A Place 2 Call Home

The Nursery

2012-03-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

My daughter Kennedy moved into our old room. And if you followed along with our master bedroom makeover, then you'll know I never really like our bedroom. It just never felt right.

When we moved Kennedy into her new room, I didn't love her stuff in this room either. Even though I liked this brown color, I guess I don't like living with this color. There's a difference of course.

So this was Kennedy's nursery before we painted.

That's her...busy playing.

Its a pretty big sized room. I still hate how everything is pressed up against the walls though. But I do think this open space in the middle is great for playing.

Like I said...busy busy busy

That HUGE castle thing was a gift that is about 3 feet wide, and was already built when they gave it to us. She doesn't use it much now to be honest, but I"m sure she will as she gets older.

I painted 3 coats of ultra white by behr. I also painted all the trim, the windows and the doors. I immediately liked the green furniture better. (ps I painted the furniture this color, I've just gotten sick of it, and it got a makeover too.)

Even the castle doesnt seem to be quite as loud with the white walls

And this is where my daughter slept for almost a week. Between painting the walls and the furniture I decided to take my time and do it over a weeks time. This way she wasn't sleeping in the fumes. Plus...I work while she naps or sleeps, doing a baby's room is surprisingly difficult when the baby is in your house.

Anyway...I know it may look a little sterile right now with the white walls, but there's lots coming up.

Tomorrow is painted furniture
Then Friday I'll show you the whole room. Including 2 gallery walls, bookshelves, new bedding and rugs and accessorizing. So don't worry it's all coming together, and you'll get to see it within the next couple days.

I'm sure you're all ready just to see it done!

Thanks so much for visiting, please take a minute to become a follower or subscribe via email if you don't have a blog, it means the world to me!

Guest Post by Just Paint It White

2012-03-06T07:04:00.000-05:00

Hi, my name is Fiona and I live very near the beach on the South Coast of England. Jen has invited me and my little blog Just Paint It White to do a guest post and I am sincerely flattered. I first found Jen's lovely blog sometime before Christmas, and followed along immediately. She has such a beautiful home with great style. She's also an impressively organised person and absolutely charming. She always comments back and gives loads of encouragement. My own style is pretty eclectic and ranges from rustic and rusty to gold leaf. Today I am going to share with you some projects I have made with beach junk. I have been walking my dog on the beach for about 5 years but only picked up a few interesting pieces in the past. Since I started blogging last October, my collection has really grown. The wealth of talent in blogland is so inspiring that I'm always getting new ideas.

My favourite piece is probably this simple frame, made from a rusty piece of wire mesh that I stapled into the back of a £3 pine frame from a charity shop, which I then painted white (of course). I like switching it up for different occasions, and trying different looks.

I think the shells are so pretty when worn by time and the sea and the wind, and I just put some in a small box frame, on a fabric sample using a tiny piece of organza ribbon as embellishment.

I store some of my shell collection in apothecary jars and under cloches.

Probably the most successful piece I have made so far is the driftwood lamp, which started off life like this -

And became this -

with the only cost being a £10 shade and lots of hot glue - oh, and a large blister to my thumb !!

This is the latest piece I have been working on, with some of my favourite things. I couldn't find a rectangular box frame, so I stuck the pieces straight onto the glass, and put photocopies of underwater creatures behind. The frame was pine and I just painted it grey and distressed it a bit.

Although I have hung it on my yet unrevealed gallery wall, I am still pondering about it. In my studio I love it (where there is lots of light), but when I bring it into my house, it seems a bit dark. I realise it's also a bit busy, but I quite like that.

Actually, It doesn't look so bad in this picture, I might keep it there for now !

The next piece I have to show you really is junk. I found it just like it is.

I didn't really want to turn it into anything, I just love the patina on that metal.

The last piece is the bonsai tree I made. This was the only piece I thought about making years ago, when I found this piece of driftwood on the beach.

After three goes, which I posted about here, it finally ended up ok.

As you can see, my style is definitely eclectic, I suppose it's all about the textures for me. I have a couple of projects in the pipeline and would love to make a much larger driftwood lamp, but hopefully I'll continue creating with whatever I find.

I hope that I have inspired you in some way and want to say a big thank you to Jen for inviting me to be her guest today.

I hope you all enjoyed Fionas lovely work, I'm so inspired by all her beach junk she finds! I hope you'll take the time to go and visit her blog too!

I've been tagged...quite a few times

2012-03-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

I love all the games on blog land, but I dont always have time to play. I've been tagged my some wonderful people, so I finally had time to answer their questions. They were pretty fun, hope you enjoy.

primitive and proper tagged me with these questions
1. If you could meet any person in American history, who would it be and why?

Marilyn Monroe, I am fascinated by her. I'm not sure this is the kind of history she meant. But whatever.

2. What do you consider to be your greatest talent?

I'm not really talented, but I would say I'm pretty creative

3. If you could go back in time and live in any period, decade, era, where would you land?

pride & prejudice era...I just love any movie like that

4. If you could have unlimited credit at any store, what store would it be?

Target. I shop there all the time. I love that I can also buy clothes for everyone in the family, theres tons of great house stuff,plus make up. Its perfect for me.

5. What is your most prized possession?

I dont think I have one. To me its just pretty stuff. If the house was on fire I would just want to get out my husband, the baby and the dog and I'd be fine.

