Design Blooms

Spring Cleaning guest post

2013-04-02T06:54:00.001-07:00

I know the arrival of warmer weather can bring out the spring cleaners in a lot of us, so we have Eva Stephen with us today talking about just that! Yay!

Spring Clean Your Way to Organized Perfection

Spring cleaning is looming ever closer, and for most of us there is the need to strengthen our stamina and gird our loins for the challenge ahead; even those of us who enjoy the satisfaction of a good scrub and clean-out. But spring cleaning is an excellent time to become the organized domestic goddess that you have always longed to be. To this end use spring cleaning to get the whole household completely organized and decluttered. It is also an excellent time to finally do all those small jobs that have accumulated throughout the year, the ones that are small and fiddly and tend to be put on the back burner. Keep an on-going list to remind you of these items, and at spring cleaning time, when you are turning out drawers and shifting all the furniture to clean underneath, take the time to do those tasks as you work through each room.

SheKnows

Plan, plot, list and organise

Do not simply begin one day when you can no longer put it off, rather plan ahead, setting aside at least a week to get everything done. The planning can be done beforehand, at the weekend or during an evening, but do make sure to put aside enough time to go through the entire house, noting down anything out of the ordinary that will need specialized tools or cleaning products, the services of a tradesman or extra time. Encourage children and partners to declutter their own personal belongings as much as possible, and ask them to bag up old clothes, unwanted toys and any other items that may simply be taking up valuable space.

TheDaoofDoing

Once you have noted everything that needs doing you can begin to sketch out a plan of action and arrange for handymen where necessary. Rough out a schedule, leaving rooms to be worked in by outside workmen to last – there is nothing worse than muddy footprints, drips, smears and little heaps of dust and sawdust left in a freshly cleaned or painted room! Make sure everyone in the family knows when their personal space will be invaded by the unstoppable behemoth of spring cleaning, and make sure they will all be available to help out – everyone lives in the family home and everyone has a responsibility to help look after it!

Replace the old, repair the broken and add signature pieces

Try to effect any repairs that need to be done before the major cleaning work begins, this gives you the chance to see if broken furniture can be repaired, or if it is better to get new and interesting pieces of furniture from online furniture retailer shop4furniture.net.

Backonfestiveroad

This also is where organization systems can be implemented, giving you the opportunity to change the entire layout of rooms to make systems more organized, streamlined and intuitive for those using it.

Scrub, clean, wipe, sweep, mop and hoover!

Begin on one side of the house, and on the top floor, moving methodically right to left, or vice versa, ensuring that no cupboards or nooks and crannies are overlooked. Be sure to look up as you work, spider webs creep insidiously across ceilings and often escape notice until they are immense! Check out some tips to clean spider webs. Door frames, the tops of window sills and skirting boards all trap a surprising amount of dirt, but are easily sorted with a feather duster or soft cloth. Do not neglect your windows either, hire a window cleaner or do it yourself, but make sure your windows sparkle cleanly in the spring sunshine – it will make the whole room brighter and more welcoming. If the children are helping out, make sure you check on them periodically as it can be tempting for a child to skimp on a job, leaving a nasty surprise for you the next time you are giving the room what should be a quick once over!

Emmaculate Reflections

Final touches, attractive features and refreshed ornamentation

Purchase or pick bunches of fresh flowers, treat the living room to brand new colourful cushion covers and arrange ornaments and photos in pleasing and eye catching arrangements. These touches help to enhance the ambiance of the room, as well as drawing the eye to the freshly cleaned and organized drawers and storage units.

Color Moods: The Color of Happiness

2013-03-13T11:04:00.000-07:00

Are you feeling it? Spring is slowly moving in and I am so ready for it!

In my old age (yeah it's true), my palette has become more natural and muted. I love the crispness of gray and white in a room..it's so refreshing. When we first bought our home three years ago, I went crazy with color...orange dining room, yellow hallway, blue guest bedroom, I was all over the bold color map. While I'm moving away from using these colors within my home I still truely appreciate the jolt of happiness these vibrant colors create. There's something about the approach of spring and summer that gets me really excited about bringing in more color to my life!

