Year: 2015

Creating an Outdoor Living Space

Written by Jenna on May 21, 2015. Posted in Decorating, Outdoor, Seasonal, Spring.

I don’t know about you, but around our homestead, it takes a solid 3 weeks to get the outdoors prepped + spruced to enjoy for the coming warmer months ahead.

As the final piles of snow melted only a little over a month ago, work began on Summerizing the exterior. FINALLY after many trips to the garden center, the last flowers & plants were purchased yesterday, so our exterior living spaces are almost complete and I can’t wait to share them with you… coming soon.

In the meantime, I’ll inspire you with fresh ways + ideas to bring the indoors out with budget-friendly ideas for creating an outdoor living space…

Whether a deck, porch, or patio there are ways to bring the indoors out to create a beautiful, serene, and inviting outdoor oasis. With comfortable seating, stylish layers, and lots of flowers and greenery, your outdoor space will become the most used â€œroomâ€ in, and outside, of the home for the Summer months.

BRING THE INDOORS OUT
Surround yourself with what you love by bringing the indoors out. Creating an outdoor living room that is truly an outdoor oasis is similar to designing an interior haven. Surround yourself with things that are most meaningful to you and elements that bring you happiness. Make an outdoor space fun and unexpected by introducing a pretty patterned table cloth, wind chimes that blow in the breeze, and pops of color through pillows.

Similar to a room inside your home, once you have your basics, add in layers – lanterns, candles, flowers, and plants.

Our Summer Deck 2014

COMFORTABLE SEATING
An outdoor oasis isn’t complete without lots of comfortable seating. Once the summer months arrive, almost every waking moment will be spent outdoors soaking up the sun. Be the house where everyone gathers on weekend evenings.

Our Patio Paradise 2014

Either individual oversized Adirondack chairs or an outdoor sofa fit for two (or more) is a necessity for outdoor living. Load up on comfy pillows and you may never head back indoors.

Put your feet up by adding a few outdoor ottomans that are waterproof to truly create an outdoor living room.

There are many local furniture stores and online shops that have a wide selection of outdoor sofas and chairs that are similar to the comforts of your living room. Or make your own, like I did with shipping pallets.

Tutorial for DIY Pallet Sofa

STORAGE
Similar to the indoors, space for storage is a must. No matter if you’re an empty nester or a family of 5, itâ€™s essential to have a spot to store the outdoor pillows, BBQ necessities, and sand toys.

Many outdoor furniture pieces have built-in storage compartments or a stylish storage box that compliments the setting. Alternatively, try an outdoor ottoman flip top that duals as storage.

left to right: resin wicker box / wicker storage chest / wood storage bench

LAYERS
An outdoor setting isnâ€™t complete without a stylish rug. Adding a rug to a porch or patio isn’t just needed to make a space pretty, but it also provides a comfy spot to kick off the flip flops without the fear of a stubbed toe or unwanted splinter. Kids can walk around barefoot (which most love to do in the summer months) while having a barrier between their toes and the hard surface.

Outdoor rugs are a favorite because they can live outdoors for the summer and be brought indoors during the winter. Rugs made for the elements, are also ideal for foyers, mudrooms, and even under dining room tables (especially with youngsters in the home).

I am loving the outdoor rugs made of polypropylene because they are super easy to clean, fold up tight for storage, and are fairly inexpensive!

A sneak at this years front porch with a new 3′ x 6′ rug (upper left) that I found at Five Below for $5…

FLOWERS
Last, but certainly not least, an outdoor oasis isnâ€™t complete without surrounding it with greenery. Whether your favorite spot is in the sun or the shade, surround your exterior setting with lush plants and colorful flowers in varying sized pots.

Potted herbs are a great alternative to flowers. Or try perennials in a pot, then transfer them into the ground at the end of the Summer season so they can be enjoyed again next year.

And there you have it… 5 ways to extend the beauty on the inside to the outdoors. I’m off to finish up the last potted plants, lay mulch in the side garden, and finally snap some pictures so I can share what I’ve been working on for the last weeks.

Have a wonderful memorial day weekend!

5 Ways to Revamp a Laundry Room on a Budget

Written by Jenna on May 14, 2015. Posted in Decorating. 3 Comments on 5 Ways to Revamp a Laundry Room on a Budget

It’s been a week since I shared my revamped laundry room and load #7 was just finished & folded.

The new space that took me a weekend + $200 to complete has been a gamechanger for how I feel about doing laundry. Laundry has always been my nemesis. I can’t say I love it now, but for the last week, it hasn’t been so bad… and it’s all due to the changes that were made to make the space more organized & aesthetically pleasing.

As a clan of 5, we have a lot of laundry and our laundry “closet” couldn’t go another day without a makeover. Not only was it ugly + drear, it wasn’t functioning to it’s utmost potential, and that’s how the space was failing us!

With some outside-of-the-box thinking + a plan-of-action in place, I revamped & created a laundry space that is organized + functionable + pretty on the eyes.

Let’s break it down… Here are 5 ways + tips to revamp a laundry room on a budget…

Yes, the type of washer + dryer is important to a laundry space (obviously, that’s why it has its name), but the way a laundry space looks & functions really has nothing to do with the model # you have. With my revamp, the W & D stayed and the space around it got jazzed up. My machines are plain ole’ run-of-the-mill white side by side style – Nothing fancy. They were fine, but the space around it wasn’t. I chose to work with what I had and that meant using every square inch of the surrounding walls to make this space better.

