IKEA
10.24.
Have I ever told you about my lovely obsession with all things Ikea? I would seriously buy the entire store if it weren’t for my partner of reason, aka…… The Hubster.
I have had to pull him back a few times on things, but mostly, it is him doing the tugging.
It was no different for our office. In our past home, I was the only one “operating” out of the office area, so I made it 100% girly! I take care of the office portion of our company so it was pretty much my say in how we decorated the space before.
I’m talking hot pink chair meets aqua blue walls ……. you get the picture. 😉
Since then, things have morphed into the hubster spending more time in the office with me, so I knew that in the new space, it was going to have to be gender friendly, which I knew was going to totally cramp my style. I mean, how dare he make me feel like I have to get rid of my pink chair??? LOL!
First, I’d like to start with the desk. When the hubster and I work together, we usually are having to brainstorm with each other on projects and such so I knew that facing away from each other was not going to work for us. We needed a desk that we could both use and would allow us to gaze into one another’s eyes and think deeply about ………………. painting estimates. 😉
I purchased two of these beauties from Ikea from their Alex line.
We placed them back to back with each other and hired our awesome contractor, Steve Egloff to make us a table top. I really liked the feel of a modern look for the space so I asked him to do an industrial feel for the legs. After looking for the material and figuring out that the legs were going to cost more than we wanted to spend, Steve had a great idea to use closet rods for the area.
Absolutely GENIUS!!!! It allowed us to still have the look we wanted without the cost.
Not only cool, but anything that saves me money is a SUPER PLUS! ………….. HOLLA!
For the top, we went with a nice soft gray stain at Sherwin Williams. Now, I love being able to just say what the name of a color is, but for this stain, it wasn’t that easy. They have an area that has basic stains and since I didn’t want to wait for stain that I chose due to us having to order it, I chose, instead, to go with a clear stain that they added gray to until we got it the shade I wanted.
I wish I could have had an exact color to reference, but to be honest, it is kind of fun experimenting with the colors and knowing that you came up with the shade on your own, so if you are looking to choose a gray stain color, go to your local paint store and ask them to do the clear stain and then find a shade of gray you like in a paint color and ask them to make it as close to that color as possible and HAVE FUN!
Here is a close up of the color and natural wood peeking through from underneath.
If you haven’t figured out by now, I am really into the look and feel of invoking a coastal meets rustic meets industrial meets farm style in my house………… not complicated at all, right? Otherwise known as, tastefully eclectic. Or at least, I hope tastefully.
We knew we wanted to do a focal point in the room with an accent wall. I am a HUGE Fixer Upper fan. (*WHO ISN’T????)
I love the look of Shiplap and I wanted to bring that look into my own home, so I called on Steve, once again to install tongue and groove on the wall next to our desk.
He started out with an unfinished wood because we weren’t sure if we were going to stain it or white wash it.
Well,
it looks like white washing won out in the end.
P.S. PLEASE do NOT tell Steve. He would have a HEART ATTACK if he knew we white washed his beautiful unfinished wood. (*Conversation I had with Steve during the install: Steve: So what do you think you will do to the accent wall? Are you going to leave it as is? I think it looks great the way it is now. Me: Not sure yet? Maybe stain it, maybe white wash it? Steve: Oh NO! You never white wash perfectly beautiful unfinished oak planks.)
Ummmmmmmm, yeah………… So, please don’t tell him. It can be our secret.
We wanted to make it look weathered and not too perfectly white washed, so we tried to make it not as uniformed.
I absolutely love love love it. Sometimes our company can stress both of us out and this space is just so relaxing.
In order to get the color of the white wash, we took a small amount of paint and thinned it out significantly with water until we got it to the color we wanted.
Then finished it off with a sweet picture I picked up from Homegoods. I like to say it is more on my side so technically, I am more “like a boss” than him, but who is counting…………….. 😉
On the opposite wall, we placed the filing cabinet/shelving unit I had been eyeing for months and months. It finally went on sale at Pottery Barn and I pounced. I ended up saving almost $500!!!! From what I have seen, they usually keep it in stock. It is part of their modular Bedford line.
