Sofa so good!

And we have new sofas!  We lived with the hand me downs for the last 6 years so it was definitely time for something our own taste.  I tried my best to disguise the lumps and bumps with pillows and throws.

But ultimately, they looked like this.  Holy 80's Batman!  They did, however, wear really well, were a nice neutral colour and were super easy to clean.  I had a load of interest on Craigslist and they ultimately went to a good home.

And for their replacement we chose the Luxe Sofa from World Market.  I shopped around loads online, I must have ready about a million reviews.  The Luxe Sofa is slip covered so we can take the covers off and wash them (important with a mischievous little dog) and it means we can change the colour easily if we want to update the look of the room.  We took full advantage of World Market's post Christmas sale and managed to get a 3 seater frame, a 2 seater frame and both slip covers for $600.

To save on shipping costs I ordered them at the store to be delivered to the store and picked them up using a Home Depot rental truck.  I saved about $200 doing it that way so it was definitely worth it.

Here's a little sneak peak.

Next up are the floors.  Oh yes, and the walls too.  It's all change around here!

Kate

xxx

Around the House

Today I wanted to share a few smaller updates that we've been working on over the last few weeks.

First up is our shiny new fridge.  We had always planned to update the appliances at some point, but when the freezer section of the old fridge stopper working completely, we were forced to act sooner rather than later.

I can't believe we managed to fit this beast in the same space as the old one.  As you can see, it has French doors and is working out really well so far.  It's waaay quieter than the old one, has loads more room and is energy efficient.  We bought it from Lowes and managed to qualify for the military discount which was a major saving.  Plus they offer free delivery and free haul away of the old one.

Sold!

Next up is a sneak peak of the new family room rug.  Excuse the terrible pic - I was trying to hold it up with one hand and take the pic with the other.  Rugs are HEAVY!  I thought it was a little bit like the West Elm souk rug?  Maybe?  If you squint?  I picked up this guy at HomeGoods.  We've made some major changes to the family room - updates soon I promise.

And of course I couldn't buy just one rug!  I grabbed this little one too.  It's like walking on velvet.  Seriously.  In the morning I'll pop into the guest room just so I can stand on this rug!

I bought the radio you can see on the nightstand during Targets after Christmas clearance.  It was only $10 and reminded my of the Crosley radios you see (only this one was way cheaper!).  Perfect for guests.

Kate

xxx

Metallic madness!

Happy Wednesday! I hope you all had a great weekend. I wanted to stop by to show you how our mantel is looking these days.

After taking down all of the Christmas decorations, I decided a change was in order. This was how it was before.  A little pink and a little spring-y and a lot thrown together!

And here it is after messing about with it this weekend.  You might recognise the star burst mirror from around the blog world.  It's the Martha Stewart mirror from Home Depot.  It's a complete steal at only $35.  For that price it was only a matter of time before I bought one!

 This pic from Handmaid Tales shows the original colour it comes in..

I spray painted this little one Champagne mist by Rustoleum.  It's just leaning above the mantle for now (there is painting to come in the very near future), but we do plan to eventually mount it.

If you look closely in the mirror you can just about make out our new sofa.  We managed to lug the old ones into the garage and they're currently lurking on Craigslist waiting for a buyer.

More living room updates to follow!  Big plans I tell ya, big plans!

Kate

xxx

And the winner of the 2013 saddest un-christmas christmas ornament is...

this amazing creation from West Elm.

Can you guess what animal it is?

It's the same colour as a Zeigler hot dog with the face of a pig.  Clearly it can only be one thing, a fox!  And it can be yours for only $4.  Ha, it had me laughing for hours.  I'm all for hand crafted but seriously West Elm!

How about choosing this little cutie from Etsy instead.  Ah, much better!

Kate

xxx

Lime Chair

And the newest member of our household is this little beauty:

I'd been eyeing this chair on the Target website for weeks.  It went from regular price, to sale price, to clearance, to gone!!  Ugh, don't you hate it when you wait too long to buy something then it's no longer available.  I know, I know, 1st world problems! 

So when I saw a stack of them at our local Southeastern Salvage for only $50 I knew one of them had to be mine.  It was super easy to put together: plop seat on base.  And it's really comfy too.

Kate

xxx

Runner Runner!

Can it really be nearly 2 months since my last post??!!  Where does the time go!  In short it's been filled with work, a surprise trip to Vegas, a not so surprise trip to England, and finally some booth space.  The booth is only just beginning to take shape so I'll post some pics later this week.  For anyone in Birmingham it's at Urban Suburban in Crestline.

It's been a little quiet around here on the jazzing up the house front.  Sorry about that folks, but we have made a few small updates.

I nabbed this black and white striped runner from Target the other day.  I can't remember the exact price, but it was under $20, which seemed like a real steal.

It's a little Beetlejuice, humbug, Halloween-ish, but I really love it.

For a cheapo, it's surprisingly heavy duty. 

Kate

xxx

Guest Room Before and After

It's fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinished!  Ok, so the ugly black ceiling fan is still up, but everything else is D.O.N.E!  About a week later than planned, our Guest Room makeover is complete.

Sit back, because this post is pretty photo heavy.

The bedding was from Ross, lamps from JC Penney, throw from TJ Maxx, nightstands from Target and crazy cat pillow from H&M.

I've had these 2 wall shelves sitting in a cupboard for months, so it was great to finally get them on the wall.

I mixed some vintage family items with thrift shop finds and a few new pieces.

The camera was my Grandads, the print was from the Christmas Tree Shop (for only $4!) and the little bowl was from a thrift shop.

You can just about see the newly painted headboard behind the pillows.  I left 2 of the panels in the cream, and painted the rest 2 shades darker than the wall colour.

