Covering the (nekked) windows

Remember those nekked kitchen windows? I loved how much light they let into our formerly dark space. I have lived, quite happily, with nothing on those windows for at least six months now.

I decided I was going to keep them that way until I found just the right covering, at just the right price, that I loved. If I didn’t find all of the above, they were staying nekked…FOREVA!!!

OK, that was a little intense. But I wasn’t going to force anything. I wanted it to be natural. To flow. Be cool.

And over the past few weeks…it all aligned perfectly. :)

It started when I found this purdy fabric a while back at Calico Corners:

I got it for another room, and LOVE it there. Love. (I’ll show you that soon!) But for some reason, I had a ton extra – I think I had planned on making pillows, but I had enough left for some mongo pillows.

So…the idea hit me. The colors would be so freakin’ pretty in our kitchen! I held it up to a kitchen window and was hooked. It took about 45 minutes with my hemming tape and iron and I had some cute cafe curtains:

I didn’t even line them. I might later, might not. I didn’t make a rod pocket either – I just hung them with the clips using this technique.

I live on the edge people.

Remember the pendant light I installed over the kitchen sink? I had taken that shade off to use in the living room and put another drum shade up. It’s not in the best condition, but it was a $1.99 Goodwill find last year, so I’m making it work!

It had black trim on the top and bottom of the shade, so I just took that off:

I found some double fold bias tape in a pretty green color (for less than $2!) and because the shade was still sticky from the black tape, I just stuck the green one on:

You can see how beat up the shade is in this pic, but from the ground it’s not nearly as noticeable. It may not be staying up anyway…but more on that later. :)

Finally, my little window makeover was complete! It’s so fun and fresh and springy!:

I played around with the height, and ended up with something a little longer than half the window. I used a dark tension rod to match the drapery rings, but I may try a white one too. Although I do dig the contrast of the dark rod.

I love the flowers in simple glass bottles on the windowsill:

Best part – the new curtains still let the light in, but if I ever go into freak out mode at night, I can pull easily pull them closed. :)

Awhile back I found a Target rug that pulled in the blues from the family room, and now I couldn’t be happier with how the rug, chairs and drapes are working together:

Because they aren’t right next to each other, (I think) they totally work. They all have the same shades of green and the fabric and rug have the same smoky blue color. All have a supa fun design too. :)

And my covered windows didn’t stop there! A couple weeks ago I came across some clearanced bamboo shades that were the perfect size for the bay windows:

Only $11 each baby!

The shades aren’t the exact tone of those in the family room, so I’ll have to see how they work on a sunny day. Hopefully it won’t drive me nutty.

You wouldn’t think it from this picture, but it was cloudy and rainy today:

Yay!! I still have my light and bright, but with some texture (and privacy if we need it). Can I get a hollaaaa?

I have some ideas in mind to add some color with accessories to the nook too. :)

Only a few more projects to go and our kitchen redo is complete! You know, the one I started almost a YEAR ago? :) Something about that year deadline is getting my booty in gear.

But so far, so good. Me likey:

:)

The cafe curtains are another P. Kaufmann fabric – I wrote down the name and now I can’t find it! I know, hate me. I do know it had the word “citrine” in it, but I can’t find this fabric online. I’ll call tomorrow and get the name to update this post.

So do you have any nekked windows? Like them? Hate them? Waiting for the just-right-treatments to come along? Do tell.

**I found the name! It’s called Spring Vine Opal from P. Kaufmann. And my lovely living room drapery fabric is called Retreat Blue Citrine, also from P. Kaufmann. (I got the names of the fabrics mixed up.)

The sofa search (an update)

Well hello there! I think it’s high time I fill you in on our search for a sofa in our family room. I wrote about the impending purchase a couple of months ago, and I so appreciated all of your feedback on that post.

As I mentioned one or 15 trillion times, our family room is an odd configuration of open layout, a wall of windows, a corner fireplace and a walk way into the rest of the house:

It makes for a very frustrating furniture set up. I may have mentioned one or eleventy billion times that we’ve tried every way possible when it comes to arranging the furniture. Except one , which I’ll tell you more about in a minute. :)

There’s a number of things we’re looking for in our new sofa – it has to be easily cleaned (I mean, with water and soap), comfortable, and oh yeah…EASILY CLEANED. :) That’s the biggie. It’s my biggest complaint with our current sofa.

At first we were looking into a Pottery Barn sofa with a chaise. My sis helped me out and did a quick count of the comments on the previous post, and 31 or so people LOVED their PB sofa. About nine did not. Funny how the negative comments make such an impact, eh?

