GORGEOUS SHINY THINGS

The Pink Eye

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 06:36:10 PST

I know I am being terribly unoriginal here,

but I made you a Valentine's Montage of my favorite pinkness (and some redness too).

Hope your day is filled with hearts, happy sappy things and hopefully some lovin'!

Peace out lovers! Off to primp. I got me a hot date tonight!

via

Color, Stuff, and High Fives

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 06:37:45 PST

Oh spring! You are so close!

I am itching for the warmer days and pops of color to start blooming. I have been enjoying the mild winter we have had up here in Boston, despite the random flurries this morning. It has been so mild that I have been having these weird flashes of feeling like Christmas hasn't even come yet. Very strange.

Anyways, I am looking forward to a fresher pallate inside, outside and in my wardrobe:

First up, I love Jill's new Regency Velvet Pillows over at Live Like You.

How pretty are they?!!

My wallet got a bit caught up in my research, because I snagged these brights over at Furbish.

Valentine's Day present to myself? Yeah, that is lame excuse.

But how could I resist color popping awesomeness like so...

and chunky so...?

They are actually good motivation for the sweats that have become my daily go-to to get off my body.

If any of you see me wearing the above with a pajama/ sweats ensemble please bitch slap me.

Thanks.

On other fronts (the "Herrick House), this weekend is going to consist of a lot of this...

Spring Cleaning!!!

My husband's fantasy is for this to be our curb next week...

My fantasy is all about the plan we made that entails rearranging and editing the furniture upstairs.

(This is largely because my bedroom is finally going to get almost finished and a nailed down color scheme, similar to the following...)

paintings via here

I hope to have a ton of stuff to heave ho, so scan my curb if you are local

and have hoarding tendencies like me .

I think I will also be running a fire- sale on the blog next week too.

Now most importantly, I want to high five all my readers.

I cannot believe how awesome and supportive you have been this past week. I wasn't expecting all the emails with your kind words and advice, but let me tell you, they made my week. Thanks you all for helping me focus on my priorities. Some of you made me cry with your own personal stories, and I can't tell you how much it means that you shared such words.

I never expected that this blog would be and do all it has for me, and the fact that I have all of you to thank for it is enormous. I hope I keep can making you laugh, inspiring you and being somewhat entertaining in return.

You are the best!

Danika

Today at work...

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:11:59 PST

I got to play with a bunch of new O'verlay prototypes. We having been working with thicker material and coming up with some new concepts and products, and I thought I would sneak you a peek.

One we will have available soon is "Decorative Corners."

1/2" thick corners to be exact...

A big part of my job is product development. So I spend a lot of time drawing patterns and having samples made. Then the fun part, testing. Sticking them to everything in my house, testing different adhesives, letting my kids beat the crap out of them trying to knock them off.

Here is my metal Crate & Barrel Parsons desk before (welcome to my laboratory)...

And with a little super glue tester...

Held really well. Joe had to kick it reallllly hard to get to get it off.

We still have some revisions we need to make before they go on the site.

We want to use these for anywhere you have a 90 degree angle that needs dressing up.

And we have some mini corners for the LACK.

(Yes, there is a blinding amount of O'verlaying going on below.)

So that is a portion of my fun today! I would love to know what you think of these babies. We will have them up once the kinks are worked out.

And I almost forgot to tell you... O'verlays is running a 15% off sale

thru 2/15 in honor of Valentine's Day.

Use Coupon Code LOVE15 at checkout!

Also, thank you for your comments on yesterday's stress post. You gave me lots of good ideas, and we are tackling the basement this weekend.

(I might just get my husband a dumpster for Valentines Day.

Sadly he would seriously be turned on by that. He is a Spartan.)

Trying to avoid the eye twitch

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:23:11 PST

I hope I don't bore you with this post. I am at a critical point though, and although I don't air much personal stuff out here, I feel I need too. Life is super busy, good busy and crazy busy. I am trying to find a balance between running a business and taking care of a family, and there are plenty of days when I feel like I am failing in one department and can't please everyone. Bigger than that, I have struggled for eons with getting organized. I am actually amazed at how much I can accomplish in my crazed ADD world, but it is usually at the expense of those around me. My husband especially.
I know I drive him bonkers with my piles, lists and lack of systems (not to mention freshly painted everything thanks to all my blog projects.) More on this later.

