Rug Recommendations?

I'm not sure what my deal is with rugs.  Everyone else seems to be able to find a good deal on a cute rug around here.  I keep striking out.

You may remember my dilemma about finding a rug for our living room. After extensive searching, I finally found the perfect rug on Target's website.

Now I'm having the same issue, just in the master bedroom now.

I'm in love with my comforter and sheet set.  It's grey and yellow and I want to bring in some mint green accents around the room.  This is what you should know about me.  I'm not a matchy-matchy kind of person.  I really want to be able to mix and match patterns seamlessly and make everything look like it was just meant to go together.  I haven't mastered it yet.  So I thought that a rug would be the perfect opportunity to bring in some color and some pattern and make it look like it all went together.  But, since I'm super dependent on other people's opinions (it's a flaw, I know), I need to know what you guys think.

Options!

Let's break these down.

The picture on the left, obviously, is my bedding.

1.  From zulily.com
Pros:  It's yellow houndstooth.  I'm obsessed with houndstooth.
Cons:  It's a 3.5'x5.6' rug.  I'm really hoping for a 5'x7'.  And it's $99.99.

2.  Currently in my Target store.
Pros:  It's gorgeous in person.  I really like the idea of doing a completely different rug pattern and bringing in the different colors.
Cons:  It's $152.99--that's the sale price.  Not really the ideal pricetag I'm looking for.

3.  From Urban Outfitters.
Pros:  I'm obsessed with chevron right now and it's mint green and it's only $89 for a 5'x7'.
Cons:  Is it too different?

4.  Same rug as #3, also from Urban Outfitters, just in yellow.
Pros:  Again, I love chevron.
Cons:  I'm nervous that it's too much yellow.  And I'm afraid that it's going to come in the mail and it's going to be a different color yellow that's on my bedding and it's going to clash.  Ugh.

Opinions?!?!

Mantle Madness!

Definition of a good husband:  one that will spend a good chunk of his Sunday putting up a mantle from your momma's basement.

I'm super ridiculously pumped about this.  Remember last month when I scored this super fabulous, super cheap clock from Hobby Lobby and I talked about my plans for our big open wall in our living room.  Well friends, the transformation is (almost) complete!

Before.  Terrible picture, I know.

What you need to know:  long navy wall.  Super boring.  Needed something.

Marty took down the clock, found the studs and marked the position of the mantle.  Then, he spent several nights at his cousin's wood shop giving my mom's old mantle some much needed TLC.  It was in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint, some wood putty and, most importantly, a shelf on the top so I could actually display items on the top of the mantle.

After!

I have a mantle!  And a wall with something on it!  Hooray!!  I've already been browsing Pinterest for decor ideas for different seasons.  Right now, I'm trying to picture decorations for Avery's Winnie the Pooh themed 2nd birthday party this weekend.  Don't worry.  Pictures will follow.

I still have some styling to do around this area, but it's up!  And I'm excited!  Who's got the best husband ever?  This girl.

Yard Sale Finds Are My Friends

Yard sale finds, castoffs, items hidden deep in my mom's basement storage room....these are my friends.  I never thought I'd be the type to say that I loved junk.  I enjoy looking at an item and finding a new use for it.

Like these old shutters my mom had in her basement.  They were black, nothing special about them at all...but I felt like they needed to be displayed somewhere and out of the bottom floor of my parent's home.  I took them to our house in Bardstown, where they hung out in our storage shed for awhile.  I was unsure of the perfect place to use them.  As a picture holder?  As a decorative accent on a wall in our home?  Nothing sounded just right.  Until around Christmas time, when I decided to take a shelf off the wall and it left a HUGE mark where the brackets had been.  Oops.  I searched frantically for a solution to hide the eyesore and finally came up with one of the shutters.  I displayed it on the wall and hung our stocking from it for a couple of months (oh, you don't take your Christmas decorations down until March either??).

Soon after, we moved and I haven't found the "perfect" place to put the shutters back up in the new house.  I've been trying to decorate very deliberately and with purpose and not just throw crap on the walls just to have decorations.  But one day, while I was watching TV, it hit me.

Duh.  These shutters make the perfect frame for our TV!  When Marty mounted the TV, it left quite a bit of open spaces on the sides that I always felt needed something.  I didn't want to hang pictures because I felt like that would distract from TV viewing, but I didn't like the idea of leaving it all blank though.  Marty complains that they make his TV look smaller, but I don't mind a bit.