BHG

Coastal Living

I love the white backdrop in these two rooms and then the injection of bold accents.

House Beautiful

These two colors would be a great pair in a nursery or mud room!

House Beautiful

A shot taken while on vacation from the blog, I Suwanee.

isuwanee

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Martha Stewart

A few great color pairings for 2013 are emerald green, citron, and a misty blue. These are inspired by Pantone.

Now you've recieved your daily dose of color!

Large Wall Solutions

2013-03-12T11:56:00.002-07:00

Bare with me as I try to jump back on the blogging band wagon. It is a challenge to be on top of things with a newborn. What was my excuse before I had the baby? I have no idea.

I recently asked my facebook people if they had any questions about spaces in their homes.

My sweet friend Lindsey asked about two large walls she has in her master bedroom and a sitting room. I'm going in blind on this because I'm not familiar with her home, but here are a few budget friendly suggestions. Let's look at some visuals first....

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Notice that the pictures are hung on the entire upper and lower wall space, if you're not putting a table or chairs under the frames then I believe that you're not limited to just the upper portion of the wall. I have a small gallery wall in my hallway and the pictures are hung anywhere from waist level all the way up to close to the ceiling.

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Walls aren't just for pictures. You can add interest to a gallery space by mixing in mirrors, canvases, letters (found at most local craft stores), kid's art, plates...anything goes really. You can also add impact by painting stripes. I would suggest using the original wall color paired with a darker or lighter stripe in the same wall color tone or family. Here's a demonstration on how to paint stripes on a wall.

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Some spaces call for a small table coupled with a chair or two. If you don't have a table available and you're on a tight budget (like me!), craiglist can be you're best friend. I would even look in the "free"section, you never know what you might find!! Give the table a fun coat of paint and pair it up with two chairs. The wall space above it will be used for your wall gallery.

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Spray paint botanical finds in fun colors! Use these inexpensive Ikea frames.

Source

This is a super fun idea using free paint samples.

Hope this helps! If you have any other large wall solutions I would love to hear about them!

Angeline's Nursery reveal!

2012-12-31T13:19:00.001-08:00

Let's see, what has been going on since May 6th, my last post? Besides setting a terrible example as a design blogger, I've been preparing to have a baby! Baby Angeline is due on February 6th! Wow.

This is us in her nursery before we added anything. My colors that I tried to stick with are yellow, a soft aqua, and light gray. It's not 100% complete, but let's take a look...

I have some before pictures of this old dresser, it was a mess.

This is a Lulie Wallace inspired painting given to me by my sister. So talented! I needed something else to balance the painting on the wall so I glued small branches together to spell out Angeline's initials, which adds a whimsical touch. (They were spray painted white)

I added pictures of Will and I when we were youngins' into the nursery.

The closet floor was a brown linoleum that I painted gray, taped triangles and added the white paint. It's always a great idea to add special touches to small spaces.

There's a story behind this ceiling, it was an awful old school popcorn before. I will update you later on how it was completed. I love how it completely changed the look of the room!

So there it is. I still have blankets, pillows, and a changing pad to add, but we're almost there!

Nurseries: Lay Baby Lay

2012-05-06T15:33:00.001-07:00

How are y'all doing in this heat? I was out on the lake yesterday and burnt my lip...from the sun! I hate it, I so hope it doesn't turn into a fever blister!

Well, I have this blog that I love to visit. She is SO inspiring and finds the cutest things for kids rooms and nurseries. So if I am pregnant soon, my little love for her blog will quickly turn into a full-on obssession!

Lay Baby Lay, here are some of her amazing design boards for nurseries.

Baby Love Bug? How cute is that?! I also found this cute baby source through her site, LittleChoux. They have adorable stuff like this...

New Paneled Dining Room!

2012-04-10T18:02:00.001-07:00

I think I say this everytime, but THIS is my favorite project so far!! It was a lot crammed in to three days but I was a determined to get it done. Now I do have to say that it isn't 100% polished, I have to add a frame type ledge to the top, but I just had to show you!!

Taking that old chair rail down was a great feeling!