If I remember right, the biggest complaint was that the back cushions get smooshed over time and end up…well…smooshed. I believe the PB folks suggest a fluffing ritual, but I know me and me would NEVER keep up with that. I know what I’m made of peeps. :)

I mentioned IKEA sofas as well, and about 24 of you loved your Ektorp sofas, and five weren’t thrilled. This time the negative reviews were more about general quality – some said they just plain didn’t hold up.

On a recent trip out to IKEA, I tested out the floor model, and crossed it off the list for comfort reasons only. If I didn’t sink into the model that thousands of people sit on a week, I’m guessing my tush isn’t going to sink into ours at home. :)

I would totally consider it for a less used space like our playroom though – the price, size and washable slipcovers can’t be beat!

So from there I did some more research – I went oh so many places and sat my booty on OH so many sofas. And then I found…the one:

It’s the Baldwin sofa from Arhaus. A few of you mentioned it and I had to check it out. We’ve had an Arhaus in Indy for at least five years now – probably many more than that. I’ve never stepped foot in the store before now, but as I mentioned before, this is not going to be a thrifty purchase by any means.

For the first time in seven years, we’re going to purchase furniture with cash, and it’s going to be a purchase we plan on keeping for (at least) the next ten years. Our other sofas have lasted about two years, at best, and we’re done with that.

And I gotta say…if you haven’t visited an Arhaus, you must visit just for the eye candy. Lordy, it’s gawgeous. SO many pretty things to look at, great decorating ideas, and plenty of knock-off projects as well. ;)

Anyhoo, the Baldwin had me at “washable slipcover” and I was a goner after I melted right into it – it’s that comfy. Oh my.

One little detail I’m looking for this time is a lower profile arm, and it’s got it:

You can see from the picture of our family room above that the current sofa’s arms take up about ten extra inches of valuable space in the room.

There’s also another option called the Lansbury:

It’s a bit more modern, a little more contemporary. But it doesn’t come slipcovered. I mentioned before that I really didn’t want to go with a microfiber, and I had two reasons for that – years ago when we tried them out we were nearly shocked out of pants. They were literally…shocking. :)

I’m also not in love with the way microfiber leaves imprints if you swipe your hand across it – you know what I mean? But I did find out that those two issues have be greatly improved on over the years, so I don’t think either would be an issue for me anymore – especially because they are so easy to clean!

So now there’s a few things to figure out – the first is how the heck to pay for it. ;) No really, it’s going to take months of saving, obviously. And we also need to make a decision on another big change in the room.

Last year I finally figured out a solution for the furniture placement. This is our current layout:

I used Homestyler to create this floor plan and I highly recommend it – it was SO easy, fun (and free!) to use.

It’s not perfect (I messed up the placement of the windows on this one), but it gives you an idea. Right now we have the sofa facing the corner fireplace, with the TV to the left of it.

My idea is to move the TV above the lovely Henredon (Craigslist!) dresser:

I was planning this before, but kept hesitating because the dresser that was there before (which is now in the Bub’s room) was just slightly too small – and moving the TV over there meant I’d have to lose my lamps. I LOVE those lamps. :)

The new dresser is super long, and the absolute perfect size for our TV and my lovely lady lamps. I have no idea how the TV will look flanked by lamps, but I’m hoping I’ll like it. Cause I LURVE.

Anyway, because our basement is unfinished, we can have all of our cable and surround sound stuff moved over to the other wall, which will free up the wall near the fireplace.

Initially we were thinking of a sofa with a chaise, and if there’s room, we’d add a chair next to the fireplace:

Moving the TV completely changes the orientation of the room. It makes it longer and wider, because in the past that area in front of the dresser didn’t really feel like part of the room.

Hubby’s only concern is that people may walk in front of the TV, but usually it’s just the three of us, so we figured it’s not a huge issue.

And yes, to watch TV, we’d have to sit turned a bit, but after some of my own private research over the past few months, I’ve realized we sit angled anyway. We gravitate towards the window end of our sofa and angle our bodies that direction.

So now I’m trying to decide if we should do the chaise, or go full-on sectional:

My only hesitation is putting a sofa in front of the window – I’m not avidly against it, but I’d rather not do it if I have the option. After seven years trying to figure out this room – I’ve realized there is no other option. :)

The pros: the sectional gives us so much more usable seating! (And no, the sectional can’t go the other way, longest part against the windows. Not enough room.) It still keeps the focus on the fireplace, but also allow for easy TV watching. It makes usuable space so much bigger – and with a slightly bigger rug (some day), it would be fantastic.

The cons: the sofa in front of the windows (which I think I could get over) and it may crowd the fireplace a bit. (It would be about three feet from the corner of the fireplace.) BUT, with the TV and stand gone to the left, it would open up the other side of the fireplace.

