Thursday, June 27, 2013

Fun in the Sun Linky Party and Kindle Fire Giveaway

Greetings, friends!  

I hope you've all been enjoying our "Fun in the Sun" party over the last two weeks where 14 bloggers have been sharing fun Summer projects, decor and recipes ...
 and found inspiration along the way!  



If you didn't have a chance to visit everyone, all you have to do is click on the following links:



My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - How to make pom pom lanterns
Sand & Sisal - Simple Summer centerpiece
Fox Hollow Cottage - Aloha Summer Wreath 
Adventures in Decorating - Summer Porch
Debbiedoo’s - 5 quick Summer craft projects 
French Country Cottage - Summer table setting 
 Cupcakes and Crinoline - Beach inspired desserts 
Domestically Speaking - Ultimate All American Sundae
Yellow Bliss Road - Sweet & simple Summer mantel
 DIY Show Off - Summer carnival mantel

Now, it's your turn to showoff your amazing Summer projects, recipes or decor!  We look forward to pinning and sharing your projects!  



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Sunday, June 23, 2013

The Bathroom Gets a Little Facelift ...

Greetings friends!

Some of you may be surprised to know that our son's bathroom (which doubles as one of our guest baths) has had the *same* shower curtain for the last 6 years ... the *same* paint color ... AND, the *same* accessories.  The only thing that has changed in here over the years has been the rolls of toilet paper (ha)!  

That was until recently ... BEFORE:


AFTER!  It was time for the monkeys to return to the wild and give this little space more of a "neutrally-boyish" look for our 7 year old ... 


The method to my madness involved several things.  FIRST ... we had board and batten installed to brighten up this small space, which was then painted Ben Moore's basic white (semi-gloss).  


Then, our formerly Laura Ashley Olive 4 green walls became Ben Moore's White Sand.  I then chose this striped fabric to frame the shower (which my neighbor sewed into two panels):


When I spotted this fella at Home Goods, I knew he'd be a fun addition to the long wall:


And, in place of a towel bar (that my kiddo could never quite seem to hang a towel on ... the floor was easier!), we added these simple hooks:


Now, towels don't end up on the floor anymore!


A wall that was once filled with a big ol' floral ...


now has handsome nautical prints from Home Goods on it:


Up close and in person, you can spy subtle flecks of blues and reds in the sailors' jackets:  


On the "toilette," I placed this simple box topped with shells:


And, rather than buying a new mirror, I simply spray painted our oil rubbed bronze one that was already in here with blue spray paint for a bit of a pop (and to tie in with the shower curtain and towels):


Of course, that wasn't the only thing that was painted ... the light fixture went from oil rubbed bronze to Annie Sloane's "Pure White":


Mr. Monkey has gone back to the jungle ...


And, in his place now sits a textured vase filled with decorative sticks:




I still have one more piece of art to find ... and, I might just might paint the cabinets (imagine that)!  But, for now, I'm enjoying seeing this space with a lighter and brighter facelift!


Thanks for stopping by!

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Thursday, June 13, 2013

Our Summer Porch and Fun in the Sun!

Greetings, friends!


I'm excited to be part of the "Fun in the Sun" Summer kickoff party featuring a fabulous group of talented ladies (clearly, I don't belong in their company) who are going to be sharing summer crafts, decor and *much* more over the next two weeks ... there's even going to be an amazing giveaway on the 27th! 



And, since this is a "summer" party, I thought it only fitting to share our screened in porch, dressed for the new season!  So, come on in ...


Please join us here while we enjoy summer cocktails and conversation or quietly watch summer storms roll by.  And, hope you don't mind if we turn our "Old White" chalk painted fireplace on ... gotta have a bit of ambiance at night!  


