Tag archives for Inspiration

I’ve Been Inspired!

By Kristen on June 29, 2012

Do you know how you sometimes see something and it just inspires you?  All of a sudden everything just clicks?  All you want to do is start working on it immediately while you have it in your head?  Whether it’s art and you know what to paint or you’re tackling decor and you understand all the color and pattern choices and how they work together… something sparked.

This week, Kate from Centsational Girl posted a photo from a store in Savannah called One Fish Two Fish.

I immediately fell in love.  It’s pretty much everything I ever wanted in our bedroom without realizing it.  Something about the colors just gets me amped up but calm at the same time.  It just feels so fresh and clean but at the same time, there isn’t anything dull about it.  In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

Is it lame that I still get giddy when I see it?  No joke, I just stared at this for five minutes.

Time to get back on track.  This room – the colors the textures, the patterns… it all clicked.  So, I pinned it.  Then I emailed Joe in the sheer panic of finding something so great and said something along the lines of “BEDROOM!?!”.

Eloquent, I know.

Regardless of my skills with the English language, Joe was on board.  I am so lucky to have him because when I get an idea and run with it (and I’m stubborn so that doesn’t help), he not only supports me but runs right next to me.  Like the time I wouldn’t rest until we found an ampersand for our wedding (Joe and I went to many stores before buying the foam board and DIYing it).  Or that time I wouldn’t give up until I found our library card catalogs and we trekked to Pennsylvania.

Anyway, this is the color scheme we’re going to go for in our bedroom.  I am so pumped that I’m going out tonight to grab spray paint, paint swatches, and crisp lamp shades.  Wild, I know.

Have you been inspired by anything recently?  Do you have any wild weekend plans?

Posted in Bedroom, Colors, Decor, Design, Details Tagged: , , , | 8 Comments

Love Is…

By Kristen on May 17, 2012

Since I was lame yesterday and didn’t post (sorry again), I thought it would be nice to share some art.  Originally, I was planning on having this in my one-day etsy store but I think it would be nice to share it with you all now.

This quote is from John Steinbeck, in response to a letter from his son, Thom (you can read the entire letter here, and I highly recommend you do because there are a lot of great parts in it).  The first time I read this letter, I was smitten.  I needed to do something with it.

To download, just click on the image.  Once it opens up on a new page, just right-click it and save as.  It’s a .png file so you should have an easier time resizing it for whatever you want to use it for.

If you want to pass it along, please just link back to me!  

Posted in Art We Heart, Freebies Tagged: , | 7 Comments

Sleep to Dream (Up Some Inspiration for the Bedroom)

By Kristen on May 3, 2012

Just when I think I’ve decided on the perfect color for our bedroom, I’m back to second guessing myself.  It’s surprisingly hard to choose a color for that room.  I think it’s time to sort of bite the bullet and grab a few samples and try it all out.  Ideally, it would be nice to paint before the hot weather really starts.  This is also the perfect time to tackle this project because Joe’s semester will be ending soon and he’ll be able to spend his time painting instead of writing papers.

I first shared the plan back in the end of January (oh my goodness we really need to paint the bedroom – this is getting ridiculous).

After looking at a few paint swatches against the comforter, Joe and I decided that it would  be best to go the greige route.  At the same time, I don’t want to go too dark.  Sure, if we owned this place I would slather the walls with a rich, chocolate color so the bedroom would feel cave-like and I could sleep-in every day but since we’re renting, I feel like it’s best to be a little more subtle.  To be honest, anything would be better than our current wall color.

PS – No luck on finding the right lamp shades but I think I may try to recover the ones we have myself.  No harm if we’re just going to get rid of these, right??

I am so excited to really get a move on this.  I thought it would be fun to share some inspiration photos.  Going through different options really help me decide what I like and what I don’t.

The first option I found was this one.  The first thing that hit me was the wall color – I really like it.  It had just enough grey in it but still had an obvious brown tint.  I also love the use of neutrals (and how comfy does that bed look??).  This room feels very comfortable but also chic.  We currently have a ceiling fan in the bedroom that just isn’t going anywhere but it would be nice to swap it out for something as fun as this chandelier.  Or maybe just a nicer fan.

