Quick Change Couch

Hi and happy Tuesday! 

I have had a love/hate relationship with the couch in our front living room ever since we got it over three years ago.  On the plus side it's a pull out, so it's great when we have a full house.  It's big, cozy and comfy and the girls love to sit and read and play on it. 

The negative is it's brown.  Just dull and bland and I've been trying to make up for that ever since we got it!  I bought 6 yards of this lovely vintage fabric a few years ago and have used it in a variety of ways to creatively cover the couch. Hey it's better/cheaper than buying a whole new couch!

See below for my many transformations!

Naked couch

Upper covered couch

Entirely covered couch

Middle covered couch

The last photos is what the couch looks like right now.  I was getting tired of all the yellow and decided to change it up yet again.  Maybe I need new fabric!

Have a great day!


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New Year New Living Room

Hi there!  Hope you all had a great holiday and New Year break...I know I did.  The holidays for us are always a crazy, travel-filled magical time.  It was fun and also a very needed break that enabled me to recharge a bit, catch up on a few lingering projects and actually take photos of the completed ones.  So today I thought for our first post of 2014 I'd show you few of the changes I made to the living room/kids' library.


BEFORE

PROGRESS

AFTER (for now)

Besides the big changes, like adding a new rug and completely covering the couch with vintage fabric, most of the changes were small ones.  Moving or flipping pillows and adding some new art work.  I also brought in a vintage lamp that had been sitting in the basement and switched out lampshades.

I wanted to brighten and warm up room and the rug was a great starting point - the royal blue is so vibrant and the pattern plays well off the suzani print in the curtains.

I got the cute little needlepoint LOVE pillow on PBteen for $4 total - free shipping and coupon code!

Those gorgeous round velvety pillows are from Urban Outfitters - they had crazy sales going on right after Thanksgiving - free shipping on everything + 50% off sale items...I got both of these for the cost of one regular price.

I love walking into this room more everyday!
Freshened up for the year ahead!
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Leather and Nailhead Trim and Free

Hello!  Those three words don't usually go together but in today's case they do - lucky for me!  Occasionally I like to troll Craigslist's free section - just to see what kind of items people are getting rid of and want nothing for except to make said items disappear from their house as soon as possible.  Scott and I have used the free section on CL before to get old couches out of our first house before new couches arrived.  For us, having someone move and haul them away was worth way more than the couches themselves.  So for that reason I like to see what other people list.  And once in awhile I score something pretty amazing. 

Case in point, a leather and brass nailhead trimmed bank chair from the 1960's.  It was in pretty great shape, just need a good cleaning and I replaced the fabric on the underside and she (he?) was good to go.

Loving the masculine vibe this chair brings to the living room/kids' library since there are  a lot feminine touches and colors abound - but hey girls are the majority here:)

Oh and the new rug in this room - the best!  Plush and bright and just what this room needed.  Sold the old chevron rug on - you guessed it CL -  earlier this week!

xo!
Kendra Pin It

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Feeling Artsy Part 3

Hi! So for my last "artsy" post (at least for awhile) I thought I'd share the little paint job I gave a few sticks from our backyard.  You might remember the lamp I made here, well I've been making some changes to the kids' library/living room (I'll post more on that later) and it was one of the first things to go.  But with a few of the sticks in a pile and my painting supplies out, I decided to try paining a few with different patterns.   I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them when I was finished (you can see what I did with branch I painted last year here) but they ended up looking great hot glued to a rectangular painter's canvas I had.  And now they are up on the wall - art!

 

 

You can see at least one BIG change in this room above!

xo!
Kendra Pin It

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Sheknows Our Living Room!

Hello All!  So last month a writer from Sheknows contacted me about having our kid's library/living room be part of an article she was writing about mixing patterns.  I, of course, was thrilled/flattered to be asked and figured I would be one of many examples she was showcasing.  Well color me over the moon excited when I saw the article in the Home section of their website last Friday!  It was my room recreated!  How cool is that?!  I was so surprised and grateful that someone thought enough of my room design to make it a feature on such a huge national website...and grateful to all of you for reading and giving me a place to share!

