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Category Archives: House & Home

the last 5: Pictures on the Wall

[the last 5 is a series of posts about tackling unfinished decorating projects and adding those personal touches to a room.  Find out how it all started here.]

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Happy Monday!  This weekend, I got to cross another item off of my decorating to do list.  My husband helped me hang some art over my sewing desk in the studio/office.  This morning felt a little bit like Christmas.  It was so nice to be greeted with some fun punches of color in this room.

[Clockwise from Left: a chalkboard made from everyone's favorite Ikea frame, my DIY cuckoo clock, a squirrel tray by iBride, and a framed portion of a letter I once received on the most amazing paper (see below for close-up).]

The Back of a Happy Letter, now Art:

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As usual, I have a tendency to over complicate things like this.  I had gone to great lengths to gather all of the possible pieces that could go in that spot, and even went so far as to make a mock up in Illustrator to help with placement.  In the end, we went with a much more organic method (hang the giant frame first and then eyeball the rest) – and I think it worked.  It’s a less dense arrangement than I had originally planned — and I think that’s a good thing.

My crazy over-the-top plan:

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I’m fairly sure I’ll add to this display area over time, but I like to live with design decisions for a little while first.  This is a difficult area to photograph, but here is a shot of the desk and wall.  (Confession: I did not photograph any of the piles of stuff that ended up on the floor so I could take a picture of a clean desk.)

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As usual, I had to move aside lots of secret projects.  Thank goodness for storage.  The big gray wardrobe (with Anthropologie knobs) might be the smartest purchase I’ve ever made.

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Ok, anyone else with decorating projects they’ve been putting off?  I’d love for you to join me as I tackle one tiny, little spot at a time.  Hope you have a great week!

Filed under House & Home, I Made This, Organization. Tagged with , , , .

By Kelly
August 30, 2010

1 comment

Nesting

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Lately, I’ve been finding mysterious piles of twigs on my front doorstep.  Since we live on the second floor, I thought this was a little odd.  Of course, I was secretly hoping that it was an elf.  Preferably an elf who knows how to sew and wants summertime employment.  I would have been happy with a shoe cobbler.  However, after a few days of this, I realized that it was actually a dove making a nest in our light fixture.

The interesting part is that the dove made this nest three times — completely disassembling everything and starting over from scratch until it was just right.  I’m taking that as a not-so-subtle reminder about perseverance.

In the end, the dove settled down, and now I think she’s content to stay for a little while.

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Wishing you a peaceful day.  XOXO, Kelly + the dove

Filed under House & Home, Inspiration. Tagged with .

By Kelly
August 25, 2010

No comments

the last 5: DIY Headboard (Finished)

[the last 5 is a series of posts about tackling unfinished decorating projects and adding those personal touches to a room.  Find out how it all started here.]

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Hello there, and happy Monday!

This weekend, I was looking around the apartment for unfinished decorating projects I could tackle for this week’s last 5 post.  That’s when it occurred to me that I never posted the finished pictures of our DIY Upholstered Headboard.  In fact, the last time I mentioned this project, the headboard was lying on the floor waiting to be hung.

Well, the truth was that when we attached the headboard to the wall, two of the buttons popped right off!  I know you’ve probably been there before — you get 99% complete on a fairly labor-intensive project and the thought of having to re-do a step just makes you want to throw up your hands in the air and/or take a nap.  I think we did both.  So up until this weekend, our bed looked something like this (see below).

The Sad Before

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Can you see those missing buttons?  I hope you are not going to hold this (and the unmade bed) against me.  This weekend, we finally took the headboard back off the wall, and spruced it up a bit.

The Happily Ever After

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Ah, I feel so much better.  I think the total fix it time on this project was under 30 minutes.  I also treated myself to an orchid.  So far it’s been in bloom for over a month, so I’m really happy with it and glad that I purchased a plant instead of cut flowers.  (Not that I would ever complain about fresh flowers!)

We’ve always had a few more plans for this room including some gray paint and nice lamps.  Right now, we are waiting to see if we will be staying here for another year before we pull out the paint rollers again.  For right now, I just pretend that I’m in an airy beach house with all of that soothing white.

Anyone else tackling those unfinished decorating projects?  I’d love to hear about them.  I figure we need all the support we can get.  XOXO, Kelly

Filed under House & Home, I Made This. Tagged with , , , .

By Kelly
August 23, 2010

1 comment

the last 5: DIY Cord Cover

[the last 5 is a series of posts about tackling unfinished decorating projects and adding those personal touches to a room.  Find out how it all started here.]

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Before I start off this last 5 project, I want you to promise me that this is not the project you will remember me by.  Ok?  This one is not glamorous.  It will not make me seem cool.  It might even cause you to doubt my taste level.  However, sometimes we have to work with what we have.

The Back Story

We’re renting right now, so while we’re not afraid of a little chocolate brown paint or elbow grease, there are some things that you just have to live with.  For us, it’s this unsightly mess of cords for the TV that sits right on top of an otherwise nice mantle.  Sure, we could cut a hole in the dry wall and hide the cords, but I am not the person in charge of dry wall patching in our family.

So we needed a more practical and less permanent solution.

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The Solution: A Fabric Cord Cover

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I grabbed some brown linen and velcro to create a very simple wrap that would cover the cords.  I sewed two 4.5″ x 18.5″ rectangles together, and then attached the velcro along each edge.  The ribbons on the right hand side turned out to be unnecessary.  I was worried that gravity would cause the cover to slowly inch it’s way down.  However, the cover fits very snugly, so I don’t think that will be a problem.

The End Result

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It’s not perfect, but the brown linen is a lot nicer to look at than the blue and red cables.  I think the browns are a better match in real life than this photo lets on.

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In a few months, I’ll be decorating this spot with fall leaves and corduroy pumpkins.  However, I think this will do just fine until then.

Anyone else tackling unfinished decorating projects lately?

Filed under House & Home, I Made This, Organization. Tagged with , , .

By Kelly
August 16, 2010

2 comments

Introducing: the last 5


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Hello there, and happy Monday!  Today, I am kicking off a new column which I’m calling “the last 5.”

This weekend, my husband and I took on a few decorating projects.  Those of you who know us will see that this sentence is really code.  Our “decorating projects” look suspiciously like me waving my hands around in agitation and talking in increasingly shrill, repetitive tones about shopping for pillows while my husband tries to avoid making eye contact with me.

In one of our more animated discussions about the living room, my husband declared everything 95% complete (as in, can’t we just round up that last 5% and call it finished already?)    This really got me thinking about how much the last 5 matters – at least, to me.

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Around here, the last 5 includes:

- Finding some new accessories.  Cleaning out the bookshelves to make room for a few pieces to display.  Replacing that candle we both hate with something a little nicer.

- Bringing in some accent colors.  Sewing pillows.  The white couch has been waiting so patiently for a hit of color.

- Wrapping up unfinished projects like hemming drapes (ahem, see above), hiding cords, and hanging pictures.

- Treating ourselves to some fresh flowers now and then.

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Staring at the unfinished stuff can be so draining.  So each week, I’m going to photograph a little finishing touch here, an extra dose of personality there.  Hopefully, this will keep me honest and help me tackle some of those items that keep getting skipped.

And my husband?  Well, he came around.  We kicked off the living room refresh with a trip to Z Gallerie where he gifted me with these beautiful white ceramic birds on a branch (plus a few other treats for our bookshelf).  I’d say that we are on our way.

Have you been waiting to finish the last 5 percent in your place?  What’s on your list?

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Filed under House & Home. Tagged with , .

By Kelly
August 9, 2010

2 comments