I hope everyone had a great Cinco de Mayo yesterday. Sorry I didn’t prepare a party post. I have to do better in blog planning so that my party posts get to you all at least a week prior to the holiday. But thanks for your continued support and readership. I love having this outlet and appreciate you for following along.
It’s been off and on cold and warm but the forecast calls for consistent sixties and even seventies for the next week. I can’t wait to kick off this weekend with some DIY projects and enjoy the weather and open toed shoes for next week.
I was looking forward to venturing to someone’s farmer’s market but the really good one close to where I live doesn’t open until next weekend. So I’ll stock up on fruit at the grocery store. My mom and cousins are coming over to see my new place since I’ve moved so I want to have some tasty treats and cocktails on deck.
If you follow me on instagram, these will be familiar to you. I have painted my den’s wall black and hung my Ikea picture ledges and floating shleves. That gold frame which holds my degree, is from the goodwill. I’ve been going there often with hopes of finding ornate frames to paint. My luck hasn’t been that great. So the styling of this is temporary…
I spent a portion of Saturday making spring themed gift bags for my niece and god-daughter. The gold metallic tape is being used to create faux molding as blogged about here in an art deco style. I’m not done…but Saturday was almost 60 degrees and warm weekend weather trumps house decorating any day. Lol so I wasn’t as productive because I was out and about. But I can’t wait for the end result.
This lies an issue. Originally I wanted a gallery wall in the dining area. The trick with grouping art is ensuring there is some level of cohesiveness. All of my frames vary which would be fine if they were all one color. They’re not. The mats within the frames are different. It’s just too much going on and visually, it’s heavy. I want to simplify a bit. I am going to either paint all of the frames black and see if that helps. If not, I may end up selling some and starting fresh. I really love the african vibe but I also adore black and white photography. So this will be changing. And that bakers rack will be turned into a huge bar cart.
Since I don’t wear these anymore, figured they would look better as bookends.
My towers and stand are going thru a new look. I am keeping the doors off and debated on painting the insides but I kind of like the contrast of the gold and sour apple green. This is temporary styling as I still have way more stuff to spray paint and edit.
Over the weekend I tried my hand at calligraphy. These will be framed with a white mat and black or gold frame for my den. Which I am still debating on gallery wall versus leaned on the wall. I’m leaning toward….leaning them. #nopun
Bought these shot glasses from the Goodwill and they were used for the first time. They are like a gunmetal ombre color and I love them. Ever see something thrifting and leave it and later regret it? Well that’s what I feel about these as there were at least 8 and I only bought 2 with the intent of using it as a votive candle holder. Smh. Why didn’t I buy them all to style my bar cart (that I don’t have yet?)
{Designers Tony Ingrao and Randy Kemper Photo: Nikolas Koenig}
One thing any designer or person knows is purchasing window treatments doesn’t come cheap. You can easily eat a lot of the budget by dressing the windows and although it’s important, it’s not one of my favorite things to spend money on. I moved into a new place that has the standard vertical blinds. Yes, it looks clean from the outside but it’s so……dated. I am not going to take them down however I want to cover them up without having to see them at all. If I use a heavy drapery like I’m used to, I’d be forced still have the verticals visible. The only way getting around it is to have sheers in the middle of panels. So I might as well just have sheers only.
Sheers can look old timey if not done right and I personally despise the look of pleated curtains. I prefer to hang hooks as it leaves a softer drape that I love. My mom put sheers over her shades in her bedroom with hooks and the way they fall is so romantic. Combined with extra long panels that puddle to the ground, you can create something so fresh, light and airy that allows you the privacy you need but not eliminating the flood of light that you want.
The above screenshot is from Kate Spade’s instagram account. I captured it a while ago but now that I moved over the weekend (hence lack of posts), it’s really fitting. Most of my decor for the living area is moha hues. Various browns and all my furniture from entire apartment is black. Yes it’s my fav color but I need more color in my life.
