Sneak Peek at DIY Roman Shades

So I have been trying to make my own custom DIY roman shades for our guest room upstairs. My hold up? Time. I keep getting caught up in other projects and commitments. So in the mean time I thought I would share with all the image above of where I am at with it. I need to sew my lining (it is pinned and ready for that), sew my dowel pockets (again pinned and ready), and need to attach all the loops, cords, and pull. But hey the front is done thus far, for both panels!

Full DIY to come as soon as I am finished.

Pieces You Love

All the rage in interior decorating these days are finding pieces you love, those that can withstand the test of time. That is why I purchased my Lee sofa from Tracery Interiors, I think it will be a versatile piece that will last me through trends and stand up against our daily abuse.

While our living space is not as I want it yet, I was reminded this past weekend that it just takes time. We lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for 4 years and it wasn't until the last year that I started loving the space we lived in. It just takes time.

This is the reminder I came across:

This was from our last apartment in California, it took 4 years of collecting thing and putting them together before I started having those moments of satisfaction just by being in the space. Even though I never completely got there because of the rules of renting, this space started coming close towards the end. (Just note this was at thanksgiving so I did not have the red table cover on everyday.)

So just remember when you are getting in a rush to get a room finished, it takes time. Keep old reminders handy in those moments of panic. And before making a big purchase ask yourself will I still want this in the room 5 years from now? We've had to purchase too many couches before we learned our lesson.

Feeling Royal

Over the weekend the hubs and I went to the movie "The Dilemma". If you have seen this or will see it pay attention to "the intervention" scene. The chair that Vince Vaughn sits in is to-die-for! Seriously. It had a royal blue silky fabric on it with a large bright floral pattern on it. If you have seen this chair on the web please share a link.

Days before I saw the chair I was finding myself drawn to royal blue items, are these all just fabulous? I swear if I were preggo, which I AM NOT ( I repeat I am not mom), I would be very tempted to make a modern nursery using the royal blue color.

Wouldn't these items make you feel royal too?

{ Liza Sherman Antiques Hand Blown Glass Blue Chandelier }

{Original Abstract Painting from Jen R}

{Koi Collection Rug from Rugs USA}

How about these fabrics? I just love the use of the blues and greens.

{Anne Selke's Happy Poppys in Bluemarine}

{Schumacher's Super Paradise Print in Pool}

{Schumacher's Peacock Print in Pool}

I love this color, but I am pretty sure it would not fit with the look of the rest of our home. Or would it? {Sigh} Maybe I should hire a color consultant before I start any new rooms. Or better yet I should probably first finish the ones I have already started.

Ottoman Envy

With the new arrangement of furniture it has become apparent to me I have major ottoman envy. I want some thing to be in front of our couch. Some where to properly place my feet comfortably. Problem is though our couch sits low to the ground so it will be hard to find one low, second problem is I am very picky.

Have you seen this lovely throughout blog land yet from Thirteenth & South? And don't you just love the room that the ottoman lives in too!

Or did you even see this beauty on One Kings Lane last weekend?

Call me crazy but I have some how convinced the hubs we should build and upholster our own! I promise to post the process as soon as this vision becomes a reality. Promise.

Support the Team

So if you are like me you probably have a hubs or bf that is into sports or rather if you live in the South it is part of who you are. With that though comes all these obnoxious colors that make decorating impossible.

I have been finding ways to incorporate my hubs and my favorite SEC team into our home without it being over the top and in your face, and need I mention obnoxious again. So last week I took his Auburn Tigers Dr faux street sign and gave it a faux treatment of my own. I did my best to make that baby look more vintage and less obnoxious.

All I did was wipe the sign down, spray paint it matte black, paint the raised letters with white flat paint, and then lightly sanded with 220 to give it some character flaws. I am excited I found a way to incorporate the hubs alma mater into our home.

DIY Lamp Shade

So I read a lot of blogs (a lot) and there are tons of great ideas out there! So last week I borrowed the idea of a do it yourself lamp shade from High-Heeled Foot in the Door, now Effortless Style.

I love the idea of taking a table runner to recover a lamp shade to make it look custom made!

First I bought all the items I needed: a drum lamp shade and a table runner (on clearance from World Market).

Then I gathered the basic supplies: glue gun, safety pins, and scissors.

