Tuesday's Top Ten: Online Design

Actually... it's Top Five, and it's online shopping, but to make up for the other five I included one item from each spot that we have in our home {in the design of our home ;)}.

I am an avid online shopper, but I still try really hard to stick to American made purchases. The following five sites are my favorite {i.e. most trusted} online shopping destinations. And although you have to be careful with a couple of them, a large portiion of their products are made in the USA.

If online shopping makes you crazy nervous, I recommend making sure one of two qualifiers is always met. Any time I buy online, either I have seen it in a catalog that has more accurate pictures/colors than online, or there are a lot of really good reviews. And if it's a bigger purchase like a rug or piece of furniture {yes, I have ordered both...you didn't know I was such a risk taker, did you? ;)} - order a swatch of the material or the wood finish before you commit. Oh, and be sure to pay attention to dimensions. They'll getcha.

Aside from those requirements, I only have a couple of other tips. Always look for free shipping. All sites have it periodically, and it's worth the wait to hold off. And if you sign up for the emails from whichever sites you're looking into, you'll often get coupons for significant percentages off or sales that they don't post for everyone to see.

Okay, here we go:


{5} Etsy



I started with this one because it is the most unique and probably the most blogged about. For the three people who didn't know waaaay before me, it's an online market where talented people sell what they make and less talented people {or at least in my case ;)} can buy it. I love the idea and the products!



This is a close up of a pillow cover I am almost ready to integrate into a new scheme in the living room. It is from LilyonBlue, and I was super impressed with her!


{4} Pottery Barn



This is one of my favorite stores and online sites for accessories, and their frames have free shipping almost all the time.



Here is a part of the collection of PB frames with family photos on our buffet.


{3} Target



I just purchased our new dining chairs from Target.com, and we love them! They were on sale and plus had an extra discount at the time. Target's website has 15% off furniture items pretty regularly and has free shipping on orders over $150 on a regular basis.



I'll do a big picture once I find the perfect rug to go under the table :)


{2} Ballard Designs



I'm a BIG fan of Ballard Designs. You can find a 15% coupon in a lot of issues of Southern Living! We bought our living room rug from here a while ago, but I ordered a swatch first {for ~$5}. When they sent the swatch, they sent another coupon {worth a lot more than $5} with it. Score :)



These are the large and medium medici capitols from BD. They are perfect for setting a drink or magazine down when you're on the far end of the couch. It may not be their permanent home, but it is working for now.


{1} Overstock



If you haven't shopped on this site, what are you waiting for?!? It's like a super sale every single day. And you get shipping for $2. Like the bar stools you see in our kitchen below. The low profile of the back keeps from obstructing the view of the island.

The picture on top is from a while ago...you can tell we were not good at training Lady not to chew shoes because they are all on the stool and the counter. Once the shoes were out of reach, she went for the pant leg. Yikes. ;) The picture on the bottom is the website's picture of the stools. They shipped for free. They came fully assembled. And we got 10% off. The reviews were really what sold me, though.



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Now, get to shopping ladies {and gents?} - somebody's got to support this economy! ;)

Corner Office and a Foxy Mama

Am I too young and not yet accomplished enough to have achieved the ultimate corner office? Yes. But titling this post Office in a Corner just didn't have the same ring. ;)

We had a wasted corner in our kitchen for a very long time. It was super clutter-y and cord-y {I know those aren't real words, but they are self-explanatory}, and it drove me nuts. We had also been using one of our spare bedrooms as an office while we were both in school, but we hardly needed that much space for an office after we both graduated. So in my efforts to spruce up our home in the way you would eat an elephant {one bite at a time}, I decided to tackle this little space to make it more functional and enjoyable and pleasant to my picky eyes.

BEFORE:

You see what I mean? A mess. I am ashamed that I let it look like that for so long, but kind of proud for not cleaning it up for the before picture. I'm working on authenticity... keepin' it real. I think it makes my blood pressure go up a little bit, though.

