Thrifty Decorating - My Boys Room

Last week in this post about The Avengers, I told you we are big super hero fans here at our house.  I also told you I'd share with you my boys' super hero room.  It was not a big expensive redo, in fact it's been very thrifty.

My favorite part of their room, aside from the cute boys themselves, is this gallery wall.

There dresser has never been this clean since. :)  We need to replace this dresser now, it's too small for their clothes now, they're growing up and getting taller.  Decorating is a never ending process, isn't it?

Anyway, these awesome super hero pictures are old comic book covers, well, copies that were a calendar.  When my sister, Leslie, and I went to visit my other sister, Kristen, in Colorado a couple of years ago we went shopping in Boulder one day.  While walking around, we stumbled across this cool calendar and since both our boys were very into super heroes, it immediately caught our eye.  However, it was a little pricey, so we left it.  By the time we were clear down to the end of the whole shopping area and waiting for a table for dinner, we decided we did want it. lol  So while Kristen and her family kept waiting, Leslie and I ran back down to the store and bought it, planning on sharing it with this purpose in mind.  I know, random story, but I just love my sisters, and every time I look at these pictures it reminds me of our fun weekend.

Kristen, Leslie, and Me in 2010

Here's a close up of the pictures so you can see how totally cool they are.

Along with these great super heroes, I wanted my boys to have some real heroes to look up to, so I found these posters:

This is right in their doorway.  Boy, it is really hard to take good photos of pictures.  Reflections are hard! 

This is my favorite, I just framed this one, too, and it hangs over their desk.  These are all scripture heroes - great men, great stories, plus they still have swords and stuff so the boys love them, too.  I got these prints from Real Hero Posters.  My older girls have some in their room, too, you can see them here.  I'm not affiliated with Real Hero Posters in any way, I just think they are awesome!!

This is the rest of their room.  Billy's shelf, filled with lego creations, beds with Superman and Spiderman bedding (just cheap Walmart sets, nothing expensive so we can change it later), and a tall bookshelf at the far end of the bed.  A shelf full of books plus three shelves for pirate lego boats and accessories.  In the spirit of keeping it real, I didn't even clean up the mess of legos under the bed.  Guess what Billy and Jon will be doing when they get home today. :)

So the moral of this post, calendars are a great, inexpensive way to have nice art work in your home.  Now is a great time of year to buy calendars as they are marked down considerably.  Calendars.com is one of my favorite places to buy calendars.  There are calendars for every interest and every theme and decor.  So next time you need some new art work for whatever room you're decorating, check into calendars first.

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Decorate My Room

Okay, I'm asking for your help, opinions, input, ideas, anything you can share with me to help me decorate my living room.

We recently sold our couch in our bonus room and moved our living room couch upstairs.  So we got to go shopping, yeah! I didn't think I was going to get to replace these couches for a long time.

This is the before:

Well, I have changed things a little since this time, but these are the old couches.

We bought this couch and love seat, I think, or at least they are very similar to these and they'll be here in a week or two:

source

So I'm going to do a little redecorating while we're at it.  This is where I need your help.  I'm not a decorator.  This is what I have to work around, oak floors, floor to ceiling oak bookshelves that are "for books not decorations" as per Bill's instructions, a black gloss piano, and probably no painting of the walls - our floor plan is very open and I think if I painted in there I would have to paint the entryway, hallway, maybe kitchen, but I might stencil a wall or two (I just won a Cutting Edge Stencil. Yeah!)

  So here's what it looks like now and a tour around the room:

So what would you do with this room?  That green cabinet is my music cabinet and I'm thinking of painting it white or cream with sort of a french country feel.  I'm debating between keeping things all neutral (rug/curtains) and then using throw pillows for color accents or using curtains, sort of like this:

in a slate blue (federal blue) kind of color and finding a bluish rug.  However, if I add the blue, can I use lime green or tangerine tango orange pillows for the summer and change them to something more subdued come fall and winter.  What about rugs, I'm terrible with rugs.  Look at the top picture, this is how I've had the rug placed, does this look okay?  Do I need it to bump it up under the furniture?  Does it need to be bigger?  Also should I flip it (or get a squarer rug) so the long side goes toward the bookshelf?  Can you see any other furniture placement?  I'm open to any and all suggestions, give me your best ideas, and give me some place to start with this room.  What would you do with this room?