I am not disappointed at all. It is very sturdy and seems to be very well made. I have not regretted any purchase I have made from Pottery Barn so far. The only thing is, I have to really plan and save for the items I purchase due to their prices, but it is worth it.
In the corner, I placed a wall file holder I had in our last home that I also picked up from Ikea. Paint color on wall is the main color in our house: Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter, which is a “graige”. Gray/Beige.
I love that it stays on the wall and does not take up any counter space.
On the wall by the door, is our planning center for the upcoming projects that we are doing and our current projects we are working on.
These magnetic boards are also from Ikea and have white magnets that you can purchase separately there for it. I chose to use my label maker and do categories for the planning board that helps me stay on top of everything. (*I removed a lot to protect information on the projects, but you get the idea.)
I literally planned this entire room around this light fixture. Like I mentioned before, I knew I wanted that industrial feel in here and this was the only light fixture I could picture in here. Since the desk is more to the side and the light fixture is centered in the room, we swagged it over with a ceiling hook to have it centered over the desk. The best thing about the light fixture is the price. For a light fixture like this, you would probably pay a lot! Not at Ikea! Here is a link to the fixture from their Hektar line. We paid only $69 for this huge monster!
I really wanted to be able to walk in to the room and feel that it had a female presence as well as a male so I decided to go with these two chairs they sell at Costco. I purchased one white for me and……
one black for him. I am so glad that I did. He has a tendency to show up splattered in paint or some foreign matter from time to time, so the black helps to hide that. 😉 *LOVE YOU, BABE!
And last but certainly not least, here is my disorganized closet. Can I just tell how much I love having a closet in my office? I know it seems so simple. A little closet in a room. However, I did not have this in my last office and it REALLY makes a difference. I can hide stuff in there like a printer! Mine always became an eyesore and even though I needed it, I didn’t like the junky look it had. Now, I can just close the door and forget about it. It is wireless, so it isn’t necessary to attach to my computer and I just sneak the extension power cord under the door and plug it in right next to my desk. Problem solved!
Well, my lovely friends, thank you thank you thank you for spending more time with me and taking another peak into this crazy thing I call a home.
I hope you have enjoyed another installment of the new house tour.
That fall time air is really calling my name and I hope to share a new recipe with you next time as well as a post about the true heart of our home……… THE KITCHEN!
Until next time,
XOXO,
ESTHER
Tags: Benjamin Moore, Costco, Fixer Upper, Gray, Hektar Light Fixture, His and Hers, IKEA, Ikea Alex Drawer Base, Industrial Style, New House Tour, Planked Walls, Revere Pewter, Shared Office, Sherwin Williams, Shiplap, Stain, Tongue and Groove, White and Black Design, White Washed
10.17.
You know, there is just something about a comfortable, plop down on the couch, furry rug…… living room! Don’tcha think?
Well, I do!
Folks, I can’t think of a more comfy space than the living room in my house. I really wanted it to be this place that was easy to keep clean but also a place where you could do just that…… PLOP! Just come in and sit right down. Kick up your feet and stay a while. Well, not too long, I suppose! LOL!
In order to do that, I knew I was going to have to put things that were easy to wash, were soft, but could also take the abuse that my family would give it.
Yes, I jumped on the white slipped cover “band wagon” . We went to IKEA right before we moved in and bought these couches. BEST DECISION EVA!
I really love how the white is so versatile, yet can be washed if it were to get dirty. When I bought these, I chose to get a second set that was a darker gray. My idea is to switch them out every few months. Hopefully, this will help with the longevity of the slip covers. If not, the good thing is they are not expensive to replace and who doesn’t like a good excuse to go to IKEA, right? 😉
My last couch was a wrap around and we literally had it until it began to dry rot. I am not one who likes to buy a really expensive nice couch when I know my kiddos are probably going to spill something on it , or, like my little man, use it as a trampoline or a base jump spot to dive off of. *What is it going to take to make that KID stop! AHHHHHH! That one is definitely going to be my ER baby!
