Bright Pillows (or Pillas - as my Mom would say)

Hello!  So around mid-summer, while visiting Scott's family in the Hamptons, I was really inspired by all the bright colors I was seeing while window shopping (and people watching).  I kept thinking that once we got back home I would add a little more color and brightness to our family room by switching up the pillows on our sectional.  The blues and creams were kinda boring me and I felt like the whole area just needed a blast of color and pattern. 

First, I picked up a pair of bright coral cabana stripe pillows and then I hit Society6 to see if I could find some bright mints, pinks and unique patterns by some very talented artists that also make their art available in pillow form. 

 

Happy and bright!

 

 

This triangle pillow is my favorite!

 

And this Dala horse pattern gray stripes is so pretty.

Loving the starburst mint and neons too!

With the addition of these lovely pillows the room feels more colorful and playful!  And the girls agree!

If you haven't been on Society6 I highly recommend checking out their pillows - they are inexpensive, well made and really beautiful - a piece of art for you couch!
xo!
Kendra
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A Face Planter

Ha! No, this is not a post about me falling on my face - which I might add has not happened in the last week.  This is a post about love at first sight.  Seeing something and knowing it belonged with you and that all it needed was a little TLC, or in the case, lots of white spraypaint!

I have been obsessed with the photo below since Emily revealed the makeover she did on Bri's Silver Lake apartment.  I love the light, the colors and oh man did I LOVE that face planter!

photo by Laure Joliet

So over during our 4th of July vacation, Scott and I were shopping at a local farmer's market in LBI (Beach Haven to be exact) and I saw this guy as soon as we walked in.  I quickly scooped him up into my arms -I didn't see any others so I assumed he was the last one left - wrong! He was, however, the last one like this!

The Before!

 

I carefully buckled him into Layla's carseat (yes) and drove him back to the house.  I was excited to show him off to everyone but no one seemed to think he was much to look at.  That is until he was covered in glossy white spraypaint. 

 

 



Ta Da!

This handsome fella now resides on the side table in our family room.  And this weekend, I found the perfect leafy (partial sun) plant to complete him. 

A very happy day to you!
xo!
Kendra Pin It

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A Cute "Catch All"

Hello and Happy Tuesday! Our family room coffee table sees a lot of action on daily basis.  It's where the girls store their blocks, a few books and other odds and ends that have accumulated over time.  So after another day of picking up little wind up toys, matchbox cars and other assorted goodies I decided that instead of trying to put these things back in their proper place that I would create a spot where I could just toss them and worry about putting them way away later.  But I needed a vessel to hold these that would be pretty and functional.  Enter this lovely Threshold bowl from Target.

You might remember this DIY tray I shared last summer.  Well it lasted a few months but once the girls started using it to serve tea it fell apart pretty fast!

Don't you just love when your magazine matches your decor?!: )

 

 

xo!

Kendra

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I Love You Now Change....Again

I change my mind A LOT.  Which is why I never spend too much money on things...I tend to look at curtains or rugs and start thinking "what was I thinking?!" within a few months.  And that's exactly what happened with this little vase makeover I shared a few months ago.  It was just starting at me from my bedroom dresser all super bright teal and not at all subtle against everything else quietly standing next to it (I promise to share photos of our completed bedroom next week - really!).  So enter white spray paint and sunny day and voila!  White hive vase!

Now, instead of being in our bedroom, its been added it to the collection of vintage and new white pottery sitting on top of the Expedit in our family room.

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The Other Side of the Mantle

Hello All!

In this post I showed what our family looked like after putting the Expedit up.  And now I can (finally) show you the other side!

We actually made the "media center" out an old entertainment center. Scott cut the the entire top portion off, then I spray painted it Heirloom White and I added these vintage ring pulls.  I ended up painting them black to match the hinges.

I added some fabric and paper cover books and spray painted this vintage steer ice bucket (a purchase from Joy Cho's Spring cleaning on Copius) a bright turquoise.

The side table and console in our family room have similar ring pulls but I liked these because they were a bit more unique.

The pillows are all from Target and allow the top of the "media center" to be used at extra seating if needed.  As for the wall hanging, I drew the words on a piece of a white bed sheet, cut them out and then stretched it over an artist canvas that I had painted in Martha Stewart's Persimmon Red.  You might remember I have used that color here and here and here!

Loving the balance of both sides now.

Just hung a mirror on the wall next to the sliding door.  I felt that it was a little dark in that corner at certain times of the day so having something reflective over there has made a big difference.