I brought the white up to about 6 1/2 feet and then bought 3 1/2" by 1/2" wood. We nailed a strip up every 10 1/2 inches. I caulked all the nail areas and all the gaps between the wood and the wall ( a lot!) and then painted one coat of primer, and two coats of Creamy White Bear paint.

I also updated the light fixture. Good story: The pendant drum shade is from West Elm, I was going to order it for about $130 but we found it at the Pottery Barn Outlet for $75! Very happy moment for me.

Y'all, I have become slightly obsessed with horses lately! I don't know what it is, but I love them. This painting/drawing is just another example of the infatuation.

(I also sale my art, so if you ever need a custom piece, I'd love to help)

Oh yeah, and I have to paint the trim on that door. Oops!

A cute little vintage Kraft box I found at an antique store..perfect for the silver!

View from the living room. It's been a project I've wanted to do for about two years.

Ladies tell me how badly the room needs a rug, so I can get my husband to read your comments. It's not complete without one, am I right?!

Let me also mention that I never would have thought of this idea for my dining room if it weren't for Julie Holloway over at Milk and Honey Home. She created a great living room that inspired this dining room!

House update!

2012-04-04T04:48:00.000-07:00

I know, I know it's been way too long, but I do have new projects rolling out! Right now I'm FINALLY in the middle of working on my dining room.

See, it's a mess...

We had that traditional chair railing and I took that down, hallelujah! I've got some great plans, I just hope that it looks as good in reality as it does in my head!

Here's a few dining rooms that keep me motivated.

Source

Let me get back to work!

Show Stoppers

2012-03-21T02:21:00.000-07:00

I recently completed a pretty pathetic DIY project on my entry way lamp. Its bright yellow because I really want a wow factor when people first walk in, but this little lamp is just not cutting it!

I searched around and found a few that would really draw a crowd!

Lamps in first picture from Jonathan Adler and Design Within Reach, second picture from Jonathan Adler.

Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

Coral and Green: Color Moods!

2012-03-19T02:29:00.000-07:00

harpersbazaar

Monday March 20th? Wow. I had to take a leave of absence for a while. I had another surgery on the 6th, a laparoscopy. Any one ever had one of those? They're no fun, but I'm feeling better now.

I think one night in my drug induced haze I thought of green and coral together for a Color Moods post. They work so well, especially in an outfit. Green and coral aren't stand alone colors however, like black and white. They work better when layered.

Like with a little cobalt blue...

cargocollective

Or white.....

delightbybesign.blogspot

sfgirlbybay

sketch24blog

Glad to be back! Hope y'all have a wonderful Monday!

Rejuvination!

2012-02-29T02:14:00.000-08:00

This may be a total "umm, where have you been?" moment, but I just came across Rejuvination by West Elm and Williams-Sonoma. It's an amazing vintage light store.

We have an older home and still have a few rooms that need updated lighting..these are my favorites..

A Little Bathroom Update

2012-02-27T17:45:00.001-08:00

A small change of a shower curtain turned into a bathroom redo. I have really wanted to make an update since this change we made a few years ago. It just didn't make me happy, so I lived with it for a while.

I wanted to make a shower curtain that was longer than the average 72 inches. I found this Dwell fabric online, ordered 2 1/2 yards, and found out I was about 2 yards short. So I ordered gray fabric to add stripes, but the gray was too green/gray. Not to worry, there's always a solution! I bought black fabric dye from a local craft store and washed the dye and fabric together. The grays matched perfectly!

(If you have questions about fabric dye, just email me, and I will be glad to help!)

Here's the new look...

The curtain turned out to be 86 inches long, which I love!

About the ceiling....I have never painted a ceiling other that white, and I felt like this was such a BOLD move. After I was done painting, I stepped back to take it all in and thought "It's not thaaatt drastic"

It just fits in with the space.

A little watacola' I made..is it creepy? I just love owls.

Painted Ceilings

2012-02-23T02:32:00.001-08:00

Do you remember that simple shower curtain project I was talking about

earlier this week? Well, it has expanded. I repainted the walls in the bathroom and now I'm seriously considering painting the ceiling.

Here's my inspiration....

Apartment Therapy

What do you think? It's a small bathroom, so I think it will add a great impact to the space! Have you ever painted ceilings in your home?

