pinspiration – Page 5 – emerald city diaries

a pinterest christmas: clay ornament & pom pom santa.

welcome to the second week of a pinterest christmas {see the first post here} – very exciting!

this week i was able to add more ornaments to our family christmas tree.

first up, a house key clay ornament. i really liked the idea of preserving our first house key as there is a {slight} chance we won’t stay in this house forever.

{original pinterest link is unknown}

there wasn’t a page that linked to this pinterest {hence no source link above} but it was a pretty easy project to figure out.

instead of buying white clay, i followed this recipe to make a simple clay.

supplies:

3/4 cup water
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup baking soda
glass – to make round ornament
key
plastic straw – to make hanger hole
parchment paper
cookie cutters – optional {i used ones from the trader joe’s christmas sugar cookie kit}
ribbon/twine/string
thin marker/Sharpie/paint pen

once the mixture started heating up, i stirred it often in order to scrape up the cornstarch that would stick to the bottom of the pan. once in the bowl, i let my clay cool for a couple of hours before i rolled it out on the cutting board.

i had a little trouble with the dough crumbling & had to make a few round ornaments before i got two that i liked {i made two in case one didn’t turn out}. i also found that moving the round circle of clay to the baking sheet before imprinting the key was much more successful! {sidenote”: on the snowman & christmas tree there is unevenness – this is because when i was rolling out the clay, pieces stuck to the rolling pin. i liked the texture so i left it.}

after the ornaments had cooled, i added the string. on the house key ornament, i wrote our first house 4.27.12 – i used a sharpie marker. the clay was a bit soft, so the pen made an imprint where i wrote. in hindsight, i would try a thin paint pen.

i also made this cute little pom pom santa!

{original pinterest link – pom pom santa}

supplies:

knobby white/cream yarn
red felt
ruler
small wood beads
red embroidery floss
needle with large eye
glue – i used hot glue
scissors

the original link has a really great tutorial. the only thing i did differently is how i made my yarn pom pom – instead of using the fork method, i used the method kendra used last week for her pom pom wreath.

i trimmed up my pom pom, but didn’t worry about it being a perfectly round shape. this is supposed to be santa’s beard & i liked it to be a little uneven. when i made the felt hat, i didn’t use a compass – instead i measured out the 3 inches along the bottom & side of the corner & also from the corner, making marks. then i cut along the marks i had made.

these were the only small wooden beads i could find at michael’s. i sort of like the idea of making santas with different racial backgrounds!

i love this pom pom santa – he was easy to make & so cute! i only made one for our tree, but i am planning on making them {without the hanging string} as placecards for christmas dinner {perhaps adding a name sign to the hat or something}.

since this is my christmas ornament post, i will also share the pinecone ornament i made out of a pinecone i saved from our now-gone cedar tree {see timber details here}.

{this pinecone is nearly 4 inches tall & weighs a lot, so i rested it on a tree bough along with hanging it!}

{thinking about taking on this project? feel free to leave questions in the comments, and i’d love for you to comment with a link to projects you make inspired by mine.}

ready for some more {p}inspiration? check out these ladies this week and throughout the month of december:

{mondays} amanda @ without a doubt – diy ornaments & alternative christmas tree

{tuesdays} sally@ chacha and mogo – ornaments & junk & kendra @ The Gilbertson Family – diy ornaments

{wednesdays} – michelle @ this grey house – ornaments & scrabble

{thursdays} –maggi @ Greg, Maggi, & Rodney – ruffle tree skirt & abbi @ The Pena Family

have you been {p}inspired by any christmas projects?

a pinterest christmas: reindeer wreath & felted garland.

last year i did a series during the holiday season that was called a pinterest christmas {you can see the first post here and the rest of the posts are under the diy tutorials page here}. i am doing this blog series again this year, but this time i recruited a few blogging friends to join in on the fun {see their blogs & posts below}.

i wanted to make a wreath for our front door this year {you can see there is a wreath theme this week for the blog series} because i didn’t have a wreath last year. i had pinned the felted wreath from west elm {see below} as a {p}inspiration.