If you have a stackable W & D in your laundry area, use the space to the side for storage + organization. The takeaway… use what you have and be happy with it; accept it and work with it! Yes, a lavish laundry room would be a delight, but it’s not the reality for most.

Instead of sorting + washing + drying + folding in a room / closet you dislike, here are 5 ways to revamp that laundry space that’s not quite so pretty…

1/ PAINT. Adding a splash of color to a laundry space will give it new life. Whether there is a window or not, a new coat of paint will make it feel fresh & bright. Paint is truly the easiest + least expensive way to freshen up any space, especially the laundry. For my laundry closet revamp, I used a quart of paint which provided 2 coats and the can was $15.

2/ STORAGE. Storage in a laundry is a huge need. No matter what size the space, no matter what you have to store, storage is important. Wiring shelves, which is what I used, are the easiest + fastest + least inexpensive type of storage you can add to a laundry space to keep the items organized + tidy. I chose to add a 1 x 12 piece of wood on top of the wire shelves to make a steadier shelf so items wouldn’t fall between the spaces of the wire. It’s also important to use as much of the vertical wall space as possible – go as high as you can with the shelving and store non-everyday essentials on the highest shelf & use a stepstool to access.

If you have additional space + a larger budget, wood shelves are a great alternative (but they cost more + take longer to install + aren’t as flexible to move in the future), as is closed cabinetry which can hide away those not-to-be-seen items.

There are many options for storage in a laundry… don’t just stick with the one wire builder-grade shelf above the washer & dryer. That’s a waste of precious wall space.

3/ BASKETS + BINS. On those shelves or in those cabinets, organize your items using baskets & bins. Since revamping my laundry space, having a place for everything has made my life so much easier. It takes the guesswork out of what goes where. Use smaller bins for smaller items (dishtowels, sponges, light bulbs, batteries, etc) and larger bins/baskets for larger items (papertowels, napkins, toilet paper, paper goods, etc).

Organizing the bins with labels (i heart my label maker) indicating what is inside has also made my day-to-day more efficient + simpler. Knowing where items go has taken away the wonderment for the Mister & the kids as well – no more asking “mom, where does this go?” or “hon, do we have rags?”

4/ OTHER STORAGE. In a laundry space, there is a need to store items on a shelf, but there is also the slew of other items to stow away like the broom(s), mop, iron, ironing board, etc… In the “before” laundry, I often would just lean them against the wall and they were ALWAYS in the way. But with the revamped laundry, I simply added a few hooks to the wall and all of a sudden those cumbersome items have a home. By using the side walls, that other storage now has a designated ‘spot’ to live.

There are literally gadgets for everything, so find something (or make it) to hang what you need so that something that doesn’t have a place, finally gets one (like the iron that had been sitting on top of my washer for years). Hooks, screws, holders, etc. are the perfect inexpensive items that will make your life easier and more organized!

5/ LAYERS. Layers are the best. Layers are everything. Layers make ANY space, room, closet COMPLETE… even the laundry area! From pictures to accessories to colorful hangers, adding meaningful + bright + unexpected layers gives the interest and depth to make a room feel whole.

This post wouldn’t be complete without sharing some more laundry love.

Check out these…

INSPIRATIONAL LAUNDRY SPACES.

Filled with blues & yellows, Brittany of Pretty Handy Girl created a beautiful laundry room using a wall system that keeps everything organized and in it’s place.

You don’t have to love laundry to love your laundry room! And I heart Jen’s laundry room. Even though there is no natural light in this space, it feels airy & bright. I’ll take this space anyday! Check out more of Jen’s laundry room at I Heart Organizing.

A laundry “closet” similar to mine, but with a stackable washer + dryer. Melinda of Love Melinda created a laundry space that’s packed with shelving + storage! She also added a pretty stencil design which brings a fun, unexpected layer to the space.

Another laundry “closet” but with side-by-side front loaders. How gorgeous is this “closet”?! Decked out with a solid surface countertop, upper cabinets for storage, and an awesome tiled backsplash, this laundry area is swoon-worthy.

When there is a need to hide the clutter, a little curtain will certainly do the trick! Love this idea by using a tension rod and a simple drapery valance. via Babble

And for those who are blessed with more space than just a teeny closet to call their laundry room, this is beautiful. From the wood countertop to the blue W & D, to the gorgeous built-ins above, I would never again complain about doing laundry! via BHG

Kim of Sand & Sisal hit it out of the park with her laundry revamp. How soothing is that blue hue on the walls paired with elements + layers that remind you of the water. Pretty + Functional all tied into one great laundry room!

Love this idea by My Sweet Savannah of using an over-the-door wire rack to organize all the laundry items. What a great idea when there is limited space.

How incredible is this before and after by Kelly of View Along the Way?! Like my laundry revamp, it’s hard to believe that this is the same space. As I said before, ditch the one wire shelf above the W & D and instead use the vertical space of the surrounding walls! By stenciling the back wall, painting wide stripes on the floor, and adding an upper cabinet + shelves, this laundry room is completely different.

How fun is this?! Bling out your washer + dryer with some funk by adding decals like these stripes & dots by A Beautiful Mess.

