What's your Style, Summer 2009

The last time I picked a room for Alek's challenge, I went for a bathroom. This time I'm really loving this office.

{ via Design*Sponge }

It has fun prints (my new fav element), organization, and neutral walls with bright accents. I really would love to have the chair in my place too. I call it organization with a Pop!

If you had to chose one picture that defines your style, what would it be?

Visit Alek's page to play along!

Detached and Relaxed

These past two weeks have gotten the best of me. With school starting, the end of summer vacation, and a lot more to do, I have been exhausted. I still have some lingering projects to complete and no time to do them. After a day of cleaning up glue, crying, potty breaks, and silly kids, I just want to prop my feet up and watch some boob tube with the hubs. But I still have the urge to be creative on my own terms. The distractions are endless. Laundry, dinner, grad school, etc. I need a secluded space to have some peace and quiet. These may just do it (if I had a back yard to put one in...)

{ The Mod Pod- a cute little corner

nook. }

{ The Craftsman-clean lines and great windows. }

{ The Industrial- my favorite. }

{ The Minimalist- simple and easy. }

I wouldn't mind it if any of these dropped in my back yard sometime soon.

I need some 'me time' STAT!

Favorite Kind of Clean

Clean is my middle name. It is also the source of my most major ODC. I am good at having my home 'picked up' at all times, but getting the grime out sometimes takes me some time. But when it gets done, I live by these wonderful little helpers:

My Favorites:

1. Method's Glass, Stainless, and Granite cleaning cloths. (They also make one for wood too.)
2. Stainless Steel cleaner
3. All Purpose Cleaner, in Go Naked
4. Best in Windows, Mint glass cleaner
5. Little Bowl Blue, toilet bowl cleaner

I hate to admit that I am still hanging on to my Clorox when it comes to cleaning around the toliet. I just really need the comfort of bleach when faced with all that involves the white throne. And I am trying to finish up my last can of Scrubbing Bubbles for cleaning the shower before I switch to a greenier option there too. I obviously prefer Method, just because they are easy, and they smell great- hello mint glass cleaner! Because I love my hand soap by JR Watkins so much, I can't wait to try their all purpose cleaner too!

As far as tools go, I use the Method clothes for windows, stainless steel, and granite counter tops, and a cheap-o sponge for everything else. But at a recent Target trip I spied these guys:

Again, I can't wait for the current sponge to give way to the green bamboo variety! Natural products are going to take over one day, which means they will hopefully get cheaper. But unfortunately it is still a ways a way... sorry wallet.

What are your favorite grim-busters?

Favorite Combo: Grass + Lantana

Here is our whiskey barrel full of purple fountain grass and white lantana. It is the perfect combo for height, color, and trailing plants. Both of these plants prefer bright, full sun so they are thriving in the back of the house. I'll probably spend the weekend out in the yard dividing MORE lamb's ear. The stuff just won't stop growing!...

Design Star Stunner

I have been DVRing this season of HGTV's Design Star and this past week's white room challenge was both amazing and atrocious. The designers were given a white room with a couch, 2 tables, and one bookcase. They were furnished 2 cans of paint and $1000 to spend at a grocery store. One contestant actually copied a design from a previous season, one didn't even finish and another just when crazy with paint. But When Nathan's gem was put on the screen I was smitten.

{Chandelier- orange slices, wall stripes- milk, floor-oatmeal}

This room is just genius. With only grocery store finds & paint, he created an edgy and beautifully modern-art-esque room. The words written on the couch and the pop of the orange, just amazing... although I would have liked a different shade of blue on the tables. Who thinks of dripping milk down a wall? A design star, that's who! a.m.a.z.i.n.g. Click here to see all the rooms from the challenge.

It makes me think, what is the strangest thing you have put into your home for the love of design?

Image courtesy of HGTV

New Neighbors and Growers

While waiting for the furry one to do his business, I found this guy on a nearby tree.

Don't you just love symmetry?

But I really wanted to give you an update on my Madison Jasmine. I planted these vines a while back and they are growing like crazy! They are taller than I am and are quickly wrapping around the columns that will be their new home. I give them lots of water and I temporarily staple them to train them up the columns. So far, so great!

Even my ivy is thriving around its trellis.

You have any new sprouts or visitors of the insect variety?

I can't believe it!

I will be back at the workplace promptly at 7:30am tomorrow morning for the first Faculty Meeting of the 2009-2010 school year. The past two months have FLOWN by. It began with a pergola, followed by a 4th of July shin-dig, then headed outside for some landscaping, then back inside for a guest room re-do, and finished with Erik and I on the couch watching some TV and relaxing. This summer has been one of the busiest, but a good one.



I'm looking forward to having a schedule again and actually dressing before noon. Don't get me wrong, I love the R & R of the summer, but it can get old, and I think if I come up with one more project to do Erik will flip! So here's to the Back to School Madness! Welcome back traffic, soccer practice, and packing lunches!

{image from here}

Must Have: JR Watkins

On one of my many trips to Target I stumbled upon this wonderful line of products. I am a sucker for packaging and this company wins hands down for best designs, but I also chose to purchase from their line because JR Watkins boasts that they are:

Committed to being America's most trusted natural products company, Watkins adheres strictly to the same quality standards set forth by its founder J.R. Watkins. J.R. Watkins Natural Apothecary line of personal care contains only natural, environmentally friendly ingredients from renewable resources, avoiding chemicals like parabens, sulfates, phthalates and more and is one of very few lines to be certified by the Natural Products Association.

I picked up their Aloe and Green Tea Hand soap, and I'm in love! The scent is subtle yet refreshing. I must admit that it is hard to stray away from Method, but change is always good once in a while. And with more and more choices when it comes to green product lines, the more we use them, the more likely that Clorox, and other harsh chemical cleaners, will leave the shelves for good!

All the Little Things

Here's a final look at the details of the freshened up guest room...

{ the BEFORE }

{ A fun print purchased from Etsy }

{ Mirror- Target, Lamp shade- Ikea }

{ Vintage camping prints from Old School Stationers via Etsy }

{ Light, rug, curtains- Ikea }

Everything has finally come together. The only little thing left is to repaint the dresser and update hardware, but it's not a have-to-do-at-this-minute type of thing. So I'm taking a break from redecorating. I can't wait for the next guest to come and enjoy the room!

How-To: Applique Pillow

{ courtesy of designmilk.com }

The guest room bed needed something red. The red striped rug was lonely. I wanted to incorporate red on to the bed, so I decided that a pillow was in the cards. I have been looking on Etsy and at various other sights, but adorable pillows like the one above are very pricey. Cheap-sake on alert! Make it myself I say!

I had some leftover fabric from the outdoor curtains I did for the back porch, so I whipped up a pillowcase. Next I search the web for a bird silhouette. I found this lovely and printed it out.

Then I traced it onto a piece of stiff felt. I chose the stiffened felt because it is easier to cut crisp lines on. Cutting out the bird is next.

To secure the applique to the fabric I used some fusible webbing- a nifty material that uses heat to bond fabric together.

Now that the bird was secured to the fabric I stitched it on with white thread, tracing around the edges. I must say it wasn't the best job, but it was my first time, no too bad.

After I closed the pillowcase, the red bird was reunited with it's bed mates. The pillows behind are actually just pillow inserts from other pillows I had lying around. They had ugly covers so I just took them out and put them on the bed. They have a more natural feel.

The bed now has its red pop and the rest of the room has come together nicely. Head to the next post to see the details!