I yell and yell at my whole family and tell them that we will not be eating or drinking on this AT ALL, but let’s be honest. That is like saying the same thing about a new car. You have really good intentions initially, and then that one day comes where you make the exception and suddenly it goes from looking like this:
to looking like THIS:
Well, hopefully not this bad. I mean, we don’t smoke so we shouldn’t have the cigarette packs and all. 😉
When we first moved in, we only had our fireplace on the wall here. I knew that I wanted to do built ins, so I called Steve Egloff from The Wandering Woodshop who did all the carpentry work in our house and together we came up with plan. He custom designed the built ins to work for my space.
If you notice, the thermostat was put on the wall very close to where I wanted the built ins to go, so made sure the design would work with the position of the thermostat and still look good and symmetrical for the space.
I think he did a fantastic job!
We went with a backing that has an unfinished horizontal boarding. At first, my plan was to white wash the backing, but after looking at for a day, I noticed that the backing was really picking up some of the yellow and tan accents I had in that space so I decided to keep it and I am so happy that I did. It also, to me, has a beach feel and since I have coastal accents in my house, I LOVE IT!
*Reference Purposes: The color of the blue paint that is used on the accent wall is Benjamin Moore’s Labrador Blue. Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter is the main color on the wall.
I really love the contrast of the honey tones on the back of the space work so well with the greens and silver.
We went with some of the same hardware that we have used in the kitchen and the baths throughout the house. They are from The Martha Stewart line at Home Depot. They are usually in the store and also in stock.
We went with a lot of the same squared off craftsman style cuts we have used on other detail projects in the house.
It’s really believe it is all in the details, and Steve really takes the time to do that.
On to the thing that was probably one of the biggest reasons we chose this house. For as long as I can remember, I have tried to create a “command center” or area that we can utilize for the kids things or things for the home that require planning. Papers always overflow if they do not have a home. Homework always ends up on the dinner table. I could go on and on……….
BEHOLD!!!!!!
THE PLANNING CENTER!
I am so happy we have this space. It is out of the way at the base of our stairs and holds all the homework items, important papers, and crafting items that one could need.
Everything is nice and hidden behind the cabinet doors and the countertop stays open for the kids to spread their homework out.
I made sure when we were adding electrical outlets, that I added plenty in this space for purposes of charging any phones, tablets, laptops etc. While we are using the cubby areas currently for scratch paper for homework or construction paper for projects and headphones, and staplers……. the first thought we had for the space was “WOW! We that space would be perfect for the tablets and ipods! The ideas are endless !
I decided to put a photo holder in the space for fun memories and and also put an IKEA organizing bar in the corner too. The extra hooks are there to hold up to two more buckets as the need grows to have them.
Even though the light above the space is casting a yellow glow, the granite is actually not that yellow. The color for reference purposes is Santa Cecilia.
Hardware for the space is a mix of Martha Stewart silver knobs and square cup pulls (Special Order) from Home Depot on the lower cabinet area and a glass knobs for the upper cabinets. I couldn’t find them online, but they are always in stock at either Home Depot or Lowes for about $3.50 each.
Probably the best thing about this area of the house is this. You can’t see the mess that might be made behind the wall that it resides behind.
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We have had the Z Marquee Light for a little while now and got this from our good friends at Vintage Marquee Lights. They are awesome!
Well, my dear friends, that is all for today! Thank you so much for spending more time with me as I shared the living room space and planning center area with you today. I hope you were able to get some great ideas that may help you with your own decorating journeys.
If you have some great tips to share, or if you have any questions, please feel free to do so in the comments! I would love to hear from you.
Please check back next week where I share how I turned what might have been a girly office into a shared office space for the hubster and myself! 😉
XOXO,
Esther
Tags: Built Ins, Comfy, Crafts, Craftsman Style, Ektorp Couches, Furry Rug, Granite, Home Depot, Homework, House Tour, IKEA, Living Room, Lowe's, Martha Stewart Hardware, Organization, Planning Center, Santa Cecelia, Slip Covers, Vintage Marquee Lights
10.03.
Mornin, Y’all!
Hope your day is going well so far………..
Today, I wanted to share a few pics from our new Dining Room. I should probably mention that in our last house, we had a very open floor plan that had our kitchen, living room, and dining room all in one room. While the new house also has an open floor plan, the dining room is now in it’s own separate space.
