Inspired by Corn? Decorating with Yellow

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Yes, you read correctly…corn! That’s my decor inspiration this week. I just returned from a business trip to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Never heard of it? Really? That’s odd.

Anyway, I’m mid-presentation feeling confident about my expertise in the area of all things advertising and I glance out the window and see….horses. It’s not every day you’re hosting a meeting to tell your client how to spend millions of dollars in advertising adjacent to a horse pasture. And corn. Lots and lots of corn. So in honor of furry friends in Iowa and the crop that has fueled that state for decades, let’s talk about decorating with YELLOW!

If you love what can be a somewhat bold color like yellow, but aren’t comfortable going all-out

image via http://www.stylebind.com

Then let’s take it in baby steps. How about adding in a chair with a great pattern? This one could work it’s way into many different style rooms…



via http://www.crateandbarrel.com

Or what about a neutral sofa in a nice shade of yellow…nothing too crazy….

via http://www.crateandbarrel.com

Let’s say even those two things are a little to bold for you (I’m assuming you are more scared of color than I am, as most people are). Then, let’s work in some fun & cheery throw pillows like the one below.

Or have some custom pillows or maybe even curtains done in a great fabric…



If that’s too traditional or “country” for you, spice things up with a funky print like the one below.





Both fabrics from http://www.calicocorners.com

The bottom line is, no matter what the inspiration, don’t be afraid to put something you love, like a color, in your home. It’s your home! Why not? Break away from the beige, people! Sometimes it’s easier to take it little by little. Personally I love a pretty yellow toile duvet or shower curtain in an otherwise neutral room. It brightens things up, but isn’t over the top. On the other hand, a living room like the photo in this post is georgous. To take a color like that and throw it on the walls is courageous, but it definitely paid off.

Decorating & design are all about expressing yourself through your space. Do what you want! And do it in color!



Dining Room Update, As Promised

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Hello All! Well, even without a real camera, the guilt of not following up on a promise is weighing me down. So I snagged the hubby’s Iphone to get a few photos to share with you! My dining room before was just a little lack luster, click HERE to refresh your memory. So I began looking for inspiration.

Our dining room is seperate from the kitchen, but has an open concept, and isn’t exactly what you call formal. So, I felt that a casual farmhouse table look would be the best way to go. I came across a great, heavy farmhouse table on Craiglist for a minimal investment, sanded and stained it, and somehow managed to get it up to the dining room from the basement (it took the hubby and I quite a while). And here it is!

(looking left into the dining room from where the living room meets the kitchen)

I found some parsons chairs to go along with it. The fabric was UGLY and in poor shape so I purchased some white slipcovers to give them a more custom look (still need to get them monogrammed). Our Juliska Berry & Thread every day china has a French country look to it that I think blends perfectly with this style.

The wall to your left walking into the dining room houses a small buffet given to us by my mother-in-law that holds our Pottery Barn monogrammed cake stands, white porcelain accents, and a topiary. The chair prints on the wall are one of my favorite things in the house and are from Ballard Designs. The just scream dining room!

Below is the closest to a full-room view as I could get. It’s taken from the far corner looking toward the kitchen walkway into the living room. The wine bar on the left side of this photo holds a Barbara Cosgrove Lamp, Vietri tray and decanter.

The room has really started to come together. As with the rest of our house, it’s definitely an eclectic mix of furniture and accessories. In this one photo above you can see farmhouse, traditional, & oriental all in one shot.

And now one more detail shot of the every day china I’m still as obsessed with today as the day I registered for it. And check out the georgous antique linens I snagged at a yard sale yesterday. $5 for 4 placemats and 4 napkins, and they are practically a perfect match for my china and the room as a whole!

Now, I’ve got just a few more updates to make. The wall with the old window hanging on it is SCREAMING for a china cabinet, but i just haven’t found the perfect one yet. And if I’ve learned anything decorating this house, it’s that you shouldn’t buy something just because there’s a space in your house that needs it. Wait until you find something you truly LOVE. Placeholders until that moment are just a waste of time and money! Same story with the light fixture. I just haven’t found exactly what I want in here. To be honest, I’m not sure exactly what I want, but it will hit me when I see it!

