Spring Decor on the Cheap

I'm on a blogging roll. Have I clogged your feeds yet? Cantstopwontstop.

When I decorate for spring, Its fairly minimal and natural. I'm not into doing the whole Easter theme or getting overly crafty. Frankly, Spring is my least favorite, however, I do love all the green I'm seeing.

My entry has my usual suspects ( lanterns ) along with a natural garland I got in a free box. The bird's nests are real and were found after a great windstorm a couple years back.

The eggs?

Cadbury hardshelled chocolate eggs. My favorite Easter candy. Maybe my favorite holiday candy.

The coffee table is simple with a Target Basket ( still available at Target ) and accessorized with an old soup tureen I got for 99 cents at Goodwill. And no, I swear I'm not that blogger who runs to the store and gets a fresh bouquet of flowers just for the shot. I'm the blogger that goes in her yard, barefoot in the rain and digs up a lonely hyacinth.

And dont go throwin out the moss on the ground quite yet, stuff it in a vase for a pretty type of ground cover for your plant.

Lastly, the Lanterns. These are always hung, but I switch out the fillers by season. So I just emptied the faux snow ( which I'm bitter about because we didnt get any snow storms ). Inside is dollar tree moss. I noticed that colors vary by store, like my store had brown and green, the other store had an ugly yellow/brown. But for $1 a bag...

LED Candles with timers are so freakin awesome. I set all of mine to flicker on just as it's getting dark.

Mine are from Costco. Amazon also carries them in packs.

Obstacles in your house: The Corner Fireplace

I'm a problem solver. A fixer. It's my personality and it just so happens to be a large part of my job as a decorator. I love LOVE being your problem solver. Often, we get stuck because of the shape or size of a room, or too overwhelmed with where to start. Often, I hear of people just settling and not truly loving their home because they give up. Sometimes all you need is a fresh pair of eyes. That's where I come in.

I think sometimes people hear"interior decorator" and see dollar signs, or maybe it sounds intimidating? 

Knock it off. Maybe I should start calling myself a home stylist? Or is that worse? Ha!

Truth is, I'm just like you, I too get stuck and want to bomb my home at times! Sell everything in my house. Torch my sofas because they're microfiber and "they" told me it was best for kids and spills. Sike. 

I digress.

Most of my clients, are just normal people, with small budgets, that know there's potential with their space but just need me to get their vision out of their head and make it happen. I will say that more often than not, they come to me with hand-me-down furniture, or have just moved into a new to them home, and dont know

where to place their furniture. Rarely do I get the, I have $10,000 to redo this entryway, clients :) And by rarely I mean, one time.

Let me begin this new series, called "Obstacles in your house." Obstacles that either you've created that you havent realized, or, obstacles like below, that come with the house.

In many new construction homes( atleast around these parts ) comes the corner fireplace with the nook above.

They think they're making it convenient for you to pop in your large butt television in there and voila!

Not the case.

I want to stretch your brains a sec and think of the possibilities.

Don't put your tv there. Break the rules.

Don't even put vases or knick knacks there. Don't do it!

What if. What if you built up your fireplace? With a cheap MDF board and planked it out and topped with crown? What if I told you it could be done for under $50? It can. ( example 1....example 2)

( mill work on the lower half would be more, but even kits are available for that )

By not putting the TV there, you're able to shift your furniture's focus to the large wall.

This is just a quicky mock up I did to show you how such a basic room can look so chic and frankly, expensive, when it's under $2000.

I see this obstacle all the time.

I'll be posting a couple times a month about obstacles in homes and yards.

If you have obstacles that you think others can relate to, I'd love to hear from you.

Youpaidmorethanme@gmail.com

Negative Review for Target Coffee Table..

*Sigh* I don't like to write these posts, but it's only fair that I write a real review. I bought the Threshold Coffee Table I featured last month ( here ) and to be honest, I knew it wouldnt work the second I got it.

The top is mdf. Which is why you're only paying the price listed. It's incredibly cheap to make furniture with.

