Showing posts with label decorating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label decorating. Show all posts

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Office makeover ... the 1,716th edition and counting...

Heya Nesters!

This office has been my little cube of inspiration.  I don't have to compromise on anything in here. It's all Gina. All the time.  And I've been doing project after project working on this little space. And sometimes they work out. And sometimes they don't.



Not all that long ago this is how the desk side of my office looked.  Then I upped the ante with a new rug and the new desk. 


Yummy, right? The pair really brightened up the space. But it was still really cluttered.  I hated the way there were so many mismatched things on that wall. I needed something that tied it all in together and was kind of organic.  Then I came across Destiny's blog: A Place For Us.  And she had the most inspirational DIY confetti wall


And I am a big hater of "copying," I prefer seeing an inspirational idea and pulling something else out from it, putting your own spin on it.  That's what creativity is.... But this time, I straight up copied.  So I will take no credit for this.- Destiny- I don't know you but your gorgeous office space was jaw dropping and I am a total copycat. I'm sorry and thank you. 

Using Destiny's instructions I went to WallsNeedLove.com and found the vinyl dots.  You can then choose what size you'd like.  It would be interesting to use 2 different sizes for confetti, particularly if you were doing a childs' room or  different colors. I went with the smallest 2"dots. Also in the gold. They were $22 for one sheet {which completed my entire wall} and I got a coupon code for 20% off which took care of most of the $5 shipping.


And you'll notice the frame hanging in the center. Well that once was being put to a different use as an inspiration board I had made.



And it just got so busy.  It wasn't inspirational anymore.  It just looked ...messy. So I popped the center back out of it and decided to hang just the blank frame in all its antique glory. 


And that gigantic pair of scissors are temporarily placed there, will hopefully be painted some color and hung in the center.   Now the question is what color?  White or Gold? I feel like the white will look really modern and the gold will just look really cool.  Because everything painted gold looks really cool.  Let me know what you think!!


I will also have to take some pics in the daylight tomorrow. 

So there you have it Nesters! A quick $23 project that took me all of 30 minutes and makes a BIG difference.  It's getting there.  I have a million more projects on my plate coming up.  And we're having the outside of our chipping/flaking house sided starting Monday and we couldn't be more excited!  Soon all the hard work we've put in on the inside will also be evident from the outside!

On a side note, we also went to our friends wedding last night, where Matt was a groomsman. So if you don't follow me on Instagram @temporarynest here's a little snippet:


Beginning of the night: 



End of the night:



Hope you all had a great weekend like we did, Nesters!

xoxo
G

Monday, July 8, 2013

Love, Like, Loath: The New House

Heya Nesters!!

I just realized that it's been over two years that we've lived in this house and you guys have barely seen anything at all.  {All those other "responsibilities" have taken over.} But there is SO MUCH I want to share with you all! The rest of the house is really coming along nicely, a natural progression of bettering... except the master bedroom.  I don't know what it is.  I feel like I hit a roadblock when I chose a color I ended up loathing. Remember Wasabi Powder?  So, I am bringin' back the oldie but goodie "Love, Like, Loath" post. Which ironically, was also about my last bedroom.


It's lovely-- in this picture. But frankly. In other lights its kind of a bummer color.  May I say, slightly poop-ish.  And its a difficult color to work with others.  I have bought plum glass lamps to try to work those kind of muted shades but it just looked muddy.  I was thinking of adding some gold/brass accents in here to look a little vintage. But I just keep hating everything.



See how as you turn on the yellow light bulbs, it looks much more yellow?? Poop-ish!  Who has two thumbs and is a Debbie Downer about this room?  THIS GIRL!

The thing is, I'm a color gal. And while this is a color.... I like mixing complimentary colors together. I don't feel like I'm doing my job if I'm just doing black, white and the one color on the walls.  Which is exactly the rut we've fallen into in the master.  In fact, I'd rather have white walls and be able to put some awesome colors in the bedding and accessories!