Hope you’ve enjoyed the dining room tour. As always, please leave comments and suggestions!

Bedroom Fabric Inspiration!

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Well, I have another excuse for no dining room update…no camera. That’s right, we forgot and left it last time I went to visit my parents, so that gets me off the hook for a little while longer on the dining room. That said, I really do apologize for the sporadic posting. So many of the blogs I follow post so often I find myself reading more inspiration than giving it…which is fine by me, but no point in having a blog if I don’t post, right?

I feel like I’ve finally gotten our living room to a place I’m happy with (for now…until I decide to rearrange and redorate…again). And now my obsession has moved into the bedroom. (DECORATING the bedroom, people! Get your mind out of gutter!). Right now, we’ve got a great khaki tufted velvet headboard mostly because it takes up less space than a full-on bed and, being in an older home, we’ve got a small bedroom. We’ve got a Pottery Barn-esque rug with deep reds, olive greens, and a very pretty light blue color in it that I love with the color of our walls. The curtains are Pottery Barn linen, which I love, but I’m guessing you can sense an overwhelmingly neutral tone in here. Khaki headboard, khaki curtains, brown duvet…..yeah, it’s

With the rug being the only colorful part of the room, I decided to use is as inspiration to find fabrics to customize our bedding. Here’s what I’m thinking…Three euro shams & a matching bedskirt in this toile…


Then some bolster pillows in a great stripe like this one…


And finally a few extra throw pillows and upholstered vanity stool in something similar to this…



Oooh, and one more thing! Some trim like below and a little of the striped or dotted fabric and the bottom of my curtains…
What do you think? It’s a little more “mature” than my usual choices, but I want something classic that I’ll keep for a long time- especially if I’m going to make the investment in nice fabric and custom made shams. And honestly, I prefer a solid duvet cover that can blend in with whatever decorating phase I’m going through at the time. This way I’m really just accessorizing.

Once I’ve made final decisions on the master bedroom, I’ll move on to the guest room, which I plan to do a in a little more fun and playful style.

I’m planning to go fabric shopping soon! (Which I will document because you have GOT to see this great little fabric outlet I found…crazy deals, I tell ya).

Opinions, please!

~Katie

I’m Digging So Haute!

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Ok, guys…so maybe the “it’s coming” post I threw up there a bajillion years ago was a bit of a fib. We hosted a get together a little while back and moved some extra tables in the dining room for food and drink and let’s just say…they are still there…because lugging them back down the steep staircase to the basement just hasn’t been a priority for us lately. But I PROMISE I will post dining room photos very soon! I still have one blank wall that I’m trying to collect some art pieces for but other than that, I’m pretty happy with its current state!

That being said, I wanted to post today to share a blog I’ve recently discovered. It’s by no means “new”, but it’s new to me and I’m officially obsessed. I just read an entire year‘s worth of posts on it last night and just had to share with you.

Meet decorating and lifestyle expert Nicole Gibbons.


She’s a savvy, stylish New Yorker with mid-west roots and a whole lot of good taste! Her blog covers all things decorating, design, style, entertainment, and travel. She’s also a publicist for a well-known fashion brand. (I haven’t figured out which one yet). Bottom line- she’s got great taste, an adorable apartment, and I want every outfit I’ve seen her wear in a photo.

Enjoy her blog and take a look at her awesome apartment. I hope you love as much as I do! I’ll be adding her link to the blog list on the right side of my blog!

Coming Soon: A finally finished dining room, custom fabric bedding & discount fabric shopping, how to create an inviting guest room, and a few bits of inspiration!

~Katie

It’s Coming….

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That’s right, loyal readers, tonight is the night….the night I finally reveal my newly decorated dining room. It’s been a long time coming and isn’t even necessarily complete, but it’s as complete as it’s going to get for a while. I’ll have it tidied up and photos taken and posted by tonight! Hope you enjoy!

Dining Room Sneak Peak

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Sorry for the lengthy time between posts but I’ve been taking care of sick husband and planning a huge fundraiser event that you’ll be happy to know went off without a hitch! Over $100K raised for our local autism center!