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My Design Style: Part 2

We're on a decorating kick here, I guess, and now Leslie is here today with look into her home.  Her house is so cute!  She has amazing style and her home is always so warm and welcoming.
Here's Leslie:

I love decorating and I'm one of those people who is always rearranging furniture and accessories every few months for a new look.

I have always loved blues and whites and since my husband is from Maine and that is our favorite vacation spot, our house has always had a "coastal vibe" (even though we are stuck in the dry, Utah desert).  Lately though, I've added more vintage elements and pops of green, red and yellow and I finally feel like the look I have is comfortable, and really reflects our family.

Kim recently helped me create this picture wall. This wall is such a large white space and I could never figure out what to put there.  I found most of these picture frames at D.I. (thrift store) and then decided what colors I wanted to paint them.  This took a few weeks of rearranging and trying different combinations.  I didn't want too matchy, but also not too busy.  I am really happy with how it turned out.

(I'd love to paint these walls grey, but that is a big project... some day).

I used the 3M Velcro strips on the picture frames for the first time, and they worked great.  I wish I had a picture of me on my husband's shoulders trying to hang these. 

My sister, Kim made this vinyl tree with my husband's and my initials.  She did a great job.  I put the vinyl right on the wall and hung the frame around it.

The sister of my sister-in-law (I'm not making that up) makes some really cute, unique, modern prints, that I love.  You can see them here.  She made the home can be a heaven on earth print in the first picture, and the silhouettes of my boys below.

When we got these family pictures taken in the fall, I didn't want to spend a lot of money hanging them since I knew I would want to change them up after a little while and hang something else there.  I found these flat, glass only frames at Hobby Lobby. They are very inexpensive and just the look I was going for.

When Kim did the design style  post, I took one of the quizzes for fun and this is what it said, "Your style is Folksy Country. You don’t like things to be too matching. You acquire your furniture and accessories over the course of time. You like pattern and solids and can mix them well. You love flea markets and can find a place for just about anything you find or buy. You like animals and probably have a dog or cat or both. You make people feel at home and relaxed. You have lots of knick-knacks. When you entertain you have many friends and family over -- they feel they can pop over at anytime. Your decorating challenge is to simplify and edit your accessories."

Other than the pets (which our kids would love to have, but they haven't quite talked us into it yet), what do you think, Kim?  Does that sound like me?  Viewers, does that look like me?  I don't know.  I have always like bright colors.  Maybe I was on to something when my Mom let Kim and I re-do our bedrooms in Jr. High and pick out any color scheme. (Mine was: primary colors, Mickey Mouse, and M.C. Escher). Weird  : )

Yes, Les, I think that totally sounds like you!  Aren't her boys so cute! I love those family pictures.  And I really need you to make me some cute pillows, she has a great eye for fabrics.   Liking patterns and solids, yes, yes, you should have seen her room - solid bright blue on the bottom, bright red chair rail, and red/yellow/blue sprinkles wallpaper on top, with framed M.C. Escher prints and a Mickey Mouse poster.  It was a little crazy, but cute!

A Peek in My Family Room

I don't know about you, but I love looking at other people's homes.  I had so much fun the past couple of days peeking at other people's lives through their beautiful (and not so beautiful, actually, lol) homes. That's why we go to home shows, right?  I know not everyone I've seen walking through home after home are looking to buy. Okay, so maybe I'm a stalker, I'll admit I enjoy seeing how other people live.  Hopefully some of you are the same way.   Today I thought I'd give you a glimpse into my home and show you our family room.  Oh, and I'm keeping it real here, crooked pictures (I can't believe I didn't notice that before), messy desk, and everything. :)  And it's kind of hard to take pictures of this room.  While it's nice and bright with windows on 3 of 4 walls, every direction is shooting towards a window, so bare with me. 

As I mentioned here, we redecorated our family room about a year ago.  Here is the "before" picture:

This was a couple years ago at our Superbowl party with some friends, Bill's brother and aunt and uncle.

The redo was brought about because the couch had seen better days and Bill had FINALLY warmed up to the idea of color on the walls.  So the whole family went shopping for a new couch.  Imagine trying to make 8 people happy.  Well, I got out voted when they all fell in love with this couch.  While I liked it, I didn't love it.  I didn't really want a sectional again, thought the fabric was a little weird (it's kind of like terry cloth), and really wanted something more tailored.  But it had room for all 8 of us, Bill could definitely see himself falling asleep there, and it was a "non-snuggling" couch (Bill's term) - important now that Cheyenne can date.