So as I mentioned in this post, I plan to spray paint vases and decor items cobalt blue for my living area. But I bought these pillows from Kohl’s, a score for $11 each. (Plus I had a 30% coupon…don’t you just love Kohl’s?). Initially I was inspired to sharpie marker the green after seeing a diy snow leopard sharpie marker chair transformation. I wanted to make the green black so I can have some classic black and white mixed in. My den is off of the living room and the base of that room will be b&w. BUT I am kind of digging the green and the color compliments plants I have so we’ll see. What have you bought that aligns with living colorfully? I plan to update IG more of things I buy and diy projects so stay tuned.
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I am operating on 20mins of sleep. I stayed up all night and had an early morning hair appt. I move at noon. And my nephew and his roommate may possibly be canceling so…..it’s left to my parents, brother and male friend to get it done. I am beyond tired. And I only had time to paint one accent wall so no blogging until Monday..or Tuesday.
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The latest issue of Adore Home is filled with so much inspiration. I swear they are my favorite online magazine. Just like the last issue which I blogged about here, so many interiors featured are saturated with hues, a mix of patterns and blended styles that would make the creative challenged feel…..creative. These spaces are such happy places I thought I’d share my favs.
I will be moving soon so I figured I’d search for some good tips to make the transition a bit more smooth than the last times.
Apparel
*I keep my clothes in the drawers just simply take the drawers out of the dresser. Clothes hung in closets generally stay on hangers and I just group them together and put a big garbage bag over them with the hangers poking thru like they do in dept stores. Otherwise trash bags for other clothing.
Packing
*Pack items you won’t need as early on as possible. Seasonal clothing, holiday décor, dishes you only take out for special occasions. Use suitcase to pack the items you used last that day, deorderant, dirty clothes/pjs from the night before, etc
*Don’t pack boxes so heavy that you can’t lift it. especially as a woman, in the event your male helpers fall thru, you will need to be able to do it yourself. I find boxes with build in cut outs for handles the best. I take them from my job, the ones that hold the printer paper. They’re smaller but they are made great and very durable with handles AND lids.
*Fill the bigger boxes with lighter fluffier things like bedding, towels, linen, toss pillows. Put heavy items at bottom of boxes with lighter on top. Don’t be afraid to drive around the backs of strip mallsto gt free ones. I know…..nasty, but when I moved out my parents house back when I was 22, my dad did just that and scooped up brand new, nice boxes at the tops or sides of dumpsters. I was so embarrassed but it was free and saved me money than if I bought packages of boxes from postal stores. Also use boxes from your jobs. Ask the mailroom people if you can borrow any bubble wrap. Instead of buying bubble wrap, consider wrapping kitchen glassware in linen or kitchen towels in addition to packing paper.
*Use storage bins. They’re great because they easily store inside one another and they have lids. You can save on boxes for future moves because you will already have storage bins. I have quite a few. The longer lower ones that I have under my bed are going to be used to transport magazines and paperwork. The bigger ones will go for dishes, pots and pans. speaking of, they say pack dishes on side.
*Use quilted furniture pads to wrap tvs. As a matter of fact, try keeping the original boxes small appliances and electronics come in that way you won’t have to seek specialty packaging.
*Fill air in the box with smaller items to fill any unusued space. Use vacuum bags for pillows, towels, blankets to save space. Any little nook and cranny shouldnhave something in it. Eventually you will save in the amount of boxes you use which can save money and time as there’ll be less to move. Also put socks in shoes and keep clothes in drawers. (Simply remove the drawers).
Hope you all have a fun and safe time tonight. I will be at my cousin’s for a crableg feast & indulge in red velvet cake fruit pizza for dessert. Can’t forget Jello shots and drinks to celebrate. It’s going to be a shivering temperature of 6 degrees tonight. BRRRRR. Tomorrow’s no warmer so I will spend my off day at home.
Thanks for reading this year and I hope you all have continue to come back for more inspiration next year. HAPPY NEA YEAR!!!
{Images via pinterest
