So I was doing some online shopping for lamps to go on either side of the large dresser in our front room. I want something cool and can make a statement. Yet at the same time will fit in and not be overwhelming. Is that an oxymoron? I can't tell.
HA!
I wasn't finding ANYTHING I liked. Many cool lamps are out there but nothing was really shouting "Pick me! Pick me!"
Yup...kinda loving driftwood at this moment. Then I saw the price. $319.00.
YOWSERS!
Um that's pretty much out of my price range. And since I need 2...yeah, that would end up being a whopping $640.00...NOT including tax or shipping and handling.
So. I got an idea. I'm pretty sure I can knock that lamp off. I'm going to start collecting driftwood. We live by a lake and a river and a park that all has a sizable amount of driftwood. In fact...we're going out to Antelope Island soon for a sunset photo shoot and I'll just show up a bit early and start my collection. That will make the lamps even that much more special.
Oh wow...look at that. Only $6.61. So I might (MIGHT) be able to come in under $20.00 with other accessories.
And...in making my own, I can make them as tall or as short and I want. And can leave them the natural wood color...or stain them darker. And can add any shade I want.
Yup...this is a challenge that is too good to pass up.
I will leave you with some other pictures of driftwood in decor. I'd love to hear what you think of it. Do you like it or hate it? I'm genuinely curious...
Um ok. I have a new color obsession and I am rather surprised by it.
Navy blue.
I always knew I wanted my living room to be green and blue but I always pictured a lighter blue.
Then I got a rug. I can't find an image online of this rug...weird I know...but the colors are sage green (the EXACT green as my couch), a brownish mustard color, and navy blue. And so my obsession began.
I LOVE this color combo. Love.
So I'm beginning to think that my walls are going to navy blue in my living room. A bit more bold than I was going to go but I'm way excited. I'm just obsessing about it.
I'm working full time now at my day job and finding the balance between being a wife and mom, a professional, and a blogger...is taking some time!
I have to say...I love when the Hubs' posts. They always make my day. I asked him what stencil to use (disclaimer...NONE of the ones he pictured) to use for our statement wall in our master and I got this blank stare. He couldn't really tell the difference between the couple I had picked out. So he decided to blog about it.
I think it's quite funny that he used golf 'cause I do golf...but I always ask him what club to use. And when it comes to the wedges...yeah, totally clueless. So if any of you out there golf...he was using me as the comparison. Haha. Loved it. I always look forward to when he gets the blogging bug. :)
ANYWHOO! So Inspiration Tuesday is on Thursday this week because this has been the only few minutes I could find. So we were talking about my living room. We did the living area and the reading area...today is the music area. This is what I came up with.
This is our piano.
Granted...not the prettiest piano out there but it's electronic. Which is AWESOME! Why? Cause when a certain Hubby starts learning a song he plays it over and over and over again which makes me not so much like the song anymore. Tragic.
So with our electronic piano...he plugs in the headphones and pounds away to his little heart's content. Hee hee! He doesn't wake up the Princess and he doesn't get on my nerves. Plus...it's kinda fun to sneak up behind him and make him JUMP. Yup...I'm a prankster. Anyways, getting back to the picture! So our piano is great. Since we're going with a green/blue/greige in the living room, the piano fits right in. I hate the bench it comes with though.
Hate. So I'm on the look-out for an antique bench/stool that I can recover with that fabulous teal chevron. LOVE the one pictured...probably won't be able to find one like that in my price range. Haha. We'll probably end up going with a stool. Which I'm fine with.
I already have a lamp very similar to that one...just without the crystal ball. Wish mine had it. It would make me feel special. But alas, no crystal balls for me. The piano is going to be in a corner with the back angled towards a window. I love the warmth bamboo shades bring to a room. So the window is going to have bamboo shades and then that lovely green floral as some drapey drapes.
The subway art is gonna be made by me. There have been a TON of tutorials on "how to" make your own...I've kinda got my own in my head. We'll see how it actually works. Haha! The Hubs has lived in France, Belgium, and Holland over the years so we're going to be taking streets that he lived on and making our own. And then I have lived in Russia so we'll be doing another one with my streets somewhere else in the house. Sentimental and cheap art. Always a plus.
And I love little things I can put places to spruce it up. The tree is actually a jewelry holder...we won't be using it as one. Just as a lovely little display. And I love those green vases. They're just happy.
So there you have it. The music corner. Next week...we'll be doing a green bathroom. A friend is re-doing her bathroom so we're doing an inspiration board for her! Woot woot!
Ok...I first have to say how much I LOVE my blog readers. When you found out about the Hubs' job...wow. I love blogging because I have a support system of people I've never even met. It's truly amazing to me. I just needed to thank you all for your support. You're amazing!
It's Tuesday which means I get to do more inspiration boards. Woot woot!
Really...love these.
Today is the reading nook part of our living room. Here is what I came up with.
Sorry some of the items are a bit pixeled...they were the only pics I could find though.
ALRIGHT! Lets bread it down shall we? First and foremost, the chevron fabric. It's actually NOT going to be chevron fabric...we're going to do a subtle greige and cream chevron pattern on the wall. I'm gonna be taping it out and painting it on. I'm thinking it'll actually be more of a herringbone...I'm kinda torn right now...but it'll be awesome. I'm WAY excited about this. It'll add a TON of personality which will help to keep the space fresh.
I love art and photography and so we're going to have either a couple B&W prints or some typography prints that I've made hung up. We're still debating that. So I just put the frames on the board. Haha! The chair is so awesome. I love the plastic chairs but they don't seem comfortable enough to have in a reading nook. SO! This one has the look...but is actually an upholstered chair. Haha! I don't know if I'll go that route or not...probably not...but I just thought it was awesome.
