design boards are my new bff

I'm teaming up with the fun people at Chairish today to create a design board inspired by one of their amazing rugs. 

 In answering their question of how I like to infuse color into a space, I would say the easiest way is to use something colorful that you love as your inspiration--a rug, a pillow, a dish towel, anything really.   

Don't just pick one color you like or you'll constantly be asking, "does this go?" and annoy the heck out of your friends (not that I've ever done that, of course!).  

If you pick a piece that already has great color combinations then you already know it works well together.  

This rug was said inspiration.  If you look closely, you'll see red, gold, cream, blue, purple, black--it's easier to design a room when you already have great colors like these.

   Surely you've heard of Chairish, right? It is an oh so cool website where design lovers buy and sell their fabulous finds.  Whether you're wanting to sell, buy or just be inspired by their creativity, you won't be disappointed.

Here are the sources for all of these great pieces:

The rug was the original inspiration from Chairish and can be found here.  They have a lot of great rugs.

This couch--the color, the fabric, the shape, I love it so...

You can find it at One Kings Lane.

I would paint the room white and install this lovely wallpaper from Houzz on one wall.

You can find this side table here; it's also from Chairish.

Stak Studio on Etsy

I love this table but in real life I would need to have rounded edges.  Glass corners and rowdy boys do not mix well.

All pillows are from Sukan Handmade Design, also on Etsy.

You won't believe this light--it is a DIY at One Kings Lane.  

They give detailed instructions on their site.  So cool.

Gerhard Richter (I can dream, can't I?!)

A friend of mine, Raina Hampton painted this piece.  Such talent!

Swing Chair is from Urban outfitters--because we wouldn't want our room to take itself too seriously.

This sunburst mirror is also a Chairish find. 

And of course this piece can be found here.

This has been such a fun project.  Have you ever created a design board?  I'd love to know your favorite finds or tips.

the making of a light...and a nook...and a boy...

Since our oldest has a large closet, way larger than he needs, we decided to make a desk nook on one side of it.  The most fun part was making the light for only a few dollars.  We've done this many times before, and so far it never gets old.  

All you need is a pendant light kit, like this one from Hobby Lobby (make sure to use your 40% off coupon), some sort of basket--I used a wire one here (also from the hobs for half off), and maybe a zip tie.  

 Thread the pendant wire through the basket.  It's best to do this without the light bulb, but I was impatient so I risked shattering glass everywhere.  

Attach the pendant to the basket.  I used a zip tie on this light but the type of basket will determine what you use, if anything.

 Now you're ready to attach your light.  You can use a small hook or staple gun (just don't puncture the wire).  I used both on this project, the hook to hang the light and staples to keep the wire in place.

Here's another cool idea for hanging these lights.

design sponge

 For the rest of this project, I used black chalkboard paint that I had on hand for the wall.  We had the two wooden planks from another project so we painted them and attached them to the wall.  The chair is from Wal-Mart years ago.  (You'll remember this post where I sang the praises of these chairs--and we still love them.  Unfortunately they are no longer $15, but I would gladly pay more because they have all lasted and OH MY GOSH WE ARE SO ROUGH ON EVERYTHING!) And the poster came from The Rusted Arrow.  I didn't want to do a lot to this space because the idea is to not be distracted and SIT AND STUDY.  But we'll see about that.  Where do you and your family like to read and study?  

love love love

Just posted some new pieces to my Etsy shop. 

  Happy Valentine's Day!