{felted wreath from west elm – in white}

this ended up being one of those projects that just wasn’t meant to be. diy-ing can be an awesome way to create something either for cheaper or to be super personalized, but sometimes it just doesn’t make sense. this wreath fell in the latter category. first, this west elm wreath was exactly what i wanted – dare i say perfect! second & probably most important, the supplies to make this wreath would have cost two or three times as much as just buying the wreath. so, alas, i did not make this wreath – i bought it, added a gold ribbon, & it is currently hanging on my front door. i am in love!

so, after that lesson in diy, i was determined to make a christmas wreath this year. i am happy that i found a fun tutorial that satisfied not only my need for a wreath, but also my desire to have a cardboard deer mount in the house.

{original pinterest link – recycling meets rudolph}

supplies:

cardboard – i used an old moving box
red felt, marker, or paper
red cording
2 – 3 jingle bells
wreath – i made one {see below}
black marker
scissors
hot glue/glue
exacto knife
reindeer template – i printed it out on two pages, increasing the size by 196%

{note: this project took a little while, mostly the cutting out of the cardboard, but it was so worth it!}

the instructions are pretty straightforward:

1. cut out the template & trace onto cardboard

2. cut out cardboard

3. glue inside of noses together

4. add rectangular piece across back of headpieces

5. glue on cording to inside of headpieces & sew on jingle bells to cording

6. make noses red – i used felt pieces

7. add black eyes

8. assemble antlers – i glued the pieces in with glue – & attach to headpieces

9. make wreath – i glued holly leaves onto a foam wreath core

10. hang & enjoy – i used a 3M hook

since i was originally going to do a felted wool wreath, i also wanted to do a felted garland.

{original pinterest link – felted garland}

supplies:

wool roving – i bought two packages which made 24 1.5 inch balls
embroidery thread
old tights
big needle

i have never felted before so i opted for the tights-in-the-dryer method as opposed to buying felting tools. yes, my felt balls did have little dents from the knots in the tights (the tutorial posts calls the balls fannies) but i didn’t think anyone would care too much. the process is really easy, i was a little surprised! this would be a really fun project for a kid’s room or nursery too.

{thinking about taking on this project? feel free to leave questions in the comments, and i’d love for you to comment with a link to projects you make inspired by mine.}

ready for some more {p}inspiration? check out these ladies this week and throughout the month of december:

{mondays} amanda @ without a doubt – diy sweater wreath

{tuesdays} sally@ chacha and mogo – diy pom pom wreath & kendra @ The Gilbertson Family – diy pom pom wreath

{wednesdays} – michelle @ this grey house – quick & easy wreath/garland

{thursdays} –maggi @ Greg, Maggi, & Rodney – letter wreath & abbi @ The Pena Family

have you been {p}inspired by any christmas projects?

pinspiration: chalkboard spice jars.

{image via anthro}

i am sure you have seen these spice jars either in-store at anthro or pinned all over pinterest. i have had them pinned on my to-do list pinterest board for months since the $12 a piece price tag was a little steep for moi.

this was a fairly easy project, though it took me a long time to complete. you could probably finish it in a weekend.

supplies:

glass jars – I used baby food jars left over from amanda’s baby shower
chalkboard paint – I used the spray paint
white paint – I used a sample of cloud cover from benjamin moore
craft paint
paint brush(es)
painter’s tape
paper – to make label

{first i spray painted the jars with chalkboard paint. in hindsight i should have taped off the neck of the jars (for the entire process) and added one or two more coats of chalkboard paint. you could just paint or spray chalkboard paint on the area where you want the label, as opposed to the entire jar. i found that the chalkboard paint worked really well as a primer. i also primed the lids with bonding primer that i used here.}

{once the lids were dry, i painted them with acrylic paint that i picked up at michael’s. i found that if i painted around the lid first, holding the top & bottom {as seen in the second photo} & then gently set the lid down on the newspaper to paint the top, the process was much less messy {i.e., not as much paint on your fingers.} it took about four or five coats of the red & blue paint to get to the opaque-ness i wanted.}