I tried to add something to read and a place to put rings or coins or watches on each nightstand.

And of course no nightstand would be complete without a felt owl.

Can you believe my mum made this?  Love him!

Every time I see this pillow it makes me laugh.

And now for a good old before and after.



And after!

Kate

xxx

Finishing up

If you follow me on Instagram you'll have seen that the curtains in the guest room are finally up.  Here's a sneak peak at the texture - can you believe they were only $6 a panel from Lowes?  I couldn't make them for that!  The curtain rod was a steal for only $10 at Ross.  Somehow I always find good deals there, despite the fact that their shelves are usually half empty.

We've also had a new queen mattress delivered for the master (thank you Macys Labour day sale).  Look at how ridiculously tall the bed is now, ha!  You can't even see the nightstand because it's so high.  Poor Murph man needs a pole vault to get on there.  Seriously though, we'll be removing the box spring this weekend to take it back down to a normal height. 

We moved the old mattress from the master into the guest room (which is sooooo close to being done).  I have professional supervision arriving this weekend (ie my father in law) for the great 2013 fan switcheroo, one more coat on the headboard and I'm calling it.  Pics to follow on Monday.

Have a great weekend - and if you live in Birmingham check out the annual Art Walk downtown.

Kate

xxx

Chevron-and-on

My latest creation for the Apartment Therapy Style Cure guest room makeover is a chevron frame.  I picked up a large square frame with a huge plain mat (on sale for $5 at Michaels).  It's usually used for people to sign at weddings.

I love a good chevron, it came a very close second in the coffee table pattern stakes, so it was a easy choice when I was contemplating how to decorate the mat.  Plus, I thought if it looked really bad I could always cover it with a fun fabric.

It looked a bit dodgy halfway through, but I reasoned that I was going for a hand drawn look and not perfectly symmetrical lines. 

Here's a closer look at my not-so-straight straight lines!

I went back and filled in some of the thinner chevrons, and added vertical lines to the wider chevrons to help break up the pattern.

Left on the to do list is to:

Paint the headboard
Change the hideous ceiling fan
Hang the curtains
Hang a couple of shelves
Add accessories
Finish and reupholster the chair

So, as you can tell, progress is slow.  The aim was to have the room finished by the end of this week - but I'm thinking it's looking more like the end of next week.  Mainly because I need some serious adult supervision before monkeying around with the ceiling fan!

Kate

xxx

The Style Cure

Apartment Therapy has been running the Style Cure in August, and I'm all over it.

They send out daily emails throughout this month with tips and motivation to make over one room in your house (spoiler alert - I chose the guest room).  Up until now there has been a lot of listing and planning, but this weekend I began implementing my grand plans.  I'm still not entirely sure how everything will come together, but I'm keeping the faith.

Here's a look at the guest room from the MLS listing.

And here it is after we moved in.  All we really did was get a few key pieces of furniture and called it a day.  You'll notice the bed looks suspiciously low.  Well, that's because we don't actually have a mattress for that room (yet!).  It's not terrible, but it's hardly a show stopper either.

Sadly it didn't stay quite so tidy for long.  All of our unwanted furniture seemed to end up in there.  And the clothes for donating.  And the ironing board.  And the random artwork.  And it quickly became a hodgepodge mess.  Now you can see why it was an easy choice for the Style Cure.

This weekend it was time to paint.  I knew I wanted something light and fresh and decided on Pearl Ash by Olympic from Lowes.

Unfortunately, whoever last painted the room did a really shoddy job and the existing beige paint was all over the baseboards and ceiling.  I decided to go over the baseboards with white first, then I could cut in with the Pearl Ash and get a nice crisp line.  It took a little extra time, but was totally worth it.

I did 2 coats and it turned out great.

I'm just starting to collect some accessories.  So far I have 2 of these amazing lamps from JCPenney.  They were marked down to half price, and I had a $50 giftcard, so they only cost me about $20 for the pair.  Bargain!

Stay tuned to see how it all comes together!

Kate

xxx

2 for joy

During my trip home I inherited some fantastic retro/vintage family goodies.  Most of it was too big or heavy to bring back this trip, but I did manage to squish my favorite thing in my case (carefully rolled inside a cardboard tube).

My mum did this pen and ink drawing of 2 magpies in 1984.  She is one talented cookie.  Any shred of creativity I have has definitely been inherited from her. 

Its now hanging in our living room, above the little shoe cabinet that used to be in the kitchen. Along with my latest knick knack - a $5 sale vase from TJ Maxx.  I thought it was kind of Jonathan Adler-ish.  Maybe?

Kate

xxx

Bargain Alert!

If you're anything like me and you love amazing home décor at a bargain price (and lets face it, who doesn't!) then keep reading 'cos you're in for a treat. 

Last year I shared these fantastic pillow covers I ordered online from H&M UK.  I had to order them on the UK site then have my mum post them on to the US.  As you can imagine the whole ordeal was a royal pain in the arse (especially for my poor mum).  But in "better late than never" news, the H&M US site FINALLY has online ordering.



Everyone knows H&M for their fashions, but check out the pics below for the fantastic home décor offerings. 

They currently have some amazing opening offers for online orders - $4 cushion covers anyone?

You can never really have too many intense staring owl faced trays, right?

And who doesn't love a good metallic.

Plus their styling is impeccable.

There are a boat load of bathroom options.

See, I told you.  Pretty, pretty, pretty!  Now you better order quick before I buy everything.  If you sign up for their newsletter you also get free shipping.

Kate

xxx

 

Please note - this post is 100% NOT sponsored by H&M (in fact, I think it's safe to say they have absolutely no clue who I am).  I just really love a bargain.