I shared the preliminary mood board for the kid/guest bathroom last week. I included a clawfoot tub in the design of the bathroom and got a lot of feedback on the pros/cons of having one in your home. I appreciate all the comments! It definitely gave us a lot to consider. In the end, we decided to go ahead with the clawfoot tub.
The bathroom will mainly be used by our kiddos. Even though I semi-labeled it a ‘guest bath,’ the bathroom’s toilet and sink will be the only pieces really used by our guests. Most of our immediate family lives in the area, so we rarely have overnight {i.e. bathing/showering} guests. Plus, we won’t even have a designated guest bedroom at the Underdog, so I’d be surprised if we get one overnight guest visit annually.
For those rare overnight visits, we’re happy to share {what will be} a walk-in shower in the master bathroom with our guests if they should find the clawfoot tub too cumbersome. ’Share’ as in let them use it – not as in take a shower with them. We don’t have those kinds of guests. That would be weird.
We will be adding shower fixtures to the clawfoot tub so our boys can shower when they get older. As of right now, they both still take baths. I don’t mind that the tub will require more curtain around the shower. I think I can finagle something out of multiple curtains sewn together. I don’t use shower curtain liners now and I don’t plan on using them with the clawfoot tub either. We just let the fabric drape inside the shower/tub and I launder it weekly. It doesn’t get moldy or smelly and it doesn’t blow in around your body while showering like some liners can. So, even though we know that a clawfoot tub might not be the most practical choice for some families, we think it will work for ours.
With that decision made, we immediately started searching craigslist for a vintage clawfoot tub since I had already discovered that a new tub with the same look was priced anywhere from $1,000-$2,000!!! Our plumber told us a few things to look for in a clawfoot tub: 1) The drain should be on the same side as the faucet. 2) The faucet hookup should be 2″ above the overflow. Both of those details are required by code regulations in our area. We ran into a problem with the size. Our small bathroom is only 60″ wide, so we were looking for a tub 54″ long or shorter. Most of the tubs we came across were 60″ which must have been the standard size back in the clawfoot tub days. So when a 54″ one showed up on craigslist listed at $250, we called right away to go see it.
It ended up being the perfect size and was in decent condition. It met one of the two requirements…the drain was on the same side as the faucet but the overflow wasn’t 2″ down from the faucet. Handy Hubby quickly looked at clawfoot tub faucets on my iPhone and discovered that we could add on a faucet that would make the tub meet code requirements. HH asked if the sellers would take $200 for it. They said yes and in just a few minutes it was loaded up into the back of HH’s truck.
We were feeling pretty good about the find…for the moment. In our excitement, we neglected to tie down the tub. I guess we were thinking it was so heavy that it wouldn’t budge. To make a long story short, a cast iron tub + plastic truck bed liner + rainy night + sudden braking = smashed rear truck windows. Luckily, I had driven myself and the boys separately in our SUV {which, HH, I still think could have held the tub easily…just sayin’} and HH, who was driving the truck, didn’t get hurt. Well, maybe his pride was hurt.
The window repair cost us another $200, so the price of the tub just doubled. The moral of the story?? Always secure your load. Even if you think it’s heavy enough to stay put and you promise to drive slowly. We learned our lesson. The hard way. It’s one of those stories that gets funnier the more we tell it and the farther away we get from the real life version. We’re very lucky no one was hurt. I wish I had a picture of HH’s truck to show you but I think HH would have thrown the tub right out of the truck if I’d have taken a picture in the moment. He wasn’t too happy about the situation.
I do have a picture of the tub sitting in the garage at the Underdog to share with you.
Isn’t it cute? Try to look past the green exterior. I plan on painting it a glossy charcoal gray. You may be wondering why one corner is propped up on a piece of lumber.
HH had a little mishap with one of the feet when he was unloading it. You can imagine how this made him feel after all the other chaos. Let’s just say it wasn’t HH’s best night. I was trying to stay positive, thankful that everyone was okay and that the foot itself wasn’t damaged.
All in all, $400 for a 54″ vintage clawfoot tub {$200 for the tub + $200 for the window damage} still isn’t awful. $200 would have been better but we’ll take what we can get. We’ve already moved on and begun to get things in order for the rest of the bathroom…the tub/shower fixtures and the vanity. I’ll be back later to share those with you soon!
images: 1) Polyvore collage by Dana Miller linked within 2) Keith Scott Morton for Country Living 3 & 4) Dana Miller for House*Tweaking
It’s a done deal. I’m seriously considering navy as an accent color in the Underdog. I like the way it adds contrast and drama while still working as a neutral. I’ve already told Handy Hubby that my design taste is leaning a little more towards the masculine side this time around. I guess I’m finally giving in to all the testosterone floating around in our family.
