DIY Pinterest CHALLENGE

One of my most favorite blogs of all time is Young House Love. Last week Sherry from YHL, along with Katie Bower, Emily Henderson from HGTV, and Emily's friend Lana, decided to "challenge" all readers to DIY something from Pinterest. See the hilarious video here.

Luckily for me, I had an unlucky piece of furniture that could use a little TLC. Not that it was in horrible condition...but it wasn't exactly exciting...

Exhibit A:

A desk that was abandoned in the abyss of my basement (if you just thought "yay for alliteration! congrats, you're a nerd like me!). Anyways, the desk is an antique that is cute, but a bit bland. And not getting any use. I wanted to spice it up a little.

First- I considered sanding it by hand, and started to do so. After 15 minutes outside my fingers hurt and I had gotten no where. Onto plan b.

Plan B- I went to my neighborhood hardware store this morning and bought a $10 can of all purpose primer. It took me probably 10 minutes to coat the entire desk in primer.

Exhibit B:

You can see I took the drawer out to paint it. Already I thought the primer made it look ten times better.

Colors: I knew that I wanted to use turquoise, partly because I love the color, and partly because I already had a pint of turquoise paint from a leftover project. I also knew that I knew that I wanted to leave part of it white, being especially inspired by this "pin":

























Now I know that desk doesn't have any white, but the simplicity of it is originally what made me think of my desk, and then I admired how the pop of color was subdued by the stained wooden top. But instead of just copying this desk, I wanted to do something different. And I love the combo of turquoise and white. Or anything and white. Or anything and turquoise, really.

After much contemplating what to paint white and what to paint turquoise, I made up my mind.
A couple hours of later (after sweating in my sports-bra and jean shorts- gotta love humid summers in the midwest) this little guy was born. Or reborn. Whichever.

The color is way more turquoise in person. Here's a close-up of the knob:

Overall, it was a fun project and I'm glad I did it. I don't really think I would have done something if the crazy ladies in the video above had brought up the idea.

Oh did I mention, I owned everything except for the primer? This was a $10 project. Not bad.

As for why I took the photos outside, it is really the only place I could get far away from the desk in a pretty background. (Take a photo in the garage? I don't think so). And someone else wanted to share the spotlight.

Farewell and happy blogging/reading/pinning...

My DIY belly shirt. And chair.

Today I made myself a belly shirt.

Oh, and I also took an old chair that looked like this:

And transformed it into this:

My mom bought the chair about 30 years ago, and upholstered it herself using the brown floral print.
No offense mom, but I wasn't to crazy about the floral print, but I love the chair, especially the woodwork on the back.
So I took an old dress that I never wear, because it fits me horribly (but I LOVE the print):

 ...and cut it up (my mom was horrified at this idea, but finally came around...I assured her that the chair would be used much more than the dress), and with the help of an upholstery gun that I found in the basement...voila:

This was literally the easiest task. Took me 10 minutes max.

Note: I am not actually planning on wearing that as a belly shirt. This is a joke. 

Ikat

You know those friends who you hated when you first met them, but now you are practically in love with each other?

Well, my friends, that is my relationship with ikat. I used to hate it. I thought it looked like a "high-class" tye-dye. But it is much prettier than your Dad's 60's t-shirt or the shirt you dyed at your frenemie's 3rd birthday party.The colors blend together while still maintaing a geometric print. Ikat is an central asian way of dying each strand of thread individually, and then weaving them into beautiful patterns, for a tye-dye-ish effect.

For those of you not familiar, ikat prints come in any color and patterns:

Its all the rage now and is appearing everywhere- from shorts, to bedding, to dresses, to pillows.  Look at this gorgeous duvet cover:

If you could ever water color on a pillow, I'm pretty sure it would look something like ikat.

For more information on how ikat is made (its really interesting, and very labor-intensive) go to this site.

Have a Sparkling (water) Father's Day!

This morning my sister and I gave my Dad this super-cool future-esque carbonated water machine.

How sleek and contemporary does that look? Oh, and it is a totally appropriate gift for him consider he goes through one of these (a 12 pack):

in a single day. No more cans! Now we can all be eco-friendly, functional and stylish with our new soda machine!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there!

p.s.-  have to give credit to my Aunt and Uncle for the idea. They had one first. So technically, we copied off of you guys.

p.p.s. When we said Happy Father's day to him, he replied jokingly "I couldn't have done it without you."

My dad is a funny dude.

Layers from India

When I think of who inspires my style the most, no one has the impact of British-born designer India Hicks. She manages to create such an interesting, completely calming spaces. Her unpretentious yet classic style can be summed up into one word: layered.

From my (very) limited design experience, I find it most important to collect certain items, whether it be a lamp shade or an armoire that in some way speaks to you. I adore her collected, inherited, and bought items; isn't it so welcoming nostalgic? India has managed to make classic British design flow seamlessly with a breezy, beachy vibe.

My favorite part of the room? The built-in with all the straw hats. Functional, casual, and chic. (Note: this is most likely my favorite part because I am partial to a great straw hat.)

Oh, she also lives in Harbour Island year round (jealous much?).

She has her own blog http://www.indiahicks.com.

Life... a balancing act

Here I am painting my sis's room. It is Benjamin Moore's Calypso Blue. It is a pretty dark color, but her room gets a lot of natural light, so instead of being dreary, it comes off as a rich and deep color.

I C U

Or should I say, I CB2 you. Check out these awesome side tables from CB2. I'm using them in my sister's room for a chic, yet understated nightstand.