Living Room Inspiration

I have been wanting to redecorate my parent's farmhouse (where I grew up) for a while now. As a kid, my sister and I helped repaint the kitchen, select new curtains for the dining room, and decor for the living room. We didn't do anything major, though we have always wanted to. Our living room is a big room. It has nice bay windows, French doors and an open floor plan. There are endless possibilities but right now, it's not really making use of such a great space. Now with a little niece (and granddaughter) soon to be crawling/walking/running around, it's the perfect time to update the place and make it a little more kid-friendly. With much convincing, my mom finally decided to let my sister and I takeover and redecorate the house.

My sister and I talked it over and we decided to go with an airy, bright, and traditional country style. My mom has a lot of antique furniture with wood finishes she wants to use, so luckily we won't need to source much furniture. We have some really great pieces to work with, so we are getting creative and doing a lot of rearranging.

The major issue we need to tackle in the living room is seating. The current couch and love seat are worn, not very comfortable, and not all that appealing. We have a large and growing family so we need all the seating we can get. In such a big room, a sectional works perfectly and divides up the space. Since we already have a couple recliners, TV stand, and a buffet, all we need is a sofa table, coffee table, an end table and accessories.

Audrey put together a floor plan that visually shows the arrangement of the room. We even have a piano in our dining room that will work great in the new living room. The second half of the living room will be a kid play area with a mini table and chairs, a bookshelf, and toy storage. More on that later!

I started putting together an inspiration board and this is what I came up with so far. We really want to keep things neutral and traditional, bringing in pops of color with fun accessories. What do you think?

My sister and I are not actually at my parent's house during this whole process, so we are doing a lot of online shopping and link sharing! Next, we have to create a to-do list before we can start bringing in the new furniture and accessories. Hope you are ready to get to work, Mom :)

We are also tackling the dining room, kitchen, bathroom, hallway, and bedrooms! Stay tuned for more inspiration photos, style boards, and "after" photos!


Sectional, Rug, Curtains, Metal Side Table, Trunk Coffee Table, Light Pendant , Sofa Table, Coral Pillow, Metallic Pillow, Throw

Jessica Russell Flint

Hello again! It has been a while, hasn't it? The past few weeks have been a bit crazy with the holidays coming up and the end of the semester nearing. Our professors conveniently schedule group projects and presentations due right after we come back from Thanksgiving break, so we're scrambling to have most everything done before our break starts next week. Not complaining though because that means we only have 3 weeks left of the entire semester once we come back from break! It's getting real. Graduation that is.

 Besides school, I am also brainstorming/working on some projects ideas that I can't share with you just yet, but in the next month or two hopefully. Remember the apartment tour I was supposed to do like 2 months ago on here? Well, I am making it up to you and I think you will be pleasantly surprised :) That's my clue.

With all of the back and fourth from class, group projects and assignments and then to personal projects it's hard to get my brain to focus on blogging and come up with creative posts. My brain is dead at the end of the day so all hopes of any creative juices flowing are gone. And I don't want to bore you with any old blog post.

A few days back I was reading some articles online and came across the work of illustrator, Jessica Russell Flint. Recently I've looked into illustration as I'm using it in one of my upcoming projects so I've research it and noticed it more around the web. I instantly loved the use of color and texture Jessica uses, but you can't deny the uniqueness in each piece. A little quirky and unusual, she totally defines her own style and doesn't set boundaries. I'm completely obsessed with her manifesto and her work, especially the box of cards, cushions, and makeup bags. Can you image some fantastic wallpaper adorned in the wildly colorful  illustrations? So good.

Which Room Do You Like Better?

Which room do you like better? Putting all analytical thinking aside.

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or....

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Which one did you choose?

The other night I was playing around on the computer and came across an interesting article on Apartment Therapy. I love when I'm not looking for something in particular on the Internet because that's when I seem to find/come up with the coolest ideas. Does this happen to you? Same goes for brainstorming blog post ideas, projects...I can sit for hours trying to come up with ideas, but the instant I stop trying a great idea pops in my head. It's always at random times too like when I'm getting up in the morning.

Anyway, back to the article. It explains in detail how the majority of us are drawn to the second image due to our emotional connection with the curved architecture. Were you? Not because it has a better decor or furniture, but because its curved lines are much more appealing to us. Notice the arched doorway, round edge sofa and coffee table, pillows, and accessories. It's easier on the eyes and more soothing and calming. Now if you were drawn to the first image that doesn't mean you have bad taste, it just means you like the structured, linear look. It's all about finding the balance that appeals to you.

Crazy Cat Lady

By Emily Henderson

Happy Friday!! Who else is excited for a crisp fall weekend? This past week we really got a taste of fall here in Iowa and it is wonderful. Temperatures were in the 50's and leaves are finally starting to turn color a little. Usually I'm such a hot weather girl that when it hits 50 I want to pull out the winter coat, hat, and mittens. You'd think after 22 years of miserable, long Iowa winters I'd be used to it and see 50 degrees as treat compared to the negative temps we have December-February. I don't know what's gotten into  me  this year but I'm absolutely loving the "cold". It's so nice to not be sweating the instant I step foot outside and I love the briskness in the air. Plus, without the humidity it's like a good hair day everyday.