What hue has you wanting to try a new color scheme?
We are settling into apartment living nicely. The boys really seem to like it. I think they see it as a big playhouse. It’s a welcome change for them from the ‘showhouse’ {i.e. previous house we sold by owner..more on that next week} conditions we were living in for nearly five months. The words “No! Don’t touch that!” haven’t slipped through my lips once in the past two weeks. The kids happily litter their toys around the apartment and make tents out of furniture, blankets and pillows. Sometimes I don’t even make them put it all away at night because, well, it doesn’t matter. No one’s coming to visit and we aren’t hanging by a thread waiting for a call from potential buyers who want to come see the place. We’re just living here.
Still, after living in the apartment a few weeks, I’ve decided there are some things that need to be addressed to make our new space function well and feel a little more like home…albeit an interim one. Not all of the things I want to do deal with are major design dilemmas – by god, there are plenty! – because we’re only going to be living here temporarily. Most of the projects I want to take on will affect the way we use the apartment and how it works for us. Don’t worry, though, I don’t think I can completely steer clear of all design-related ideas! I’ve gotten a bunch of different feedback concerning interim housing and possible projects. Some people advise not to touch a thing and focus all energies on the Underdog while, at the opposite end of the spectrum, I have others saying to go all out on the apartment and make it ours. I appreciate all the input and I can see the pros/cons of both sides. Maybe you’ll be happy to know that I’m taking the middle ground on this one. Not really to appease any one side but simply because that’s how I feel about the matter. I could not live in a place for longer than a month without changing something. That’s just not me. Tweaking is what I do. And it usually improves our everyday living. On the other hand, I will have a lot of ideas that don’t make the cut due to time, money and energy constraints. I can’t see putting in tons of work and money into a space that we’ll only be living in short-term. So, my to-do list will focus only on those projects that will enhance our apartment living experience without cutting into our wallets, renovation time {at the Underdog} and everyday life. With me? Okay, here are my top priorities as of today. Maybe once I check them off, I’ll move onto other like minded ideas.
1 – Hang stuff. I purposefully selected a few wall decor items to make the move to the apartment versus storage. I chose items knowing exactly where I wanted to put them so I didn’t end up with a bunch of unnecessary stuff in our small apartment. Plus, as long as I don’t make any holes in the walls larger than the size of a dime, we’re not responsible for patching them when our lease is up. No skin off my back! Still, the few paintings, frames and mirrors I brought to the apartment haven’t made it off the floor. I’ve left them propped against the walls out of harms way just waiting to be hung. I’m ready to put some {small} holes in the walls! The bare white walls are starting to feel a tad asylum-like.
2 – Organize the utility closet. For an apartment, I think ours has ample closet space. I’m just not really using it to it’s fullest potential. This utility closet just off the dining area is a case in point. While it’s plenty large enough to house the things we need it to house {safe, printer, steam mop, broom, important files, etc.} it’s not functional. It’s one big pile o’ stuff. I think adding some freestanding shelving and wall hooks would improve this storage space tremendously!
3 – Remove cumbersome folding doors. There are a LOT of folding doors in the apartment. 4 to be exact: one near the front door {shown above}, one off the kitchen that hides the washer/dryer, and two in the boys’ bedroom that act as closet doors. I’ve already decided that the one right near the entrance to the apartment needs to go. It doesn’t open or close properly and when it is open, no one can open the front door or else the two doors just bang into each other. The folding door in the kitchen doesn’t seem to be too much of a problem {just hideous to look at} since I’m the only who uses it for doing laundry. I think it may stay. The closet doors in the boys’ bedroom are a safety hazard. Everett has already pinched his finger in them once and I’m betting it’ll happen again. They’ll be coming down as well. I plan on hanging fabric panels in place of the folding doors I remove. Oh! And I’ll have to reinstall the doors I remove when our lease is up.
4 – Add to our house plant arsenal. If you’ve ever lived in an apartment you can attest to what I like to call the apartment smell. It smells like a hot mix of old water and musty carpet. It doesn’t go away no matter how often you clean or open your windows. While it has definitely improved since the first day, our apartment still has a faint, distinct odor that doesn’t quite smell like home. I’m using my Scentsy burner and it helps some, but I think adding in more air purifying house plants would help too. Plus, greenery in a home is always pretty and lively.
5 – Do something about the dining chandelier. The light above the dining area is too small, too high and not anywhere near our style. I’d love to tweak it somehow so that we have a larger, more stylish, lower hanging light above our dining table. With the ceilings being 15′ high, I can’t remove the light myself but I’ve been conjuring up ideas for disguising the light and making it seem bigger than it actually is. I think it could really become the focal point of the open living space if I play my cards right.