I'll leave you with some other TV wall inspiration that just make me drool:

via thelaurenelizabeth

^ I literally have dreams about this wall I love it so much.  Maybe one day.

via

Love these colors.  And the frame around the TV.

via

I'm geeking out over this.  I want sliding barn doors!

Do you have any creative ideas to make a TV wall look prettier?  Share! 

DIY Diva in Training--Big Art for Little Money

Where my divas at??  No, not you, lady who makes her husband go shopping with her and hold her bag the entire time.  Or you, woman that gets a mani/pedi every other day so her polish can match her outfits.  Where my DIY divas at??  The ladies that are interested in decorating their homes for pennies at a time, while still staying as stylish as possible.  For all YOU diva-licious DIY'ers, this post is for you.

I know I tempted you the other day with pictures of all of the furniture pieces I plan to redo and breathe life into.  But this post isn't about any of those furniture pieces.....sorrrrrry!  Instead, it's about how to make a big impact on your wall for not a lot of big money. 

I love big pieces.  I love big wall art and I hope to own my own painting one day to hang in my home.  Unfortunately though, the budget doesn't really allow for any art right now.  So I decided to make a focal piece on my own.  Wanna know how?  Follow me!

Go to your local craft store....I picked Michael's (basically because it's the only one in my town to choose from).  I picked up a large filigree wooden frame and my last initial.

Next, I went to Walmart and bought some spray paint.  Our bedroom is mostly grey and yellow with some mint green accents thrown in.  There's a whole lot of grey and there's yellow on the bedspread, but I needed to incorporate more green.  So I chose to paint my frame grey (to be able to use in other parts of my home if I decided to put it in another room) and the initial green.  The actual spray paint colors were Krylon Jade and Smoke Grey. 

After I spray painted the two pieces, I hung it up in our bedroom. 

 

Seriously, that's it.  I plan on adding something else to each side (I'm a symmetrical kind of girl), but that'll be in the future.  Ready for the cost?  The huge frame was $7.99, the initial was $4.99 and the spray paint was $3.49 a can--which I probably used a 1/4 of the can.  I can't afford a giant piece of art to hang in my bedroom.  So this'll do for now. 

DIY Diva in Training....new series!

I think the Little Red Hen had a little bit of DIY-er in her when she said "I'll do it myself!"  I want my home to look like something out of a magazine, decor-wise.  But getting it to look that way is craaaaaaazy expensive. If you go the ready-made route, good for you!  Since this momma is low on funds and trying to pinch her pennies, I'm going the DIY route.  So, introducing the "DIY diva in training" series!

Each week, I'll be transforming a piece of furniture or adding character to my home by doing it myself and saving money.  Here's a preview of all the furniture pieces that I have around my house that need a little TLC.

From top left, going clockwise: 

1.  Corner table (yard sale find: $15). 

2.  Adorable little table with cubbies (yard sale find:  $10). 

3.  Your guess is as good as mine (yard sale: $1)

4.  Really flipping awesome desk (antique store in Bardstown:  $40)

5.  Octagon side table (consignment store in Bardstown: $12)

From top, going clockwise:

 

1.  Chest of drawers (from Marty's childhood bedroom)

2.  Dresser (from Marty's childhood bedroom)

3.  Side table (yard sale find:  $15)

 

I'm going to breathe new life into these tired little pieces.  Give them a fresh coat of paint and some TLC.  But I'm also going to share some other little tips and tricks to decorate your house for as cheaply as you can get away with.  I'll be doing one big project or renovation every week, so be looking for them!  Maybe I will post them on Tuesdays for the Twitter hashtag #transformationtuesday (Or is it Transformation Thursday and Throwback Tuesday?  Whatev).  I will gladly welcome any and all ideas or pins that you think would be fitting for these pieces (particularly that little cubby hole table...can't figure out what I'm doing with that little dude just yet).  Hopefully big ideas and big reveals will be happening!  So stay tuuuuuuned :)



Sweet Sheets.

Since I made an embarrassing confession yesterday for my lack of tennis shoe ownership, I thought I would share another confession:

I've done NOTHING to our master bedroom since we've moved in.  

Literally.  I've unpacked our clothes.  I've put books and a lamp on our side table.  The end!  

