Living Savvy

My Coffee Table Styling Options

2013-05-17T02:00:00.000-07:00

Oh TGIF!

As always a busy week.. but a very productive one at least on the design business side. A not so productive one on the design personal side. =(

While I was on my girls getaway last weekend, the hubs found the correct parts to assemble the amazing coffee table! Pardon the nakedness! I have not had a free minute to dress her!

So I have been searching for some inspiration. Should I go minimal or large grouping?

What would you choose?

via

Hopefully this weekend I can find some time to play around with styling. Although I lived without a cocktail table for 6 months... I might be living without something on it for 6 more!!

Have a great weekend!

Spray Painters Anonymous | Kim Macumber Interiors

2013-05-16T02:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Thank you Tiffany for inviting me over for a little Spray Painting refresher!

We finally have Spring here in New England and this always makes me want to just freshen up a little outside. After a hard snowy winter, everything is drab and dull.

Springtime also inspires me to have a little fun and not take my decorating quite so seriously!

So I painted the pots on my Front Landing!

Yes, I have these two helpers no matter what my project is!!

So here is where I started ... things looking pretty sad!

And, yes, I need to get a particular family member (my sweet husband!!) to PLEASE power wash the front steps!!

I will say that Boxwoods can hang tough during the winter. The pots ... not so much!!

This kind of reminds me of my girls' when they just get out of the Shower!

A fresh coat of Lacquer Spray Paint and A quick home made stencil with our street number!

The final look ...

Yes, my name is Kim, and I have a Spray Painting Problem. And it makes me Smile!!

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Thank you so much Kim for kicking off the next season of Meetings! I LOVE the new address number and seriously love your address... not to mention the red door!!!

Please visit Kim on her blog where she shares her amazing client projects and her house tour currently going on!

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And now let us all repeat the Spray Painters Mantra:

Friends, help me source all the items I am searching for but can not find.

Give me the vision to think outside of the box and remember the can of spray paint,

and bless me with the patience to let each of the coats dry before I move on to the next step!

Cookies and coffee are in the back! =)

If you need support for your spray painting addiction and would like to "attended" a meeting

please contact me!

We always love to know other addicts, and can always use more inspiration for our projects!

How To | Make A Concrete Planter

2013-05-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

Ever since we put a deposit on this house we knew we wanted to put pots on the driveway. After looking around at some pre-made options, we really were not happy with the selections available. So we decided to make them!

Step #1: Cutting Forms

I knew I wanted them to taper down to the bottom so I measured the space that they were going to go be placed to determine how wide and tall they would be. I wanted them to finish at 16" and taper 2" toward the bottom finishing at 14". I cut one side out and then used that same piece as a jig so they would all be the same. {To make one planter you will need 4. Please note that we made 2, so all things are for 2 planters.}

Step #2: Build Forms

After the sides are cut, cut the 2x4s down to the height of the planter. Mine was 30" tall. Then screw the 2x4s to the form sides leaving half of the 2x4 exposed. Once you can put all of the sides together, the 2x4 will make a corner. All of your form corners should line up, but if they don't you can fill in with a little bit of calking. Add a bottom to your form bigger than the opening and drill from the bottom into the 2x4's.

Step #3: Pour Concrete

We mixed about 2 bags of concrete at a time in the wheelbarrow with water until we had a thick mud consistency. We added some concrete to the bottom {ignore the pvc pipe... we attempted to use that for drainage, but it ended up just getting stuck in there!} about 8"-10" up. Then we sat the cardboard concrete form on top of there. I held the tube as the hubs added the concrete. I would recommend this be solid on the bottom next time. We found that concrete kept seeping in. Once there was enough pressure from the outside it stopped doing that.

You can see just minutes after water was trying to escape the form.

We troweled the top to smooth out the finish...

And then place some extra 2x4 to keep the shape. Over the drying period the perfect circle slightly collapsed... but we still liked it!

To make sure all of the air bubbles were out we used the mouse sander to gently vibrate the sides.

About 12 hours later this is what it looked like. And at 24 hours I unscrewed the forms and peeled the cardboard out of the center.

We ended up painting them a dark grey because they sort of got lost on the driveway. We just used a porch and concrete paint.

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Now it your turn to link up!

Outdoor Extravaganza | Plants & Flowers

2013-05-14T06:01:00.000-07:00

This is the first week of our 2nd annual Outdoor Extravaganza! This week we are focusing on plants and flowers to brighten up or transform your outdoor spaces.

Since moving into my brand new house last October we have been focused on the backyard... and by focused meaning staring at it willing that concrete and plants would just appear one day. Our front yard came landscaped bear-bone style, and we knew we wanted to change that too, but since it was done the backyard was first. But after Shauna asked me to participate I thought the front could use some sprucing!

The hubs and I have always love the modern look and straight lines so instead of just simply buying some shiny glazed pots we decided to make our own out of concrete.

I love this Horsetail Reed plant. It is sort of like a bamboo... but the stalk is just a little less thick. In a few months it will fill up the circle and be full.

We did two to flank the garages, and I would like 2 smaller ones to flank the doorway...

But the hubs would like one more larger planter on the right side of the garage.

What do you think?

Tomorrow I will have the full tutorial for these concrete planters....

and don't forget you can link up your plant and flower projects!

And check out the projects of these lovely ladies:

Carmel- http://www.ourfifthhouse.com

Dawn- http://inspiredlivinghome.blogspot.com

Tiffany- http://www.savvydesignwest.com

Barbara- http://www.markovadesign.com

Shauna- http://satoridesignforliving.com

Mother's Day Brunch Buffett

2013-05-13T02:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday!

Did you all have a wonderful Mothers Day?

I have to say that mine was great even though it was my idea to host a brunch for 12 people in less then 24 hours of returning for a 3 day girls trip! But despite waking up with a solid reminder that I am not 21 anymore {ie... a slight hangover from 2 days previous} I still managed to throw together a menu, grocery shopping and cooking! With a little help from my husband, and parents it was all ready in 3 hours!

The hit recipe for the day was these Goat Cheese Quiche with a Hash Brown Crust from Martha Stewart. {Recipe HERE} I did add some cayenne pepper, to the mix and some smoked paprika to the top. After reading the reviews some people said it needed some heat. I love it!

Another great dish was the shrimp and egg salad stuffed into avocado cups. This was a recipe I made up because I wanted shrimp and deviled eggs but didn't want to make both. It was a open and dump kind of day so I didn't take any time to write the amounts down.

I have to recreate this because it was so I will try to do it again and then share.

Overall a great success!

But next year I am going out!

Don't forget to join me and these beautiful 4 ladies for our

Outdoor Extravaganza Link Party on Wednesday!

I will be sharing my first project tomorrow with a tutorial on Wednesday!