6 – Transform the front door into a message center. In our last home I painted a sliver of wall in the kitchen with chalkboard paint to act as a message board. I miss it! I didn’t realize how useful it was until now. We would jot down needed grocery items, daily notes, reminders and even inspirational quotes to keep us on our toes. We definitely need something like it in the apartment and I think the back of our front door will be a great spot for it.
So, those are my current projects for the apartment. I plan on tackling some of them this weekend and brainstorming the rest. That light is gonna be a doozy! But I like challenges and some of my most creative work comes from the most awful ‘before’ setups. Keep in mind that all projects need to be budget-friendly and reversible, so as not to sink money into a space that is only temporary. The jury is still out on painting any walls….hmmm.
First of all, WE HAVE INTERNET ACCESS! Yay! Okay, carry on…
This is the ‘in progress’ view of our kitchen from the living area of our future great room. The oven and hood will be in the middle of the two windows. {For more details on the kitchen layout, look here.} If you look at the ceiling, you’ll notice three blue electrical boxes for light fixtures. Specifically, they are the electrical boxes for our kitchen island pendants. As you can see, there will be a trio of pendants centered above the kitchen island. I thought about one big pendant over the island but since the island is going to be over 8′ long, I think 3 smaller pendants will balance the length of the island better. I thought I’d share with you what pendant lights *I think* I’ve officially decided will go there. Not just for your benefit but for mine too. Handy Hubby says I have to start making some design element decisions and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a tad overwhelmed. So, I’m taking it one step at a time {while still trying to keep an overall aesthetic in mind} and starting with something relatively easy first. The kitchen island pendants seemed like a good place to start.
I’ve been stalking this minimal, industrial-like West Elm globe pendant for months now. {Maybe that’s why I’m somewhat fond of the globe lights in our apartment‘s kitchen.} I think a trio of them will work great above the island. I want something see-through so that, when you’re in the living area of the great room looking into the kitchen, your eye travels past the pendants to the wall that will eventually house a streamlined hood. A more solid pendant would stop your eye short at the island’s location and cut up the space taking away from that open, airy feel we love so much and are trying to achieve. But the pendants still have enough presence to define the island.
Like I said, I’ve been eyeing these globe lights for months. Mostly with the hope that they’ll go on sale and I can snag them up. {Currently, you can get one of these lights for $99 and a trio for $269.} But, alas, no price reduction has occurred and we’re getting down to the wire {bad pun} on picking ceiling fixtures for the Underdog. At least, that’s what HH is telling me. So, with thriftiness in mind, I bought $300 worth of West Elm gift cards from our local Kroger store while their quadruple fuel points special was running. That means I got $1/gallon off my last fill-up at the gas pump! {For those of you who don’t shop/have Kroger stores, they offer point rewards for gift card purchases. The points can be used to deduct money from your fuel purchases at Kroger fuel centers or participating Shell stations.} I plan to use the gift cards to purchase the pendants. Not exactly the clearance-priced globe lights I was hoping for but at least I got some savings elsewhere. It all adds up.
What do you think? Do you like the idea of minimal, non-view impending globe lights over the future kitchen island? I think they’ll look like fabulous little fish bowls lit up in the evening hours.
images: 1) Dana Miller for House*Tweaking 2&3) West Elm
You may remember that I enrolled in the Sheffield Interior Design School months ago. The program is targeted towards people who want to learn about interior design but have other obligations {work, family, finances, etc} that keep them from enrolling full-time at a typical college or university. Students are given 3 years to complete the course at their own pace. Good thing. Because so far, my pace has been similar to that of a turtle. Slow and steady wins the race, right? Well, I intentionally took a few months off because I learned that part of my work as a Sheffield student is to design a room using the concepts learned through my studies. While the school intends for students to do this on paper, I thought it would be fun to try it in real life as well. And now that I have plenty of rooms to make over {thank you old, decrepit Underdog}, it’s back to the books for me!
I plan on giving each room of the Underdog a makeover, but I’d like to share the long, drawn-out, in depth process of transforming one particular room from start to finish here on House*Tweaking. Even better, I’d like you to tell me which room you want to see receive the design student makeover. This will be the room that I work on {on paper and in real life although maybe not simultaneously} for my design student project. I’ll share all my thoughts, plans, designs and rookie drawings throughout the process. I’ll probably even change my mind a few times. Maybe seeing a room come to life from the first to final steps will inspire you, take the intimidation sting out of decorating, or just show you how bat @#$! crazy my mind can be at times. Sound good? Okay, let’s put it to a vote.
I’ve narrowed down the playing field to three Underdog rooms that meet the requirements for my school project.