6. What are you most looking forward to in 2012?

Seeing my daughter getting older. She learns so much so fast, I know its going to be a great year.

7. What is your favorite season and why?

I like spring. I'm not really a hot or cold person. So milder weather with the sun shinning and a light breeze is perfect for me.
8. Do you have any bad habits?

Probably a million. I pick at my nails, I dye my hair far too much, I consistently buy things that don't last.

9. What do you miss most about being a child?

Everything. I loved climbing trees, and going for bike rides and playing with my barbies in the bath. The innocence of childhood is amazing.

10. When you go to the zoo, what is the animal you can't leave without seeing?

The red panda. If you've never seen one, you are totally missing out!

11. If you could rename MY blog, what would you name it?

Eclectic Renovations- I feel like its good for your business stuff, and your house stuff.

I was also tagged by nutmeg and company

What is the best thing about blogging?

Making friendships and being able to share what you are passionate about

What is the best thing you cook?

Baked chicken with creamy mashed potatoes with corn and bacon in them

What project are you working on in your home right now?

My daughters nursery, and I'm really excited about it

Which room in your house reflects your style the most?

Living room, office, bedroom

What makes your house a home?

The toys, the dog bed and food on the floor, the stuff that's not pretty that we cant live without

What is your favorite fabric?

I'm really loving anything right now that's bold, colors have a lot to do with it.

Chocolate or Vanilla?

If I had to chose I would get the twist and get both

What was your childhood nickname?

Jenny Wren

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An acctress, or a laywer. I never pursued either.

What is your favorite season?

Spring

How much time in a day do you devote to blogging?

Probably an hour a day spent on emailing & visiting blogs and commenting. Then usually on friday I spend a few hours writing my posts for the following week.

And then again by black point chic

1. What's your favorite blog at the moment?

I love nesting place. The Nester completely inspires me to think differently about myself and my blog and my belongings. I would love for my blog to be like hers one day, but obviously with my spin on it.

2. If you could spend a day with any celebrity, who would it be and why?

Martha Stewart- I would love to pick her brain, and visit her homes and her gardens. We have a lot of the same interests, so I think it would be fun.

3. What's your latest fun purchase?

I bought a ceramic cream colored owl from home goods, I spray painted it the brightest yellow. Its for my daughters room, it screams fun!

4. Name 3 things that are in your purse right now.

Oh god. Diapers and wipes, a bib, some carmex for my lips. Its a mess in there.

5. Use one word to describe your decorating style.

Evolving

6. Your biggest Pet Peeve.

people who come to your site, like it, make comments but never follow. Having a blog is hard work, sometimes you need the validation that what you do is good enough that someone would want to come back.

7. What was the last thing you ate (hopefully it'll be something fun I can make myself...I'm starvvvinng and need inspiration)

I had a coke and pina colada slurpee.

I will not be tagging anyone else. However if you'd like to be tagged, go ahead and grab some of these great questions and answer them on your own blog, it is pretty fun!

Have a great day!

2nd tip to getting organized!

2012-03-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

Last Friday I talked about the very first step to getting organized.

Today I'd like to talk naturally about the second step to getting organized.

It comes down to reason & motivation

I'm not sure what your reasons or motivations are for getting more organized, but I can tell you why its important to me.

Reason #1

Anxiety. For me personally I don't do well in messy places. I like cleanliness, I like order. I could go to someone elses house that was messy and that would be fine, but its not an environment that I enjoy living in. So...aka your mess doesn't bother me, but my mess bothers me a lot.

When my home is in order, I can better handle obstacles, annoyances, and every day little hiccups. They don't seem so bad. But when my home is a mess, the laundry is dirty and piled up, and things are getting misplaced, then when something "bad" happens it feels like the last straw.

Reason #2

Enjoyment. When our house is in order we get to just enjoy. We can play anywhere, we can be in the moment. We can feel free to invite over friends and family or a host a play date.

Reason #3

The possibilities. When our home is in order we are free to make plans to do fun things. We are free for play dates, we are free to see grandparents, we are free to go to the park for an impromptu walk and play, we are free to go shopping. All those things go on the back burner when there's house work to do.

Tip #2 to getting organized- Find the reasons and motivations for being organized so that getting and staying organized seems worth it.

All Images

February Review

2012-03-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

Organize-

The very first tip to getting organized

My Design Tips & Philosophies

Starting a collection

Design Trends

Finding Inspiration

Perfect is over rated

How to pick versatile items for your home

Perfect is Over Rated

Be Flexible in Design

Decorate-

Office Details & Sources

Office Pics

Adding showstopping elements

Videos-

Guest Posts-

Primitive & Proper- on designing a nursery

From Gardners 2 Bergers Style

Inspiring Pics-

Random & Inspiring

And if you are interested in what happened in January click here

Random and Inspiring

2012-02-29T06:00:00.000-05:00

I thought today I would share some beautiful pictures

Love the organization, love the white, love the chalkboard door

Very cute, would be adorable for a garden party

makes me miss spring

I love the big bold stripes

So pretty, I will try soon

This looks like the most beautiful little place for a girl to grow up

I love this nursery. This is such a beautiful space

These floors are to DIE for.

Art made from a canvas and elmers glue. White is a color

Perfect for a low budget party

Why isn't this hanging up in my house? so cute and playful

I am so thankful that I have a daughter.

Fun right?

