{Project}: Baby Dale Changing Table.

My cousin Amy and her husband Andrew are expecting baby #1, Layla Phoenix Dale, in December. This is the first baby of our side of the family for this generation and we're overjoyed! Amy and Andrew are going to make great parents and it has been fun watching them go through the process of preparing for Layla.

Amy has a very cool modern style for her downtown condo. Cutesy baby stuff just wasn't going to do for her so she's been on the look for a changing table that would mesh with her style. The other limiting factor was that the wall for the changing table is on the smaller side, meaning they needed something less than 33 inches (the room will remain a guest room so space is at a premium).

Always down for the "hunt," I joined Amy a few months ago to run around Summer Avenue in the hopes of finding something we could rehab. We had no such luck that weekend (but had a lot of fun!) and so since I was in on the quest, I kept the vision in the back of my head for when I was out antiquing. Goodness knows I love a good find.

So a few weekends ago my mom and I went to the Les Passes Stock Exchange (it runs every year from September to November and is a consignment sale to benefit charity) and hadn't found much. I was standing waiting for my mom and was checking out mirrors when I realized that the mirrors were leaning against an entertainment cabinet from the 60's:

You couldn't even really tell what it was - it was facing the wall and had mirrors propped up against it. But once I got it out in the open I could tell it was going to be a winner. And best part? $40 for this baby! It was scuffed up on the top and the back isn't wood (it is some sort of board with holes for cords) but I texted this picture to Amy to see if she liked it:

She said she did and we were off! The doors slide open and closed, which is good because Amy says she's putting diapers and other "not cute" (her words) things in it and she can just close the doors and let it be!

After a false start due to rain, Amy and Andrew came over to our place to paint it. Her nursery colors are based on this inspiration from Apartment Therapy:

(entire nursery from Apartment Therapy found here: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/post-140-155697)

So when it came to picking what color to paint the changing table, she looked to that inspiration and chose turquoise! With their spray paint clothes on (it is worth mentioning that Amy usually does not dress in monotone grey sweat attire - she is very cute!), they got down to business. First they sanded the changing table and took the doors and top off of it.

Then it was time to spray paint. They primed the piece inside and out:

Then gave the first coat of blue. It is important to do thin, even coats when spray painting. And patience is a virtue in life but is especially a virtue in spray painting. Wait for the coat to dry before putting on the next coat. And sand between coats. It really does help even though you feel like you're moving backwards.

As you can tell from the picture above, Andrew had the idea of putting the doors into a circle standing up to get into the groves of the doors.

Time for coat two! (or was it three? or four? we lost count...)

Then once the last coat of the outside was on, it was time to roll paint the inside with white. Andrew wants you to know it was his idea to do the inside white. And what a good idea!

Time for a photo opp! While waiting for the inside first coat to dry, getting a little silly... A good shot of Layla in the belly there!

And all done and ready to go home to the condo... sent it home disassembled for ease of transportation.

And for the final product! Amy texted me this picture of the changing table sans changing pad in its new spot. Amy's mom (my cousin Beth!) gave her the print above it - isn't it the sweetest?

Once the nursery is fully done, Amy (being the photographer that she is) is going to set up lights and do a shoot of the space to document so I'll definitely link y'all to her site once that happens.

Makeover projects are always fun, but they are even more fun when you're doing them with family for a little baby on the way! Proves that if you are patient and creative, nurseries don't have to be cheesy or break the bank.

Now for a little before and after...
                     

In family and fun,

{House Tour}: Dining Room, Updated.

One of my "house goals" for this year was to change out the generic dining room art from IKEA into something fun.  Little did I know that only 8 months later, I'd be revamping the art situation in the entire room.

The dining room has been once place where minor changes have happened over the past three years. Here's a progression of decor:

Day One: How excited was I to walk into this? I wish I had taken more pictures but I'm glad I remembered to take what I did. Everything was white. The carpet was in the living room and dining room. That chandelier was up that made everything darker. There were no can lights in the living room.

Christmas, 2009: We somehow thought it was a great idea to host a Christmas party less than two months after moving in. I can say it was great motivation for unpacking and we couldn't have done it without our parents. The carpet was still in but walls were painted, dining room fixture was changed (still dark as a cave, no can lights yet in the living room), and apparently I hadn't figured out how to adjust the color saturation on these photos because I can promise you this isn't an accurate read on the color. We also tried stuffing too much furniture in this space that really serves as a pass through as well as dining room.

Spring 2010: My brother helped us take up the carpet and my friend Eric came to help install shoe moulding. Wall color is more accurate, third door is still present (the door on the left that goes to the guest room), and we were still using the leaf on the dining table. This dining room is really fine except to me it isn't coordinated and it is cluttered. But better.

May 2011: Getting much better at accurately representing the color of the walls. Third door is gone, helping traffic flow and adding wall space. Downsized to the round table except when guests are over in the interest of space.

January 2012: Same details as before but this shot shows the IKEA artwork that I set a goal to move past this year. I loved it but it was time for some personality and individuality.

May 2012: I was so excited to order the etsy print of a whimsy San Francisco and create map art, documented here, but the scale of the room and the art was still bothering me. I also felt like the room lacked anchoring colors and was a little too circus-y for even me.

So here's where we are currently. Thanks to my parents' birthday gift to me, the sideboard from the kitchen moved into the dining room. In addition, I made a pinterest-inspired piece of photo art that I feel has a much better weight for that wall to hang above the sideboard.

Having moved the two red tin tiles that were there originally, I got my wheels churning on an idea to balance out the other side, which led me to this idea:

The photo canvases were from our photo shoot from Christmas two years ago with Amy Dale and had been in the den hanging. We also moved the tree paintings (an etsy find, by Erin's Modern Art) from the kitchen to the dining room since the new hutch went in the kitchen. I love them in the dining room because more people see them.