AFTER: {I used a different camera that I clearly have no clue how to work}

This picture is from a different angle, and I took it on food mode to stop the glare. Evidently people like their food to have a yellow tint, because it also added a shade of sunshine to the picture that was not in my kitchen.

Lack of photography skills aside, you get the drift. It displays family photos, adds a place for me to organize mail and pay bills, and hides my computer and what-not in the desk drawer {of the desk that I put together with my own two hands because I am stubborn and inpatient... and handy ;)}

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And on to Part 2 of this post.

This is a close-up of one of the pictures hanging in the kitchen collage, two baby foxes. I found it on google. It is, in fact, not as random as it may appear. {Although my sweet husband didn't say a word about how crazy he must have thought I was before he realized the reasoning behind the reference.} This little spot is reserved for two baby Foxes that are currently residing below :)

Meet Melanie Fox!

She is my first cousin, and the closest thing I had to a sister growing up. She is precious to me, and so are the TWINS {one boy: Griffin, one girl: Bailey} she is expecting. She is very emotional {even when she isn't with child}, and she has so mastered shedding tears that she does it with a smile and not even the slightest smudge of mascara. I showed her the fox picture I had hung a while back, and I was almost disappointed I didn't get a tear - if that tells you anything ;)

She has been ready for motherhood since ... forever, and she will be a phenomenal one. Take that back. She is a phenomenal one. She is currently on bedrest, has been for a couple of weeks now since an early labor scare, and will be for {hopefully} several more. Please say a prayer for this little Fox family, that she will be able to carry her babies to full term and deliver healthy little ones when it is their time.

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I stole the picture of her from her blog, and I didn't ask her permission, but I think she looks beautiful, so I'm hoping she won't mind! {Easier to ask for forgiveness in this case :)}

Home Sweet Home: Little Updates

We've been working on little updates lately... small changes here and there that make our space feel more functional and/or less cluttered. I'm on an Official Clutter Elimination Mission. J is lovin' it ;)

First, the more functional:

We finally got a real coffee table for our living room, and it was an excellent decision if I do say so myself. We loved using the bench that my great-great-grandfather built, but it has now moved to the foot of our bed where it serves its original purpose. In its place is a gem from good ol' Paula Deen.

Its sheer size and the drawers you see that hold our excess magazines make this space feel much more finished.

But there is so much more to this table.

Wait for it...

Half of it just raises right up to you like a magical table, desk, tray...a tableskray of beautiful usefulness. I pay bills, I check blogs, we eat our new favorite Eggo whole grain waffles, and all while the puppies sit cuddly at our shoulders. Increased function - check.

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Now for for a much smaller scale and more clutter-focused update:

I had been leaving all of our medicine and vitamins out on the kitchen island so that I would remember them every morning. I didn't want to put them up in the cabinet because I knew my consistency in taking/serving them would be shot, but I was tired of seeing the mess. I look at pills all day at work, so I really don't need to see them when I'm at home. {Not that we take a ton of medicine, but I am a whole-hearted believer in vitamins and supplements. Josh doesn't even know half of what he takes. He's actually very trusting now that I think about it...}

The solution? My trusty go-to, Pottery Barn, and its Black and White Apothecary Canister.

It holds everything we need - even my gummy vitamins :)

I have no idea what any of those words mean except for Pharmacie {mad deducing skills, right?}, but it's a nod both to my profession and to the purpose it so stylishly serves. Oh, and I got it with a gift card, so I am one supplemented, semi-organized, happy camper.

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Stay tuned for a kitchen office nook I'm working on - it almost makes me giddy just thinking about it ;)

Home Sweet Home: Dining Room

Home sweet home is just that right now - such a haven. It was not anywhere near that two years ago, as pictured below ;)

BEFORE

Have I mentioned the whole blood, sweat, and tears portion of a home renovation? Yes...I suppose I have. And the whole there is no real deadline for things to be done part? Hmmph. But I must say that sitting in our living room, completely relaxed, watching The Office with J while our puppies play tug-o-war with one of his socks, it was all worth it.