After measuring the length I needed for my lamp shades I cut the runner into 2 pieces. I then carefully pinned the material on the lamp shade to get my pattern and pleats just so. I first glued the bottom portion on the shade since it was larger than the top, then I proceeded to tighten my pleats and pins already in place. I lightly steamed the pleats, then I proceeded to glue the top portion.

And viola! I have custom lamp shades.

So this set of lamp shades cost me $47 to make total. I am so excited that I video chatted with my mom to show her my creation. Yes I am just that much of a geek.

Gotta Have Shades

I am in desperate need of a pair of lamp shapes. I want something simple, just a drum shade that is 16 inches high so I can do a DIY project. But in my search I have not found what I am looking for, but I have seen several beauties that have caught my eye!

When did lamp shades become not boring?

Find all of these pictured: here, here, here, here, here, and here.

The French Bistro Chair Take Over

It seems like a few short weeks ago (okay maybe really 4 months ago) I started seeing these great french bistro dining chairs in blogland. Then suddenly everyone started selling these babies. I love them but have zero use for them. My question is are they just a trend or do they have the staying power to transition in today's home to "the next look"?

Restoration Hardware On Sale $99.00

Set of 2 from World Market $259.00

Set of 2 from Ballard Designs $299.00

Peir 1 On Sale $99.00

I feel sure there are tons more out there to be found. I have even seen some OLD ones in antique shops. Maybe I get one for an entry way or something.

Planning for Twins

{Stop the presses right there everyone!}

No I am not expecting twins, nor a single for that matter. {Sorry mom but that isn't in the plans right now.} I have a set of twins as a niece and nephew, and what feels like a dozen nieces and nephews to go along with them. With that said I have to dedicate a bedroom to children in our home seeing as how we have so many nieces and nephews, and not to mention almost all of friends have children.

So soon our office renovation will be complete and the temporary office will be gone, thus I'll have that bedroom back to use as an actual bedroom. I am planning on putting a set of twin beds in the room, I'm thinking XL twins for adult usage as well. With the beds facing what I am using as my everyday desk right now.

I am thinking is ivory/white quilts on the beds, with grey sheets or a graphic print, a great rug like this one, a green stool to slide under the desk, accent pillows in fabrics I love like the grey orange fabric and the turquoise here (this would make great drapes too), everything else I am unsure of at this point.

This room will be a challenge for a few reasons:

1. The twins are about to be 10 so they are no longer babies by any means, so nothing cutesy.

2. One is a boy and one is a girl. Not to mention the rest of the mix of children we'll host.

3. I want it to be adult friendly as well so if need be an adult will sleep comfortably in the room.

Seating for Two

For those of you who talk to us regularly, you all know we sold off most of our furniture when we made the jump from west coast to gulf coast. So that has left us living out boxes and in beach chairs until recently. Today I am excited that two counter stools I ordered arrived! Hooray! No more having to sit outside on our porch, unless we just want to do so of course.

I am debating on whether we need 2 or 4 stools. The bar area is quite long but the sink placement makes putting more down on that end seem like the space would be unusable. Only time will tell. I think I might order another set after I actually have a dining room table and chairs and then go from there.

I so badly want to just furnish this place, but in the end I know I will be happier if I just take my time and do it all piece by piece.

xoxo- Livin' the Gulf Dream

Look at What I Got

Go ahead and turn green with envy, I know I would if I weren't me. This past Friday I ventured back down to Tracery Interiors for the Rosemary Sidewalk Sale. Yes I bought something, and yes I love it!

We finally got us a couch and not just any couch but the most comfortable couch for lounging. I wanted white/cream & slip covered and the hubs wanted quality & comfort— we found it all in a Lee Industries couch from Tracery. I had spied the couch almost 2 weeks before hand and gambled that it would still be there for the sale. Lady luck was on my side because not only did I get the couch I wanted but I got it for 25% as well! Yes I felt like I won the lotto that day.

Thank you Tracery Interiors for making my day! While they do not deliver, they set me up with a great delivery company that had it to me the very next day.

Bedroom Transforms into Office

With both the hubs and I working from home we have to have a great working space. So the first redo in the house that we're doing ourselves is converting a bedroom into an office. The renovation is not complete but I thought I'd share with you all where we are at with it.

