IKEA Basic's Round Up

It's no secret I love IKEA! 

So much that I will make the four hour round trip to the store on a regular basis. Over the last few years I have come up with my own personal IKEA list of must have products and typically one or more of these items are on my list when I go. I'm a huge believer in quality over quantity and when saying that I love IKEA , it may make a few of you scratch your heads because honestly I think we have all heard the horror stories of their products not lasting the long haul. 

I agree. Some items found in this giant box store of amazing, glossy, interior goodness are well, not that great. They break. They peel. They lose their shapeliness and well basically don't look so good after a few years. My grandfather always said, "You get what you pay for!"

But that said, I think that you can find really great and cost friendly items if you know what to look for.

Ikea has an enormous amount of basic items that can add so much beauty to your home and they will fit perfectly right along side your quality pieces and you would never even know they cost way less! 

I also believe that if you follow this one basic rule when shopping this super store you will always end up happy with your purchase, here it is......

The items with mechanical working parts tend to fall apart over time. This is purely from my own experience so if you have a totally different opinion than Yay for you and we should talk because I would love to know your experience.

I have just found that every time we have purchased a dresser with moving drawers, it just didn't hold up all that well. So now I stick to items that you put together once and none of the parts move ever again. Examples.....table, bookshelves, lamp, etc. You get the idea. 

Now I will say we did recently purchase two small dressers to use as nightstands in our master bedroom. But we went in to this knowing full well that those drawers will NEVER be used....EVER. 

I will always will love are their textiles! Curtains, fabric, bedding etc. Everything I have purchased in this category I have been very pleased with.

 So now that I am done with all my disclaimers, here are my all time favorite go to items. I have every single one of them somewhere in my home and I love each and every one. Not only do I own them but I suggest them to my clients for their homes on a daily basis. They are really that good! 

1// RITVA Curtain panels 

2// HEMNES Coffee table 

3//  RANARP Work Lamp 

4// DVALA Duvet Cover 

5// RIBBA Frames 

6// FJADRAR Feather Pillow Insert 

7// FOTO Pendant Light 

8//  KOPPANG 3 Drawer Chest

9// MELLTORP Table

10// RANARP Pendant Light   

11// BERTA RUTA Fabric

12// RACKA Curtain Rod

Little Peanut Magazine

I was so thrilled when Little Peanut Magazine asked to feature Ev's nursery a few weeks back. They did an amazing job with the images and I just love how the article turned out! I would love for you all to stop by their magazine not only to see her nursery but also because its a really wonderful on line resource for stylish mama's like you, of course! 

Just too much goodness all wrapped in to one magazine...you will love it!

What to do with louvered doors

 I have a love hate relationship with louvered doors.   I like the free flow of air into closets,  but I dislike all the vertical lines and fussiness.   Many houses built in the eighties sport this type of door.  We have removed some of ours and replaced them with a contemporary looking slab door more in keeping with the streamlined look I like, and we decided to update others.  


And here's the last remaining set we have just waiting for a facelift.....

How to update louvered doors

Designing Home: Updated louvered doors 

All you need is 1/8 inch MDF or plywood  (some doors may have enough room for 1/4 in. ) and construction adhesive, (PL Premium is my favourite). 

 Lay the doors on a table or bench and measure the size of each panel area.  Cut the wood  to cover each  louvered panel section,  add a dot of adhesive every third slat next to the border and press the wood panel in place.  It should fit snugly, if not you can always caulk any seams before painting.

Use clamps or add something heavy to hold each panel in place and let it dry overnight.  Add new handles of your choice.

Reusing louvered doors for new projects 

When you remove the doors in favour of new ones you are left with two perfectly good doors that need a new life.  

Designing Home: Louvered bathroom cabinet

Here's the cabinet my husband made for our summer house  from the top half of two closet doors.  It nestles nicely into a small alcove in the main bath and holds things you don't want on display. It also gives you a great surface for changing vignettes.  We decided against hardware because you can easily open by using a louver as a pull.  It also gives it a more contemporary feel. And now what to make from the bottoms???

There are so many creative ideas for louvers on Pinterest.  I admit that many of them have a very country or beach feel to them,  but if you crave a more contemporary look there are ways to achieve it.

These are my top three faves:

Headboard 

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Painting the louvers  black  the headboard  a very contemporary feel that I quite like.

