Blog — "decor"
The Year of the House
As we move from the outdoors to the indoors in cold weather times, Andrew and I have started thinking about way to make this house what we've really wanted. After living her for a year and a half, we realized that many of the things we had hoped to do right away are still lingering. The half bath tiles were never ripped out, our upstairs is still painted entirely white, and our scuzzy Ikea sofa with dog drool all over it and a faded arm is less than charming. So Andrew has dubbed 2012 "The Year of the House."
The first deed was done when we spent an afternoon in the DC area and picked up this desk.
Then, over the New Year's weekend when we ordered this sleeper sofa and chairs.
The one distressing part about this is that we're not entirely sure the sofa will fit into our basement. Andrew did all sorts of calculations and thinks it'll work, but there's still a part of me that's very worried. On an upside, the chairs will definitely fit, with one of them going into my new studio. We've decided that since we don't have that many guests, we'd opt for a sleeper sofa in the basement and use the second bedroom as a studio and reading room. So it's out with this room, and in with some new decor-- already. Though we're planning on keeping some of the elements.
Before choosing a sofa, we decided to take care of the ugly black one inch square tiles that are in the half bath and chose out new cork flooring. I love the look of cork floors and since it's pretty pricey, we decided the small space of the half bath would be the perfect place to put it to add some light, warmth, and keep the cost low.
Finally, this past weekend we picked out paint for our studio and bedroom.
The transition begins this Friday when the Salvation Army comes to get our old couch and mattress. This coming weekend will be a painting fest, for sure in the studio room, in anticipation for the arrival of our sofa and chairs.
Within the first ten days of 2012, I would most definitely say this has become the Year of the House. Looking forward to these transitions and I'll be sure to share photos as progress is made. What sorts of home projects are you working on this year?
The first deed was done when we spent an afternoon in the DC area and picked up this desk.
Then, over the New Year's weekend when we ordered this sleeper sofa and chairs.
The one distressing part about this is that we're not entirely sure the sofa will fit into our basement. Andrew did all sorts of calculations and thinks it'll work, but there's still a part of me that's very worried. On an upside, the chairs will definitely fit, with one of them going into my new studio. We've decided that since we don't have that many guests, we'd opt for a sleeper sofa in the basement and use the second bedroom as a studio and reading room. So it's out with this room, and in with some new decor-- already. Though we're planning on keeping some of the elements.
Before choosing a sofa, we decided to take care of the ugly black one inch square tiles that are in the half bath and chose out new cork flooring. I love the look of cork floors and since it's pretty pricey, we decided the small space of the half bath would be the perfect place to put it to add some light, warmth, and keep the cost low.
Finally, this past weekend we picked out paint for our studio and bedroom.
The transition begins this Friday when the Salvation Army comes to get our old couch and mattress. This coming weekend will be a painting fest, for sure in the studio room, in anticipation for the arrival of our sofa and chairs.
Within the first ten days of 2012, I would most definitely say this has become the Year of the House. Looking forward to these transitions and I'll be sure to share photos as progress is made. What sorts of home projects are you working on this year?
Fall Fashion and Decor Round-Up
Heidi Shenk "decor" "fashion" "home"
With the start of school delayed yet another day, I had the chance this morning to take in part of my fall fashion magazine issues. Last night was a beautiful, fall-like night which is rare for August in Baltimore. Fall is my favorite season because the temperatures are always just right and the colors just gorgeous. If we're lucky, we'll have another beautifully long fall season ahead. Here are some things that make me think fall.
Long sleeve shirts and sweatshirt weather. This seems perfect to throw on when the night air gets cool.
A coral take on the nautical stripes.
A rich colored, crocodile-embossed handbag.
Fall-like colors for the bedroom.
Rich walnut tones and dark teal. I seriously want this for my imaginary entry way that doesn't exist since I live in a row house.
A good pair of boots is always a fall must.
And don't forget to prepare your dinner table for fall as well.
What lovely fall items have you been looking at these days?