Lots of little tweaks have been made to this room since last year (when this photo was taken) but still love it!

See you tomorrow!
xo!
Kendra
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Updated Art Wall

Hello! As you saw last week, I have been working on the kid's library/living room a lot lately.  And I'm finally sharing the an update I made a few months ago to the wall above Layla and Hadley's craft table that hadn't photographed until now.

A makeshift table, Layla's craft projects hastily taped up on the wall...mismatched chairs - yuck!

New table, cute pink chairs, a little more art but still hastily stuck up on the wall. Looking better though.

Framed artwork and a spot for all those crayons (more on that later this week)!

I love showcasing the girls' art and these Target frames are perfect for it.  They have plastic fronts (no glass - means no breaking), they open and have a pocket to store more art inside which makes switching out the latest masterpiece super easy. 

The frame Layla received as a gift for her birthday last year was white, but since then all I have seen in store are black and since black didn't go with this room I spray painted all of these frames with the leftover oil rubbed bronze from this project.   As the curator of this ever-changing gallery I am very happy with how it looks now!

I'll post about the DIY crayon holder that Layla made on Thursday!
xo!
Kendra


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Mixing Patterns - A Possible Chair Redo

Happy Monday All!  So, I've recently been thinking about changing up the Ikea Tullsta chairs in our Kid's Library/Living Room.  I have been making small tweaks to them over the years from removing the white slipcovers and adding bright pillows and a "stripe" to painting the legs to class them up a bit.  But now I'm thinking a REAL change is in order and almost everything I have been drawn to includes mixing and matching patterns and styles.

 

Below are a few options I'm considering: reupholstering, stenciling or just replacing.  Although, I think that last option is a little far off considering there is nothing structurally wrong with the chairs - they just need a facelift.

 

 



 

 

Option 1

I just ordered samples of these two fabrics - ikat dot in fuchsia and ikat argyle.  I'd really love to cover the chair in triangle pattern and use the dots fabric as an accent pillow. 

 

Option 2

This chair from Target has been my favorite for a while. I am inspired by the pattern to maybe try covering our chair in something similar.  The teal blue pillow would be a nice pop against all that yellow.

 

Option 3

I saw this amazing stencil project on Design Sponge a few weeks ago and immediately knew this was something I could try with these chairs.  I even like the idea of trying to copy the triangle fabric sample from Option 1 into a stencil.  The pillow in this option is a bit boho and makes the simplicity of the pattern a little more interesting.

 

Option 4

This chair is so girly and fun (aka something Scott would never go for) but the color would look great in this room and play off the other spots of pink.  The kitchy zebra pillow brings in some quirkiness to balance out the fanciness of the tufted chair.

 

Option 5

Nail head trim!! This would probably be the easiest option because all it would require is a few yards of trim - I would use antique gold - and a rubber mallet.  Outlining the chairs with nail heads would look great with the gold legs.  The pillow is fun and one that has also been on my "to buy" list for a while.

 

Which one do you like?  I'm leaning toward option 3 or 5...

xo!

Kendra 

     

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Adding More Color

Hi!  The easiest way for me to add a little burst of color into a room is with brightly patterned pillows.  So last month I decided to order this set of hot pink greek key pillows for the couch in the kids library/living room. 

Love the mix of patterns and colors in this room.

Instant happiness!!

Happy Monday All!
xo!
Kendra Pin It

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New Craft Table and Pink Chairs

As I mentioned here, we had been waiting to get Layla a craft/play table because the one we orginally wanted from Land of Nod was backordered.   But my Mom was able to track one down that was even better at Pottery Barn Kids - so she and my Dad got it for Layla for her 3rd birthday.

Now all we needed was a few chairs. 

I found these modern pink stacking chairs at Target online - on clearance!!