LIVING ROOM – You immediately enter into the living room upon entrance from the front door. The room will be open to the kitchen. Activities that will take place in this room are: watching TV, relaxing, playing, casual entertaining and reading. Pros: the room has an original fireplace as its focal point and a large picture window that provides tons of natural light. Cons: the room is small-ish for all the activities that will take place in it and needs new flooring. I’ll need to figure out ways to add disguised toy/game storage, seat an optimal number of people comfortably, stylishly add in a TV and all its components, carve out a spot for guests to hang coats and bags, and arrange furniture to highlight the fireplace without impeding traffic flow.
DINING ROOM/MUDROOM/LAUNDRY ROOM – You immediately enter into this space upon entrance from the garage. The room is just off the kitchen/living room and has sliders that open up to the backyard. It also contains a closet will house the washer, dryer and radon mitigation system. Activities that will take place in this room are: dining {although everyday dining will most likely take place at the kitchen island}, taking off shoes/coats, hanging up everyday bags, emptying pockets, laundering, coloring and crafting with the kids, sewing, and passing through to the backyard. Pros: the room receives natural light from the patio sliders and is connected to the outdoors. Cons: once again, the room is small-ish for all duties that will be required of it, it needs new flooring and it has no existing focal point. I’ll need to add dining furniture that will double as a sewing/crafting table. Somehow, I’ve got to incorporate the laundry closet into the rest of the room without hiding it behind cumbersome doors. A part of the room will be designated to mudroom duties: shoe putting on/taking off, hanging up backpacks/purses, storing outerwear and dropping keys. This room needs to provide storage for my sewing supplies {including a sewing machine}, kids craft materials and, ideally, even household staples {like toilet paper}. And it needs to hold all of that stuff out of plain sight so that when the room is being used as extra dining space, it doesn’t feel like you’re dining in the laundry room/mudroom/craft room. Whew. That’s a lot to ask of one room. Aesthetically, the room needs a focal point…other than the window A/C unit…and a new ceiling fixture.
MASTER BEDROOM – This room is at the end of a long, narrow hallway. Activities that will take place in this room are: sleeping, reading and dressing. Pros: the room has two nice-sized windows in it {although one has a cracked pane}, is a decent size itself and has an adequate en suite bathroom. Cons: closet space is limited, the room has no architectural focal point or overhead fixtures, and the room needs new flooring. In addition to a bed, we’ll need furniture to make up for a teeny closet. I’d like to sneak in a dressing area if possible. We’ll also need bedside lighting for nighttime reading. More than anything, this room needs to feel like a safe haven at the end of every busy day.
Now that you know a little bit more about each room, tell me which one you’d like to watch get tweaked to life, in detail.
I live less than 15 minutes from our local IKEA. Most times, it’s convenient. Other times, I probably don’t need to be there spending money but, well, it’s just so darn close! Tonight was one of those convenient times. I think. The few items from our IKEA kitchen in the making that weren’t available at the time we purchased the rest of our kitchen were finally back in stock today. I called IKEA ahead of time to make sure they were in stock and had them hold them for me until close. After dinner, while Handy Hubby was busy working on the Underdog, the boys and I made an IKEA run. I remembered to grab my camera although I did have to turn around at the end of our street to come back and get it. At least I was still close to home when I remembered it. Anyhow, I thought I’d snap some pics of the cabinets we’ll be using in our future kitchen and go into a little more detail about how we ended up choosing mix-and-match lower and upper cabinets.
First up is this kitchen display. I’d already been eyeing inspiration photos of kitchens with contrasting cabinetry when Handy Hubby saw this display in real life and loved it. The decision to use the black-brown RAMSJÖ cabinets as our lower cabinets was an easy one.
I also liked the idea of open shelving that was used in the display kitchen. We haven’t purchased any shelving yet but I could see some stainless steel shelves like those ending up in our kitchen. We did purchase the same hood as shown above. I haven’t made up my mind on the contrasting grout lines in the backsplash. They feel a little bathroom-ish and busy to me. But that’s just me. Anyway, this black and white kitchen got our wheels turning and we definitely wanted to use the dark base cabinets. Next, we headed off to find the white version of the RAMSJÖ cabinets to use on the walls. Easy enough, right?
The only problem was I didn’t like them. The picture doesn’t do it justice but the ‘white’ finish is more of a whitewash. The wood grain shows through the paint. From a distance, they almost had a pink or beige tint to them. It obviously wasn’t a bad paint job…that’s how they were supposed to look and they would look great in a kitchen with a cottage or country feel. They just weren’t what we were looking for. We quickly moved onto the white {actually listed as off-white} ÄDEL wall cabinets.