The table snuck its way onto the last inspiration board but it is in fact going in the nook. I love the glamor it adds to the space while still staying pretty neutral. So cool.
The pillows are from West Elm's new line and I have to say...I love West Elm. They have no idea I exist so don't take this as an advertisement 'cause it's not. I just love them. Their stuff makes me smile. The pillows provide a very subtle animal print while at the same time...they're just a printed pillow. And the colors...? Ahhhhhhhhh... Yup, they're kinda my favorite.
The horse head. Where do I start? I LOVE THIS GUY! I've had my eye on him for soooooooooooo long. LOVE him. He's going to be my first purchase for this room as soon as the Hub's gives the go-ahead to start working on it. I just think he's got such personality and is pretty quirky and yup...love him. Seriously...I've been ogling him for over a year now.
The books I'll end up getting from a thrift store...there's no way I'm paying over $300 for them. Love you Anthropologie. LOVE but that's insanely pricey for something I can re-create from the thrift store. And the little birdie glasses? Same thing. I'll figure out a way to get them for not so much money. That's be a bit more difficult but we'll figure it out.
So there we have it. Inspiration Tuesday. Let me know what you think of my little nook ideas. I love the idea of having a places specifically set aside for reading.
After our kitchen is done...I'm going to be attacking our living room with a vigor. The living room is the first room you walk into in our house and it leads into our kitchen. So if I have a pretty kitchen...I had better get that living room whipped into shape eh?
There are going to be 3 parts to our living room. It has a very strange layout...I'll post a floor plan next Tuesday. The way we reconciled the strange layout was to separate it into it's different parts.
1. The visiting area - sofa, a couple chairs, an ottoman, and a rug.
2. The reading nook - a chair, side table, small shelf with knick-knacks and books, a lamp
3. The music area - the piano, music stand, music related art
All of those combined will equal our living room. In the almost 2 years we've lived here I have rearranged this room sooooooooooooooooo many times The Hubs cringes when he hears the words "I've been thinking..." because he knows he's going to be enlisted to help move things around. But I think I FINALLY have the correct layout planned...
As part of that...I'll be doing inspiration boards for each section of our living room. Today is the visiting area. Here is what I came up with...
That sofa is our actual sofa. It's not in the budget to run out and just buy a new sofa besides...I love my sofa so it's staying. But with it being a grayish green it presented a color issue. It's not a neutral beige or white. It's green.
I was going to go with green and red...not Christmasy green and red...the combo that actually works together. But after realizing that I need my house to be calming...not insanely color infused...I decided to go with green, gray or greige, and blue.
The walls are going to be painted a nice light gray and then we'll be adding some lovely panalled wainscoting. I love wainscoting...I think it adds just the right finishing touch to a room. And since I got The Hubs a brad nailer and air compressor for Christmas...I can actually put it up all by myself. Woot woot!
I loved the rug. A bit playful...but still quite artistic. And the colors all fit together perfectly. I'm thinking that will be the very first purchase. *UPDATE* I did notice after I posted this on a different computer the green in the rug is more lime than sage...we'll have to see about it. I might order it...check the color scheme and then determine it all based on that.
Next up...that chair. I wasn't really looking for an upholstered chair, but that one just totally stuck out. Reason? It's all the right colors and I love the casters on the wood feet. So charming.
As for the ottoman...I'm actually going to be making one. Stay tuned for that project as soon as our kitchen is done. Since I'm making one I can actually go with whatever fabric I want so I'm going to be really looking around to find the perfect color. I know I want it to be a solid color since the chair is patterned and the rug is patterned but I don't know exactly what...a greige linen perhaps?
The curtains are going to be made out of that darling green floral and will be drapes just like that. OR! I'll have lovely white drapes like the ones pictured and then make some roman shades with that green floral. I'll have to see what I decide when the time comes.
And the mirrored side table...be still my heart. I LOVE it. It's actually going in the reading nook but for some reason...I stuck it on this one. Oh well... It adds a bit of glamor to the space and yet (in my opinion) still fits right in. Love.
Lastly...the mirror on the wall and the pillows. I have had my eye on that mirror for quite some time. It is just a plethora of all the right colors. It's truly perfect for this room. I can't wait to actually take it home. The pillows that actually end up in there are honestly probably going to end up being ones I make. We'll have to see!
So that is the plan. As we know...plans are always evolving so we'll see how it actually all pans out but I love the living part of my room...
I had to find a nice, red(ish) velvet chair for a groomal shoot I'm doing and I stumbled across this one. The price was decent and it looked like it was in good shape from the picture so I said sure. I went out this morning...took a look at it and oh my! I fell in love. It's in PERFECT condition.
I love it.
I'm going to eventually (after the snow is gone and it comes in the house instead of being used for shoots) re-stain the feet to a much darker wood and eventually...when the velvet starts to wear...I'm going to re-upholster it to a fun and graphic print...like maybe this one...
Or this one...
Or maybe even this one...
Or I could go crazy and do something like this...
Or even this...
Call me nutty...but I kinda like the fish. Random, I know.
But for now, the chair will stay as is and instead get a lovely pillow made from this...
So for Inspiration Tuesday I decided to make my basement movie room inspiration board. Here it is...
I LOVE it! It's gonna be so pretty. The walls are going to be all charcoal. It's going to have a gallery wall with B&W prints we have taken. The Ektorp sectional from Ikea. The entertainment center from Ikea. My favorite zebra West Elm rug. Ahhhhhhh...I just love this room. Can't wait till I can start on it.