I hope you’ve gathered inspiration to make some updates or totally overhaul your laundry room. As you can see from my revamp or the other inspirational spaces, you don’t need a huge budget or tons of time. It’s amazing what can be created with a little effort and outside-of-the-box thinking!

Laundry Room “Closet” {Reveal}

Written by Jenna on May 7, 2015. Posted in DIY. 5 Comments on Laundry Room “Closet” {Reveal}

If you didn’t see yesterday’s post, you have to read that first. This is one of those makeovers where… you have to see the ‘before’ to truly appreciate the ‘after’.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, last weekend was a busy one around the ole’ homestead. In between activities for the kids + prepping the outdoor gardens for new flowers, we also tackled a revamp to the laundry room (aka the laundry closet because it is just that… a 4′-6″ wide x 2′ deep space).

Our home isn’t huge and the laundry isn’t lavish, but it’s a space that is used A LOT & needs to be as functional as possible. Sadly over the weeks, months (and probably even years), it’s become a dropping zone for everything from clothes (obviously), tools, paper goods, cleaning supplies, etc. You name it and it was probably piled high on top of the dryer or on one of the above shelves. Honestly Embarrassing how messy it was! The space was REALLY in need of love + attention.

No more chit-chat, here is the result of our weekend DIY Laundry Revamp…

What a change!

Light. Airy. Functional. Pretty. Organized.

Our laundry area gets a lot of use and with it being right off the foyer, it’s a space that holds more than a typical laundry area. Not only do we wash + dry + hang clothes in this “closet”, but it’s also a storage spot for dishtowels, cleaning supplies, rags, napkins + paper towels, tablecloths, paper goods (paper plates, cups, plastic ware), and more.

A view from the foyer…

[tutorial for how I created a Kids Art Display on our garage entry door]

When revamping this space, I started off by making a list of what was working and what wasn’t (guess which list was longer…).

Then I removed all the existing shelving.

Followed by cleaning the walls (we had a dryer issue a few months ago that left our walls full of lint – it’s since been fixed), spackling the holes, and sanding them.

Once the walls were clean, I was ready to paint (the Mister helped too – gotta give him props for helping me out 😉

After the two coats of paint were applied to the walls, I installed the top rail of the closet system that I got at Lowe’s. I love these types of closet systems because the installation takes little time (the top rail took about 15 minutes total to install). Once the top rail was in, I hung the uprights off of it (no install needed) and then attached the shelves.

Once the shelves were on, I added a piece of wood on top that runs the same length as the wire shelf. With wire shelving there is a gap / small space that sometimes smaller things fall through or don’t stand right straight. This always frustrated me with this closet, so the wood provides a solid surface for anything I want to store.

Yes wood shelves could have been installed instead of the wire shelving, but a lot more labor + time would have been needed & there would be no way the shelves could be adjusted in the future (the flexibility to move the wire shelves is another huge bonus).

Once the shelves were in, I filled them right away. The boxes, bins, and baskets are a mix of new & old.

Items like dishtowels, light bulbs, batteries, sponges, etc. are now stored in the smaller fabric bins on the bottom shelf. They are easy to grab at any time and I love that everything has a place! This shelf only goes half way across (above the dryer) so there is space for hanging clothes below the middle shelf, above the washer.

Adding labels to the bins has taken the guess work out of wondering, what goes where…

On the middle shelf are the cleaning supplies, a basket filled with extra paper towels & napkins, and the laundry detergents.

On the highest shelf (items I don’t need to access every day) are new wire bins from Lowe’s that are filled with extra paper goods (plates, cups, napkins, etc) & tablecloths / linens.

Using every inch of this closet was important, so no wall was left untouched. On the right wall, I have a new folding ironing board hanging from a hook and above I have the iron in a holder. This is SO MUCH MORE CONVENIENT than where it was before (both were in the basement – don’t ask me why).

On the back wall, I added another hook for the Bona mop (1 of 6 ways I make my home feel instantly clean!) and the space between the washer and dryer, sits the clothing rack. Lastly, on the right wall is another hook for the broom. (there is still space above that I am sure will be filled soon).

The “pretty” for this space was added in the Float art print (love the colors & the whimsy of the woman floating in the water) that I added to the back wall which kind of hides the ugly plumbing cords, as well as the colorful hangers I snagged from Target. I love how the citrine color looks with the mint hues.

In all, this Laundry Room / Closet revamp was about $200 total. $30 for the paint (I used a quart) / $80 for the closet components / $20 for the wood / $25 for the wire storage bins / $10 ironing board / $8 iron holder / $5 for the hooks (broom & mop I had).

One bit of information that I forgot to add is that since this space looks so good, I decided to take the doors off. Honestly, they were open almost all day, every day and ALWAYS getting in the way. I took the doors off when I painted the trim and the hallway felt so much larger. Now that the laundry closet is so much more organized, I actually enjoy looking at it (where before, no way!). Plus keeping the space open for all to see will keep me more accountable to keep the space looking snazzy clean + organized! FYI, the hardware is still in place if we ever want to put the doors back.

It’s really amazing that this space went from this, to this, in just a few hours…

DETAILS.

