Fall into the Holidays ~ Kitchen

Welcome to FALL INTO THE HOLIDAYS, a four week series where we'll be sharing

 ideas for sprucing up our homes before the holiday season kicks into high gear.

 Our lovely hostess Lisa @ Shine Your Light came up with the idea by asking friends what

 they'd most like to see on blogs - hands down, simple, do-able ideas were the favorite!

So that's our goal - and this week we're focusing on the kitchen.  

Don't miss my talented friends at the end of the post, you'll want to pop over and check

 out their fun ideas too!    

You guys this is one of those, "I can't believe I waited so long to do this" items.

It's been three and a half years since I did our kitchen update for the One Room Challenge.

I LOVED the vibrant flat weave wool rug I chose, but sadly it was a maintenance nightmare,

and didn't last at our house. It attracted Golden Retriever hair like flies to dog doo!  

  In the meantime we lived with this BLAH brown, low maintenance natural

fiber rug that wore like iron and hid ALL the things! And, when I wanted to

change it up, I flipped it over! Yep, reversible to the other BLAH brown side!

If that wasn't enough, the edges started looking ratty and one corner curled a little that

 you tripped over if it wasn't strategically placed. 

#soembarassing

  

I've finally found something that I think will work, this medallion rug is $30, and has 

great reviews.  It's washable, I haven't had a washable rug for a zillion years, I didn't even

know they made them anymore. I'll let you know how it goes. 

#feelingstylish  

I love that it has the vibe of this beautiful rug...

Magnolia Home

Thanks for stopping by friends, hope you're inspired to make a little change.

We'll be back next Tuesday sharing more ideas.

Don't miss these friends' ideas! 

Lisa of Shine Your Light

Julie of Less Than Perfect Life Of Bliss

Shelley of Crazy Wonderful

Becky of This Is Happiness

One Room Challenge - Eclectic Great Room Reveal

Whew, we've crossed the finish line!  

Thanks so much for stopping by to check on the One Room Challenge reveal of my

client's great room! And, a huge thank you to Linda @ Calling It Home for creating this

event that brings our community together to share an abundance of inspiration!   

I'm sharing my client's great room. Their request was a cozy, comfortable space

for their family of four, and Stella the fur baby, to lounge, watch tv, read and hang

out together. The chic mom didn't want to forgo style for comfort and asked me to

 incorporate glam, gold, pops of color and zebra print.

They were up for using my favorite, Craigslist finds! :)

This leather chair was one of our first Craigslist scores. I knew it would make a great spot for

 reading tucked back in this corner and loved the warmth against our crisp white background. 

This photo shows the best representation of the lively color of our Zahra Caravan rug from

 World Market. 

We used two cushy sofas and several squishy down pillows, perfect for everyone

in the family to comfortably stretch out!

They owned this vintage marble top table and loved the size and sturdiness for propping

 feet up. My client covered the golden tone wood with a coat of  Rub 'n Buff in Gold Leaf.  

We reupholstered a special chair that had been in the family for years in Ralph 

Lauren zebra print, for a dramatic, yet timeless statement piece.  

We knew we wanted an antique piece in this space and originally planned to use a secretary

 they owned, but fell in love with the details of this one from Craigslist when we were there

 to pick up a console. Pairing it with a modern lucite chair gave us the eclectic style we

were going for.  

They owned this large round side table, it was an ideal size between the sofas, but it also

had a marble top. We turned the top over, painted it all a high gloss white, and trimmed 

the edge in gold Rub 'n Buff for a pretty detail (more info to come).

The ornate gold mirror was another Craigslist find, and the perfect dose of glam we

 were hoping for to pair with our streamlined sconces. 

We layered a special piece of artwork created by a family member. A a simple

 frame and large mat keeps it from competing with the mirror.   

Yet another Craigslist score was this console we used behind the sofa, it faces the 

kitchen. When I spied it on Craigslist I thought the diagonal pattern (which was originally 

wood) would be pretty if made to look like metal. My client went to town with

  Rub 'n Buff, and we love the interest it added.   

The oversized distressed media cabinet balances the the 75" TV and including the

 industrial style compliments the eclectic mix of furniture pieces.   

It's been a joy to help create this space for such a sweet family, and so fulfilling to see

 them using it exactly as they envisioned. This photo of Stella sums it up perfectly! :)

Thank you so much to my wonderful clients for allowing me to share their home with
 all of you and for enduring the six week challenge! We've been hard at work on the
 rest of their home and I'll be filling you in on more details next week.

If you'd like to start at the beginning:

Week 1 - The Plan
Week 2 - Fabrics & Fireplace Tile, Mirror & Sconces

Week 3 - Sofas & a Stool

Week 4 - Craigslist Scores & Rugs 

Week 5 - Industrial Media Cabinet

If you'd like you can follow my design and Craigslist adventures on
Instagram. 

If you're new here, you can check out my previous ORC Reveals here:

Spring 2015 - Another Craigslist Bedroom - Featured Designer

Fall 2014 - Craigslist Bedroom - Participant

Spring 2014 - My Kitchen - Featured Designer

Fall 2013 - My Master Bedroom - Featured Designer

Spring 2013 - My Bathroom - Featured Designer

Are you following along with all the other ORC participants' projects, such a crazy

 amount of inspiration from lots of favorite bloggers and former ORC designers!

 Don't miss it at Linda's @ Calling It Home.

If you haven't checked out the 20 featured designers the reveals were FABULOUS!
Check them out here.

One Room Challenge - Week 4 - Craigslist Scores!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by to check in on Week 4 of the ORC!