This treatment is much more country, but could be updated  if they were painted charcoal and the bedding was adjusted accordingly.


Sofa table 

The straight lines of this table make it suitable for any decor. Colour and what you put on it can automatically update the look.


Standing Shelves 

Jessica Monroe

If you wanted this to have a more contemporary feel you could paint shelves and sides the same colour and add plain crown to the top and bottom.

So many creative uses for louvers.  I love to see materials getting a new life!

New Entry and Front Room for Best Clients Ever

One of the reasons for starting my styling business is that I felt that there wasn't anyone out there for the "regular" gal like me. I would of loved to hire someone back when I was still trying to figure out my design style. Just for a bit of guidance so I had a plan of attack when it came to my home and how I wanted to execute the design. It actually would of saved me quite a lot of money in the long run instead of making so many of those small but worthless purchases on items that I ultimately didn't love or that didn't work with the design of my home. 

Thats why it makes me so happy to work with clients like #thebestclientsever who don't need an entire home makeover but instead just some tweaking with what they already own and all the while staying with in a reasonable budget.

This particular couple just wanted their once empty entryway to feel inviting and welcoming as you stepped in to their home but didn't want to spend a ton of money to do it. Thats where I came in. I helped them select items that would warm the space and make it feel cozy. One of the things the client knew they wanted was this awesome grasscloth wallpaper for the entry that we had chosen together...so good, right! I love the way the blue paper and the molding work with each other to make a bold statement as you walk in the front door.  Once the paper had been installed we needed some furnishings. Ikea and World Market are two of my favorite places to shop when I am looking for something modern but well with in a budget. 

Ikea Mirror $99

Ikea Rug $139

World Market Console $299 
(but $225 in this case because they always run a sale...like they are now!) 

World Market Chairs $319 for 2 (on sale for 35% off..$208!)

Once the main pieces were in place now all they needed was some quick styling. I switched out the clients vases for these lamps and added a basket, both from Tj Maxx. Most of the time when I style a clients home, I am shopping their home to see what else that I can use that they already own. I found this vase and added in some branches I picked from the woods down the road from their home to bring in a little texture. I love how the greenery is reflected in the mirror. 

Lamps $80 for 2 (similar here) 

Basket $13 (similar here)

The clients also had this front room that they really wanted to use but it just didn't feel inviting. 

The first thing I did was rearrange the furniture and pull it away from the walls to create a space for conversation. I added in the coffee table and the curtain panels.  The clients also happened to be  having a party the following day and needed some quick styling, so I headed over to the local Homegoods to see what I could find and here is what I came up with...I literally had an hour to pull this off! How I found pillows that coordinated with those chairs perfectly is beyond me!! Thank you HomeGoods! 

I love the way it all turned out but what makes me the happiest is that they love their new entryway  and front room and that they are actually using those spaces in their home everyday now. 

Best feeling ever! 

Designing an inviting home

Have you ever gone into someone's home  and it was so perfect in every way that you were almost afraid to sit down or move?

When everything looks new, co-ordinated and just so, you end up with an unwelcoming and often boring home.   Such spaces can make visitors feel confined and uncomfortable.  Nothing invites you in because when  everything is  perfectly matched objects become a blur.

 Is there a middle road?

What makes an interesting  and inviting space? Do you need a large budget to have a great home?

Fortunately you can have a very interesting space on a modest budget.  It just takes a little ingenuity.  As with most things in home decor what someone finds interesting  or inviting is dependent on their likes and dislikes;  I can only write about what I find interesting in a space.  Here are some of the characteristics I think   create interesting spaces.

It has a collected feel

That simply means that the home has objects that have been acquired over time and in different ways.   It could be objects collected from travels, antiques, personal items,  family heirlooms, original art etc.  The space does not look like you went out to several stores on one day and outfitted the place. It definitely does not look like a model home!

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The rooms are arranged for conversation

Nothing is as bad as going to someone's home and not feeling like you are meant to be there.  You can have that feeling for many reasons, but  it often boils down to not feeling part of the conversation or not having a comfortable place to sit or lay down a beverage.

I would love to spend an evening here chatting with friends.

