Branching Out

I am branching out! Since this is a rental I thought I could try a few things that may be outside the norm for me. All that to say I am adding actual color here and there. In my quest for finding a fun pillow I came across this Kelly Wearstler's sea urchin fabric on The Designer's Attic. After much debate I thought I would go for it. The color is spot on and the simple pattern won't compete with rug. I then came across this old image from lonny that I had stored away and knew this is the feel I am wanting. Clean, pretty, and classic with a twist. Now just to see if I can actually pull it off!

*Also a huge thank you for all the advice on yesterday's post! I have a few more to go through, but I think I found the ones! You all are the best!

The Kitchen in Progress

It's a mess. That's all there is to it. HA. I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel though! What we did thus far is paint the cabinets. Added a new working fridge, new faucet, new knobs, and cleaned like crazy. We also changed the lights, but I am ready to move them to another part of the house. They just do not provide enough light for the kitchen although the Mr loves it. I tried regular bulbs, but the glare was too much. I then used these and they work great just not for here. They will move to the office and upstairs hallway. Now I am on the hunt for new lighting. The ceiling is lower in here so with the Mr's tall height I can only get something that is 12" max. I am thinking something with brass maybe and they have to be relatively cheap since this is a rental. Have you seen anything??? I really am stumped.

In a moment of needing to feel "finished" we hung the botanicals that once hung in the master. I am not sure if they will stay here or not. We also came to a conclusion that a small table with chairs just won't fit here. Boo. For now a bench that I bought in Atlanta while out with Tiffany and Marianne lives here.

This built in piece may be my favorite. I became all teary eyed putting my grandmothers ironstone away. Just thinking the year of the house matches her life made me melt. I obviously need to install the door magnet closer doohickies so the cabinets actually stay shut.

This may make me most happy. As you walk into the back door the floor rotted out. It was pulled out and we were left with quite a hole. We then discovered this 20 something year old tile is no longer in existence at 12.5". One day we hope to remove the whole floor and rebuild, but that's not a nearby project. In the meantime we needed a solution. After much thought I decided that this 1931 house at one time could have had a vestibule of sorts so I tried to create that feel. Kind of as if the walls had just been removed and this was what we were left with. The up side is that the pattern helps distract from the rest of the not so fabulous floor. HA.

bottom cabinets: Seal by Martha Stewart {mixed by Benjamin Moore}

top cabinets: talc by Martha Stewart {mixed by Benjamin Moore}

walls: talc by Martha Stewart from Home Depot mixed with Behr paint and primer in one

Knobs: Lowes

Faucet: Delta {bought on sale}

washer and dryer: LG

stool: serena and lily

* where it all began.

A Simple DIY & Another Home Depot Challenge

Today I am over on the Home Depot Apron blogsharing my next challenge, DIY outdoor games! I must say this challenge was REALLY quite the challenge since when we shot the DIY we were still living out of suitcases, hopping house to house. Our old home flooded and our new home was not ready for us. It was fun none the less and I am sure our game will bring us joy and sweet memories years to come. One of the biggest challenges though was not having any of my "styling" goodies with me. Everything was packed away and some stuff ruined. I knew the game itself needed "more" for the photographs. Yes, we did have a fun get together, but let's be honest the pictures need to look good too. HA. That is where a simple and inexpensive DIY picnic blanket came into play.

I bought a 5x5 dropcloth from Home Depot and picked Martha Stewart Terra Rosa as my stripe color. The best part of using the drop cloth is that it is lightly lined with plastic on the underside so as in this case dew can not seep through.

We used a small roller to first make the stripes. I used the fold lines as a guide. KJ then followed with a foam brush to fill in the missed spots. I did not want the stripes to be perfect, but to mimic one of my long time favorite tablecloths that is way out of budget.

So simple really, but we have used it often since the original shoot.

Hope you will visit my Home Depot challenge! It was tons of fun.