happy living Design

dad project no. 2

We have one large wall in our 'TV room'.  I didn't want to hang artwork or pictures on it but wanted something to hang there to break up the wall and possibly reflect the light from the windows on the opposite wall.  I looked around at mirrors but I never found anything I liked (or that was low budget). 

I had a co-worker salvage a few window sashes from a barn he was renovating and my dad pulled a few more out of the trash and we came up with this configuration.  Dad replaced the panes of glass in the barn sash (center) with mirror.  The sashes were left in their natural state and just cleaned up and he hung them on the wall with Z-bar hangers.  I seriously would NOT get anything done like this around our house if it wasn't for my dad.

ps.  The pillows are by Kalla.

burlap

We covered the base of our Christmas tree in burlap (I purchased a roll of it from Terrain) and now I have a thing for burlap.  It's so utilitarian - like those old grain sacks - yet so pretty used in a new way.  I stumbled upon these burlap buckets.  These would be great all over the house.

from The Nest

I also love this apron.

from Terrain

terrain: Wicker Tree Skirt

via shopterrain.com

I just love this.

wallpaper by amy butler

at Graham & Brown

Have a look.

a nice vessel

or plant pot as Ikea calls them. BLADET plant pot with saucer by Ikea ($8.99)

Useful for containing all sorts of things.  I could use these all over the house.

As seen on Bethenny Getting Married? in the kitchen.  Did I just publicly admit to watching that show??

Kheri's room

I have my parents to thank for taking the trip to Ikea with me, my dad for putting together 3 bookcases and hanging the shades and Annisia for coming in March to have tea and help me put the room together.  Carl was working 80 hour weeks leading up to Kheri's arrival...tax season...so I was on my own!  There are still quite a few things I need to do, such as hang more pictures, but rather than have the room completely 'finished' when she arrived I decided to let it evolve.  So like everything else that I do around here, it is a work in progress.

crib: It was mother-in-law's when she was a baby and then my husband's.  Check current crib safety guidelines if using an old crib or cradle.

rocking chair: craisglist

bookcases: Ikea Expedit, of course!

white baskets: Ikea Agen

blue round baskets: our local dollar store

breastfeeding stool: By Medela at babiesrus

multi-colored blanket: knitted by Aunt Jill

green knitted blanket: knitted by my great-grandmother

animal pillows in crib: Zid Zid Kids

bamboo roman shades: JC Penny

mobile: James Cornell & Annisia Cialone (architects & furniture designers for Starting Small)

'Fiona and Her Cub' picture: Creative Thursday

mobile: by Elena of Shoosha

changing table: another piece from my in-laws' attic

changing pad and cover: LA Baby and Bobby from Target

white baskets: Container Store

We were lucky to have been given the crib and changing table by Carl's parents.  (Otherwise I probably would have headed to Walmart.)  They are usually the big ticket items in a baby's room.  We debated on getting a glider but I just couldn't spend the money on something that I didn't really like in the first place and I don't regret it.  Honestly, the first several weeks I breast fed in the old La-Z-Boy chair in our living room, on the couch or in our bedroom in a big armchair.  The most expensive items we purchased were the Ikea Expedit bookcases.  As long as you don't get swept up into the frenzy that has become 'setting up the baby's room' I don't think you have to spend a lot of money.

wall color is Irish Spring, trim color is Super White both by Benjamin Moore

before pictures

and pictures of when we were using it as our temporary bedroom while redoing ours

the selby in london

Some of these images make me mourn the loss of my books that have departed.  They are great nonetheless.

via The Selby

 

 

 

 

 

renovate-decorate budget worksheets

This file for me is a work in progress really, but I feel like I have finally got it to a point where it might be useful for you.  It is actually really simple and does not provide you with anything that a scratch piece of paper and a calculator could not do.  I personally just like to have my information organized and easy to update and read and have found Excel to be a useful tool to do that with some really basic formulas.  The spreadsheet file was created with Excel 2003.  You will find that I set up lots of tabs, one for each room of our house.  You can delete or rename each tab to correspond to your own home.  You will notice that right now the sheets are set up as line items for materials to buy for d.i.y. projects.  I envision that you would add a line item for each contractor that you may hire to do any of the labor for you with your finish and decorating materials below that you will purchase yourself.  I.e. you may hire a plumbing contractor to redo your bathroom and many times the cost of the the tub and toilet are included in his price, but things like the towel bars and shower curtain are not.

This is the first time I am using the file upload feature, so let me know if it there are any problems.

Download Happy living reno-deco worksheets

Jenny Lee-Katz fabrics

I love these eco-friendly fabrics.  I love even more that Jenny Lee-Katz is based in Glenmoore, PA which is only like 20 minutes away from me.

 She also sells pillows and bags on her website.

 

via Daily Candy.

jonathan adler's NEW salt + pepper shakers

love these.


Jonathan Adler