I love how they add an unexpected shot of pink to all the blues and yellows in the kids' library/living room.

Tea parties are more fun - now that everyone gets a seat!

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Living Room/Kids' Library

Last night, I realized it's been awhile since I posted any photos of our front living room/kid's library and thought it was time to share some of my progress.  If you look back the photos in this post you'll see the room has come a long way since August.

I used the bold colors of the curtain panels as the base for the room, trying to pick up the blues and yellows in the pillows and other accessories.

I love mixing patterns in a room.  The suzani print in the curtains with the chevron in the rug make and the pop of yellow floral in the pillows makes for a happy combination. 

Filling up that curio box with odds and ends is something I am having so much fun doing.

Say something Nice!

The above photo is the wall directly across from the couch (as you may have noticed from the reflection in the mirror) and was the last area I completed.  It's kind of an odd space with the built-in plate shelving there but I really like how it turned out.  Sweet and simple.

After looking at some of these photos it really seems like I have a thing for horses - doesn't it??

Layla loves to sit in the chair with a stack of books and "read".

Above is the reason for the kid's library part of the room. 

I remember when we first looked at this house this custom built plate shelving unit was something I assumed we would get rid of eventually because I couldn't imagine what purpose it would serve.  I considered lining it with frames but knew all too well that picture frames and toddlers don't mix. 

At some point after we moved in I realized Layla had a ton of books that we didn't have space for in her new room and discovered that most of them were the perfect size to fit in the plate nook.  

Once I have Layla and Hadley's new table set up I'll take some better photos of the library and craft area.

Happy Thursday!

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Using Tablecloths as Curtain Panels

Happy Monday!  As I posted here we recently moved into a great house with lots of character and have been in the process of updating and decorating  it to make it feel more cozy.   One of the first things I wanted to do since this is our first "real" house was hang curtain panels.  I have never done this before - we always had blinds - because curtains always seemed like an unnecessary extra expense.  But I knew in this house hanging a pair of bold panels "high and wide" on every window would make a huge impact and transform each room.I began my search for the perfect fabric first on Pinterest (my current obsession - if you're not on there already get on there - so much inspiration!) to see what other people had used.  I found a bunch of options at West Elm but nothing that I absolutely loved. 
Then I saw this photo on Suzanne's blog:

I was in love with the colors, the suzani pattern and how the light came through the material.  I contacted Suzanne to ask if she remembered where she got the curtains or if she knew the name of the fabric and was shocked to learn that they weren't curtains at all but DwellStudio tablecloths that she bought at Target!  Within minutes of receiving her response I was on the Target website (they were only available online at the time -looks like they are currently unavailable) ordering two tablecloths at $21.99 a piece for our dining room.

Once they arrived I loved them so much that I decided to not only hang them in the dining room but the adjoining living room as well.  But before I could do that these 60" x 104" tablecloths needed to be hemmed  - and that's where my Mom comes in. 

Tablecloth to Unlined Curtain Panel Tutorial

My directions are for a 91" curtain panel with a 3" rod hem and a 3" bottom hem.
First cut the fabric to 98" ~ be sure that the prints will be at the same spot on each panel.  Since the width of the tablecloth was perfect (and already finished), I didn't have to do anything with it. 

The directions for the top (rod) and bottom hems are the same.
Make a 1/2" hem by pinning the fabric directly to your ironing board cover.
Iron the hem. This gives it a finished look.

Fold again to make your 3" hem, and iron.  Sew 1/4" from the fold.

Use the same procedure for the bottom hem, and you are finished.

Once I had these back in my hands I hung them on oil rubbed bronze  rods and matching drapery rings from Bed Bath & Beyond. I decided not to use the rod pockets because I love the way the rings make soft waves in the fabric and hang so easily.

Dining Room

Living Room

Living Room

Living Room

I'm super happy with how these turned out and at less than $45 dollars a pair and I am SUPER happy with the price too!

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