Something feels like it has to give. So lets get real crazy...

Over the weekend we entertained the idea of moving. down the street. again.

1 Realtor + 1 Designer = 2 Nut Cases

(It would be the 3rd move within the 400 meter red circle. We are SICK, I know.)

We actually lobbed an offer in last week on a cute house with lots of potential. We had to decide by today if we were going to step up and play "highest and best".

I know I said I am NOT moving again. As much as I don't want to upheave and experience the stress/ eye twitch of moving with kids like the last 3 times, there was something cathartic about starting fresh (and as my husband promised: NEW kitchen and baths. Ones I don't have to renovate with just paint.)

The new house would be a gut job. It needs everything, so it would be truly a clean slate.

We could make it our own.

Also, it would be a slight financial savings as well.

My husband is all about the numbers, I am all about the paint and tile.
And it would give me plenty to blog about.

But this brings us back to my first sentence.

Life is super busy (I mean really busy- where I am starting to feel a bit like my tank is on E).

Can we actually pull off a move/ remodel with both of us running our own businesses, 2 kids that I already feel like I am neglecting, and having to get the current house toned down (goodbye squiggle walls) and staged to sell all in a matter of months?

Probably. We both do best under pressure. But really. Can we?

After 2 days of pros and cons, reno budgets and number crunching we decided to stay put. For now.
We are going to give "El Rancho" another shot at greatness. But we both realize there is going to be a lot of compromising. Moving for the sake of a clean organized slate or a new shower is just an illusion, a distraction from other stresses.
We could do that here. Throw shit out. Renovate a bathroom.

I realize a lot of my stress is from my disorganization and time management. My work world has been much better since I moved into my new office upstairs. The funny thing is there is still 75% of it downstairs in my old space. I realize most of it is unnecessary crap I don't use, so yes I can get rid of things. I need to now figure out how to do that with every other room in my house. I need to actually figure out how to make those room work better, not just look pretty. Less is more.

So, now for the hard part. Doing it.
I just want to know from anyone out there that is or has been in a similar situation- what is your advice? How do you run a business, take care of kids a husband and a house and take care of yourself? Especially when what I really want to do is take a nap.

Thanks for letting me vent.
Back to more pretty stuff that makes my brain tingle -in a good way, not a stroking out way-tomorrow.

XO
Danika

Perfection in a Small Space

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 07:41:20 PST

I saw this Key West cottage decorated by Blair Gordon in the latest Coastal Living (thanks Aunt Andrea!) and I am just in love with this kitchen. As a person that tends to gild the lily, I have to say this is so refreshing all white.

I would probably wind up eventually painting the floor or ceiling, but it really is perfect as is.

I love the capiz globe chandeliers and the tile to the ceiling (which I have been seeing everywhere)!

The entire cottage is only 800 square feet and they have 3 kids running around in there. I know it is a vacation home, but it seriously has me wanting to downsize.

And its a pink cottage!

More floor to ceiling tile, and you know I love that vanity!

Great boys room.

If my kids weren't daredevils and didn't already do split kicks jumping from there current beds

I would definitely do bunks.

And a fun giant upholstered headboard makes a small space seem a bit more grand...

What about you? Could you do small?

Would like to try...

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:50:34 PST

This. For the floor.

Source: google.com via Danika on Pinterest

How happy would I be?

I have 2 rooms with old linoleum that are going to need updating at soon point...

I am wondering how hard it would be to with a chop saw, basic pine 1x6's sanded really well, and then using this VERY EASY fab weathering technique from Frugal Farmhouse...

this...

to this...

$64, for real!

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:38:30 PST

I haven't been over to Urban Outfitters for eons! I always forget that they have lots of great inexpensive trendy filler for very little coin.

It is kind of like shopping at Forever 21 for me... I always feel like I'm bit too old to be there. I know damn well I would look ridiculous if I bought an entire wardrobe there, but I can always get a cheap bit of sass that helps me feel not so mommy dinosaur. Anyhow, ditto goes for my house.