Secondly, the frame is bent, ever so slightly but enough to notice. Third, it's very very soft and dentable.

It's pretty and all, but it's not worth it to me. ( excuse the state of my sofa, I just scrubbed a spill )

 It also had a dent/hole on the side in which it looks like they tried to patch it..nice try.

And this is just one of the dents. Right in center.

For as much abuse as coffee tables get, I'm not willing to buy a cheapy. I guarantee that if someone put their feet up on it with shoes on, it'd dent.  Lesson learned. ( it's also not long enough ) I'll be returning it. Also, I just learned that ANY piece of furniture ( and some clothes ) you return gets immediately donated to local charities or Goodwill. 

Favorite Pillows Under $50

Do not be afraid to mix and match my friends! You CAN mix patterns. I continue to encourage my clients to drop the word "match" and start thinking "coordinate." Same goes for furniture, wood finishes do not have to match, it's best to have different colors/finishes to add dimension. 

Some of the above pillows are just pillow covers, remember that Joann has the cheapest ( in my experience ) pillow forms, including down pillows. Don't forget your 40% off coupon too!

My Clearance H&M Pillows

My pillow covers arrived today, I'm thrilled. I actually meant for them to be in my bedroom but I'm thinkin they fit better in my living room. They were $6..SIX!! On clearance. I had old Pier one pillows that lost their luster for me and these cases fit perfectly.

I didnt even read that it was jacquard weave, which made it even better. ( I just saw the print and size and ordered ) I'm very happy with the quality, they look and feel very expensive. The texture and thickness is awesome.

I did buy one more thing, but I'm leaving it for another DIY post this weekend.

Happy Hump Day.

Jeff Lewis Color!

I have an obnoxious obsession with all things Jeff Lewis. I adore his work and even more his masochistic sense of humor. With that being said, I'm thrilled that as of this week, Jeff Lewis Color is available at Home Depot. Just when I was having difficulty choosing a color for a clients home, this news happens, and it makes my life that much easier!

Look at this amazing palette. Subtle, Neutral and Clean. I cannot pick a favorite if I tried.

You can catch Jeff, Zoila, Jenny and the gang on Wednesdays on Bravo. Flipping Out season 7 just started!

New DIY Painting

It's no secret that I love sealife. I'm a nautical girl through and through and collect real coral pieces. I've needed an oversized art piece in this spot right at the top of the stairs but my budget was $50 or less.

I've never painted in my life, until I did this piece for my daughter's nursery, and I thought, hmmm, lets see

if that was just beginners luck or not.

I mustered up the courage once again, grabbed and 36x36 canvas on sale from Joanns, for $26. This next part is going to make any true paint artist, cringe. I painted both canvases with cheap E.L.F. makeup brushes. Talk about inexperienced right? But they work for me. 

Nope. Not kidding.

I love watercolor and wanted this one to give that effect. I just took my 48 cent acrylic paint and kept my brush very wet the whole time, never drying at any point. It seemed to work! I'm pretty happy with this guy.

Ikea Trip

Every. Stinkin. Time. I go to Ikea, I end up going again, immediately after. Either because I forgot something because I didnt make a list, or I found something too big and need to borrow a truck. It's not too close to my house either, but oh well. I love the place.

Here are a few snapshots from my trip.Naturally, I just took pics of mostly nautical stuff...

Not too shabby Ikea.

 I'll be going back, again, for these bad boys.

This clip on spotlight

And this amazing spotlight.

New DIY Indigo Drapes

I bought this fabric back in September with intentions to make them into drapes. 5 months later, they're up. Done? No, I have to hem them again. Maybe it's the weather but I've been lazy with projects! I need to snap out of it, this rain aint goin no where. So yes it was a rainy day project that took me all of 20 minutes to sew. And you can too. If you can sew a straight line, you can sew a panel. I chose to use rings at the top as opposed to a rod pocket because I just like the look. I bought the rings on Amazon for elcheapo and the rod was $6.99 at Ross.

Sorry for the sad phone pic, the lighting is tough in here ( no ceiling lights and big ol window )

I love me some indigo and navy.