Chalet Interiors traditional bedroom
I also really love this bedroom and I think part of it is the tall curtains.  They just make the room look so dreamy and hotel like.  I would feel fancy going to bed every night.  At the same time, I’m not particularly partial to placing furniture (like the bed) in front of a window since it blocks light but this room is pulling it off.
Amagansett Beach Retreat contemporary bedroom
My favorite thing about this room is the color (and I can confidently say that I love this wall color the best out of all the options).  This room also makes me happy because the wall color is light but so is the headboard.  It’s nice to know that the headboard and wall (which are maybe a shade or two apart) can look so nice together.  It’s a very cohesive look.  Does this make anyone else want to take a nap??
Master Bedroom contemporary bedroom

Things I learned I would like in our bedroom:

  1. A nice, light greige color on our walls.
  2. Something visually interesting on those walls (floor-to-ceiling curtains, a giant mirror, maybe a canvas or two)
  3. I need to make/get pillows A.S.A.P.  Ideally there would be so many that I could sleep under a fort of them.
  4. I want to live in a hotel bedroom.

Things I didn’t realize I would learn:

  1. It looks like I favor the bedrooms with carpet or rugs down.  I suppose Joe and I will need to look into that.  We have two older IKEA rugs from before we moved in together but they’re not looking so hot…
  2. Clearly, I am a fan of light walls, furniture, and bedding, but I also love dark night stands along with that.  It kind of makes me doubt my desire to paint our nightstands over but they really do need some love.  Maybe I’ll be able to strike a compromise.
  3. I know two of the above rooms’ beds were equipped with dust skirts but I am not a fan of that.  I like the more modern look of just the bed.
  4. Looking at inspiration photos make me very excited to start working on this.  Maybe I should’ve done this a couple of months ago…

So what about you – Do you look at different inspirational photos before you start a project?  Are you ever surprised by the things you end up liking and the things you don’t?  Anyone else struggle with choosing the right paint (I, for example, always choose a paint that’s on the darker/saturated side every time)?

Posted in Bedroom, Colors, Decor, Design, Details, Home Tagged: , , , , , | 8 Comments

Game On

By Kristen on April 26, 2012

At my bridal shower, Joe’s mom bought me a lot of the accessories for our formal china set (think sugar bowl and platters).  She wrapped everything up really well and put them in this nifty box she found at HomeGoods.  While all of our china is currently living in our buffet, I decided to keep the box.  At this very moment, the box is just hanging out under our coffee table (you can see photos of it on this post).

P.S. – It’s been empty since I got it since I wasn’t sure what I should fill it with.

This past weekend, Joe and I decided that this would be the perfect place to store board games.  It’s always nice to have a couple for when we have people over…  Or if it’s miserable out…  Or if there’s a blackout and we have nothing to entertain us…  Or if there’s nothing on TV (and trust me, there usually isn’t because we don’t have cable)…

Point is, I wanted to start thinking about some game options because we really need them.  My aunt offered for me and Joe to take some of the games from her and my uncle’s country house (so they’ll be vintage {oo-la-la}) which I think is really just a ploy to get us to drive up to the Catskills.  It will be nice to inherit a few games but we’ll still need to buy a few more.  I’m excited to expand create our game collection because we only have a deck of cards and Uno.  It’s kind of dismal and embarrassing.

Without further ado, here are the first four games we’d like to add to our collection…

1)  I would love to tell you all about the Settlers of Catan and how much fun it is but I can’t because I have never heard of it before.  So, why is it on this list?  Well, because Joe requested it.  He convinced me that we should get it because it is very similar to Civilization (a computer game I enjoy playing and admitting that makes me sound kind of nerdy).  It really didn’t take more convincing than that and I was pretty much sold at that point.  I figure it’s a good idea to round out the game collection with a strategy game.

2) Monopoly is so classic.  It’s sort of a staple game and I think everyone has it.  Sometimes two versions of the game.  It’s the kind of game that’s perfect to have, even if you don’t play it often.  We’ll probably be able to inherit form my aunt and uncle which makes me very happy.  Apparently the new version no longer includes the cowboy silver piece and instead gives you a money bag.  Really?  No thanks.  I’m a sucker for games looking the same as they did when I played them back in the day.

3)  Another staple game is Scrabble.  Just like with Monopoly, I’m hoping we inherit this from my aunt and uncle so that it’s like the version I’m used to… not that stacking letters version.  It gets too complicated.  I always enjoy playing this game, even though I don’t have the largest vocabulary.  The only downside is that sometimes things get heated with this game (we are somehow a very competitive Scrabble-playing family) but I think we can handle it.  We’ll just have to be aware.  And probably get a dictionary so we can be official about rules.

