Which Navy for our Bedroom Walls?

We're just finally getting settled in at the new house, almost two months later... Luckily, I actually really like the neutral color the whole house was painted so my hubby dodged the painting bullet. Until, I saw this photo this past weekend...

The kitchen of Sara Tuttle, love!

And now I'm OBSESSED with painting our master bedroom navy blue. I painted two samples on the wall last night, and I think I know which one I'm going to use but I want your opinion on which one.

Alright so what do you think? Old Navy or Bold Blue? I definitely want it to be a deep, rich navy but I don't want it to ever get confused for black. Here are a couple more shots.

Love this pillow but not sure it will work anymore...

And here are some other inspiration shots, I'm so glad we have painted white trim in this house, it makes my heart pitter patter and will surely set off the dark paint. 

Room designed by Diane Bergeron. Definitely adding some whispy white window treatments

Oh, I love this photo, so gorgeous!

Alright so what do you think? Old Navy or Bold Blue?

Reader Q & A

Our house was featured over at 6th Street Design School last Friday. Since I still haven't revealed all the rooms in our house yet, you can hop over to get a sneak peak of Quinne's room, the dining room and the master bedroom. I've had lots of questions about sources so here are the answers.

Q: Where is your seagrass coffee table from?

A: I snagged this table from my first interior design job. It is made by a company called Interlude and has since been discontinued, sorry for the bad news!

Q: Can I have the info for the yellow/white ikat curtain fabric?

A: The fabric is Duralee and I can sell it to you by the yard, email me if you are interested at pk.interiors@yahoo.com

Q: What is the paint color of the red hutch?

A: It is Benjamin Moore's Heritage Red, it comes already mixed as a semi-gloss. (I just googled it to make sure I had the right name and it looks like House Beautiful calls it a sexy paint color, that made me laugh)

Q: Where is the striped runner from in your kitchen?

A: Good ol' Ikea

Q: Where are the pillow fabrics from?

A: I purchased the fabric at Calico Corners and sewed them myself. I am actually selling all but the black ones if anyone is interested because we are moving today and I will no longer need them. Email me if you are interested.

Q: Where did you get the trim for the cribskirt?

A: Again, Calico Corners :)

Q: Where is Charley's baby from?

A: She is officically named Stella and you can purchase her here.

Q: How did you get such a good deal on Quinne's chair?

A: I was lucky enough to snag this Kravet chair from the showroom floor for $250 as a floor model. 

Last but not least, I will be selling both pairs of curtains from Charley's room because our girls will be sharing a room when we move into our new house. Shoot me an email if interested. 

I hope to be back with one more post this week but if not, please forgive me as we are in the middle of a move. We're actually swapping houses with friends of ours who live literally six houses down the block. We are now known as the swappers in our neighborhood, that too makes me laugh!

Wish me luck! XO

Did I pick the right window fabric?

My living room panels

VS.

These Crate & Barrel panels made from Dwell Studio Bella Porte Citrine

Alright, so let me back up a little bit. A few months ago when I was spoiling myself and getting ready to order new window treatments for my living room and dining room, I decided I wanted to go with a yellow and white fabric for the panels. I knew the yellow had to be vibrant and bold since I'm not really a fan of buttery yellow. I had all but decided that I was going to order the Dwell fabric pictured above (exactly like the Crate and Barrel panels) to have custom panels sewed BUT I just wasn't feeling confident in my decision. So, the search began for a yellow and white ikat. Luckily, good ole Duralee had me covered and I fell in love as soon as I saw this print. 

So, now I'm asking you guys, which one do you like best? The one I decided to go with or the one that Crate and Barrel is now selling.  Be honest!!!

Here are a couple more shots of each:

Dwell fabric by the yard available here through Fabrics.com

Crate and Barrel panels available here

Tour My Home: Living Room

I've been super excited to share our living room with y'all. (Sorry, that's my leftover Southern accent from living in Pensacola) Aside from our kitchen, this is the room where we spend most of our time and it's definitely one of my favorites in our home. I'll be sharing the detail shots in another post because there are just too many gorgeous pictures by Marla of Sprout Photography to squeeze into one post. I just about died when I looked at these pictures for the first time, her work is amazing!

It's really amazing what a coat of paint can do! This console used to be stained oak, definitely not my favorite, and now has a cool asian flare with a quick coat of glossy red paint. Would you believe it if I told you my father-in-law picked out that vintage trunk on his own as my Christmas gift a couple years back? I could hardly believe it either, I love it!

