This is the kind of space I wish I could pull off, its so retrained and has such great impact.  I would never be to edit to this pared back level.  But perhaps I can take some notes from the styling of the altar table against the black wall which I think is just perfection.

See the full house which is from Real Living here, and more of photographer Sharyn Cairns work here.

Okay, so today I promised a tutorial of sorts for a DIY Gallery Art Wall project. Well, it turns out that one of the most important tools needed to complete or better yet, start the project, was missing as my kids LOVE to play with my "tools". Am I the only one that happens to?

 

So, it's off to the art store for me tomorrow to get EVERYTHING I need to complete the fun project. I am determined to have it posted here by Friday. Determined.

 

In the meantime, I wanted to share something SUPER DUPER exciting with you!

 

I've been talking a lot lately about our rental and how hard it's been for me to get in the mood to decorate it, decide what style I wanted to go with, textures, colors, placement of furniture, etc. It's honestly been truly frustrating for me as it's MY house. I can walk into someone else's home and tell them what to do...easy. I can tell them what colors will work and which ones won't. I can tell them which patterns complement the others and which ones don't but when it comes to our living space lately I've had a bit of a styling block. Tell me it happens to the best of us.

 

Anyhow, if you guys haven't met Kirsten from Simply Grove do not wait any longer to experience this chica's blog and all of her amazing gifts in design. She is truly amazing.

Image via Simply Grove

 



She is now offering an e-course through Skillshare. {There's another new site for you to check out} And, get this...not only is it only $19.00 but it's 25% off through Thursday. Yes, that is right. Only $14.00. The class begins in November. But, I wouldn't wait that long to sign up.
 

 

 

This is just a taste of some of her work. Pretty awesome, huh?

 

I've had the privilege of meeting Kirsten and she is one of the sweetest people I have met. I'm pretty sure you will feel the same during this course! I cannot wait to spend some virtual time with her and glean some wisdom that will hopefully pull me right out of this "dead place" I have been in for so long now!

 

So, head on over to Simply Grove and sign up for the class and hang out there for a while for a bit of inspiration.

 

If you've got something to share, I heard Skillshare is a pretty amazing place to do it!

 

The two cool things? Well, Simply Grove and Skillshare, of course! Now...go forth and register!

 

Looking forward to being your classmate!

 

Happy Wednesday!



Last week we talked about sofa styling, so this week I thought it would be fun to look at bed styling. There are lots of options out there, but I prefer a pared-down look (no surprises there). I secretly hate making the bed, but after years of my parents forcing me to, it's now a compulsion. Plus, who doesn't love climbing into a nicely made bed at the end of the day? That said, if styling the bed takes longer than 30 seconds, it's not going to happen every day (and my husband would probably refuse to make it that way, anyway).

Here are several inspiring beds that manage to look great and seem like they'd be pretty easy to make:

via Design Sponge

via Emily Henderson

OK, folding and positioning the throw blanket would definitely take longer than 30 seconds, but it looks really good and I would do it for my cat, who would obviously think it was the world's best napping spot.

via Emily Henderson

Same.

via Design Sponge

via A Cup of Jo

via Design Sponge

via the brick house


So, did your parents force you to make your bed every day? And how many throw pillows are too many?

I know a lot of people like their sofas packed with pillows (I've tried the look, too) and while it looks nice, there's the pesky little problem of how to actually sit on those sofas. The summer issue of Emma Magazine has a great feature on sofa styling by Kirsten of Simply Grove. Unlike similar styling guides I've seen, I like that Kirsten's looks are all stylish and functional (well, depending on your feelings about the practicality of white sofas).

Here are several examples of the 'less is more' approach that I love:

via HGTV

via Lonny Mag

via Domino Mag

via From Scandinavia with Love

 

via Domino Mag

 



via Style at Home

I also love the tucked blanket look. It's practical and a great way to add an additional punch of colour, pattern or texture to your sofa, while still leaving plenty of room to sit.

via Emily Henderson

via Lonny Mag

I know this one violates my pillow rule, but I love the plaid throw too much not to share :)

Here are a couple of other helpful sofa styling guides - whether you like lots of pillows or only a few:

• This sofa styling how-to from the Glitter Guide offers great advice on mixing colours and patterns, and I love their use of throws, too.
• Sofa styling tips from Kate of Centsational Girl that also take your rug into account.

Way back in August I shared that I wanted to make some tweaks to our bedroom, including repainting our $10 yard sale nightstands and switching up the hardware. I finally got around to it a few weeks ago, but I was waiting to take pictures until I sorted out our lamp situation. Turns out the lamps I bought weren't right for the room (not to worry, they were an inexpensive Kijiji find and my mom wants them), so I shopped my house and came up with something I think I'm happy with.

 
I stole the lamp and alarm clock from the guest room. The lamp is pretty tiny, but perched on a stack of magazines it's just the right height. The dried hydrangeas are from my mother-in-law, the glass votive was a Christmas gift from my mom, and I found the vintage tray at Value Village a couple years ago.

                                                                                                                      
The colour is C-I-L's Cinnabar. It's an orange-y coral and I just love it. Totally makes me smile every time I see it and it really warms up the room at night. Instead of replacing the hardware, I decided to gild what I already had. The difference is incredible. I went from hating the hardware to absolutely loving it. #gildingchangedmylife.

                                                                                      
Here's how my side of the bed looks now. I'm still playing around with the styling on Adam's side of the bed, but it's very close.

I have one more DIY project planned for the bedroom and I'm hoping I receive a certain piece of art on my Christmas wish list (hint, hint family) so I can take some updated shots of the room to share with you (I've made a few other tweaks around the room, so there's lots to share).

I'm much happier with the direction of the room now. I unintentionally ended up basing the room's colour palette on the huge vintage map of Iceland hanging next to Adam's side of the bed (a souvenir from our honeymoon). Lots of neutrals with some oranges, blues and a tiny bit of deep purple. It's still coming together, but hopefully I'll have a reveal 2.0 to share with you soon!