Long sleeve shirts and sweatshirt weather. This seems perfect to throw on when the night air gets cool.
 |
| via Anthropologie |
A coral take on the nautical stripes.
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| via Ruche |
A rich colored, crocodile-embossed handbag.
 |
| via Michael Kors |
Fall-like colors for the bedroom.
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| via West Elm |
Rich walnut tones and dark teal. I seriously want this for my imaginary entry way that doesn't exist since I live in a row house.
 |
| via Jonathan Adler |
A good pair of boots is always a fall must.
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| via Frye |
And don't forget to prepare your dinner table for fall as well.
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| via Pottery Barn |
Blues and Browns for a Guest Bedroom
Heidi Shenk "bedroom" "decor" "home" "projects"
The fence and pergola project is making some progress, but nothing to document at the moment. So instead of an update, I thought I'd show you a different project I've been working on. You could say it has been an ongoing project, but not nearly as painstaking and the back yard. When we moved into the row house, I decided that I was going to do a complete overhaul of our decor. Our guest room in the apartment really had no decor as it served as storage and office as well.
While our new guest room in the row house was temporary storage for a few things we needed to get rid of, we took care of that last weekend when the dumpster for the rest of the back yard concrete arrived. It felt good to purge all of the other junk from the house that we'd been waiting to take to the dump-- most notably 4 floor lamps that were lined up against the wall in the guest room. With those out, I feel as though I can finally share the progress.
I've turned to one of my favorite color combinations-- blue and brown. While the room is not finished and needs a coat of paint to get rid of the boring white, here is what I've put together so far.
Everything in the room has just happened into place one at a time. I found the clock at Uncommon and immediately knew it belonged. The dripping dark blue pitcher is a pottery piece I had thrown a while ago that somehow showed up on the night stand. I decided it worked so I let it stay. The bedside lamp was an impulse $14 buy at Target. I used a frame that was a Christmas present for a paper cut piece that I made to coordinate the room. The photos are my own originals that I framed using old frames I found around the house. The night stand was a cabinet we used in our tiny bathroom at the old apartment. I needed something for the guest room and it just happened to fit in that space perfectly. And finally, I sewed the accent pillows from fabric I found at JoAnn Fabrics-- they match the luxuriously soft and silky bamboo sheets I picked up on clearance at Bed Bath & Beyond.
The next project for this room is paint. In fact, I'm hoping to choose some paint colors in the coming week. And one lovely part of this room that I failed to show you, is the exposed brick wall-- such a contemporary feature for an old row house.
While our new guest room in the row house was temporary storage for a few things we needed to get rid of, we took care of that last weekend when the dumpster for the rest of the back yard concrete arrived. It felt good to purge all of the other junk from the house that we'd been waiting to take to the dump-- most notably 4 floor lamps that were lined up against the wall in the guest room. With those out, I feel as though I can finally share the progress.
I've turned to one of my favorite color combinations-- blue and brown. While the room is not finished and needs a coat of paint to get rid of the boring white, here is what I've put together so far.
Everything in the room has just happened into place one at a time. I found the clock at Uncommon and immediately knew it belonged. The dripping dark blue pitcher is a pottery piece I had thrown a while ago that somehow showed up on the night stand. I decided it worked so I let it stay. The bedside lamp was an impulse $14 buy at Target. I used a frame that was a Christmas present for a paper cut piece that I made to coordinate the room. The photos are my own originals that I framed using old frames I found around the house. The night stand was a cabinet we used in our tiny bathroom at the old apartment. I needed something for the guest room and it just happened to fit in that space perfectly. And finally, I sewed the accent pillows from fabric I found at JoAnn Fabrics-- they match the luxuriously soft and silky bamboo sheets I picked up on clearance at Bed Bath & Beyond.
The next project for this room is paint. In fact, I'm hoping to choose some paint colors in the coming week. And one lovely part of this room that I failed to show you, is the exposed brick wall-- such a contemporary feature for an old row house.