A friend's baby shower is this weekend so I'm looking forward to catching up with friends and doing some celebrating. Next weekend I have my sister-in-law's baby shower so lots of baby talk happening. I"ll keep this post short and sweet so I'm sharing a few of my favorite things from the week.

Have you checked out this week's one room challenge update? I talked about it last week here, and upon discovering I have pretty much been obsessed with it since. There are some pretty amazing interior design projects happening. One of my favorites to follow is this killer bachelor pad. That is one lucky dude.

A fun fact: I love cats. You know how some people are dog lovers and own like 4 dogs? Well, I'm a cat lover. Always have been, always will be. Ever since I was a kid I loved playing with my kittens. I took my cat-sitting (Yes, I felt like I had to babysit the little kittens constantly. What if they forgot to eat?) duty very seriously. So seriously that my sister and I would give them "lessons". I'd like to think they loved it. Anyway, anytime I see a cute cat/kitten I instantly squeal in that annoying high-pitched voice. When I saw this video of Aslan, Grace's new kitten, you can only imagine my reaction... You have to watch it until the very end, but that's all I'm going to tell you. If I could force everyone into watching it I totally would. That's how confident I am that you will love it, even if you aren't a cat lover. So here it is, the cutest video ever. 

Have a great weekend!

Update Your Bedroom With 5 New Items

Pillow | Throw | Lamps | Chair | Furry Stool

BEFORE

Re-decorating can be overwhelming, I get it. You already spent money on the headboard, end tables, and bedding, but as time passes you change your mind and would like a different look. Feeling like you have to completely change everything in the room to create a new feel, you get discouraged. After all, that can mean lots of money and time.

The truth is, it does not take a complete overhaul to update a room. Just a few new pieces can completely transform the look and feel, and all it takes is a couple hours. How's that sound for re-decorating?

This bedroom before was nice. It's calming colors makes a great getaway after a busy day, and I love the velvet bed frame. However, let's say you're looking for something a little more playful with some color. You grew tired of the dusty grey and green and need some flavor in your life. Tearing down wallpaper is not an easy feat, so that's out of the question. Instead of bringing in color with paint (which requires moving furniture, taping, time, etc., more time...) we're going to use textiles and a couple fun lamps to bring in color, pattern, and texture.

I added just 5 new pieces that transformed the room from Traditional Grey to Cheery Global.
1. These pillows are fun, vibrant, and the perfect dose of exotic.
2. A throw folded across the bed brings in nice texture and repeats the red and salmon color found in the  pillows.
3. I like having alternative seating in the bedroom like a chair and foot stool to drape clothes or sip your morning coffee.
4. The fur stool is so fun and brings so more needed texture.
5. These foo dog lamps I think are what pull the whole room together. It adds a little extra blue color and ties in the global theme.

The key here to making it work is keeping the color scheme similar to what it was before by still using shades of blue and grey and pulling the pink from the pillows. I love the overall look of mixed patterns and textures in a room. The wallpaper wasn't my favorite before but it works great here after we added a some more prints and color.

Do you like the changes? Do you have a room that could use some sprucing up and aren't sure where to start?

New Job

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Things have been a litttlllee crazy around here this week. Hence the MIA on Wednesday. Between class, homework, studying for tests (Finance is not my forte) two jobs, and this blog, it gets a little tricky managing it all while staying sane. I'm going to do my best to stick with my blogging schedule on here, but if it gets busy and I miss a post or two will you please forgive me? I hate putting blogging on the back burner, but first comes school, then work.

You might have noticed I mentioned two jobs. Last week I actually started the second one with Emily at EM Design Interiors. She's pretty much the coolest interior designer in California and I'm lucky enough to call her my boss! Her blog was in need of a little revamping and a new editorial calendar so I'm working on blog posts for every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on everything from upcoming projects, design trends, and advice. Feel free to stop by her blog and leave a comment and definitely take a look at her website! She designed that gem you're looking at! Have a great weekend

Worth Stealing {Wallpaper}

Some of you are probably shaking your head in disgust at the computer screen with the thought of even mentioning wallpaper, let alone suggesting it. Thought wallpaper was a thing of the past and had no chance of a comeback? Like any trend that comes and goes, it returns with a slight twist. These are not your everyday small floral prints that you remember growing up. Now I'm not saying you should go wallpaper your entire house, but a little wallpaper can spruce up a room if you're looking for major change. 

Window treatments pull a whole room together and are an easy way to bring in fun prints and colors. Wallpaper is just another way to bring interest to a room and make it feel complete. Imagine what the bathroom above would look like without the wallpaper. It would have no visual interest and I definitely wouldn't be showing it to you guys as inspiration.

I'm sure you all have your opinions on it so I'd love to hear them! 

Left: Anthropologie Right: Bloom Papers

 Wallpaper doesn't have to mean wild prints. I love the old painted wood wallpaper from Anthropologie. It has a worn effect that is perfect for a rustic look, which we all know I love :) 

Which one is your favorite?