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Bedroom revamp.

All this ice-cold gloomy-grey winter weather made for some poor photo-taking lighting over the past few weeks, so I’m happy I got a patch of sunlight this weekend to photograph some of my bedroom edits.

I’m ecstatic over the Dwell Studio Draper bedding I got from my birthday (do I have an awesome boyfriend or what?) — it is as cozy as it is pretty. Blogging about it, talking about, and leaving the catalog open on the coffee table with hearts drawn around it seemed to have worked!

Plus I added some new Euro pillows made out of Alexander Henry fabric that I picked up at Grey’s Fabric and Notions in the South End (note to crafty Bostonians,  go check it out, it’s fabulous!) I’m so obsessed with this fabric that I’m considering making more pillows out of it for the living room too.

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Photo wallpaper.

When my grandmother was an interior designer, she snagged old discarded billboard ads and would wallpaper rooms with them. I’ve always thought was such a fun idea and when I saw this image on Apartment Therapy, it reminded me of her story and I had to read on to see how they accomplished the look.

The Better Wallpaper Company will apparently turn any high-quality photo into wallpaper. While I think it would be a little creepy to have a current family portrait on a wall that big, I could definitely see an old black and white photo being pretty like in this example.

Can you think of anything you’d want blown up that big in your house? I certainly wouldn’t want a picture of me!

PS: Enter my New Year’s Resolution Giveaway, Click Here.

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Cottage bath.

I’ve never been much of a bath person… which is probably because I’ve never lived in place that has a standalone bathtub. Just looking at this bathroom could make me change my mind though. It reminds me a bit of Kate Winslet’s English countryside cottage in The Holiday, don’t you think?

via Pinterest

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Snakeskin table.

This snakeskin table has made the rounds online for quite some time now… and I’ve always had a soft spot for it. The faux snakeskin texture just looks so luxurious.

There’s a very similar table on One Kings Lane today that caught my eye — I wish I had somewhere to put it … but for now, I’ll encourage you to go look around you home and find a place for it there. Please invite me to come visit it?

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Pop of poppyseed.

It’s sad that took me almost a week after I finished painting in my bedroom to get enough natural light to take a good picture of the results! But the rain clouds finally parted and now I can share with you how my weekend project turned out:

Painting the wall behind my bed was so gratifying. $14 worth of paint, one Saturday of work, and it totally transformed the room. I love the color; it’s called Poppyseed, and looks just like it sounds… a near black hue with hints of navy blue.

Here is what the room looked like before, major blah:

And for fun… one more stellar “after”:

Checking one project off the list of course means I’m just thinking about I want to do next… lamp upgrades, a new duvet, and perhaps some art above the bed? I’m never finished!

 

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All the essentials.

This room has all of my essentials: a quirky gallery wall, a well-stocked bar, mixed and matched vintage chairs, wood floors, and a dash of lucite for some glamour.

I also love the chandelier — it has me thinking about adding some sort of fancier lighting to my apartment. I may not be able to do electrical work in my rental, but perhaps a non-working version could be hung up for a dash of adornment? Add that to the to-do list!

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Dorm room challenge.

A few weeks back I got an email from a reader, Nikki, who needed some help pulling together a look for her law school studio dorm room. It came with the challenges of many dorm rooms — block wood furniture, inability to paint, and of course, limited budget! Here is what I pulled together for Nikki, a black, white, and dusty lilac palette:

(click on image to enlarge)

The pieces in the “dining” nook include fabric from Ikea, a few yards to use as table cloth, some Ikea sheepskin throws to drape over the dorm chairs, and a poster above the table in a thin black frame. I think the MOST important thing you can do to de-dormify a dorm is to get a big rug to put down. Dorm tiles are so cold, and a big rug will really soften the space. I picked a black and white one from Ikea, one of my favorites!

The bedroom area needs a focal point. The challenge: can’t paint, and probably don’t want to lug a heavy bed into the space — so I a headboard wall decal, coupled with the girly touch of a ruffled duvet from Urban Outfitters is perfect. Black and white Ikea pillows give a graphic pop to the girly bed.

Finally, the accessories! Matching black lamps add symmetry on either side of the bed, and give off some much-needed lighting to study with. The ottomans I’ve included add a layer of richness to the room – and can double as nightstands or moveable extra-seating; and the curtains will add another dose of softness and color to the room.

Hope you enjoy your room Nikki!

Have a design dilemma you need help with? Send me an email at [email protected]

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A place for the jewels.

This weekend I have big plans to re-work the old toolbox I bought at brimfield into a glamorous jewelry armoire. Posting about it here will hopefully make me accountable so I actually get to the project, instead of getting distracted by my comfy couch and bountiful DVR.

In my last apartment, I had several stacks of jewelry boxes and drawers in my nightstand for my everyday pieces. As you can see here (just my everyday jewels), this is a much needed piece of storage furniture for me:

I’ve been pulling inspiration images for the project now for a few weeks. While my piece is going to probably look a bit more industrial (it is a tool box after all), this image from Domino has my all-time favorite jewelry armoire:

Of course, the Lonny magic has been tapped onto a few gorgeous vignettes with jewelry armoires as well:

Seeing these pictures together is giving me some motivation — and a few new ideas. Hopefully I’ll have a before and after to share at the end of the weekend!

PS: Make sure to stop by next week, I have a great series featuring amazing guest bloggers starting!

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Another after.

I have another before and after today — this time of the mirror I scored at the Todd Farm flea market. A fresh coat of black paint and this:

…now looks delightful in my living room like this:

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Cooking is fun again.

My new kitchen is a million times more functional than my old kitchen, cooking is finally fun again. It didn’t start out super functional though, here is what we were working with when we moved in:

The cabinets you’re seeing in that picture are the extent of them — I guess they just gave up and forgot to put one more cabinet in that space next to the sink. Have no fear, after some extensive craigslisting, the perfect stand-alone cabinet was found to fit into that spot. Here is what it looks like now:

The cabinet did not look like that originally though. Wish I had remembered to take a “before” picture, but trust me —  It was a 20$ mess that needed a fresh coat of paint, new handles, and a new top. My handy boyfriend popped the dingy old linoleum top off of it and replaced it with a removable butcher block cutting board. Good as new!

I also whipped up a quick valance last night — I’ve gotten sick of staring at curtain-less windows, they were making me crazy.

Recognize the fabric? It’s one of the Liberty of London scarves from Target!

Just need to hang up some artwork over the kitchen table and I can check off this room as complete (for now).  I’ll share more soon!

 
 
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