All images from my pinterest account feel free to follow

And I hope you'll take a minute to become a follower or subscriber to this blog.

Have a fabulous day!

Looking at some trends in design

2012-02-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

Do you ever wonder about the things that are super trendy right now, and wonder what you'll think of them in a year, in 5 years, in 10 years?

Deer Heads

twigandthistle.com

Stenciled Walls

cuttingedgestencils.com

Bird Stuff

Pottery Barn

Chalkboard Everything

www.robinbecksnest.com

Photo by Style Files

Chevron Everything

twogirlsbeingcrafty

Gallery Walls

curbly.com

Striped Walls

Cassie from Primitive & proper

little green notebook

Palette Projects

source

Globes

Armelle Blog

Grainsack Pillows

attic mag

I genuinely really like all these trends. The deer heads was probably the only one that I didn't like right away. At first I didn't get it, and didn't like it. Then in time I saw the humor of it, the fun-ness, the whimsy, and now I like them. I don't own one, but I like them.

Its hard to believe that we'll ever feel embarrassed, or confused by our decor choices.

All I can say about trends is chose wisely. If you really love it, go for it.

Paint is always easy to change, so have fun, paint is a really low cost investment for high impact. Nail holes are easy to fill, don't let that stop you from having the best and biggest gallery wall. Buy a small dose of that pattern that you love, no need to slipcover your entire couch with it, maybe a few pillows will do?

I'm really still loving all these trends, how do you feel about them? Do you have any of them in your home, or are you itching to get one in your space?

Starting a collection

2012-02-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

I'm one of those people who see something and then I want it, like immediately.

When we moved to our first rented house before we were married we started buying furniture and accessories and filling the space.

I bought this cute light green shower curtain with white flowers on it, and then I bought green towels in what could only be described as geese poop green. Back then I didn't think about my purchases as much, I thought they matched, they were the only thing available, so I bought them.

We also had some hand me down towels from my parents that I somehow managed to get bleach all over. Needless to say my towel collection was just a hot mess.

Then my style evolved. Suddenly I realized that geese poop green towels were the last thing that I would ever want, ever. But going out and getting a whole new set of towels really wasn't in the budget. So I made a little mental note that someday soon, I would start replacing them.

I thought I wanted tan towels. I figured they were neutral enough. One day I bought two to try them out. After a couple months I realized, I didn't love the tan. Both my bathrooms were tan, so I thought it made sense, but I just didn't love them.

What I really wanted was all white towels.

I sure was glad I didn't buy a whole collection of tan towels on a whim.

Then we put our house on the market, and I thought what better time for some fresh white towels to hang on the towel bars. So I went to bed bath & beyond and I used some coupons and bought 4 white fluffy towels.

6 months later I knew that I loved them and wanted to replace all of the towels. I took my Christmas money, and my coupons and bought 7 more towels. Then a couple months later I bought 4 more. We've removed all the old towels and now have just the white fluffy ones. I feel like I'm in a spa and I love it.

The truth is life isn't always about instant satisfaction. Sometimes we need to wait for what we want. Sometimes when we wait, we better understand what we want and need. And a collection over time makes better sense on the wallet.

real vs ideal

2012-02-25T11:24:00.000-05:00

In case you missed this post.

I'm here to talk to about Real Vs Ideal in our homes. Home bloggers obviously want to show the pretty side of our homes. We may show some ugliness along the way, but for the most part we are showing DIY projects, room makeovers, and amazing pictures from other bloggers or pinterest that inspire us, because the hope is that we inspire you.

Because our work is shown online, it pushes us to do better, work harder, and be more creative, however people can be left feeling less than. Wondering "Why isn't my house always perfect?"

Well no ones home is perfect, not even mine.

During a project, my home is anything but ideal.

The truth is real living happens and life is messy.

Here are some ways that I get my home to be tidy is:

1. Everything should have a home
2. That home should be easily accessible to where you use the item
3. Make sure every one knows about where items live
4. Use it, and then put it back
5. If you forget to put it away, make sure you return everything to there home every night so you start out fresh the next day.

My home is real. We use it, we get it dirty, we make messes and then we clean them up.

We use our living room and dining room all day long. I have storage all over the place and it takes me 3 minutes to go from baby toy disaster to tidied up.

This video shows how I can clean up my daughters mess really quickly. I hope you enjoy!

Before & After Pictures

I do hope you'll come over to my blog and check out some of my posts on cleaning , organizing or decorating. Here's my post about Toy Storage.

The very first tip to getting organized

2012-02-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

Recently I've been told that I'm very organized. By fellow bloggers or readers who read AP2CH.

If you asked my mum if I was organized, she would probably love to tell you how messy I was growing up. My room kind of always looked like a bomb went off in it. I wasn't one of those messy people who knew where everything was. I was the kind of messy person who was more worried about boys and my hair and making sure that my outfit was ready for the next day at school.

Sure I lost all sorts of things that were important, but being organized just wasn't important to me, even being tidy wasn't important to me.

I always felt like I had too much stuff for my room, no matter how big my room was.

College was more or less the same. But now we own our own home. And no one is quietly tip toeing into my room to collect my dirties and bring back fresh folded laundry.

Now my home is truly my sanctuary. Yea I still mess it up, don't worry, its not always perfect. But I care about our home and how it runs, so I make the effort.

I don't day dream about boys anymore, I wonder about how to make our small home function better. No...really I do.

