Purse Essentials:
Two-Sided Cord Organizer: I'm a sucker for labels
Kids Pet Care Kit- Dog:
Collapsible Linen Closet from Kangaroom:
Have any of you stumbled onto any good sites lately? Please share with the class.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Meet G.U.S.
While surfing the blog-o-sphere recently (hate calling it that) I found a link to a site, called "G.U.S." What is G.U.S. you ask? G.U.S. stands for Great Useful Stuff. Basically an organizers dream. Here are some of my favorites from their online catalog of goodies.
Purse Essentials:
Two-Sided Cord Organizer: I'm a sucker for labels
Kids Pet Care Kit- Dog:
Collapsible Linen Closet from Kangaroom:
Have any of you stumbled onto any good sites lately? Please share with the class.
Purse Essentials:
Two-Sided Cord Organizer: I'm a sucker for labelsKids Pet Care Kit- Dog:Collapsible Linen Closet from Kangaroom:
Have any of you stumbled onto any good sites lately? Please share with the class.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sconce Anyone?
How many of you have seen cute sconces in a store and thought, "I love those but I am not an electrician nor would I like to hire one to install them."? Or have you found sconces that plug into an outlet but then had the issue of them looking amateur and unpolished? I have been both of these people. Who doesn't like a good sconce? Crazy people who don't appreciate interior illumination, that's who! Enjoy the wonderful world of sconces for a moment.
Pottery Barn's Petit Industrial Sconce - $99
Pottery Barn's Madison Glass Pendant Sconce - $129
After purchasing a pair of cute sconces from Ikea a couple of years back I had the issue of them looking less than stellar due to the wonky-dangling cord. See exhibit A:
Notice the cords? You're being too kind, of course you see them. The outlet is way closer to the sconce on the left leaving the right sconce cord stretched to within an inch of its electrical life. Tragic.
They were never hung in the loft but found a home in our new master bedroom. We have been living with their shabbiness until just recently when I found the most wonderful product at Lowe's. It is a plastic cover that snaps over the cord and has sticky tape on the back. Here is all you need to get the job done: a level and a cord cover. They run about $5 each and are the best thing since Father of the Bride.
Look how much better! Eventually (maybe never) I will paint the cord covers to match the walls. Seamless.
Have any of you ever tried your hand at pseudo-electrical work? It doesn't sound safe at all. The word "sconce" sounds like "scones" to me. I could really go for a orange cranberry scone from Caribou Coffee now.
Pottery Barn's Petit Industrial Sconce - $99Pottery Barn's Madison Glass Pendant Sconce - $129After purchasing a pair of cute sconces from Ikea a couple of years back I had the issue of them looking less than stellar due to the wonky-dangling cord. See exhibit A:
Notice the cords? You're being too kind, of course you see them. The outlet is way closer to the sconce on the left leaving the right sconce cord stretched to within an inch of its electrical life. Tragic.
They were never hung in the loft but found a home in our new master bedroom. We have been living with their shabbiness until just recently when I found the most wonderful product at Lowe's. It is a plastic cover that snaps over the cord and has sticky tape on the back. Here is all you need to get the job done: a level and a cord cover. They run about $5 each and are the best thing since Father of the Bride.
Look how much better! Eventually (maybe never) I will paint the cord covers to match the walls. Seamless.
Have any of you ever tried your hand at pseudo-electrical work? It doesn't sound safe at all. The word "sconce" sounds like "scones" to me. I could really go for a orange cranberry scone from Caribou Coffee now.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Dine In
A couple of months ago I shared some pics of my dining room in progress. We are still lacking side chairs and need to reupholster the vintage chairs that sit at either end. I like to pretend that they are snooty and insult each others shabbiness in British accents.
Chair #1: "Why, dear fellow, if I looked as ragged as you I would bury myself in the yard."
Chair #2: "Oh, be a good chap and move thyself to the garage to save all of our eyes from your hideousness."
While the chairs have not been a priority I have been keeping a watchful eye out for replacements for the cafe chairs that live their now. These little chairs will later live around the game table in the family room.
Cafe Chair: "I'm just glad to be here. Please, pass the scones. I don't have arms."
