Burning Question: Theme Scheme?
Ok, if all of a sudden, out of the blue, theme rooms were to come back into style (just go with us here) and the themier the room, the better… what theme would you go with? I mentioned “some Tahiti inspired spa theme” while John looked me in the eye and deadpanned “Garfield”. We just might crown a winner, here- so go crazy.
Underwater themed room courtesy of HGTV.com (yowsa!)
Our Very Own Design Dilemma
Yup, that’s right. All this time we’ve been happily solving other people’s design dilemmas while silently stewing about our own. This part of the house isn’t on display in our before and after gallery- in fact, we often avoid photographing it altogether. But here it is, in all it’s cringeworthy glory. It’s the other side of our master bedroom (which looks especially bad by comparison to the opposite wall that looks like this).
Back when Sherry surprised me with that big comfy leather chair, we thought it would transform the other side of the bedroom, but with the dog crate and the weird dresser as a side table, the space just wasn’t working.
So here’s how we went about transforming that sorry before of a bedroom wall into this much-easier-on-the-eyes after:
But let us rewind. First, we decided to shop our own house for some objects in hopes of pulling the ultimate switcheroo. We immediately knew we needed something a lot bigger and more vertical to balance the height of the floor-to-ceiling built ins around the bead. So we dragged in our only floor length mirror (which used to live in the third bedroom) for some much needed height. Now the room had a surprise Sherry got for me (the chair) and a surprise I got for her (the mirror was actually a surprise wedding present). Sweet. And the height of the mirror was really working to balance the other side of the room and reflect the swankiest part of the space- the cozy built in bed and the window above it.
We also brought in a little side table we got a while back from Target, but since the mirror and the chair are so big, we knew immediately that the top was too tiny in proportion to the other objects around it.
But that’s actually a pretty easy fix. Luckly, we’re no strangers to making our own pedestal table, so we just hit up Lowe’s for a $19 table top with a bigger circumference. Then we screwed the new 24 inch tabletop right onto the old 16 inch table, and viola, a bigger table that works much better in the space.
And since the new tabletop has only a 4 inch overhang around the Target table’s old top, the pedestal can easily support the new top without it feeling rickety or unsteady.
Then all we needed to do was prime it and paint it white, to echo all the pale colors that are abundant on the other side of the room and to break up all the dark wood and leather. The finishing touches came down to relegating Burger’s crate to another room (he doesn’t mind- honest) and bringing in an oversized vase we found for $14 at Marshall’s- along with some free greenery courtesy of our backyard. Total transformation cost: $33 (our only purchases were the tabletop from Lowe’s and the vase from Marshall’s).
Not too bad, eh? Especially when you consider that we sold the old Ikea dresser that used to be in the space for $30 on Craigslist since we no longer needed it thanks to our bedroom’s new built-in closets. Actual project cost: $3. Oh and for anyone saddened by the displacement of the three sunset pictures that used to hang on the wall, they’re looking great in the third bedroom (which needed some wall art since we stole the big mirror from there).
What about you guys? Do you have any spaces that you made over in your own home (on the cheap or otherwise)? Share and share alike.
Wedding Crashing: A Green & Brown Extravaganza
This time our wedding crashing feature took us all the way to Denver, Colorado- where we caught up with another beautiful couple with a wedding worthy of some serious documentation. So here’s their swanky and super memorable event served up on a silver platter for all you wedding lovers out there. Meet Rebecca & Roman.
Their April nuptials were chock full of gorgeous green and brown accents. As demonstrated by the lovely bridesmaids who sported Waters & Waters gowns of varying lengths in rich chocolate brown and their lush green bouquets. The bride was a major stunner in a Brides By Demetrios gown, and her dripping bouquet was insanely delectable. Stay tuned for a close up…
And their photographer Diane Perry went above and beyond. Check out this amazing shot in the middle of the street. Bellisimo. If only we could crash the bridal party pictures too…
Here’s the gratuitous bouquet shot as promised. Isn’t she lovely? The florist combined hanging amaranthus, green roses, hydrangea, white freesia, fern frawns and hypericom berries for a magnificent looker of a bouquet. And it was just as gorge in person, even at the end of the night after it had been used and abused. Gotta love flowers that keep a lickin’ and keep on tickin’.
