Design Fluff

My House Stinks!

2013-05-16T12:07:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! I just moved into my house over the last few days and it stinks! It's not a moldy smell, or even a something crawled up in here and died, smell. It's more like straight up thrift shop in here. It's just old smell.

Speaking of thrift shop, we've been singing that song for 3 days straight while moving. We can't get it out of our heads. I even sing it before bed time.

I'm pretty sure my husband and I could have made our own cover. " I'm gonna pop some tags, I've got 20 dollars in my pocket, then I cluck like a chicken to the tune, this is crazy awesome!" Yeah, I always edit any bad words out with my own.

You can see the official video on youtube

Anyways, I'm getting distracted. I googled what to do to get rid of old house smell and Apartment Therapy had an article on using something called, Room Shocker. They weren't sure if it worked or not but suggested it wouldn't hurt to try at 25 dollars a can. I jumped up and bought 6 right away.

This company claims that it can get rid of any smell in your house. ANY smell. I also read somewhere that they used these to get homes ready to move back into for families affected by Hurricane Katrina. I have no idea how true that is, as it was a comment somewhere on the web.

We bought 6 of them and let me tell you, we followed directions to the T as it seemed like the reviews were by people who just didn't read the directions, and this stuff did NOT work for us. In all fairness there were reviews on Apt. Therapy and Amazon, that swore by it's effectiveness. There were also reviews on Amazon, that indicated it did not work.

So, now I'm hoping I don't get hassle about getting my moolah back! That moolah can go towards something more useful in our new home, like some art, or curtains or something.

I am really hoping someone reads this and knows how to get rid of old house smell. I really want our house to smell clean and fresh. I really hate chemically made smells, so I'm not into Glade, Renuzit, Febreeze or anything like that. I need to find something that rids the house of the smell and not just mask it, which is what Room Shocker claims to do.

Until then, I'll be using lots of windows to air the house out and natural products with essential oils.

Look 4 Less: Capri 1 Light Pendant & DIY

2013-05-12T21:03:00.001-07:00

I'm shopping for light fixtures and ran across this:

Home Decorators Capri 1 Light Pendant is 22"Hx10"D at 184 dollars.

Shades of Light Pendant is 15"Hx6"W at 99 dollars.

Or, to me it looks like you can diy one with this:

I haven't tried this yet, so feel free to add whatever to make it work.

Step 1: Purchase a Glass Jug (maybe something without a handle)

via Label Peelers

Step 2: Cut the bottom off the jug:

via The Bella Files on Glass Cutting

Step3: Add Light Pendant and Chain

via Pottery Barn

Maybe one of these:

Portfolio accessory kit

via Lowe's

You could add one large chain link to the chain to keep it from slipping through the jug.

Summer Lovin'

2013-05-09T11:09:00.001-07:00

I'm browsing Matchbook magazine's boutique.

I'm in the mood for Summer! I'm loving black and white stripes with the addition of emerald green and a little coral.

Spiffing Up A Plain Jane Home: No Porch Issue

2013-05-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

If you're new to the blog, you do not know that we bought a house recently, almost.

I'm leaving so much out but buying it has been sheer torture, but it's hopefully, crossing my fingers, throwing salt over my shoulder with a 4 leaf clover in my pocket, hunched over in a corner and timidly peering over my shoulder with one eye squinted because I'm waiting for one more thing to go wrong, praying to Jesus (which is the only thing I did which works), finally over. : D

One of the things I've been looking at in a home is something older, (older homes tend to evade the cookie cutter factor that I'm not very fond of), something with a nice sized yard, and something with character to the exterior of the home.

Well, because of circumstances beyond our control, and me just wanting to get the agony of it all over with, we ended up settling for a plain Jane house.

BTW....if your name is Jane, I absolutely do not find that a plain name at all, it's actually one of my favorite names, and far from boring in my mind, but the phrase is quite common in American culture. Why, I don't quite know.

While I love our house and actually prefer a project, it is rather plain and without a porch, unless you count a 3 by 5 ft plot of cement in front of your door a porch. A porch is something I could have really worked with to bring in some wow factor to this box on a lot.

Which don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for our box on a lot!

One of the solutions we decided on was to build a pergola to the side of the house. Pergolas do not have to stay at the back of your house. Think front or side when replacing a non-existent porch. This solves our "no porch" issue, brings character to the house, and adds value to the home in one fell swoop.

While these houses are far from plain it helps to get a visual.....

Traditional Patio by Millbrook Architect Crisp Architects

Traditional Patio by Menlo Park Architect Ana Williamson Architect

Traditional Exterior by Boston General Contractor Woodmeister Master Builders

Traditional Patio by Hinsdale Design-build Normandy Remodeling

Contemporary Exterior by Alexandria Architect Moore Architects, PC

Traditional Patio by Frederick Interior Designer JB Interiors, Inc.