There's so many great tips about staying organized. But the very first tip that matters is that you need to want to be organized to be organized. You need to try to be organized even when its easier not to. You need to understand that in the beginning it wont be fun, or easy and you'll probably want to give up.

The first tip is that you need to be willing for the change, even though it's difficult and easier not to

Join me next Friday as we talk about organizing. Hopefully we can slowly change some naughty patterns that make our homes less organized and tidy.

Please remember to become a follower or subscribe through email.

Guest post from Cassie from Primitive & Proper

2012-02-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

I'm so happy to have Cassie here today to talk to you all. . She is the nicest person and she inspires me so much with her eclectic style, I'm so happy that shes hear to talk to you today. First I'll share a couple of things shes done very recently that I love.

so cute, I want 10

fabulous

Her daughters adorable chalkboard closet doors

Hello! I am Cassie from Primitive and Proper and I am so excited to be here on Jen's fabulous blog! I found Jen's blog back in December through the Nester's holiday home link party and was blown away by her talent and style! Isn't she amazing? Her home is awesome and a great expression of who she is and who her family is. And that is what a home should be... an expression of who we, the people who live in it, are. My family is currently living in our third home. Our first home was in Louisiana, and it's where both of my babies were born! (Well, not in the house, but you know what I mean!) I remember getting together that first nursery... I was so excited and so proud of it. Yet now, looking back, I am so embarrassed! It's not at all what I would choose today. But style is evolutionary, so laugh at me all you want, but I am still evolving. Do you want to see it, so you can laugh? So here is Sawyer's nursery in our first house.... everything was so "matchy".

My mom made the quilt and pillow and those are still so special to me. I had painted the dressers which were my parents baby dresser, and I painted the changing table which came from a thrift shop. So I was still thrifty and revamping furniture, just much differently than I would do now! When Emmy was a baby of about 2 months we moved into our second home. I reused Sawyer's furniture, and her room is a little better....

I painstakingly used a formula lid to draw all of those circles and then went around painting them all. I still think the walls looked cute, but that room is also a far cry from what I would do today if I were to decorate a nursery. My how my style has changed! I am DONE having children, but I still like to look at nurseries and imagine creating a new one, only because I know I could do it so much better now! So I thought it would be a fun activity to share what today's nursery would look like. I am going to go gender neutral for all intents and purposes. I am a huge fan of rustic, with a touch of glam, and a touch of aqua. First off, I am really digging white walls lately, so I would go with my favorite white, Benjamin Moore's Cloud Cover. That way everything else would take center stage and pop against it. For the crib, I definitely would not go with the honey colored crib of yore! I am a huge fan of the simple Jenny Lind style, and love the crib that Ali painted for her twin sis Lisa. I love it in this dark gray that could work well for a girl or a boy...

For bedding, I think I would go with basic whites and grays with some texture. I adore this set I found on etsy!

And to bring a little pop of aqua to the bedding, this fun deer pillow just might be nestled in the corner... Also to bring some color to the crib area, I would most certainly hang a fun bunting! I love the unique style of this with the crochet designs and colors...

And of course we would need a gorgeous rug to anchor the room. This one from West Elm would be perfect! I love the slight geometric pattern and the texture.

Now so far, it's pretty neutral with whites and grays, we need some color, right? I would bring color, though slightly muted, in with the dresser which would also serve as a changing table. And I would love to have a piece like this....

And above the dresser, of course we would need some awesome artwork... perhaps these prints which I actually have and will be going in Emmy's room....

And of course, we are talking about a nursery, here... and since I am sure there would be many nights where I would be sitting next to the crib begging the baby to sleep, I think I might need one of these in this fabulous bronze finish... Planning a nursery is SO fun! But here's the thing... free time is SO fun, too. And my kids will both be in school full time next year, so I choose free time. But if any of my friends decides to have a baby soon, I might stake claim on decorating the nursery. Thank you so much, Jen, for having me here today and letting me dream of the "what if". I hope you will hop over to my blog and follow the progress of our "new" house and all of its non-nursery rooms!

Thank you so much Cassie! I cant wait to start the nursery makeover asap!

Finding your inspiration

2012-02-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

Have you found yourself going back and forth on paint colors or ideas for rooms?

I went to home depot and literally picked out 79 colors. Mostly whites, greys and some pinks. I'm sure you're thinking right now, "she's exaggerating, no one takes home 79 paint swatches". It was a lot of paint swatches.

But in the end I couldn't pick a color because I really didn't know where I wanted to go with the room.

Have you been in this place before?

Needing inspiration, but coming up empty.

Picturing how it will all turn out but not loving the end product in your mind?

That's how I felt with my daughters room.

One of my road blocks is that we are putting our house back on the market in April. And as much as I hate to admit it, I do make wall paint decisions hoping that the colors are neutral enough and don't turn anyone off.

One of my issues when I was picturing the room was boring-ness, un-funness, not Kennedy friendly enough.

So we went to the store and Kennedy picked out this really cute owl pillow, and I really liked the crib sheet that went with it. From there, it was amazing. We went to a couple different stores, and it was AMAZING how it all started coming together.

So my advice on how to find your inspiration is get out there and go shopping! I have been playing for weeks online with lack luster excitement.

Pinterest is amazing, and inspiring, but it leaves you sitting with lots of pins and sometimes no motivation or time, or energy to get up and go.