The ceremony was held at the breathtaking St. Paul Lutheran Church…
… and the reception was held at the elegant U-Club Denver, where R&R served up some mighty tasty top sirloin steak, tortellini, stuffed chix florentine and salmon (you know we both had the steak, right?).
To complement the elegant decor, the bride and groom continued their brown and green color scheme through some pretty fantastic monogrammed paper goods along with some sage colored napkins…
… and even projected their initials onto the wall above their insanely gorgeous four-tiered and three-flavored cake. Not a single detail was overlooked, and we love that the bride took a high/low approach to dessert. While she splurged on the mouthwatering cake, she was thrilled to find the cake topper at Target of all places. Such a score.
Everything from the ceremony program and the menu cards to the favors were emblazoned with their graphic logo and luxe color scheme (all the paper goods were designed here). And we especially loved the sweet CD favors created by the bride and groom that were neatly tied with chocolate ribbons and adorned with their signature monogram.
We hope you adored this delightful Denver wedding and would love to know whatcha think. Any favorite parts? Any ideas for others planning a spring wedding or using green & brown as their colors? Do tell. And you might want to keep an eye out for us at the next wedding you attend, you never know where we’ll pop up…
Azure’s Design Dilemma
When we received Azure’s plea to swankify her lofty living and dining area, we couldn’t wait to get our mitts on her space. Here’s her letter:
I’m in need of help so here it goes… lets see what you can do sista! I’m looking for a Restoration Hardware style in my house with a few funky pieces & colors mixed in. Most of my pieces are from Pottery Barn and I would like to keep them. The carpet will become oak wood flooring at some point (hopefully in the near future!) and I feel like the windows are too small for vaulted ceilings so I need to figure out how to fix that. I am open to removing curtains, pillows, rug, wovens, etc and I would love to repaint! Brown is so not me, I like happier colors like blue or green. I love the colors you used in your house :) I obviously need some artwork too but it is difficult because of wall space. Can’t wait to see what you come up with….then I’ll be back for the next room!- Azure
So without further ado, our handy dandy moodboard chock full of the refined yet cheerful style that Azure so desires. We call it traditional with a twist:
Here’s the moodboard breakdown. Click here for more »
Mirror Mirror On The Wall
After we picked up a giant mirror (seriously, it’s huge) for $5 at a local garage sale, we thought it was about time we mentioned the incredible superpowers that mirrors possess. Yup, short of adding a window, a french door or a major addition, mirrors are the best way to visually expand your space and reflect a ton of light. And everyone knows an airy and bright room is right up there with hardwood flooring or a fireplace in the dream home department (it can even make your house sell faster and for more money). So what’s the hold up, people? Let’s start reflecting.
But mirrors can’t just be placed willy nilly all over your home. There’s a method to the mirror madness, and the main takeaway is this: be sure you’re reflecting a pro of the space, and not a con. For example, if a mirror above the sofa merely reflects your giant black tv, it’s not exactly something you’d like to duplicate in the space (although your hubby might disagree) and all that dark machinery might just make the room feel more cramped! The three single best things to reflect are: a pretty light fixture, a window, or some subtle and light wall art (because lord knows you don’t want two Black Sabbath posters in your space either). Reflecting a pretty light fixture can mean anything from hanging a mirror on the wall of your dining room at the height of the chandelier to bounce some more light around, or even leaning/hanging a mirror behind a table lamp (for example, two matching mirrors behind your night tables with matching lamps would add so much sparkle and ambiance to your space. But enough yakking, onto the pictures.
We hit the mirror jackpot in the guest bedroom (pretty much by accident) when we brought home this beast of a mirror and propped it up on the dresser. As you enter the room, it reflects a big picture window that looks out into our backyard- so the mirror almost becomes another window (offering light and a pretty green view).
But wait, that’s not all. It also reflects the smaller window above the bed when you’re standing across from it, so it’s like we added two windows in a room that already has two windows- it almost feels as if there’s a window on all four walls.
The feeling of added spaciousness is especially obvious when windows are reflected, since the objects out the window are in the distance. By duplicating the distance and depth that a window adds to a space, it feels infinitely more expansive. In short, the room feels a heck of a lot bigger than it did yesterday.
So what do you guys think? Do you have any more mirror tips and tricks, or some pretty before and afters involving the addition of a mirror? Share and share alike.
Subscribe in a reader