AFTER

I know that picture is a fairly cluttered view of the dining room {dining space is probably more accurate}, but I tried to take it from the same angle as the before picture. As you can see, we took out the wall between the kitchen and dining room, and it made a huge difference in the flow of the main living area. At some point, I would like to get a larger glass top for the dining table so that we can seat more than four at the table. Buuuuuut I'm still stuck on finding the perfect snuggly sectional, and that ranks way higher than a few extra seats for supper. ;)

We got our dining table at Bombay Company for 40% off before it closed. I l.o.v.e.(d) that store, and I especially loved that something was always 40% off. That's a LOT off.

Here is a close-up of the built-in. We did our best to keep it as close to its original condition as possible, with just a few spruce-ups to hide 75 years of wear and tear.

Welp, that's it! It is a small space, but I like to think of it as cozy. ;)

If you want to check out the rest of our Home Sweet Home, click HERE and enjoy!

Living Room and room to live

**Update: a picture and a question!**

This week Kelly's Korner Show Us Your Life is featuring livings rooms. I did a post a few months ago {technically all my posts have been, at most, a few months ago ;)} of the before and after of our living room - click HERE to see it, or click HERE to see all the posts on our Home Sweet Home so far!


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Here is one AFTER picture so I comply with all the Show Us Your Life rules :)

And my question is.... are sectionals in? .... because I really want one.... they are so very comfortable.... maybe I don't even care if they're in or not....
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Speaking of living rooms...and the rest of our house... for a few days J and I considered renting ours out and starting on a new home project. We actually considered it all the way to the drive to make an offer, but decided at the last minute that neither of us had a peace about it.

And can I get a collective *Whew*

I honestly don't know what we were thinking. Well, I kind of do - it would be closer to my work and to one of my brothers and it was a super fun neighborhood and a seemingly good deal. But the buck stops there. That seemingly bit could have been a corker once we really started remodeling and we would have had to become landlords on top of all the responsibilities of our currently the busiest they have ever been schedules and our nights/weekends/alltimeoff would be consumed with fixing it up so we wouldn't be living in a construction zone again and I could hardly breathe when I thought about the hideous kitchen.

There I go with run-on sentences again. I just feel like they have so much more impact, and they more adequately reflect the chaos that's going on inside my head. ;)

Upside: Ever since we drove away without offering to take on the madness, I have walked around my home appreciating every. little. detail. Thank you, Lord, for protecting us from ourselves and showing us how a level floor and a dishwasher can be such significant blessings!

Amen.

Monday, Monday

This weekend I worked out of town filling in for some pharmacists who were on vacation. Do you know what that means? One glorious Monday off. Even better - the first Monday of the month off {it's a notoriously hectic day behind the pharmacy counter ... I know you were dying to know}

I love having a day off to recoup, unpack, wash clothes, etc. But after almost every step I take, I turn around to find these two small, furry shadows following. :)

They're really cute and really sweet, though, so I don't mind. Plus we were away from them for three days, so they need a little extra love and attention, even if it means I'm slightly less productive today...

Speaking of being away for three days, staying in a hotel always brings me back to my love of all white linens. I still haven't decided how to re-redo our bedroom, but no matter how many different looks I see or consider, white on white on white on white is always my favorite.

I mean, really, doesn't this make you want to dive in and take a snooze or snuggle back in bed with a cup of coffee watching The Today Show {or reading a book for those of you who do that sort of thing...}?

{Photo: westelm.com}

So since I can't seem to find anything I like better, I am seriously considering going for it. My only dilemma is that I don't want it look boring or cold. I want it to be cozy and inviting. And I want to like it for longer than 3 days.