I’d love to be able to add a smaller chair and ottoman to the spot where the entertainment center is now – something thinner like this:

Or this (it rocks – literally!):

The chair would wait though – I’d need to live with the space to see how it worked out first.

So…two things I’m wondering about from you all – those of you with slipcovers, give me the pros and cons would ya? Love them or hate them? Do they always look messy? How often do you wash yours?

And I’ve heard conflicting reports on whether or not the Arhaus sofa is the same as the Ballard Designs Baldwin sofa. Arhaus and Ballard tell me no – but they have the exact same specificiations – construction, measurements, etc. Any insight?

Whew, you still with me? :) That’s where we stand now – no new sofa, yet. Lots of ideas swimming around in my head though. Honestly, at this point I’m hoping we’ll have a new sofa sitting in our family room by fall. Between saving and the time it takes to have it made, it will be (at least) that long.

Have I mentioned patience is not my strongest virtue? :)

 

P.S. I did a ton of research about what to look for in a quality sofa, and found this Good Housekeeping article to be the most helpful. The Arhaus option has won out for us because they incorporate so many of these recommendations.

P.P.S. And yes…we’ve tried arranging it that way. And that one. And…THAT one. :) We’ve tried it all.

Before and After Party: A favorite!

Hello all! It’s time for the next Before and After Party! Whoot! This time I’m showing you an oldie (it’s been done for a few years now) but it’s one of my very, very favorite transformations in our house. LOVE.

We have a fireplace in our bedroom, and yes, it’s fanfreakingtastic. Really. It was all hubby’s idea. The day we decided to add it in to our house plans, I was huddled in a corner, biting my nails, shaking, freaking out about the added expense.

But yet again…he was so right. I end up saying that way more often than I’d like.

We LOVED the mantel and surround on the fireplace -- it was nice and beefy:

I just don’t know what I was thinking with that tile. It was peach:

Because my father-in-law was a tile extraordinaire, we asked for his help to redo it and make it more us. Cause peach isn’t us.

He and his assistant did SUCH a fantastic job, I love it so much still. My original plan was to do glass mosaic glass tiles – and then I priced out the glass tiles I wanted, and whoosh, it was going to be crazy expensive (like $600) to do this small space.

Plan B: Lowe’s. :)

I found a perfect alternative for only $10 a square foot:

It’s a mix of greens, rusts, browns and greys and I’m telling you, it’s SO gorgeous. Oh, I love it so!

Because you can cut the sheet the tiles lay on before installing, we only ended up needing about eight 12 by 12 sheets of tile.

For the hearth, it got even better. I found slate tiles for just over $2 each:

Oh the colors are luscious, and they match the mosaic tiles perfectly.

So the total cost for this project was just over $100 for tile. SCORE! (And a few bucks more for the grout.)

My father-in-law took the old tile off before reinstalling the new stuff – and it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I was nervous about that part, but it came off so easily, they were able to use the old board for the new tile.

One thing to consider when using slate – each tile will vary in thickness, so be careful when installing. If you look close, you can see how the tiles toward the front are thicker than those in the back:

You don’t notice it unless you’re looking at it a certain way:

But if you use this on a floor, it’s something you’ll want to watch.

We also sealed the tile after everything was installed (you need to wait a certain amount of time before doing so, check the instructions) – I absolutely recommend doing this because it really brings out the colors in the tile and makes them even more deep and beautiful!

The last step -- those (BLINDING!) brass bars. They came right off – if you have them check to see if yours pop off. They are held on with magnets on the back:

You’ll just have the black fireplace behind it, so you can just take them off and leave it at that. We thought the bars made the fireplace look just a bit more finished, so I just spray painted them with oil-rubbed bronze paint:

Even though the bars get hot, the spray paint has held up great! I thought I’d have to use a high heat paint, but the ORB works just fine. It’s held up for years now.

And now we have a fireplace that is just our style, and it’s one of our favorite before and afters:

You can see I also changed out the light and you can see more about that here. The art above the fireplace is made from canvases and wallpaper and you can see that here.

It’s an oldie but goodie but I love it so much I figured it was worth mentioning again.  :)

Our fireplace before:

And after my thrifty tile shopping and my father-in-law’s mad skills:

And the wide before shot:

And the after, with a plethora of Where’s Waldo changes:

:)

So it’s time to see your projects! Can’t wait to see!

Remember, be sure to link the html to your post, not your blog! The linky will be open for a week, so if your post isn’t ready, you can always link up later.

I would appreciate if you could link back to my site and include this purdy button:

Have fun!! :)

And GOOOOOO BUTLER BULLDOGS!!!

Month in review (and a winner!)

