Extra Extra! Have I got a room for you… September 17, 2009

My little niece has finally arrived! She took her sweet time but I’m thrilled to say that Sophia Grace is here and she is perfect! I flew off to NY last week to get my fill of that sweet little chicken nugget, but I didn’t come back empty handed. As promised, I have returned with some nursery pictures, all inspired by expensive “designer” looks that we re-created on the cheap.  I think it’s pretty safe to say that most of us are tightening our belts these days, so I’m happy to share these little secrets for the sake of penny pinchers everywhere!

Let’s start with the hanging flower balls, which you all got a quick peek at in one of my earlier posts. First I will post the inspiration picture, taken at Pottery Barn Kids:

Hanging flower balls

Now here is my version, a little different because I wasn’t entirely sold on the fabric flowers even though I liked the idea of them hanging like a mobile. I think they came out pretty darn nifty, and with a price of $25 for all 3 as opposed to $25 to $39 for just ONE at Pottery Barn Kids, I have to say I am pretty pleased with myself:

 

So cute right?

My next ”must have” item was picture frames. I LOVED these picture frames from Pottery Barn Kids but they were SO pricey. Super cute, but it was just not going to happen at $25 each. Here is the inspiration picture:

Loved it but couldn't afford it

Here is my alternative. Joann Fabrics was having a great sale, 50% off all their picture frames. My sister and I picked out 3 of the same frames, with the mats included for $12 each. After the 50% off discount, we got all 3 for around $20. My next trick was to buy a roll of wrapping paper, baby pink with a fuschia pattern. I literally wrapped each mat like a present, using an Exacto knife to cut away the excess and leave a spot for the picture. Here they are (with no pictures in them yet but you get the idea.)

My DIY version

All 3 frames together

Also pictured above is an ADORABLE dollhouse bookshelf. You have to love something that can do double duty while looking fabulous. Below is a MUCH more expensive version, from you guessed it, Pottery Barn Kids. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the price on this thing: $399! I will sing Pottery Barn Kids praises until the cows come home, but after my mother and sister peeled me up off the floor we went searching for something a little more budget friendly!  

Inspiration shelf

Here is our FANTASTIC version and it is literally the SAME THING. The only difference is that this one was perfectly pink with a shiny fabulous price tag of only $80. $80! Can you believe it! You will have to excuse the badly placed sun in the picture, but as soon as we saw this at Target we HAD to have it. For $80 it was not exactly cheap, but so perfect because not only can it be used as a shelf while Sophia is a baby, it can also be used as a dollhouse to play with as she gets older. We did have to put it together but believe me, it was worth every penny of the $320 buckaroos we saved in the process:

Target version

Next I wanted a big letter S. I really wanted to do something with her initials but everything else I saw seemed to be soooo overdone. Blah blah blah, you see these everywhere, the baby’s name spelled out in block letters at $10 per letter. Sorry, but not for my niece!

Booooring

While we were in Joann Fabrics picking out picture frames we wandered into the paper maiche section. You know, the section where you can get all that paper maiche stuff to paint. I spied this GIGANTIC letter S and snatched it up. This thing is huge.  It’s literally about 2 feet tall and I have never seen another one like it, and believe me I am surrounded by nurseries and babies these days. It was something different and so easy to do, and for $5 for the letter and another $4 for spray paint, we got quite an effect for less than $10.  

Cheap and original wall art

My last cheap-o swap-a-roo was the curtains. I looooved the look of long sweeping dramatic white drapes blowing in the breeze. And while there are no breezes blowing on my baby girl, we did re-create the white draperies, complete with beautiful drapery rods that we scored at a major deal. Here are the inspirations,  priced at $65 each. (Pottery Barn Kids is probaby going to ban me for life after this!)

Too rich for my blood!

OK, are you ready for this? Are you REALLY ready for this? Here are the ones we picked up at Hobby Lobby on clearance for $6. Yes, you read that right! $6!!!! We couldn’t believe our luck! And they are the exact same thing. OK, well not exactly. The ones from Pottery Barn Kids are made out of glass and weigh as much as a paper weight and ours are made from plastic but look just like glass. Besides, who is going to get up on a ladder and weigh our drapery rods? Pssssht, you can’t even tell the difference, right?