Our bedroom is the biggest cluster of crap that needs to be put away, rugs that don't have a home, two chairs that don't match my current living room decor, a giant container of clothes that don't fit me that I'm too emotionally attached to get rid of.......it's a MESS.  Mess is probably an understatement.  It's horrible.  I don't like being in there, but I'm trying to decorate one room at a time and this room hasn't been high on the priority list.  Wanna see why?

Holy moley.........this is super embarrassing y'all.  I am a little bit of a comforter addict.  I LOVE comforters.  It's such an easy way to switch out decor without spending a ridiculous amount of money.  Our old house's master bedroom was decorated in black, white and red.  Fun fact about me:  I love black and white.  So every room in our home was a variation of black, white and one other color.  Kitchen:  black, white and red.  Avery's room:  black, white and purple.  Office:  black, white and teal.  Bedroom:  black, white and red.  So, in the new house, I'm trying to push myself out of my black and white comfort zone and introduce this amazing concept called color!  Our living room is grey and navy (which I'm planning to add some yellow pops of color).  Then there's our bedroom.  The walls are grey and I've been on the hunt for a grey and yellow bedspread for practically forever.  In the meantime, I was using an eclectic mix of every comforter set we've ever owned (basically because I can't find a complete set anywhere...).  Black and white comforter, Better Homes and Gardens quilted shams, green pillowcases and flat sheet, grey fitted sheet.  Do you see why I wanted to avoid this room completely??

My style dilemma came to an end this weekend at TJ Maxx in the form of this gorgeous Cynthia Rowley (didn't pay anywhere near that price that's on the link, btw) comforter and sham set (shout out to my sister Dayna for finding it for me).

 Do you hear the Hallelujah Chorus?  Because I totally did when she pointed it out.  It's perfect.  EXACTLY what I've been looking for.  Plus, I found these fabulous sheets at Target that just make my heart happy.

They're grey gingam sheets .  Another fun fact about me:  gingham is my second favorite pattern (anyone know my first favorite??).  I've had my eye on these beauties at Target for a hot second.  Literally months.  Any time I needed to go to Target, I'd walk over to the bedding section and admire them.  But I never had a comforter to match them and would tell myself I didn't need them.  Then I'd sadly walk away.  That ended this weekend!  As soon as I bought the comforter, I KNEW I'd be buying these sheets.  When I visited Target yesterday, these sheets were on sale (regular $43.99 for a Queen set, marked down to $38.99) AND I had a coupon for 15% Threshold bedding.  It was fate.

Side note:  while we're talking about bedding, you NEED one of these.

I was having HORRIBLE back pain most days.  I would wake up in complete pain and it would continue throughout the day.  One day, after being close to tears with lower back pain, I told my husband we needed to do something drastic to help me...whether that meant a new mattress, visiting a specialist, whatever.  He brought home a memory foam mattress topper for us to try out before I went and spent a ton of money at a chiropractor's office.  Honest to goodness haven't had a single day of back pain in the 4 months we've had it on our bed. {Similar options}

Back to the post:  Now that I have pretty sheets and an actual completed look to my bedding, I'm ready to start decorating the rest of my room.  Also at TJ Maxx, I picked up a wooden ampersand symbol (&), thinking that I could find a "D" and a "M" to put together and put on our dresser (sweet, right?).  It's a minty green and I think the color combination is gorgeous.

Now I'm on the hunt for mint green and yellow and grey!  Further inspiration:

via

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Yes.  I know these are pictures of baby nurseries.  No, I'm not having a baby.  It's called inspiration people.

Other small snippets of decoration in our house:

Rug in the dining room.  It's tiny.  I want a bigger one, but I love the design of this one.  I'll deal.

Our couch FINALLY came in!  When we bought it, the frame was bent, so Corvin's very graciously told us about it and ordered us a brand spanking new one for the clearance price we bought it at.  Pumped.
A couple of weeks ago, I posted pictures on Facebook on my living room walls and asked for advice on what kind of rug to get...what color, what pattern, etc.

Navy in the dining room and on a very long wall into the living room and grey on the rest.  I like red, but couldn't find any red rugs that just screamed "Buy me!  I'll look fabulous in your living room!"
Instead, I found this rug on Target's website.  Gasped a little.  Fell in love.  Bought it.  Just got an email that it shipped out today!  Cross your fingers it looks good with my decor!!

via

That's all I have done so far.  Maybe in five years, my house will finally be decorated how I want it to be......maybe.

Welcome to my new home!

