ge-ge-ge-ge-genius

Don't ask why I stuttered. Just thought it would make something that is genius sound a little thug, and a little more legit.

{ Lego covered IKEA table via Toki Woki }

I love how this wraps up DIY, budget-friendly, modern art, practicality, conversation starter, and (replacement of a need for) a coffee table book all in one amazing package!

Follow the link to Toki Woki's blog for all the instructions on how he did it--we are talking nitty gritty details, here. Very helpful if you really want to tackle this project!

monday's muse #6

{ photo taken at Tiffany's at the Beverly Center in LA. Designer unknown. }

I am thoroughly obsessed with this chandelier. It is like an epic explosion of vintage diamond broaches.

In love.

Maybe someday I will have a fabulous house and this will be in the bathroom. 

Yeah. The bathroom. Because I will have even cooler stuff in the bigger rooms ;]

What will be in your fabulous house? Dream it up this week!

Monday's muse #3

Turquoise color schemes at home...

{ photos via ermoumag }

This makes me crave spring. LOVING the graphics mixed with the fresh colors.

I especially love Tiffany blue with cranberry red. I almost went with that combo for our wedding colors. We opted for navy and yellow. I am still definitely drawn to the loveliness of the blue and red, though.

Happy Monday!

Hilarious and kind of awesome

Mash-up chandelier

I am SO excited about this.

I just discovered an amazing interior design firm in Hollywood called spacecraft. 

They happen to share a space with hub's new commercial agent (woo!). I went to a quick meeting with him, and had to hold my hand over my mouth to avoid embarrassing him with my ecstatic squeals. 

Their office is so. freaking. cool.

I wanted to take pictures so badly, but hubs wouldn't allow (read: embarrassment). However, I found a photo online of an office party they had, that shows off my FAVORITE element of the waiting room--the mashup chandelier.

{ ShopEatSleep }

Look beyond the paper lanterns, and drink in that amazing garage-sale-finds-separated-at-birth-and-now-thrown-together-perfectly chandelier.

Ahh! I want it!

The best part is, I could totally MAKE it!

Next exciting thought... we move in t-minus 10 days, and our new apartment has vaulted ceilings. 

*holding in squeals!*

progress

I'm so proud of myself for knocking out of the items on my to-do list before we move (see it here)

I painted our table:

 Remember the before?

 After!

I sewed new pillow cushion covers:

Recognize the fabric?

I'm telling myself that it's not too matchy-matchy, and was a resourceful choice :]

Next on the list... painting the bookcase. This will be quite an ordeal, but I have all my equipment:

I also just posted a craigslist ad for our end tables, started a "Goodwill" pile and and hubs started going through our stupid filing cabinet of randomness.

Progress!

Redecorating on the cheap

We are moving next month--five blocks away and $325 less per month. Holla. So while I hate the act of moving, I am excited about decorating a new space. And by decorating, I mostly mean re-arranging and re-purposing what we already have.

My immediate list for our new apartment is:

1) Paint our dinette table (if you could call it that?) black

2) Use it's table cloth elsewhere, to cover up some clear storage bins

2) Recover our couch pillows in black and gray, to better coordinate with the coffee table, tv table, and wall art that we already have

3) Ditch our cool-but-have-served-their-purpose 1960's mosaic end tables that don't match much, and won't fit in our new living room

4) Keep our walnut colored furniture and other decor in close vicinity of each other, and do the same for our black furniture and knick-knacks, to look more intentional with our decorating

My "eventually" list for our new apartment is:

5) Possibly sew a long curtain to cover the exposed shelving in the hallway (we'll have to see how it looks with all our stuff unpacked)

6) Make one of these book page wreaths. So Anthropologie. Love it.

{ Living with Lindsay book page wreath tutorial }

Today, I started on #1 by painting our dinette table that you may remember from DIY dining chair revamp. Look forward to a post about that soon :]

Uber Tiny, Uber cool

This makes me feel better about our little one bedroom apartment.

This Seattle apartment is 182 square feet.

Read the whole article here.
**Thank you, thank you to Bill and Meadow for the tip on this article! Intelligent and interesting people who exude intelligent and interesting things!**

This also makes me feel like I have been horribly un-creative in coming up with ways to maximize space.

I could never live like this... but I am definitely inspired to think a little harder about my uses of space. What do you think?

my dream home

Last week I made a new friend here in LA, Kelly (yay!). Kelly has been house sitting at a home in the Los Angeles area. We decided to go hang out here to make dinner (homemade pizza with Trader Joe's ingredients... delicious), drink wine, and hot tub. It was divine. But this was all after I picked my jaw up off of the floor from taking in the absolutely impeccable interior design of this house. This place was my dream home. I could move in today and not want to change a thing--except maybe swap out their family photos for mine.

I won't try and put the perfection into words. Let your own jaw drop too. (Be prepared for a ton of pictures.)

Living room:

 

  {This was my favorite space. I couldn't stop staring or talking about it!}

 Dining room/attached to Living Room:

{One of my other favorite spots in the house}

Kitchen:

 {Umm... how many favorites am I allowed?}

 

 {Amazing storage--I love old houses}

 {Another favorite--I love this little niche!}

{I've never seen this done before as a counter top, and I totally love it}

Hallway:

 

 {Wainscoting abounds in this house, and I LOVE it. 

I especially love the no-fear color choices}

Bedroom:

 {It's hard to see, I know, but check out the fabric covered headboard. 

I love the shape, and the olive tweed!}

 {So serene and homey feeling}

Playroom:

 

 

 

 {Colorful, whimsical, retro, and beautiful. I love it.}

Kid's bedroom:

 {Big, bold, floor to ceiling statement curtains were a common theme in the house.}

This wasn't even everything. It was dark outside, so you are missing out on the back porch (picture low benches with a slew of colorfully printed, mismatched shape and sizes throw pillows, vintage lanterns, and zen succulents), the back yard (a huge old mirror hanging on the fence above a sofa, raised stone fire pit, hot tub, umbrella covered picnic table), the guest house (still being decorated, but comparably adorable as the main mouse), and the exterior (Mexican style stucco painted chocolate brown, a front gate, a front lawn enclosed in manicured 15 foot tall bushes, and an adorable bungalow-esque overhang with pillars around the front door).

So do you understand my love affair?

What does your dream home look like?

deal alert!

I love silhouette art, don't you?

This deal from Cut Arts via Groupon can be enjoyed by anyone, not just LA residents.

The artist, Karl Johnson, is the real deal. His work has been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, O magazine, Domino, Elle Decor, Country Living, InStyle, Traditional Home, and many more.

Here is some of his work:

 

{ photos all found at Cut Arts website }

The deal is this: $25 worth of services for $12 (you can use this to cover a basic 5x7, or have $25 go toward a bigger, fancier order)

Snag it by April 18 at midnight!