Things I Love about a Holiday

2012-02-20T06:40:00.001-08:00

I love to see the morning light pour in through the windows. I don't get to see this often, because I am always at work.

(Sorry about the crazy angle!)

Flowers are starting to pop up down here in the south, so I'm bringing them in, of course!

I bought these vintage coffee decanters (?) from a local antique store. They work perfect as a vase!

This is my new mushroom. Will hates it. I don't know, I saw it and just thought it would be perfect here. Maybe I am crazy, but I really like it. (Let me clarify, he doesn't "hate" it, he just doesn't understand why I would want it.)

Well, it is a holiday, which means I will be completing a home project (shower curtain)!

Do you have today off? What are your holiday plans?

Guest Post: Design Shuffle

2012-02-15T07:07:00.000-08:00

Hey friends, Im a little ashamed that this is my first post (guest post) of the week. I just finished up a graduate course and had to get a BIG assignment done. Im excited, we have Mari from a great site called Design Shuffle, to share some gray and yellow inspiration. Two colors that are, in my opinion, perfect together.

Hi, everyone! It's Mari, a writer from Design Shuffle a fabulous site that brings together designers and design lovers to showcase projects and share interior design inspiration. I'm so excited to be visiting Design Blooms as a guest blogger. Today's post is about a lovely color combination—gray and yellow. It is said that opposites attract and that is surely true of a gray and yellow palette. As you'll see, together the color of sunshine and a stormy neutral can make a stunning impact from the front door to the bath and everywhere in between. I hope these beautiful spaces will inspire lots of interior design ideas for you. Enjoy!

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Colorful front doors offer a glimpse into what is to come inside a home. This deep sunny yellow is a perfect punch of color against the gray painted exterior. Wouldn't you love to step through this door?

From pale yellow on the wall and sofa pillow to the deep golden velvet on the chaise lounge, the contrast with pale grays is lovely and makes for a comfortable and inviting feel in this living space.

Gray and Yellow

This bright happy space has become one of my favorite eat-in kitchen designs. The gray and black of the wallpaper and over-cabinet storage work beautifully with the shiny yellow cabinets and pendant lights over the table.

Gray and Yellow

A gray wall with golden accents and a deep yellow sofa with dark gray decorative pillows create appealing visual impact in this contemporary living room. I love the texture on the pillows and unexpected shapes of the shelves.

Gray and Yellow

Tall windows draped in yellow-trimmed gray and yellow floral panels are a gorgeous background for eclectic furnishings and accessories. Touches of blue are interesting additions to this interior design. Is this stunning space stirring up any living room ideas?

Gray and Yellow

A gray and golden yellow color palette is a lovely choice for a modern living room. Chunky stone lamp, soft velvet upholstery and interesting patterned textiles bring this room together elegantly.

Gray and Yellow

Sunny accents bring this gray and black cotemporary bedroom to life. I'm smitten by that amazing faux fur throw. What lovely decorating ideas this bedroom inspires!

Gray and Yellow

A deep yellow barn door is a bold choice to separate this yellow and gray bedroom from the adjoining bath. I love that oval stand-alone tub and gray wall in the bathroom.

Images 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Looking for even more colorful inspiration? Then check out Design Shuffle where you can explore various interior design styles by San Francisco interior designers and more!

Designer Crush

2012-02-08T16:11:00.000-08:00

Mayme Baker.
I've had a big crush on this lady's work for a while now, and she just added some more pictures to her portfolio, so I had to share!

Mayme Baker Studios is right around down the road from me in Greenville, SC and Mayme has also been featured in the Fall issue of House of Fifty!
She's a real sassy designer and her interiors are so fun....

This is one of my favorite..check out that ceiling, it's gorgeous, especially paired with the yellow and white striped walls.

I think what I really love about these rooms is the amazing use of layering and color. There's a ton of color but it works!

What about you, how do you feel about all the color and layers of texture in the rooms? Too much?

How do you prefer your rooms, simple and calming or packed full of color and accessories?

Striped Walls!!