I definitely shop online, but touching and feeling and comparing is part of the amazing part of designing. Its hard to compare two items when they are on different sites sometimes.

So if you are feeling like you need that inspiration, GET OUT THERE AND SHOP. That's it. Walk away from the computer, put down the magazine, don't you dare pin another item, and go and walk around a store, touch things, imagine things, let your design voice out

All of these pictures can be found here on my pinterest board.

And just so we are clear, these images and rooms are amazingly inspiring.

Mover & shaker

2012-02-21T08:30:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking lately about how I decorate my home. One of the things that I often do is buy something that

A. I really love and cant imagine my life without this item (slight sarcasm, but not really)

B. know the item is versatile enough that it can play nicely with the rest of my home

Do you do that?

I'm a mover and shaker. For those of you reading this saying "whats a mover and shaker in design?"

It means that things dont have permanent homes. Items may live in spots or locations for a day, a week, a month, a year, but most likely they'll be relocated because I like change, and I like to shake it up.

I know a lot of people decorate once and then change it in 15 years when they realize their stuff is way outdated. But when you move things around, it feels new, it feels like you went shopping, it feels fresh.

Items that I especially like to be versatile-

A. Rugs

B. Lamps

C. Bookcases and storage solutions

D. Mirrors

E. Art

F. Accessories

This does not mean that you have to buy a beige rug, and silver lamps, and boring accessories.

But keep in mind other rooms in your home. This rug for instance was first off $77, so not a huge investment. But I also thought it could be nice in our master or my daughters nursery when we make it over. So even though black and white chevron is so not neutral, it kind of is for my home.

These lamps are mercury glass and they could live in any room in my home. The fun blue chevron side table? Maybe not. Not everything has to be versatile, if you love something go with it, don't be afraid to make bolder choices. (just to remind everyone that side table was found on the side of the road, and I used 75% off oops paint).

So when I'm buying items I like to think about them in different places. This is not exactly neccessary for a .50 blue mason jar that you find at a garage sale. (but who are we kidding, they look great every where)

photo of case of jars via iDIY/photo jar with tulips via Wedding Bee

For bigger items think about how you could incorporate them into different rooms in the future, that way your items can play nicely and you can make your home feel new again and again!

Here is the list again of items

Items that I especially like to be versatile-

A. Rugs

B. Lamps

C. Bookcases and storage solutions

D. Mirrors

E. Art

F. Accessories

Good luck & have a fabulous day!

Perfect Is Over Rated

2012-02-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Perfect is over rated. I've talked before about being brave, and that's how I want to live in our home.

I'm joining The Nester today in her It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful link party

That being said...I want to talk about some imperfections in my home, and things that I want to change.

Recently I've been thinking about our dining room. I'm ready for a change. I feel like it needs to be brighter and fresher. There's nothing wrong or imperfect about the color really, I just want a lightness that this room doesn't possess.

I think with the brown walls, brown wood floors,brown rug and brown chairs, its just too much.

Since we hang out in the living/dining room all day I like to think of them as one living space.

I've been trying to add in more yellow in the living room. So maybe painting the dining room yellow will be the perfect solution. It certainly will make the room seem bright and sunny, and I think it will be a nice transition from the living room.

And these no sew curtains (hot glued) I'm really proud of, but they don't really fit my style anymore.

I hate the idea of buying new curtains since we are trying to sell our house, but that's not really a reason to keep something I'm not in love with anymore. I think I might just take down the curtains and rods, fill up the holes and paint the walls something fresh.

Do you have any suggestions for paint colors besides yellow?

I wish that I could keep my home better organized while I was doing makeovers

Even though the process is not perfect, I enjoy the final product

I have never seen anyone put a yard stick on a new desk. I'm sure someone out there thinks its ridiculous.

But the truth is, I love it. I smile every time I see it, it just makes me happy. I stuck it on with mounting putty so its not permanent, I don't think you could get any more imperfect.

Every day I try to embrace the imperfection and live in the now. Let the dishes clutter the sink every once and awhile. "I'm busy living", I tell myself.

I still enjoy the beauty where I can find it, and make notes on things that I'd like to change

I feel like our house is such a dark grey it really needs lighter items where ever we can find them.

I plan to add white flowers this year, I wont put the stars back up, and I might paint the wicker furniture white, and I might just buy some of those. Or better yet, just buy a few more of these chairs because they are cheap and clean and white. My wicker is really falling apart.

There will always be little imperfections that I want to change, but I think the key is not let them stop you from enjoying your life or home right now.

Hope you enjoyed, and will become a follower

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Real VS Ideal in our homes

2012-02-17T08:41:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone,

Today I am going to be over at my hand crafted home I do hope you'll go over and see what I have to say about real vs Ideal in our homes.

I will say that there is a video of me, and for some reason my husband never told me to brush my hair, but I didn't want to shoot it again...so now everyone gets to see!

Also have a wonderful weekend!

Be Flexible in Design

2012-02-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

I realized while I was doing my office makeover that I was challenged quite a few times. I made a plan, and then that plan didn't work, and I had to come up with new ideas right then and there.

Its important to look at design as flexible, if something doesn't work, then think of a new plan, or maybe a couple. I'm really good at visualizing what something is going to look like, but if you aren't good at that you can always try an online mood board. Or if the item is small you could always buy it, and return it if it doesn't work. Just check the stores return policy first.