Overstock revealed these to me today:
Forza Twill Mid-Century Style Accent Chair (set of 2!) for $339.99
Ronnie Wire Base White Chair (set of 2!) $146.99 While I heart Eames I doubt I will ever be able to afford or have the guts to spend the dough on originals. Lucky ducky, like most designer items there are knock-offs out in the world that are just as lovely with an even lovelier price tag. With the exception knock-off designer handbags. Just don't do it.
Something Mid-Century is definitely in order to match the time period of both our house and our dining table. Remind me to share the story of how this one-of-a-kind table and dresser came to live with us last year.
What is your favorite seat in the house?
Pillow Talk
Don't fret, kids we aren't getting HBO-rated around here. My adorable mama worked her little hands to the bone and finished the floor pillows for the nursery! I never knew I could be this excited about pillows. Actually, that is not true. All lies, design and bedding are some of my favorite things so there have been many occasions for me to be overly stimulated by mere throw pillows. Please, don't judge me too harshly.
Dorffette's floor pillows match her super bold Suzani curtains. The fabric choice may not scream, "BABY!!!" but I think it is perfect for our eggplant. She kicked me as I typed that vegetable reference- probably offended her, she can be touchy.
That crosses one more item off of the nursery to-do list (even though I didn't do it). Hope that you all have a great Thursday. Keep it real but keep it clean. Thanks for the pillows, Mom!
It's Curtains for You
And it's curtains for my living/dining and family rooms. Our formal living/dining room has a large picture window that faces out of the front of the house, putting us on display for the neighborhoods distress or disturbing pleasure.
We didn't want to fork over the cash for Levolor blinds to match the rest of the house so we went with funky Ikea polk-a-dot panels and sheers. Sorry sweet neighbors no more free shows, but please enjoy the view of our funky drapes.
I did a happy dance when I found these Umbra double-hang rods at Bed Bath & Beyond for a super steal at $24.99. That is a pretty stunning price for rods that are over 120". "Huzzah," I said to myself (out loud)! The rods were easy to install, you can see me demonstrate here, from when I installed the same curtain rod in the nursery. The curtains and sheers all came from our Swedish friends at Ikea and where purchased by my God Mama and actual Mama. Thank you!
Next, I moved about 30 feet across the house to the family room where we had an even larger window that was creepy at night. The TV would reflect in the glass after dark making it look as though there were strangers bouncing around the backyard. I'm not totally happy with the way that it turned out but it is a vast improvement. We'll fix it later (much later).
The challenge came when I realized that the family room window was not the same size as the living/dining room window, which I thought they were. Thank goodness I had made a trip to Tuesday Morning and found a longer single rod. It was great because it was long enough but it was not a double-hang rod, nerds. This was problematic due to the fact that this window needed sheers to close for privacy in the evenings, going back to the disturbing reflections we talked about earlier. I didn't have an extra rod for the sheers so I went ahead and hung the curtains and sheers together on the same rod. The brackets block the sheers from closing; this is what needs to be fixed. Long, long story short, here they are for now!
We didn't want to fork over the cash for Levolor blinds to match the rest of the house so we went with funky Ikea polk-a-dot panels and sheers. Sorry sweet neighbors no more free shows, but please enjoy the view of our funky drapes.
I did a happy dance when I found these Umbra double-hang rods at Bed Bath & Beyond for a super steal at $24.99. That is a pretty stunning price for rods that are over 120". "Huzzah," I said to myself (out loud)! The rods were easy to install, you can see me demonstrate here, from when I installed the same curtain rod in the nursery. The curtains and sheers all came from our Swedish friends at Ikea and where purchased by my God Mama and actual Mama. Thank you!
Next, I moved about 30 feet across the house to the family room where we had an even larger window that was creepy at night. The TV would reflect in the glass after dark making it look as though there were strangers bouncing around the backyard. I'm not totally happy with the way that it turned out but it is a vast improvement. We'll fix it later (much later).