 So here's where we stand now. Not perfect but I feel much better about it. New art, less clutter.

I still have to move the green small table out once I unload all of the glasses from the bottom so ignore it. And also ignore the dogs' pig stuffed toy. If a dog isn't photobombing a picture, their toy is.

So just for reference, here's a before and after:

With each detail that we tweak, I feel more and more like the house represents our personality. Are there things that can be done to the dining room still? Absolutely. And that is what is so fun about this. 

In making a house feel like home,

{Decor}: So hot right now.

Y'all know I love going antique shopping. Whether it is a big Sheffield's trip or popping in the stores by my house, it is just such a de-stresser and fun time.

Well in the past few weeks I've been in a few different antique malls and I've noticed a trend. Really it started getting "hot" last year, as I saw bloggers start to incorporate them into their decor. But this trend has hit the antique malls, making it a for sure thing. So what is this trend? Bar carts!

A bar cart is a small, tiered, open cart (sometimes with wheels, sometimes without) that is usually used to stock your bar. I noticed about 5 in the Summer Avenue Antique Warehouse Mall the other day. Here are three of them.

First, these two were side by side and looking back I totally should have gotten the one on the right:

Here's why - check out this presh bar cart project from Keller Creative:

Read all about how she re-did the cart here.

There was also this great green one that I could totally see being a stand in the kitchen, a nightstand, or a bar cart:

That one was my favorite, I love-love-loved it. But alas, I passed on it.

Inspired, I browsed around Pinterest and started this pin board about bar carts:

If you like any of these bar carts, definitely go check out the board here. You don't have to be on Pinterest to see it.

So I'm noticing that I love metal bar carts and I love pops of color on them. I thought back to the bar cart I saw at IKEA back in July:

I just love this guy. How cute would he be in a dining room with dishes on it or by a bed as a nightstand or in a kid's room? I hear they sell out of things things like hot cakes at IKEA and I can see why.

So next time you're out (at say Sheffields - they had the most precious yellow metal cart) and you see a fun bar cart, do the hip thing and buy it. Everyone else seems to be doing it.

In design trends and pops of color,

{House}: Master Bedroom Update

Isn't it funny how the last room in the house to get any decor seems to be the master bedroom? It is certainly the case for us. When we last left off, our master bedroom was mostly decorated:

Since then we've added a straw yellow body pillow on the bed and really liked the pop of yellow. From there I have decided to incorporate more yellow into our brown/blue/red scheme going on in the room. I've made a little board to illustrate our plan:

I love the ginkgo pictures my pal Ellen took and plan to put them elsewhere in the house. I want to replace the pictures with light, bright items like the Julia Child print I found on etsy. I also want to make a pennant banner out of the straw yellow buffalo check fabric and then frame some of the fabric as well. I also want to attempt some paint chip art in one of the frames as well.

I think with these little pops of yellow in the frames, the bedroom will be more "us" - fun and cute. Even grown-ups can have fun decor! (Am I a grownup? I don't feel like it ...)

In ideas and inspiration,

{Browser Window Shopping}: IKEA inspirations.

It is no secret that I love IKEA. I even wrote an open letter to the Swedes themselves attempting to persuade them to come to Memphis (by the way - no one has contacted me about this very serious request).

As I prepare to visit Atlanta next week for some training for school, you better believe I'm prepping myself for a trip to IKEA. So in the spirit of the visit, I've been stalking their website and getting ideas and inspiration from their pictures. Here are a few of my favorites, with commentary (naturally).

(I screenshot these off the IKEA website, which is why they have strange pluses and such on some of them)

 
What I love: glass door wardrobes & stenciled walls.

What I love: Am I too old for a lofted bed? Probably... would be perfect in a teen's room. Also, that rug - so chic.

What I love: Built ins with frosted doors, red dresser, yellow door.

What I love: Butcher block counter, rails with kitchen prepware hanging, cabinet in the corner with glass doors.

What I love: Can I just have this whole kitchen? Love the open doorway between the kitchen and dining room with the glass top?

What I love: plants in the window sill, baskets on the shelf under the cabinets, large subway tile on the walls.

What I love: the picture rail above the dining table.

What I love: the red benches and chalkboard wall with hooks for bags.

What I love: black glass front cabinet for all our dishes, open to the kitchen.

What I love: a station for my sewing machine with inspiration boards.

What I love: color on the wall (reminds me of SW's Lemon Verbena), entry station for shoes and such, mirror hung lengthwise with lights above, gallery wall on left.

What I love: another lofted bed (again.. too old?) but this one has a precious reading nook under it.

What I love: when I was a kid, I would have loved this coloring station with ledge for displaying my art.

What I love: can I say everything? I love the porch, the pennant bunting, the chaise loungers, the umbrella.

What I love: the splash of green on the wall in an otherwise white kitchen, the table coming out from the wall seamlessly since it is painted the same color.

What I love: the media center, the amount of seating in the living room, the large coffee table, the gallery wall in the dining room, and the way the kitchen is open but not open to the living space.

What I love: the amount of light is wonderful but really the green open bookshelf system sells this picture for me.

What I love: this wall color is soothing and I love the open shelves on the side.

What I love: this couch, the pillows, those bookshelves.

What I love: those polka dotted curtains, the way the "library" is open to the den, the blue color on the walls, the lights on top of the shelves.



As you can see, IKEA can be a place of great inspiration for home decor. I've found the store to be overwhelming and the website shopping unhelpful, but if you have patience and innovation, you can really make something special for your home!!

Now about IKEA coming to Memphis....