It's crunch time, and there is still a boatload of shopping on our list for my client's

Great Room. I'm keeping this short and sweet and going to bed so I can be up with

 the chickens and at it.    

If you'd like to catch up:

Week 1 - The Plan
Week 2 - Fabrics & Fireplace Tile, Mirror & Sconces

Week 3 - Sofas & a Stool

The Craigslist Gods smiled upon us! :) 

 I was on the hunt for some sort of console to place behind the sofa. 

In my Craigslist search I came across this pretty piece on the left, I thought we could

take it up a notch by painting the diamond shape wood detail gold to look like

metal. When my client went to pick it up she texted this photo saying

she LOVED this secretary they were selling, and would be willing to sell her existing one

 to replace with this. Unfortunately, the seller thought it was a VERY valuable antique and

 she left with just the console. :(

It took several days of negotiating but he finally came around and we couldn't

be happier, it's gorgeous!   

Here's a peek at our console with the detail highlighted in gold. 

Rub 'n Buff is your BFF!  

And, we scored this fabulous, comfy, tufted leather chair. It has that timeless

character we were looking for to achieve a collected style. 

We've been searching for the just-right side table or garden stool and need to make a 

decision.     

The secretary will fit perfectly in the space to the left of the fireplace,

 and leather chair to the right. 

 We decided on our rug and have our fingers crossed it will be here in time,

we cut it close! These were our top three, all from World Market,

 do you have a favorite?   

 This week we'll be focusing on drapes, a media piece and artwork. 

You can check out my previous One Room Challenge Reveals:

Spring 2015 - Another Craigslist Bedroom - Featured Designer

Fall 2014 - Craigslist Bedroom - Participant

Spring 2014 - My Kitchen - Featured Designer

Fall 2013 - My Master Bedroom - Featured Designer

Spring 2013 - My Bathroom - Featured Designer

Are you following along with all the other ORC participants' projects, such a crazy

 amount of inspiration from lots of favorite bloggers and former ORC designers!

 You can check it out at Linda's @ Calling It Home.

And the 20 featured designers are knocking it out of the park!

Check them out here.

diy stenciled ikea rug

I'm sure you've forgotten about the Ikea Osted rug I mentioned I was 

planning to stencil two and a half months ago! It was to replace the suzani rug that I'd

 stenciled for our entry a couple years ago. I was feeling guilty for my sporadic posting

 since school got out, and finally got tired of looking at it on our dining room table!
I decided to knock it out over the weekend seeing that we're

 heading out for vacation tomorrow and I'll be taking the rest of the week off. :)

   

 I decided on a classic Greek Key pattern, mixed with the cheetah patterned stencil

 I did on the walls last year gave me the eclectic vibe I love.    

I taped off the border squares and made a super easy stencil for the Greek Key 

pattern inside the squares. 

Supplies:

Ikea Osted Sisal Rug (2' 7" x 4' 7") - $24.99

Black Latex Paint (Satin finish)

Painter's Tape

Stencil Brush 

I didn't unroll the rug for long, but it would help to unroll and let it flatten before 

starting, although I don't think it affected the outcome if you're excited to start.  

It would be a LOT easier to create a stencil that includes the square border 

instead of going to the trouble of taping them off.  

 I'll show you how I did it in case you have nothing better to do on your weekend!

1) Tape rug to create 8 individual squares. I use the width of the tape as a guide for

my measurement (see the small pieces). 

2) Trim tape to create the square border to stencil.

3) I stenciled one coat on all eight squares, then went back over with a second coat.  

4) I used painter's tape to create the Greek Key pattern/size I preferred on top of

a cutting mat. Then placed plastic on top of my pattern and cut out using a sharp 

craft knife.

5) Center your stencil on the square and stencil using a straight up and down pouncing

motion to keep paint from seeping under the edge of the stencil. 

You can see how easy it would be to have created the square border as part of the stencil.

I wanted my spacing in the center between the two Greek Keys wider and used a piece

 of tape over the stencil. That was all I used to keep the stencil secure on the rug as I

 was stenciling. I didn't remove it until from the plastic until the entire rug was finished.

That's it, once you have the stencil cut out it goes quickly. 

 I'll be back in the swing next week!

We're headed to Lake Tahoe, I'll be sharing some of our adventures on Instagram

if you'd like to follow along during the week.

diy stenciled rug

Do any of you remember about two and a half years ago when Linda @ Calling it Home

 invited any bloggers that wanted to participate to paint a rug. It ended up there were

twelve of us that took her up on it. As much as we've enjoyed the rug that I painted for

 our front entry, I've decided it's time to paint a new one. I actually love how the paint has

  worn and faded. In fact, at the end of my original reveal post I noted, "I considered sanding

 it to give it a worn look but I chickened out and decided to let it wear naturally."

Well, it's worn!   

DIY Stenciled Suzani Rug

After two and a half years of wear. 

Original

Oh wow, this is grungier than I thought! I've never washed it only vacuumed. 

I was pretty impressed with how the Ikea rug has worn and how the paint held up.

We are a messy family with a cat and golden retriever and we come and go through
 the front door almost exclusively and are always tracking in debris. The edges are
beginning to look too faded and the corners are showing wear. 

The bad news is Ikea no longer sells the Hessum rug I loved, so I picked up the Osted

not realizing it wasn't the same size until I opened it today. It's not available in the size
I like. Ugh...Ikea, you're messing with me! I think I've figured out a way to buy a longer
size and shorten it.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to start on it today,
which leaves more time for me to waffle over my choices....

 hautelook.com

houzz.com

architecturaldigest.com

tiffanyjonesinteriors.blogspot.ca

This big bold pattern with minimal math and brain damage looks easy appealing! :)