help for my not-so-favorite room

I am slowly but surely but making my room a home.

And my next room on the list is not my most favorite room... not because it's a bad room but because it's been sorely neglected. It was kind of an office, and then my brother lived there for a bit while he worked in Seattle and now it's just a mishmash of things that don't have a place elsewhere in the house.

We may have someone else staying in the house this summer and I want to finish this room up before then.

Here's the before-- the not so pretty pictures:

 yeah... see what I mean?

Now, the thing is while I could very easily decorate this room in swaths of bright orange and yellow and all my favorite colors and design choices, I want to still feature some of the husband's things. I want it to be a comfortable guest room that speaks a little to both of us.

Here are some of the things I'm thinking:

option 1: gray walls with neutral accents

one of my mom's staged rooms

option 2: bold stripes and white bedding

source unknown-- anyone know?

option 3: aqua with touches of brown

via houseofturquoise.com

option 4: mustard yellow

via aesheticoiseau.com

but honestly I'm so torn. All I know is that I don't want it too girly or too orderly. Any of your suggestions are most welcome!

xo, erika

spray it (don't say it)

The simplest decor redo I've learned?

A can of spray paint.

While you can go the long route of sanding, priming, and painstakingly brushing on an oil paint... you can also pretend you're a teenage delinquent and spray paint your furniture, piece of art, or picture frame in half the time.

Last weekend I decided that my kitchen chairs were boring or rather, I finally decided to do something about my boring chairs.

Two are Goodwill finds and two are from Fred Meyer (like Target). All four were that blah-birch wood color with slight variations.

With my husband's permission (he usually is entertained by my forays into decor) I bought four cans of Krylon Oxford Blue in a Satin finish and two cans of a cheap brand of primer spray paint.

I sprayed each chair with a light cover of primer. The primer covers the previous color (if there is one) and makes it so the solid color sticks better. Usually if you prime a piece of furniture, you won't need to sand it.

After letting the primer dry for a half hour, I applied the first coat of Krylon Oxford Blue spraypaint.

spray paint pointers:

shake the can before and during painting

do even, light sprays about 6 inches away. 

spray in the same direction

Your first coat should be light. Again, I waited a half hour (even though the can said 10 minutes) just to be sure) and continued with a second coat, and then a third.

After three coats (and some random extra sprays) I deemed my chairs Design-Sponge worthy and ready to move back into the kitchen.

I love them.

 

Do you spray paint your furniture? 

p.s. the Seattle giveaway is still going on-- go enter :)

thrift and antique

There's a difference between thrift shops and antique shops.

Thrift shops are full of castoffs that determined to be cheap, affordable and perhaps in good quality.

Antique shops are full of castoffs that are determined to be worth something, in good quality and not usually affordable.

But there are always exceptions, and this one lay thirty miles north of Seattle. Two adorable antique shops that were filled to the brim with affordable, perfect treasures.

Did you have days of the week underwear? How about days of the week dishtowels?

 

I could barely resist the piles of vintage buttons

or the child's tea set:

I almost bought this:

but I didn't need it and I'm we're trying to save money.

And I justified that I needed some displays for summer farmers markets this summer so I picked up a shelf and and a jewelery box. With a little love they'll be perfect. :)

my momma and me

I think I get my crafty-ness from my mom. Not a sly personality, but a love to create and design.

While I am more on the creative, artsy (read unorganized & whimsical) end, my mother has a gift for interior design. While I could put together a somewhat decent room, my mom knows exactly why something does or doesn't work. Which is why, when my guest/craft room became a shamble of mismatched finds from Goodwill, I called upon my mom and her business partner to figure it all out.

And slowly but surely, they're putting together a room that I'm already obsessed with.

It's not done by any means, the walls need another coat of paint in places and nothing is quite organized, but there are pieces that are already (at least to me) completely magical:

the inside of the painted dresser drawers. Some adhesive & cute paper & my momma :)

the headboard. plywood + foam + fabric + staple gun... and again, my momma

Goodwill desk + chair on the side of the road I spotted + yellow spray paint. (the doggie is Bridget)

It makes me want to craft! [not that I needed the encouragement... ] :)

Where do you guys craft? Before this, it was on the kitchen table, much to the dismay of my husband...

was i the only one?

I didn't watch the Super Bowl yesterday.
I didn't eat nachos, chili or barbecued pork sliders.

The only beer I had was after dinner, and it was in a bottle.

Instead, I tackled my guest/craft room, with the help of Nesby the puppy.

It's not close to done, but here's a little tease:

The walls ended up a warm yellow, which really make the gorgeous painted dresser pop. My mom, a talented spray-painter, redid this vintage dresser in a lovely Tiffany blue. Did you know that Sherwin Williams can customize spray paint for you with any latex paint? You're no longer limited to the few elementary school colors that Home Depot carries. 

My inspiration for this room comes largely from the blog House of Turquoise. Lover of all things aqua? Check it out, especially this adorable country cottage :

More photos here

See more of this adorable kitchen at houseofturquoise.com