> PAINT: HGTV Sherwin Williams Mint To Be (Lowe’s)

> SHELVING: Rubbermaid closet system – hanging rail, uprights, brackets, 12″ white wire shelves / Wood – 1″ x 12″ x 4′ length

> WIRE BIN (top shelf): Antique Grey Iron Basket (Lowe’s)

> FABRIC BIN WITH LABEL: Closetmaid Fabric Bin (Target)

> IRONING BOARD: Countertop Ironing Board (Target)

> IRON HOLDER: Plastic Iron & Board Holder (Amazon)

> ART: Float art print (Minted)

> HANGERS: Room Essentials 18 pack hangers, yellow (Target)

And there you have it. It’s amazing what a bit of paint + a little TLC can do. Small changes + Little Money can really make a BIG IMPACT!

I’m off to do some more laundry…

THIS IS A SPONSORED POST BY LOWE’S. I REACHED OUT TO THEM ABOUT THIS PROJECT AND THEY CHOSE TO WORK WITH ME ON THIS LAUNDRY REVAMP. I HAVE BEEN PROVIDED WITH PRODUCT FOR THIS PROJECT, BUT AS ALWAYS I WAS NOT TOLD WHAT TO BUY OR WHAT TO WRITE.

A Not-So-Lavish Laundry Room

Written by Jenna on May 6, 2015. Posted in DIY.

This past weekend was a busy one at the ole’ homestead! From exterior work on the garden to shuffling kids to various sports activities, it was non-stop. And when we did have a few minutes of “down time”, we started a new project inside…

It’s a horrid-looking space that has been a catch-all for stuff for way too long. Well I should say, was a catch-all because in just a few hours this space I am referring to got a complete new revamp and I am over-the-hill happy! What space am I referring to?

THE LAUNDRY!

Honestly, I use the word ‘space’ because it’s not at all a room… I wish! Our laundry area is essentially a closet. A small closet. A small closet that holds a lot and until now was completely disorganized + a complete MESS.

I dread sharing this, but here WAS (that’s an important word, WAS) the before…

Gutsy, huh?! Yup, no holding back here. My goodness, I can’t believe I just shared that picture. And you thought all the spaces in my home were beautiful at all times… NOT!

This laundry closet (it’s literally a closet that is 4′-6″ wide) is just off the foyer. Across from it is the coat closet / pantry and the hallway leads to the garage. It’s a tight space that is used a lot, and needed a revamp to be as efficient as possible. It’s something that has been on my radar for a while and I knew with some TLC, it would shine up like a pretty penny (and it sure did – more on that in a moment).

WHAT THIS LAUNDRY SPACE NEEDED.

> More Storage (big & small) for dishtowels, cleaning supplies, rags, napkins + paper towels, tablecloths, paper goods (paper plates, cups, plastic ware)

> Wall Storage for holding the iron, ironing board, broom, mop

> New Shelving

> New Paint on the walls + trim

> Layers: Pops of color + pictures (to make it pretty)

THE PLAN OF ACTION.

Before tackling this space, I made some quick notes on what was working (not much) + what wasn’t (a lot) + what I needed to store on the new shelves that I planned on installing.

After that, I created a quick creative vision board to help me stay on track for how to best tackle the aesthetics for this laundry revamp…

More specifically, this is what each element in the new space will be used for…

And here’s how it played out in a brief timeline…

FRIDAY AFTERNOON: Removed the existing shelving that was falling apart / Cleaned walls of dust build-up / Patched the 92 holes in the wall

EARLY SATURDAY MORNING: Sanded the walls (the orbital sander took a lot less time than hand sanding – there were a lot of holes!) / Applied the first coat of new paint (love the color!)

SATURDAY AFTERNOON: Applied coat #2 of the paint (and done – YAY)

EARLY SUNDAY MORNING: Installed the top rail for the shelving unit / Installed the shelves (one shelf was wrong so the Mister headed back to Lowe’s for trip #2) / Started organizing

SUNDAY NIGHT: Finished organizing the shelves with some old + some new baskets & bins

* this makeover certainly could have been tackled in one day, but with our hectic lives, nothing ever gets accomplished that quickly.

A few sneak peek progress pictures…

For a gal that dreads laundry day (which seems like every day of the week with my clan of 5), I have to admit that for the last 2 days, it hasn’t been so bad. I am LOVING my newly revamped laundry ‘closet’ and even though it still isn’t so lavish it certainly is 1,000,000 times better than it was.

The AFTER coming tomorrow. Brace Yourself!

Gardening Made Easy

Written by Jenna on April 30, 2015. Posted in Gardening.

Spring is shining and that means gardening season is upon us. With that comes excitement and a bit of angst. As one who doesn’t have the greenest thumb on the block, I love & dread the thought of growing flowers. I always try to put my best foot forward, but somehow my foot often ends up behind me kicking my butt – okay, that just sounds a bit funny… Anyway, depending on where you live, some of you may already have pretty flowers growing on the grounds of your homestead, but for others (like me waving my hand high in the North Country), the bitter temps of Winter are just passing and teeny buds are finally starting to sprout – yay!

Each year as May and June roll around, I love walking the endless aisles of the flower section to pick up a few new perennials for the gardens + pretty, perky annuals for the pots. Once I get home, I transplant them either into the ground or into planters, but then I’m typically at a lost for what to do next… water now? water later? add feed daily? add feed once a week? add fertilizer? The questions that brew in my brain are endless with trying to make these beauties thrive the best they can.