Here are the random annoying things that happened while I designed my office, they are the same annoying things that I think made this project way better.

I originally wanted to paint all white walls, and do grey stripes. I ran out of white paint, and with 120 year old walls, I was worried about how long it would take to measure out the stripes. I ended up painted the bottom grey.

I ended up picking this bold rug that I definitely wouldn't have bought if I did the stripes. And even though I love stripes, I love that I can take this rug wherever we go.

Ikea didn't have the desk I was looking for...so I decided to just get creative and make one.

I wanted white shelves originally with my white walls with stripes. But then I didn't do the stripes and my white shelves were out of stock, I didn't stress. I picked the glossy gray, which ended up being better in this particular room.

Originally I was trying to decided between a vintage desk and a more modern desk. I ended up deciding I could have 2 desks. I am so happy having 2 desks. I love each desk and the area around it so much, but I also love how they play off each other.

Originally I thought these shelves would look really cool with all globes on top. In the end I made it work with free accessories I had around the house. Maybe in time I'll add some globes, but I'm glad I didn't spend anymore money. I'm also glad I didn't try to shop all thrift stores in a 20 mile radius looking for globes. (ps this totally sounds like something I would do). The truth is now that I'm not looking for them, I'm sure they'll find me.

Don't be discouraged when your plans don't work out, and don't be afraid to think of the next plan, sometimes its even better than your first.

If you'd like to see my whole Office Makeover & the details you can go here

Office Details

2012-02-15T11:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I wanted to show you my office in all its glory, but today I'll be going through the pictures one more time and telling you all the details.

I'm really excited about this dresser. It was white, but I painted it Nimbus Cloud by Martha Stewart, it was left over paint from our bedroom makeover. The lamp was in my attic with the chalkboard. I painted it grey on the frame and the blue from my desk. Origninally I was thinking of painting the dresser in that blue, but I wanted the desk to be special and I didnt want it to be too matchy matchy.

I thought this was a cute way to add in a little punch of green.

I got the basket, the moss rocks and the magnifying glass from my attic

I switched out the 2 skinny billy bookcases for this one, because I want the whole piece to stay together. So the 2 bookcases are now in the hallway.

I added this little basket which was in my attic, but everything I just took from the bookcases

I plan to do a little project with closepins, and for some reason I just like looking at them.

And here is this side of the room all together.

My blue desk. In behr distance. The walls are behr ultra pure white, and the bottom is an oops paint. The desk was $1 from habitat for humanity. The little silver tray on the desk was $8 from Ikea. And the white frame was also $5 from Ikea

The rug was $77 from Wayfair.

The shelves are Ikea Lack glossy grey $17 each

All accessories I already owned, and found in my attic

I am particulary smitten with this area. The desk was $66 from Ikea, the frames were from Ikea for $5 each.

These metal boards I thought would just be perfect for organizing my ideas and inspiration. They were $12.50 each

This yard stick I found in my attic, its vintage and has marks on it, and I love it. I added it to the desk to make a little modern vintage baby. I put it on with scotch tape at first to see if I liked it, and then when I did just added mounting putty. I prefer not to hot glue it so I can change my mind, or change it up, but I love it.

And the light. I changed out our kitchen lights here, and I bought the wrong lights at Ikea, so you know me, I just made it work. And then I realized if I put one of those new old bulbs in it, it could look really cool by itself. Well I am just in love with it.

I had this old crate but I hadnt really found a home for it yet.

The little clock is so cute and vintage looking upclose it was from Ikea for like $6. And my 1,2,3 jars were $2 from Christmas Tree Shop

I love it. And the grand total for everything was $246

An Office Makeover Completed!

2012-02-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

My Office is finally done! I am so excited, and I wont leave you in suspense any longer!

Just to remind you a little bit of the before

And now the after

I"m so thrilled with this room, I just want to hang out in here all day

I'll go over all the details here, and paint colors and where I got everything, and cost, but today...just pictures of pretty things.

I hope you really liked my office makeover, I'd love for you to follow!

Linking up here

Guest Post From Gardners 2 Bergers

2012-02-13T07:38:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone, Happy Monday!

Today Becca From Gardners 2 Bergers will be here sharing her condo and what her style is.

Hello blog fans of "A Place 2 Call Home". My name is Becca and I run a little blog called "from Gardners 2 Bergers". Jennifer invited me to host today and asked me to talk about my design style. I'm so excited to reach out to fellow bloggers, so pull up the computer, get cozy, and let your eyes feast upon my "GLORY"!

Here's a pic of our home- ok, let me be more clear, it's the dining room part of the living/dining room/kitchen which I call "livitchen". For the past three years, the condo life has been, livitchen.

This pic is perfect for showing my love for both styles! I love the vintage globes and suitcases above a brand new Ikea mirror and very modern moose head!

Truly, my style falls into four categories: "NEW-NEW", "OLD-NEW," "NEW-OLD," and "OLD-OLD."

The New-New- Our sectional is what you would call "new-new". It's a custom made sectional from Basset Furniture and I designed it to have clean lines and a modern feel. Pretty much all the pillow cases on the couch are also "new-new." Surprisingly, "new-new" is kinda fun to say!

The New-Old- This is when you buy something with the intent to change it into something that looks "aged". Take a look at the curtain panels behind my couch. They are new Ikea curtain panels that I stenciled with a damask stencil. I wanted to create an aged looking fabric to balance the newness of the couch.

