Vision Boards

Hi y'all.

Sorry I haven't been great about blogging.  Really there hasn't been that much to discuss.  I work.  I watch Netflix on my computer.  I dream about my apartment (which I can move into in 27 days!).

In case you didn't know, I am the type of person who has a "high-need-to-know." So as I have been thinking about all of the colors I like and all of the stuff I want to put in my apartment, I was having all kinds of questions.  The building will pre-paint two accent walls for me (br and lr) from a selection of four colors - greige (greyish beige), slate blue, pistachio green, and burnt orange.  Of course I could also keep all of my walls white too.  I could also paint the walls myself, but then I would have to prime them again before I moved out.  I don't really want to hassle with it.

In my mind I had all the furniture I was moving with me (entertainment shelving, buffet, and some art).  I have the things I have always wanted (upholstered headboard, cream sofa).  So I was getting a little nervous that all the ideas I had in my head weren't going to turn out like my imagination.

Here's where I love my type-A self.  I just put it all on the same page.  Cut and pasted the items off the internet, or my photo album, and wah-lah, instant peace of mind.

For the living room, I am going to go with the pistachio green.  The color swatch came from my camera, and if anything the real color is a little more toward mint, but not too cold.  I think that by adding some warm browns, and eventually some curtains that it will be a comfortable, fresh, room with great energy.  What do you think?
























Sources:  sofa (I ordered the Crosby sofa in cream) - Raymour & Flanigan; accent table, square chair, stools - World Market; shelves, painting - Dania; ottoman - One Kings Lane; club chair - Overstock; pillows and lamps - various.


The other thing I kept in mind with the living room is how well it will go with my Fiesta ware.  It won't match, but it will coordinate with my chocolate, paprika, turquoise, and lemongrass dishes.

For the bedroom, I am going with the greige accent wall.  I am going to keep most of the expensive stuff neutral, but add in red accents, and I have lots of art for this room.  I just love red in a bedroom.  Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't have to be so overpowering that it has too much energy for the restful purpose of the room.  I think it adds a little bit of sophistication.  In fact, I have had some sort of red accent or theme in my bedroom for the past 7 years.

Sources:  curtains, red bedding, white chest - West Elm; grey dresser - IKEA; headboard - Pottery Barn; lamp - Pier 1;  brown desk chest - Crate and Barrel; red accents - sample accessories I got from Google Images.


Seeing all the pieces come together on one page, is almost as good as seeing them come together in real life.  I haven't bought even half of this stuff yet.  I have ordered the sofa, the bed, and the things that I am bringing from my last house.  The rest I will (impatiently) wait to order once I get in the space, and I am sure that it will fit and function well.

Throughout all of this dreaming I keep William Morris' quote as a refrain in my head - Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.


So this is the part where you get to share your opinion.  Maybe you think something is great.  Maybe you think it is ugly.  Maybe you have seen something similar somewhere else for a great bargain.  Bring it on. Nothing is set in stone at this point.  Chewing on your comments will give me something to do for the next 27 days.

A Craig's List Find

Last week, I mentioned that I am doing something about this eyesore in my house.

Well, this pile officially no longer exists in my house.  I think I will put a plant there.  I just have to figure out what kind of plant doesn't need light, or water.  Anyhoo, I digress.  Want to know what I did with all of that mess?  Here it is:

Can you believe that I found something that fit, such a specific wall so perfectly?  Well, it took me about 2 weeks of hunting, but I found it on Crag's List.  It looked like this:

There was one little spot of paint on it (of course it was red):

I lightly sanded all the areas I planned to paint.  Wiped off the dust with a damp cloth, and then primed it.  

After priming it I let it dry overnight.  If you live in a dryer part of the country, you probably don't need to let the primer dry that long, but I didn't want to risk it.

Then I painted it a color of green that is slightly darker than my kitchen, and coordinates nicely with the blue in my living room.  Since this dresser lives in the hallway between two rooms, it needs to look like it can live in both rooms easily.  I painted three coats of semi-gloss paint with high density foam roller and a sponge brush for the corners.  When if looked finished, I allowed it to cure for two full days before bringing it inside.  Again, I live in a moist climate, and wanted to be sure it was dry before displaying items on top, or shutting the drawers completely.

After I painted it, I put contact paper in the bottom of the drawers.  I found the contact paper at the dollar store, and I love the pattern.   The knobs that were on the drawer fronts when I bought it, didn't match, so I bought a new set at Home Depot.

And here is the finished product:

I plan to add my Great Grandmother's lamp to the top as decoration, but it is currently being re-wired.  

All that stuff from the counter (along with the two junk drawers from the kitchen) now live in this beauty.

I paid $80 for the chest, plus the cost of paint primer and knobs.  Out of that I gained four drawers of storage, a clean kitchen counter, and 2 free kitchen drawers.  I call that a win!

What are your greatest Craig's List finds?  

Making It All The Way Through Moby Dick

Reading is one of my favorite past times.  I read at least an hour a day.  If you count all the time I spend reading e-mails, and Facebook, and blogs, and People.com, it is much more than an hour.

I like a wide range of books.  I am not afraid of the Classics.  My favorite book of all time is a 700 pager.  I enjoy children's books, and self-help books, and any form of literature that is well-written, informing, and tells a story.

That said, I have never made it through Melville's masterpiece, Moby Dick.  I have tried, and tried, and tried.  That book has moved with me to three states.  I want to be able to talk with most of the rest of the world about the wisdom from that book.  Unfortunately, I think I will have to get the Cliff's Notes and just go for the highlights.  I cannot bring myself to finish that book.

That said, I have found a great use for that book which brings me tons of joy.  Are you ready for it?  Here it is:

It is a wreath of book pages.  Yes, Moby Dick was used in the making of this wreath, along with 2 other books.

I sort of didn't mean for it to turn out so big, but I love it none the less.  Here is a side view:

Did I mention that it is big?  But I love how it turned out.

I am not going to tell you how I did it, because it wasn't my idea, and because there are about 843 wreath making tutorials that you can look at if you are interested.  Here are some of my favorites:

Living with Lindsay

My Blessed Life

The Red Chair Blog

As a point of reference this took me about $0.97 (for the wreath base), three books, 4 hours (while watching HGTV), and a lot of glue sticks.

What are some of your latest creations.  Send me links.  I love projects.