So, first loath: paint color. But lets not be pessimistic here, lets follow the title and really get into it with the Love's first. {But seriously, I have a LOT to say about this room so bear with me.}

LOVE:
I LOVE our bed and bedding.  Our bed is the Hemnes King size bed and the mattress is also from IKEA and is the most. comfortable. mattress. ever.  I currently have our Home Goods white and beige Moroccan Medallion print/variegated stripe reversible quilt on the bed for the Summer.


The throw pillows are kind of a mishmosh of finds.  The 4 pillows we use while sleeping are Ralph Lauren from Home Goods.... and I only use white sheets.  I love white sheets. The "Performance Sheets" from Target are affordable, wrinkly resistant and super comfy. The euro shams are from IKEA. Then the velvet lumbar pillow I've had for ages. And I saw the raw cut pillow at BB&B on sale and it was still insanely expensive {even if I had used a coupon!} but without even searching, I found the exact same one on clearance at Home Goods for a quarter of the sale price!


So, I love our bed in general.  The other thing I love is the little set up on my dresser. 


If you cant quite see, I've got 3 containers on a mirrored tray with my favorite perfume, Stella McCartney Nude. And then my little frog box.  I got her as a present from an old friend for Christmas many years ago and I just love how whimsical she makes this otherwise very adult space. 


It's nothing wild, but it makes me smile.  And that's all that matters, right?

LIKE:
There are quite a few things in this room that I like.  And I am okay with keeping and improving upon them, or replacing.

First is all the lamps. They're all okay. They're a crackled glass globes.


I want to paint a bit of it with my beloved gold paint. Just an uneven, drippy bit on the inside.



And I thought I could compliment the other set of lamps by painting the inside of the shade kind of like this.  But do I want to do the gold and silver together? Not particularly.  Maybe the answer is to spray the base a fun color also!  Who knows!  But for now, they're "okay".

I also like the mis-matched night stands.  I've had them forever and I like that they don't match the rest of the Hemnes furniture.  I normally loath matching bedroom sets. But this one was simple, inexpensive and worked for us.  Another like!


Lastly, the simple white curtains. I like them. They were non-committal, white cotton, cheap curtains from Target. They're fine. *shrug* I like the way white curtains look in crisp rooms.  What I would like to ultimately do, is get a longer curtain rod that will allow the curtains to go all the way to the ends of the bed, almost as if its a secondary headboard. Would I like to upgrade to something with more pattern and color? You bet! But that comes after I get a clear vision of what this room should look like. 



LOATH: 
Ohhhhh there are so many things...  But this is a new addition.  


We originally had a GIANT AC built in circa 1969.  It worked great but sounded like a steamroller in our room at night.  It had to go.  Since we just had our windows replaced and we are siding our house in a couple weeks, the team that did the windows, also removed and patched the hole the AC left.  Doesn't it look lovely??  


It's going to be mudded and fixed up like new soon!  That wall over Matt's smaller dresser will have an interesting mirror.  We don't want just a standard every day mirror.  We want something funky and a tad ornate.  I'm thinking something like this....


Then the big blank space {that looks totally engulfed in flames from the poor images I took} over my dresser is going to have a nice big TV mounted so that we can snuggle and watch movies in bed.  I'm a big fan of watching movies in bed. 



Another loathsome moment in our bedroom is the space between our dressers that holds our laundry basket. 


The basket is too small for the space.  And it is constantly overflowing. I had a brilliant idea that may never come to fruition, but I want to add moulding to the base of these dressers and connect them in the corner.  Something like this..... 


Ignore my horrible photoshopping job. But you get the idea.  That way, we can have the laundry basket  in the corner still but hide the "dirty little secret".  Brilliant, right?! It's just a matter of figuring out how to do it all.  That would be one serious IKEA Hack! 

One of the last things I loath are the sliding wood doors to our closets. 


