A few readers wisely suggested using a navy sheet or blanket to cover the sectional and see if I liked it.  Others suggested Photoshop.  Both ideas were genius.  You would think with the amount of time I spend on Photoshop, I would have thought of the second one.

So, I have this cute whale print throw with a dark blue back side.  I threw it over the end of the sectional nearest the yellow chairs.  It is not as dark or navy as the Ink Blue (see the comparison below), but it is the closest I’ve got.  I definitely like it.

I continue to worry the Ink Blue will be too dark and read as black in poor lighting.  Maybe a lighter blue, like the stand in throw, would ease those fears.

Too bad I don’t have a good stand in for the Lagoon color for comparison.  That’s where our friend Photoshop comes in.  With a few clicks, I was able to make these crude mockups of the sectional in Ink Blue and Lagoon.

I was shocked by my own reaction.  I was certain my heart-strings would tug at the teal color.  But, after seeing the mockups, I was in love with the navy.  It looks amazing with the yellow chairs and the bamboo wall.  Just as many of you suggested, the navy allows the ottoman and yellow chairs to show off.

Excited with my mockups, I showed them to my hubby without revealing my favorite.  He chose the teal.  He did not even think about it.  The second he saw the teal, “ooh” slipped out of his mouth.  Well, now what?  We are at a stalemate.

My hubby gave in quickly to the navy.  He does not think it is that big of a deal.  I explained that it would be an order for 20 or more yards of fabric.  To me that is big.  He said, “It’s an expensive decision, not a big one.  Either one will be fine.”  He is probably right.  If we love them both, we probably can’t go wrong.

I am so glad I did this little exercise.  I have to admit I am totally nervous about ordering about 20 yards of fabric to recover this sectional.  I haven’t even begun to think about actually recovering it.  I plan to do it myself.  The sectional has a pretty simple boxy shape.

Which color do you like best?  Did the mockups change your opinion?

His perfect cup of coffee requires quite a few things to get it right. There is a teapot that permanently lives on our stove. There is the Aeropress with its various parts. There is a coffee grinder. And, of course, we keep a few kinds of coffee on hand. Oh, and don’t forget the coffee mugs. Needless to say, our counter was getting quite cluttered.

The decorator and organizer in me needed a solution. I tried hiding it all away in a cupboard, but it is just used to frequently…meaning things got left out on the counter anyway. Instead of getting frustrated or annoyed, I decided to come up with a workable solution to keep the counter looking neat and have the coffee close at hand.

Enter the tray. Seriously, a tray can fix 99% of cluttered messes. Everything looks neater on a tray. I topped the counter with a large bamboo framed, stainless steel bottomed tray large enough to hold all the coffee-making accessories. That alone made everything better.

To take it up a notch, I added  wood-lidded glass jars to store the coffee beans. They are almost the perfect size to hold a full bag of coffee beans and have a rubber seal under the wood lid to keep them airtight. We keep three types of coffee on hand, so I used three jars. Two hold kinds of whole beans. The last holds ground coffee…for when we don’t want to make noise with the grinder, like really early in the morning.

I added a rectangle of chalkboard vinyl to each, making it easy to label and relabel them when we get new coffee.

The tray is also large enough for the coffee grinder. We have had good success with this cheap Mr. Coffee grinder. I like that it is small. The rest of the tray holds all the Aeropress accessories. There would be room for sugar and cream here, too, but my hubby drinks it black.

The last thing on the list to make this a fully functioning coffee bar is a place for the coffee mugs. Again, we use them so often it just seemed ridiculous to keep them behind cupboard doors. I wanted them easily accessible, but off the counter.

We also wanted to see our coffee mugs. We have been collecting Starbucks mugs from different cities. The collection isn’t all that exciting (we did not have to go far for the Minneapolis mug), except when you notice the two on the end. Those two are not used. My hubby picked them up in Saudi Arabia and Qatar when he was deployed. They are irreplaceable.

While photographing the mugs, I noticed for the first time the Minneapolis mug is the only one with printing on the inside.  The City of Lakes.

To give the coffee mugs a display spot with easy access (for those we use daily), I mounted hooks under the cabinets. I did not want to drill anything into the glass tile. I used the Grundtal rail system from Ikea.  Instead of mounting it to the wall, I mounted it to the underside of the cabinets. I drilled holes right up into the cabinet bottoms and used small bolts and nuts to secure the rail. The bolts stick up just slightly inside the cabinets along the back edge.