The Old-New-These are the things we already have that get a makeover to resurrect an old item and make it into a new one. The lamp on my front table in the livitchin was a brass monster, but had these gorgeous lines. I used a 20 cent clearance can of spray paint to makeover the lamp and also the mantel clock beside my couch. It was this ugly old thing the hubs received as a gift ages ago. I gave both a fancy little face lift and transformed the look.

The Old-Old- We should all be familiar with this category. These are all our vintage finds- the stuff we scour thrift stores and maybe even Ebay for. I have several vintage finds scattered around the home. I heart the old blue mason jars and their zinc lids and old fans like this turquoise beaut on the table.
My apiary sign on my gallery wall is old-old- but it was a makeover too. It was an old wood sign that looked a mess and I painted it to look like a different old wood sign. My husband says it's the wild west in me... even though I'm from the east coast.

Thanks for touring my crib. Please stop by my blog, if you wanna see more of my style and fun new budget makeovers!

Looking for places to link up your projects? Check out my Party page.

I'm also linked up here.

Isn't she just fabulous?? Not only is Becca super talented and inspiring but shes also just a really nice person, I hope you guys enjoy her and her blog as much as I do.

And if you are new here-

Here at A Place 2 Call Home I talk about cleaning, organizing and decorating feel free to look around and hopefully follow and find some inspiration!

Have a wonderful day!

Every room needs a showstopper

2012-02-10T07:32:00.000-05:00

So if you've been following along so far, I'm in the process of redoing my office.

I started with painting it white with grey on the bottom to make it feel really light and airy

Then I painted this desk to really add in some color and fun. I love how neutral walls allow for this.

Well as you know I wanted to paint stripes...but it just wasn't going to happen with these old uneven walls. And then I found this rug, and I thought it was just perfect for adding a wow factor to the room

The mirror in this picture is still holding down the edges.

And then my husband added a couple of shelves. They are Lack Ikea shelves. I originally wanted white, when I was planning to do the white & grey stripes. But the white shelves are out of stock across the US in this size. (wow crazy right?) Anyway, then when I painted the wall just white, the glossy grey made more sense.

Its not decorated up there yet. I'm thinking it would be really pretty with globes all the way across.

I have a big ole crush on chevron. And the black and white is just dreamy

Here's a close up of the shelves. I need to go pull out all my accessories and get to playing

The mirror on the desk is so I can do my hair and make up there, and so far I really like doing it there

So far I keep my computer here and its a nice place to write with the light coming in from the window. I cant wait to decorate this area either. Check out my trash can that doesn't match at all. That trashcan and I have plans, don't worry.

So thats it so far. Hope you like it. I really like the way its coming together so far, I think the room has oodles of personality.

Shelf Link

I bought my rug from Wayfair it was 5'3x7'9 for $77 ($77 good deal right?)

They currently don't have it anymore

Different rug on Wayfair

However this rug in almost the same size is $199 with free shipping

West Elm Rug
Which is $250

They also have this one at Urban Outfitters. Its only $74, it comes in beautiful colors, its just a mat instead of a rug
Urban Outfitters

Ikea Hack Desk

2012-02-09T07:11:00.002-05:00

If you saw yesterdays post, then you saw my makeover on this desk

I was trying to decide between an older desk and this desk, and I came to the conclusion that I could just have 2 desks.

Ikea Vika Amon Table Top

Vika Moliden legs

I really like this table, but when bought together its $189. Also I really wanted a white top, this silver felt too cold to me.

And for some reason, you cant buy this with a white top. And that's really what I wanted. Maybe you can? But I've searched for pictures online, searched ikeas website and the actual store. I don't think the combo exists. The width of the table and the width of the legs don't make them compatible

So I bought them anyway. Am I like a rebel when it comes to design?

Since the leg width is too wide to put under the table on a straight line, I decided to improvise by putting them on an angle

I think it looks pretty cool, and it was the only way to get the white table with the silver legs. Obviously I'm not done decorating this area, I haven't even started. My daughter must have been there when I was taking these picture because this is her beloved monkey.

My favorite part about the table is that the table top is a really nice size space to work, and I like that even though it was bought from ikea, this is not how its sold so its more unique. That being said I still like it better the other way, but since they don't offer a white top that fits, I'm pretty happy with the outcome.

I also think these 2 make a really nice pairing. I think they are special together being in the same room. I really like the mix of vintage & modern, and the unexpected paired together.

So that's it. 2 desks 1 room. I am so excited. And I cant wait to share the rest with you all. So far this room lacks personality, but that will change with tomorrows post .

A Desk Makeover

2012-02-08T07:46:00.002-05:00

I found this desk at habitat for humanity. When I saw it I immediately knew I wanted it, and I didn't even plan on having an office for blogging back then. I quickly found someone to ask how much it was, because unlike everything else in the store there was no price.

I love how curvy this piece is. And the detail, and the original hardware (swoon). The woman told me it had just been dropped off, the drawers weren't opening because it was summer and it was kept in storage. She said "normally I would charge $80, but because I don't know if it'll open $1."

Well obviously, I took it. $1 for a real piece of furniture. I was even thinking I kind of liked the green, it was different than anything I have, and maybe I could keep it that way.

It was a little too beat up in the green, so I decided to paint it a deep blue, its Behr Distance. This color makes it look a lot lighter than it is in real life. Even with the light pouring in its much darker, and moody and sophisticated.