4) The first time I played Apples to Apples, I was hooked.  It’s such a fun game.  I love that everyone’s answers are their own interpretations (they can really get quite silly) and that whoever is the “judge” can choose what they like the best.  Basically, the game will never be the same depending on who’s playing.  This was the first game I said we needed and I’m sticking to it.  It’s the perfect party game because it’s better when there are more players and it’s the kind of game where you can walk in and out of it whenever you please.

**Honorable mention – Clue.  I’m a sucker for mysteries so it’s no surprised that I loved this game.  This is another one we’ll need to grab from my aunt and uncle because I love their old version.

Do you have a collection of games stashed away?  What’s your favorite?  Think I’m missing anything for our game starter kit?

Posted in Details, Fun, Home, Living Room Tagged: , , , | 43 Comments

Two-Night-Stands

By Kristen on April 17, 2012

I’m back to focusing on the bedroom.  With our lamps’ bases spray painted, I’m already thinking about the next step.  Currently, the bedroom looks like this:

Please ignore the lampshades – I’m still on the hunt for the perfect replacement.  I want them replaced just as badly as you do (they are quite the eye sore)!  Instead, think about how pretty this original design board was.

Anyway, we have the Hemnes night stands from IKEA.  I love their clean lines and that they’re tall.  Nothing worse than having to reach down for something while you’re half asleep.  You can’t really tell it in the photo, but the nightstand on the (your) right is almost at the edge of that wall.  The other nightstand has a bit of room but because of the closet door on the next wall, we couldn’t go any larger.

Basically, I need to work with what I’ve got because:
1)  We don’t have the funds to go buying tons of furniture
2)  I’m sort of aching to paint some more furniture

Since painting takes a while, I want to be sure of the game plan before I start.  Otherwise, we’ll be without our nightstands for weeks.  That would just be a disaster.  I’ve compiled a few options I’ve been thinking about below:

[one] [two] [three] [four] [five] [six]

Option 1: White Wash…  While I would love to paint these nightstands in a bright and fun color, I don’t think that’s going to with the green lamps.  I could just go and paint the nightstands white and keep it simple (talk about a major fail when we bought them in black).  Of course, I would probably try to do an off-white so it sort of matches the rest of the furniture.

Option 2: Two-Tone… How classic would be to paint the bottom of the nightstand white and stain the top of it a nice wood color?  I think it would be very classic.  The probability of this happening is slim, sadly.  While the Hemnes collection is mostly pine, it could be very difficult to sand down the top piece enough to stain it.  Maybe I could swap out the top piece for another piece of wood?

Option 3: A Crazy Design… Okay, this is so funky.  I am sort of obsessed with this option.  Granted, I wouldn’t use an octopus (that design has  yet to be determined) since it wouldn’t really work with the rest of the look in our apartment.  Such a shame since that octopus is pretty darn cool.

Option 4: Bold Patterns… I like the look of bold patterns.  While I’ve never been the kind of girl to commit to chevron, I am the kind of girl who loves herself a good stripe.  If you looked in my closet, there would be at least four striped shirts hanging in there at this very moment.  I’m not even including the drawers with my casual shirts.  Anyway… at the current moment, the only pattern in our bedroom is our comforter.  I think it would be nice to add a playful pattern somewhere else into the room as long as it’s a someone neutral pattern.  I can’t see myself painting paisley all over the place.

Option 5:  Stencil on the Front… If both nightstands end up having a solid color base (which, let’s be honest, they probably will), it would be nice if they had some sort of design on the drawer front.  I’m not sure what pattern I would use, but that doesn’t matter at the moment.  Either way, the end result will be funky.  And fun.  Plus, that would be a nice opportunity for me to bring in another color to the room (since it’ll be mostly neutral).

Option 6:  Adding Details…. An easy update to our nightstands would be adding a little extra trim.  This can be done in two ways: by painting the detail on (a la painter’s tape) or by adding some decorative wood trim.  Both options could be fun and add a bit of sophistication.  I like that.

Which one of these is your favorite??  When it comes to your furniture, do you prefer a simple style and classic style or something that’s a little more fun and hip?  Have you tackled a painting project like this before? Anyone else a planner like I am?  If I went with option #3, what do you think the icon should be?

Posted in Bedroom, Design, Details, Home Tagged: , , , , , | 17 Comments
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