BEADBOARD THE BACK?

I’m loving the look of beadboard in the kitchen. 

via

It sort of adds a casual feel to a space

via

via

via

I convinced my Mr. to put up some bead board in our kitchen (insert moonwalk!).  He first asked what it was and then I showed him these pictures.  But what really sealed the deal was when I said it’s so easy, even girls are doing it!  Now, what made me want it?  Well, not only is it a nice alternative to tile backsplash, but it’s super inexpensive! I’m thinking it will cost us less than $50 to do the entire project.

And if I haven’t sold you on bead board backsplash, take a look at this kitchen’s after

Seriously, CHECK OUT THIS KITCHEN!!!
And she managed to do laundry that same day

What do you think? Love it or leave it (the bead board!)?

JUST ADD WATER… AND PAINT?

Now that it’s spring, you can’t help but notice all of the pretty flowers blooming all over the place.  If you’re like me, you also can’t avoid your tongue and throat itching and head hurting and eyes watering…But hey, that’s a story for another time.  Where was I? Oh yeah, spring and flowers and all that jazz…  I love the look of flowers in the home (both fresh cut and potted), but I don’t have a green thumb nor am I able to stick to my weekly budget to allow myself enough wiggle room to squeeze in a $5 bouquet at the grocery store.  What’s a girl to do about that other than turn to Pinterest?

Before I headed that way, I clicked on West Elm because of all the ads I had been seeing on blogs (ads work people!).  What did I find on West Elms site?

First off, I realized that cactus and succulents are the types of plants I need.  After that, I realized that I wanted the pots I plant them in to look like those from West Elm.  Isn’t the grey and turquoise fabulous?! Knowing good and well that I wasn’t going to pay $34 for the small and $69 for the largest pot, I was determined to find a DIY alternative to share with you.

First off, lets start with the succulents.  You can find succulents at Lowes or Home Depot

I found the ones above at Lowes but the succulents I actually purchased were from Walmart for $2.50 a pot (yes I do go inside Walmart and live to talk about it).

But you know we live in a time where EVERYTHING can be purchased online so look at what I found

Succulents Galore is an Etsy shop that sales the prettiest assortment of succulents!

Now, for the plant pots.  Again, not wanting to pay $34 for the ones at West Elm, I scouted out these at Lowes. 

The smallest were around $4 and the largest around $11

  

What I like the most about these is their finish.  They aren’t glossy, but they aren’t matt either.  They have more of a satin finish.  For the band across the top (as seen in the WE pots), you can use a sample pot of paint from Lowes or Home Depot for less than $3 (or if you’re like me, you have tons of paint in the garage you can use!).

Now, if you want to go even cheaper, you can always use terracotta pots and paint them.  I found some at Walmart for next to nothing!

The smallest were $.78 and the larger pot was $1.25

They could be transformed into these

(I have some left over chalk paint that I’m going to use to make these!)

How cute are these?

Or you could just paint them a solid color like these from Martha Stewart. 

As you can see, I have already purchased my succulents for this project (and a larger one not shown).  I have yet to purchase the pots, but I couldn’t wait to share these ideas with you.  So, have you started bringing flowers indoors for spring? Any DIYs on your list that consist of flower arrangements/displays?!

 

 

 

EASY DIY: TRAY MAKEOVER

Yesterday I shared some snippets of kitchen. In one of the pictures was a tray/platter that I picked up from IKEA for 70 cents

I knew that it I was going to paint it so I didn’t care about the design.  I pulled out my last little bit of Annie Sloan chalk paint and got to work

Remember that you don’t have to prime with chalk paint

Because my chalk paint had gotten super thick after sitting up for the past few months, I had to add water to it.  Because of the added water, I had to apply two coats of paint (Chalk Paint is so thick that you usually can get away with one coat of it) .

Finished! Now I have something I can corral things that end up on my counters

This project was super easy.  I could have used latex paint on it as well with a thin layer of primer first.  Now, I need to go find some baskets for my cabinets without the doors!

  What small project have you gotten around to lately?!

KITCHEN AT A GLANCE

My kitchen is nowhere near finished, but I couldn’t help myself from snapping a few pics just to update you on the little progress I’m making.

I’m not sure if I’m sold on the door(less) cabinets, but we’ll see how things come together.  Also,  I’m working on my photography skills so that explains the pictures of the fruit on the table.  As you can see, I still have a LONG way to go

I HAVE A NEW SPACE TO DECORATE

Well it’s not really a “new” space, but the type of space I will be creating will be new to us!  As you know, my oldest son had his own room.  Well, after two years, it just didn’t work out.  What I couldn’t stop from happening was him not welcoming his brothers in his room and I witnessed him being a little mean towards them (like slamming the door and screaming at them if they tried to come in).  That didn’t sit well with me.  After much thought and back and forth, I decided that they will have to share a room until they “like” each other. I’m such a great mom, right?!

So the room has been cleared out

 

Totally different from this, right?

So what’s in store for this almost finished being cleared out space? Here’s a tease

via

With a little bit of this thrown in

via

Oh yeah! And I know what you’re thinking.  She took that baby’s room for her own personal use.  Well, let it be known that I do plan to wedge out a corner for the boys in this new space

 

Happy Friday!

AT HOME WITH SUZANNE KASLER

I was just reading one of my favorite blogs, Savor Home, where Tiffany shared the home of Atlanta based designer Suzanne Kasler.  Realizing that I haven’t done a post to welcome the arrival of spring, I decided to share her lovely home here.

I actually had the pleasure of meeting Suzanne in New York last year and I must say, she was an absolute delight!

Her style is a great mix of feminine and masculine.   I love her use of whites and creams with touches of pale pink or lavenders with peeks of blues… But enough of that, let’s get to the good part- her home!

I know I used a lot of images, but isn’t her home amazing?! Swoon-worthy I’ll say.  She should definitely have a few bloggers over for lunch by the pool

I would love to listen to her talk about design while taking a tour! Ok, that’s probably a bit much, but a girl can dream, right?!  You can see more images of her beautiful home on AD’s website here.

It’s spring finally, but here in Atlanta it feels more like summer.  We have been in the 80’s for almost a week now and let’s not get started on the pollen.  The pollen count was over 9000 yesterday.  My head is killing me

I’m heading back into the kitchen.  Hopefully I’ll have some progress shots for you tomorrow!