The detail is so great.

And then I thought maybe I would just keep the gold hardware...but its also pretty beat up.

So I spray painted them this delicious grey called Satin Granite

I love that it makes this very old piece look updated and more modern.

And again just to remind you of the before

And the after

I couldn't be happier with it. I love that it gives this room a huge pop of color.

If you missed me painting the office here it is

Have you painted something recently that you are totally just smitten with?

I link up here

If you'd like to see the full office makeover go here

Painting the office!

2012-02-07T07:15:00.000-05:00

This is what the nursery looked like when my daughter was using it

But since we moved her to her newer bigger room, it was used like this

We moved these bookcases from our bedroom in the makeover, and they landed here

And this dresser holds some of my husbands clothing

And this is the view out the door.

I really loved this color combo for the nursery

So my "plan" was to paint all the walls and trim and picture frame molding white. Then on the top half of the room add some very light grey painted stripes going horizontally.

This is the first coat of white

You can definitely still see the grey and yellow coming through

And then the second coat of paint.

And then a third on the bottom

Can you tell it was greyish still on the bottom?

I painted 2 coats on the top, and 3 coats on the bottom. And then I ran out of white paint. And the grey was still coming through on the bottom portion of the wall. hmmm...

Then because we have old walls mathematically I thought it would be really difficult to do stripes. Even more difficult because of the molding in the middle of the room. Even more difficult because I don't like math, and I'm more of an imperfection is ok kind of girl.

Imperfection is not ok with stripes, and I didn't want wonky stripes.

Ok. So I'm creative. I can get myself out of this. Without buying more paint. But now my walls were just white and I wanted to show off the picture frame molding a little bit at least.

So these were the paints that I got at Home Depot in the Oops section. $2 each. I originally bought them for my stripes, and the one I didn't chose I could find another use for.

I mulled over the choices for 10 minutes

In the end I went with the lighter grey color. I really wanted the room to feel airy and light. And I wanted to add in colorful things, but I thought the darker color would make the room feel too weighted down.

Here it is in progress. The painted part on the left was my little angel helping me

2 coats of the grey went on. BTW...at this point I had painted for 3 hours the night before, and then 2 hours the next day to do the grey and I was so TIRED.

And here it is finished ( all the stuff is in the middle of the room as I got these pictures, so they are a little funny, but they show the rooms color)

Fresh

Light

Airy

Just begging for pops of color & inspiration

I cant wait to show you all the next step of this makeover, I'm really excited and proud of it!

So what do you think of the new colors? I'm really happy with the look, have you painted something recently that you are excited about?

A room with many uses

2012-02-06T07:44:00.000-05:00

When I walked through this house for the first time, I saw this little blue room, it has the tiniest shared closet with the master bedroom. Immediately I thought of one day in the future this could be our nursery. I remember feeling the lump that got caught in my throat, and from that moment, I knew that this house would be ours.

These pictures are truly god awful...but awful is better than nothing I think

I picked the sunniest yellow to keep this room neutral, hoping that one day we'd fill it with a baby

But in the meantime I put all of our painted hand me downs in the room, and tried to make it like a little office.

In truth it was a very sunny room, and the furniture was painted fun colors, but it didn't get used for much.

And then we got pregnant, and I wanted to make this room more special. We added the picture frame molding and the grey paint to the bottom of the room. And we added all the baby stuff.

I loved sitting on this green rocker, all big in the belly, thinking about what "she" would be like. Wondering what I would be like as a mama. And promising that all I ever wanted for her was happiness.

I'm so happy to have those memories. I talked here about how we should plan for now. And I take my own advice. We moved Kennedy to the bigger bedroom because this house isn't huge, and we wanted to use the space while we have it.

So we moved bedrooms, so did she...and I had this little room to make my own.

As much as I actually like this room just the way it is, I spackled some nail holes when we moved her out. And the paint is a different color, that's so annoying. So I knew that I would have to repaint all the yellow anyway. So I started to think about what I wanted the room to feel like.

What would you like your blog/craft/you room to look like? Do you have a special room?

A place to call your own (office space)

2012-02-03T08:02:00.001-05:00

Do you have an office for blogging? Or crafting, or sewing or just a place thats all your own? Our home isnt huge, but we've designated my daughters old nursery to by my room. For blogging, and crafting. I also plan to do my hair & makeup there, I'll have all my supplies in my office which means I dont need to move anything or shuttle back and forth to different rooms. I'm simplifying the process.

I am so excited to have my own place to keep all my stuff, and I'm so excited with how its turning out so far, more on that next week.

Here are some inpirational rooms I'm sharing via pinterest. I'd love to say that I pinned these and then designed the rooms around the pictures, but thats not really how I design spaces.

I love the color in this room that keeps it looks fresh and exciting

I love how much organization is in such a small space. I love how this is neutral but still really interesting. She accomplished this in this space with mixed metals and the texture of the baskets. Also a few pops of colors added so it adds interest but doesnt overwhelm.

I love the simplicity of this. Dont we all wish our space stayed free from clutter?

I love this super easy idea to collect my ideas.

And this was my daughters bedroom before we moved her out to her bigger bedroom.

This is it all cleared out

Any predictions on what I'll do?

Do you have a room thats all your own? What do you use it for? Have you been able to decorate it yet?