Cheapskate drapery rods

I do have one more trick up my sleeve. About 6 months ago, there were oh-so-adorable piggy banks at this store that shall remain nameless for fear that they will ban me. These piggy banks cost a whopping $40, and for that much that poor pig would be remaining empty for quite some time. There are no inspiration pictures of this one, but just imagine a super cute way oversized piggy bank that I would have bought on the spot had I $40 to spend. I left the store without it, thinking about it for months until one day I came across THIS at Homegoods. It’s the same pig!!! I did a happy dance all the way to the register!

Oink, I only cost $12!

Can you believe my luck! The nursery was complete and we saved hundreds.  Literally, hundreds.

The one thing we didn’t skimp on was the bedding. I have said it before and I will say it again, the bedding at Pottery Barn Kids is so beautiful and well made that I really find it to be worth the money. And while we couldn’t afford everything in the store, the one part we did splurge on is comfortable for the baby and it was the inspiration decor for the entire room. So, I figure that since I spent roughly $350 on the G is for Giraffe baby bedding (my gift to my sister and her husband) I wouldn’t feel as badly about re-creating all of their other beautiful things on a budget.  

G is for Giraffe

Fit for a princess!

So there you have it. What do you guys think? My sister and her husband love it, and even though she can’t talk yet Sophia loves it too, I’m sure. I have to say I am patting myself on the back as I type this and see it all put together. With a little bit of creativity and alot of inspiration, anything is possible!

Flea Market Chic September 4, 2009

I love Anthropologie. I L-O-V-E it. There is one located right down the block from my house, and I could spend hours in there just looking at every single corner of the store. In fact, I do. My boyfriend won’t even let me walk the dogs past it anymore for fear that he will get stuck waiting with a weiner dog and a chihuahua outside a home decor store- not a very manly thing to do I suppose. So, in between trips I like to check their website, mostly for sales, because at this point in my life the beautiful furniture and bedding in their store are just out of my price range. But a girl can dream right?

 

In a city like Chicago, there are always estate sales and flea markets to check out in the summertime. I went to one this past weekend, and although I don’t have any pictures for you, I can tell you that it was amazing. It was like a garage sale on steroids, a Goodwill explosion, a Salvation Army block party. There was SO MUCH stuff that I didn’t even know where to go or what to look at and at one point I was so mesmerized that I actually did get myself all turned around and lost. And contrary to my boyfriend’s opinion, it was NOT because I have no sense of direction.

 

This flea market was a bit of a test run for me, since I wasn’t specifically looking for anything in particular.  It runs once a month May through September in the summer time, called the Randolph Street Market Festival. It’s a mixture of vintage/flea market, hand made items, and a cool Indie Market that has antiques, art, and all kinds of home decor related services for sale. To see what I’m talking about, you can check it out here.

 

http://www.chicagoantiquemarket.com/home.asp

 

I decided three things after going at this flea market.

1. I would go to every one from now on.

2. If I saw something I wanted, I would just buy it and not hesitate. No more “I’ll just walk through and come back to it later.” I learned, there is a pretty good chance it won’t be there later. Even five minutes later!

3. Look through some of my “inspiration” pictures before I go, so that I can have a project in mind or an item to look for.

 

Which brings me back to Anthropolgie. Had I looked at their website prior to going to the flea market, here are the key things I would have been looking for. And I could kick myself, because I DID see some of these very things there! Or rather, the materials to make things that could be inspired by these awesome flea market chic looks, all taken from the Anthropolgie website, so please go check them out for prices and a better view.

 

 

This would be super easy to make on a budget…

This would look beautiful in any living room.

This would welcome anyone home when placed in an entryway.

My grandparents have some of these in their basement, minus the fabric…

How cute would this be on your patio?

 

So there you have it, the types of furniture I will be looking for the next time I hit up the flea market. I love the style of these things, old lines but mixed with bright colors and new modern looks. That is very me right now, mixing old and new, and trying to figure out my exact style.  I love modern but I need that comfortable and usable-every-day in my home. I believe the saying “You should not have anything in your home that you do not see to be comfortable or usable.” Very true. Less is more. Even if living with less isn’t your first choice!

