Blank Walls are My Nemesis

We bought our flatscreen last August. And since August, the blank wall above the TV has been a thorn in my side. And since I'm a huge fan of my couch and TV, I've spent many hours staring at it. Oh, and not only was the wall a bit naked, it also sports awesome missing paint chunks. But I just couldn't commit on what to hang. I didn't want to mount the TV, because I can't commit to just one place -- what if I rearrange the room?! I also didn't want anything too distracting -- no mirrors (would reflect our picture window), no photos, and nothing bright to draw the eye away from the action. So it had to be either a series of things or something wide and horizontal. 

But then came TJ Maxx. Our store has an incredible Home Goods side. I want to just furnish my whole house in Home Goods decor. I came across a few of these square, patterned scroll-y things that were the perfect size for the space and also blended in with all of the other wall decor in the room. And they were on clearance! BUT ... they were pale blue. Thankfully that wasn't a dealbreaker for even this non-crafty DIYer! Black spray paint is almost completely dummy-proof.

The hubs helped me hang them, but even with help - they're far from perfectly straight. We couldn't even center them correctly above the TV. So I moved the TV and also moved the lamp to the corner and brought over the two little ottomans to give it a fake media center feel.

It's still not perfect, but it's making me considerably happier from my couch vantage point.

Next up -- figuring out what do with the wall space that's currently rocking that kissing poster and painting the top of the TV stand black.  I'm taking suggestions on the first.

Decisions, Decisions

I'm really into typography prints. It's probably because I'm a font nerd, but I'd have typography prints all over my house if I didn't run the risk of it looking like a giant book at some point. I'm currently thinking about buying these two prints below.

Fortunately I'll soon have a new space to decorate. 

My office. 

And no, I'm not talking home office here. I'm talking a legit office. Working. At a job. Because today I will sign my official offer letter to enter back into my corporate career at the end of the month.  :) 

Expect the OOTDs to pick back up again ... but with quality. More on that later (fingers crossed!). 

Facing Fears

Well, after A LOT of talking about it (since we closed in April 2010), I finally painted the guest room! And SOLO. I probably didn't do the world's most elaborate job (definitely not Young House Love-worthy), but I'm feeling smug and accomplished regardless. Prior to painting I had visions of paint-splattered floors, paint-splattered hair, me stepping into a can of paint, and me hurdling into a brain concussion after falling off my step ladder. Fortunately none of these things happened.

I can't unveil the whole room quite yet because it needs a lot more work (including buying a new bed frame) and hanging some things on the walls and installing curtains ... ugh, more work in my plans than I thought - but when it's done I'll be sure to post a before and after.

I'm also patting myself on the back about the color choice. I'm just not one of those people who takes home 430 swatches, buys sample cans, holds the color up to fabrics, and gauges the color in varying light. I went to Walmart with my Ikea duvet, held it up against three swatches, compared the middle colors to each other and the duvet and picked. I probably spent two minutes on this decision. And I love the result. It's a medium warm gray, almost concrete-colored.

Color not true to life. 

In other news, I'm signed up for Kendi's 30x30 Remix. I debated just bagging it completely since I'm not prepared to start it this week. Instead I may do my own version - a weekly 30x30 session. Stay tuned later in the week.

Guest Room Makeover Part 1

When we moved into our house, we were fortunate enough to really like the paint colors the previous owner had used. Lots of pretty greiges, tans, and grays. But the guest room just didn't make sense. A teenaged girl really enjoyed that weird baby blue in her room?? We basically only use this room as a dumping ground for my husband's clothes and shoes, but it's in DIRE need of a makeover. 

Since I have oodles of time at my disposal, I've developed a decor plan that is completely DIY and budget to finally upgrade our ugly duckling room. I'm using an existing duvet and an Ikea duvet set that's still in the package. The only things I'll need to buy are the paint, bedskirt, and cheapie white curtains and rods. Oh, and some chartreuse shams!

There lies some original hardwood floors (in good shape) under that nasty remnant, so I'm going to clear the remnant out, shine up the floors, and put down our old living room area rug. 

Here's a before shot of the room (without Husband's crap everywhere)

And here's my mood board:

Painting should commence next week. Update soon to follow!

Decor Productivity

It was a productive decorating weekend for me, largely in part to having my friend and her husband assist in tackling some of the scary hanging projects. Four double-hung frames being one of them. :-/

I picked up some chalkboard decals (4 9x12) at TJ Maxx. I always liked the idea when seen in other decorating blogs, so I thought hey, why not. I needed something to fill some space on the wall above my coffee nook anyway.

Next up, hanging curtains and the photo gallery. Also at TJ Maxx I bought the cheese-tastic vinyl decal that reads "All Because Two People Fell In Love" - afterall, I'm not anti-cheese. And while the vinyl word decals are overdone on the Internet, it's not really a "thing" here, so I'm a total trendsetter.

Curtains purchased at Big Lots for $15 for two panels! I love the way it softens up the room and makes things a little more calming. 

Floating shelves in the bathroom were also put up! I'm going to add more accessories, but for now I just have my DIY Wordles (our first dance and last dance song lyrics). On the side wall is another DIY word project using the eye chart look. It reads "Bear bottoms are acceptable here." 

Our next projects include re-doing our bathroom floor with floating vinyl and painting it an avocado color. We're also getting a new mattress set at which time we're taking up the skanky Berber remnant, shining up the natural hardwoods and getting a plush area rug. 

6 Weeks as Homeowners

... and we still have working plumbing, a roof, and standing walls. I'm impressed and surprised.

My husband and I are probably the epitome of a clueless homeowners. Between the two of us, we have as much common sense as Jessica Simpson and are quite possibly the least handy people ever. Needless to say, there's been quite the learning curve. I've re-caulked the bathtub three times already; I ruined a brand-new iron with hem tape glue while "hemming" curtains; and I did three loads of laundry before I realized I put the lint trap in backward.

I have so many projects I want to tackle - the list just grows and grows. Thankfully the seller had painted the walls in mostly pleasing neutrals, so there hasn't been much to do in that regard. One minor project I completed was replacing the sad looking sage curtains that hung over the kitchen sink. After the hem tape disaster on my existing white curtains, I sucked it up and bought a bamboo shade:

Before:

After:

And much to my surprise, the room that may be the most "done", by simple terms, is the dining room - the room we use the least, but walk through the most as it connects the living room to the kitchen. Dining room set and rug from walmart.com. I'm going to add more furniture pieces over time.

Before:

After:

It's so hard to be patient. I want a fully decorated house NOW. So I remind myself that we have a few years to do the things we want do and just prioritize the current list. At least it feels a little bit more like home with each day. 

Damask Dining Room

I thought I would be completely over the damask pattern by now after having used damask accents in my wedding last year.

Apparently not. The print just keeps calling my name. So after seeing the "rollback" price and the customer photo reviews, I pulled the trigger on the Terra Luxe Rug from walmart.com. It arrived today. The verdict? L-O-V-E. The room is very much still a work in progress, but I like how the rug accents the black modern dining room set I bought recently. I plan on adding some more furniture (maybe a shelf or bookcase until the house budget allows for a decent hutch or buffet) and sprinkling some yellow accents throughout.

Coffee Crafts

When we first toured our house, I knew it was meant to be ours. Why? It has a COFFEE NOOK. Being the java enthusiast I am, I fell immediately in love. So I traded a coffee nook over a third bedroom. 

I enlisted the help of my talented and creative friend D (see her hilarious blog Just Dandy) to come up with some cute word art to decorate my nook. This is what we came up:

And this is how it looks in the space: