Wall Decor

There's a huge blank space on the wall above Lukas's bed that has been driving me nuts. What should I put there?

Observe these very poorly photoshopped images for ideas:

Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? Open to anything (reasonably priced) right now.

Kitchen Inspiration

I have been looking at kitchens for a loooong time. I've saved most of my favorites on Pinterest and Instagram, and I thought I'd share a few here. I'm hoping to gather my thoughts and figure out what I like about each of them.

I know I want shaker-style cabinet fronts with either full overlay or full inset. Other than that, I think I'm torn between two (maybe three) counter/cabinet color combinations....

1) White kitchens - for the longest time, I definitely thought I'd want white cabinets. White cabinets and white/grey marble-look counters. They're so classic and timeless.

2) Colored cabinets - after bringing home tons of color samples and seeing what they looked like in the light in our home, I started to really love blues, greens, and grey cabinet colors as well. Not a surprise since most of the rest of our house is blue, green, or grey. Muted color palettes are the bomb. 

3) Wooden cabinets - wood cabinets have started cropping up more and more and I really like the warmth they add to a space.  

I think the answer to my dream kitchen is a combo of all of the above. One thing that bothered me about white cabinets is that they never seem to be quite the same white as the countertop. One always turned the other more yellow, something I'd like to avoid. I think cabinets with a subtle color would get rid of that problem. And, I do really love wood as a contrast. I love the look of open wood shelves (so pretty), but I do not want to have to dust and keep them styled all the time. Maybe a butcher-block counter on the island with white counters elsewhere? Something that feels like these....

My main goal is to make something I love, but also, I really want something that won't look dated in 5, 10, or 15 years. I hope I can make some good choices!!

Bathroom Planning

Folks, our windows and siding are finished (I KNOW!! SO EXCITING!!!) but we have a few finishing touches and decisions to make so pictures and details on that later...

What we are currently working on is the master bathroom. Eric has been demolishing and reconstructing for a couple of weekends now, which means I've been able to have some fun planning what the finished product will look like.

We know for sure we would like white hex tile for the floor (the 1" hexes, not the bigger ones) and white square tiles for the shower (Eric felt very strongly on this point). We really like the vanity in the Main bath, and have decided to get the smaller version for the Master. It has such great storage and is at a price point that cannot be beat.

The only other decisions are regarding lighting, shower curtain, mirror, and accessories. We don't have a lot of home stores here, so we will probably source fixtures from Home Depot and/or Lowe's. Their free ship-to-store and no hassle returns make everything a lot less complicated.

So. Mood Boards. What do you think? The only difference in these is the shower curtain...

 ^^ Above is the shower curtain we already own; it's currently in the Main bath.

 ^^ Just realized, the colors on this curtain are pretty similar to the one we already have.
Probably why I like it.

 ^^ Threw this one in (from Urban Outfitters) for a dash of color. Was shocked to find that Eric really likes it. Like, really, really likes it. I like it too, but worry it's a little loud for such a small space. 

^^ And then let me add some brass just to confuse the issue even more...

Once the bathroom is complete and we move back into the Master bedroom, I'd like to add a few accessories to the Main bath. The Main bath will become the guest/kid bathroom, and I'd like to make it more convenient for both. First, I'd like to replace the towel bar. It currently holds two towels and it'd be nice to have extra hooks for guests. I'd also like to add some shelves above the toilet; that way we can put canisters of cotton balls, qtips, extra toilet paper, etc. out where guests can see and use them. I've been wanting to add a bit of wood for a long time - to warm this bathroom up a bit - and I think the shelf and towel-hanger would do just that.

Since there's a chance we'll steal the shower curtain in the Main bath for the Master bath, I tried the new shower curtains in there, too...

^^ Kind of love this one.

I know, both bathrooms are really similar. White on white on white, is what you're probably thinking. The main differences will be in the kind/size of tile and the tile grout. Whereas the Main bathroom is a lot of white and grey and stainless (softened more by the wood), the Master will be white tile and black grout - it should feel more crisp and I hope the (black) accessories will enhance that.

Feel free to weigh in. Or let me know if you find any killer lights or mirrors anywhere.

Oh, and for your daily dose of cuteness....

Eric always wears old, gross Carhartt overalls when he's working, so when I put Cora's overalls on her for the first time (found them in the back of her closet the other day), she immediately disappeared into the front room and started banging on the walls. "I'm working!" she informed me.

***UPDATE*** After showing the hubby all of the above options, he chose none of the above. His favorite is as follows:

Sofas. Again.

I had almost maybe sorta kinda decided that we were going to get the Petrie or Rochelle sofas from Crate and Barrel. Last time we were in Denver, we even went to the store and SAT in them, BUT.... we didn't really love them. Eric liked the Petrie (but I didn't like any of the color choices) and I really liked the Rochelle (but Eric thought it was less comfortable and I still didn't like any of the color choices). 

After that, we both kind of figured... WE WILL NEVER GET A SOFA.

Then, Eric suggested we should reupholster the sofa we have. You know, the plan we had one zillion months ago back when we originally bought the thing!

So I went to the two reupholstery places in town, borrowed every single sample book I could get my hands on, and now, with all the color choices and texture possibilities.... I still cannot decide on a sofa. I think the operative part being, I CANNOT DECIDE. 

I'd like a sofa in this kind of fabric:

But we already have grey chairs and, even though they will need replacing soon, we are so indecisive they will probably never be changed and we would end up living with all grey furniture FOREVER. I do not want all grey furniture. I'd always imagined a nice grey sofa with leather or patterned chairs, you know? 

Then I went to my Pinterest "Live Here" board and discovered I'd Pinned a lot of pictures with sofas like this....

Apparently I like blue sofas. Who knew? Eric was not on board with the blue plan. He wanted a dark grey, or, he said, he might be ok with a very dark navy blue. I tried to convince him with mood boards (basically taking photos of everything in our living room and putting it all together in one photo), but it ended up backfiring.

Because I ended up liking the navy. Quite a lot. 

And it didn't help my case one bit that the navy looks pretty darn good with his Lebowski rug that he loves so much. Danggit. 

All this work and back and forth and, let's be honest, we will still probably NEVER GET A SOFA. 

Leah Duncan & the New Shower Curtain

There have been so many things I've wanted to tell you about lately, but - since getting pregnant the first time - I've been finding it really difficult to form words into coherent sentences. I don't know if it's the pregnancy brain or if I'm really out of practice, but I will attempt to persevere - don't judge me if things are even more poorly written than usual. I'm strugglin'.

I did, however, just take a two hour nap, and Eric is entertaining Cora with dried mangos and some snack/snuggle time so here goes!

I'm a huge fan of Leah Duncan. I'd noticed (and loved) the patterns she made for Schoolhouse Electric Company (left) and the The Link Collective (right), but I hadn't put together that the textiles were designed by the same person until recently.

Then, of course I had to google her and I found that she incorporates her prints into all kinds of media. Pillows, scarves, even jewelry. I love the plants and mountains she depicts and I really love the colors she uses to depict them. Probably because they're all pretty muted. Go figure.

Coincidentally, we now own the shower curtain she designed for Schoolhouse - I wanted something with more color for our bigger, soon to be guest/kiddo bathroom and it definitely fits the bill. I'm hoping to finally paint and add some accessories in there so stay tuned for some inspiration boards on that. Maybe after my next nap.... :)

Weirdest Hobby Yet

Remember this (very dramatic) post about my love for fiber art? Well, I've tried very hard to ignore my desire for wooly wall-hangings, but to no avail. My love for them has, in fact, grown. So much so that I've started making my own! Ha! And it's stinking fun! I've made a few sample pieces, just practicing the different kinds of weaving stitches? methods? and then I finally made this little one using actual colors and patterns and planning. My goodness, they take a lot of planning!

So far, I've loved curling up by the fire of an evening and weaving my little heart out. It's really relaxing.

This little guy is pretty strongly inspired by Maryanne Moodie - I really like the geometric shapes she includes in her work.

We Have Some Super Cool Friends

You guys! Nick and Hanna are officially small business owners!! I can't believe I didn't tell you (all three of you) sooner!! Nick is a really talented woodworker and designer, while Hanna knows her way around a sewing machine, and together they founded their own company, Pare Furniture + Design. I'm pretty much in love with their Distill Lounge Chair, though the craftsmanship on everything they make is ah-mazing. Go, buy their stuff (and then give it to me)!!!

A Bookshelf for Bean

When we were last in Colorado, Eric's mom gave us a box of books that were his as a child. We sorted through them with Adam and Joe and, I must say, watching grown men get exited about children's books was a hoot. A lot of the books were too tall for the storage cube in Cora's room so some ended up on our bookshelf in the den and then, this weekend, we hung a few shelves in her room to display the rest. I think they're pretty cute.