So here is a great little gem, and the best part about this brass number?

The price.

$64! yes. $64.

Brass Tiered Pendant

And I leave you with some other bargains.

The Ritz Empire Headboard

$598

Pillows in general...

And some brightly colored tapestries that are $39. I suggest making into some slipcovers, drapes, pillows... whatever...at around 100"x84" you can't get fabric that cheap.

This Peacock and Tree Tapestry

Yarn-Dyed Tapestry...

Geo Striped Tapestry

Floor to Ceiling Goodness

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:21:22 PST

There is really nothing better great natural light. Even the most beautiful spaces can look drab if the windows and lighting suck.

I have always wanted big, tall true-divided light windows. They are on my wish list...

via Cococozy

love this studio space....

via Country Living

I remember watching "The Holiday"for the first time and just being in love with the windows in Amanda's home...

via Hooked on Houses

Ah, one day!

Bathroom on the Cheap/ Lipstick on a Pig

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:30:43 PST

I received a lot of questions and emails about the bathroom I featured yesterday. I decided to do a post to help answer them and to hopefully inspire anyone else out there that is stuck with a "dated" bath.

We have 2 of these lovely 1960 era baths.

One day our big plan is to renovate and make both baths into one master bath and add a second full bath using a corner in our family room that is right near the bedroom hallway.

UNTIL THEN something had to be done.

before picture taken when we were looking at the house to buy,

sorry it is so blurry...

#1 TILE

First off, we had bigger issues than the fact that it was chartreuse yellow. I knew the yellow could work since it was going to be a kid's bathroom.

It turned out the shower/tub had rot and mold.

There was no wall board holding the tile up on the first foot, it was all rotted and tiles were loose.

before

We had a contractor friend come in and tell us we needed to replace the first 18-24" of tile and fix the wall backing. I was really hoping he would say "Its crap, rip it all out!" (We did rip out the rickety sliding doors and replaced them with a white shower curtain.)

They weren't able to save much of the tile they ripped off, and I couldn't find a match so we needed to improvise. I found some glass sheets at a local tile store that had

the same citrus yellow with green so I snatched up 6 square feet.

In order to make it feel fresh we added inexpensive white squares around the 6" stripe as filler.

I had plans to add lots of white to the rest of the room,

so I crossed my fingers it would look all right . New grout helps too...

#2 WALLS

When you are stuck with colored tile you have a few choices when ripping it out is not an option...

-Paint it with a paint designed for ceramic.

-Choose a color scheme that makes it feel fresh for the walls. Pattern helps too by drawing your eye away from the tile. Stick with one or two accent colors, don't go crazy.

-And breaking all the color with white makes it feel fresh. You can do this with a white shower curtain, white towels or by painting your vanity white.

There is no hiding the fact that it is old tile, but you can put lipstick on a pig and call it Miss Piggy.

Just saying.

The walls had a shimmery white vinyl wallpaper on them. That go ripped off the day we closed. The walls eventually got painted with green and white horizontal stripes to tie in the glass tile.

#3 LAMINATE CABINETS

Good sweet mother loving gold and grey hell, I really can't think of one nice thing to say about these cabinets and matching counter. Just yuck...

I had been dying to paint these! Thank goodness for The House of Fifty article. I told my husband I had a new pattern and we were going to have to sacrifice the laminate in the name of O'verlays. He actually wanted to keep them as is since they were eventually going to be ripped out- IN A FEW YEARS! Being a designer, eyesores bother me more than most people. If I can paint them away, I will.

So I painted and O'verlay-ed.

I cleaned the cabinets with TSP to remove grease and grime and then lightly sanded.

I rolled on 2 coats of XIM primer, that stuff is the bomb. It sticks to everything!

Here it is with one coat, squiggles still slightly visible but better...

You can also use Rustoleum Countertop paint, except they don't have it in white. I used it when I did my kitchen counters and it is pretty awesome. No priming needed. It bonds to laminate.

I then painted them with 2 coats of white semi-gloss and faux painted the counters to look like white marble. See the tutorial here.

I added the "Grace" O'verlays to the cabinets using Liquid Nails Clear Silicone.

