New Digs!

I thought I'd lost all these photos but apparently I am more organized than I think and I'd already filed them away. Doh. So anyhoo, here are some hastily-snapped pics of our new place, taken on the day we got the keys...

If you can look past the nasty red wall and the hung-too-high lighting, the living room is pretty amazing, I think. It has windows all the way along two walls, a gorgeous brick wall at the end and all the industrial character our old place had with the exposed duct work and concrete ceilings.

Speaking of the nasty red wall, it's no longer red. I've been painting my arse off - two coats down, at least one more to go. I'm so excited to make this space feel more like home. :)

The kitchen is pretty teeny, but the finishes are great, and it's forced us to come up with some creative storage solutions which I'll tell you all about some time soon. I didn't get a shot of the kitchen myself, but here's the one from an old listing - thankfully it isn't yellow anymore!

The gorgeous brick also graces the master bedroom, which is significantly bigger than our old one (although it's not that clear in this photo) and has a little nook perfectly sized to fit E's crib in - hooray for not blocking the bathroom door anymore!

The master bath is bigger too, and has a double vanity. This is an old photo from the listing again - it's painted the same colour as the bedroom now. I actually prefer the cream to the greeny grey that it is now, but I'm not sure I hate it enough to do anything about it.

The guest bathroom has an awesome sink (listing photo again)...

The new big boy room is slightly larger than the old one and has floor to ceiling windows. That means we now have two proper bedrooms with windows and only one loft-style one...

...which will eventually become a nursery for Baby E. This room is pretty small, but babies really don't need much space, right?

But my absolute favorite thing has to be the storage. We have a laundry ROOM (not closet) and TWO walk-in closets, one of which now holds the ginormous stroller that used to drive me crazy sitting in the middle of our living space.

Good bones, right? Not to mention, this place has hardwood floors throughout - no more stinky, stained carpets - and our new landlords are amazing. So although it was a total pain to move, I'm so happy that we were able to find somewhere in the same building that's actually a bit of an upgrade. Yay for silver linings. :)

A Jewel-Toned Master Bedroom Retreat

Sam emailed me asking for help with the bedroom in her new rental. She wanted it to "feel homey and like a sanctuary" and she sent me some gorgeous inspiration photos (which I will have to share with you soon).

There were a few key requirements for the space:

1. It had to incorporate the mahogany sleigh bed and the pretty purple medallion duvet cover that Sam already owned.

2. It needed storage.

3. It should incorporate rich jewel tones, particularly deep purple.

4. It needed to feel bigger despite the limited dimensions.

Here is what we came up with:

The room is only 12' x 10', but a simple colour palette with plenty of neutrals should help it feel bigger. I used Sam's purple duvet cover as a starting point and added teal as the accent because she likes jewel tones (as do I). 

{Chandelier from Pottery Barn}

Sam found the gorgeous beaded chandelier, and I echoed the glass and gold elements through the art and accessories.

{Finial from Urban Outfitters}

White rental walls can feel cold, but bringing in soft texture through the velvet drapes and throw pillows should warm it up.

{Pillows from West Elm}

To keep the budget down, there are a fair few potential DIY projects in this design board. The étagère - Ikea's $40 Vittsjo - could be painted gold (either sprayed or using Rub N Buff), like the one below. It could also be used in place of a side table for extra storage in a limited space.

{By Ana Antunes}

The art work - three framed giclee prints - is beautiful but busts the bank at $290 a pop.

{Giclee prints from Layla Grace}

But it could be recreated by painting plain bamboo frames gold (here are some, but it would be worth checking out thrift stores too) and filling them with cheaper prints, like this $10 beauty:

{PrintHouseCompany on Etsy}

Finally, the dresser - a white mirrored piece from Z Gallerie - is gorgeous, but we also explored the idea of an Ikea hack. I love all the campaign style redos I've seen around, like this one:

{By Cup of Te via LizzieBomBizzie on Pinterest}

This really was a fun board to work on - I loved Sam's ideas and the brief she gave me, so thank you, Sam, for letting me help! One last look...

Aaaand here's the full source list:

Chandelier - Pottery Barn - $249
Rose pillow - West Elm - $40 (on sale)
Terrarium - Urban Outfitters - $39
Velvet drapes in 'Stone' - Pottery Barn - $129 per 84" panel
Mercury glass finial - Urban Outfitters - $29
Coral prints - Layla Grace (1/2/3) - $290 each
Étagère - Ikea - $40
Frame (on etagere) - Z Gallerie - from $15
Jewellry dish - Urban Outfitters - $10
Glass jewelry box - Urban Outfitters - $39
Purple lamp shade - Every Lamp Shade - $50
Grey sphere lamp base - Target - $45
Velvet studded pillow - West Elm - $34
Duvet cover - Ikea - $40
Grey pleated lamp shade - Target - $25
Blue glass lamp base - Target - $50
Purple glass vase - Ikea - $15
Mirrored side table - Ballard Designs - $149
Lotus tealight holder - Amazon - $22
Mirrored tray - Urban Outfitters - $19
Sleigh bed - representative of client's own
Velvet pintuck pillows - Urban Outfitters - $34 each
Mirror - Lamps Plus - $170
Dresser - Z Gallerie - $899
Purple overdyed rug - Rugs USA - $660 (but often up to 50% off)
Trellis rug - Z Gallerie (no longer available), very similar at Shades of Light - 5'x8' $279
'Spring Rain' photograph - ShannonPix on Etsy - $28

