loving…

1. this blog that i just discovered called better after.  looking at all the before and after pics is so inspiring.  makes me want to run to a flea market or yard sale just so i can buy something to revamp myself.

2.  this chevron fabric ironing board cover for only $24.  it would turn your ironing board into a piece of art.  there would be no more hiding my ironing board if i had this cover.  i found it on the house & life blog via blue hydrangea.

3.  the nate berkus collection at hsn.  yes, i did say home shopping network.  found out about it from the nest egg blog.  there are some really cool and inexpensive pieces in his line.  like this small sofa for $499

and this pillow on clearance for $19.95

4.  this mirror from anthropologie for $368 that looks very similar to the an aidan gray mirror for that retails for twice the cost - $687.50.  i personally like the anthropologie mirror better.

     anthropologie mirror               aidan gray mirror

 

5.  this before and after post from mrs. howard personal shopper.  the after pic is lovely.  i really like the new x tables and woven dining chairs. 

before

after

i’m ready to enjoy a relaxing weekend.  i should be able to finish my furniture painting project by saturday too so i’ll reveal the completed project on monday.

LiveJournal Tags: loving...,blog,better after,before and after,cheveron fabric,house & life blog,blue hydrangea,nate berkus collection,hsn,home,anthropologie,aidan gray,mrs howard personal shopper

Part I: painting our guest room furniture

i’ve decided to tackle the task of painting our guest room furniture.  in our guest room we have a matching antique chest, dressing table and bed.  they were handed down to us from my grandmother after she moved in with my dad.  i had always loved her guest bedroom furniture set so i was really happy to be able to use it in our guest room.  the finish on it was pretty scratched up and wasn’t in the best condition.  i was hesitant to refinish it because i had refinished an old bed a few years back and it was a long and very messy process.  after a year of looking at the scratched up finish i finally decided i would antique them instead.  here are the before pictures of the dresser and chest.  i decided not to refinish the bed because it was in better condition than the other pieces and because i also had no extra room to store the mattress while i would be doing the painting.

today i started the painting process.   i was able to get everything primed.  it took forever due to the amount of drawers.  count them…there’s 13!  i used my favorite oil-based primer to prime them, zinsser oil-based primer.  it’s a great primer.  it dries in about 45 minutes and best of all it bonds to everything so well that you don’t even have to sand beforehand.

after priming everything our guest room looks like a sea of drawers.  tomorrow should go much more quickly because i’m using latex paint for the next step.

 

stay tuned to see how it turns out.

LiveJournal Tags: guest bedroom furniture,painting,antique,zinsser oil-based primer

free marketing tool

a friend of mine, heidi over at ~tips to order~, turned me onto vflyer about a month ago.  she said that she had used vflyer to create electronic flyers to post on craiglist and that i should really try it.  i’ve been using it, and i think it’s an awesome marketing tool.  especially for someone like me who has a very limited marketing budget and no graphics skills.  best of all, vflyer is free! yes, i did say FREE.  there is an option to upgrade, but i have found that the free version works just fine for me.  to begin creating your flyer you have to create an account on their website.  then you are prompted to add your company info.  you can put as much or as little information on the flyers as you want.  you can also post up to 8 portfolio photos onto it.  then once you have entered your info, chosen a theme and published your flyer, vflyer gives you an html code that you can copy and paste into a craigslist add.  it’s free to post your design services on craigslist too.  so there you have it…a great free marketing tool for your design company.  i’ve posted my vflyer below and i’ve hyperlinked it so if you click on it you’ll go directly to my vflyer site. 

in times like these i feel like it’s great to share any tips or advice that i come across.  hopefully it will prove to be a helpful tool for you.

LiveJournal Tags: free marketing tool,vflyer,craigslist

william-sonoma home

william-sonoma home is one of my favorite stores to browse online.  i think that they tend to be a little pricey though…well, pricey for my budget.  even so, i still enjoy looking and getting ideas. 

i made a little visit to william-sonoma home and look what i found on sale.

printed scroll outdoor pillows - $39.99 (originally $98)

st. kitts woven raffia pillow - $49.99 (originally $88)

i love these urns and $99 is an awesome price for them.

porcelain urns - $99.99 (originally $198)

diamond ikat duvet cover & shams - $49.99-$269.99 (originally $118 - $648)

zebra crewel rug - $250-$1,150 (originally $295-$1,350)

bryce side tables $595 (originally $750)

happy shopping!

LiveJournal Tags: william-sonoma home,sale,printed scroll outdoor pillows,st. kitts woven raffia pillow,porcelain urns,diamond ikat duvet,zebra crewel rug,bryce side tables

music city weekend

well, billy and i made it back from nashville.  it was a quick trip but so worth it.  we had a blast.  now it’s back to the real world.  hope you were able to do something exciting over the weekend.

sorry about this being such a short post.  i really didn’t really think about too much involving design this weekend.  I’ve thrown in a few pictures of some of my previous projects so you’ll have something to look at though.  be back tomorrow.

 

  

LiveJournal Tags: music city,nashville

loving…

1.  LONNY

2.  the idea of putting 2 oversized floor lamps in the corners of a dining room.  this would be especially good for a dining room that didn’t have windows (one like mine).

3.  this precious dog artwork.  i spotted it on the cote de texas blog.  unfortunately i don’t know the source so if anyone out there does i’d love to know.  i’m thinking of actually painting something similar to this pieces for my place except i’ll be painting a jack russell terrier.  that’s the kind of dog we have.  jacks are the best!

4.  this ikat fabric from ballard design. it’s called casbah.

5.  this wallpaper from farrow & ball. it’s called lotus papers.  they have a pretty large color selection for all their patterns.  i’ve posted a few colors down below.

6.  pillows from fabricadabra. just discovered this pillow source.  they are extremely reasonable and have some fab patterns.  here are just a few.  go to the website to see more.

hope you have a safe and happy weekend.  billy and i are off to nashville, tn to enjoy some great music downtown.

LiveJournal Tags: loving...,oversized floor lamps,dog artwork,cote de texas,jack russell terrier,ikat fabric,ballard design,casbah,wallpaper,farrow & ballard design,lotus paper,fabricadabra,pillow source,nashville,tn,lonny magazine

so pumped!!!

i can’t tell you how excited i am about the new magazine lonny that just released its premiere edition.  blogs have been buzzing about it all day, but i was driving so i couldn’t look at it.  i just got home and checked it out.  let me tell you, it is absolutely beautiful, and from what i can tell it is going to fill the void that i was left with when domino folded.  best of all you can view the pages completely online.  at first i thought viewing the pages online would be difficult.  just as a personal preference, i have always preferred magazines in print rather than online.  lonny has taken their magazine to the extreme though.  the layouts are amazing.  i personally am loving the full-screen mode.  you can zoom in for better reading and so you can see more details in the photos. 

can you tell i’m pumped!!!  i have to run so i can finish reading the rest of the magazine.  just wanted to go on ahead and do a post so i could get the word out.  enjoy it!!!

LiveJournal Tags: lonny magazine,blogs,domino