Well, I now have the answer and it’s foolproof… Miracle-Gro® has a brand new product to help make gardening success even easier called the Miracle-Gro® LiquaFeed® Universal Feeder, which allows you to feed your plants just the right amount of nutrients while you water. How great + easy is that?! Water + Feed at the same time.

HOW IT WORKS.

Simply attach the feeder to your spigot (which will then remain on the spigot). Insert the LiquaFeed® bottle by removing the cap and twisting it into the LiquaFeed® Universal Feeder. Turn on the water at your spigot and flip the switch to “Feed”, then switch it back to water when you want. You can feed using any watering device – a soaker hose, sprinkler, watering wand, hand sprayer, etc. That’s it!

A few facts about this fabulous feeder:

> Feeding is as easy as watering

> You can turn any hose connection into a feeder with the flip of a switch

> Apply the feeder every other week to grow bigger, more beautiful plants + flowers

> It’s so easy, the kids can help!

Important gardening tips I’ve learned along the way:

> Create a garden to fit your lifestyle. Not every garden has to be award-winning filled with roses and orchids. If you are a busy family (like my clan of 5) that likes to travel or has daily commitments, create a garden that fits your lifestyle & what you can manage. Creating a long term plan for your garden is a great way to start, then each year expand to what you can handle + care for. Using this water + feed in one will make maintaining the garden that much easier!

> Purchase new flowers at different times of the season. If you want to have a blooming garden throughout the Spring, Summer, and Fall months, shop for flowers at different times during the season so you can see what is in bloom when. If you buy all your flowers at one time, you may be left colorless by September.

> Transplant potted plants. Leaving potted plants or flowers in their original plastic pot that you buy at the gardening center does not give them the space needed to grow. After purchasing a plant or flower that you plan on keeping potted, transfer it into something larger (about twice the size of the plant) so it has room for its roots to expand.

> Read the plant tag. Finding a plant or flower that fits your climate & growing conditions is important to achieve a successful bloom. It’s very important to find the right flower / plant that matches your setting, so read the label!

via BHG

To take it a step further, create a gardening scrapbook to add your plant tags to each season + to document the success of your flowers + plants.

via Reader’s Digest

I’ve learned a few things along the way and am crossing my fingers for a successful gardening season to come. With some planning + a plan-of-action for maintaining, I am hoping for lots of beautiful blooms & pretty petals! At least now watering + feeding them will be a breeze.

disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Miracle-Gro, a company I have used many times in the past and highly value! All opinions + words are 100% my own.

If it waters, now it feeds with Miracle-Gro® LiquaFeed® Universal Feeder. Itâ€™s a great tool to help you reach your gardening goals by providing the essential nutrients your plants need to thrive all season long. This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Miracle-Gro®. The opinions and text are all mine.

Front Door: New Style + New Color

Written by Jenna on April 28, 2015. Posted in DIY, Paint. 7 Comments on Front Door: New Style + New Color

Typically I can choose a paint color within minutes. Rarely do I sit, ponder, question, and debate. But my wham-bam-paint-color-decision-making streak is over since I had the most difficult dilemma choosing a color for our new front door.

Late last year we said farewell to our solid front door and in itâ€™s place we welcomed a new beauty that now fills our foyer with lots of light all year round! The door arrived primed in a drear barn red hue. At the time of installation, it was too chilly outside to paint, so for 6 months it stayed as is. When the temps finally got above 50 degrees about 2 weeks ago (even though we had snowshowers last week – #forreal), it was finally time to give life to our new addition.

I was so excited to give a splash of color to our entryway, but I could not for the life of me choose a color… What color would suit our home best – inside and out?… Turquoise? Coral? Red? Navy? Yellow? Apple Green?

Inspiration + color swatches filled my world for days…

Then one moment I had a revelation. I finally chose a color.

Taking into account the other colors on the porch + tying in the colors inside of our home to make a cohesive thread, I chose…

My tried & true APPLE GREEN!

It may be a surprising choice because I like change & am continually making updates to our home with new colors + new layers. For years our front door was apple green and with a new door, you would probably think, choice a new color. Many of you said hues of blue would be your color of choice, which I love too, but in the end the apple green, pistachio hue was me. This color is just who I am – bold, vibrant, surprising. All the other colors that I oh-so-badly photoshopped on our front door (take a look at this post to see the other colors I considered), would have looked great too, but this green color just made the most sense.

Take a look…

The color is a bit different than the previous apple green colored front door. This time I chose the color Valspar Crushed Oregano 6000-6C in a semi-gloss finish.

I’ll tell you, with the glass, this front door took a bit more time to paint.

Using painters tape @ the edge, I covered all the glass…

Then used an angled brush to apply the paint. No roller for this small job…

About 3 coats later, the door was complete and the result from before to after was huge!

What a simple + fast weekend (it really can be done in one day) project to give new life to the entry of your home! Choosing a color that expresses you, your style, and your interior can truly set the stage for what’s to come on the inside.

I am so happy that I went back to my original inspiration to guide me to make the decision that I feel fits best with our home…

Now that the color is set, I’ve got some work to do to spruce up this porch for Spring! More on that coming soon…

Simple Spring Mantel

Written by Jenna on April 23, 2015. Posted in Decorating, Mantel.

