Designer Inspired

 

I love designer fashion, jewelry, home decor, you know name it!  And then there's reality.  I'm a stay-at-home mom with two kids.  We buy diapers and wipes.  We pay for college classes and books.  We have a mortgage and a car payment.  Like most people, we live on a budget.  And, honestly, I don't think I could spend $1,000 on a purse anyway. :)  However, what I love to do is draw inspiration from high-end designers and brands.  When we found out we were expecting, I started browsing Serena and Lily, Restoration Hardware Baby and Child, and Pottery Barns Kids for ideas.  I came across this room from Serena and Lily.

 

 

 

 

I loved the navy and white stripes with the grass green accent color.  I felt like it was a great crisp, clean look that was all-boy. :)  So, I totaled the cost of the bedding for the Serena and Lily room.  Just the bedding - duvet, pillows, sheets, etc.  This price does not include any furniture or decor.  And the grand total for this look was $836.  Gorgeous, but waaay out of our budget! :)

 

 

 

 

And this is a shot of Cole's Serena and Lily inspired nursery.  For the fabric backdrop, I found this rugby stripe shower curtain at Target for $15!  I ordered the letters from an Etsy seller and painted them with Serena and Lily paint in Grass green (Serena and Lily paint sample, $6).  For the pennant banner, I ordered free fabric swatches from Serena and Lily and bought the other fabrics at Hancock for $3.  I ordered the crib sheet from Serena and Lily when they were having a 40% off Nursery event, and the crib skirt was another DIY project ($6).  For the green accent pillow, I covered a pillow I already had with an old cable-knit sweater I didn't wear anymore (FREE)!  So, the grand total for all of Cole's bedding and crib wall decor came to $97! :) 

 

 

 

 

Although I couldn't afford to order all of the items straight from Serena and Lily, I was able to create a similar look for a fraction of the cost.  I'd say our motto around here is design on a dime, but it's actually pretty on a penny! :)

 

Do you guys have any awesome tips for creating high-end looks for less?

Get All the Good Dirt Here!

 I have a confession to make.  I'm an apothecary jar addict.  I seriously have a slight obsession with them!  ;)  They're in the bathroom, kitchen, and have now found their way into our laudry room. 

 

 

I'm hoping to give this room, like all of the other rooms in our house, a bright, fresh makeover soon. 

 

And my inspiration is one of my favorite laundry rooms of all time!

 

 

 

 

I'm hoping maybe a mini-makeover will make laundry more fun.  Probably wishful thinking! ;)

 

Do you guys have any fun laundry room inspiration to share?

 

 

 

 

Yes, Master! (Bedroom, that is!)

 

Here's the very first before picture of our master bedroom before we moved in! :) 

 

 

 

You can see the crazy changes this room has gone through here. 

 

 

And here's the design board I put together for our new space!

 

 

We are slowly getting there, and I can't wait to share the 'before' and 'after, after, after' pics! ;)

 

What do you guys think?  Color overload or much improved? :)

 

 

 

 

 

Let There Be Light!

Our master bedroom is officially about 50 times lighter than it was yesterday. (Thanks to my Dad, who painted all day!)  After much deliberation and three paint samples later, I finally decided on a fourth color! ;)  We went with Palladian Blue by Benjamin Moore, and we love it! :)

 

Here's a reminder of how our yummy dark chocolate bedroom looked before:

And here's our bright, happy room now!

I also decided to add a diaper station since we change approximately 139 diapers a day on our bed. ;)

We still plan to add crown molding, artwork, and more pillows.  Also, I'm most likely going to paint the mirror over our bed white.  But it'll look like this for at least another week or so because I'm switching to party planning mode now!  I have to get ready for Blake's 2nd birthday party this Saturday!  Anyway, we already love how much brighter it is in here, and I can't wait to add the finishing touches! :)

Cole's Navy and Green Nursery

Cole is two months old today, and I'm just now sharing his nursery!  Better late than never, right? ;)  This room was done on a major budget and with the thought that we would be trying to sell our home soon.  With this in mind, we opted to paint the nursery a neutral color instead of navy blue, and also did a removable accent wall instead of painting stripes.  Of course, now that we know we'll be here a while, I'm kicking myself for not painting it navy!  Oh well, we're pretty happy with the way it turned out anyway. :) 

All photos by Brandi Hunsicker of Immeasurable Moments Photography

Like her page on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/immeasurablemoments.