The room to begin with had bright tropical green walls and tan carpet. We began by ripping out the carpet to see what we had to work with under it. It was of course concrete covered in paint splatters from when the house was first built. OH JOY! My first course of action was to get an orbital sander and the biggest grit paper for it I could find. I spent over 2 hours sanding it on my hands and knees trying to get the paint splatters to break up. With my efforts, about 90% of it came up giving me a clean platte to work with for staining it. Yes I know I could have use some harsh abrasives to get it up and etch the concrete, but firstly we are living in the house so I did not want the fumes, secondly I did not want to hose down the floors with water afterwards and shop vac it all up, thirdly we don't have outside water I would use to rinse in my home— we only have well water for outside currently but this will soon be fixed.

After the sanding of the floors and a good cleaning of them, I tapped the baseboards and the first 3 feet of the wall up to protect it from overspray. I then grabbed BEHR concrete stain in Tuscan Gold, filled a garden sprayer with it, and went to town spraying the floors. Wow, Tuscan gold was less gold and more pumpkin orange. Went on more like paint and less like a stain too.

I stayed calm and did not totally freak out. I ventured back to Home Depot to grab more sand paper and a new color of stain, this time Desert Flagstone. I resanded the floors lightly this time around, only took about an hour or so and left the Tuscan Gold stain in all the grooves of the floor. The floor looked as though it was older and ironized or something. Can we say happy accident? After cleaning the floor I began applying the new color of BEHR concrete stain via a fine mist and hand blotting. Once my knees regained blood flow and the floor had dried over night, I applied a coat of matte BEHR concrete sealer. A few hours later I was pulling all the tape and plastic down getting the room ready for paint on the walls.

We wiped down all the walls with a damp cloth to get the dust off from all the sanding, patched a few bad places we found where the original paint did not adhere to the wall and after sanding that, vacuumed the baseboards and floors to assure dust was gone. The hubs caulked a few places that had separated in the crown molding, and after taking the fan blades down were we finally ready to paint.

We choose to go with Sherwin Williams color "Magnetic Gray". We went ahead and got a 5 gallon bucket as this is also the color we want in our master bedroom and bath. As we began to apply to paint I quickly remembered how hard it is to paint above your head since we started with the ceiling. You need at least two people painting a room, one rolling and one cutting in to hep make it look correctly.

The color went on a tad darker than I had anticipated as we were painting— it went on lighter than it dried. But in the end I love the color!

Our grand plan is to build a custom "U" shaped desk around the room with different working zones for us. It also will even have a place to slide in the great dane's kennel. I'll keep you all posted on our progress!

xoxo- Livin' the Gulf Dream

Dear Tracery Interiors, I'm in LOVE

have been dying to finally move to the 30A area just so I could visit Tracery Interiors. This past weekend the hubs and I ventured down towards Alys Beach and made a special stop by Tracery Interiors. The hubs hears me rant and rave over all sorts of items, most recently decor and home improvements. I have mentioned the blog and shop of Tracery a few times and how I love their stuff, it wasn't until this weekend the hubs actually started listening to my raves about them.

The shop is to die for! I wish they'd let me in their warehouse, I could just sit in awe for hours on end I think if they were to let me. See those fabulous green chairs in the postcard above? They were actually in the shop that day and let's just say I'd spend all of my monopoly money on them and several more items if I could right then and there.

I can't wait for the first weekend in October! I hear there might be a sale there as well as a great community yard sale in Seaside. Oh the joys of 30A, I am so in LOVE with it all!

An Entryway

e all need a place that is the "catch all" as you walk through the door. You know a place for the mail, keys, shoes, dog leashes, and so on. So I am hoping to have room make a space in our new home to fulfill this purpose. Here is what I am dreamin' about:

JC Penny Console table | West Elm Chunky Leaning Mirror | Crate & Barrel Green Stool | Urban Outfitters Rug | Owl Umbrella Stand | Crate & Barrel Green Table Lamp | Urban Outfitters Coat Rack | Bee Painting from Etsy

So it is a start of my dream entry. I might have to lighten or brighten the paint color in the hall and maybe even have a hint of shimmer to add light to the space. We shall see! Or dare I say we go white or ivory through such a high traffic area...

xoxo - Gulf Dreamin'

Porch Dreaming

{The beauty above is from last year over at Pottery Barn.}

I am dreaming of the covered porches we'll have once we sign on the dotted line for our house. I am in love with the idea of a bed swing on the porch. I think it might be a weekend project for the hubs and I as I really think we could do it. BTW when did Lowes get so creative and helpful? Check out their step-by-step guide on building a swinging bed. Or you could use Better Homes and Gardens guide too.

