Finally..A Tour of the Powder Bath

Did you think I would never ever post pictures of how the hows turned out after we built?  I've wondered myself.  I've had a few requests for a House Tour since the construction finished up last May  but honestly I just haven't had it in me.  

Today is different though.  I thought "o.k. I WILL post some pics of the bathrooms today".

And then…I couldn't find my camera.  Seems the hubs never in a million years thought I needed it today and he took it with him to work?  Huh.

Anywho…So to make myself feel better I took some fancy I phone pics and I WILL most certainly still show you the powder bath and how it is slowly but surely being decorated.

Here she is..

Wait.  Don't leave yet.  She's cute but once she gets a little lipstick she's more fun.  Read on.

It's very difficult to get pics of powder bathrooms don't you think? 

We installed the cabinet and sink ourselves from IKEA and I can't remember for sure where the faucet is from but I believe it was online at Lowes. The light is from Lowes as well..I think:/  (I kid you not when I say I've tried to block out the whole experience and apparently I'm pretty good at it)

I love the mirror I found at Ross one day.  Can you say SCORE!  

So the room was pretty blah.  We haven't ventured into painting anything and I'm not positive about the direction I want to go in here but I came across these books on Amazon and it helped a TON.

Ashley and Jamin Mills from the Handmade Home put together these awesome books that include 40 prints that will fit in any 8 x 10 frame with all kinds of matting possibilities.  All of the prints work together beautifully and I can't wait to use them all throughout out home as we finally start hanging things on the walls!

As you see above I first found some frames that I had stashed in our guest room AKA decor storage room.

See.  

We have no bed for company but you can shop in here if you like.  Oh snap I forgot I had those purple peacock pillows!  Woohoo!

I digress.  So as you saw above I played with the picture layout on the floor first and then started hanging.  No measuring required.  My philosophy is just to wing it which would drive some batty but I don't have the patience for measuring.  If it doesn't look right just move your nail over.  

Guys remember these are phone pics..Lame

So that's how she sat for a while and then I remembered I had my old dresser my parents bought me when I was two that would be fun and funky and brighten up the place.

I painted the dresser for my now 6 year old daughters nursery and now here she sits all fun and bright in out powder bath. 

As you can see we also received another addition to the family for Christmas.  My inlays got us the fab marquee letter H and it fits just fine in here for now.  Mr. marquee may end up in the playroom when we get around to doing something in there.

So there you go.  A teeny tiny peek at how one room actually turned out after construction and is slowly evolving into a homey little space.  Next up…I hope to show you the master bath but I need my real camera back to do it justice.  

My little Rustic Modern Mash Up

Well hello out there!  We have an internet connection!  I can now take real pictures, download them to computer and show you a little about what is going on in "house world" with us.

To be honest we are taking it really slowly.  The house is still not complete and we have had subs here every now and then trying to knock out the list.  We also got a not so great call from the bank saying we have 12 days to roll the loan into a conventional loan or we have to refinance.  Of course that's only several thousand dollars you know.  Anyway, they are calling the builder today to say finish it or we are hiring someone to finish it and you loose more $$.  If only they would have been involved in the struggle sooner...

Anywho onto more fun things.  We have been selling things here and there on craigslist for the last year so we could buy these chairs and we finally bit the bullet!

Meet the Ronnie Wire Base Chair from Overstock

So far I love him!  They haven't had much use so I can't vouch for their longevity but they are fun to look at.  

Do you remember the table I scored at my favorite warehouse store Four Hands a few years ago?

Isn't it gorgeous....Oh wait you can't see it under all the move in chaos?  

I have pictured it with sleek modern chairs from the day I saw it.  

Ah so much better in so many ways...the clutter has been eating my lunch.

Now don't go thinking we broke the bank with these puppies.   I believe they came out to around $60 or less a piece!  They were selling them in sets of two.  That is not easy to find ya'll!  I just went to Overstock's site and now I can only find them at 1 for $139.00 and they aren't called Ronnie chairs either?  I think I totally lucked out!  

If you've been reading for a while you may remember we kinda sorta design our house based on this area and the tables deminsions.  That sounds crazy right?  I just envisioned standing at the kitchen sink seeing this and all other floorplan bets were off!

 When you first step out of our little entry way you are greeted with the main hub of the house which is my fav!

I went photo crazy this morning so here are some other views.  