{to make the chalkboard “label,” i made a design that i liked and cut it out of computer paper. then i traced it onto painters tape & cut it out.}

{i attached the tape labels to the jars & made sure the tape was really stuck on there. then i taped the jar necks – again, i would recommend taping the jar necks before painting on the chalkboard paint. then i painted the jars white. i used a sample of cloud cover by benjamin moore that i had from our kitchen cabinet update. i didn’t paint the bottoms of the jar since there was a useable chalkboard surface there, for expiration dates or other notes. i painted about three or four coats of white paint.}

{after the jars were dry, i took off the tape from the neck and the label. at this point, i decided my jars needed some touch-up, so i painted the rest of the necks white & i used a very small craft brush to clean up the edges of the label.}

{the final touch was to “season” the chalkboard label by rubbing chalk all over it & then wiping it off. then, fill up the jars with your favorite spices & add names!}

how do you store your spices?

pinspiration project: nursery art.

even before i had planned to surprise meg at her shower a few weeks ago, i knew i was going to make (at least part of) my present to baby garner-ballard. since i have been helping meg with ideas for the nursery for months now, i thought it would be fitting that i made something for the nursery.

meg & i have been going back & forth on the art for her mostly gender-neutral nursery, but since she has loved all things map from the beginning, i knew she would adore this piece!

{original pinterest link: be curious.}

if you follow the original link, it takes you to a huge website compilation of prints & pictures. obviously there was no tutorial, so i had to create it.

one of the things i loved about this piece was the old school map that it was printed on. i searched high & low (from the comfort of my couch – thanks interwebs!) until i found the perfect map on etsy. this map was meant to be a “travel map” where you put pins every place you have travelled, but the size & colors were perfect.

i knew ahead of time that i would more than likely have to letter directly onto the map because i didn’t want to figure out how to try to print it onto the paper, but i didn’t know how until the map was in my hand. at first i attempted to draw out my own letters copying the pinspiration, but that ended up being frustrating & would have taken so long (me being a perfectionist & everything). so, i decided to blow up a copy of the pinspiration (i did a print screen, copied it into a Word document, & blew it up) to the size that i wanted the letters to be & then i printed the image in black & white.

{the print-out}

i cut out an 8 by 10 inch piece from the map choosing a similar layout of the pinspiration – the middle being the atlantic ocean & showing north & south america, europe & africa. once i had the cut out of my map & the print out of the letters, i figured tracing the letters would work the best. fortunately for me i have a glass-top desk, so i turned on my iPhone flashlight & traced the letters onto my map with a pencil.

after i had everything traced, i “colored in” the letters & flourishes. i happened to have a thick chisel tip whiteboard marker in black & a red sharpie – not ideal but they didn’t bleed & got the job done!

i picked up a white ribba frame from ikea which worked perfectly.

i hope that baby garner-ballard & his mom & dad love this little print as much as i do. i love the way this print turned out & i can’t wait to see it in the nursery!

what are your thoughts on making your own prints?

the big kitchen reveal.

this is the post that you have all been waiting for: the big reveal!

i have shown you the kitchen updates in pieces, but it looks so great when its all put together.

in case you missed the updates, here are links: painting cabinets, painting backsplash tile, painting counter, & roman shade.

{a reminder of where we came from.}

{sorry in advance for the dark pictures. when we had lots of sun in seattle, the kitchen was still a mess. naturally, as soon as i was ready to take pictures, the rain came.}

crazy, huh? it is amazing what a couple of coats (okay, a lot of coats) of paint can do to a space. when we first bought the house, we thought we would have to eventually gut & remodel the entire kitchen (including taking out the pantry). but, after seeing it, i think we may be able to replace the countertops & the appliances. {sidenote: i didn’t like the appliances when we first moved in, but come to find out, older appliances work amazingly! despite not getting consistent temperatures in our oven, i can get boiling water in two minutes!} also, we are thinking of eventually replacing our kitchen table with a kitchen island (since we have a table out in our dining room).