I wanted shelves low enough that the Beanie-baby could pull herself up and, eventually, reach the books she wants to read. Plus, I think these shelves treat her books like the little pieces of artwork that they are.

Souk Rug

Several months ago, Eric's aunt gave us a souk rug. GAVE IT TO US FOR FREE. Did you know that if I could have any rug in the world, it would be this. exact. rug? No? Well, this. exact. rug. is fab.u.lous. I looooove it.

This particular rug was previously a floor model at Restoration Hardware and it needed a good cleaning, but since I was pregnant and useless when we received it, it just hung out in our basement until last week. Then, last week, I rented a carpet cleaner and shampooed the daylights out of it.

If you've researched anything about cleaning wool rugs on the interwebs, it's supposedly a really bad idea to get wool wet. It's best to get them professionally cleaned. However, I took the risk, shampooed the thing, and it looks pretty stinking awesome, if I do say so myself. I went over it probably 6 or 7 times and left it to dry overnight - with every fan in our house blowing on it. It does still smell a little like a wet sheep.... but I'm hoping that will fade with time :).

Look at how shiny and clean it looks!!!!

After it was dry, I hauled this thing upstairs all by myself, which was probably a really stupid idea, but I blame Cora for that lapse in judgement. She was sitting in her highchair, watching me struggle up the stairs, laughing her head off. Her cheering prompted me to suck it up, and amidst cries of, "I am woman, hear me roar!" I managed to get it into the living room all by myself.

I like it a lot, but I think we'll periodically switch this one out with Eric's Big Lebowski rug. His favorite rug in the spring, mine in the fall... that seems fair....

My Version of Secret Holiday & Co.

Have you ever had a moment when you're in the store/art gallery/whatever and you're like, "omg, look at that cute/cool/trendy such-and-such, I could totally make that in ten minutes, and I can't believe they want (insert ridiculous seeming price here) for it." NO? Well I have that thought ALL THE TIME. For example:

This is the work of Secret Holiday & Co. These banners range from $65 to $85 and there is a huuuuge waiting list for them. Huge. It would take years to receive one because, as far as I can tell, they are produced by one lady who makes them by hand in her spare time.

So I decided to make one. The silly thing is, I don't even really like them that much. I think I was more annoyed that I could make this thing for less than $10 and that there are apparently thousands of people out there that want one and are willing to pay a ridiculous amount for them.

I felt a little weird just copying these banners exactly - I made my banner a little differently shaped and I tried to come up with my own verbiage... but that ended up being a total bust. I knew it would go in Cora's room so I wanted it to have some good advice like, "Be strong and courageous" but "courageous" is a stinking long word and wouldn't fit. "Brave" fits perfectly. I thought of doing a fruit of the spirit, but "Love, Joy, Peace" sounds like a Christmas card and, guess what, "Be kind" is already a SHCO banner. I should have just said, "Mama knows best." Omg that's brilliant; I wish I had thought of that sooner. Danggit.

Anyway, my finished banner turned out fine - since I couldn't pick one phrase, I made it double-sided; that way I can flip it over and be doubly indecisive. I just hot-glued the letters on instead of sewing them and now I'm wondering if I can peel them off and change the words around..... because "mama knows best".... at least the second time around....

One Week to D-Date

This year has gone by more quickly than any previous year of my life. Point of fact: we have one week left until our due date.

Yeah.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

I've been a bit slow in packing for the hospital and getting baby stuff ready to go (I still have to wash clothing so the little tyke has something to come home in), but the nursery is at least ready to be inhabited.

Here are a couple of panoramic views of it:

Like I've mentioned before, we really didn't want to spend a ton of money on decorating a room for a child that can only focus on things 8 inches in front of its face. Our big purchase was the rocking chair; pretty much everything else was given to us or we had on hand already. 

I'm not a huge fan of the curtains, I think we will eventually have sheers and a roller shades, but these work for now. 

Eric's mom gave us the alphabet needlepoint and the "Never Doubt an Eagle Scout" was letterpressed by a friend in college. The dresser was mine as a kid, and the baskets and bins are full of Eric's childhood toys. A friend has promised me her changing pad which we'll put on top of the dresser. 

Here's the marvelous crib Eric's aunt gave us; my mom made the blanket hanging on the end of the crib, Eric's mom made the goat pillow (I am aware that you can't have pillows in the crib with a kid, but I'm waiting for Eric to get his guns out of the closet so I can store stuff in there), and the Viking ship mobile was given to us by Nick and Hanna.

I'd better go do some laundry - with only a week left, this room could supposedly be utilized any day now.