The Power in a Coat of Paint

There's nothing quite like a coat of paint to instantly transform a room. Not to mention if you're savvy, it only ends up costing you, like... a can of paint. UM, Hell-O. Are we seeing why I made a career out of paint?

While there about 13,125,589 examples of glamorous paint transformations out there that I could show you... I instead wanted to share a before and after that just, feels like home, a really, real, home. Something and somewhere, that I think a lot readers will relate to.

The pair of images below are from a paint consult I did some weeks back, and it so clearly exemplifies, how a home can go from good to GREAT with the stroke of a brush.

BEFORE

When we started, the Master Bedroom was a bright, friendly blue that was welcoming, but maybe a little too welcoming for the bedroom.

AFTER

In an effort to tone down the space and bring more calm, we settled on a taupey/brown (If I'm remembering correctly, this is "Skinny No Foam" by Evolution). The color played well with the furniture pieces that were staying (Dark wood End Tables, Bed, and dressers - not shown here). We also selected a warm shade of purple for the en suite, which shared the same taupe undertones as "skinny no foam."

EDITS

After the paint went up, this client took down the floral curtains, over-sized frames above the bed, and swapped out the boldly printed bedding for a subtle pattern from Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and Ta Da! We have ourselves a brand new master.

So what do you think? Could you make a small change like this in your home?

Until Next Week.

L

Big thank you to this client for allowing me to share these images. 

New Ikea Products that you may just need to own.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love mostly like Ikea.

Should you design your whole house around the Ikea catalog? Probably not.

Should you buy things here and there that you think are really awesome? Heck yes.

I am by no means "above" Ikea, or any brand for that matter. The fact is that you never know where the perfect piece is waiting for you, and no one knows (once you've styled it properly) what it cost you, or where it came from. In fact, the task of making inexpensive items look high-end, is super fun (for me anyway, if that's not the case for you.. call me). 

This week I'm sharing my top picks from the new Ikea catalog, check them out below:

Kungsbacka Kitchen
If you've been following my blog, then you know about the huge crush I have on black accents. A black kitchen not only says "hey I have food in here!" it also says "I'm full of mystery and look great in dim lighting!" 

And while I don't often recommend purchasing cabinets at Ikea (not that it's a total no, but just that there are so many stronger options out there to explore, first) but this kitchen was SO stunning, I couldn't leave it out. Not to mention, it is made entirely of recycled materials. Don't believe me? Even Elle Decor is swooning over that fact.

Bollebygd Display Box
I l-o-v-e pieces like this. At only 14" high and 9" wide, this dramatic accent is not only fun to look at, it's functional too! Place it in any room and watch it fill up with goodies: Sunglasses, medicine, spices, jewelry, pearl binoculars (am I seeing that correctly??) whatever knick-knacks you've got, they would play nice in here.

Ragrund Chair with Towel Rack

Are you seeing this? It's a chair AND a towel rack. Considering that I use almost every chair in my house as a hamper, something like this is a Godsend. Not only can you stack things, but you can hang them, like the proper human being you were raised to be.

Fjallberget Chair
This chair is advertised as a conference chair, but I'm in love with the idea of using these as dining room chairs. Drawn to the clean lines and Scandinavian Minimalism, this chair makes my brain go "Ahhhh" every time I look at it.

Bjorksnas Bed

A simple design and use of natural materials make this piece a winner. The vertical strips of wood on the headboard, contradicted with a horizontal slat on the foot-board, offer just enough interest to the viewer. Plus, Ikea must have thought "hey maybe bare wooden headboards are a little too harsh" so they took some leather straps and attached a couple cream pillows to the frame. I love the softness these pillows add physically, as well as visually.

(P.S. If you aren't in the market for a bed, that sweet little nightstand is only $69!)

Eldtorel Pillow (um, that pink one in the front)
A trip to Ikea is never complete without a new pillow... or at least when I go, that's the case! and this guy is next on my list. If you squint, it sort of looks like a sunset... but mostly its just a fun play of pinks, blues, and gold? brown? goldy brown? Anyways, go get it, it's only $6.99.

Until Next Week.

L

You Decide: How Many Dining Chairs you should buy, and why.

Deciding how many dining chairs to purchase can be a really frustrating situation because there are so many ways to spin it. Go Big? Go Basic? and how do you store the extras?

For Example: Let's say you have 4 people in your household.

...So that's 4 chairs.

But your table seats 6, and you sometimes entertain....

And perhaps the table has an extension, allowing you to seat up to 8 ....(because you do have that one big holiday each year).

So do you play it safe and get 8? Meet in the middle with 6? Or save a bit and just get the 4 you really need?

Ideally, you always go big.

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The fullest set, no matter the size, is always ideal; because that look is simply impossible to beat.

Of course, going with this option requires you to actually have enough storage for the additional chairs. Whether that's 2 extra, or 20 extra, it does require some square feetsies that not everyone has.

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Below are a few of options for achieving optimum seating, within the constraints of your home (whatever those constraints may be for you):

Consider getting chairs that stack.
Nowadays there are so many options for stackable chairs that it wouldn't be out of the question to do a full set of stackable chairs, and simply tuck them away when they aren't needed (it only takes the square footage of one chair, after all!)

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Stackable option #2: Purchase stackable chairs exclusively for the seating that gets stowed away and just make sure they are complimentary to the aesthetic of your full-time set.

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Consider (don't gasp) folding chairs. 

As with the stackable chairs, there are so many upgraded options these days that aren't, well, this:

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Brands like Calligaris (aka Connubia) now offer truly modern styles that even come with a hook (a hook!), for easy storage.

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Get creative and stick with the originals. 

If you only have a couple extra dining chairs to store, you can always spread them through the house. Use them in the entryway next to a console, or tucked into corners of your living room. They make for great seating in any room (I even keep one in my bedroom to throw clean laundry on... which is something that occurs with intense frequency).

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Until Next Week!

L