best of the nest link party ~ october

Happy Halloween, friends!
Can you believe I haven't bought any candy yet? I'm the worst at grabbing the
 harmless little bite size bars every time I walk by until the entire bag is empty. I've tried
 putting them in the freezer or hiding them in a place that takes a lot of effort to get at,
 but I'm relentless, so it's best to wait until the last possible moment to pick them up. You?
 Anyway, the last Friday of the month brings us to Best of the Nest and I'm anxious to
see what you've been up to. Here's what happened around our nests this month...

I shared a fresh modern teen girl's room, filled with color, DIY painted
 bamboo furniture, a gallery wall and fun accessories!

Pam @ Simple Details

Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram | Bloglovin' | Twitter

Lisa's floor to ceiling bulletin board is the newest addition to her spiffy entry from

the garage. The perfect spot to reflect on the memories she's captured over the years. 

Lisa @ Shine your Light 

Blog | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram | Bloglovin' | Twitter

 Kris created this stunning office gallery wall, and shared great tips for pulling

together an eclectic look using a collection of unique pieces.   

Kris @ Driven by Décor

Blog | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram | Bloglovin' | Twitter | Google+

Jennifer reminds us Christmas will be here before we know it and shares a
 delicious family recipe for Chocolate Covered Coconut Bon Bons that are
 perfect for freezing. 

Jennifer @ Dimples & Tangles

Blog | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram | Bloglovin' | Twitter

Now it's your turn:

Bring your Best of October

Anyone can enter - not just bloggers!

Enter through Instagram by using hashtag #bestofthenestparty and tagging at least one of your hosts.

Only ONE link per person to show your best work from October 2014

Only those with a link back will be considered for features.

If you're linking up with a blog, link back with a text link or grab the party button.

We'd love you stop back next Friday when Lisa, Kris, Jennifer and I will feature our favorite links.

one room challenge - week five

We're counting down to the final reveal of my friend's bedroom next week, and trying

 hard to ignore the huge mess we have going on and everything we've neglected for

 the past few weeks (anyone else?). :)  Just keeping our eyes on the prize!   

 If you need to catch up here's how our progress has gone down:

Week One - The Plan here

Week Two -  Furniture & Fabric Choices here
Week Three - Lighting & Furniture here

Week Four - Craigslist Statement Piece here

We couldn't even believe it, our luck on Craigslist  held out and one more piece

 we needed showed up last week! Crazy lucky! 

This over sized ornate mirror is 40" x 60" and perfect for our big blank wall!

 We've been revolving artwork in and out this week trying to find something that

 captures chic, unique, and elegant... still at it, but it's decision time.   

Can't wait to share our room with you next Thursday!

Be sure to stop by Linda's @ Calling it Home to visit all the other

One Room Challenge Linking Participants here for inspiration overload!

And, don't miss the AMAZING 20 ORC Participants here! 

elements of style book giveaway

It's your lucky day! Remember the fun girl's room I just revealed, well, my sweet
client gave me a thank you present ~ Erin Gates' newly released book,
 Elements of Style,
but I'd already received my own copy I'd ordered. Of course, the gift was special and
 I wanted to keep it. It took me about two seconds to decide what to do with my copy.
You guys are truly the BEST,
thank you so much for reading and the encouragement you send my way every day!

I thought I'd style my coffee table with Erin's book, but got carried away, and for
 fun I shopped my house and found elements she used in the vignette on the cover of
 her book.

I haven't had a chance to read much of the book yet, but so far Erin is an absolute
 delight, incredibly talented and inspiring!

Here a few posts from the past where I chatted about her...

Erin's black cabinet on the front of her book showed up on our Craigslist,
I went to see it, and passed. :(

My favorite knock-off Frye boots were a recommendation from Erin.

DIYs in the photo above...

Craigslist Hutch in Annie Sloan French Linen here
DIY Leopard Tray from $2.99 Ikea Tray here
Coffee Table Transformation here
Greek Key Chair Reupholster a $10 Garage Sale Find here
(forgive the last two, the posts were my second month blogging) :)


And finally, the giveaway... 
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Good luck and thank you, friends!

one room challenge ~ week 4

You guys are awesome ~ thank you so much for weighing in on our

 lighting last week, the majority chose without glass panels. 

I'm focusing on our favorite Craigslist score today, since progress wasn't

exactly stellar last week. :)  

If you're new you can catch up on the previous weeks where we did make progress!

Week One - The Plan here

Week Two -  Furniture & Fabric Choices here
Week Three - Lighting & Furniture here

This is our statement piece we scored from Craigslist, and our inspiration piece below
 it, used as a media cabinet. I know some of you are cringing at the thought of painting
 this beautiful cabinet, but we didn't want a typical media piece for the tv, and needed
 storage since it's taking the place of her armoire. It fit the bill and the room perfectly,
except for the color.

Amanda Nisbet

We're painting it white, and still have detail work and waxing to finish.

And the reason we were unsure of the light - we loved how the ovals in the
cabinet are repeated in the light, but they're more visible with the glass panels.
Hmmm...

 

We're smitten with this pair of gorgeous lamps my friend found at Homegoods and they're
 strong contenders, but we won't be certain until we get a few more pieces together. They're
 a great scale for the large campaign chests we're using as nightstands.

That's it for this week friends!