The challenge came when I realized that the family room window was not the same size as the living/dining room window, which I thought they were. Thank goodness I had made a trip to Tuesday Morning and found a longer single rod. It was great because it was long enough but it was not a double-hang rod, nerds. This was problematic due to the fact that this window needed sheers to close for privacy in the evenings, going back to the disturbing reflections we talked about earlier. I didn't have an extra rod for the sheers so I went ahead and hung the curtains and sheers together on the same rod. The brackets block the sheers from closing; this is what needs to be fixed. Long, long story short, here they are for now!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Let There Be Light and Other Updates
The Dorffette's nursery is slowly making its way to being a complete nursery. Last week the Hubs took down the ceiling fan that had been hanging in nursery and moved it to our bedroom, as our fan decided to break during the week of 112 degree temps. In its place he masterfully hung this glorious Maskros light fixture from Ikea, seen here in the box...in the closet...where it has lived for nearly a month.
Before:
The assembly required looked daunting at first sight but it was really easy. For only $49 it could have been even harder to assemble and would have been worth it.
I love this light installation so much that it makes me wiggle inside. There were doubts about taking away the ceiling fan which is commonly a baby mesmerizer but the cool flower shadows that this light casts on the ceiling and walls at night is sure to please the little one. It pleases this not so little one to no end!
After:
We also got the new Levolor blinds installed on the windows as well. Hooray for productivity and power drills! Thanks to JcPenney "Power Hours" we got over $1,200 worth of custom blinds for only $350. It sounds cheesy but check their circulars in the Sunday paper, it can save you oodles. If you haven't shopped JcP in a while you need to check it out.
Another tedious task that I had been putting off was to line the drawers of our super fun and super refurbished furniture. It took a bit of time but it adds a pop of color that makes me smile when I open the drawers. It's like finding a surprise. Sort of like that last piece of gum in the packet that you thought was empty hidden in the bottom of your purse.
Supplies:
Before:
After:
Those are all of the updates for now. Here is what we lack:
Before:
The assembly required looked daunting at first sight but it was really easy. For only $49 it could have been even harder to assemble and would have been worth it.
I love this light installation so much that it makes me wiggle inside. There were doubts about taking away the ceiling fan which is commonly a baby mesmerizer but the cool flower shadows that this light casts on the ceiling and walls at night is sure to please the little one. It pleases this not so little one to no end!
After:
We also got the new Levolor blinds installed on the windows as well. Hooray for productivity and power drills! Thanks to JcPenney "Power Hours" we got over $1,200 worth of custom blinds for only $350. It sounds cheesy but check their circulars in the Sunday paper, it can save you oodles. If you haven't shopped JcP in a while you need to check it out.
Another tedious task that I had been putting off was to line the drawers of our super fun and super refurbished furniture. It took a bit of time but it adds a pop of color that makes me smile when I open the drawers. It's like finding a surprise. Sort of like that last piece of gum in the packet that you thought was empty hidden in the bottom of your purse.
Supplies:
Before:
After:
Those are all of the updates for now. Here is what we lack:
- Bedding - being made by sweet Auntie
- Chair and ottoman - ordered and waiting delivery
- Side table - still shopping for a deal
- Floor lamp - sitting at parents' house in Dallas
- Changing pad - sitting at parents' house in Dallas
Monday, June 20, 2011
Spotted
It's funny how one click on one blog can lead you down a rabbit-hole of fun. While perusing the blog, Lay Baby Lay this evening I saw an awesome pouf that was featured in today's mood board and clicked on a link to the Etsy seller. As I browsed the vast selection of eclectic patterned poufs I saw that one was constructed with none other than two of the very same fabrics from my nursery. Huzzah!
How cute, right? Now I wouldn't buy a matching pouf as I have already had large floor pillows made out of the large suzani pattern, but the Waverly Cross Section or a complimentary pouf might be just the trick. Loving the yellow Chevron and Ikat. Although, either of these would also look comfy-chic in my living room...
Keep up the great work AletaFae! Kids, keep following those links (if appropriate) you never know where they will lead you. I heart sounding like a closing line from Jerry Springer.
How cute, right? Now I wouldn't buy a matching pouf as I have already had large floor pillows made out of the large suzani pattern, but the Waverly Cross Section or a complimentary pouf might be just the trick. Loving the yellow Chevron and Ikat. Although, either of these would also look comfy-chic in my living room...
Keep up the great work AletaFae! Kids, keep following those links (if appropriate) you never know where they will lead you. I heart sounding like a closing line from Jerry Springer.
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