Oh, and I'm also dead-set on having an upholstered headboard. We have one now, and there is no going back. {You know when you lean back thinking that your pillow is propped up, but it isn't, so you knock your noggin really hard against the headboard? Doesn't matter. Your headboard is a pillow on it's own, so you don't go to bed with a headache.}

This is one of my favorite headboards from Ballard Design because you can order it in any fabric you can find. {And I recently noticed that Southern Living comes with a 15% off coupon from BD, so that's a plus!}

{Photo: ballarddesign.com}

But having an upholstered headboard brings up the question of color yet again. Would a white headboard and bedding be too much or perfectly crisp and clean? Would a big contrast between headboard and bedding be best, or maybe a subtle tone-on-tone?

I just want to make it clear that I realize this decision should not be this difficult. But it just is. I will make no excuses, and I will gladly consider any suggestions :)

Home Sweet Home: Living Room

I've always heard that the kitchen is the heart of a home, but the living room has got to be a close second! When we bought our house the living room wasn't completely horrible. It was a little dingy and outdated, but it didn't require a whole lot of work in terms of construction. I only wish I had taken a picture of the metal tree and the dead roach that resided in the fireplace before we bought it...snuggly.

BEFORE

The most work I did was on the fireplace. That fireplace is 100% useless, by the way. Since it wasn't in the budget to replace it, I had to try to make it look a little better {or at least make it not as noticeably yuck}. My proudest accomplishment? Sharpie-ing in the white grout around the black tile so that it less resembled a bathroom from 1980. Throw in some staggered glass candleholders for a little ambiance, and it'll do.

AFTER

The picture below is looking in from the dining room. The collection of photos on the wall is from our wedding. In general, I prefer photos to art because I am a Sentimental Sally. Speaking of, my great grandfather built the bench that we use for a coffee table, and I love love love having a piece of furniture that has been used by generations in our home.

If you're wondering why there is a significant {and permanent, mind you} dip in the left couch cushion, see below. She's quite the guard dog ;)

If you'd like to check out other bits and pieces of our Home Sweet Home, click HERE!

1, 2, 3!

I have three kind-of-random-but-still-connected things to discuss.

Just this morning I was asked the question, "If you weren't a pharmacist, what career would you choose?" Turns out, that very same question is the topic for (1)Wishful Wednesday at The Seattle Smiths today {minus the pharmacist part - which by the way I can now officially call myself because I passed the Boards and have my license! That was pretty much the last step in finalizing this process, and it feels unbelievable to have that weight lifted. :)}

Anyways, my answer to the question was quick and easy - Interior Designer! Not because I am any good at it, mind you, but I enjoy it so very much. I am one hardcore nester. Even when I was a little girl I told people I would be a decorator, which I had forgotten until my dad {who is also a pharmacist, but not so much a nester - ha} reminded me.

I guess that explains why I like having projects and will probably never be finished with this house. I just can't help it!

Today, I'm also doing a tiny bit of (2) Home Sweet Home, the built-in in our dining room/space. {In case you're wondering why I do just little snippets of our remodel at a time, it is because a)we have a fairly small house, and I don't want to run out of posts to do ;), and b)there are usually a few things I want to change before I post photos to the worldwideweb.

For instance, I am still working on some changes to the light fixture in our dining room, so I am basically only posting one wall of the space to show you. To put your mind at ease, however, I will tell you that the fixture is no longer the UFO you see in the picture below.

BEFORE:

As a reference point, the wall and door in this picture are no longer there, so the dining room is open to the kitchen {see the kitchen HERE!}. That was probably the most dramatic change because it was the only structural change to this area. The rest was purely cosmetic {the icing on the interior decor cake, if you will}

AFTER: built-in/hardware

The changes were pretty minor - a fresh coat of paint and new hardware. I knew I wanted glass knobs to match the original knobs on the rest of the doors in the house, and I found these online at restoration hardware. They would have been a bit pricey if we were using them in a kitchen or larger built-in, but for such a small cabinet they were not a big investment. I am so glad that they at least look like they could have always been there, even though the rest of the knobs in the house are about sixty years older :).