In case you haven’t seen it, here is a quick pic of our last dining room:
While I really loved all the space that we had, it was really difficult for me to decorate that space because it always had to compliment both the living room and kitchen and very easily became cluttered all the time.
In our new house, I decided that even though the dining room now had it’s own space, I really like the simplicity of having a simple looking dining room without a lot of clutter. (*I’m thinking the last house did that to me. LOL!)
Here is our new dining room:
I was so excited when I got to take our chandelier with us and heard that the new homeowners didn’t want it. SCORE for me! I was able to pick up the curtains for the space at Homegoods. The best thing about picking up your curtains from somewhere like this is they usually sell the curtain panels in packs of two. Most stores try to sell you their curtains and charge per panel, so getting two is definitely a deal. Basically, I picked up two for the price of one. 😉
I searched high and low for this chandelier when I first purchased it and thought all the work I did looking for it and finding a deal was going to go down the drain, but nope! I’m really happy with how it looks in it’s new space. (*Side note: Color on walls is Light French Gray by Sherwin Williams)
I have had the star for quite some time now. It has mostly been outside on exterior walls, but I thought it might go well on the wall. I bought it from the flea market where I used to live for about $50. While I was in Homegoods looking for the curtains, I saw this awesome picture that went fantastic with the star.
I just love this picture so much. I also love how it is the first thing you see when you enter into our home.
You know I love painting ceilings! I mean, it is the “5th wall” afterall. 😉
We decided to paint only the highest tray ceiling area a different color. It’s only a personal preference, but for me, when you paint the both areas of double molded tray ceilings, I feel like it begins to look “choppy”. So basically, you would have color, white crown trim, color, white crown trim. I felt like painting only the highest ceiling and keeping the rest white, drew your eye up better and made the ceilings feel higher. (*Does my rambling make sense? ) The color we decided to go with is Iced Cube Silver by Benjamin Moore.
Please excuse all the lighting in the following pictures, but I didn’t take these until today and I’m not sure if you have heard, but apparently Joaquin Pheonix is reaking havoc on our coast line…….. I mean, Hurricane Joaquin. My bad, I had Joaquin Pheonix on the brain again.
ANYHOO!
This is why the lighting is not as great and my decor has changed a bit, thanks to my youngest chica. (*She loves Halloween, but really, what kid doesn’t?)
This is a better full pic of the dining room.
Just in case, for reference sake on where I got all the items are:
• Chandelier: Pottery Barn – sorry! not sure they still carry it. 🙁
• Metal Star: Flea Market – $50
• Roman Shades: Home Depot – Color: Driftwood
• Curtains: Homegoods – Tommy Hilfiger Brand – $ 26.99 for set of 2
• Table: Pottery Barn – Sumter Style – (Is a two leaf table that seats up to 10 total)
• White Chairs : IKEA – $ 50 each : IN STOCK
• Bench: Homegoods
• Rug: Grandin Road – $ 115 (Bought on sale)
While I’m at it, I thought I would share a bit about our front door. Originally, I was told that we could have our front door stained, which sent me over the moon excited. I have always wanted a stained front door. I love stained front doors. They always look so inviting and warm.
Well, it didn’t end up turning out that way unfortunately. (SAD FACE)
The sales team for our house was mistaken because the door actually came primed.
SO!
It was on to plan B!
I looked and looked at different doors on Pinterest and finally came up with the color I loved. I had to make sure that it would go well with our gray exterior color and black shutters.
The WINNER!!!!!!?????????
“Hale Navy” by Benjamin Moore.
In the light, it looks like the color above.
In the dark or less lighting, it looks more like this:
Which I’m very happy with, because I really did want the color to take on a darker hue on the inside.
And last but surely not least, this is the full view of the front foyer/hall/entry way.
I must have tried a million different pieces of furniture in that space the bench is occupying. Everything just seemed to eat up a lot of the floor space and make that area seem cramped. All but the bench that I ended up sticking with in the space. This bench actually used to be the bench that was used in the dining area at our last house. (*You may notice it in the first picture above)
I felt that it had a better place in the foyer though. The black top really seems to mimic the look of the front door (even though the front door isn’t really black).