Yikes! Talk about dated.  But it's nothing a good couple of coats of white paint won't fix!  And I can spray the little knob-thingys with ORB and it will work perfectly with the wood of the furniture. We may even affix a full length mirror with some moulding on the second door from the right.  It's got the 
best space in front of it and it will never slide behind the other. 

And the very last thing I will gripe about tonight is the art.  We've got the front half of the room figured out for what will happen down the road. But its all the other "art" that's at the other end, near our bed that drives. me. nuts. 


This is sentimental.  I drew Matt a version of "George Lasso's the Moon" from It's a Wonderful Life for our first Valentines day, it had only been a month and was too soon for a real present.  And it's sweet and I love it, but it doesn't hold its own over the night stands.


I feel the same about this canvas art I made long long ago.  It just doesn't fill in the space well enough. I would love to do something like this.

Then there is the biggest point of contention.  The degrees. I love my boyfriend and I love that he's smart. {Maybe even smarter than me ;)} But he has both his undergrad and masters degrees hanging on the wall. He has his own office... the perfect place for a degree! After broaching the subject with him about possibly moving those to his office and maybe adding a piece of art to that wall instead, he got offended, saying that it's his only truly proud thing he has hanging in a shared space {aka not his office}... and he wants to keep them there...


*sigh*... I love him and his happiness is more important than the "balance" in our bedroom.  But They just look so empty there. So, I think what we may compromise on, is utilizing those sentimental pieces that currently hang over the nightstands and over Matt's dresser, and making a little gallery wall of sentimentality. Maybe I'll coin the name Sentimenwall? Eh? Eh? Like it??  

So there you have the longest winded blog post in the history of man-kind. Thank you for keeping up with my blabbering.  But now, I'm dying to hear your thoughts on what to do... whether you like what I like or hate what I hate. Let me know your thoughts, Nesters!

xoxo
G

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Bachelorette Pad Tour: Part Duex

I thought I'd start off this long-ass post with the latest news on the house and move: There have been some setbacks.  Everything is all good, it happens with every renovation.  But I was supposed to move last Saturday and it has been postponed until Friday, the 15th.  My landlord was kind enough to let me leave half way through the month as extra "just in case" time.  Turns out we needed a little extra "just in case" time for the reno's.  Here's whats going to happen:  On Friday we get the Uhaul and move all the junk out of my apartment and into the basement/garage of the new homestead.  Since the floors will be in the middle of being re-done, we will have to leave it all down there without moving it directly into the space.  From Friday until the floors are dry and ready to be walked upon, I will be staying at Matt's condo with him and his brother. Once everything is all cured and ready for our tippie toes, we will move all my and Matt's belongings into our place and we will officially be "merged."  Y-I-K-E-S!  I am so excited to be in the house and out of box jungle!

Anyhooz... back to the imperative topic at hand.  And that should have been at hand a couple weeks ago when I finally gave you the first true House Tour.  Alas, things around here have been such a mess due to the move, I haven't had much energy to clean up my bedroom. But I did it.  And I did it just for you guys.  So if I may implore you, lets begin Part Duex...


Saturday, May 28, 2011

Hollywood Regency - Ain't Gonna Happen.

I have a confession to make.  I am obsessed with the 1930's and 40's.   As a fashion forward art student I dressed the part daily.  Oh yes, did I wear vintage heels and a skirt nearly ever single day? You bet your bottom dollar!  But what was even more fun, that I actually had the Bettie Page hair do and rolled my hair too.  It used to take FOR-EVER.  Wish I had a pic of that....  But here was the inspiration.


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It was more than a haircut and a style of dress, it consumed my life.  I went so far as designing my senior collection as a 1940's Pin-Up Bridal collection.  Well, while over the years I have tamed my attire, my love for that era has shifted to my home....

