Living Room Progress

Today is the day! I'm flying to San Francisco today and starting my summer adventure there working on an exiting beauty app. Stay tuned for app updates in the coming months. I can't wait to share it with you all and get your feedback! We already have a jam-packed schedule starting the moment I get to SF which is exciting jumping right in! This weekend I'll be in LA for the Generation Beauty Event by Ipsy meeting tons of beauty bloggers (hello Michelle Phan!) and networking. Follow along on Instagram and Twitter for tons of photos. But before I fly out, I want to give you a look at the living room progress in my house in Iowa. I won't get to decorate the house for a few months while I'm gone, so I was running around like crazy trying to finish the main projects.

First House: Bedroom Inspiration

Biscuit Katie Duvet / Biscuit Blue Border Shams / Floral Print Pillow / West Elm Hanging Cord Lamp / Reclaimed Wood Vanity DIY / West Elm Mirrored Side Table / Floating Wood Shelf / Turkish Towel / Kate Spade Saturday Nesting Boxes

Hello again! I hope you all had a fab weekend. I was busy trying to get things finished before I leave for Go Blog Social this Thursday!! So excited it's finally almost here. The past couple weeks I have shared my inspiration for the kitchen and living room in the new house project I'll be working on. My boyfriend bought a house and I'm thrilled to have an entire house to play with and decorate! We can't move in until May, so until then, I'm brainstorming decor ideas and creating mood boards for each room in the house. If you'd like room updates or want to see more inspiration photos, follow along with me on Pinterest with my Bedroom, Kitchen, Upstairs Living Room, and Entryway boards. I'm constantly pinning new ideas!

The bedroom is super important to me because that is where my office will most likely be located. As you can imagine, I'll be spending lots of time in there writing blog posts and other fun projects so it needs to be inspiring, bright, and cheery. I'm sticking with the same blues, greens, and reds that are used in the living room and kitchen to keep things unified. My boyfriend likes rustic, so I'll add some natural wood pieces like the hanging light and floating wood shelf. I need to do some measuring to see how big the room is and what size of furniture will fit. The room is long and narrow so I may have to get creative when arranging. I love this DIY wood vanity (using IKEA legs and a slab of wood) with the TV mounted above, but if space is too tight I'll have to resort to something like the hanging wood shelf instead. I can't wait to get in the house to start making final decisions!

My bf has a nice headboard already, and we both have dressers so I'll need to figure out what space we have for those. We need major storage solutions, but I'm afraid two dressers won't fit. When you have a shortage of storage, use wall shelving! It gives you more space and doubles as both storage and decor. The floating wood shelf could display my jewelry and pretty perfume bottles, and colorful cute handbags or scarves could hang on the hooks.

Congrats to Cait on winning the Maddelyn bag from the Mishqua giveaway! Thanks everyone for participating!

First House: Kitchen Inspiration

IKEA table / Ghost chairs (only $55!!) / Lulu & Georgia cowhide rug / Target bar cart / Leif napkins / Home Depot cabinet knobs / This print in red

I'm jumping right into another inspiration post for the new house makeover! Last week I covered the living inspiration, colors, and how I want the house to feel. After seeing this photo I am now inspired to bring a little fire engine red into the house as well. Maybe by painting the front door. But, that's another blog post. In the kitchen we are keeping the same bright, open, and comfortable theme throughout, so the walls and cabinets will be white and all new hardware will be installed. The floors and counters will be updated eventually.  Luckily, they are pretty neutral so it won't be a problem with the rest of the kitchen decor right away. I'm actually thinking about painting the counters with a faux marble technique. It sounds scary but it looks so great here that it might be worth a shot so I can still have my marble! There are tons of cabinets with space for a table and chairs. As usual, I plan on scouring Craigslist and Goodwill for a table, bar cart, and fun decor. I'm loving this tulip style table and it's the perfect size for the cozy nook. With a well-stocked bar cart and some pretty napkins there will be plenty of color in the space. By the way, if you are looking for pretty tabletop decor, you should check out Leif. They have the most beautiful napkins, trays, and even serving utensils!

Cowhides are very durable rugs so it will work great in the kitchen where there is lots of traffic. I have been dying to find a way to incorporate ghost chairs into the home and I think in the kitchen is the perfect place. If you have shopped around much for ghost chairs you know they can be pricey. They usual start around $100 each, and you have to double check measurements because there are child sizes that sound like a great deal, but ultimately wouldn't work in my home. I was so excited when Kristen discovered these adult size ghost chairs for only $55 each! You go girl.

What do you think of the kitchen inspiration? What kitchen challenges are you facing in your home?

First House: Living Room Inspiration

My boyfriend bought a house last week. I had mixed feelings about the idea because buying a house is a huge purchase and a lot of work. I'm sure all you homeowners can attest to the stressful process and that's before you even move in. He's living in a different city while I finish up school so I wasn't involved in the buying process much. I expressed my needs/wants and looked at house listings online but that's about it. I toured one house and that pretty much ended all hope for a "spacious, open concept home with lots of light." In fact, I was a little turned off by the whole idea after seeing a sea-foam toilet and tub. I'm confident in my skills to tackle a so-so place into something wonderful, but even the home I toured seemed like an impossible project. Then my bf came across another home. Props to him for not giving up despite my less than impressed reactions. I looked at pictures online and after what he told me, I gave the green light without ever seeing the home in person. Insane of me, I know. He ended up buying the house and I finally had the chance to go look at it this past weekend!

Let me tell you, it's nerve-racking walking into a place knowing its your home for the next year (at least) and seeing it for the first time. I was hoping it was just as he described. Thankfully, he was spot on and I wasn't disappointed. It's not huge, updated, or spectacular, but it is do-able. And I'm bursting with design ideas already just waiting to get my hands on it. It's pretty exciting knowing I have an entire house to decorate! Without (a lot) of pink that is. Which is almost a challenge in itself.

My brain hasn't stopped turning with inspiration ideas since Saturday morning, so I want to share my ideas with you because, honestly, I just can't wait any longer! We won't be moving into the new house until the beginning of May, but I want to have a clear direction come May so we can get to work right away. 

Here's what the living room looks like right now. Check out that flow of natural light! You can just barely see the entryway door to the left in the first photo and the wall parallel to the windows has two doorways. We will be replacing the carpet and painting all the walls and woodwork white. Painting woodwork is always a controversy, but it's not a pretty color and I like things bright and white. I'm kind of funny when it comes to light. The first thing I do when I wake up is open up the blinds and turn on the lights. It just feels more cheerful and happy when it's not dim and dark. I have never been a basement person either. The living room isn't a big space, but I have several tricks up my sleeve to help make the space seem bigger and more open.

When I was brainstorming ideas I knew I wanted the living room to feel open, bright, and comfortable. Anytime you are decorating a space it's important to first decide how you want the room to feel. You then use those ideas when choosing colors, furniture, styles, etc. I'm thinking of doing blues and greens for color, but let's be real, no color is off limits. 

Here's a mood board for the living room. What do you think? What does your living room feel like? Stay tuned for more house updates! 

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