That being said, it’s time for a new post. Not only have I not had time to post, but I haven’t had much time to work on pending projects either! So, today, you’ll just see the inspiration for my current project! I’ve been dreaming about a new dining room set up since my first Want It Wednesday post and the day of dining room redecorating is looming near! I found an antique dining table that needs a little refinishing (working on it people!) and slipcovered parson chairs that are awaiting their monogram. See my inspiration photo below.

The entire room is a little traditional for my taste. But this is literally my exact table. My parson chairs will have full length skirts instead of these slipcovered chairs, but the overall aesthetic is very similar. With a more contemporary drum shade pendant chandy, my vintage eclectic dining room will be complete. (Oh, and with the new sideboard that I will…fingers crossed…purchase this weekend!)


via www.decorpad.com

Hope you enjoyed these lovely images! Can’t wait to reveal my new dining room to you soon!

~Katie

Southern Living in My Living Room

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Ok, so the title of this post is a little misleading. Southern Living was not doing a photo shoot of my magnificent living room….in my dreams. But for those of you who don’t know, the magazine has it’s own line of home decor. It’s set up a little like Mary Kay in that you can host a party in your own home. A rep/consultant will bring some samples of the product and it gives you and your friends an excuse to (in the case of my party) eat pasta, drink wine, and buy lots of pretty things! As a hostess you earn discounts and credits! I used mine to get a few new things.
Like this Santorini Urn for my living room….

The color is beautiful and really blends well with our Rocky Mountain Sky painted living room. And my husband is Greek, so I like the name.

I paired it on our TV console with some chippy candleholders I was given as a wedding gift…

And the verdict is….I love it!

I also found a few things to dress up my fireplace. You may remember that I’ve pointed this fireplace out as a major design dillema before. The mantle is too high and it just looks bare no matter what I do. Well, I got a beautiful firescreen to dress it up a bit.

The screen was a “hostess special” and you wouldn’t believe the deal I got! It’s got feet (which you can’t see in the photo…should really pay more attention to detail when taking those), and the middle portion is actually a door that opens so you don’t have to move the entire screen to poke the fire or throw on a log. I love love love the acorn finial on the top!

The hurricanes up top are new from the Southern Living at Home line as well. They’re a coppery bronze color with a georgous turqoise patina on them. I used them to flank a bronze mirror I already owned and a “G” that plays musical rooms around our house…he just goes wherever I need him! I haven’t decided what to put inside them yet. I’m thinking some creamy white candles on moss to bring some springtime cheeriness into the room…maybe easter eggs in April…and I can already see gold & silver ornaments for next December!

All in all, the SLAH party was a success! I got few more things for the house, but I’ll save those for a later post!

~Katie

Want It Wednesdays

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It seems like the only thing I can manage lately is the weekly Want It Wednesdays posts. I apologize for the sparsity in my blogging lately, but life has taken a turn for the busy if you know what I mean. Not only is it hard to find the time to post…it’s hard to find the time to finish all of my projects to even post about! A vicious cycle, it tell you…

Now moving on to the wants! My last few “wants” have been pretty major things…new furniture and lighting. And let’s just be honest with ourselves, those kind of large purhases just aren’t a daily occurence in my house…if they are in your house…you’re probably reading the wrong blog, honey. Either way, I decided to tone it down a little this week with a few smaller wants.

I’ve been dreaming of French toile lately. Now I firmly believe it can look outdated and stuffy if you put it on every chair, couch, and curtain rod you own…but in well proportioned doses, it is quite elegant and pretty. And where else do I want to put it but the LEAST elegant room in the house….THE BATHROOM! I know, I know- first the mirrors, now the toile! But take a look at this…via http://www.potterybarn.com

Pretty foliage and sweet little birds in my teeny tiny bathroom sounds delightful! So, yes please, Pottery Barn…I’ll have that. K thanks.

And speaking of sweet little birds…I LOVE ALL THINGS BIRDS….nests? love ’em….eggs? love ’em… And check out this pretty Thomas Paul pillow from http://www.allmodern.com.

Love it too! So that’s it…I will not allow myself to want any large things this week (yeah right….I’m just not admitting them). So here are my watered-down Want Its! Hope you enjoy! What do you want????