Contemporary Exterior by Portland Interior Designer Jessica Helgerson Interior Design

Traditional Landscape by Far Hills Landscape Architect Deborah Cerbone Associates, Inc.

Mother's Day Gifts Under 50 Dollars

2013-04-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

Here's my favorite Mother's Day gifts so far. These are on my own personal list.

I found these all on one page on Layla Grace.

Spiffing Up A Plain Jane Home: Shutters And Window Boxes

2013-04-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

Several days ago, I did part one in the series of spiffin up a plain home with awnings. Today, I'm going to concentrate on shutters and window boxes! I love them! First off, if your house is rather plain, you really should consider awnings. They add some architectural detail to an otherwise boring house.

Traditional Exterior by New Port Richey Architect Bud Dietrich, AIA

Contemporary Exterior by Minneapolis Design-build Orfield Remodeling, Inc

Awnings are not cheap. Window boxes are relatively inexpensive and you can always Google how to DIY one yourself!

They should match the window frame plus any trim. If there are shutters then add 4-6 inches on.

Sometimes I like them a little longer than the frame. Longer window boxes tend to draw the eye in more and the look can be very lush with the right plants, like the one below.

Traditional Exterior by Vancouver Landscape Architect Pot Incorporated

Traditional Exterior by Minneapolis Design-build Great Neighborhood Homes

Traditional Exterior by Chicago General Contractor Greenside Design Build LLC

If you already have shutters, try a nice bold contrasting coat of paint to make them pop! Finish them off with flowers and plants that color contrast the window boxes.

Traditional Exterior by Tarrytown Landscape Architect Westover Landscape Design, Inc.

Tropical Exterior by Other Metro Architect Barefoot Design Group, LLC

Traditional Exterior by Beaufort Design-build WaterMark Coastal Homes, LLC

Oh No She Didn't! Two Bloggers And The Same Post

2013-04-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

If you have been blogging long enough, more than likely you have ran into someone who posted on the same topic as you or their post was very similar. Off and on, in the DIY blogging world or the design blogging world, I will notice that someone in a comments section will think they are doing the blog's author a favor and kindly point them in the direction of another blog who supposedly stole their post or project.

When I have run into these, I almost always will go over and look for myself. What I find usually is not what was thought they saw but someone who happened to have the same idea yet the post was written in their own words. There was no plagiarism going on!

Via White Kitchens House Beautiful

One thing that we all have to keep in mind is that no one has the monopoly on a certain idea. I can write about white kitchens and guess what? There will be 500 other bloggers writing about the same topic. And the odds are that some are going to write the same week I do, even less may even post within a day or 2 of when I do. But it does happen often! It's even very likely that we may use some of the same inspiration photos. After all, Pinterest makes sure we all get to see a lot of the same inspiration images. Let's face it, a lot of us have the same tastes! How many posts have you read on Chevron over the years?

My Chevron Pillow DIY. This pillow cover will look much nicer with a larger pillow in it.

Granted if they copied your post word for word, well that would be a whole other enchilada.

I think we are doing each other a great disservice by judging or jumping to conclusions about another blogger's intentions. I can say with perfect confidence that I don't steal posts, but this happens to me literally all the time. There are how many design/diy/craft blogs out there? Thousands upon thousands? Millions? I don't know the exact number but I know there are a lot of them and I know that I will have a post in draft and work on it as I have the time, and very often someone will beat me to the punch and write something very similar to what I am already working on. The more I post the more I see it.

I can say it's happened to me more times than not, actually.

The most recent time it happened is just this past week when Centsational Girl wrote a post on Homebuying Tips, I believe. I haven't read the post yet, but I did see the title of the post when it was posted. Well, guess what I have in draft? First Time Homebuyer's 411. I've learned so much the last few months in house hunting, that my husband and I thought it would make a good post. However, we've been working on this for quite awhile, and I didn't want to post it til I was done with the process.

It's OK! We all will very frequently have the same ideas. It's all rather innocent. And to be honest, I like reading more than one blogger's tips on a subject I'm interested in!

One time I was gold leafing a chair with my Krylon gold leaf paint pen and getting ready to post about it, the very same day, Jenny, from a Little Green Notebook, posted a coffee table that she had gold leafed with the same paint pen. Her table had very similar features to my chair legs.

My shame, the UGLY chair. Aka, my Doug chair. Those who use to watch TLC's Trading Spaces back in the day will know what I mean.

I was just getting ready to post this! I froze. I was thinking, "Oh no! What if someone thinks I copied her?" I was 2 seconds away from NOT posting it and deleting the whole project. In hindsight, I should have scrapped it because my chair was UGLY! Her table turned out great, though. She's really an amazing stylist and DIY'er.