Or if you aren't a DIYer you could buy one of these lovelies:



xoxo- Gulf Dreamin'

A Master Retreat

e are back to waiting. We are waiting on the FHA appraiser to come in, value the home, and state what must be fixed for the loan. So during this time I thought I'd do a little day dreaming our master bedroom. Here is what I am thinking:

Target Pebble Quilt in Dark Grey | Target Pebble Shams in Dark Grey | Ikea ELAND 2 Drawer Chests in Grey | Ikea ELAND Dresser in Grey | Zebra Rug at Overstock | Etsy Purple Zebra Pillow | Dark Purple Pillow Target | Etsy Yellow Stripe Pillow | Martha Stewart Paint color Chinchilla | Hampton Bay Ceiling Fan

So the loveseat would be nice at the foot of the bed. However it is a one day sale item over at Kings Lane {Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Jude Loveseat in Buttercup $699 on Kings Lane July 29, 2010}. We'd extend the stained cypress hardwoods currently in the hall and hall bath into the master, just gotta find someone to match it all up. And we already have2 of the 2 drawer ELAND pieces from ikea as well as the Target quilt and shams. Now just to find the budget for the rest of it all...

xoxo- Gulf Dreamin'

Living Room Dreaming

o with moving cross country we are selling everything we can to make the move simpler. Which means we'll need furniture for our new home. I love redecorating so it will be a fun task. I just have to remind myself it won't happen over night! If you see me in the coming months while out shopping and I am uttering those words, you'll know I am trying to talk myself out spending too much moola too quickly.

So for the meantime I'll be day dreaming about my new rooms. I see there are lots of furniture consignment stores throughout the Destin area, so you bet I'll be scouring those from top to bottom to save some, or save a lot actually.

Here is a living room for now to dream about:

In the background is the basic room, blue walls, stained cypressed, stain concrete floors, and white trim. I love the current basics in the living room so I will be working with what is in place already. The room is rather small so picking light and airy colors and items will be a must for the project.

I dream of cream or white sofas. So being slipped covered would be a must so they can be washed, I'll probably need 1-2 extra covers in the linen closet for any big "oops" and wear and tear so this one from Ballard Designs would work just great.

The coffee table we fell in love with first at Restoration Hardware, but then I came across it again here. Wow half the price! That makes it so much more feasible for our budget.

The accent chair is just my style from Pier1. It is graphic, colorful, tufted, and even utilizes the house's current wall color.

The driftwood end table is from Crate and Barrel, although I am half tempted to try to enlist the hubby in us making one ourselves.

So long as I am dreaming I wish for the seamaster floor lamp from RH. I'm hoping I can find a vintage one to be restored and it be MUCH less costly.

A few accessories to start; add a touch of color the sofa with the orange and red paisley pillows. Some faux blue coral on the end table.

The rug is one of the items we already have and will repurpose it in our new living roon. It was a great find for us here at Ikea and has held up especially well with the dogs thus far.

While this does not finish the room, it is a rather nice design board start I think. Hopefully I can be resourceful in the coming months and get everything just as I picture in my head.

The Cottage

o it appears as though we have gotten the contract on our house! Yippee! I thought the FDIC was gonna ask for blood samples yesterday— They have a long contract approval check list since it is a foreclosure. For instance they had to verify we weren't related to prior owners. Long story short, this morning when I looked at the MLS for the house it had been marked with a pink background flag and marked as under contract with Bev our Agent. I confirmed with Bev and she had not even noticed until I sent it to her. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who snuck down early to see what Santa brought.

So ladies and gents we move forward! We'll celebrate this weekend, then hold our breathe again as we get through the inspection. Here's to hoping all goes well!

In the meantime here are some pictures to share with you all:

The stairs I fear will be a slip n' slide for Captain.

I love this fixture in the stairwell.

We'll probably relocate the ceiling fan to another room as it does not coordinate well with our master suite. Maybe a coat of light grey paint will be instore as well.
We shall see.

I am so excited about the kitchen. I love the cabinets and even the back splash! I have noticed a few knobs missing but those can be fun to replace if I cannot find the matching ones.