2012-02-07T02:23:00.000-08:00

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts on my tv wall. I knew that it needed something like this, but it's nice to know that you think the same thing too!
My wall is a very very light blue, so it was hard to find a lighter blue color to go tone-on-tone. So I bought a blue that was close to the wall color and added white to lighten it.

I really love it, it adds the perfect I affect, because I really didn't want to overwhelm the wall with pictures.

(One day I'm going to go to a lake and throw my camera into it, it never ever gives clear pictures)

Those little star bursts were a DIY project as well, I saw a how-to somewhere but can't seem to remember. I bought wooden skewers, Styrofoam balls, and gold spray paint.

I cut the ball in half and stuck the skewers in, going around the ball. I hot-glued any skewers that were loose, and then spray painted the entire star burst.

I hammered a nail into the wall and stuck the back of the star burst onto the nail. So simple.

DIY Headboards

2012-02-06T02:38:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday!! Yayyyy (can you hear the sarcasm?)

Blogosphere-pinterest

Ever since my post about my amazing mattress in the guest bedroom, I've been secretly scheming ways to switch out those beds. My problem with my guest bed is that I think the head board is a little outdated, and of course I want to make my own headboard!! I've never done one..an upholstered headboard that is, and I'm thinking it needs to be done!

Here's some great inspiration....

Redmond Aldrich

Shelter Pop

House of Turquoise

An amazing DIY upholstered headboard tutorial by Grace from Design*Sponge

This tutorial really sold me on the whole project..love Grace.

Casasugar

Possibly some nail head trim?

Ever made your own headboard? I would love to hear what you think!!

Thanks to all of you for sharing your thoughts on my tv wall...and I am happy to annouce that the stripes are up in all their glory!! I am so happy, they look great! I can't wait to show you tommorrow!

Stripes: Yay or Nay?

2012-02-02T17:53:00.000-08:00

Hey friends!

I usually go straight to Will if I can't decide on something, but we have agreed that this decision is a little bit more tricky. It's hard to admit that I need help, maybe it's my decorator's ego!

My TV wall has become quite a conundrum....

A wall with similar sized white framed art?

or stripes?!

Here's the thing holding me back, I don't know if the stripes would be too much with the checkered floor...

hmmm...

what do you think?

Color Moods: Spring, is that you?!

2012-01-31T18:00:00.000-08:00

It's 65 degrees outside. I hope this is not a tease, I love this sneak peak of spring weather!
It's got me thinking, about my home and my wardrobe. It's time to bring in some color.
I get the Fossil catalog, I have never bought any clothing from them (just a watch) but I really do like their style. They've inspired me and my Color Moods post.

Great pairings:
Deep blue and a mustard yellow

Pink coral and a light blue-green
Sherbet orange and misty gray

(I added the little color strip on the right)

I spy a Valentine's Day gift!

1,2, and 3 from Fossil

Decor8blog

How about some great abstract art against a rich blue wall? Jamie Meares over at Furbish knows how to do it right!

Decor8

Look at all those Spring colors just popping all over the place!

Elle Decor

Another Furbish pretty.

Are you feelin' these colors?

New Dresser Makeover

2012-01-30T02:35:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Well, I have great news, the big brown beast from our living room is gone! You can see a little peak of it here. I thought I had more pictures of it, but why take pictures of something so big and hideous. ("Hideous" is my niece's new favorite word, as Will was driving her back to our house over the weekend, she was looking out the window at a field of pine trees, and he asked what she thought, and she said "it's hideous!"....she's four by the way!)

Okay, back to the dresser. I bought a dresser a while back to put in our future nursery, but I decided to use it in the living room in the mean time.
It was in pretty bad shape.

I know this is a fairly simple makeover, I wanted so badly to add color, I tried it several different ways, but in the end, all white took the vote.

It's a little small... but it will work for now! It's a whole heck of a lot better than what was there before.

I used the original dresser pulls on the four bottom drawers and added pearl knobs on the top.

It was a fun little makeover. The wall behind the TV is my next project. I'll show you more pictures of that later in the week.

Have you done any makeovers lately, I would love to hear about it, or share your links!

Correction!

2012-01-28T06:11:00.000-08:00

I've made a mistake..