(They will be available in the next few days on the site. We had February 1st as the original launch date, but the article came out early.)

I also changed the hardware to antique brush brass knobs that were hand me downs to me from my in-laws...

I toyed with the idea of painting the sinks white using a kit, but I did this once before in an apartment I rented and it started to peel after 1 year around the drain. I also have 2 boys that love to play in the sink, so I sadly nixed that idea...

I had a literal scrap of Citron Imperial Trellis, so I squeezed a faux roman shade out of it.

I know it is a bit too narrow, so don't judge...

#4 MISCELLANEOUS

As far as vintage goes, I am all for it- except when it comes to a 50 year old crapper. Bleach, etc.... It got replaced. I prefer a fresh start and to know that when I catch my 4 year old fishing something out of the toilet the grossness is all in the family...

We also replace the ceiling vent. You don't want to know what the inside of one of those looks like!

10 pound dust bunnies amongst other things.

And lastly there is nothing like some good old elbow grease and Comet.

Hope that answers any questions! Let me know if missed any thing!

I have been dying to tell you...

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:26:42 PST

So... House of Fifty featured O'verlays.

I am really excited about this! I have been wanting to tell you guys and show you pictures, but we had to wait until it launched. As many of you know, I can't keep anything a surprise. I sneak peeks of all my projects, so I am really pleased with my self control at the moment. Rare thing.

Especially since I re-did a bathroom and a headboard and some other stuff just for this issue. (Part of the reason it was so crickets around here November-December. I was secret busy.)
And I so wanted to show you. And now I can.

A big thanks to Janell, she did such a great job on the article and is so nice to work with...

It gave me the big push I needed to get the gross boy's bath finished. Here is the before of my ugly laminate bathroom...

and the after using the soon to be released Grace pattern and lots of stinky laminate paint...

There is also a step by step before and after how to.

We found this old oak dresser for free on the side of the road and accepted the challenge. A little paint, some 2" Harper O'verlays and reclaimed hardware from a different dresser...

and some 1/2" thick Anne frames on the MALM...

Check out more here.

(pg. 66-75 since I stink at knowing how to link specific stuff)

Let me know what you think!

I will be back soon in a bit with some other stuff...

Thoughts on Acid

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:48:15 PST

Acid Yellow that is...

Not this kind...

although that could make for one terrifying blog post.

Hmmm... I think I will prefer my colors not to breathe.

Acid yellow rocks.

Maybe its the dead of winter and I need me some Vitamin D,

but it just the happy little pill any ho-hum room needs.

Small doses though, in splashes...

A complete acid yellow room can make you crazy.

Or so I am told.

(Don't think there have been many scientific studies on this, just the word on the street.)

Moderation...

Like these little chairs and pillow buttons here...

If you are thoroughly down this could help...

Not so acidy, and not so much- but it still works...

Best way to add it in? One of my favorite fabrics of all time-

Trina Turk/ Schumacher "Beauty Bark Print" in Sulphur.

You really can't go wrong with it as an accent. It plays well with almost everyone.

See what I mean?

And bonus... it makes tans even tanner...

Now go get some happy on.

Yay for the weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:54:28 PST

I so need a little down time away from the computer and work. I had a reality check yesterday while I was working in my office. My kids were in the neighboring room playing with the babysitter. I overheard this conversation ...

Joe (my 4 year old) to the BBsitter: "You pretend you're me and I'm Mom."
BB: "OK. Hi Mom"
Joe: "Ask me to play, OK?"
BB: "Do you want to play with me?"
Joe: "Not right now sweetie. I can't. I have to work on my computer. "

Daggers! Right in the heart!

I have had my ass glued in front of the computer all week trying to get brochures, CAD drawings and every other little annoying thing done that requires Photoshop and Illustrator and loads of hair pulling and the patience of Jove. I am so done! Need a break! And the fact that my kids are role playing my neglect only makes it all the suckier. So I am going to try to disconnect from it all for a day or two.

I hope you all have a great weekend! I leave you with some of my faves from Pinterest.

This reminds me of my childhood.

I used to read a book that had a stream in it and I always imaged it looked something like this.