It may not be everyone’s taste, but we love seeing these mugs out on display. Most of these cities are an important part of our life’s story from deployments, to vacations, to places we lived. I love having them on display.

The coffee bar is between the fridge and the corner of the kitchen.  It’s actually a popular spot in the house for me and hubby to sneak off too when we need a moments break from the craziness of kids in the living room. I just hide out in the corner periodically.  My hubby actually makes coffee while he’s hiding out.  About three times a day, you can find my hubby here taking a break and making a cup of joe.

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Almost a year ago, we had beautiful family pictures taken in front of the turquoise doors on the Our Lady of Victory Chapel at St. Kate’s University. I think I begged our photographer to do this session for years (I LOVE turquoise doors), but she wisely suggested we wait until the boys were both walking.  We already have several smaller portraits for the session displayed in our living  room gallery wall.  We also used them on last year’s Christmas cards.

Anyway, we loved the pictures so much we ordered a large canvas print to hang above our dream fireplace. Now that the dream fireplace is on hold, I want to move forward and hang our family portrait. But without the intended fireplace below, our canvas portrait looks pretty tiny on the bamboo wall. It is not tiny at 24 x 36″, but recall the bamboo wall is 17 feet wide.

I needed to create some sort of faux mantel to display the portrait above.  I thought about adding a bookshelf between the yellow chairs, but bookshelves require styling. I do not want to spend a bunch of money on a temporary space filler. I prefer to save up money toward the dream fireplace.  Instead, I decided a simple picture ledge was the perfect solution. It would give us a place to display the canvas portrait along with some other art to give it a larger presence on the wall. Plus, DIY picture ledges are super cheap.

I followed Ana White’s tutorial to make a 6 ft picture ledge.  It was so easy and quick!  Seriously, even if you have never built anything before, you can make a picture ledge.

I painted mine white to match the trim color in the basement. The white ledge also pops off the bamboo wall.  I hung the ledge at the right height to make the center of the family portrait at eye level.  I nailed the ledge directly to the bamboo wall. When we are ready for the fireplace we can pry it off and fill the tiny nail holes.

I obviously have not styled the ledge yet.  The main piece will be our family portrait, but I plan to fill up the ledge and layer in a few other pieces.  The ampersand will definitely stay.  I found it on clearance at HomeGoods.  It was on clearance because it was breaking off its chunky wood stand.  I just pried it off altogether and like it so much better without the stand.

This project was so simple and quick, I have no regrets.  But if I were to make another picture ledge, I would change two things.  First, I would make the ledge deeper.  With the 1×4 at the bottom, the shelf depth is only about 3 inches.  Our gallery wrapped canvas is 2 inches thick which does not leave much wiggle room for layering, especially in front of it.  Second, I would probably make the ledge 8 ft long.  Our canvas is 36 inches wide, which covers about half the ledge.  In this case it is the focal point, so I am okay with it.  But, if you want more display space, longer is better.

This project is just the temporary fix we needed. We won’t mind looking at this shelf on our bamboo focal wall until we can someday get our dream fireplace. Meanwhile, we have an accent table DIY in the works for between the two yellow chairs.

In addition to the many DIY ideas I share here, I make it a goal to share quality DIY ideas with all of my clients. The Sunshine & Lemonade Screen Porch included some great DIY ideas. I link to relevant DIY ideas in the source lists of all my client mood boards.

But, you don’t have to be a client to see my favorite DIY ideas. A few months ago I revealed my secret board with hundreds of DIY ideas. Since then, I have split my oversized DIY board into several boards, making it easier than ever to find great DIY inspiration.

Follow me on Pinterest for a steady flow of DIY ideas.

DIY Lighting

DIY Wall and Ceiling Treatments

DIY Window Treatments

DIY Storage

DIY Furniture

DIY Art, Mirrors, and Wall Decor

And, the original DIY ideas board remains the catch-all for DIY Decor.

I pin DIY ideas that are beautiful, easy, and/or totally unique.  I carefully choose the DIY ideas I pin to make sure they are quality projects with complete tutorials. I have 45 Pinterest boards, but pin to my DIY boards more than any other. Follow me on Pinterest for a steady flow of DIY ideas.

Have you written a post with a tutorial for a great DIY project that I haven’t pinned yet? I’d love to know about it and add it to my boards. Please leave a link to your post in the comments below. Please understand I will only pin quality DIY projects, with great pictures, and thorough how to information.

The Pin Board is a great way for me to share all my product recommendations and DIY ideas for a space on a dedicated Pinterest board. My clients get a custom round-up of product recommendations and DIY suggestions specific to their space. They can view, repin, and share the board. In addition, since it’s a public board, all my Pinterest followers can see the board too, meaning they have access to the sources, as well.