I must have been in a blogging fog yesterday..I made a few mistakes in my last post.

First here are the correct links to the two blogs I found, there was a typo in the link..

The Vault Files

Little Glass Box

Also, Gaby's blog The Vault Files, I found through a blog from the House of Fifty issue, but she should have been in the issue! She's very talented!

Let me off with a warning, please!

(via Claire.Belliard.free.fr from pinterest)

Things I loved...

2012-01-27T09:33:00.000-08:00

This week.... I found a few great blogs through the House of Fifty issue (which is quickly becoming my favorite online magazine!)

Here are two talented women that I really liked....

This is from a giveaway she did this week, I LOVE this necklace from Colorsplash. Very neon-ish jewelry if you're feeling wild!

Color Block via The Vault Files

This is from her etsy shop, The Vault Jewels.

And we have Courtney from Little Glass Box, she's a clever little lady, very creative.

It's been pretty quiet around here this week..I hope you haven't given up on me and moved on! (:

Have a wonderful weekend friends!

The escape place in your home

2012-01-26T02:21:00.000-08:00

There is one space in your home that should always be a calming escape from the rest of the world.

Your bedroom..the master bedroom.

Will and I have discussed our bedroom and pondered over why ours isn't so "cozy". We've kept it romantic with reds and blues, we don't keep a tv in our room, and we definitely don't bring bills or just random stuff that collects over time into our room. Sometimes we'll sleep in the guest bed and it's such a treat, we say "eww, lets sleep in the guest bed tonight!"

That's sad. I want going to our bedroom to be a treat. So we've decided that it's the mattress. When I worked for a designer right out of college, I got really sweet deals on things, and the mattress was one of those deals. It's too big for our bed, so we keep it in the guest bedroom...my head is turning up some ideas as I type of ways I can switch out beds and get that amazing mattress into my room!!

There are other ways to bring comfort to your bedroom. You can't go wrong with candles (scented of course), soft throws, shaggy soft area rugs, heavy lined curtains (to keep it dark when the sun comes up, for all you lazies out there!), lighting..a dimmer, table lamps or wall mounted lights.

House of Turquoise

Colors, of course can bring certain moods to a space. If you want calming like a spa, go for blues and whites.

Where Love Resides+ Pinterest

There's your soft rugs to comfort your weary feet after a long day at work.

This is our bedroom, we need some kind of shaggy rug..all that hard wood is not cozy!

Jessica Steinberg

Design Darling

Elements of Style

I really like the colors of these walls paired with the ivory colored panels and and bed spread.

So dreamy.

What do you add to your bedroom that creates a cozy, peaceful retreat for you?

Using the unused spaces and My Wingback Chairs

2012-01-25T02:25:00.000-08:00

Good morning! I've been trying to do my posts in the morning when I wake up, which is about 5..so please excuse my typos or wondering rants, I might not be aware of what I'm saying yet..I can barely open my eyes!

A few weeks ago I told you about my chairs that I sold on craigslist from my kitchenette table in order to get new chairs from a local antique store. Well, when I went back those chairs were gone, so I moved my wing back chairs to the table.

Now we use this space SO much more, and when we have guests over they always sit there, where as before no one ever did. I love that. I think it's important to find ways to make every space in the house completely usable, whether that be adding comfortable chairs, adding a work space, or adding extra lighting. I've pretty much found ways to do that everywhere, except for the "study". That's a room that has been completely untouched since we moved in, but that makeover is quickly approaching.

So, now about those slipcovers. They're pretty awful, so baggy, and they constantly have to be retucked. What do you suggest? Where should I go to get more custom fitted slipcovers?

Bring on the suggestions!!

This is an antique bowl I got for Christmas, it matched so well with the plate wall. Really love it.

Design Boards... for free!!!

2012-01-24T02:34:00.000-08:00

Im so excited to announce that I'll be offering free design boards here at Design Blooms!

So spread the word! If you have a room that is puzzling you and you can't figure out where to start, these boards are designed to get you started on the right path. They allow you to see the whole plan put together in order to make the decision process a lot easier!

Send me an email if you're interested to ntmdesignblooms@gmail.com