Happy Deja-vu, I guess.

So cool. Would love to do this, but probably never will.

Ditto for this...

Peace out folks!

For all you list makers:The Whiteboard Alternative

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:31:52 PST

As a person with A.D.D., I cannot live without my list. I have about 5 floating around at all times, and I like to keep a master list in big plain site too.

In my new office I didn't want to add more clutter with a white board. I had a big mirror hanging over my desk and a bunch of whiteboard markers, so I improvised.

Works great, and much prettier than a whiteboard.

The only downside is now whenever I look at the mirror to check my list, I can actually see the overwhelm on my face and that I really need to tweeze the brows- need to add that to the list.

this next

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:19:55 PST

I have been banging my head against my cabinets wondering what to paint them for 2 years, even though I got the kibosh from the Mr. more times than I can recall.

( I block out "No" really well). What is it with men and wood anyway? And it isn't even real wood.

So, I think this is it...

Gloss. Navy.

Its the new fake wood.

Or so I say.

I have toyed with so many colors, from grays to bold persimmon, but navy works with my scheme and its a color but neutral all at the same time.
Here is some more glossy blue love that has me wanting to sign on the dotted line...

(navy and pinky lilac- my color combo of the month)

Not navy at all, but it has me rethinking my exterior door...

Boy+Girl LR

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:00:39 PST

Its winter, the time of year I am hyper-hyper focused on my house (mostly because I am in it all day). Now that my office is off the living room I am well aware of all the loose ends going on in there, and my ADD is wanting to finish them.

So between work I am bopping back and forth and tying down my color scheme. Blue (to make the men happy) and magenta/lilacs (to make me happy). The boy/girl scheme has had some teal and yellow babies too.

Here is where I am at. New painting underway...

the painted entry wall...

a new ottoman cover I am almost done sewing...

and a bunch of pillows I am still on the fence with...

I have a few more things to paint and stitch up, but the color scheme is BRIGHT and totally making winter more bearable. Hope to have this mammajamma finished by the end of the month.

T.G.I.M.

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:26:35 PST

Mondays generally suck, so lets celebrate that nonsense!

I have a new favorite drink, thanks to SOMA, a local restaurant... the SOMATINI. I recently went there with my niece Ashley to celebrate her birthday. We had one, went and got our nails did, and returned afterwards for a second. I am telling you they are really that good.

I decided to try to whip one up for myself this evening.

Super easy, and they made cooking dinner much more glamourous...

Blend a handful of cherries ( frozen or fresh) with the juice of one lemon and a bit of sugar.

Pour into a shaker with some ice and 1 1/2-2oz black cherry vodka (which I didn't have on hand because I never buy the flavor flave stuff, so I say vodka or gin- still tastes GOOD). Shake and serve with a twist, enjoy.

PS... Lime juice would be perfect too.

PPS... if you are lazy or don't have a shaker throw the booze and ice in the blender and have it frozen.

doesn't my phone take amazingly crappy photos????

"Fiona"

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:37:39 PST

Latest and greatest O'verlay. Hot off the press!

She comes in 7x29 1/4", 7x22 1/2, 7x15 1/4" & 7 12 7/8".

More sizes to come.

Get her here.

Hearts

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:46:01 PST

I found another pattern to obsess over thanks to Heather over at Love your Space...

Organic Compounds" by Kick.Stand.Press. is just plain kick ass.

sing it with me... awwwwesome!

I am also quite fond of their "Goodbye Seahorses".

Would love them on an acid yellow background for my boy's bath.

See more of their handiwork here.

My Office, finally.again.

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:48:26 PST

Thanks for your patience. I was so sure I would have this done on Monday, but instead I had a ton of "real" work do, so they makeover had to wait. I am really so excited to have this done, and I gotta say I'm way more productive in a pretty space. Here it is, the office (and guest room), where I spend about 16 hours of my day. I probably should just sleep in it too...

The inside of the closet office with its geometric faceted paint job.

my motto...

I can close the doors and it turns into a guest room. I painted thin gold lines on the doors to dress them up...

I have a second desk where I blog from, or if Cheryle or an intern is here they can sit.