Be sure to stop by Linda's @ Calling it Home to visit all the other
One Room Challenge Linking Participants here for inspiration overload!
And, don't miss the AMAZING 20 ORC Participants here, they are killing it! 

fresh modern teen girl's room

I can't tell you how much I delighted in doing this pink girly room, being a boy

mom has its advantages, :) but I miss out on this kind of fun. I got giddy when

 the chance to help out with a sweet girl's room presented itself. She has a great eye

 and flair for design, and was involved in all the choices for her new room. 

  

BEFORE:
This isn't a true before, we'd already moved the bed when I took photos,
it was parallel to, and pushed against the light green wall. 

AFTER:

Her mom (aka my One Room Challenge friend) painted a bamboo desk we scored

 on Craigslist, and added new brass hardware. We incorporated my favorite Ikea

work lamp and a ghost chair to create a stylish mix . 

BEFORE:

Again, we were already trying some new purchases (mirror and lamps) when I 

took these photos.

By removing the foot board we gave the space a more open feel, and the old

bed an updated look.

Do you guys remember my post last year when this bamboo dresser was tossed

 to the curb in front of our elementary school? I had no where for it, but Sarah loved

 it, and thought it looked too formal for her room in it's original state. We were

hesitant to paint it, but given the top was in really bad shape we opted for bright pink,

 and found the hardware at our local Re-Store for $1.50 each.  

  

She wanted a glam lucite lamp, we found the perfect one at Homegoods and added

the Greek key trim for a pop of color. 

We included sheer curtain panels with a faint curved pattern to soften the straight lines

 of the windows, bookcases and desk.

She's quite the artist, and we wanted to use pieces she'd done for a small gallery

wall above her bed. She requested it not be too busy, we kept a clean, simple feel

by using white frames and mats and limiting the colors. 

We included her original elephant drawing and cherry blossom painting.

She and her mom were inspired by the whimsical illustrations on this journal 

(with no copyright or any information on it all) and had it copied to frame. 

We lined the backs of her two white bookcases, flanking the windows, with

 green paper in a subtle pattern. 

We love the overall fresh and modern atmosphere with a little pizzazz!

Thank you so much for letting me share your home,

sweet friends! 

Stop by and check out the inspiration at:

Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday here

cozy up your white slipcovers

There's no debating the benefits of slipcovers and the fresh, crisp look that's so popular

for spring and summer, but come fall and winter it's easy to cozy them up with   

simple pieces that you can score on Craigslist, your local thrift store, or maybe even

your basement or attic. 

My favorite is to mix in warm wood tones ~ an antique side table, rustic coffee table,

 a trunk, bamboo piece, carved wood table, or wicker trunk

 ~ the warmth and texture can't be beat ~   

Warm brass accents, rugs, a cuddly throw, velvet pillows, and piles of books are great

accessories to include when creating a comfy space.  

I love to analyze photos like these for ideas and especially to study the mix of styles

they've incorporated.      

 

 

 

Did you find a favorite idea to steal? :)

one room challenge - week 3 - opinions

Thanks for stopping by to check in on the ORC progress, if you need to catch up

I'm helping a friend makeover her master bedroom that hadn't been updated for

about 18 years! 

Week One - The Plan here

Week Two -  Furniture & Fabric Choices here

 This week we finished painting the ceiling and walls Benjamin Moore's - Simply White.

Her handyman installed our statement light we found on Craigslist, the high ceilings

 needed something substantial and we love it, but are debating whether we like #1 or 2,

what do you think?

#1 -  Without glass panels  OR   #2 - With glass panels

#1 - WITHOUT GLASS PANELS

#2 WITH GLASS PANELS

PAINT BEFORE

While we had the handyman we decided to take advantage and added trim to the

 bi-fold closet doors to give them some pizzazz. I tried talking her into painting it gold,

 but she's not sold, yet. :)

I've had this inspiration pic from Lonny saved forever, we might try a sample door.

We scored these X- benches on Craigslist awhile back, not our usual bargain-basement

 steal, but $75 each was great considering...   

...they're from Wisteria and currently sell for $325 each. We're reupholstering in

 the leopard print linen I shared last week.

Wisteria  X-Base Stool - $299 + $25 shipping 

This week we'll be working on transforming our 'hold-out wow them piece' which

 was another Craigslist find. :)

 And, all of our fabrics came in today...eeeek, so much fun!

Stop over and check out the AMAZING progress all my talented friends 

are sharing at Linda's @ Calling it Home.  

 

 

diy pom poms to the rescue

We have this cozy chenille throw from Restoration Hardware that is buttery

 soft and a great heavy weight to snuggle under when it's chilly. But, it had

 a little drawback that bugged me, and after my first solution didn't work out so

 well I thought DIY pom poms added to the edge could be the answer.  

See all of those strands of yarn, they were always a tangled mess, it truly looked

 like someone sat there and intentionally knotted them together to annoy me!  

So, I cut them all off, and to my surprise it wasn't the prettiest look. I decided to

 give it one last chance and make whimsical, fluffy pom poms to disguise the

 butchered fringe look. 

Restoration Hardware Chenille Throw

I love it, the pom poms add the perfect playful accent and I'm all over the texture. 

I ended up with nine on each end, about 8" apart. 

I changed out the lamp and pillows for fall, (here was my summer look) but after I

 saw this post yesterday, I decided to go all out pom pom in honor of this stylish girl 

and bring up my favorite pom pom pillow that I originally made for our living room

 when I jumped on the radiant orchid trend.

Pom poms are so popular and super easy to make and customize the size,
 I used this tutorial from Pinterest.

Have you made any yet?