Goodness the last 2 weeks have been crazy busy. Spring arrived, and off we went… sports, activities, it doesn’t stop! I have a slew of projects that I want to share with you (and I will, no worries) from the living room makeover + more, but I haven’t had 2 seconds to pull it all together.

Anyway, when photographing the living room space last week, I couldn’t stop shooting different angles of the fireplace mantel.

For the ‘reveal’, I wanted the mantel to be fairly minimal + simple since it was more about the overall space and not just that one element. But as I started styling the 6″ deep vignette, I couldn’t stop myself from adding layers + pretty accessories + seasonal succulents.

Knowing myself (and how I can keep anything the same for 5 minutes), it will continually change with the coming seasons + holidays, but for now, it’s perfectly set for Spring…

This simple, but seasonally sensational mantel is filled with accessories + layers that I already owned. Nothing is new.

With every mantel creation, there has to be varying heights to create an interesting & engaging vignette. [more tips on mantel decorating here]

For this quick mantel styling, I anchored it with the rope wrapped vase I created which gives the overall composition beautiful texture. It’s of a medium size, so it’s a good size + weight item for the end.

To bring height + whimsy, I filled a yellow colored glass vase with one faux flower sprig – it’s similar to a forsythia branch, but slightly different. I adore this pretty, and very real looking, sprig! I’ve use it a lot on the mantel, but with the new black wall, it has really taken on a completely new + different look.

To balance out the tall elements, I added in a few lower items too. I wrapped three books with white copy paper (how easy?) and topped them with a small potted succulents (1 is real, 2 are fake – can you tell which is which? bet you can’t).

For the backdrop of the mantel, I used my go-to tall mirror (my thrift store find that went from wood to white after I painted it) which I leaned on the wall. Layered on top, I added in a new sign (I was wrong, one item on the mantel is new – don’t you love the quote?!) from World Market, as well as a framed fern (that I snagged from the foyer) –> tutorial on how to create framed fern art.

Love this… life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful

The overall simple, seasonal Spring mantel…

Take a step back to check out the new space. So different from the previous! Check out the entire revamped living room.

Here are some past Spring mantels…

(click on the images to go to the original post)

Happy Spring + Mantel Decorating!

Living Room Makeover {Resources}

Written by Jenna on April 20, 2015. Posted in Decorating.

disclosure: I collaborated with a few of my favorite companies on this makeover including Minted, World Market, and Valspar Paint. I reached out to them & I am truly thankful that they believed in me to showcase their awesome product(s) for this room redo! All items were chosen by me and all opinions are 100% my own.

Happy Monday – You guys are awesomely sweet! The outpouring of kind comments over the new living room space was over-the-top. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

You’ve seen the pictures, so now let’s get to the nitty-gritty details of the makeover. Pretty pictures are good and all, but let’s get down to what you really want to know… where I bought it all!

Resources >>>

1 – DIY: $70 freestanding bookcase with moulding to create built-in, Amazon [tutorial coming soon]

2 – Life Does Not Have To Be Perfect To Be Wonderful sign, World Market

3 – Globes, World Market and Target

4 – DIY: Drop Cloth Panels with leading edge [click for tutorial], fabric: Geo Maze Coral / Bamboo Shades: Payless Decor, Tibet

5 – Canvas, Ikea

6 – Caged Accent Table, Target

7 – Carved Wood Accent Table, World Market

8 – Acrylic Coffee Table, CB2 / Geometric Lattice Tray, Target

9 – Emerald Lindsey Chair, World Market

10 – Hemnes TV Unit, Ikea – DIY: turned Campaign-Style with handmade knobs + “L” brackets

11 – Side Chair, local furniture store

12 – White Leather Pouf, Amazon

13 – Sheepskin Rug, World Market

14 – 7’6 x 9’6 Ikat Rug, Rugs USA

15 – Basket, Target (similar to this style)

16 – Framed Prints, Minted

> Down Under the Brooklyn Bridge
> Snow Dancer
> Blaze
> Calculation
> Gesture
> Letâ€™s Get Lost
> NYC Map (gold foil)
> Bits

17 – Arc Floor Lamp + Shade, World Market

18 – Pillows

left to right
> raspberry ikat, Homegoods
> teal geometric, Target
> black & white (Lappljung Ruta), Ikea
> Solid with Tape, Target
> black and white square, Target – no long available
> Blue & Turquoise ombre, DIY creation
> White Faux Fur pillow, Amazon

19 – Charcoal Sofa, local furniture store

20 – DIY: Window panels (roadside rescue) turned picture frames

21 – Work Lamp (Ranarp), Ikea

22 – Eames White Molded Plastic Chair, Amazon

23 – Parsons Desk, West Elm

Paint Colors >>>

Changing of the wall color was as much important as the elements that went into updating this space. The orange wall @ the fireplace was pretty dramatic before, but the black is just as eye catching + dynamic. To balance the deep, dark hue, I chose a lighter color for the other walls in the space.

These are the new paint colors…

Fireplace Wall (soft black hue) – Valspar Black Heron V120-3, flat

Other Walls (light gray/blue hue) – Valspar Silver Thistle Down V120-1, satin

Trim + Fireplace – Valspar New Ream V148, semi-gloss

And that’s a wrap! If you haven’t seen the finished space, pop on over the {reveal} post. There are a whole lotta pictures + inspiration…

I want to give a HUGE shout-out and THANKS to the following companies who chose to partner with me on this room makeover. I reached out to them & I am truly thankful that they believed in me to showcase their awesome product(s) for this room redo! Thank you to Minted (who provided the amazing framed artwork), World Market (who supplied some of the furniture + accessories), and Valspar Paint (who supplied the paint).

