Category: Decor

Click, click, Boom!

BlackfridayimageAhhhh, the best way to knock out the Christmas List (in my opinion).

Laptop 100% charged, coffee in hand, cozy spot on the couch, clicker finger ready.

Ready, set, GO!

Wait.

What sites have the best sales?

Where do I find the perfect gift for the kids?

What’s the CODE???!!!!

Curses!!

Thankfully I have some BFF’s that have graciously given me everything I need to accomplish my goal.  (BFF’s in my mind bc they really have no idea who I am, LOL)

MsGoldGirl

BusbeeStyle

MakeupByTiffanyD

These ladies have leg work and listed code galore on their sites.  Thanks a bunch!!! You have made my Black Friday so much more enjoyable!!

I hope you can enjoy their vlogs and blogs as much as I do!

XOXO

Oh Master……..

I need a refreshing redo to our master bedroom!!!

I love the creamy neutrals but lately I’ve been craving a pop of color.

Navy & Indigo seem to be what my eyes are drawn to. 

I may be a bit behind on this trend but none-the-less I’m going for it!

 

 

 

 

Love this glammy set up by Classy Clutter!!

I’m not sure how “glammy” it will be or if it will just be a bit “coastal”.

This coastal feel I found on Pinterest is super chill!

Painting the wall behind my bed a shade of Navy/Indigo…. like this… 

I guess I just need to go for it!  After all, it’s just paint 🙂

“After” pics will be up soon BUT – I hope to remind my impatient self to get some “before” pics – haha

What’s your favorite accent color right now?

Searching for the next magically perfect piece, if I only I could find “it”….

Such a dilemma!!  What to do?!  I want to make it my own… I want to paint it, create it, make it unique and fabulous!!  I just can’t find “it”.

It’s simple!! I want a dresser.  I want drawers.  I want unique hardware.  I want legs.  I want a pretty shape.  Want, want, WANT!!! I seriously DON’T want to spend a fortune on something I’m gonna paint.

I want this dresser perf

I’d even take one of these dresser redo

Why can’t I find one of these pretty dresser

I’ve scoured antique stores and craigslist (even though my husband told me never ever ever again since our creepy mirror incident).  I’ll keep looking with fingers crossed.  One fine day I’ll find one to call my own! 🙂

It’s happening again….

I’m getting inspired!!!  I’m so excited!!  I’m back!!

After Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years we had a few birthday’s.  Let’s just say I was occupied.  My creative mind was blocked by all the “real world” happenings around me.

I’m sure this happens to you….I’d look at certain areas around the house and think “ugh” and roll my eyes.  My self said to me, “Self, no time to worry about that Ernest Hemingway situation right now…. WE have presents to wrap and turkeys to roast and dinner parties to attend and throw, after Christmas un-decorating to attend to and new years outfits to squeeze into.. put down that cookie!”  Oh Yeah…. how could I forget Mardi gras??? Yep, I’ve been busy.  

Back to my Ernest Hemingway situations…. my hubby’s home was decorated in this style.  It’s very dark wood, bamboo, wicker, heavy.  Pretty in previous eras but not me at all.  Since our wedding last year I have been feverishly trying to remove all traces of “Papa”.  It has been a slow process because as I have said before I. Must. be. Inspired.

The holi-daze got me off track…..  must get back!

So fast forward 3 months and here I am meandering through my most favorite place to get some hands on inspiration, Tuesday Morning.   I take things off the shelf, put them back, hover, rearrange, inspect, all the typical obsessive things we do when we are trying to visualize something in our home.   I walk slowly around the store with my phone out taking pictures of anything that sparks my fancy.  Yes, I carry a tape measure too.  I’m THAT lady.  I have been looking for inspiration for one particular area of my home.  The entryway.  This has been a MAJOR eye rolling sore spot for me.  It has all the correct design elements.  Entry table, mirror, matching lamps.  Unfortunately it screams Ernest Hemingway.  No offense, I’m just more of a French Country gal.

Back to the point…  I found it!!!  IT being the perfect mirror!!  The perfect focal point to transform this wicker and bamboo no-no zone into something fabulous.

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This is perfection!!  This is the beginning of something beautiful and very “Ashley”:)

 

 

Kitchen update!!

Yay!!   I have painted the kitchen!

Well, almost painted 100%.  I still have the trim to work on.

Stupid trim.  Who invented trim anyways? 

My husband and I recently stayed in this beautiful cozy flat on HWY 30A and I noticed the trim was painted the same color as the wall.  Hmm, wonder why they did that?  It looked really good and I shrugged it off as a way to make the room seem bigger.

Now I realize the irritation of painting trim was probably a big player in that decision.

I’ll cut in an edge all day long but I really dislike painting trim. Hate.  There I said it .  HATE IT.

Alas, as promised, the pictures:

 

Yes, the walls are bare.  Yes, there’s a cat.  She’s a bit of a photo bomber lately.  Yes, there is a person hiding behind the fridge.  I told him not to walk in front of me while I was taking pics or I’d post it. 🙂   Yes, there are stains on the rug.  No, I do not like the grout on these massive tiles.  To remove the grout would be a project more painful than painting trim so that’s not happenin’ .  Yes, the inside of the funky plate/cook book nook thingy is the color the cabinets used to be.  To remove the plate rack would require taking apart the cabinet.  To attempt to take apart the cabinet, ridiculous.  To paint in between all those things, absurd.  Let’s focus on the positive here!

I’m in love with the color.  Revere Pewter by SW.  The cabinets are Graphite by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  This project has taken me quite some time.  We replaced the light as well.

I’m considering a round seagrass rug and changing out the chairs to something upholstered.  Hush, yes, I have kids and it’s crazy to have upholstered stuff but I have a vision……

Mantles that make you go Oooh!

It’s the simple things right?! I am so excited that I have a mantle!  This means other things to me too.  Like now we have a fireplace!  We LOVE making a big fire on a cold night.  The kids usually see who can sit on the hearth the longest with out spontaneously combusting.  A game I remember from my childhood.  I just love a fireplace.  It screams “cozy” to me.  Secondly but almost as important, I enjoy changing out the decor through-out the year.  My favorite is decorating it for fall and Christmas.  Halloween too!   It’s always fun to change around the decor in your home from time to time.  This does NOT mean you have to go out and spend a fortune on new things.  Ask my husband, I am forever pulling items from other spots in our home and using them in new ways.  He has a joke with the kids to see who can spot the changes first 🙂

Here are some mantles with different decor ideas from good ol’ Pinterest.  I felt like I had found gold when I came across this “formula” pin!  Haleluja!!  I do not think you have to have symmetry in decor but if that floats your boat then so be it… Otherwise this works!  mantle math

 

A mirror on the mantle adds so much depth and interest to an otherwise flat space.  Greenery is my second fav. I’m not crazy about the white mantle in this pic but you get the idea. mantle greenery

 

 

 

The way the different elements work in this arrangement are just about perfect.  Not too much and it looks balanced.

I think putting something personal in the mix is like icing on the cake.  This is a wonderful idea to do just that.  Simple, unique and personal.

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All these ideas could work for decorating a bookcase, too… Just sayin’!  Have a great time making a shelf or your mantle pretty!!