Several of you have told me that you can't wait to see pictures of our new house after I've decorated it.  Well, if that's the case, you'll be waiting for months :)  I'm still wading through boxes, piles of things that I don't have a place for yet and items that don't have a home.  It'll be a looooong time before this house is decorated the way I want it.  Plus, I don't want to rush and throw up a bunch of stuff on the walls just for the sake of having decorations.  I want to take my time and make sure that I'm putting up stuff that I really love that makes my house look good. 

With that being said, here's a little sneaky peek of some of the things that I have done, that I'm really super happy with....

Growing up, my mom had a "country/antique/Americana" kind of style.  And I HATED it.  If I never saw another antiqued piece of furniture or gingham print, it would be too soon.  Then, I got married and had a house of my own to decorate.  I found myself gravitating towards..... *gasp* .....antiques.  And rustic-y things.  And old wooden items.  Shocking, I know.  Right now, I'm really obsessed with window panes, old keys and wooden shutters.  Expect lots of those as I take you on a tour of my home in the future.  For now, here's a picture of our dining room wall and parts of my kitchen.

Gah.  I'm so in love with this navy wall.  When we moved in, this wall was yellow on top and a striped wallpaper on the bottom.  My future idea is to add wood to the bottom part of the wall to resemble bead boarding (found on Pinterest, of course).  That's a future kind of project, though. 

Now, the kitchen.  This kitchen is about to be overhauled.  In the very near future.  But for now, I'm working with what I've got. 

Cookbooks, farm animals, antique coffee tin and a rustic white picture frame?  I am my mother. 

SO excited about this one.  I've had this Dr. Pepper (my favorite drink) crate for practically forever.  I never really knew what to do with it.  In our old house, it sat above our cabinets, doing nothing.  In this house, the counter space in this kitchen is ridiculous.  Thus--a spice "rack" to hold my alphabetized (I hear you judging me) spices!  Hooray!  Also, Hammy the pig likes to watch me cook.  He was one of two animals in the clearance area at a local restaurant.  My sister took the sheep and I couldn't leave poor Hammy there by himself.  He's my kitchen friend....just not when I'm making bacon :)

 Lastly, the toaster oven my Meemaw bought me last year.  I LOVE it.  Doesn't it just SCREAM retro?!?  May seem silly to you, but I love the design of this toaster oven.  So cute.

That's it.  The rest of my house is a complete and total, undecorated disaster.  But I promise, the second I decorate it, you'll be the first to know. 

Organize One Thing Wednesday: Jewels on Display

It's Wednesday!  We're organizing!  Yipee!Today I'm tackling the mess that is your jewelry drawer.  I used to have one tiny drawer in my dresser that held ALL of my jewelry.  As my collection grew, I thought I might try to make it more organized by purchasing one of those small drawer sorters.  That corralled the problem...for a little while.  Soon, my earrings were everywhere, my bracelets were bungled and my necklaces were in knots.  And it drove me crazy.  Then, one day as I was going through pictures and items that were in my apartment in college, I came across a corkboard with ribbons that I hung pictures on.  You know the kind:

I really had nowhere to put it and thought it was a tad juvenile for our house, but I didn't want to throw it out.  And that's when it came to me.....jewelry holder!

Favorite part of my morning routine

Simple, a little eclectic and VERY effective.  All my jewelry in on display at once so I can see everything I have to choose from.  Because the board has a cork backing, it's easy to just push stud earrings into it and keep them in place.  For my drop, or "dangly" earrings, I just looped the back of the earring over one of the ribbons. 

Because no jewelry board would be complete without a Winnie the Pooh quote :)

When I first thought of this idea, I just had my earrings and brooches on the board.  I wasn't sure how to incorporate necklaces onto the board just yet.  Until I saw this idea on Pinterest (Not following me?  Check out my boards here!) :

Brilliant!  Shower curtain hooks on a towel rack to hold necklaces.  I knew that I had some shower curtain rings floating around my house somewhere from one of our wedding showers that were never used.  After locating the rings, I attached the clips to the bottom ribbons and hung my necklaces from each ring.  Problem solved. 

When I finished, I hung the board up in my bathroom where I do my morning routine.  Instead of walking back and forth from my old jewelry drawer in the dresser to the bathroom mirror, I'm right by the mirror so I can switch out earrings and necklaces with my outfit until I find what I think looks best.  Since implementing this organizing idea, my jewelry gets more wear because I can see everything in one place and I don't have to go digging for anything.  I love when organizing is functional AND pretty. :)  Have your own de-tangling jewelry solution?  Share it with me!  For the rest of you, go show your jewelry some organizing love. :) 

I have a problem.