I revamped an old bamboo bar cart to keep my crap on...

and the guest bed, aka where I can lounge and read mags in all my spare time.

I made the painting by cleaning my brush off everytime I changes colors on the facet wall...

I can't decide if I like the yellow Trina Turk pillow or the lilac Quadrille on the bed.

I needed new shams, so I used white cottom twill fabric and dabbed it with paint thinned with water...

I seriously want sheets like them now.

Can't be an O'verlay office with some O'verlays...

My other motto...

Slipcovered my desk chair.

It is so much better having my office upstairs. I still have the downstairs one, but that is now for painting, sewing and building crap. Also an exercise room. ha.

SO here is how you paint the wall all pink and magical...

You will need to do several shades of one color if you want to make it monochromatic, so I painted the walls a mid tone to make coverage easier. My base here is C2 "Mod", a pink lilac tone. I then chose the rest of the colors and lightened and darkened my mid-tone with either white or my darkest color, a magenta.

So I started laying in the design by just drawing a line. Duh, I know.

But all you do is have an axis point and have several lines come off it, and then each line ends at a new axis point. Kind of like "sun rays". See how each line connects to an axis? Just draw your first "sun" and have all the lines have different lengths, than make those end points be a new axis. Repeat, and as you go your connections will make lots of triangles.

When I was finally done I decided I was going to do 9 colors. This was largely because my largest "sun" had 8 lines and I didn't want to deal with a bitting colors so I went one over. I then numbered the sections 1-8 and "W" for white. ( sorry it is hard to see in this picture) It is kind of like playing dominos, you don't want the same number to touch. This gets confusing, so no drinking for this part!

I taped out all the #8's first. They were the darkest and would require 2 coats...

then I let dry and repeated and repeated...

A little tip, I was able to reuse a lot of the tape. (This process uses a lot!)

Finally, 6 hours later. My son was getting really P.O.'d. He kept coming in hourly with reminders of how long I was painting and comments like "are you ever going to be done?" or "why do you like to paint everything Mom?" He did at one point tell me it looked cool though.

A quick peek...

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 13:16:33 PST

because I totally suck at big reveals. Here is a glimpse into my new closet office. Totally girly, totally crazy and very pink. I kept the rest of the room sane and neutral. I will have the big reveal for you soon. Still working on a slipcover for my ugly black office chair and a few more things.

Going dark

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:52:36 PST

I finally just did it. I couldn't take my indecisiveness so I went to the basement, mixed up a bunch of leftover paint and made myself a dark charcoal brown. Neutral, I know. So not like me.

The starburst is no more. I am taking it down several notches, but I am gonna ramp it up inside the closet office. That baby is already coated with some pink and I have a long day of doing ahead of me.
I am fighting every urge to over the top this space. It is right off my gold squiggle walls living room, so it needs to be softened up. Be back with some good crap soon I hope. Thanks for all your guidance! Have a great weekend!

good stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:32:46 PST

Last night an I came home to a husband with the stomach flu, so I got him set up with some toast and ginger ale, put the kids to bed and camped out on the sofa. I caught up with a bunch of work and then did something I haven't done in ages. I read a magazine cover to cover (while enjoying a gin & tonic)- heaven!

Cheryle had given me some of her favorite reads from her holiday vacation week, and best was the February Veranda. Lets just get to the meat, shall we?

Dying over these walls, and ceiling, and curtains. I am never going to finish my office because I keep seeing more shit I want to do.

Windsor Smith's spread. Her game room in Ralph Lauren's Bone Black just does it for me.

Love me some high contrast.

This painted starburst mirror. And the hand painted ikat walls are pretty slick too.

These club chairs...

And that ottoman. It has my wondering if I can turn the queen mattress in the guest room /office into a giant tufted one. It can double as my lounge spot for spreading out paperwork and maybe I can throw a mattress pad on top for when guests arrive.

Also, the navy and black theme and that chair.

tonight!

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 06:44:20 PST

OK, I am super excited about this... Tonight the DIY Network is going to be featuring O'verlays on their new show I Want That. It airs at 9:30 pm, so watch along and have a fancy beverage with Cheryle and I. We are pretty pumped to start 2012 like this!