Robin already had fantastic patio furniture to start with including two chairs and matching love seat, as well as a dining set for four. Other than that the screen porch was a pretty blank slate. Robin had some great ideas and suggestions to get me started.

The budget for this space was a $1000 or less. In addition to great affordable buys, I included lots of DIYs. I am so excited to share this board with you, because it might inspire a porch or deck makeover of your own.  (Note: Outside the $1000 budget I made a few more suggestions for Robin’s outdoor patio next to the screen porch.)

I focused on bringing the sunshine & lemonade into this daily dining and lounging spot. In addition to the obvious yellows, I brought in some fun turquoise and teal along with lots of bold pattern.

You can view the entire board here.  The comments on each pin contain my suggestions for Robin on how or where to use the product or DIY idea specific to her space. Check it out on Pinterest to view all the details, get the sources, and repin your favorites.

Favorite Ideas

I want to highlight a few favorite ideas from the Sunshine & Lemonade Screen porch.

1. Spruce Up the Patio Furniture

Target has a wide selection of replacement outdoor seat cushions available online. They carry a small selection in store, compared to what they offer online. I recommended Robin swap her love seat and chair cushions for these fun yellow ones.

2. Outdoor Wall Decor

Wall decor for a screen porch is a must.  It should still be outdoor friendly, but won’t be as exposed on a screen porch. Options for outdoor wall decor are limited, but with a little DIY savvy you can create your own. Robin’s board included a DIY wall clock. I also recommended a large ampersand sign. Clocks and ampersands are a few of Robin’s decor idols. For both the clock and ampersand, Robin can coat them with a product like Thompsons WaterSeal to make them more outdoor-friendly.

3. Bring on the Rope

Robin also likes nautical rope, which I included in several places for her porch. First, the rope is a subtle detail on a tray for the coffee table. I included DIY rope handle idea, too. A DIY rope vase is a great accent for the top of the tray. It can be used for a candle, a plant, or flowers. Lastly, to give the porch some evening light, I recommended string lights. To make them even better, I recommended this idea for knotted rope garland suggesting Robin tie a rope knot at the base of each bulb to make lighted knot rope garland.

Tell me what is your favorite element of the Sunshine & Lemonade Screen Porch?

And, don’t miss out on the summer sale and get a Pin Board of your own:

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.   I may receive a commission on purchases made after following an affiliate link.

I completed this little pick-me up project in less than half an hour. It makes me smile every time I walk into the basement and since it involves mirrors, it literally reflects sunshine into the room. Plus, I had fun photographing the mirrors and capturing different parts of the room in the reflections.

I spy a DIY geometric rug ottoman…

I spy a game nook with a modern turquoise pedestal table, a ton of DIY pillows, and a DIY upholstered banquette…

I found these square decorative mirrors for $10 at Home Goods ages ago. I just grabbed them because I likes them but had nowhere to put them at the time. They sat in the garage for over a year (hence the layer of dust on the before picture). When I ran across them again a few days ago, I knew they were the perfect shade of turquoise for the basement.

At the bottom of the stairs between the future pirate playroom and family room, there is a small angled wall. It is directly opposite one of the angled window walls in the game nook. For greatest light reflection, I love hanging mirrors opposite windows.  (Please ignore the day bed which is temporarily sitting where the media center will be.)

Instead of hanging these mirrors straight, aka the boring way, I hung them on the diagonal. I stacked the frames vertically. Hanging them diagonally is much more interesting. Instead of using the hooks on the back, which were not in the right place to hang diagonally, I hung the mirrors with 3M picture hanging strips.

But, they still weren’t interesting enough. I wanted some sort of edge detail. Since the wall they are on is angled you can see the edges of the mirror from the family room and future playroom. The edges were the same turquoise, but only about a half-inch thick.

I used washi tape to add an interesting detail to the edges. I took the mirrors off the wall and carefully added a band of diagonal striped teal washi tape to the edges. The washi tape was slightly wider than the frame edge, so I lined the tape up flush with the front edge of the mirror. I made small snips into the over hanging tape at the back edge and folded it over onto the back of the frame. I re-mounted the mirrors on the wall.

Ah, better. I now have interesting mirrors hung diagonally on a diagonal wall and embellished on the edge with diagonal stripe washi tape. Hooray for diagonals and simple projects!

I finished these up quick and then spent the afternoon playing outside and doing silly things with my son.