The "iconic" paint pen.

One last example, recently I was writing a post on Jonathan Adler coming to JC Penny and all of a sudden, another blogger on my reading list posted the same topic! Did either of us know the other was already working on the idea? No. No harm, no foul!

Let me point out that doesn't mean that you can't find information on another blog and share that news with your own readers! Of course you can! Just make sure to put it in your own words!

There were many other times that I did delete a post because someone else beat me to it. Finally, it happened so much that I realized there is no way to avoid it, if it was happening to me, then surely other bloggers knew this happened too, and I just let myself relax a little on it.

Trust me, if this hasn't happened to you yet, it will. The more blogs in your niche that you read, the more linky parties you participate in, and the more blogs that you have on your reading list, the more likely it is that you too, will find other bloggers blogging about something you just posted or were getting ready to post.

I just put my own spin on my own ideas and I put it out there. If someone else happened to do it too, then that's OK, cause it's going to happen.

We are not in competition with each other. Blogging is about community. Isn't it so nice just sharing what you love and finding someone that loves the same thing and chatting over it for a short time? I find it refreshing to see someone post similarly to me but they bring something different to the table.   It makes it interesting and it's inspiring.

I think we have a community of ethical bloggers in the DIY/ design world. Let's give each other credit and not tear each other apart.

BTW, I don't remember the people who participated in the commenting. I'm not singling anyone out!

Linking up Here
http://itssoverycheri.com/2013/04/21/its-party-time-4-21-2013/ http://www.threemangoseeds.blogspot.com/

A Realtor Nightmare And How Not to Get Thrown Under the Bus by Your Realtor!

2013-04-20T04:54:00.002-07:00

I've been working the last several weeks on a few different home buying posts, as I learn and as I've had the time, for first time homebuyers. They are lengthy but it's necessary to convey the information needed to 1st time home buyers so they are not thrown under the bus by dishonest people.

As a first time homebuyer you should familiarize yourself with some basics to protect yourself from your Realtor. Don't get me wrong there are ethical people out there but because you never know if you are working with one, you should protect yourself with knowledge!

Our Story

We started our hunt with 3 homes to choose from.

House number 1 was a ranch house with mediterranean features. It needed updating and minor repairs but had brick floors and

an acre of land with a big pond that had fish (and possibly an alligator according to my best friend, Ethel)!

Contemporary Exterior by Mineral Wells Architect Amy Hopkins Designs

These are not the houses but are souped up versions of the original that I found on houzz. They are there for visual effect. ;)

House number 2 was a cabin type home.
It wasn't my type of house but it had 2 acres and was so new and pristine on the inside.

Traditional Exterior by Minneapolis Interior Designer Michelle Fries, BeDe Design, LLC

Not the original cabin but he plays one on TV.

The 3rd house was a BEAUTIFUL, 2 story, white, 1920's home, with newer wood siding and beautiful updated windows with muntins! It was in an upscale neighborhood and was at the top of our price range. There wasn't much of a yard, however.

Traditional Exterior by Naperville Architect JB Architecture Group, Inc.

Our first Realtor showed us house number 2 first, aka, the mold house. As she was going through the home she smelled strong mold and continued showing my husband the home without mentioning it. It wasn't until I came out of the car (I wasn't feeling too well) and approached the house, that I realized there was a serious mold issue. I was immediately alarmed and told my husband to leave the house, there is a mold issue. At that point she decided to admit that she too had smelled it and it was bothering her.

Traditional Exterior by Minneapolis Interior Designer Michelle Fries, BeDe Design, LLC

The fact that she was willing to risk our health so she could make a sale, should had tipped us off that she wasn't on the up and up. However, we gave her the benefit of the doubt and continued on to house number 3, our dream home!

The pictures I'm using to convey an image of the houses we looked at remind me of Lifetime Movie Network actors, the actors are far better looking than the actual person the movie was based on.

Traditional Exterior by Naperville Architect JB Architecture Group, Inc.

This home showed so beautifully online and let me say we were quite surprised to see that someone, after the home was listed, obviously wasn't too happy and had come in to this BEAUTIFUlL home and just took a sledge hammer or something to it.

I've heard internet stories of owners who have been foreclosed upon and they will literally trash their home to get back at the bank. I'm not sure if that is what happened here but something happened! There were holes knocked in the walls, the downstairs restroom was stripped, and the wall between the bathroom and garage was partially tore down! I could not believe what happened with the home!

Foreclosure Rage: An act of anger and revenge. The act of chopping your home up with an ax or sledge hammer in little bitty pieces because your home was foreclosed upon.

I won't say the things that were said or unsaid by the Realtor lady that bothered me during the walk-through, but the final straw was how terrible the home looked and none of this damage was done when the home was listed nor did they bother updating the photos on the listing to show the new damage.