i also added a bit of art to our kitchen walls. i really loved the idea of framing vintage flashcards into sayings {see here} but i was too lazy (& cheap!) to find all the flashcards i would have needed. so, i decided to diy it. i also couldn’t find red frames either, so i diy-ed those too by spray painting white target frames red.

to make the flashcards, i just typed out the phrases i wanted, printed them out on resume paper, cut into long rectangles, & rounded the corners. then i glued the “flashcards” onto white cardstock.

i would love to hear your thoughts about our new kitchen. is your mind blown? (mine is.) it doesn’t even look like the same room. i can’t believe it every time i walk into the kitchen. it is so much more light & airy.

i still need to add some more color back in, as well as find new kitchen lights (aaron & i both hate the track lights that are currently in there). future plans: globe pendant lights, brightly colored rug(s), fresh flowers, colorful trivet.

what have you updated lately? have you ever thought of painting your kitchen?

kitchen mini-blind update (or pinspiration: no sew roman shade)

the most recent update to the kitchen was to change the face of the mini-blinds. we have mini-blinds all over our house, including on our kitchen window {obviously}, but the truth is i really hate mini-blinds. we had them on our living room windows until we put up the curtains & i had aaron take them down about six seconds after the curtains were up! we also have mini-blinds in both our bedroom & the office, but until i find curtains or another window covering, those will be staying put. unfortunately.

but, more about the mini-blinds in the kitchen. we really don’t need a window covering at all since privacy isn’t an issue & we get lots of morning sun into the kitchen via the window. i would hate to put something on the window that would prevent the sunshine from filling the room, but since the mini-blinds were already there, i decided i would try to spruce them up a bit {& if that didn’t work, i would just take them down & leave the window bare}.

i had heard about being able to make a roman shade from mini-blinds months ago, & i found this tutorial floating around pinterest.

{the original tutorial: no sew roman shade from a mini blind.}

i also found this image on pinterest around the same time i found the tutorial & knew that black & white stripes would look great in our now-grey & white kitchen. i also liked that the stripes are vertical.

{image via}

supplies:

mini-blinds
scissors
glue (i used fabri-tac)
fabric (amount depends – you will need about 2 inches longer on all sides than your blinds)
iron (optional, but it would be difficult to iron your fabric after it is attached to the blind)
ruler or measuring tape
washers (optional. i used one on each string to help me not have to tie such huge knots)
needle-nose pliers (optional, but i found them helpful to undo the original knots)
masking tape (optional, but i used it to hold down the string while measuring)

this project was pretty simple & only took a few hours. just be sure you have a big table or do this on the floor (i opted for the table plus the ironing board since i didn’t want dog hair all over the fabric!). i followed the tutorial & only had to improvise when re-tying the knots at the bottom of the blinds.

first i had aaron help me take down the mini-blind from the window & i laid it on the table. i took off the long, skinny wand that makes the blinds turn up & down (you won’t need that anymore). i also should have dusted or cleaned the blinds, but i didn’t.

then i untied the knots below on the ladder string & clipped the string from above too. {the ladder string – this is what i am calling it since it looks like a ladder – is the one that holds the blinds & turns them, not the one that pulls them up & down.}

once the top & bottom were free, i just pulled on the ladder string & cut each little “ladder” section.

i decided to keep five blind slats for the roman shade.

i spaced each blind slat seven inches apart, starting from the top.

i taped down the ends of the string so they would stay still as i measured where each slat would go. be sure that you have enough string at the end to tie knots to re-secure the slats. i put the tape right at seven inches so i would be ready for the next step.

when i got to the bottom, it was time to re-secure the end of the blind (that i had taken off in the beginning). i put it up on its side right against the tape (so it would be at seven inches) & began my knot tying.

i ended up finishing the knot later in the project (you can see the fabric is already on) but i essentially used the washer in order to not have to tie an enormous knot. then i kind of stuck the washer into the bottom of the blind.