A few years ago, we added this oversized metal barn star center stage above the fireplace ... eventually, I'd like to replace it with a large mirror, but, for now, I've flanked it with inexpensive topiaries from Tuesday Morning ... 


along with this little French clock from HomeGoods (which, apparently, also met my paint brush filled with Old White chalk paint ... oops):


When it comes to our outdoor space, I love adding lots of vibrant colors!  As soon as I spotted these cute accent pillows at Bed, Bath and Beyond (30% off), I knew they'd be a fun addition:  


And, I'm more than happy to take my decorating books off of this little ottoman from HomeGoods so that you can kick up your feet!  


Over on our coffee table, I'm sure you won't be surprised to see that I added a  bowl of collected seashells, as those are my favorite to add to almost every room:


Even this pretty terrarium from Tuesday Morning couldn't hide from a *tiny* hint of coastal:


And, please feel free to toss the pillows off of the love seat so that there's actually room for you to sit comfortably!  We do it ALLLL the time ...


Or, if you'd rather, come on down here and sit a spell ... 


We love being out here so much that we're getting ready to take down our existing screen *wall* and join this space with our "exposed" patio, making it all one big screened in area ... hope you'll come back and visit when it's all done!


Thanks so much for taking the time to visit our summer porch!  I hope you got to take a peek at Kristin's (My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia) awesome pom pom lantern,



along with Shannon's (from Fox Hollow Cottage) whimsical summer wreath yesterday!



And, be sure to visit Heather (from Setting for Four) tomorrow who will be sharing her beautiful summer mantel!



Oh, and don't forget the giveaway on the 27th ... 


OR to visit all the stops along the way!


Stop 2: Sand and Sisal 

Stop 3: Fox Hollow Cottage  


Stop 5: Setting for Four 

Stop 6: Debbiedoo's 




Stop 10: At the Picket Fence 


Stop 12: JoJo and Eloise 

Stop 13: DIY Show Off


Have a great day,

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Monday, June 3, 2013

A Little Playroom Grows Up Just a Bit ...

Once upon a time, a precious little boy used to have fun in this space ... banging on his little drums ... playing at his little table ... pretending he could read his little picture books.  

And, theeen, without our approval, he started to grow up!  Sadly, it was time to let go of his "little, little" boy playroom.  *Sniff, sniff.*

As much as I wasn't ready ... it was time for a change for our then 6 year old.

BEFORE:


AFTER!  Here's his "big, little boy" hang out room today!  


One thing I didn't want to let go of was the primary color scheme ... wanted this space to still feel "alive."


We traded his light blue sofa for a brown microfiber one and threw on a couple of pillows from Pottery Barn that used to be in our great room.


The British flag pillow is from a local fabric shop (Fabric Showcase) and adds a great punch of color.  The blue lamps are from a local furniture shop, and the side tables are from none other than Home Goods.

I then ordered this piece of art from "art.com."  I loved it the minute I spotted it because it's a bit vintage, full of great colors, annnnd my husband is from "Joisey":


It was then on to the curtains!  I wanted something "vintagey-nautical," full of primary colors.  When I spotted the below fabric at Fabric Showcase, I knew it just might work!  I chose to do only the upper 1/4 of the panels in the patterned fabric and opted for a solid navy blue fabric below ....


Simple cording that resembles nautical rope seperates the two:


BEFORE: Bye bye cubicles that housed bins full of trains, dinosaurs and little characters (sigh):


AFTER:  We traded the open cubicles for a console that hides his electronics, along with his video games and DVDs.



Simple colorful canvases from Bed, Bath and Beyond were added to the wall on one side of the TV ...


And, fun subway art from Hobby Lobby was added to the other:


And, for those who are wondering where we store all of his toys ... let's just say the closet full of shelves and clear bins hides a LOT ... here's a peek at one side of it.


ONE day, we'll add "regular" accent chairs in here.  For now, these "Big Joe" bean bag chairs fit the bill.  They're pretty comfy ... 


AND great for kids to jump into ... see?!  My airborne "Ninja Turtle" landed safely in the chair!  LOL


Here's hoping he enjoys his playroom like this for a few years ... NOT ready for "tween" room decorating anytime soon!

Thanks a bunch for stopping by!

Come play here:

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures

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