{THE DETAILS}

Crib - Carter's Lifetime Convertible Crib

Crib Sheet - Grass Trellis by Serena and Lily

Bed Skirt - DIY using Blake's crib skirt and adding ribbon from Hancock Fabrics as a border ($6 total)

Pennant Banner - DIY using ribbon, Serena and Lily fabric samples, and fabric form Hancock Fabrics ($4 total)

Striped Accent Wall - DIY using particle board from Lowe's cut to size ($5) covered with a Blue Rugby Stripe shower curtain from Target ($15)

Letters above Crib - Etsy seller going gaga, painted Serena and Lily's Grass Green, sample size ($6)

Brothers print - Etsy seller Nella Designs

Jesus Loves Me Print - DIY using Microsoft Publisher

Airplane - Walmart craft section ($1), hand painted

White frames - Michael's

Chevron baskets - Target

Birth announcement - Shutterfly

Paint - Benjamin Moore Silver Fox

Total Cost (not including items I reused from Blake's nursery such as the crib and rocker) - $167

The Master Bedroom Enlightenment

So, after meeting with our realtor, we came to the conclusion that it was not in our best interest to try and sell our home at this point in time.  We had mixed feelings about selling anyway, and we do love this house, so we'll be staying put for a while longer. :)  Our realtor did recommend that we repaint our master bedroom before we list our home, and even though that won't be anytime soon, we're going to go ahead and do it now so we can enjoy it until we move.  And, we're both kind of tired of our super dark bedroom and are ready for something lighter and brighter. :)  Here's our bedroom from the dark ages.  The paint color is Mink by Benjamin Moore.

And here's the inspiration picture for our fresh master bedroom makeover!  This gorgeous bedroom is from Studio Ten 25, and the paint color is Rainwashed by Sherwin Williams.

I bought a paint sample tonight, Sauna by Valspar.  I'll post pictures as soon as I've put it on the wall! :)  I'm crazy excited and can't wait to get started! 

Also, I mentioned our realtor, Dayla Brooks.  She's pretty much amazing!  If you or anyone you know needs a realtor, be sure to look her up! :)  http://www.hrmls.com/dayla 

Cole's Nursery Sneak Peek

So, I know it's been a while since I last posted, but I've been a little busy! ;)  I'm absolutely loving being a mommy to our little boys!  They are both just too sweet for words!  Blake turned two today, and his little personality is out in full force now!  He is such a fun, happy little guy!  Cole is six weeks old now, and is a very calm, easy-going baby who loves to sleep and eat!  These two little men bring so much joy to our lives!  I could literally write a book about how much I love my boys, but I'll stop here for now. ;)  Anyway,  I have a few pictures of the nursery from our recent photo session that I thought I'd share with you.  Brandi from Immeasurable Moments Photography (be sure to check her out) always does such an amazing job!  Needless to say, her pictures of the nursery are way better than mine, so those are the ones I'm sharing. :) 

One of the most exciting things about this project is that I spent less than $200 total on his nursery!  $167 to be exact! :)  My frugal (nice word for cheap) husband was very pleased with that fact. ;)

I'll be doing a post soon with all of the pictures and details! :)  But for now, I'm off to bed!  I need to get my rest because I'm exercising tomorrow.  After all, shopping is cardio, right? ;)

Beauty on a Budget

It's not always easy to decorate on a small budget, but it is possible!  Our budget for the entire guest bedroom/nursery makeover was $500, including furniture.  To accomplish this, I used six different tactics. 

1.  Start out by browsing designer rooms to get inspiration and ideas.  Familiarizing yourself with high-end looks will enable you to spot budget look-a-likes.

2.  Reuse as many items as possible from the previous room and the rest of the house. 

3.  Frequently scour thrift stores and consignment shops.

4.  Shop yard sales, Craigslist, Ebay, etc.

5.  Check out home decor discount stores such as T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, etc.

6.  Don't be afraid to use spray paint! ;)

Here's a breakdown of the budget for the guest bedroom side.  We already had the headboard, which was a DIY project from a few years ago, I just recovered it.  The chandelier and navy blanket were also items we already had.  The side tables were handed down from my mom and painted pink. :)

Mirror - Martha Stewart Home for Home Depot

Curtains - Target, 95" for $12.99 a panel

Fabric for headboard - Waverly curtain panel from Lowe's

Pink pillows - Ross

Trellis pillows - Target

Coverlet - T.J. Maxx

Lampshade - Lowe's

Lamp base - Goodwill (spray painted white)

And here's a before and after picture that shows the complete transformation:

All for under $200!  With a little creative thinking, a little DIY craftiness, and a lot of budget brainstorming, it is possible to design on a dime!  Or in our case, a penny! ;)

Before and After: Guest Bedroom Update

So, we are finally nearing completion on the guest bedroom!  There's only one small DIY project that I'm still considering! :)  And we're under budget, too!  Here are some before and after pictures of the various transitions the guest room has gone through.  The first picture is from the builder, so it's not our exact room.  The only difference is that we have a double window.  The after picture is how it looked after we first moved in and decorated.  The third picture is how the room stayed for about two years, and the last picture is how it looks now! :)

And stay tuned for the nursery reveal that will be coming soon! :)

Sneak Peek

Ok, let me preface this post by saying that we are definitely not done yet!  We still have work to do, but we have made some progress, thank goodness!  We're down to two weeks until my due date, so we don't have much time left! :)  Here's a glimpse of the guest bedroom:

and here's the bookshelf on Cole's side:

Well, that's all for now, folks! ;)  Hopefully there will be more to come soon! :)

Caution: Wet Paint

The nursery has finally been painted!  My sweet sister Chelsey did all of the cutting in and Daddy and Grandpa finished the rest. :)  Blake also used his mini roller to "help" work on his little brother's nursery. ;)  Such a great helper already! :)  This is the original color, Benjamin Moore's Nantucket Fog, which we really liked.  However, it didn't go with the new scheme for Cole's nursery. :)

After much deliberation, we ended up choosing Benjamin Moore's Silver Fox:

Here are a few pictures I snapped today while the room was still torn apart. :)

Right now this bookshelf is loaded down with goodies from the shower, but this won't be the permanent decor. ;)

The paint is a wonderful "greige", and as you can tell it looks a little different in each picture.  Sometimes a little more gray, sometimes a little more beige.  Silver fox is definitely an appropriate name. :)

We love the new paint color, and I can't wait to start decorating this week! :)

Nursery Update

So, we haven't made nearly as much progress with the nursery as I would have liked at this point.  However, on the plus side, the three of us have been enjoying great quality time together, which we really needed! :)  We've made some changes to the original plan for the nursery.  The original crib I ordered, seen below, is being returned.

 

Instead, Cole will be using Blake's crib and Blake will be getting a matching toddler bed.  Cole gets a much nicer crib, Blake gets a big boy bed, and their beds will match if they ever have to share a room. ;) 

Josh and I felt good about this decision, but it raised another question.  Should we still paint the nursery navy?  I'd say about ninety percent of all the navy nurseries I've seen have white furniture.  Thus, the never-ending paint dilemna continued.  But, alas, we have finally decided on a paint color, and painting will commence this weekend.  Hallelujah! :)  I'm going to leave the rest of the plans a secret for the moment, but I will say the paint color will be one of these three:

I have another doctor's appointment tomorrow, and my mom is coming over to watch Blake for me.  When I get home, we'll be working on sorting, organizing, and setting up Cole's closet.  And as soon as I have pictures, you'll see them right here! :)

Breaking Free

Yesterday I put together this collage for my facebook page.  Notice a theme? :) 

As you can tell, I like blues, browns, and neutrals.  Maybe a little too much! ;)  And although some may say the "brown and blue" fad has passed, I still love the color scheme.  Always have, probably always will. :)  However, I am determined to break free from my addiction as I decorate Cole's nursery! ;)  I just keep looking at pictures of great navy spaces to bolster my courage, like this one from Rikshaw Design:  http://rikshawdesign.blogspot.com/2011/06/rikshaw-navy-nursery.html

I think I can, I think I can! ;)

Nursery Update

Well, we haven't been able to paint yet, but we have made some progress!

The crib has been ordered, delivered, and picked up.  Now it just needs to be put together! :)

The mirror for above the bed has been purchased:

The accent pillows for the bed came in:

The crib bedding has been chosen!  I've ordered the crib sheet (Grass trellis by Serena and Lily), and will be adding the trim to a plain white bumper and crib skirt.

Here's a close-up of the pattern:

The accent paint has been ordered! (Grass by Serena and Lily)

Here's a toddler room painted in Grass green with navy accents.  Of course, we'll be painting the room navy and doing grass accents. :)

The pendant has been purchased!  It is plain right now, but will be getting DIY stripes.

The wooden letters arrived, and I love them!  Trying to decide whether to leave them white or paint them green. :)

Well, that's about it for now!  Hopefully we'll have more updates to share soon! :)