh.

Even though I’m slightly heartbroken, it’s okay. It’s all part of the process. Because now I’ll take that little piece of inspiration to heart and use it as motivation to search until I find the RIGHT piece. A piece which will tickle my fancy and be within my price range.

I just have to keep reminding myself patience is a virtue.

A Place to Rest My Head in Peace

It’s 2008 and I have finally realized that my bedroom is a MESS! Oh, I’ve cleared out most of the clutter. That was my end of 2007 project. Everything that I didn’t use, that I didn’t like, that just took up space went out to the trash or goodwill.

But even with that done, it’s still a mess. See, there’s this little toddler person who has invaded it. His toddler bed is there. His cars are there. His dump trucks… his books, his stuffed animals… yeah, everything. Not because he doesn’t have his own room. He does. Technically he shares a room with his sister. He’s the first to tell you though, that Mommy and Daddy’s room is also his room!

I have determined that this is one of the major projects for 2008. Mommy and Daddy are kicking a boy out. And then mommy is going to transform our bedroom into a soothing retreat. A level hotel retreat. This is something we need because, frankly, with three kids, it’s not like we get out to a real hotel very often (umm… can we say NEVER since the youngest was born?!).

So this post is all about inspiration. I’ve been trolling the web looking for the best rooms I can find. Eye candy, so to speak, to motivate me through the inevitable work that will go into transforming what we have into what I want.

I’m looking for a space like this lovely room by designer Ammie Kim:

With a quiet seating area like this:

Or look at this lovely space by designer Lori Dennis:

Enclose yourself in a space like that and you could almost believe, for a few moments at least, that there’s a nanny in the house managing the three rowdy monsters while you sip tea and plan entertainment for the next day.

Ah, to sleep… perchance to dream… I’m just looking for a place to rest my head in peace.  That’s my major budget decorating goal for 2008.  What’s yours?