So what’s your favorite new element in my living room?

Living Room Makeover {Reveal}

Written by Jenna on April 16, 2015. Posted in DIY. 15 Comments on Living Room Makeover {Reveal}

I hope you are having a wonderful week. I am in pure bliss at the moment. Between the amazing 60 degree sunny days we’ve been having + finishing the living room, I am incredibly delighted. plus my little guy is going to be turning 9 in a few days and that just makes my heart happy…

So yes, the living room makeover that I’ve been working on for the past 4 months is FINISHED and I am overly joyed to finally share details of the makeover + the big reveal!

The evolution of this space has been quite long + slow. And I am perfectly content with that because we’ve gotten the chance to “live” in it to know what works + what doesn’t.

When we moved in to our home about 5 years ago, it started out like this…

welcome to our new home – ugh, ok not so pretty.

We needed color right away, so we painted the fireplace wall a deep burnt orange hue, while the other walls were covered in a warm-beige, cardboard brown tone. Furniture from our previous home went into place and we were happy to have a space for our family of 4 (at the time).

With some minor updates + layers, eventually the space started to feel like “us”…

That’s how our living room looked until this makeover started.

Over the years, I knew the furniture didn’t work “right” for the room, but because of the emotional connection/attachment to our beloved sofa + the lil’ budget we had, it stayed as is.

Then late last year we got the bug. Even the Mister who hates change & is content with most any ole’ space, was thinking the room needed some new life. And it all started with the TV…

Here’s a quick storyline: The Mister wanted a larger flatscreen, which the TV cabinet wouldn’t be large enough for. That got the ball rolling to get rid of the oversized TV cabinet [you can see what it looks like in this post].

Once the cabinet was gone, the sofa followed along with it, and rearranging the furniture so the TV would no longer be opposite of the windows because of the sun glare made the most sense. it was near impossible to watch tv during the day because of the sun filtering in. In the end, a friend bought most of the furniture and we were left with a big empty shell!

This was the new layout I created for the space…

My creative juices started to flow and this was what I envisioned for the room. [click to read my original plan of action for this space]

After some project fails & loss of momentum along the way, here is the result of our new living room…

That is the main view of the room from the kitchen & dining space.

To the right is a desk nook where the kids do their homework & keep their art supplies. I made some styling edits when I photographed the space, but typically there is rolling cart next to the desk that holds their coloring books, notebooks, and art supplies.

Last Fall a local photographer took family photos of us, which we get to treasure in window panes (that I found on the side of the road) turned photo frames.

Above the desk is a recent handmade sign creation that I shared about the other day. No stencil or silhouette was used to create it, but instead I used chalk to “transfer” the letters. It was a fairly easy process and the “chalk transfer” technique can ultimately be used for any design onto any hard surface.

Continuing around the room, I decided to put the TV stand + new flat screen TV (the element that sparked the redesign) in front of the window.

When I shared my original plan for this makeover, I got some comments about the TV location – “you’re putting the TV in front of the window?” – but honestly it really works in this room. The windows are really large + there are skylights above that bring in lots of light. The location of this space is also in the back of our home, so no one from the outside is looking in. I questioned the placement at first too, but we are really enjoy seeing the outdoors (ie: many snowfalls) at the same time we watch TV.

The TV cabinet is from Ikea and to make it unique, I added similar knobs to the china cabinet (that I transformed last year) + ‘L’ brackets to make it like a campaign-style cabinet.

The window panels are the same as those previously in the room, but they too got spiced up with new fabric on the leading edge [the material is drop cloth and here is original the tutorial]. Layered behind the window panels are bamboo roman shades – same as they were before. When I painted the mouldings wood to white a few years back, this window with the layered window treatments took on an entirely new life!

Isn’t that new chair fabulous?! It’s new and it’s daring and I love it. I’m going to share all the sources for the new room in another post, but I have to spill the beans. This fabulous emerald chair (yes, it’s a true emerald green color) is from World Market and it’s really a great bang-for-the-buck. At first, I had another chair in it’s place and it wasn’t dynamic enough. I nervously ordered this chair unsure if it would be too bold for the room. It arrived and there was no other green like it in the room. I thought about it and lived with it for a few days and fell in love. Now I feel it truly makes the room!

The new black focal wall is a show stopper. Many people thought I was crazy when I said I was going to paint this huge wall black, but it really works. The black is a soft, charcoal hue, so it’s not harsh. The walls flanking the fireplace were always tricky to style and since we never have enough bookcases, we built these beauties – more on that in another post.

The shelves of these new bookcases hold lots of our books, magazines, and accessories + some of the kids toys. This is a living room for our family of 5. This is the #1 space we hang out in, so when designing the new layout, it HAD to be kid-friendly. The older 2 kids have a lot of their toys in their rooms or in the basement, but some of their smaller things are now in baskets on the shelves and are easily accessible.

I have a few more stylish baskets in the living room that also hold the baby toys. I love baskets and when they’re pretty, it doesn’t matter what’s inside. [Here are more savvy storage solutions using baskets]

As you continue around the room, there is a second bookcase to match the other, which holds more books, family photo albums, CDs (yes, we still listen to CDs even though it seems archaic to some), and a large basket that houses a few comfy blankets.