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10 Pretty Pendants Under $100

I keep stumbling across little lighting gems and I can't not share the love! Every one of these beauties is under $100. You're welcome. ;)

{Globe Bronze Pendant - Home Decorators Collection - $99}

{Austen Wood Veneer Pendant - PB Teen - $99}

{Perforated Steel Pendant - JC Penney - $30}

{Honeycomb Glass Pendant Shade - Urban Outfitters - $69}

{Mercury Glass Industrial Pendant - West Elm - $99} 

{Depot Ceiling Lamp - Pottery Barn Kids - $99}

{Eden Pendant - CB2 - $60}

{Artica Pendant - Home Depot Canada - $44}

{Triple Tiered Pendant Shade - Urban Outfitters - $64} 

{Rustic Glass Pendant - Pottery Barn - $99}

And one last bonus one. It's not quite under $100...right now. But keep an eye out and I'm sure it'll go on sale for $99 soon. And it's so pretty. (I have the table lamp version in our bedroom and built a whole design board around them.)

{Hanging Gold Leaf Lamp - Pier 1 Imports - $125}

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How To Create A Design Board

Last week, I wrote my first guest post for fellow Chicagoan Sarah on her lovely blog, Adventures of Our Fami-Ly. Here's the post, just in case you missed it...

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is about how I create design boards (or mood boards, if you prefer that term), so I thought I'd share my tips and tricks. Design boards are the foundation for creating a room you love. Before I started using them, my spaces were always almost what I wanted but they were never as cohesive or "finished" as I would have liked. Now that I start with a complete picture, I'm able to create spaces that look like I really want them to! Here are the "rules" I generally to stick to when creating a design board...

1. Pick a color palette

I tend to pick between three and six colors to stick with in any one room. They can be neutral - brown, gold, cream and gray create a serene mood in the bedroom below - or more exuberant, but try to repeat each color in at least three different places to make it feel intentional and cohesive.

{My Dream Master Bedroom}

It's also a good idea to pick key pieces that tie several colors together, like the painting in this kitchen:

{Mustard and Aqua Kitchen for a Rental Apartment}

2. Work with what you have

If you're on a budget and have perfectly good furniture already, try to find an image online or take a photo yourself and add that to your board at the beginning (keeping the background neutral and cropping it closely will make sure the image flows with the rest of your board) . If it's something you can't change, you have to find ways to work with it.

We already owned some pink chairs before we moved into our loft, and I was at a loss as to how to tie them into the turquoise color scheme I wanted to use. I thought about slip-covering them then decided to stick them on a design board and see what else I could find to tie them in.

{Teal and Pink Loft Living Room}

Just adding pink throw pillows to the couch bought everything together, and now I love pink and turquoise together. In the finished room, I added more pink in the art work and accessories, but the design board set the tone.

3. Budget

Your design isn't going to work if you don't have the cash to complete it. I tend to put a design together, figure out what it would cost as-is, then work on bringing the total cost down if I need to. You can always use inspiration pieces on your design board and then makeover thrifted pieces or "hack" affordable pieces from big box stores.

{Colorful Big Boy Room}

I really wanted an upholstered bed for my little man's big boy room (above), but we couldn't afford to shell out big bucks for one, so I bought a $50 bed frame from Ikea and made my own.

{DIY Upholstered Bed}

4. Let your design evolve

I tend to create a design board and then step away for a while...

{Baby Girl Nursery}

If I still love it a few weeks later, great. But usually there are things I want to change, or things I fall in love with that I want to incorporate into the space. I started working on my daughter's nursery before we even knew she was a girl, and the board underwent a lot of changes over the months that I was pregnant. It ended up with a similarly girly vibe but a more modern overall look.

5. The technical details

I use Olioboard.com to create my design boards. There are other choices (like Polyvore or Photoshop), but this was the most user-friendly and free option I could find.

Olioboard lets you browse products and other people's boards for inspiration, and you can also add images from websites or upload your own. It's a really easy site to use, so I'll spare you a technical walk-through - once you've created an account, just click "Create+" and start building your room.

If you'd like to see more of my design boards, check out my design boards page. I'm also offering free design boards if you want a bit of help with bringing your ideas to life - shoot me an email for more details.

Pretty Giveaway Winner!

The winner of the Brimfield Growth Chart from Kim's Sister, chosen by Random.org, is entry #1...

Congrats Susan! I'll email you soon.

And huge thanks to Karen - aka Kim's Sister - for sharing one of her gorgeous creations!

Happy Independence Day!

I don't normally do holiday posts, but since this is my first year as an American (I got my citizenship last October), I feel particularly celebratory. After some really sad news over the weekend, it was nice to get out today and enjoy the sun.

We had a kids' parade and then the fire department brought a truck, closed the road and turned one of the hydrants into a fountain. The Chicago fire department is awesome!

S has been talking about the fire truck all week, and it did not disappoint!

Later, we're off to see some fireworks. Hope you're enjoying the day too!

And remember, the Brimfield Growth Chart giveaway is still open too - you have until Monday night to enter to win one of Kim's Sister's fabulous growth charts!

Guest Posting at Adventures of Our Fami-Ly

I'm guest posting today about How to Create a Mood Board for fellow Chicago blogger Sarah over at Adventures of Our Fami-Ly - go check out her lovely blog!

The Brimfield Growth Chart giveaway is still open too - you have until Monday night to enter to win one of Kim's Sister's fabulous charts!