That bun is almost done… September 3, 2009

Hello again! First and foremost I must apologize for the hiatus. I have not posted anything in forever, but after doing some reading today, I felt a little better when I learned that many bloggers take a hiatus in the summer. There are just too many fun things to do! No one wants to be stuck at home chained to their computer. I live in Chicago, for heaven’s sake, where there is only three months of summer for me to enjoy a year! And part of that three months is rainy, besides! So again, I apologize to the ten of you that actually read my little blog, and I promise to make a true effort to be more forthcoming with my posts.

 

Now back to the bun that’s almost done…my sister’s little baby, my new niece, who should be arriving ANY MINUTE NOW but of course has decided she will be fashionably late. And hmmm, I wonder where she gets that, since just recently my sister commented to me that I have a way about me that will make anyone that is with me L-A-T-E. Not my most redeeming quality, I have to say, but I am on time for the important things: work, funerals, surprise parties… so who can blame a girl for needing a few extra minutes here and there?

 

While I am PATIENTLY waiting for this baby, I have been doing one of my favorite things: internet browsing for the most unique baby items I can find. I want my little Sophia Grace (her name has been decided upon for months now) to have the cutest little wardrobe on the playground, and so I spend a good portion of my day trying to find cute little things that not everyone else has. I am going to create a fashionista if it kills me!

 

This is how I came to stumble upon Etsy, THE MOST FANTASTIC WEBSITE IN EXISTENCE! You may think I’m exaggerating, but oh no, you have to check this out. It’s a website where you can get pretty much anything, and I mean anything. It’s a great way for artists to get their work out there and to sell things without having their own store. I am actually so obsessed with it that it has become my goal of sorts to someday create something worth selling on Etsy. But, until then, I will settle for browsing all the fantastic things that other people are selling. And that, my friends, is how I came across these!

 

Darling!

Oh!

Precious!

 

Can you believe this CUTENESS! I love them! I want them! I have to have them! Or rather, Sophia has to have them! This very minute! The seller’s name is WarmandFuzzyBaby, and I am so so impressed. I would have bought these darling little hats in a minute, but here is the kicker. They are selling the actual patterns to MAKE them yourself, which I think is just wonderful. Not only will you get something beautiful, but you can learn how to make it for every baby you love from now until the end of time! A lovely handmade gift that is unique and original. Oh, I am so thrilled by this.  And for $4.50 and $5.95! Score! How could I have not known about this before??? You can get them for yourself right here:

 

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5233962&page=1

 

So, that is my rant for today. Head over to www.Etsy.com and check out everything they have on there, you will be shocked and amazed!

Nursery Style on the cheap June 3, 2009

My sister is expecting a baby girl this summer, which has prompted me to check out every single baby website known to man. Be it pregnancy hormones or just too many choices, she went back and forth for weeks before finally falling in love with a crib set, which of course I instantly bought before she had a chance to change her mind again! Here is the little beauty of a set, purchased at Pottery Barn Kids…

 

Inspiration Room

 

In my efforts to pimp her nursery, I was on a mission to come up with cute and different ideas to make everything come together. Since there is a Pottery Barn Kids store just down the road, I made a quick stop in there over the weekend to check things out and see exactly how they had set up our beloved G is for Giraffe crib bedding. Everything in their store is jaw-droppingly (is that a word?) gorgeous, but the prices on some things made my jaw drop as well. And I thought, since I am pretty crafty, I bet I can come up with a few ideas that are similar to the beautiful things throughout the store, without the hefty price tags. Here is what I have come up with so far:

 

Inspiration Decor

 

There were 3 of these hanging together in a corner above a crib and I loved the idea of them, but was not so keen on the fabric flowers. I have seen similar arrangements in wedding catalogues where they have these arranged with real flowers (obviously not practical in this situation) but I thought maybe we could get the best of both worlds. So with my inspiration in mind I set out for JoAnn Fabrics, one of my favorite stores on the planet, to stock up on foam balls, floral pins, and some silk flowes, which were on sale 50% off. Score!