The fab yellow and white ikat window treatments are new and I couldn't be happier with them. Plus, the antlers were a fun DIY project that I'll share soon. 

I love those red Ikea lanterns and how about that modern art on the mantel that I grabbed at a yard sale.

A couple of my favorite things in the room are the coffee table with stools that pull out and this rug from Ikea. It's not terribly kid friendly but I'm willing to put up with a little scrubbing for the look.

A couple more corner shots

 This red bookcase might be my most successful DIY but unfortunately I don't have a before pic. It was also stained oak and it smelled like cigarettes. I grabbed it from a pretty nasty thrift store that had posted an ad on Craigslist so you never know where you might find that perfect piece of furniture.

Thanks for stopping by!

XXOO

Tour My Home: Our Kitchen

Right off the bat, I have to admit that this room is my least favorite in our home. We are renters of an incredible craftsman home that is almost 100 years old and the biggest downfall of this 100 year old home is the kitchen. Back in the day, kitchens weren't the central hub of the home like they are today so it's a little short on space. Did you happen to notice we are missing a very major appliance? Sadly, we don't have a dishwasher or a garbage disposal which makes doing dishes a lot more of a chore.

In spite of it's shortcomings, I tried to give our kitchen a little character by adding in some fun artwork and my go to pattern, the stripe. The roman shade was a fun DIY project but you can't tell my landlord that it's hot glued to the wall in a couple spots :)

These two posters are my new favorite additions to the kitchen. I detailed how I made them in this post. And I'll be adding the Keep Calm and Eat Bacon one to my shoppe soon. After my hubby got home from being out of town for work, he casually mentioned that he thought the saying on this poster was supposed to be "Envision Whirled Peas." Oops, I knew something wasn't quite right. Either way, I still think it's fun.

Doesn't a label make everything cuter?

Mmmm, red velvet cake!

Some

This chalkboard is actually my favorite part of the room. My favorite saying "Smile more, pray more, complain less" is permanently written at the top and it serves as such a great daily reminder to be a better wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister etc. Plus, the chalkboard entertains Charley while I cook and do the dishes.

Overall, when dealing with imperfect rooms like this kitchen, have fun with the details! No matter how I decorate this room, it will never be my dream kitchen. So instead I added some fun details like the gorgeous Anthropologie hooks for hanging towels (on the left side of the first picture), I transferred my dish soap to an olive oil bottle and set it on a silver tray, and I proudly display my pink Kitchenaid mixer. Someday I'll have my Carrera marble countertops and a fancy Viking range, let's just hope it's sooner rather than later!

I'll revisit the kitchen in a couple weeks to share some fun tips for organizing your pantry and maybe even some free labels to get your pantry looking pretty.

XO

Lay Baby Lay

I've recently become smitten with the nursery design blog called Lay Baby Lay. Have you seen the gorgeous photos of her daughter, Vivi's, nursery flying around the blogosphere? The room is insanely stylish and I want my office to have that exact same chevron rug!

Aside from her gorgeous nursery, Joni designs some of the most stylish nursery inspiration boards and shares all of her links and sources. It's practically having a designer create a gorgeous nursery for you for free.

Here are some of my favorite inspiration boards of hers lately:

Head here for the sources

Head here for the sources

Head here for the sources

Head here for the sources

There are a couple of things that I want to point out about why I love these inspiration boards so much. First, the pieces that Joni selects are not crazy expensive or at least there are always some key pieces that are reasonably priced. I really don't think you have to have tons of money to have a great looking home. Always remember that money doesn't buy good taste so I think the opposite hold true as well. Secondly, none of these rooms feel "babyish." I tend to design nurseries that will grow with the child. For most of us, redesigning a room when we have two year olds won't be an option, so why not just start a little more grown up? And third, if you go and check out the sources, you'll see that most of the dressers she selects are from etsy. I guess I need to spend some more time looking for furniture there, not that I need one more thing to drool over on etsy!

Last but certainly not least, Joni is offering a free download of the darling poster below. So, she's saying it's okay to have a messy house, right?

Thank you Joni for sharing your great taste with us! XO

A good old fashioned before and after by A2 (home+made)

After Julie of A2 (home+made) worked her magic

Closeup of the fun pattern on the desk drawers

Do you love a before and after as much as I do? Well, I love them up until I'm about 3/4 of the way through the project and I get over the hard work?

Enter my dear friend Julie of A2 (home+made)!

Julie has just recently started a business called A2 (hand+made),website here,  where she gives well-made vintage furniture a second chance. In her own words, "These one of a kind pieces, encompass a modern style with character. I transform each item with the use of color, pattern and clean lines. Good furniture deserves a second chance." I couldn't agree more.

