Sometimes You Never Know

Today it rained.  All.  Day.  Long.  The kind of slow rain that makes you want to crawl back in bed and stay there.  I really wanted to but not just because of the rain but because I got a new fabulous quilt and it makes my bed oh so cozy.

I've had my eye open for a spring green quilt for a while.  It is one of my favorite colors and I thought it would add some much needed color to my very white bed.  As luck would have it, I found one at HomeGoods during a recent trip to Atlanta.  I got it not really knowing if it would work on my bed but I loved the color so much that I figured if I didn't use it in my room I could put it on Claire's bed.

Well, I got it home and on the bed and couldn't be happier with it.  It adds a great punch of color but is still balanced out with the white pillows and duvet.  Also, you can't really tell in the picture but my headboard and dust ruffle are navy not black so the green combined with the stripes makes for a very preppy look that I adore.

Here's a little secret about design...sometimes decisions are just a shot in the dark.  You have an idea but aren't really sure if it will work or not until you see it.  In these situations my advice is to stick with what you love.  If you love a certain color, go with it.  If you are drawn to a picture or piece of art, it will work no matter where you put it.  Don't be afraid to try things!  If it doesn't work in the space you intended, if it is something that you love, more than likely it will work somewhere else in your home.

So be daring!  Don't be afraid to make mistakes decorating.  Trust me, even the professionals make mistakes but they learn from them and never have them photographed.

~Andrea

Spring Cleaning - Master Closet

Spring has sprung and the urge to clean and freshen my house has hit hard.  I have been a busy bee this week cleaning out and organizing my wardrobe and I've also been doing a little painting and rearranging in the living room.

I've had "clean out closet" on my to-do list for some time but this week Simple Mom started her Project: Simplify and the first hot spot was the master closet so I figured now was as good a time as any.

Here is what I started with

The key to cleaning out a closet is to work quickly.  The more time you give yourself to think about if you want to keep something to more likely you are to keep it and not get rid of anything which is pointless.  I worked hard and fast.  I started with my hanging items and decided immediately that I wanted to store all of my dress pants and shirts that I used often when I worked in a showroom everyday.  Now not so much but they are classic pieces and if I decide to re-enter the workforce one day I won't have to build a wardrobe from scratch.  I pulled all of these things and put them in a pile.  Next I did a quick scan and pulled everything I haven't worn in the past year and made another pile.  Then I went through the rest piece by piece and quickly decided if it was a keep or give mainly based on how well it fit.  Then I pulled out all of my shoes and lined them up and pulled down all of my folded things and other junk from the upper shelf.

After an hour this is what I had

store and give piles

my shoes minus nine pairs of flip flops

kept items neatly hung and arranged

My next task was to go through my shoes.  This was the hardest part.  I love shoes.  I don't want any of them to go but some were past their prime so off they went.  I have always stored my more formal or dress shoes in plastic boxes so I decided to do the same with some of my "work shoes" that still go with things I wear but not ones I go to everyday.  I ran into a small problem with keeping all of my shoes together because I have a shoe lover in training who kept stealing pairs I was trying to put up.

After a quick trip to Lowe's and Walmart to pick up a few containers, I was able to put everything back and I am very pleased with my finished project.

In the top cubby I made a little make shift jewelry box for myself.  I don't wear much so I don't need a lot of space so this worked out perfectly.

If you are wondering the little flower plates were a wedding present (I got a total of 7 from different people).  When I got them I thought they were cute but I had no clue what they were used for.  I'm not sure if holding jewelry was their intended purpose but they do a pretty good job.

The closet I did in a few hours on Tuesday.  On Wednesday I went through my half of the dresser and my night stand which took me as long as the closet did but I was dealing with a lot less stuff.  Go figure.  It's done and I'm happy I get to check something off my to-do list.  I would love to paint or wallpaper my closet but baby steps.

You may be saying, "hey, Andrea you forgot the other half of your closet!"  No!  That is Chris' side and I have tried to make him part with clothing and it is a battle I'm not up for right now.  I may have more shoes but that boy has more clothes than SJP.

So tell me!  Has spring fever hit you yet?  Is there a project that you just can't wait to tackle?  If you cleaned out your wardrobe with me this week share your before and afters on my Facebook page!

~ Andrea

Tour My House

My House - 1987 Ranch

1700 sf :: 3 bedroom :: 2 bath

I would like to say up front that everything is still a work in progress.  Currently the progress is very slow, since I don't have the same disposable income as I did a year ago, but I'm working on it.

Living Room

note all of the white swatches?  what do you think?



view from front door



view from back door



across the room to front door

standing in hallway view into kitchen

Guest Room/Future Nursery

the green is not my favorite, it was existing.  i'm waiting for baby #2 to repaint it.

Claire's Room

view from doorway



view from closet

nursery furniture

Hall Bath

it's an odd little bathroom in the center of the house so it has no windows

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

this bathroom has so many problems and the only way to fix it is to gut everything and start over.  one day my dream will come true.

Dining Room

when you walk into the kitchen from the living room this is to the right

Kitchen

and this is to the left

Laundry Room

off the other side of the kitchen

I fell in love with this house mainly because of it's location.  It's in an older, quiet neighborhood in town.  Claire's future primary school is right around the corner (seriously, it's a 2 minute walk).  It backs up to a pond and on the other side is a wooded area that surrounds the school so no backyard neighbors.  We have an in-ground saltwater pool, which rocks.  But my favorite part is that it is a blank slate.  It has so much potential.  Since we plan on being here for a good while I can take my time and  make it just the way I want it.

~ Andrea

Boring Beige to Preppy Fun

Every space in my house is beige.  Great for when you are trying to sell your house not so great for a colorful person (like myself) to live in.  I have been slowly painting and livening up every room in the house and I finally got around to the master bedroom this weekend.

The reason it took me so long was that I was having a really hard time deciding on a color.  Everything I looked at was nice and would work but never got me excited.  Well, I stumbled on two colors and an idea that got me so excited I couldn't wait to start painting.

Here is my sad and depressing beige bedroom before...

A gallon of paint and one sample pot later...

So fresh, so clean and the stripes add so much fun to my otherwise traditional furnishings.  The main wall color is Sherwin Williams Sea Salt and the stripes are Quietude.  I only did the stripes between the windows to really create a focal point for the bed.

I started by painting the entire room Sea Salt.  After it was good and dry I planned out how big I wanted my stripes.  I knew that I only wanted them between the windows so I measured down from the ceiling to the top of the window to get the starting point for my first stripe.  I then used that length as the width of the stripe.  It wound up being 11 1/2 inches and as luck would have it three stripes fit perfectly from the top of the window to the bottom.  It's like the design gods were just waiting for me to figure this out.

I used Frog tape to tape off my lines.  I had heard great things about it so I thought I would give it a try.  I've used the blue painters tape before and that stuff is for the birds.  This is what it looked like all taped up.

I was pleasantly surprised how well the tape worked.  The lines came out perfect which made the perfectionist in me jump for joy.

crazy close-up to show you the awesomely perfect lines

So after two coats I had these...



It is hard to tell in the picture but the new wall colors really make my headboard look more blue than black.  It is painted Farrow & Ball Black Blue and with these soft green/blue/greys it looks like a really rich navy which I love!

I can't wait to add some more color and pattern to the bed with pillows and a duvet cover.  Right now I'm going to enjoy my lovely preppy bedroom who I'm pretty sure is quietly thanking me for giving it some Prozac a new fun look.