The walls in the hall are somewhat empty right now. I know what I would like to do there, I just don’t have the budget to do it right now.
I’m hoping to wait patiently and snag a good deal on a few large canvas prints so I can fill that space with really big pics of my kiddos! Until then, it will just have to stay empty.
Items in the foyer:
• Front Door Color: Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore
• Wall Color: Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore
• Bench: Grandin Road from 2 seasons ago.
• Flushmount Lights: Purchased at Home Depot – Hampton Bay Brand (*Cheaper than Lowes Brand)
• Throw Pillows: Color: Linen – TJ MAX – $ 10 each
Ok, my loves! Thank you so much for stopping by and spending time with me again!
I hope you enjoyed taking a look at the dining room and foyer. Next week, the incredible Steve Egloff makes an appearance again! *Or, at least his awesome work does. 😉
Next week, I plan on continuing with my tour of the downstairs and sharing our living room pics and ideas!
It includes built in cabinets and something called a “planning center”!
What is that, you ask?
Guess you will just have to check back to find out!
Until next week!
XOXO!
Esther
Tags: Benjamin Moore, Chandelier, Dining Room, Flushmount Light, Foyer, Hale Navy, Hampton Bay, Home Depot, Homegoods, Hurricane Joaquin, IKEA, Light French Gray, New House, Pinteres, Pottery Barn, Revere Pewter, TJ Max, Tour
09.25.
Hello, my favorite people!
Today, I wanted to give you a sneak peek of our new house. I have had multiple people ask for pictures and I wanted to share with you, some of the things we have done.
This is probably one of my favorite spots in the whole house! It’s so cozy and I just love it. To start with, none of the built ins were here.
I knew I wanted to put the built ins here before we even moved in. I had scoured Pinterest and searched and searched and once I had found the look I wanted, I called the only person I knew who could make it all come to life! His name is Steve Egloff from The Wandering Woodshop. Steve is a true craftsman. He loves what he does and it shows in everything he does.
If you live in the Myrtle Beach area and need any kind of wood work done, he is your man! You can check out his Facebook page here.
Be forewarned! I will be bragging about Steve again in the upcoming weeks as I share all the projects he has done at our New Home. 🙂
We have a mudroom area right off our garage that has a built in bench already and I really wanted the space in the breakfast nook to look like it had always been there and wasn’t an addition on our part. I had Steve mimic the look of that here.
It turned out EXACTLY how I wanted!
I asked him to have it function just like the other one and works perfectly.
He even put felt stoppers in between the closing areas so that it wouldn’t slam shut. Because of this, it shuts very smoothly.
We purchased the table while we were still in the apartment. I picked it up from World Market. I believe they still have them in stock. The chairs are from Ikea and stay in stock.
Then there is Penelope and Bessie. My new pets. Probably as close to actual pets as I will ever get. (Insert tears here) I love these paintings. I received a catalog from Grandin Road before we moved in and I couldn’t think of anything else for this wall space. I even based how high I wanted my Batten Board on the wall because I knew I would be ordering these.
They are 36 in. sq. and are the smaller of the two sizes they offered. Can you believe that? They stole my heart from day one.
Towards the back side of the house, we have a little nook that I had Steve build another bench on. This serves as multiple things in our house. It is our quiet spot, reading nook, time out corner, sometimes blogging nook and I love it. 😉
Even though it was tempting to have this bench open for storage, we decided instead to keep it stationary.
We also decided to keep it simple with the moldings on the front and mimic the detail from the breakfast nook slightly to have it all look cohesive.
Well, there you go, my friends! The first look into our new house and few comfy spots that we love. I hope you liked taking a little peek into our house with me.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you check back next week, as I plan on sharing a few dining room pics with you.
I was ecstatic when I was able to keep my chandelier from the old house when the new homeowners weren’t interested in keeping it. It returns next week to it’s rightful home!
Have a wonderful weekend, EVERYONE!
xoxo,
esther
Tags: Batten Board, Bench, Bessie, Breakfast Nook, Built Ins, Grandin Road, IKEA, New House, Penelope, Sneak Peek, World Market
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