They were the right color and very similar in style to the RAMSJÖ but…but…but I didn’t like the seeded glass fronts. And I knew I reeeeeeally wanted glass-front cabinetry on the wall where the kitchen desk would go to bounce light around and keep things feeling open on top. {I wanted the uppers on the wall opposite the desk – where the fridge and microwave will go – to have solid fronts so the only area affected by the glass-front issue was the desk area.} The seeded glass just wasn’t doing it for me. I know it hides clutter better but I’m not a cluttery person to begin with and the effect felt {dare I say it?} cheap to me. Gulp.
I asked about the glass-fronts and the white ÄDEL glass-front cabinets only come with seeded glass inserts. So, onto the next white, glass-front wall cabinet candidate. The LIDINGÖ.
It was the right color and had the smooth glass fronts that I wanted. However, it was a different style than the RAMSJÖ which we had already decided on for our base cabinets. The frame of the door was slightly narrower and the added framing on top of the glass pane mimiced that of a window. I did like it though. For comparison, here’s a picture of the RAMSJÖ vs LIDINGÖ wall cabinets. Again, from the picture you can’t really tell a huge difference but I assure you, that RAMSJÖ one is beige-y.
I asked the IKEA kitchen designer on duty her feelings on mixing the two different styles in one kitchen and she actually liked the idea. And the more I thought about it, I did too. Maybe the mixed styles would give the kitchen a more custom look as opposed to being matchy-matchy? So, we selected the LIDINGÖ cabinets as our upper cabinetry. That’s how we ended up with two different styles of cabinetry in our future kitchen. Were you able to follow all that past tense mixed with present tense chaos?
As a bonus, I snapped this desk area within a kitchen display at IKEA while I was there, too. It’s a little smaller {and a different color} than the one we’ll be implementing in the Underdog’s kitchen but you get the idea.
I like how the handles on the upper cabinets run horizontally on the doors. I think that’s how we’re going to install ours as well. I’m also up for DIYing a chalkboard above the desk. I could just tape off a rectangle of wall and paint it with chalkboard paint then frame it up with some store bought trim. Now, there’s an idea.
After I played the unpopular role of crazy-lady-with-a-camera-and-two-Matrix-reenacting-kids, I paid for the remaining kitchen items that were missing from our original order. FYI: I still got the 20% off discount that we were awarded in April for purchasing at least three appliances along with our kitchen order. I just had to show the original purchase receipt from April along with our order number. IKEA gives you a folder to keep all your order related papers in, so I just brought the entire thing with me when I picked up the missing items. I had to pay in the kitchen design department then pick up my pieces from the special order desk in the warehouse. By the time me and the boys got down to the carryout desk, the items were already pulled and waiting for us.
That’s because I ran into this on the way down…
I tried very hard not to look at anything on my way from the kitchen department to the checkouts but my will power was not strong enough for this sale price. I’ve been coveting cowhide rugs for months now. I love them. I want one. Call me cruel. It won’t change my mind. At the previously listed price of $250, I couldn’t talk myself into buying one. But at $89, I couldn’t resist. So I grabbed one up after I contemplated getting two. I think it will look great layered on top of a jute rug in the Underdog’s living room someday. Some. Day.
UPDATE: Apparently, the $89 price tag on the cowhide rugs isn’t the case at every IKEA store. Please check with your local IKEA authorities before making a special trip!
I am so happy to share a design e-book that Lauren and Courtney over at Kelly + Olive included me in today!
The e-book, Ideas You Should Steal, features “17 fun projects submitted by top home, craft, and lifestyle bloggers from all over the web.” {Those are their words, not mine.} Not only does it benefit anyone looking for a quick and easy design project, but it also benefits the non-profit organization Dwell with Dignity. Dwell with Dignity is a group of interior designers and volunteers who work to create soothing, inspiring homes for those struggling with homelessness and poverty. Their goal is to expose less fortunate families to nurturing home environments with the hope of helping them maintain a standard of living they can be proud of and thrive in. So when K+O contacted me a while back about participating in this project, I didn’t have to think twice about contributing. Who doesn’t want to see everyone live in a home that is inspirational and conducive family life?
Without giving too much away, the e-book features several well-known design bloggers along with step-by-step guidelines for the project they contributed. I was completely shocked to see my headshot included alongside such savvy bloggers and designers! It’s an honor to be included in the mix. If you wanna see it all for yourself, then follow this link on over to K+O and make a small donation {$1 is the suggested amount} to receive your own download of the e-book. It just might make a difference in two lives – yours and a Dwell with Dignity beneficiary!
Oh, and if you’ve never heard of K+O, now’s your chance. Kelly + Olive is the name of the design biz/blog that two Chicago gals run. Ironically enough, their names aren’t Kelly and Olive at all but Lauren and Courtney. And they’re pretty rad. They offer professional advice on choosing a color scheme, furniture, accessories and styling techniques for interiors…online or in real life if you’re lucky enough to live near the windy city.