She came up behind me and said, "you better hurry, there are many other offers or interest in this one." I'm not sure which it was that she said. I felt very upset at this point because it seemed like she was being dishonest. In hindsight, I almost wish we had went with the house and just renovated it but we decided to go on eventually to the cheapest house, house number 1, and we got rid of our Realtor.

BTW, the house sat there for a while before it was finally purchased.

Our New Realtor

second verse same as the first........

This guy seemed great. He was an investor so he would point out potential issues with the homes we were looking at. He even offered to sell us one of his properties a few times. Take that however you want to. The problem was that weeks had gone by and we could never seem to land a house. Every time we went to look at a home it became unavailable as soon as we looked at it, including house number 1 that we settled upon.

Well, according to our Realtor they became unavailable. Now this was may have been true, there were times the house showed under contract online, so it was confirmed sometimes. After all, the market had made a small upturn and houses where I'm at were/are selling pretty fast. However, there were other times the homes didn't seem to be under contract and I started wondering if he were in fact lying to us at times. Why? I couldn't be sure, but maybe to steer us to be desperate enough to buy a house from him. I honestly can't be sure. This is only speculation.

We finally found a cool mid-century modern home with an amazingly large solar heated swimming pool. This home was special to me. It reminded me a lot of my childhood home and evoked comforting memories. We started the contract process. I told my husband to tell the Realtor to put a financing and inspection contingency in our contract. If you are a first time home buyer, this is very smart and quite common. What this does is give you an out if the house has too many issues show up during inspection, or it gives you an out if something happens and the Lender ends up not being able to finance you.

These pictures of my "houses" remind me of the Lifetime Movie Network actors, the actors are always way more attractive than the actual person the movie was based upon.

Contemporary Exterior by New York Architect Eisner Design LLC

He told us that we could not put a financing or home inspection contingency in our contract. He stated this would cause us to lose the home because the seller would not even want to mess with us! This is obviously a lie but also very bad advice! No contingency = the possibility of losing your earnest money deposit or forcing you to spend all of your cold hard cash on the house should financing fall through. It's very easy for financing to fall through, too!

Are there times when no contingency in the contract is good? In other words could the Realtor had made an honest mistake? The absence of a financing and inspection contingency in the contract is for someone willing to accept the home as is and that has the money to buy it in cold hard cash, period. This will make your offer more lucrative to the seller.

Our Realtor never asked us if we had the cash to purchase this home should financing fall through. So, he risked financial ruin for us at the most or at the least he risked a small fortune in losing our earnest money deposit.

This was absolutely not his risk to take! On top of that, he outright lied and said the seller wouldn't mess with us if we wanted a contingency. He obviously thought we were too stupid to know this since we were first time home buyers. It is common knowledge that if you are buying a home you automatically ask for those 2 contingencies to be included in the contract. So much so, that our current Realtor didn't even ask us if we wanted it, he already included it.

This angered me cause I had done some of the research already and knew that no contingency in the contract was a bad thing.
I told my husband loud enough so the Realtor could hear, no contingency, no house. I won't buy one without it.

My husband took me to look at the house and while we were out we found out that the listing agent had supposedly given us 30 minutes to put in our highest bid and we missed it so we lost the house!

He may or may not have been telling us the truth about that, but I've never heard of anyone being given that time frame to bid. I was so upset with myself because I already had become emotionally attached to the home. I blamed myself for losing the house.

Traditional Exterior by Coronado Architect Christian Rice Architects, Inc.

By this time we looked at dozens of homes and a lot of time had passed. I was exhausted by the home search. I was so scared of the house getting taken before I could even get a bid on it. I told my Realtor to put in a bid and get a contract ready on a house that I found online. I told him I would look at it during the inspection period. This was really stupid I guess, but I was exhausted and if you had seen how many houses we lost you might have understood.

This didn't work out because now days had gone by and the Realtor finally got back to us and told us he had been out of town for business. We tried again and this time he was out of town for pleasure.

I was kind of happy and upset at the same time. I was upset cause no matter how hard we tried to get a home they just kept slipping through our hands or our Realtor was too busy for us. I was happy cause this allowed me to find a new home that was available and it was so cute! It was in a nice neighborhood and the whole neighborhood was lined with red brick streets!

Taditional Exterior by Mill Valley Architect Mahoney Architects & Interiors

The final straw with him was when he told us we could not bid on the home. It was unavailable, and that there was a waiting period of weeks before we would be able to even put a bid on it. He said the listing agent themselves had said this to him and that he was going out of town (again) so he would not be able to help us for awhile, and thanked us for our patience!

I told my husband to speak with the listing agent himself and see if the home was available, just for peace of mind, and to our surprise the listing agent had quite the opposite story to tell on this home. It was very available, and it was available now! My husband asked about a waiting period, and she told him, "there is no waiting period now, nor was there ever!"