 

For $25, I made all 3 hanging balls for the nursery. I think they turned out pretty cute, and so did my boyfriend, who is not big on girly type baby things so I took that as an extra compliment. You can’t beat the price, since the ones at Pottery Barn ranged from $29 to $49 depending on size, and I was able to make all 3 for $25. For style on a budget, check out your local JoAnn Fabrics and get started! It took me 2 hours to make all 3 while I was watching HGTV (of course!) My sister loves them and I couldn’t be happier about it.

 

Ta-da!

 

I have a few more things up my sleeve for the baby’s room. I have been stockpiling ideas, so by the time this kid arrives she will have the cutest nursery on the block! Baby nursery decorating has become my new fave pastime (after painting everything white of course, which will always be my favorite thing to do.) If you are looking for nursery ideas, look no father than your nearest Pottery Barn Kids. It’s a little pricey but the quality makes the bedding worth it, since most sets are made to last well into the toddler years. And while you don’t have to buy out the whole store, you can at least get an idea of room set-ups, furniture placement, and designer decor that may be easy enough to re-create on a budget.  Happy shopping!

So here it is… June 2, 2009

I have toyed with the idea of starting to blog for a long time. Mostly I haven’t done it because I thought that my life is super boring and no one would get a kick out of reading my random posts. But then I got to thinking. On a daily basis I have a routine, with 3 websites that I check first thing in the morning to get my day rolling. It’s a habit I have (we will talk more about my habits later!) but the interesting thing about my 3 website routine is that 2 of them are blogs. “Bower Power” and “Young House Love” are 2 blogs I have become addicted to, not only because they are chock full of fabulous design tips and pictures galore, but they are also witty and entertaining. Check them out on my blogroll to see what I’m talking about, I tell you, you won’t be disapointed. 

 

So, back to me and my blogging dilemna. To blog or not to blog? I have decided on the latter, since lately I feel that I have a few interesting things to add to the webworld, and if no one reads it, so what? Right?

 

My budding dream is to become a designer. Yeah, yeah, I went to school for design and didn’t do a thing with it. And fast forward more than 5 years later and I am still working for someone else, not in the design field, my dreams of being my own boss all but shattered by the corporate world and its economic depression.  The kind of design I love is not in all the math and numbers that go along with a kitchen renovation. Oh no, math is not for me. I just love to make things beautiful, any way I can. If that means I slap a coat of paint on it, re-cover it, remove something from it or just tear it down all together: where there is a will, there is a way. If it’s ugly, I’m all over it. That has become my little hobby of sorts, to peruse thrift stores for sad little treasures just waiting to be restored to their glory day condition.

 

Fast forward a few weeks to my first design project, if you will. A sad little rattan armchair, dark brown wicker with the harvest gold cushion that was so fashionable in 1965.  Something about it called out to me, and I thought it would make the perfect little desk chair. I snagged that little baby for $20, and it sat around for a bit before I decided exactly what to do with it. When I started my design project, I didn’t have blogging in mind, so there is no true before picture. The picture you see is after the chair had been stripped and re-painted a fresh coat of white paint.  White seems to be my color of choice lately, probably because I can’t wait for winter to be over and all I want is crisp white everything now that Memorial Day has passed.  Or maybe because I love that shabby-chic cottage feel you can get from gorgeous white Pottery Barn looking furniture. 

 

Back to the sad little chair. It seems much happier now, don’t you think? It got a fresh coat of paint, had all the cushions ripped out (no small task!) and I completely re-upholstered it using new materials. The old stuffing and cushions were decrepit and all but powdered down when I sliced that sucker open, so if you are planning on doing an overhaul like this I would recommend doing that part outside, to avoid powered and probably toxic foam cushion explosions all over your carpet. If only I had the same advice, sigh. You live and you learn.

 

So imagine my chair with a dark brown frame and an ugly harvest gold cushion, and marvel at the transformation like I did. A ravishing re-design, if I do say so myself.  Cute, right? I thought so.

 

Yucky Before

Pretty Little After

 

There you have it, my first ravishing re-design. And my first blog as well. I hope you enjoyed them both. I think if I can put two things I like to do together, this will work out just fine. Designing, check. Talking about designing, check . Talking in general, check check.  So stay tuned for more ravishing re-designs…but mostly just for more talking.