 Are you pickin' up what I'm layin' down?   That's right: Hollywood Regency.  You may have noticed I have a proclivity for the style "Hollywood Regency."  If you're not familiar with the style it was the uber glam style of the 30's and 40's Hollywood Stars and Starlets. 

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So the problem with Hollywood Regency is... it's pretty. stinkin'. girlie.  Ratz... Matt won't let that one fly in our new house.  He likes dark wood, metal and as modern as modern can be... hardly H.R.  Bummer for me.  But we all have to compromise.  Luckily, I like many different styles so I am totally fine with working things more into a masculine friendly home.  Anyhoo, that means I have to live vicariously through other peoples homes that are staged in a HR style.

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GAH-LOR-EE-US!!! Give me glamour or give me death!! Ugh!  Okay you probably think I'm totally nut-so now but good lord does HR get my heart pumpin'!   I hope it gave you a little beat too! Well go and have a FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC holiday weekend, Nesters! <3

Monday, May 23, 2011

Moroccan Peacocks

I was chatting with my friend Amanda recently as she was pontificating on how much she loathes her living room in its current state.  Amanda is a graduate student in music education with a full-time job as a music teacher.  She is living in a pretty awesome house not far from  yours truly, in the Boston 'burbs. She shares that space with 2 roommates. With one moving out and taking the art from the living room with her, this frees up the space for some changes.  She was, of course, talking to the right friend when it comes to decorating.  We got to talking and came up with some great concepts and landed on a sort of ultra girlie Moroccan theme with a peacock palette.

I took Friday off from work {With the intention of spending the vast majority of the day at the RMV.  Alas, about 3 minutes later, I was given the boot and told to go the "mail-in" approach.  No help, I tell ya. No help!}  so I had some time to kill and I popped into home depot and grabbed a ton of paint chips and here's what I came up with.


The girls already have a rug that is purple and beige.  So purple will be a heavy influence in the room.  But since we want it to be kind of Moroccan, we will be adding interesting patterns and pops of brighter colors like pink and orange.


Bringing in the idea of the peacock, we're going to tone down all that purple with some jewel toned blue and greens, focusing on teals.


These are the mustard-y, burnt orange-y colors that I pulled out also as accents to couple with the pinks.  I'm thinking throws, pillows and smaller decorative accessories. FUN!

And well Target was just across the street from Home Depot, so why not swing in there? I took some snapshots of some fun goodies that caught my eye as inspiration.


This tall, banana leaf vase would be perfect for some tall branches adorned with some hand crafted flowers. Hmmmmm... I smell a DIY project.


Adoring both of these hurricanes.  Both the rosey pink and punched tin are very romantic and feminine keeping with that aspect of the room that we want. 


Loving this big round basket for the corner of the room.  It would be a great storage space to house throw blankets, books, knitting or not-often-used remotes.


Now, Amanda's living room is not a looming space.  In fact, its quite "petite," shall we say.  What always solves a feeling of claustrophobia in small rooms? Mirrors, mirrors, and more mirrors!!  I love the idea of using these end tables to reflect more light than just a wall mirror.


Speaking of wall mirrors, a Moroccan theme wouldn't be complete without some beautifully intricate patterns and this quatrefoil mirror fits the bill. I wouldn't mind snagging one of these for myself, in fact!


This adorably girlie lamp is on sale and would be a perfect addition to the living room as well! But of course only with a colorful lamp shade like this violet one....



These fun little drinking glasses are from Target's new Calypso Collection.  I love all the colors and their metallic quality.  These could easily be grouped and turned into votive holders on a fun little tray.



So all in all, I think the impromptu trip to Home Depot and Target were both successful.  I certainly was getting ideas for things that work together and don't.  What the costs are that we're up against, what we can make ourselves, and color chips that we can whittle down to our palette.

Happy Monday Morning Nesters! I hope you had a wonderful weekend!  Do anything fun? Perhaps took Friday off to got to the RMV/DMV as well?  Dish!