Our Realtor needed a fire extinguisher cause his PANTS WERE ON FIRE!

I was so upset. My mind was swimming with the weeks upon weeks we wasted with this man. I had wondered why he would do all of this. What could possibly be his motivation to do all of this?

We decided we would just immediately stop all contact with this man and start all over. Eventually we found a house, it wasn't any dream house, it was plain and simple, but seemed to have the least issues, so closing would be faster than most homes we looked at already. The neighborhood was awesome, so we took it. We called a Realtor, he showed it, he made a contract, we signed it. No craziness, things just got done.

By the time we were finished with 2 less than ethical Realtors, I will not lie, I was less than trusting of our new Realtor. I had wondered if he lied about there being other bids on the home so we would increase our asking price therefore increase his commission, but what can I say, the way things are done in the real-estate game there is no way to be 100 percent sure if that is being done, and unfortunately there have been Realtors who have admitted this does happen, whether on the listing agents behalf or the Realtors. Either way, it's a tricky game in buying a home.

One last piece of advice that I can offer you is to find an exclusive buyer's agent. They are suppose to work for you and you alone so that there are no conflicts of interest. You thought your Realtor was already working for you and you alone? Haven't you been reading anything I've written so far? ;)

This doesn't guarantee that you will have a 100 percent honest Realtor but it is suppose to help up your odds in getting fair representation. I think the only way to get a 100 percent fair representation is to find a trusted family or friend ,who is a Realtor, or find one that will do a flat rate fee. This way you don't have to worry they may fudge on the details about there being other bids on the home so they can increase their net worth.

Let me add that there really are honest Realtors out there, and a lot of them work a lot harder for their money than average people realize. So, you may have a harder time finding someone willing to work for a flat rate, but it's not impossible.

Linking HERE.

http://itssoverycheri.com/2013/04/21/its-party-time-4-21-2013/

Narrow Hallways

2013-04-16T01:29:00.000-07:00

One of the secrets to a well designed home is to make use of all the space you have. You don't have to renovate, just learn to decorate with what you have. Some of the best designs come from homeowners working with the quirks of their home.

A lot of people neglect narrow hallways, not knowing really what to do with them. Don't let the fact that it's narrow, cause you to neglect the space. Decorating a narrow hallway can be the finishing touches to a well feathered nest.

via Apartment Therapy

deniot.com

Andreea in Brussels

Living Etc...

Sometimes, the best way to decorate a small space is to put all of the design into the floor, wall, and ceiling. Another words, leave out the photos and console tables, instead choose flooring in an interesting design. Moldings on the wall lend to the architectural detail, and choosing an interesting light fixture can finish off the space.

Spiffing Up a Plain Jane Home: Awnings

2013-04-12T22:27:00.001-07:00

Have a plain jane home? Awnings can be the perfect solution!

Traditional Entry by New Orleans Architect Bockman + Forbes Design

Traditional Landscape by New York Landscape Architect Susan Cohan, APLD

Traditional Exterior by Austin Architect Tim Cuppett Architects

Traditional Patio by Los Angeles Interior Designer Sue Firestone

Exterior by Dunlap Artist And Artisan The Metal Shoppe, Custom Metal Design, Fabrication

Traditional Exterior by Jenkintown Architect Asher Associates Architects

Spaces by North Hollywood Specialty Contractors Calshades and Awnings, Inc

A Lovely Pink Poplin Dress for Spring

2013-04-06T12:41:00.001-07:00

Just for fun. A tribute to one of my favorite shows, ABC's "Once Upon aTime."`

I love this watermelon pink poplin dress from E-Shakti! If you remember from my last review, they asked me to review a sample and my best friend "Ethel" was more than happy to volunteer. They asked again if I would like to review something from their new spring/summer line, and when I saw this amazing dress, I was more than happy to.

This time we chose Ethel's daughter to model the dress, and she looks so lovely and is a natural at it!

What I love about this company is you can choose the length, neckline, and sleeves. You can choose to keep pockets, or have them removed, and even can have embroidery removed from the dress if it comes with it. Sizing is custom or standard, it's totally up to you!

This time we went with standard sizing, and I think we miscalculated the size just slightly. If we had gone up a size, the collar would have laid flat, which is totally on us.

E-Shakti gets an A+ for this dress!

Tip: If you are curvy up top, go for custom size.

Trending: Flamingos

2013-04-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

SpringKorn Cusion Cover via IKEA

Contemporary Wallpaper by Other Metro Design Kist

Tory Burch Flamingo Chiffon Scarf via Shop Bop

Tory Burch Flamingo iphone case via Nordstrom

Lonny Mag

Southern Living July Edition, 2011

Tropical Pillows by Brooklyn Furniture And Accessories West Elm

Contemporary Artwork by Other Metro The Animal Print Shop

Jonathan Adler Is Now At jcp!