With all the chaos going on internationally over the past several weeks, I’ve been reminded of my gratefulness for our safe and healthy home. Many people, including children, aren’t so lucky. I’ll admit to getting caught up in decorating, painting, DIYing and just plain homemaking…but there are moments in time like this that make me appreciate all that I have and have done…it’s very humbling. Maybe design won’t save the world, but caring people like Lauren and Courtney can make it a better place to live. 100% of the proceeds of this e-book go directly to Dwell with Dignity. Thank you Lauren and Courtney for such a great opportunity!
Here’s to an inspiring, humbling, healthy and safe weekend. Give your significant other, kid, baby, pet, parent or friend an extra hug.
Last week I shared a few inspiring blogs, designers and books. I meant to include magazines that consistently spark DIY decorating ideas in my head but, somehow, the week ended abruptly. In the words of my two-year-old, “Sorry ’bout dat.” I simply cannot leave out glossies. I get so excited when new issues arrive in the mail and can’t wait until the kiddos are in bed at night, so I can devour them {the mags not the kiddos}. Here are a few glossies that we refer to time and time again when making our house a home.
Better Homes & Gardens – No surprise here. This magazine has and will be around for ages. It appeals to designers and everyday homebodies alike including articles on decor, food, family life and gardening. I especially like the “I Did It!” page at the end of every issue featuring a homeowner who took the renovation or redecoration of their space into their own hands to save money and create something unique. BHG is a great source for DIYers, homemakers and people with careers that don’t necessarily relate to design. Total motivation.
{Happy Saint Patty’s Day! You like my censored address label?}
House Beautiful – Oh, House Beautiful, how you get me dreaming. Unless I win the lottery {which isn’t likely to happen since I don’t play}, I’ll probably never own anything ever shown in the pages of this high-end glossy. And that’s just fine with me. So what does HB do for me? Instead of getting pouty about all the stuff I’ll never have, I study this glossy page for page taking cues from the pros, dumbing it down and putting my own spin on things. It’s a great source for color schemes, room moods and furniture placement. I especially enjoy the house tours which include an interview with the interior designer. They always talk about the shortcomings of the space and how they ‘fixed’ it. There are usually a few tricks I learn and take away from reading the designer interviews.
Flor – I guess technically this is a catalog. But it’s one that I’m always surprised by. Who knew a carpet tile product catalog could be so inspiring?! The styling, vignettes and colors are creative and part of the not-so-overexposed side of design. I love finding inspiration from unexpected sources!
The Family Handyman – This is for all you{r} Handy Hubby’s out there! Mine included. I can’t lie. I don’t read this magazine but Handy Hubby does and loves it. He’s found countless little DIY tips along with ideas for making large scale projects easier and more doable in this glossy. {Can I call a handyman magazine ‘glossy?’} And since Handy Hubby is half of the team over here, the information given in this magazine ends up in the designing aspects of our home at some point. What usually happens is I get a crazy idea for a decor project and Handy Hubby says something like, “Oh, I could use the {insert applicable product, tool or method here} like I saw in Family Handyman!” Then he refers to the mag for advice and resources. It’s a great way to get my better half involved in and excited about home decor and home improvement.
Lonny Magazine – This FREE online glossy {that can be printed for a price if you’d like} is simply scrumptious. It’s pretty evident that it was founded by a designer and photographer duo. The images offer inspiration galore and focus on independent thinking and individual style. I like different. Lonny is a great way to expose yourself to new design ideas that are a spin-off of the traditional.
Those are the glossies that get my wheels turning when I’m contemplating design in my own home. I try not to copy what I see but, rather, change it up into something I can afford and/or DIY. If these subscriptions are too pricey for you add ‘em to your birthday or Christmas wish list…that’s what I do. You can always check out each mag’s website {as linked above} at no cost for just as much inspiration. Again, as with inspirational books, I would encourage you to read the material offered in these mags – not just peruse the images. There’s so much info in the text. Check out the back of magazines for paint, furniture and accessory resources…very helpful if you find something you really like.
You may have noticed that all of the images I showed above aren’t from current issues. There’s a reason. They’re some of my favorite issues. Once I finish an issue, I make a cut-throat decision to keep it {or a page or two from it} or get rid of it. I just don’t have the space to keep every single issue I read. If it’s a particularly inspiring issue, I’ll find a place for it on my bookshelf. If not, I’ll usually tear out a page that I want keep for future reference then pass the rest of the magazine on to a friend/family member or toss it in the recycling bin. It keeps me and my inspiration folder focused.