Are you finally ready for the before picture of the desk?

Can you even believe this is the same piece of furniture?

Before and after of the armchair, love the fabric she used!

I've been friends with Julie since the Navy brought us together while our husband's were in flight school in Pensacola, FL. It's not too often that I meet other military wives as into design and good food as I am, so this was a perfect match! They moved to San Diego about a year before we did and we've been stealing restaurant advice since the day we moved here.

 I think this might be my favorite piece listed in her shop right now

 LOVE this dresser!

Julie is a "real" designer, meaning she's got credentials behind her good taste, unlike me. I just happen to love all things design and have been lucky that my clients don't give a hoot that I don't have formal training. Look at how gorgeous her dining room is below. PS- She won that amazing DWR light fixture at work a few years back and had quite an ordeal getting it into her 4th floor apartment since it wouldn't fit through the doorways.

Sadly for me, Julie now lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with her husband and darling son Will but can ship anywhere in the US. She can even hunt down a specific style or piece of furniture and refinish it for you. Visit her shop, show her some love and leave your future DIY projects to her.

Miss Charley's Room

 

Welcome to Miss Charley's room. Since Charley was our first girl, I sort of went over the top with the girliness in her room, I just couldn't help myself!

The first step in almost of all of my design projects is to select a gorgeous fabric that will serve as the inspiration for the rest of the room. In Charley's room, the window treatments were the jumping off point, I just love this Duralee fabric!

We already had the white slipcovered Pottery Barn chair and it has been the perfect cozy addition for reading and cuddling before bedtime. Do you see the monkey painting I hauled over to the park for Charley's party? My talented friend Renee painted this for Charley along with the two bird paintings above her dresser.

My next step was selecting paint colors. I knew that pink walls would be serious overkill so I opted for this gorgeous pale apple green by Benjamin Moore and painted the ceiling the palest shade of pink I could find.  Do you love the chandelier? Me too. I snagged this baby on clearance from JC Penney for $129. Also, the shag rug is from Target, it's perfect for playtime on the floor.

I wanted a customized piece of art with Charley's name on it in her room and knew I could handle painting this myself. So, I bought a large canvas and painted the background with the pink ceiling paint. Then, I enlarged letters in Microsoft Word and traced them onto the canvas and painted in the letters by hand. I love that I was able to paint something for her room even without having any artistic talent.

I don't tend to be a "bed in a bag" type of gal so I mixed & matched store bought and custom made bedding. Do you see the adorable pom pom trim added to this Pottery Barn bed skirt? That little detail took me about 5 minutes top and it adds so much fun. I can't resist a pom pom trim! I didn't start out with a bumper, you know first time mom following the rules, but added one when Charley started bumping her head. My favorite local workroom whipped one for me with some gorgeous Amy Butler and Michael Miller fabric. Plus, I was able to use the scraps from the windows to create a few of the ties.

The pillow in Charley's crib is the same as the window treatments so you can see it up close in the picture above. Also, her polka dot sheets are from Pottery Barn Kids.

Meet two of Charley's best friends. The one on the left is "baby," seriously that is her name. I tried giving her a real name to no avail. Actually, we own two babies, just in case of emergency and so one can take a bath without C having a fit. (It actually looks like this one needs a bath, sorry!) And on the right is "friend," and yes that is the name that Charley gave her. I adore this Serena and Lilly stuffed animal. In fact, Charley has quite a way with naming her animals. A Bengal Tiger has just recently been named "Miss Sparkles" and for the record, the tiger is a boy. So, apparently we have a transgender tiger...

The dresser was the last purchase in the room. I wish I'd had the budget to skip Ikea altogether but it actually looks clean and simple in the room. And I love the bird paintings done by Renee above the dresser.

I've had this pink and green jeweled frame in my bedroom since college. When I went to replace the picture with a new one, Paul suggested leaving it with there so Charley could see us when we were young. I love that every time we are in our room, I get a little flashback to our college days. The picture was taken in Hawaii the summer after our sophomore year of college, circa 2002. 

Love this gorgeous striped pillow on the chair. Unfortunately, it looks like it's taken a beating...

This gorgeous inlaid wood box holds Charley's treasures, mostly jewelry from her dedication. Paul's first deployment was during the time I was pregnant with Charley and he picked it up for her in his travels in the Middle East.

Hope you love her room as much as we do! If you have any questions about sources, feel free to shoot me an email.

All of these gorgeous photos are by Marla of Sprout Photography, website here.

XXOO