2013-04-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

If you keep up somewhat with the economical woes facing many retail giants, you probably have already heard that JCPenny aka jcp is seriously struggling and rumored to be on the verge of closing many stores and perhaps even disappearing from the retail scene altogether.

Apparently, they tried to revamp themselves by deeply discounting merchandise permanently, instead of keeping the steeply discounted sales they were known for. This backfired and sales fell even more putting them on the brink of retail suicide. Well, it was kind of suicide.

I don't really shop there but every once in a great while. I found it so sad, though, that something I've grown up with is joining the growing list of retailers failing and disappearing from the public eye due to the troubled economy!

JCPenny is fighting back, though and bringing names such as Martha Stewart and JONATHAN ADLER to their line! I love Jonathan Adler, but his designs are not, for the most part, in my price range. And when I say for the most part, I"m saying maybe I can afford a few of his plates for the table or something.;) This makes it 10 times more exciting that he's at jcp!

Here are some of my picks from his Happy Chic Line........

Btw...I see a lot more visits to jcp in the future. I hope they expand this line and follow suit by bringing in more relevant designers at much more affordable prices!

Last Minute Easter Round Up

2013-03-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

Wheat Grass Centerpiece +Washi Eggs via Centsationalgirl!

via Stylizimo

colour dipped marshmallows via idlewife

Crochet Easter Egg Holder via LVLY

Pink and Gold Home Office

2013-03-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

I have such a color crush on pink, white, and gold this year. Well, it actually started last year. Add in black and white and I love it so much more!

You can view where the items in this board are sourced from here at my Olioboards. if you'd like.

I just started using the service this week, so if you are on Olioboards then feel free to follow along and I'll follow you back!

Yellow Doors

2013-03-26T16:21:00.002-07:00

With every house we have look at, I always scope out it's potential to see if it can handle a yellow front door. I, for some reason, really fancy a bold yellow door with brass or contrasting hardware.

Sometimes a bold color on your front door can take your home from just ok.....to wow!

I found this UH-MAZING door on the blog live like you.

Traditional Entry from houzz

Traditional Exterior houzz

What about you? Do you favor a traditional door or lean more to a bold entry?

There are some amazing doors across the internet that I really wanted to share but they are from photographer sites, and a lot of times they don't appreciate their images being shared. I try to stick to blogs and such that generally benefit from a link to their site and appreciate it.

Pink and Green Whimsy Mood Board

2013-03-21T18:55:00.000-07:00

I'm still here! We moved to our temporary residence until we close on a house, so I haven't had time to post. Here is a mood board I've been playing around with for fun.

You can go to Olioboard, where I created it, and see where the items were sourced from.

For the items not listed on Olioboard, they were sourced from One Kings Lane.

Linking up here

How To Measure For Flooring And Square Footage

2013-03-11T00:30:00.000-07:00

If you are trying to figure out how much wood flooring you will need for any given room, the formula is simple. Simply measure the length and width of your room, then multiply them together, that is your square footage. Then, from there you will have to add on waste. From what I've read, waste is 5-10 percent of your square footage, but if you are putting your flooring down in a diagonal pattern, you will waste 15 percent. So, diagonal is out if you are trying to be economical.

Home Depot wood flooring

So, for example, if you have a 13x20 foot room then you do this:

13x20= 260 (square ft).

10 percent of 260 is 26. (is your waste)

.10 X 260 = 26

Add your waste and square footage which is 286.

260 + 26 = 286

So, for that room you will need to order 286 square ft of wood flooring.

I realize this is simple math, but some people forget.

Dare to Design and Kelly Wearstler

2013-03-07T23:29:00.000-08:00

If you live in the decor/design world, then more than likely you know about Kelly Wearstler. The media has a love affair with her. I think most of us love her, but I'm sure others not so much. Think of her designs as you will but if there is one thing you can not call her, it's timid and afraid of design. I happen to admire some of her work, better yet adore it. Not only does it resonate with my own tastes but it inspires me to quit being so timid in my own life and just. live. life.

This brass hand chair is to die for! I've been looking for one that isn't a million dollars and I love the brush stroke wallpaper in coral.

Too many times interior designers/decorators and bloggers (whatever you want to call yourself), myself included, live afraid to unleash themselves and reach their true potential. What many of us don't realize is that interior design/decor is more than just adorning a place, it's a way to express yourself and to convey a mood or atmosphere. It can be art at its best.

Love the color combo of raspberry, lemonade, and zany black and white stripes.

Why do we go through our lives as designers/decorators with a nice, but safe, and dare I say somewhat dull, home, only to go online and drool over photos with daring elements and bold color. Oh, if we could only be so brave to live in a house like.........