On other fronts (the office redesign), I am becoming obsessed with doing something like this,

Faceted Walls...

Any of these 3 Cole & Son papers do it for me...

I am very inspired and intrigued with this one. It would be easy to paint something similar in a crazy design on my walls...

Kind of a bit "Ice Queen"-ish..

And the wall in the right nails it, how cool is that?

ANd now back to reality.

I have everything basically in the new office (in stacks and piles), but I cannot commit to color or paint. Part of me wants to keep the big starburst walls, another part wants to change the color and pattern. Here is where I am at.:

This picture was taken from my computer. So I sit at a desk in that lilac chair- but behind me I also have an enormous closet that will house my printer, a desk for my laptop where I do my CAD magic, and all my junk. The wall in there has the opportunity to be insane and fabulous, and since the doors close I am going to stress the insane part. There is also a guest bed in here, so that way I can close the insanity and folks can get a peaceful nights sleep.

So, anyone have any suggestions? I only know that I want to keep my lilac chair. Maybe facet the hell out of the inside of the closet in girly shades of lavender and white, and make a pretty banded pattern on the outsides of the doors? Any suggestions, I need decisiveness please!

Hi Ya!

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:49:00 PST

Hello my lovelies! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and a great New Years. I have been working so hard at eating & drinking, being merry and growing a not so cute holiday muffin top that I neglected many things, like you guys. I am so sorry. I meant to post so many times, but I got distracted by kids and stuff (like eating and drinking). I just gave up on my pile of unfinished posts and decided to take a little unannounced blog break.

I am back now and I just wanted to say "thank you". 2011 was a really crazy busy year, and I am so grateful that I have you guys to share it all with. Blogs are strange things when you actually think about them. I am an open book by nature, so sharing the details of my life in this fashion is no big deal. You have all in someway or another been a form of support for me. From your encouraging or straight from the hip much needed honest comments, to being my sounding board for so many crazy ideas. You just need to know that reading your comments, getting a new follower or an email from you keeps me doing this. I so appreciate all of it, and just want you to know that. I only hope that I can continue to be interesting or entertaining enough so that you continue to come back here.

I have a whole bunch of projects and stuff to share with you this year. Lets just start today with a resolution I am working on... getting organized. Since starting O'verlays, life has gotten very busy and I constantly find myself wishing I was more organized. Time is precious, and I find I waste so much of it looking for things I misplaced. Even files on my computer! I have been working on my new office space and wanted to share some inspiration with you. They just get me excited about being neat, I can hear my husband laughing about that statement. So here are some I am loving...

clean and simple...

pretty and feminine...

a place for everything-YES!...

In my case I have a desk area against a wall and a big closet I am transforming into a workplace (and I am in the guest room to boot), so this is more my speed...

I want to bedazzle my big closet doors like this...

and make the inside into a pretty but organized space...

and possibly add some pattern...

Hmmm... I will keep you posted.

Glad to be back!

Danika

When I squint at my tree I see...

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:12:53 PST

As a lover of all things sparkly, Christmas lights are awesome in my book. I usually do white, but having kids has given me a new appreciation for colored lights. So much so, I actually bought a big pack the other day while I was out hoarding incandescent lights (thanks for the heads up Mom).

There is something beautifully "Lite-Brite" and retro about them...

So I added a poll to the top of my side bar. How do you light it up?

Vote. Please. I am just curious. And nosey. And bored.

And leave a comment if you have strong feelings on the matter...

GORGEOUS SHINY THINGS

The Pink Eye

Color, Stuff, and High Fives

Today at work...

Trying to avoid the eye twitch

Perfection in a Small Space

Would like to try...

$64, for real!

Floor to Ceiling Goodness

Bathroom on the Cheap/ Lipstick on a Pig

I have been dying to tell you...

Thoughts on Acid

Yay for the weekend!

For all you list makers:The Whiteboard Alternative

this next

Boy+Girl LR

T.G.I.M.

"Fiona"

*Hearts*

My Office, finally.again.

A quick peek...

Going dark

good stuff

tonight!

Hi Ya!

When I squint at my tree I see...

Hearts