Here are a few other glossies that I regularly receive or sometimes buy and find helpful:
This week I’ve already shared which blogs and designers inspire me to make my house a place I love to live. Today, I’d like to introduce you to several books I own that have played {and continue to play} a part in my wannabe design world. I’ve always been enamored by books. Going to the library is a longtime favorite activity for me. I have vivid memories of going to story time at our local library back when I was no older than 5. I love the hush of a library and the way it smells. Have you ever noticed how borrowed library books smell once you have them at home? {Well, not the ones that have been previously borrowed by smoking homes.} If someone created a perfume of that scent, I just might wear it. I love the hunt for a good book. I love the organized aisles and shelves. I love the anticipation of the library…hmmmm…which book will I bring home with me? I love the vastness of the library. You can find a book on practically any topic. More than anything, I love that it’s free. So, it should come as no surprise that design books are a major inspiration to me. {I wish our local library had a better selection.}
The Nest Home Design Handbook – Carley Roney successfully discusses design room-by-room offering tips on how to style, arrange, organize, clean and personalize your home. The back of the book gets down to the nitty gritty mentioning specifics on lighting, closets, utilities, rugs, housekeeping and furniture layouts. There are even resource pages of grids and furniture icons that you can copy, cut and arrange to play around with room layouts. I love this book not only for its design sense but its practicality and relevance. It would make a great housewarming gift for a first-time homeowner!
New Decorating Book {Better Homes and Gardens Decorating} – BHG encourages you to find your inner designer in this book. It takes you from the very beginning helping you to discover your style. Beyond the room-by-room basics, it includes before-and-after makeovers, quick and easy projects, house tours, emphasis on balance and scale, outdoor living, ideas for floral arrangements, discussions on finishes and unique window treatments. Oh, and it has TONS of pictures. It’s like a magazine made into a book. It is BHG after all. This would be a good book to study and read before starting to decorate your own home as it gives advice on how to find a style, color scheme and mood that you’ll want to live with forever.
Design Idea Book – This book by Karen Templer is a showstopper. Pure inspiration. It features a compilation of designer idea houses that utilize the best of the best in the way of architecture, decor, materials, furniture and finishes. I would never be able to afford any of the homes in this book but they are great go-to’s to mimic on a smaller, less expensive scale. The image of the family room above is one of my all-time favorite inspiration photos. This is one of those books that you could read a million times over and find something new to inspire you each time. This would make a great coffee table book.
Downtown Chic – Robert and Cortney Novogratz are unstoppable. Over the last 10 years, they’ve bought, gutted, renovated and designed numerous homes. This book is sort of documentation of all that. It’s fun to see how their aesthetic has changed and developed over the years. The Novogratz’s are style and business savvy, so it makes sense that their passion has organically evolved into a pretty lucrative career. And they did it all while creating and raising a family…a very large family. Seven kids in total. {Yep, they’re the 9 By Design people.} Yowsas! Their lifestyle and decor choices may not be exactly like mine {I don’t think I could handle the renovation of that many homes in such a short amount of time along with 7 kiddos in tow AND still remain sane.} but I’m inspired by their willingness to learn, try new things, be true to themselves, take risks, follow a passion and persevere. Look where it’s got them so far! I love that the book includes information on hiring contractors and the bumps that go along with modernizing older homes. Many of the photos include {at least some of} their children showing me that families and design can live under one roof.
Amy Butler’s Midwest Modern – You already know that Amy Butler is one of my inspirations when it comes to design. But did you know that she has a book that helps to spread her fresh take on modern living? I absolutely adore this book. Amy’s philosophy on interior design is simple…surround yourself with people, natural elements and art forms that you love. Her home has a real connection to the outdoors and it’s evident that Amy uses nature as one of her main sources of inspiration. Her book also includes topics outside the realm of interior design namely fashion, music, gardening, handmade crafts and even camping! This book will never go out of style as won’t Amy’s view on a simple yet fulfilling lifestyle.
A few more books that I own and have found helpful are:
I almost always purchase my books from Amazon, usually in pairs so I can get the free shipping deal. I’ll ask for Amazon gift cards for my birthday and Christmas because I know there will always be another design book I’m wanting. I keep a running list of books that I want but don’t have and I’m a few years behind when I finally get them. But if they are the really good ones, it doesn’t matter because they’ll always be relevant to the world of design.
I just purchased these two books but haven’t had a chance to sink my teeth into them yet:
Maybe once I’ve had a chance to read up, I can give reviews on them if you think that’s something that would be interesting.