I do like it more now. :)  It is very soft and great to relax in. As I said, Bill liked white walls.  When we built our house 10 years ago, he even wanted me to take a picture of the nice, white, bare walls before I hung anything up so he could always remember it.  He warmed up a little when he finally gave in and we painted our bedroom a beige color.  So to my utter surprise, he picked out this dark brown for the walls.  This was a very bold step.  When we finished painting, I was almost sick!  The walls looked purplish.  The next morning it wasn't much better.  I was ready to redo the whole thing, but Bill convinced me to wait a few more days.  I don't know if it was letting the paint cure more, getting used to the color, or having the couch delivered and more brown in the room, but it looked a whole lot better.  It's like the color of chocolate milk. Really!  Kind of makes me hungry sometimes.

This is the other side of the room, looking into the kitchen, complete with the vacuum still sitting out. Like I said, keeping it real.  At least that means Billy did his chores. :)

This is my favorite part of the room, my photo gallery.  I hadn't heard the term "photo gallery" when I did it and didn't know if I could really just have this across this great big wall.  I'm no decorator and have serious doubts when it comes to my decorating ability. lol  Plus, you can see a little bit in the before picture, I had a whole quilt hanging here plus all the kids' pictures - just a whole lot more stuff.  I wasn't so sure it looked "right" to be so plain, but I love it now.

Other end of the room.  Really dislike the desk, and the reason we have to have short curtains, but Bill's not too excited about a new desk.  This is sort of his desk so it has to meet all his requirements.  So still trying to convince him we need a new one.

I love this little desk/table, but it is also in need of a makeover.  I think I've decided what I'm going to do, now just waiting for the weather to warm up a little to get started.

And finally we've made it around the room.  That's the couch in the lower right corner, and the opening to the kitchen is just to the left.  You can also see the front door in the upper right corner, we have a very open floor plan, it's nice.  I love this spot, too.  I told the whole story about this spot here. 

So that's it, a little tour around our family room.  If you read this post here when I said my family would be laughing at how spot-on the description of "Classic Traditional" was for me, you can now see it, too.  Beige - replacing the navy and burgundy, a little boring, plenty of family pictures, yup, that's me.  So help me break out of my rut a little.  While I really enjoy my room, the end with the desk has never seemed right to me, too empty, but I don't know what else to do with it.  Do I have too many tables in here?  I would love to hear any suggestions or what you would do different in a room like this.  It's always nice to get a fresh perspective on things.

What's Your Design Style?

As I was searching for family room pictures to include in yesterday's post here, I noticed that all the rooms I really liked were all starting to look the same.  Hmm, maybe I do have a style. lol Then I came across a great post from Compulsive in Texas in which she linked to a fun decorating quiz and talked about her decorating style.  So I took this quiz, from BHG.com, and as I sort of expected got the result of "Country".  This is what it said:
"You like to surround yourself with things that make you comfortable, so Country style is the way to go. This look connects with nature and days gone by while remaining fresh and original. An easy place to start your Country decor is with a blue-and-white color scheme and weather-worn wooden tables or benches. Accessorize with collections of anything you love. Antique furnishings—often creatively repurposed for today's lifestyle—are casual and rustic."
This is some what true, although I don't really like EVERYTHING rustic or antique, not a huge fan of blue-and-white color scheme, and I strongly dislike ruffles and flowery stuff - so not me!

So I decided to find some more quizzes to see if they all agreed.  I found this quiz at RealSimple.  My result here, "Cozy Casual":
"You’re about comfort and warmth, favoring warm, traditional rooms made for relaxing with family and friends. Your ideal decor draws on English and early-American furniture designs, as well as laid-back country, cottage, and farmhouse styles. Weathered, low-maintenance furnishings are easy, inviting, and built for daily life. Think golden retrievers, fuzzy slippers, and just about any movie by Nancy Meyers. To see more about Cozy Casual style, including a sample room, click here."
I like this description, it is pretty good.  Farmhouse style, yes, my house is a farmhouse style; golden retriever, I'd love one; fuzzy slippers, yes, I'm wearing mine right now. I had to look up who Nancy Meyers is and while I do like most of her movies, they're not my favorites.

Traditional living room design by other metros architect Paddle Creek Design

I love this room, except the flowery chairs.  I'd like them in red.  And that couch, the one in the center of the picture, love it.  In fact, I have a couch very similar to that.  This quiz also gave some features of each design style.  Cozy casual likes rolled arm couches with ball feet or skirts - that's totally what I'm always drawn to.

