Best of the Week

What a week! I’ve feel like a whole year has passed. Really, it’s just a lot of life happening all at once. That’s life though, right? The ups, the downs, and everything in between. As the young Indian hotel clerk says in the trail for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: “Everything will work out in the end. If it hasn’t worked out, it’s not the end.”

This week:



I was really inspired by this great mood board from fellow Charlotte design blogger, Andrea. She is a designer and DIYer who moved here recently, like me. Check out her cool projects and inspiration on her blog, SpaceSays.



Caitlin Wilson Textiles.





Surfing through some links on Laura Casey Interiors, I discovered this link to Caitlin Wilson Textiles. I’d never heard of this star design blogger but I was delighted to discover her new line of textiles! They are so beautiful and the blue, pink, and linen colored chinoiserie inspired floral gave me ideas for a great living room scheme. A complete set of swatches is available for $20 and comes prettily packaged in a beautiful pink box.

I finished my lamps here, read the YA bestseller The Hunger Games, and tested out a new Android app called Eggdrop with much success.

I also want to take a moment to say something about SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act. This is a bill that will effect every blogger out there. See this great post about what the bill means for you and me. Sign a petition, call your reps, and get the word out to your readers and fellow bloggers! This is OUR internet.

Have a great holiday weekend everyone! See you next week!

Project: Lamps

Remember these?

Two lamps that were a seriously ugly shade of plood (um, plastic+wood)? Well I sanded them:

Taped them up and spray painted them high gloss black with Krylon’s paint and primer in one. Super smelly but really pretty on. I’m thinking of trying their Cherry Red next… but I digress!

Here are the lamps now:

A close up of the tops (they need touch ups):

And the bases:

I still don’t have shades. I’m leaning towards a textured neutral to balance out the gloss of the bases. This one by Thomas O’Brien for Target caught my eye last weekend:

It’s kinda hard to tell but it looks like linen and has smart looking black piping across the top and bottom. I think the drum shape would look good with the lamp bases, don’t you?

So! That’s one down… many, many, many more to go. I’ll pop up an update when I find the perfect shades. See you tomorrow! Have a great day. 🙂

They Call Me Mellow Yellow…

Quite rightly! Seriously this chair was kind of fugly when I bought it but it was comfortable and looked like it’d be easy to update. OK, also it was dirt cheap. In fact, it might have been cheaper than dirt! Anyway, you all (patient, lovely people aren’t you?) know how long it has taken me to get this chair together but there is an AFTER (at last) for this BEFORE.

You can see my progress report here. I broke down and bought a staple gun. I spray painted the frame yesterday in Krylon’s Satin Nickel. It’s really pretty. Stapling the fabric was a two man job (thanks Kirsten Marino-DeShields!) but it got done. I forgot to staple the fabric from the back on the outside pieces so you can see the wonky staples. I decided I’m going to hot glue some yellow ribbon over it.

Whooo! I’m so glad that I got this project finished. It has been a longer process than expected… but a rewarding one!

Have a great Wednesday everyone and enjoy Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Totally Inspiring Room

Could a room be any room be sunnier looking than this ode to yellow? It’s a nice shot of happiness during this season of cold, gray, rainy and snowy weather. This is the kind of room that cheers the spirit no matter what the season.

Some standout points of interest for me: the hits of black throughout that keep the room grounded, little bits of shine, and the flame orange art on the far wall. The whole space looks comfortable, happy, and pulled together. It’s definitely a totally inspiring room!

On a side note: the office chair has a fresh coat of Krylon’s Satin Nickel spray paint on it’s frame. In a bit I’m going to head over to Walmart to get a staple gun so I can get the fabric on… hopefully today!