I encourage you to add a few design books to your personal library. They really are helpful in creating a home that’s you, a home that you can live in for years to come. And please, please, PLEASE read them! – don’t just look at the pictures {although that’s fun to do after you read ‘em front to back}. There’s so much information in the text that helps to explain the images. I’ve found myself looking at a picture and not seeing much but then I read the page and learn a wealth of knowledge from the picture. The words and photos are there together for a reason. You’re only shortchanging yourself if you don’t actually read design books.
Another tip I have for reading design books is to keep a little notepad handy for jotting down particular page numbers or images in books that you’d like to refer to again. I know they make those little sticky tabs to bookmark pages but I don’t like them for two reasons: 1) when I flip to that page with a bookmark sometimes I have no idea why I bookmarked it in the first place 2) I like to display my books and those tacky little tabs aren’t that appealing. So keep a running handbook of book titles, inspiring page numbers and a brief description as to why they’re inspiring. Believe me, it’ll be useful someday.
True to my word, I’m continuing to share my sources of inspiration. Yesterday, I mentioned my most favorite-est blogs. {Thanks for introducing me to a few of your faves as well.} Today I’d like to talk about a few designers who I find myself drawn to over and over again. You might be surprised to learn that they’re not all solely interior designers. From formally trained professionals to ‘they’ve just got it’ talents to self-made entrepreneurs…there’s more than one way to stake your claim in the design world.
Amy Butler {artist & designer most credibly known for her fabrics and sewing patterns}: Maybe it’s because she’s from the Midwest {she actually lives in Ohio too} but Amy’s sense of found style really speaks to me. She’s not afraid to cover an heirloom piece in a modern graphic print or to plop down finds from nature walks right onto her coffee table. It’s easy to see that Amy’s fabrics, wallpapers, art and stationery are inspired by nature. And how could nature go wrong? Amy gets it all right with colorful floral prints, geometric prints and no-fail coordinating designs. From handbags to wall art to hand towels and even apparel, Amy’s talents spread far and wide. Her vision reaches nearly every facet of everyday living.
Erika McPherson Powell {interior designer}: Ever heard of Urban Grace Interiors? If so, then you already know that Erika is the design genius behind the biz. If not, you should definitely check the portfolio. Erika is a trained, experienced professional with higher-end clients. While I may not be able to afford any of her interiors, I can certainly learn from them. Erika’s sense of balance, scale, symmetry and contrast are quite intriguing to me. Her rooms are usually minimally styled, meaning there’s not a lot of stuff in them. But the pieces that are there belong there. The way she can edit a room is something I strive to embrace. The use of calming colors, rich wood tones, architectural details and vintage pieces {especially lighting} give her a signature style. Classic but modern. Her designs are timeless and will never predate her.
Bonnee Sharp {textiles & interior designer}: Bonnee is the master mind behind Studio BonTextiles and her quality textiles are graphic and delicate at the same time. The patterns have a way of injecting pattern and interest into a room or piece of furniture like no others can. And I can’t mention her name without also mentioning her interior design capabilities. Her personal residence was featured in several publications for its quirky sense of charm juxtapositioned against contemporary fabrics, furniture and finishes. Now, that’s my {dream} idea of a modern cottage!
Nate Berkus {interior designer}: The man’s got his own TV show now for crying out loud. He’s amazing. The way he can work a room by simply proposing I-never-thought-of-that furniture arrangements is pretty fantastic. Not to mention his ability to successfully mesh black, navy, camel, velvet, glossy finishes and leather into one room. While the interiors he designs may look like a million bucks, they aren’t always so. Nate’s keen on thrifting, DIYing and repurposing. He makes great efforts to design spaces with people, life and real meaning in mind. And he’s not formally trained in design. Just goes to show that when you’ve got it, you’ve got it.
Emily Henderson {stylist & designer}: My newest favorite designer. I love Emily’s success at mingling feminine alongside masculine. Clean lines + fresh flowers + cowhide rug + patterned wallpaper = I love Emily. The vignettes she creates are unmatched and nothing is ever too perfect. I’m inspired by her use of charcoal and navy accents. And the layers. Oh, the layers. She’s good. Real good. I should probably start DVRing her new show, Secrets of a Stylist, to study how she arranges accessories.
So those are my steadfast designer crushes. Each has their own style and vision not just like the next. I find myself borrowing from their strengths and interpreting them in my own way. Not so sure how I’m doing at that yet, but I do enjoy trying. And whenever I’m losing sight of what I want my own home to feel/look like, I always return to their portfolios for inspiration and ideas. They get me right back on track in no time.
I shared the preliminary mood board for the kid/guest bathroom last week. I included a clawfoot tub in the design of the bathroom and got a lot of feedback on the pros/cons of having one in your home. I appreciate all the comments! It definitely gave us a lot to consider. In the end, we decided to go ahead with the clawfoot tub.
budget decor, DIY, kid-friendly