~Katie

Want It Wednesdays (Even Though It’s Thursday)

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For this (late) installment of “Want It Wednesdays”, I’ll recap a little from last week’s post and talk about what I’m lusting over this week!
So last week I posted about my burning desire for a new dining room table. Well, the round table didn’t happen, BUT I did snag a large rectangular dining room table for a sweet deal. It seats 6 comfortably and could probably fit eight if I really tried. It needs to be sanded down and stained (as almost every piece of furniture I bring in does), but I was waiting until I decided on chairs befored I chose the stain. Well, I decided to go with white upholstered, skirted parsons chairs. They’ll be coming in any day now and then the slipcovers will be off to get monogrammed. I should be able to post a whole new dining room in the next two weeks or so!

Now that I’ve got the furniture (and a newly redecorated wall and buffet that you will see in my next post), I’m moving on to….what else?! THE CEILING! Currently this thing is hanging above the table….


And for those of you who are giving it the benefit of the doubt thinking “oh, well that could be cute country cottage-ish”….no, not so much. This thing is straight up 1995 Home Depot clearance rack. I think the previous owner of the home “thought” they were updating by putting this in.

So isntead I would love to grace my ceiling with the presence of THIS BEAUTY!


via http://www.overstock.com

Just imagine it hanging over my new table and chairs (that you’ll also need to imagine for the time being). Perfection.

I’ve also been thinking about what to put on the empty wall of my bathroom. I’m not really into the bathroom-themed stuff and our bathroom is very neautral…white and khaki. So at first I wanted to add something with a little color. But alas, bold colors just are really for me. Then I ran across this photo on http://www.inthefunlane.com and I think it’s originally from Martha Stewart.


I love how bright and open the room looks with all of the mirrors. And I love the eclectic collection inthis photo….

And considering how small our bathroom is, all that reflection can only be a good thing!
So it looks like this week I’ll be off scavenging for vintage, frameless mirrors to create a collection for the bathroom wall. And I’ll be purchasing the dining room fixture in the next few weeks as well. (I’m still working on the patio furniture…using my birthday as an excuse to get it and I think it’s starting to work on the husband)!

By the way, how do you like the new look for my blog? It’s fun right?! Props to http://www.backgrounfairy.com for the design!

Go forth, followers, and WANT! (Even though it’s Thursday…and wanting is only allowed on Wednsedays…..yeah right).

~Katie

Wow! That’s a Green Wall: Pottery Barn Bedroom Makeover

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Warning: There is not a final “after” of this Before & After post yet, but there will be soon.
I spend a good bit of the weekend making over a friends bedroom. It’s been a while since I’ve done a major overhaul on a room and it was so fun to watch the progress! Here is her room before….
There is absolutely nothing wrong with it…she’s got all the essentials: pretty bed, seating, night stand, dresser/mirror, even a media center (that you can partially see on the right side of the photo). The furniture is really pretty in a dark mahogany color and the cute chair adds a little vintage touch to the room. You almost can’t tell in the photo but her bedding is a very, VERY light robin’s egg blue. It’s a very pretty color, but up against the almost empty beige wall, and the beige ceiling, and the beige carpet….well you get the point…it’s a little, dare I say, drab.

Haley was looking forward to creating a bedroom she could really enjoy! Something bright, and cheerful! When she she told me she wanted me to help, I was definitely excited. But when she told me she wanted to paint an entire wall green…..well, that’s when I really got into it.

This lovely Pottery Barn bedding was her inspiration…
via http://www.potterybarn.com

So, first stop was to order the bedding. Since she had a 10% discount for in-store purchases only, we went into the store and had them order it there. Even though it was ordered online, because we were “in the store”, the discount still applied! YAY! Also, if you live in the Birmingham area and need assistance at the Summit Pottery Barn, ask for Holly…she was awesome!

Using the bedding as inspiration, we headed to Home Depot for paint. She chose Behr’s “Granny Smith Apple Green”.

With my super-fly paint rolling skills…
We really made some progress….

And it finally turned into this….

The photo shows the wall looking a little on the lime side, but the paint dried to be a nice mossy, peridot color. And remember, that the new bedding will be here in just a few days. Then I will post the final “after”! Once the bedding is on, the room is going to have a fun, cohesive look! I’ll post the final results soon!
Cheers to Haley and her almost made-over, cheerful bedroom!
~Katie