So now I was really having fun and found one more quiz to take, TheHomeStylist.  This was more of a personality test along with being home styles.  Very interesting to see how my personality totally nailed my design style, too. My results:
"Your style is Classic Traditional.

You like things matching and well placed. You prefer classic colors such as navy, burgundy, forest green, and beige. You buy furniture that stands the test of time. You don’t like trendy fads nor clutter. You keep a clean house. There are only a few knick-knacks but plenty of family photos. Traditions and family are important to you. When you entertain you invite close friends and family. You don’t like new things and are hesitant to try new colors or furniture placements. You grew up in a very traditionally decorated home and that is what you are most comfortable with. Your decorating challenge is for you home to not be too predictable or boring."

Umm, this is a little embarrassing, but that description is spot on!  I'm sure my family is all laughing now.  Up until a year ago, my family room was navy and burgundy, my living room is burgundy and forest green, my bedroom was navy and burgundy.  Now I've really updated and my family room is brown and barn red (see here), and my bedroom is beige. lol  Yes, my house is predictable and boring which was exactly why I was looking at all these sites. :)

This is my bedroom (see a little more here) , although now there is a window above the bed, so that wall is not quite so plain.  But yeah, beige, classic traditional, cozy casual, a little bit country, and a little boring.  I guess it's me. lol

So what do you do when you want to spruce things up a little.  I start dreaming.  Pinterest is great, I have my "For the Home" board there where I collect all my inspirations usually from other places on the web.  However, It's amazing what others have posted as well.  Search for whatever you're looking to update, kitchen, bathroom, etc. and you'll find all kinds of things.  All three of the above posted sites had great home style tips and articles, also, but my favorite new place to visit is Houzz.com.  Wow, talk about an amazing collection of home ideas!!  They have everything from exteriors to interiors, pools to porches, even closets to wine cellars. lol  You can even save everything you like to your own "idea book."  It's fun!

So what's your design style?  Does your house reflect who you are, your personality?  If you take any of these quizzes, I'd love to hear what your design style is and if you agree with it.



P.S. My sister and frequent guest poster, Leslie, took the quiz and shared her fabulous style here.

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Get Cozy in Your Home by Christina Johnson

I'm excited to welcome our guest-blogger today, Christina Johnson.  I was thrilled when she contacted me and asked if she could do a guest post here.  Sure!! So let's get to know her a little.

"Christina Johnson works remotely for Elliman Prudential in the NYC Apartments and Rentals market. She is using her journalism major to combine what she loves most, writing and her career. Her specialties include home decor design and DIY home improvement projects."

She sent me this wonderful article on family rooms.  I love my family room! Next to the kitchen it's probably the room my family spends the most time in.  Read on to learn some great tips on making the most of your family room.

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Get Cozy in your Home

A lot of homeowners tend to overlook the design opportunities available for the family room. Because it isn't a formal room, it often becomes a catch-all collection of odd furniture, toys, crafts and other accessories. However, there are several very affordable and unique interior design techniques that can be used that will make it even more inviting for the whole family.

Traditional family room design by interior designer Citrine Interior Design

What Will You Use It For?

When you make plans to enhance or improve the decor of a room, it is important to first consider the focus or goal of that room. You will want to determine what you will be using the room for and think about the mood you want to set. In most cases, the family room is the most relaxed and comfortable room in the home. Because of this, it is where many families spend most of their time together.

Some families work to create a whole home theater experience, while others focus more on games. Some families like to do activities or crafts together, while others might want to establish a quiet place to gather, read or just spend some quiet time together. You don't have to spend a lot of money to create the family room you've always wanted.

Traditional family room design by new york architect Crisp Architects

Start With Color

One of the easiest ways to make big change on a little budget is to start with a splash of color. A bucket or two of paint and supplies will cost less than $50, but can make a big difference to any room. Think about the colors that will best express the focus of your family room, such as neutral or pastel colors for a relaxing environment or bold colors for an exciting activity-focused room. 

Consider using two different colors to add focus or fun to one or more walls. You can paint or use color stain on wood paneling or add a splash of color to furniture, shelving and cabinets. Don't be afraid to think "outside the box" and try something new.