I can't wait to fill this table with friends and food!

Linking to:
Chic on A Shoestring
Shabby Nest
Be Different Act Normal
Thrifty Decor Chick
Remodelaholic

Procrastinate or Decorate?

Hi guys.  I know, I know,  it's like we were still finishing up construction, we moved in while finishing up the construction, and then we fell off the face of the earth.   It kind of feels like that;). We still have no Internet so whipping up a post or a home tour on my phone with phone pics just hasn't happened.  Although I do want to give you the grand tour it is far from being finished.  I'm not talking about decorating here either.  I have honestly lost a little of my desire to decorate through all of this.  Actually contractor J keeps asking me when I'm going to which is funny to me.  I guess he is really ready to make it feel like home.  There is such a huge list of pending stuff to finish and fix that I am not feeling the urge to hang anything on the walls.  But....that being said we did hang our huge wood wall art that we made a few years back last night.  I had put it on the counter a few weeks ago just to feel it out and I guess hubs decided he was ready to hang them. So I present to you our first wall hanging excursion!

We actually have other plans for this wall. Something more interesting and functional but we may not get to that for um ever.  So for now this is it.  I've wanted to introduce some warmer wood tones in the kitchen so I think it's the perfect fit.  The white and urbane bronze cabinets along with the concrete floors and lagoon silestone countertops can be a little cold.  
 I've also been on the hunt for some wood barstools with my Craigslist money.  I am on a mission to buy as much used stuff as we can so it may be a while before we find what we need but the hunt is part of the fun right?  

Hopefully the next time I stop by to say hi here we will have far fewer pieces of blue tape all over the house and a much shorter to do list!
 
 

Ready to play!

Every now and then I get really bored with construction talk.  Actually I think you all know I'm "over it" and ready to move on to making our house a home.  It needs some "Cozy" bad but we also have no budget to decorate so we will be making due with what we have had for a while.  Since a lot of our stuff has been in boxes in the garage it will almost seem like new to us stuff anyway right?  But.....I do get the urge to change it all up.  I can't help it and more than likely if your reading this you get those urges too.  I tell my friend Dana it's our disease.  You have it to don't you;)?  

When I browsed through Chris and Julia's Joss and Main curators collection I fell in love with just about everything they had picked. 

These two pillows and rug are what really pulled me in so I thought I would grab them and have some fun! 

Since I can't shop right now(and honestly we have a goal to simplify and if we need something buy used..) then I decided to "pretend shop" for our living room.  
I found a picture of our fireplace, took a few key items that I loved from their collection, and incorporated a light blue sofa(much cooler than ours) since that is what we currently have and pulled together a funky, trendy, classy, rustic mix!  You know I think my man is fairly lucky;)  He has a wife who gets the shopping bug and instead of actually buying things she throws them in a moodboard to get it out of her system.  Right honey?  Lucky I tell ya!

I'm throwing this post together in a jiffy but you can find many of these items on my pinterest page.  Actually if you click on this picture on my pinterest page you can get to most sources if need be through olioboard.  And...of course you can go shop Chris and Julia's collection.

Check ya later...

Oh and P.S they finally poured our driveway!!!!  I'll post pics soon.

What Inspires your Decorating?

Well if we are at a standstill in the construction process I might as well pretend to decorate right?

I believe this was a place setting at West Elm at one time.  I pinned this picture probably two years ago and it doesn't link directly to the source but I think I remember that is where it's from.  Anywho..When I saw it I instantly wanted to incorporate these colors and textures into the Jack n Jill bath at the new casa.

I love the different variations of green and the bright white with a little rustic wood thrown in.  

I want the kids bath to be playful but not too youthful.  Nothing is set in stone yet except the vanity...

The countertops will be Grey Expo from silestone.

The dark stained concrete floors...

And this fun West Elm light.

I'm going to bring in the wood tones with two mirrors in a shade and texture like this mirror that was super inexpensive at Garden Ridge.

Now for the fun stuff(the accessories)!

I love these green giraffe curtains as the shower curtain.  It's playful and that's where I want to go for the kiddos.

I fell hard for these animal hooks from anthropology a long time ago too.  I hope they still have them or I can at least find something similar and paint it white if need be.  I just picture 3 different animal heads holding the kids towels!  

This owl light switch cover resides at anthro too.  I'll admit I have never bought a thing at Anthropology because I'm a cheapo but I may have to splurge for these cuties.

