Around the House: Painted Front Doors

Hello Monday. I'm greeting you with a freshly painted front door. It finally happened... the goodness of mint is covering my entryway. I hope to snap some pics today so that I can show the big reveal sometime this week. In the meantime, here are some amazing painted doors that show just why I feel in love with greeting guests in color!

yellow via

orange via

pink via

 robin's egg blue via

dual-tone via

orange via

I rest my case. Color glorious color! Hope this brightens your Monday after the long holiday weekend. xo

top image via plastolux

Around the House: Homestead Seattle (and The Chore I've Put Off For Years)

Just when I thought inspiration had flown the coop and there was nothing left to blog about I found Homestead Seattle via Instagram. Oh my heavens. Not only does this amazing team, Michele and Ryan, have incredible style, their finds are sold online and displayed in their showroom (which they happen to live above). It is a feast for the senses. Leather. Wool. Tapestries. Wood. Most of it second-hand and shown in a way that send send chills up my spine. Seriously, it's that good.

Seeing all of this amazingness has inspired me to rearrange/redecorate (with items I already own) and do a bit of much needed cleaning along the way. Maybe that's what finally got me to do this... I have been putting off the daunting task of cleaning my washing machine out with bleach and a scrub brush, but now that's it's done I wonder what took me so long? I'm a huge procrastinator and cleaning gross things causes my gag reflexes to get excited. Happy clean-ish Monday. So, are you a procrastinator? Please let me know I'm not alone. xo

Around the House: Studio Days

I've been spending a lot of time in my upstairs studio lately. Last minute tweaks and revisions are happening and it's almost time for me to spill the beans about why I've been so absent around these parts lately. There is a hint in the image above. I shall say nothing more - mum is the word.

I'm so grateful for my studio. The sunlight pours in and it's large enough to accommodate a wrestling mat for my crazy boys. Gotta keep it real y'all. Boys will be boys and as much as I'd love for them to sit down with me and "make something", they would so much rather be wrestling or throwing the basketball off the balcony in hopes of it swishing through the net. Their giggles keep me company and I wouldn't have it any other way. (most of the time)

Thanks for sticking around and being patient while I sporadically pop in and out. Happy Summer Monday. xo

Around the House: Plant Vibes

I'm crushing pretty hard on the whole 70's plant vibe that's so trendy right now. So much so, I was inspired to redecorate a bit. I like change...in the home. Home decor, that is. Adding a bit of greenery just seems to make things more cozy and inviting. Now I don't want to turn into a crazy plant lady where you walk into my home and think, "whoa, welcome to the jungle." But a nice mix here and there seems to breathe just the right amount of laid back hippie vibes into our home for the summer.

 via studded rose

 via breanna rose

 via design sponge

via vtwonen

After all, isn't that exactly what summer is supposed to be? Laid back. Welcoming. Inviting. I don't want to feel rushed, anxious or stuffy when I'm at home. It's my sanctuary and I'm there almost all day, everyday. I needed some summer calm in my home decor. xo

top image via local milk

Grow Up!

Five year olds want to be seven. Seven year olds want to be ten. Teenagers want to be 21 and I just want my decor to Grow Up. Weird huh? I'm not quite sure how one's decor can grow up, but there is something that seems a little, for lack of a better term, young about my home lately. Maybe it's because I have zero money to pour into the decor of our home so everything, and I mean everything, is thrifted. If I'm honest I also have a problem with buying things that I don't really need if they're under $5.00.

I follow Joslyn Taylor of Simple Lovely and if you've ever seen the interior of her home you will completely understand what I am about to say... she is a grown up. In the best possible way. She has this uber cool 70's vibe going with a mass dose of chic. That lady has style out the yang. When I grow up, I want my house to look like Joslyn's. Until then, I'll just drool over her pins and the homes you see here today. Slurp. Slurp.

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Happy Weekend all you grown ups and kids at heart! xo

top image via the zhush

Around the House: The New Old Desk

That right there friends is my most recent roadside score. Apparently my neighbors had a garage sale a few weeks back and this desk didn't sale. It was then put to the curb in hopes that someone would provide a new home. Hello desk. Wanna come home with me? Uh-huh.

Right here is when I came to understand why no one had purchased this dreamy desk of awesomeness. Heavy. Back pulling, hernia inducing, heavy. Oh my mercy. All I could grab on my own were the drawers. Then the hubs and I had to take the guts and the top off in order to get it into my studio. Was it worth it? Hellz yes! This baby is a sewer's delight.

After wiping down every inch of the desk, I sanded the varnish off and stained the wood with an ebony stain that we had in the garage. (I couldn't stand the orange-y hue of the original stain. Yuckers.) Once the stain was dry, we put the top back on and bolted her down tight. We had to recruit some help (thanks sister and BIL) for getting the guts back in. You must be asking... "guts?" "What the heck is she talking about?" Only the absolute best part of this desk. The door on the lefthand side opens to reveal another "desk" that pulls out and pops up. Perfect for a serger. I KNOW! Sewers' dream. I die. I think it was originally intended for a 10 key or something. Not anymore baby.

After cleaning out the drawers, I lined all of them with some old wallpaper that I scored a long time ago at a thrift store. And then I replaced all the pulls, which was crazy difficult because 4" centered pulls are not the easiest thing to find. Especially if you want the pulls to actually look good. I finally found these amazing bronze beauties on myknobs.com. 

You guys, this desk is a total game changer. I can sew, serge and work on my computer, all with the swivel of my chair. Whaaaaat? Did someone say, "heaven." Amen sistah. In the end, my new old desk ended up costing my $31.00. It is by far the best thing I have ever scored in bulk trash. I love it so much it's kinda sick. Sometimes I go up to my studio to just sit at my desk and look around. All the natural light, white and tree top views makes my heart go pitter-patter. I want to sew all the time now. Praising God for the little ways He blesses us.

I hope your Mother's Days were amazing. Just like each of you. Happy Monday. xo

Around the House: Updating An Ikea Classic

Ikea is a staple in our house. Clean lines. Affordable prices. Check and check. My hubs bought these old Ikea barstools a long time ago for location shoots because they are lightweight and were extremely inexpensive. While the stools aren't bad, the bolts come loose really easily and require a bit of TLC every now and again to make them sturdy. (That's probably why they don't sell them anymore.) Unfortunately, it's currently not in our budget to buy new stools. So I gave our old grey stools a quick makeover with some spray paint and twine. Who doesn't love a good Ikea hack?

Oh, and my boys think popping off this black foot rest is a sport (annoying), so I happily discarded that piece in the makeover.

 I taped off the feet and the base of each leg on the underside of the stool with painters' tape...

Once a few coats of Rustoleum and a clear coat finish were dry, I brought the stools in and wrapped the footrest bar in twine. The twine I had on hand was pretty fuzzy, so I trimmed any long stragglers and applied a coat of Mod Podge so that the twine wouldn't unravel.

I love how they turned out. This should hold us over for a few more years. Hopefully. When the white seats get dirty, I just clean them off with my favorite sponge - the Magic Eraser.

And if I get sick of the mint green or twine... I'll just cut off the twine and grab a new color of spray paint. This project was really easy and cost me $0 since I already had everything I needed in my garage. Bam. My heart explodes with joy when that happens and I may or may not have done a happy dance around my kitchen.

What have you spray painted lately?