Photo from Better Homes and Gardens

Modern family room design by dc metro interior designer Laura Manning Bendik

Establish A Theme

If movies are your thing, consider adding a nostalgic popcorn popper, add some light-blocking curtains and arrange your furniture to create optimal viewing opportunities. Many decorating stores now carry old-fashioned looking marquee signs, metal art that features movie reels and film or movie posters of your favorite films.

If your family activity-oriented, consider adding a table and chairs for board games or crafts, a gaming area for video games and some nice shelves to keep it all neat and organized. There are a lot of great store-bought options available, but you can also find new uses for old items that will keep things organized at a fraction of the cost.

Photo from Red Hen Home

Photo from House of Turquoise/Hiya Papaya

Accessories: Bringing It All Together

A nice area rug, throw pillows, afghan or new lamp shade in coordinating colors can help bring it all together. Whether your tastes are contemporary or tend to be a bit more conservative, make sure to choose new items to add that will enhance the message or emotion you are trying to express. Curtains, shades, blinds and other unique window treatments can also help to tie your room's decor together.

Purchase artwork that matches your theme or buy a blank canvas, grab some paints and encourage your kids to create a unique piece of artwork to hang on your walls. Use family photos to create a whole wall display. You can use black-and-white photos or color, add matting and choose from brightly painted, simple black or traditional metal frames.

Photo from House of Turquoise

Photo from The House of Smiths

A Fresh Look On Any Budget

It doesn't matter how much money you have to spend or how much you know about interior design, it is easy to create a cozy family room in no time. A good plan, a little research and some old-fashioned elbow grease will help you design a useful, comfortable room that the whole family will love.

Traditional family room design by other metros design-build Blue Sky Building Company

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Thank you, Christina!!  Great article and I had so much fun drooling over, um, admiring tons of beautiful, fun family rooms to find these pictures.  Because Christina doesn't have her own blog, you can leave her lots of good comments here.  Come back on Wednesday for some more designing fun -What's your design style?

Prettying up my Bathroom

My bathroom is nothing special.  It's nice, it's clean, it functions really well, but there's not a lot of pizazz in there.  No one else sees it but my husband and me, and occasionally the kids, so why spend a lot money in there, at least while there's other rooms to do.  A year or so ago, I did spruce up a little and brought some actual decorations in, a little color, and last year for Christmas Bill gave me new pretty towels, three sets, (yes, he's a very practical man. c:)  We each have our sinks (best idea ever!) and I realized the other day, that mine was looking pretty cluttered, 4 different kinds of lotions, this tin bucket that seemed to keep an endless supply of junk, and a sad, sad little jar for q-tips that I'd had for seriously well over 20 years - the bottom had even fallen off and I hot glued it back on. Ugly little corner.

 

I decided I need to do some sprucing up.  I'd seen several tutorials for the cute, easy apothecary jars so that was the first order of business.  A little trickier than I thought since my mirror is so low and there's not much space in that corner.  I scored a few deals, a little candle holder on clearance from Michaels for $1.75 and the little jar for $.50 at a local printing/wedding supply store.  Add a little glue and I have my apothecary jar.  I cleaned out the pink bucket and was amazed at what I found.  A couple sample sizes of Johnson's baby shampoo (um, I haven't had a baby for 6 years!), an old watch, a paint brush, various kids toys, in other words a bunch of garbage.  I thought it was being useful all this time and that I'd have to find something to replace it. Ha! I don't think so. Then while browsing our local thrift store, I came across this awesome pewter tray for $1.75. Score!! This is a nice tray.  Realized later that it was the last perfect addition to my corner.  So there it is, my nice, clean, pretty little corner.

Is it that big of deal, no, but it makes me happy when I see it.  Plus, added bonus, I don't pile the junk on it and it makes me want to keep my counter free of all clutter (curling iron, straightener, makeup, etc.) because now it looks nice.  So grand total for my little corner of loveliness - $3.75.  So worth it!

Do you have any corners/areas in your house that could benefit from a little sprucing up? Or have you prettied up an area that just makes you smile every time you see it?

Linking up with:

Tales from Bloggeritaville

Yesterday on Tuesday

Momnivores-Dilemma

Allie Makes

Saved by Love

Thrifty Decorating

A Glimpse Inside

Gluesticks

Frugalicious Me

The Creative Paige

Roca and Company

Ladybird Lane

Blissful and Domestic

Finding Fabulous

Home is Where my Story Begins

Tales of a Trophy Wife

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