Hello all! Hope you got a touch of spring this weekend like we did! It was SO nice today – just a bit insanely windy. I’ll take it though!!

I’m back for another month in review, just in case you missed that one post.I know it would be awful, really.

But first, I need to announce the winner of the Sentry Safe! The lucky chick is Katie Lott of Kate Congdon Designs! Yay, congrats Katie! Please email me at simplehomeinteriordesign (at) gmail (dot) com and I’ll hook you up with your free fire safe!

OK, onto a recap of the March posts.

I jumped the gun with last month’s recap, so I’m adding in a couple from the end of February – cause I can’t leave out this guy:

That is our Peanut, or as I like to call him, The Nut. He’s a Chihuahua Rat Terrier mix and is cuddling against me as I type. :) He’s the cutest, the snuggliest, the craziest little pup we’ve ever met. He and the Bub are now best buds for life. He and the cats…notsomuch. ;)

Actually, he LOVES them – they just have very little tolerance for him. One of the cats has been great with him, the other two are still getting used to the idea of a puppy. Puppy? What the heck is a PUPPY? And why is he in OUR house?? (I’m pretty sure that’s what they’re thinking.)

I promise to do a Peanut post again soon. I’ve got plenty of content for that one.

I shared some pictures of a lady date friends and I took to one of my favorite antiquing spots in Indy:

If you live near or in Indy and haven’t been, I highly recommend it. Be ready to dig, and plan on spending at least an hour!

I FINALLY finished purging the basement, and it only took, like, five years:

We use the space often, even though it’s unfinished. But we’re starting to plan the finishing process…hopefully taking steps by summer. (YAHOO!!!)

I posted a giveaway to Oriental Furniture, and was a bit surprised to find all of the beautiful pieces that would work in our home:

The March Before and After party was the biggest yet!! I shared how the eating area in our kitchen has changed over the years:

I’ll post this month’s party tomorrow evening – get your posts ready!

Next I talked about how the economy has affected the value of our house and what we decided to do about it:

Meaning, we’re not doing anything about it. :) Staying put.

I showed off the sweet and funny Allison of House of Hepworths:

If you missed all her great projects, go here.

Next I played musical dressers with the help of Craig and his List:

I found the perfect dresser for the Bub’s room, and it had been sitting in the family room all along. :)

It took me a year, but I got all of the knobs in the house changed out from shiny brass to beeeeeautiful oil-rubbed bronze:

I showed you the steps to change out knobs, and I promise it’s not hard! Many of you asked why I didn’t spray paint the knobs – it’s because I did my research and found for the most part, they just don’t hold up. I knew I’d be banging my head against the wall if I had taken all that time to prime, spray and top coat them and then the paint came off! Ugh.

My friend Melissa at 320 Sycamore did a post about how hers turned out, and you can find that here. My friend Beckie has had better luck with her knobs, here. She emphasizes how important each step is though – including sanding each knob.

Overall, I spent less than $300 on all of our knobs, but I also have tendency to take down doors, so I didn’t purchase them for all of the doors we’ve removed. ;)

Next up, I was giddy to be able to take TWO trips to IKEA in just two weeks:

I shared some of my favorites with you in this post. Geez, I love that place.

I found a $5 light at our Habitat ReStore and with a little spray paint, it looked like a million bucks!:

OK, a million is pushing it. Maybe $15. ;)

I was tired of waiting around for perfect baseboards in the office, and went ahead and finally installed the board and batten treatment:

And ohhh my, I love it! I smile every time I walk in the room!

I shared a few little things around the house that I like, and the Zip It was a hit with you all:

And I told you not to watch the video on their site, didn’t I? :)

I didn’t realize it, but the towels I mentioned were on clearance on the Meijer site and you all SOLD THEM OUT! Ha! I freakin’ love it. But I heard from a reader that they have discountinued the towels in the store?? This I do not love. I am going to check it out on my next trip there to see what’s up!

I shared how I have tamed the paper clutter in our house:

It’s a process that’s working (for me) so far – I hope it’s helped some of you!

Last week I used mossy rocks, a sheet of moss and reindeer moss to create…you guessed it -- a mossy vignette:

Turns out I am SO not the first to make that big honkin version of the Pottery Barn letter! If you search “mossy letter” you’ll find about 5,400 ways to do it. ;)

And finally, last week I shared that our house is rarely perfectly clean, usually quite messy, how I feel like I’m barely keeping up with life sometimes and that’s why we have items like toilet seats in our bedroom at times:

I so appreciate your comments on that post! I read every. single. one.

So that’s it! March was a great month peeps – here’s to a fantastic April!

Don’t forget the April Before and After Party will go up tomorrow evening. Have a great Monday!