As you make your way around the space, the sofa now sits opposite of the window and a blank canvas above was turned into a beautiful art wall with a bit of old and touches of new.

The new deep charcoal sofa is heavenly. It’s beautiful against the light blue wall + picks up the tones of the black focal wall. It was hard to see our other sofa go (but I still see it often because a good friend of mine is now enjoying it), but this new one really fits the room so much better. We chose a sofa with a chaise on the end, which gives extra seating + a spot to put your feet up and lounge.

The rug really is the statement element in the room and that was the one piece that started the design. I was drawn to it because it has so many colors from other rooms in our home. This space now truly feels cohesive with the rest of the house! The coffee table is another piece that I love. It’s there, but at the same time, totally disappears, allowing the rug to “speak” it’s beauty.

Creating the art gallery wall was fun, but challenging. This wall is almost 20′ of open canvas, so it definitely took some planning [read more about the planning + creating of the art wall] but the extra steps to get it right was worth the effort.

One of the issues with the old space was the lack of lighting. We have a decorative ceiling fixture in this space, but it’s somewhat harsh on the eyes. Personally, I like soft light from table lamps and floor lamps.

I didn’t want to go matchy-matchy on the sides of the sofa, so instead I chose to use a table lamp between the chair & sofa that sits on a side table and an arched floor lamp (which provides a lot of soft light) to the right of the sofa. Now when the lights are turned on in the evening, the 2 fixtures provide the perfect ambiance.

It was very important to continue colors from other areas of the house into this new space. Because our first floor is all open where each room flows from one to the next, bringing in elements to make it feel cohesive was the only way this room would work and feel like an extension of what’s been created elsewhere.

From this view, you can see how the china cabinet painted in a deep raspberry color is in the adjacent dining area. It now all flows and feels like one.

And just so you know we are a real family who absolutely use this space. Here’s my crazy clan of 3 in action…

From sunrise to sunset (and beyond) we are 100% enjoying this new living room space. Even though there were a few ups and downs to creating this new haven in our home, we are overjoyed with how fresh it feels & how much it reflects our vibrant family!

I’m sure you are interested in knowing where I found all the awesome pieces for our new living room. Next post will be details on all the sources.

Front Door Dilemma: Choosing a New Color

Written by Jenna on April 13, 2015. Posted in Uncategorized. 8 Comments on Front Door Dilemma: Choosing a New Color

Late last year we said farewell to our beautiful + bright apple green front door (it’s been the backdrop to many of my seasonal wreaths). In it’s place we welcomed a new beauty that has brought us much more light, but is in need of a pop of color!

You might have caught a glimpse of it during the Holiday Housewalk…

A few of you asked, “what happened to your front door?”. Did you get rid of the cheery apple green door?

We did and for good reason.

Changing the front door was something I dreamed about from the moment we moved into our home. As the foyer transformed over the years to a space we truly love to come home to, we weren’t loving the feeling of the foyer when the door was closed (mostly during the winter months). Since there are no other windows in the foyer, when the solid front door was closed, it felt dark & cavernous.

We were originally going to make the front door swap-out a do it yourself project, but in the end with the advice from the reps in the door section at my local Lowe’s, we decided to have it professionally installed. Thank goodness we did #bestdecisionever

It took a few hours + lots of tools, but when it was complete, I was in love & even more so because I didn’t have to lift a finger!

Our beautiful new door with 3/4 glass has been a dream come true. On the bitterest of days of -30 to the almost 70 degree day we had yesterday, we have really enjoyed the beautiful light filter in all year long. But the time has come to choose a color. After living with this burgundy color all winter – it’s actually how it came primed – we are ready to freshen it up with a new color.

I am actually leaning towards painting the new door apple green because I loved the color so much, but I am unsure…

Here is a picture I snapped + shared on Instagram yesterday after spending some time adding in some of our Spring + Summer decor.

To see how other colors would look, I used photoshop to visually interpret how other door colors would look.

Disclaimer: I am horrible at photoshop & the front porch currently looks pretty sad after the long winter. Don’t judge.

Here are the color options I am thinking…

Coral

Teal / Turquoise

Navy

Red

or my tried & true…

Apple Green

plus there’s also emerald green, yellow, black… decisions. decisions.

What to consider when choosing a front door color

1 / Choose a color that reflects you. The color on the front door is important because it’s the first element of your home that you see.

2/ Make a statement. A statement doesn’t have to be a bold color, but a fun, unexpected hue will surely make for a beautiful entryway and set the tone for what’s to come inside.

3/ Be cohesive. Not sure about a color? Look at your interior decor and choose a color from a pillow or picture to create a cohesive color palette inside and out.

4/ It’s just paint. At the end of the day, it’s just paint. Yes, who wants to waste time or money, but if you paint your front door and you don’t like it a year later, repaint it.

For my front door, I am taking into consideration the colors I have on the porch, but also the colors that are used inside my entry and the adjacent spaces of the foyer.

All my options for color – teal, green, navy, coral – would work as they are all an extension of the hues on the interior. I love them all. I feel overwhelmed, but I’ll get there.

What’s your favorite color? Do you have another color in mind that you think will be even better? or just Go for my favorite apple green?