I think they will add a perfect bit of whimsy to our fairly basic bathroom.

And although I'm tempted to do some super cute more childish art on the only wall that I have to decorate in the space I don't know if I can pass up this butterfly display.  

I think these Free Printable Butterflies that BHG.com featured would look awesome on the wall in the wet area(the shower and toilet are in their own little room). 

Now don't hold me to it but that is where my mind is right now and well really it has been for a while;) I suppose I could always move in and have a change of heart but I am still loving that place setting as inspiration!  My mission will have to be to find some mint green and other green tones to really follow through with it.  Have you ever been inspired but something like a place setting or something like it before?

Funky Friday Finds

Hey guys!  We interrupt the not so regularly scheduled posting about building a house for something a bit more wacky and fun.   After living in our rental for a year and a half and before that focusing on staging the house we sold I am chomping at the bit not to just move into the new house but to play with it! Every once in a while if I see a good deal on a pillow or a candle holder I will get it and set it aside in hopes that it will get used in the future.  So I have some fun stuff to pull out when we get there but I came across some fun stuff today and I have to share.  Now don't hold me to it but I'm thinking of starting a Funky Friday Finds series where I feature fun and maybe out of the box things to decorate with.  I LOVE the surprise element of decorating and have always had my eyes peeled for something "different" to put in a room so lets see what I can come up with on fridays.  You with me?

Today it's all about plants.  No matter what your taste or thumb color it is always nice to have a little green inside.  I think the more simple the better because it's hard enough to remember to water the potted plants outside and we try not to add anymore chores to our to do list these days.  That being said I think you can go simple but go fun!

Deck the Walls

She doesn't know it yet but I've wanted to do this for my friend/client Lori in a special place but now that she is moving to the Big D I may just have to do it at my house instead.  When you need to add some interest to the walls I think something like these succulents all framed up would be awesome mixed in with family pictures and nick nacky finds.

And...Hello cool with a K!  One letter or a whole word would we awesome almost anywhere.

I also love the simplicity of this air plant that you could either hang or sit on a table top as well.

How about these concrete planters for the wall?

These guys are actually the type of planters that I envisioned placing in graphic rows of 3 or 4 over Lori's fireplace(or mine;).

Want something even more funky for the wall? 

This planter made from bamboo and what I think are air plants would look great hung by itself,

used as a centerpiece or how about 3 of them hung on the wall together.  

O.k.  as I type I'm falling more in love with all of these and starting to thing I may go against my own rule of not having too many plants inside.

Oh and I can't resist these awesome reclaimed pillar post turned succulent wall art. I need these too.  I'm in trouble.  How do you decide when there is so much awesomeness?

 Contain the Fun

I don't think fun should be contained at all but let's   just step away from the standard clay or ceramic pot for a minute.  I  fell hard for these guys and could see myself going a little nuts for these unexpected and colorful friends.

Just look at him in all his orange glory!

Au Nature-al 

We can keep it natural all around and yet still be funky.  This grass in an eggshell would look good sitting absolutely anywhere, bookshelves, tables, bathrooms..whatever, where ever.  You just can't go wrong adding a touch of grass to a room.

 How about some air plants in urchins?  Yes please!  If you need some texture in a room here ya go!

 Show your interests

You can stick a plant in almost anything.

Wine enthusiast?  

Wouldn't that be a great gift for someone who is if your not?

Just have something to say?  Consider writing a little message on any potted plant.  Whether it be chalk or not you could do this on any simple pot but I do like the fun shape of this one.

You can't moss it up;)

Really you can't.  People have been decorating with moss forever.  Whether it's covering a wreath, a ball, a cardboard letter for your initials, you name it.  It always adds some fun color.  But lets make it a little funky now.

We can put it in a lightbulb and make your run of the mill terrarium a little more interesting.

These would look great on any shelf or nightstand.

Oh and these cuties had me at hello.  What an awesome and so simple centerpiece on your table or in the hubs office!  Guys need green pretty things to ya know.

The best part about all of these is we aren't talking about high priced items to add some spice to your home.  Many of these you could do yourself but most are all very reasonable and fun little quirks to add to life because let's face it life isn't quirky enough at times.  Here's hoping lots of not so funky stuff happens at the construction site this weekend and I can share some progress next week!