Have a great day!!

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Family Room Corner

This corner of our family room is something I set up a few months ago but for some reason I never got around to photographing it until now.

You might remember from this post that I really wanted to get an old classroom map for our house. Well most of them were either out of my price range or a little too worn out for my taste.   I found this one on eBay for about $4.   I loved the price, that is was large (but not too large) and that the colors went perfectly with the room.

Once I had the map in hand, I simply glued it to an old roller shade (left from the previous owners) with a coat of Modge Podge.  I had hoped to keep it on the roller to make it look more like the pull down version I coveted but we couldn't figure out a way to do it that wouldn't make it fall every five seconds.  So I ended up just cutting the top portion off and making to small holes to hang on hooks.

After it was up on the wall for a few days I decided that the top had too much white space so I used a roll of grayish green and white polka washi tape to spell out HELLO WORLD.  The Native American on horseback sculpture is on loan from my parents (although he had been living in their attic for at least the last ten years) so I think he's pretty much mine.  My grandfather brought this back from a trip to Montana over 25 years ago.  I really like how his pose and the words go together!

The NJ and NY prints were Christmas gifts from me to Scott and I this year - the states we are both from respectively.  The small lamps were Target finds, they work really well colorwise and the shades are oblong so they are set back on the table and don't take up much space. 

Lastly, what I thought was a cool abacus is actually a vintage score keeper that I picked up at a yard sale for $.50.  And the table was on super sale at Pottery Barn a few years ago so we bought this and the matching side table for less than $500!

Oh, and here are a few of the latest creatures to take up residence in our family room bookshelf.

Amazing how a bit of glitter and glue can make plain plastic toys glamorous!

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An Expedit in the Family Room

Hi! Two weeks ago I mentioned here that we had just bought a big white Expedit shelving unit for our family room.  And now, after about and hour and half last Sunday, it is assembled and fully - well, full. 

The beginning of my vintage white pottery collection will hopefully grow on top of the unit!

I wanted a piece that would be big enough to fill the large wall next to our fireplace but not feel too overwhelming in the room.  I also wanted it to be functional (e.g. storage space) as well as pretty. 

From top left. 1. Design Books 2. Feathers I made out of paint chip samples
3. Vintage soda bottle (I literally dug this sucker out of the ground at Scott's Great Uncle's farmhouse!) made pretty with a vintage label I bought on etsy and two billy buttons.
4.Glass canister with vintage spools of thread 5. Paper deer head mounted on a wall decal mounted on a wallpaper sample
5. HAPPY (our wedding song) wood plaque from Target

The fabric covered books and an owl bookend.

From top left. 1.Flipped over glass vase filled with Scott's old matchbox cars.
2. One of my favorite wedding photos. 3. My little dumpling Hadley. 4. More design books.
5. Glass canister filled with signed sand dollars (we used this as the guest book at our wedding)
6. My lovely Layla Lou.

Layla enjoying a movie.

The flowered storage boxes on the bottom are Orla Kiely for Target (from a few years ago) and the woven ones are from Michaels. 

Now we just need to replace the small nightstand "media center" currently occupying the right side of the fireplace.  I'd like something about a third of the height as Expedit so we can hang some kind of quirky family portrait above it. 

We'll see! Pin It

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Tablecloths to Curtain Panels Take Two

Today I thought I would do a little follow up to my earlier Tablecloth to Curtain Panel post since it's been hectic around here. We just got back from a exhausting wonderful 10 day vacation split between the Hamptons (Bridgehampton, NY) and the NJ Shore (Surf City) and as much as I love being away and with family coming home to piles and piles of laundry not so much.

So while I'm up to my elbows in beach towels and baby clothes you can view the tablecloths I turned into curtain panels and put up in our family room. 

Like the ones I used in the dining room and living room, these are DwellStudio for Target 60" x 104" tablecloths and were $21/each.  I ordered these after seeing them online and thought the happy bird pattern against the white background would brighten up the room and help frame out the large (boring) sliding glass door.

 

The only difference this time around was I didn't need my Mom to sew them.  I simply measured and carefully cut enough off the bottom of each so they would pool on the floor so you couldn't see the raw edges.  I used drapery rings again (this time in silver) to hang them. Done!

Then I used one of the sections I cut off above the window in the kitchen.

Love how these look and if I get bored with them or want something bolder I can always switch them out and not feel guilty for wasting money since they were so inexpensive.

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