Why can't we, better yet, why won't we? You have one life, do you really want to live it safe all the way? . Do you really not want to see what type of potential you really have? What is stopping you? Are you afraid someone might not like it? I hate to break it to you but there are always people that won't like what you do with your home. I'd hate to say I lived my life timid and afraid of expressing myself in favor of what is safe and yes, dull at times (I'm speaking to myself on this) over a matter of some nay sayers.

via Complex Globe Magazine

A personal challenge: When you have time all to yourself, look at different interiors that speak to you, find the ones that pop out over and over, whether it be mixing colors, bold patterns, or whatever, and change something in your home that you always wanted to try, but were too afraid to. Pick a room or a corner of a room. I'm taking myself up on this personal challenge when I'm moved into my new home and if I have the time, this week for a project I was a little timid in trying.

Kelly Wearstler foyer

Linking up Here
http://www.lizmarieblog.com/2013/03/inspire-me-please-linky-party-1/
http://www.serenitynowblog.com/2013/03/weekend-bloggy-reading-link-up_8.html

Acheiving Successful Color Schemes in Our Homes

2013-03-04T01:00:00.000-08:00

Sometimes coming up with a successful color scheme can elude the best of us. What starts out as a fun and energetic color scheme, can soon become too bright and too energetic, wearing us out day after day. Our brains, I believe, are designed to seek balance. Although I, unlike most of the design world, do not subscribe to "rules," there are guidelines that can be helpful in helping a homeowner create a more restful nest without compromising your tastes.

{photo credit: Stewart Shining / Domino Magazine}

Try the 60-30-10 "rule"....

60 percent of the room is one color (usually the wall color), 30 percent of another (the furniture, usually), and 10 percent is your accent color, seen in your accessories. In a kitchen it would be 60 for wall color, 30 for cabinetry, and 10 for accessories. I think this works for the most part, but I think many designers break the 10 percent part of the rule, I know I do. I think it could be too safe (depending on the mood you are going for) and very boring to only have 3 colors in your room. Yes, you can vary it up by imparting different shades, tints, or tones of the same color into the accessories, but even that is too safe for me at times. I agree with others who have said that you can bring in many complimentary colors in the 10 percent of your room, and this works, as long as it is part of the 10 percent.

Domino Magazine via Brides.com

Use The Color Wheel

When picking your dominant color, try complimenting it with your second color opposite of it in the color wheel to bring balance. If you were to do a bold color scheme in your room you could use red and it's opposite, which is green. This brings balance to your poor eyes. You could vary it by picking different "shades" of those colors, instead. Notice in the above photos how pink and green are opposite on the color wheel. Well, red is it's opposite, but pink is a lighter "shade" of red, or more accurately, a tint of red. This theory still works when using different "shades."

Go Monochromatic

Choose one color and vary it in shade, tones, and tints. It creates a soothing room when paired with neutrals, but you can try any color you like.

Charles Allem Designs

Linking up with these lovely ladies: HERE

Shopping Discount For Design Fluff Readers

2013-02-26T15:50:00.000-08:00

If you guys remember, E-Shakti, a clothing company that sets themselves apart from others by offering personal customization, gave me an article of free clothing to review. The review is HERE.

Anyhow, they've offered design fluff readers a 20% discount for a limited time off of their order. You can use the promo code as much as you'd like til it expires, which it's good through March 20, 2013. I do NOT get any kickbacks from this, it's all for you guys! Promo code is: DESGNFLFF

Enjoy! :)


One dress, three ways, customized to your curves.

Scalamandre Zebra

2013-02-25T02:46:00.000-08:00

I've mentioned before that I"m sorry for the lack of creative posts and posts period. We are moving and house hunting all at once! It's not the way it's suppose to happen so we are so very busy right now.

In between learning about every type of mortgage loan and scoping potential properties, and a bazillion other things, I'm designing a home office and living room for my next home.

That's my down time, my rest time.

Kate Spade Bathroom

One thing that I'd really like to add to my home is the Scalamandre Zebra print! It's a classic. Depending on the house, costs, etc.... I may choose to wallpaper a small room, reupholster a chair, or maybe all my budget will afford is a couple of throw pillows. Who knows, maybe it's going to be too expensive all around. I've heard rumor the fabric can be 2,000 USD a yard! I'm hoping that's not true *fingers crossed*.

I'm pretty sure you can find this in the December issue of Elle Decor

Scalamandre Throw Pillows

Royal Tennenbaums Scalamandre Wallpaper

Traditional Home

Kate Spade is a fan of Scalamandre Zebras, via her dressing room:

Kate Spade Dressing Room Scalamandre Zebra Wallpaper in Red

DIY Geometric Hanging Pendant Light

2013-02-22T03:30:00.000-08:00

One DIY project that I had on my list was a geometric shaped light fixture. I did a little digging around and found Kelly from a View Along The Way and her talented hubby, who had already attempted and successfully created one. When I saw all of the complicated work that her hubby put into it, well let's say I just shied away from the project.

