My California Home

I promised a tour of my home here in California, so here it is! I played around with YouTube and thought I could pull off a really cool video of the space without ever working with video before. I failed. Miserably. Those YouTube beauty gurus sure know what they're doing! You guys, it's hard stuff to make a video that isn't blurry and horribly edited and I admire anyone that can do it (tell me your secrets!) I'm so impressed with 14 year olds that have it figured out. So, I saved you from a blurry video and I'm sharing bright, pretty photos instead.

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: 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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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?