boy's room sneak peek...

I promised a peek at the progress on Detail Boy's room, so here you go...

unfinished, unstyled, and unmade bed,

but SO close to being finished! 

We won't meet our Friday deadline to have it completely crossed off our list

because we're still waiting on some artwork we've ordered. 

I'm hoping for next week, but the largest piece is coming from Hong Kong,

so we'll see, it's just a poster.

Paint - Behr's Mined Coal

Ikea Mellby Chair

Ikea Rug - Wouldn't this be a great pillow? 

Ikea - Besta Inreda Nightstand

 The coordinating cabinets above the bed are being installed tomorrow.

Sorry bad lighting, the paint reads charcoal like the photos above.

TJ Maxx - Lamp

Still needs client approval, but I'm betting it gets a thumbs up.  

Bedding, all ironed and ready to be styled with these pillows!

DIY Artwork - Tennis Match

(this was our first try, we improved!)

DIY Project from our Ladder

Mr. Simple, would you help me take our ladder apart, please? :)

Check in tomorrow for the details on what became of the ladder.

Btw, anyone have a ladder for sale? Ha! Seriously though! 

a friend, her entry and paint...

Kristy from Hyphen Interiors recently moved to a new home in Austin.

It's been fun watching her put personal touches on everything. I've been so

impressed with her ability to make decisions and implement them quickly,

creating a beautiful and unique space oozing with style.

She has a great eye for finding treasures on Craigslist and transforming them!  

One of my favorite spaces is, or I should say 'was' her entry...

She started with this amazing chair, a Craigslist find, and gave it a glam

coat of gold paint, but then she changed her mind. It's so nice to know I'm not the

only one! Yep, she turned right around and sold it on Craigslist! 

Check out her fabulous new piece she chose to replace the chair.

Hint, she transformed it with paint, in a totally great color here!

Don't miss her cool paint color on her family room ceiling, too!

And, speaking of paint while you're visiting Kristy, today she has an

 informative series on 'Favorite Paint Colors.'

  I'm participating along with several other bloggers,

you're sure to find a color that will have you wanting to break out your paint brush!

Head on over here!

effortless styling...

Hope everyone enjoyed a great weekend, we spent more than the usual amount of time in
front of our tv rooting for USA, and especially our hometown girl, Missy Franklin!
 We also knocked out some big pieces in detail boy's room (sneak peek on Wednesday).

One of my favorite parts of decor is styling tables, mantles, bookcases, etc.
Today I'm sharing tips on where I start, and my go-to items I include for effortless 
compositions over at my sweet friends, Nancy & Bethany's blog,
Powell Bower Home here.
They're a dynamic duo, a mother/daughter interior design team with a passion for
 art, design, blogging and four-legged friends!

I'm assuming you've all heard the advice, use odd numbers of items...3,5,7
and that you know, books and trays are your best friend.
For my other four favorite elements that make it simple to put together a
display and where I start.... head on over right here.

Books and Trays...

scjohnson.com

heatherbullard.com 

houseandhome.com

adesignstory.com

Jenny Wolf Interiors

Happy styling!

denver botanic gardens

Yesterday I spent the morning strolling through the Denver Botanic Gardens

 with my bff, we both grew up here, but she had never been.

 It was a free day, (see end of post for upcoming free days)

so we arrived when it opened at 9am,

 hoping to beat the crowd and the heat...our plan worked!

  

I couldn't have staged it better, a Denverite donning cowboy boots in the summer!

The gardens are just east of downtown and several high rises surround the area.

We loved this amazing path - that's some cool texture!

These camo-like trees are Lacebark Pines.
(Looks like a creative diy type went a little overboard with some paint.)

This bank of white blossoms was a favorite of mine,

but we couldn't find any identification - does anyone know what it is? 

Here's a closeup.

The Japanese Garden's meticulously manicured grounds were refreshing

 after the more carefree  and unstructured plantings. 

 We stopped to chat with this gardener, she was trimming the shrubs to keep with a traditional

mounded shape, reminiscent of boulders, versus a round or muffin top shape.  

A fun stop was a 'Haiku Tree,' passersby were encouraged to jot down a Haiku and

attach it to the potted tree.

Browsing at The Shop on the way out was a nice escape from the heat.

Necklaces and earrings hung from an old window frame and chandelier.

  

The light silk and chiffon scarves caught our attention and

we thought these bright felted bags would add a cute punch to a winter outfit.

Does your city have a Botanic Garden?

 It's always on my list when vacationing in a new city.

Denver Botanic Garden 2012 Free Days
Tuesday, August 28th
Monday, October 1st
Also, free parking in the garage.


A perfect summer evening....a picnic while attending one of their Summer Concerts.
http://www.botanicgardens.org/index

Have the BEST weekend, sweet friends!

ikea tobias lucite chair

I've been hanging out at Ikea a lot lately, again today in fact.
 Not a productive trip, as their website indicated the legs we needed for Detail Boy's
 nightstands were in stock - 121 available today - nope, not one!
I decided to wait while they checked their truck, and intentionally wandered back to the
Tobias Lucite chairs - I LOVE them!
 They're comfortable, they have some flex and a slight rocking motion,
 they look great in a small space,
they don't take up much room physically or visually,
they're kid and pet friendly,
 they slide completely under a desk (not the case with a lot of desk chairs with arms),
they can be funky, fun, whimsical, modern, classy and paired with anything, 
they're $79!

In case you need any more reasons...

inspiracionline.blogspot.ca

elle decor

houzz.com

alkemieblogspot.com

decorpad.com

picketfencedesign.blogspot.com

decorpad.com

decorpad.com

houzz.com

decorpad.com

Are you a fan or not so much?

sally wheat inspired diy

I originally saw Sally Wheat's gorgeous living room three months ago on Joni @
Cote de Texas' blog here, I fell in love and immediately included it on my Pinterest board.
But, I hadn't noticed the gold sea urchin until last Friday when I saw a close up on
 Paloma's La Dolce Vita here.  It reminded me of a spiky ball I saw at the Dollar Store. 

My version...

and, if a diy blogger creates a sea urchin, she's going to want a leopard pillow...

and, if she makes a leopard pillow from an old table runner, she's going to want a lamp

and, if she paints a thrift store lamp, she's going to want a table to place it on,

and, if she moves a table from across the room, she's going to want a gold mirror,

and, if she steals a gold mirror from another room, she's going to want some

accessories for the coffee table,

and, if she finds some accessories in the basement for the coffee table, she is a happy girl

because her Sally Wheat inspired room cost $1 for the spiky ball at the Dollar Store.

 If you missed yesterday's post and would like to see the balls, table runner and lamp

before their makeover go here.

Join me at Uncommon Slice of Suburbia's Tuesday's Treasures here,

and Savvy Southern Style here,. Flamingo Toes, Think Pink Sundays here,

Home Stories A to Z here,

and The DIY Showoff here!