One awesome thing about this project is that they give enough info for you to make one yourself if you fancy yourself savvy.

She also has them for sale for only 139.00 dollars which is awesome cause like she points out on her blog, the Ralph Lauren design goes for a few hundred smackaroo's more.

** I wasn't paid in anyway to endorse this. I just love how her project turned out and am seriously thinking about buying one, if I ever get this house buying process finished.**

New Countertops and Radon?

2013-02-17T01:00:00.000-08:00

We are looking at counter-tops right now.

I was looking more into quartz counter-tops because not only are they non-porous, but they are low maintenance, stain, heat, and scratch resistant, and they have beautiful shades of white to choose from. Not to mention, I don't hate granite, it's very nice, but in my opinion, too over done for me.

Quartz Counter-top by Caesarstone in Puro 8141

I remember when I was looking at granite several years back and came across something by Dr. Mercola mentioning that when shopping for granite, you should be aware and prepared because the counter-tops can emit radon. Yikes!

Then, today I read a Dr. Weil article where he mentions the very same thing. I then looked up quartz only to find out that some quartz also can emit radon. To be fair, some studies say some quartz emit very little to no radon and that some granite emits very low levels. Which types of quartz that is, they didn't mention, but the worst offenders for granite tend to be from the more exotic types from Brazil and Namibia.

Quartz Counter-top by Caesarstone in Misty Carrera 4141

There are various studies, from the little that I read, and so it can get confusing, especially when some studies are funded by the people that stand to gain something from it.

From what I read quartz tends to be the lesser of the 2 evils, and I am going to see if I can find which manufacturers test their quartz and certify it radon free. If I can't find one, then I'm going for a radon risk free option. Limestone, soapstone, and marble are said to be free of radon risks. Who knows maybe I'll just go for wood, it's beautiful and cheaper if you DIY.

Update: The company, Cambria, sells radon free quartz countertops.

I'm not saying don't buy quartz or granite, I'm saying become more informed and go with what you are comfortable with. I personally love the look of the quartz above, I hope that we can find that it is radon free and bring it into our home.

Here is an article by the NY Times on granite and the risks involved.

What about you, do you feel comfortable with quartz and/or granite?

Linking Up Here.

An E-shakti Review, The Good and The Bad (black dress)

2013-02-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hi, guys! I want you to meet my best friend, “Ethel.” Ethel agreed to be my model for the E-Shakti review that I agreed to do several weeks back. E-Shakti is a clothing company that sets themselves apart from everyone else because they will customize anything you order from their site according to your measurements! They carry sizes 0-36W and you can customize according to length, sleeve style, and neckline as well! That is my favorite part about what they offer, and is precisely why I agreed to do the review. They’ve been featured in many popular magazines, including some of my favorites like, O’ Magazine, Vogue, and Glamour!

E-Shakti offered me an article of clothing, or sample, of my choice for review. We ultimately chose the draped toga dress in black. It takes about two weeks to receive your order, which to me is very sensible considering it’s customized to fit you.

When I received the dress, what I liked immediately was how well it was made, which is something I’ve heard before in other reviews of the company. They definitely are a company of quality and craftsmanship. However, unfortunately for Ethel, the dress was too big, so she was a little uncomfortable modeling it.

We discussed taking it in, but I ultimately felt I probably should review the dress how we received it. So, Ethel bravely put it on despite how baggy it was on her. We also thought about sending it back to try again, but that wouldn’t have been fair to the company if we were at fault for giving faulty measurements.

It’s possible the measurements were messed up on Ethel’s end. For instance, she was a little confused about how to measure the shoulders at one point and her measurement was way off! I want to be very transparent and say that she did have her husband measure her 3 times before sending in her measurement, though. That being said, neither one of us felt comfortable in making the call on who was at fault.

I also would like to add that I was disappointed that the dress really didn't look a whole lot like the one on their site. Perhaps it has something to do with the measurements being off. I do know they have a whole slew of happy bloggers whose outfits look amazing, so I'm not throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Sometimes mistakes happen with a perfectly good company. I know it has for me with other companies who I was otherwise very satisfied with.

The mishap has not shaken her confidence (or mine) from trying again. There are several 50’s type dresses that E-Shakti offers that she absolutely adores and plans on ordering, and they now have new dresses up for Spring that are so cute! I’m completely jealous of the bloggers that are getting chosen to review an E-Shakti dress from their Spring line!

Here is my favorite pick from their Spring line:

The above dress would be to die for with a fuller skirt. Hint, hint, E-Shakti.