And now onto (3)Candice Olson Wallpaper! My husband thought I had to be joking when I said I wanted to put up some wallpaper. I then explained that it is making a comeback, and he is just a little behind on design trends {I guess it would be kind of weird if he were up-to-date on them ;)} Plus, I don't want to use just any ole wallpaper, I want to Candice's wallpaper. In my book, Candice can do no wrong, design speaking of course. I can't even get started on how fabulous everything she designs is...some other time, perhaps.

So, I really really really want to try some wallpaper on an accent wall, and I think the wall surrounding the built-in would be a good option.

I love this lattice pattern- modern and clean but still pretty and soft. In my head {my vision, as Nell the Ultimate Nester calls it}, this wallpaper would create a fabulous focal point, and help set off the built-in. My vision, however, could be painfully off, in which case I {meaning Josh} will be left with a gluey ugly mess and huge project to complete just to get the wall back to normal.

Decisions, decisions ... they never were my strong suit ;)

Home Sweet Home: Guest Bathroom

So, yesterday I discovered The Seattle Smiths, {too much consecutive time off, it has to end soon...} a super cute blog that I am excited to follow. Each Wednesday, The Seattle Smiths host "Wishful Wednesday" as a fun way to get everyone through hump day. I think it is such a cute idea, and I am psyched {I don't really say psyched, but evidently I type it} to participate!

However, the topic this week is I wish I could come home to this bedroom. I am actually about to re-redo our bedroom and am super torn {not like I wish there was world peace torn, but more... confused and don't want to re-re-redo our bedroom torn because that would just be excessive} about what I am going to do, so I'll just have to try starting Wishful Wednesday next week.

In keeping with home ideas, however, I thought it would be a good time to share another little piece of our home reno, the guest bathroom {which incidentally, has only been fully functioning for about six months, but it's looked like it functioned for quite some time...a well placed shower curtain can cover a world of hurt, ya know what I mean ;) }


Yet again, we have a phenomenal BEFORE:

This paint technique, which was applied not only to the walls but also to all the trim {painting the trim was the previous homeowner's theme throughout the house...just lovely}, the ceiling, and the door, must have taken some serious time. I don't know if you can tell, but it's a very intricate camouflage design, lots of colors, layers, and texture. And I think the navy and cream striped curtain really sets it off perfectly, don't you? ;)

PROGRESS:

Even just priming it was like... a cleansing of sorts. Looking back on these pictures, I cannot believe how overzealous First Time Homebuyer Beth Ann was. She was so naive.

AFTER:

It is simple and probably needs a bit more pizazz and accessorizing, but it's definitely a step or fifteen in the right direction. :)

If you missed it, you can check out Home Sweet Home: Kitchen HERE!

Happy Hump Day!

Home Sweet Home: Kitchen

Two years ago my husband and I bought a 1940 box of a house in a small historic neighborhood near where he grew up. This house turned out to be quite an...adventure.

We gutted her {I'm not sure why, but I feel that this house is a her}, and in the mean time spent three months living with Josh's parents and one month living with my brother...all during our first year of marriage. Nuts. Nuts. Nuts. We never in a million bagillion years would have done it had we known what lie ahead, but we are so so glad we can't see the future!

We have redone and re-redone countless little odds and ends, but every drop of blood, sweat, or tears {yes, there have been all three} has truly made this house our home. So I thought I would share bits and pieces of the before and afters.

I'm starting with the kitchen because everybody loves a kitchen, and I need to prove I have one since actual food rarely comes out of it.

Prepare yourselves.

BEFORE

When we were about to sign our offer, a little squirrel scurried down the ventahood. I just kept praying that Josh would still sign because I had HGTV plans in my head.

GUTTED

Now before we get to the after, I must point out that HGTV is a lie. Even married to a contractor, NOTHING goes according to plan and you always have to wait "two more weeks" which is inevitably four months. Whew, I feel better.

AFTER

So very much better :)