My name is Devan and I'm an over-decorator.  You know the kind....if there's a spare wall in their home, they hang pictures, mirrors, cover bare wall space with a plant or a curtain.  If there's open table space, they fill it with candles, pictures, baskets, flowers.  That's me.  I cannot stand blank space.  Currently, I'm obsessed with gallery walls.  Put up some frames and other things, easy peasy lemon squeezy, you've got a filled wall and no blank space.  Some of my favorite ideas can be found at Simcoe Street, Domestic Imperfection (one of my new favorite blogs), and Birch and Bird.   Until I can make my gallery wall become a reality, I've turned to the other blank spaces in my house.  Particularly, my fridge and shower....


Smooth surface fridge + dry erase markers=instant family message center

 Dry erase markers on your fridge are an easy way to keep track of things that go on in the kitchen.  With our house set-up, you see the fridge as soon as you walk in the back door.  It's nice seeing the "bible verse to remember" to get you in the right mind frame as soon as you get home.  I like having the grocery list on the fridge...convenient when making dinner and you notice that you don't have any milk or canned salsa left.  Write it on the fridge and then take a picture of the list when you're headed to the grocery.  Other options:  an art area for kids to draw on and entertain themselves while you prepare dinner.  My sister uses markers on her fridge to keep a list of produce and the date she purchased them so she can know how much longer they have before they go bad.  So many possibilities!  And for you neat freaks, it comes off easily with a paper towel.  If you've left it on for awhile, you might need your favorite surface cleaner to help. 

Lather, rinse, get motivated, repeat.

My favorite quotes to start my day

This is one of my favorite things in our house.  Forever I've been saying that I needed to put some quotes up on my mirror to pump myself up and make me feel better about the day that lay ahead of me.  Then, I remembered that I still had bathtub crayons from college.  Before you ask, I was very involved with FFA and served as the Kentucky FFA State President for a year.  With the title, I was expected to give a lot (A LOT) of speeches and present workshops.  Some people get all their good ideas during the night or while driving down the road.  I get mine in the shower.  Something about the mind-numbing routine of shampooing and shaving gives me the time for my mind to wander to other things. In fact, I wrote my entire 10 minute retiring address under my steamy shower head.  What better way to start the day, than with quotes to remind you to be thankful, be nice and be self confident today?

Laun-dream-y rooms

When you think of your dream home, which room do you drool over?  A kitchen with top of the line appliances and enough counter space to prep your family's dinner?  A living room with square footage large enough for you to arrange and re-arrange your jaw-dropping furniture?  A home office with built in bookshelves and a bay window?  Those are all well and good, but I dream of something a little bit different.  When I think of my dream home, I focus on one room.......the laundry.  I can't really explain it.  I don't particularly enjoy doing laundry or want to spend an excessive amount of time in the laundry room, but I can't help but drool over pictures of shelves for baskets, counter tops for folding clothes fresh out of the dryer.  I sigh over pictures of adorable laundry rooms that combine design and function.  In fact, my Dream Home Pinterest board is filled with pictures of laundry rooms and organizing solutions.  Let me just share a few of my drool-worthy photos with you:



Every family member has their own basket to put away

I want a sink in my laundry room. Bad.



Love the red and gray...and that island!!

Organized AND spacious??  When can I move in??

Is there anything I can say about this that you're not already thinking.....???

Geez.  If I get nothing else I want when (if??) Marty and I ever build, I want a spacious laundry room.  I don't think it's too much to ask, right? 
More along the lines of my current (penny pinching) budget, I've currently got my eye on a clothes line.  Eventually, when Marty and I figure out where we're going to be for a few years (it's kind of up in the air at the moment), I want an outdoor clothing line.  Saves money by not running the dryer constantly and gives your clothes and sheets a fresh air clean smell. *mmmmmm* 

Until we figure out a more permanent solution, I have my eye on these:

Indoor Retractable clothesline by Home Depot

Genius

The...$5!....clothesline.  We may have a winner.

I'll leave you guys to dream of your fabulous kitchens and living rooms.  Meanwhile, I'll have visions of clotheslines and ridiculously large laundry rooms dancing in my head.