 

There's a mix of old and new

Pristine is not that interesting.  Often when everything is new you don't appreciate any of it.  You need a yardstick against which you can appreciate the newness, and that means having some things that are older.  Another great thing about  old pieces is the sense of history and intrigue they create.  Visitors are left wondering why the pieces are so important that you've decided to keep them.  If you like very contemporary or modern decor, there is still a place to add interesting objects with a history.

Briggs and Solomon 

There's a mix of hand crafted and manufactured products 

In our world of mass production, it is so easy to forget the importance of the marks left by the hands of an artist and the presence of ideas in objects.  Having  art, fine craft and the hand made is like having a whole pile of interesting people over at one time.  There is a merging of ideas and various takes on the natural and man made world. Then there's the one of a kind aspect.

Designing Home/Margaret Ryall

Everything in this space is hand made by various artists.   Even the plant was grown locally.

The natural world is referenced  

Designing Home/Margaret Ryall

This unique vessel titled Barnacle by Anita Singh plays nicely with the glass bowl of sea urchins and wild ferns.  The nautilus design on the pillow supports the overall outdoorsy theme in this casual summer house.  The table in the photo above can be seen in the background. 

 Accessories are moved/changed 

Designing Home/Margaret Ryall

Another week and a different  wild flower arrangement  and vessel by Anita Singh on the little  hand painted table.  The objects and flowers add colour, texture and variety in forms to the vignette.  A painting by a local artist peeks out behind the chair, something new to be discovered.  Candles are always inviting. 

Thought has been given to space planning 

The room is arranged as well as it can be given the space available.  The layout is conducive to flow through the space.  There is an obvious visual flow as well as  defined traffic lanes.  There's variety in heights of objects and  textures. Even a monochromatic colour scheme needs contrast.

 Designing Home

There are surprises to be discovered

I love a bit of the unexpected.   There are all kinds of ways to achieve this.  It could be a colour that you might not think about pairing with your colour scheme.  It could be an a family heirloom, some of your child's artwork scanned and made into a book, a vase you made in high school art, the work of a friend,  a display of framed post cards from trips you've taken arranged in a grid, a piece of furniture in a place where you wouldn't expect to see it, etc.  The sky is the limit.

How pleasant these doilies look backed with blue and enclosed with white frames .  Such a great way to display family heirlooms.

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 I am intrigued by the chain hanging from the candlestick.  Does it have significance to the homeowner? Did a visitor drop it and it's placed here to keep it safe?  Did the homeowner change her mind just before going out?

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 Each piece has its own compartment that acts like a mini frame.  Together there is coherency in the pieces and it is very pleasing to the eye.  My favourite is the white doll.  Where did that come from?

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And why not end with glowing forsythia, bold in scale and vivid in colour? The arrangement look so great in front of a simple, repetitive composition of fish. 

What tricks do you use to create an inviting home?

Blogger Stylin Home Tour Fall 2015

Hello.

I'm so excited to start this Fall season off with a Blogger Styling Home Tour hosted by the always lovely and talented Lindsay from The White Buffalo Styling Co. I hope that you are joining me today from the Nesting Place where the Nester herself is sharing her gorgeous home with all of us! So head on over to these talented ladies amazing homes first if you haven't already and I will see you here shortly.......

Hey, you're back.....Welcome and Happy Fall!!

Over the past year I have strived to create a home where less means so much more. I want our home to feel calm and cozy. I want our surroundings to be free of clutter because I truly believe that keeps the mind clear. I want our home to serve us instead of being a house that owns us. This is my simple approach to the new season. Instead of bringing in "things" that represent the season we will bring in friends, family and neighbors to share our home and hearts with and celebrate the season together. 

Dining Room 

Our minimal dining space with little white pumpkins and some navy buffalo check pillows. 

Living Room 

I'm approaching my design this Fall with lots of whites, blacks and wood tones. Mixing in different elements and textures to keep the space light and bright but still feel cozy enough to sink in to the sofa for hours of laughing and hanging with friends while drinking lots and lots of warm cider. I'm so ready for cozy fires and hot drinks....if only the weather would realize its not supposed to be 90 degrees anymore!! 

Kitchen 

Entry

Master Bedroom

Office

Thank you so much for stopping by our home. I hope you will return and see all of the DIY projects we have been working on over the past few months. I have big things to show you all soon but until then I hope you will continue on this amazing Fall tour by stopping over to the sweet Julia's home at Cuckoo 4 Design and see all she has been working on to get her home ready for the season...Enjoy!!!