Posts Tagged ‘Decorating’

Channeling my inner Sabrina Soto

July 21st, 2010

In case you aren’t addicted to HGTV, Sabrina Soto is an in-home staging expert for families in need of a quick home sale. Her main motto is to de-clutter, and as a recent home shopper, that is definitely true. In our home, I’ve been trying to de-clutter for my sanity, and it’s a constant struggle. Right now it’s difficult because we don’t have a place for everything, and our home is in a constant state of DIY updates. Luckily though, some of the key rooms are coming together: the dining room. I introduced the dining room here, but what the photos don’t show is how crowded it is in there.  One is the dining room which housed this beautiful desk:

Antique desk

Another Sabrina tactic is to give each room a purpose, and any room serving a dual purpose needs to be repositioned. There was no need for a desk in the dining room, and the entire room felt cramped and crowded. Also, the desk was in a constant state of chaos, because it was an easy place to just set that stack of paperwork.

We’re going to give the desk back to its original owner, but it makes my heart happy to know that this room already feels that much more open and inviting.

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Posted in Dining Room

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It’s a winner.

March 26th, 2010

I talked about ideas for the living room here, and I wasn’t sure about the fabric for the curtains. We did the reverse and chose a paint color rather than choosing that last, and for the most part it’s been wonderful. I love the wall color, and the plum just really adds a punch to the whole house.

So while I love the darker color, it’s been my project to lighten up the room as much as possible without being bland. This created some issues for me when deciding fabric for this room. I thought green would be a nice compliment, but I couldn’t find anything that was quirky enough for me until I went to IKEA. I’ve used Cecilia fabric before, but even when I had a piece of excess fabric strung over the existing fabric I wasn’t sure. So I went ahead and purchased 6 yards which would only be enough to cover one window (yes, I know). I used 3 yards to sew one panel, and the second 3 years is washed, ironed, pinned, and waiting to be sewn.

Here is how the fabric looks:

New curtains.

I must say that I LOVE it! I still need to sew the second panel for that window. I’ll need to buy 12 more yards to cover the second window you can see,and a third window in the other corner. The character and little pops of green compliment the plum, and the birds make my heart smile.

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Posted in Library, Sewing

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Glorious Living Room

February 26th, 2010

feb2610 Now that I’m getting close to graduating, the next goal is for me to find a job, and while it’s very exciting it’s frustrating as well. It helps to keep me motivated when I think of the projects we can tackle once I do have a job. One of the things that we’re both excited about is entertaining, and the living room is a huge focal point of that. I would like to have movie nights, and I love the play Pictionary. Currently, we have a three seat sofa that is just not enough seating for guests. It was also a quick purchase for college, and it’s definitely time to upgrade. I love chaises, and I wanted a sofa that included that. I also wanted a sofa that had a built in sofa sleeper for guests, because while we will have a guest bedroom I never want to not have enough places to sleep for anyone visiting or staying over.

I found this sofa here at La-Z-Boy. I really wanted a white sofa for the living room to help lighten it up, since we painted the room such a dark color. However, Steve and I both agreed that while it would look beautiful, it would not remain white with Elway’s dark black hair or if kids were over. We compromised on a gray couch, and using a the Ikea rug and adding white pillows and blankets would help to lighten it.

We also purchased new white paint to paint all of the molding and doors in the living room to really freshen it up. With the high ceilings and older house, we decided to go ahead and add crown molding to this room as well. I am really super excited to begin working on the room. I’m also a huge fan of displaying photos, so once I get those printed, matted, and hung up, it will add even more white space and help to brighten the room.

The other way to lighten up the room will be the curtains. I’m still unsure of where to go on the fabric for this room, and I feel that I will probably go through several sets of fabric before I find exactly what I’m looking for. I’ve used the Cecilia fabric before here, so it would be nice to have that tie into a different room.

Here’s what the room looks like now:

Now to order prints to be hung up. So hopefully in the next few months we can begin making this room exactly what we want.

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Posted in Decorating, House, Living Room, Mood Board

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