{black & white stripey fabric from this etsy store.}

i measured the fabric so that each side was two inches longer than the blinds, cut the fabric, & ironed it. then i ironed half-inch seams on all four sides. {sidenote: i originally planned to sew the seams because i thought it would look nicer, but because of the two-color fabric, you would have been able to see the seam.}

{fabri-tac. this glue is great because it is very quick drying & clear.}

finally, i laid the blinds over the fabric, re-measured the seven inches between each blind slat, & glued each slat down to the fabric (put glue on the rounded side of the blind). let the glue dry before hanging; i waited a couple of hours just to be sure.

then re-hang your blind & admire. i sort of like the look of some folds in the fabric, so i didn’t pull the blinds all the way to the top.

even though these roman shades didn’t add much color to the kitchen, i love the simpleness & whimsy they bring to the space.

this is the last post before i reveal the entire kitchen, so definitely stay tuned.

do you have mini-blinds you don’t like? would you consider converting them to roman shades?

pinspiration: hanging jewelry storage.

here is another project that has been done for some time, but i have been delinquent about posting…

when we moved in – which was ten weeks ago! – i didn’t unpack my jewelry right away. in fact, it sat in the bags & boxes i had packed it in for weeks. weeks! i have a pretty good sized jewelry box that holds earrings (that is basically all that is in it), but nothing to hold bracelets, bangles, necklaces, etc. i knew i didn’t want to unpack & have it be a mess, so i waited.

then i found some inspiration on pinterest. {surprise, surprise!} i fell in love & knew this is exactly what i wanted to do. it was simple, but also displayed jewelry like art. perfect!

{the image is originally from bhg.com}

i was a bit bummed when the link from pinterest was just a bunch of images on another blogger’s website. i even enlisted aaron to help me search for the original image online. we ended up finding that the source was better homes & gardens, but it was just an image, no tutorial. sadly for you, this is also not really a tutorial post as aaron really ended up doing the work on this project. i can, however, walk you thru his process.

supplies:

frame(s)
plywood
paper to cover the plywood (or you could paint it instead)
knobs
dremel tool
washers
heavy duty glue
ribbon
craft glue

i bought three frames: the two rectangular ones to hold necklaces & the oval one to hold earrings. the oval frame is from this etsy store & the other two frames are from the goodwill (you will likely have to dig a bit, like i did).

first, i took apart the frames. i didn’t need the glass, or the frame backs, just the frame. then, i spray painted the smaller rectangular frame with chalkboard spray paint. {sidenote: i realize that i won’t be able to write on the frame, but i like the matte black color of chalkboard paint.}

after the paint was dry, aaron took over. i will do the best i can to summarize what he told me he did. {sidenote: aaron’s work was on the two rectangular frames, the oval frame was all me & i will describe that process below.}

first, he cut plywood pieces to fit inside of the frames. then, i glued paper onto the front of the plywood with craft glue. both pieces of paper are from michael’s; the big frame’s paper is just cardstock that looks almost like a brown paperbag & the small frame’s paper is white with dark grey cursive writing.

after the glue had dried, aaron worked his magic. i bought ceramic knobs from anthro; two for the small frame & three for the big. {sidenote: knobs from anthro are a bit pricey, but i figured since i got such a great deal on the frames, i could splurge a little on the knobs.} aaron drilled holes into the plywood for each knob. i decided i wanted them centered in the frame, but you could also put them up towards the top too. then, he had to cut down the metal rods that extend out the back of the knobs (what are they called?) with the dremel so they were flush with the back of the plywood. he used big washers (about as big as the knobs) to help keep the knobs in place, along with a nut, & then he added heavy duty glue to the end of the metal rod where it met the plywood.

it was a bit of a process & one that aaron probably doesn’t want to repeat, but it was so worth it. take a look…

the oval frame, as i mentioned above, was going to hold earrings, so the process was different. obviously knobs are not the most effective method for hanging earrings, so i used ribbon instead.

i took the back off of the frame & removed the glass. then i covered the back with paper (the same paper i used for the big frame above). i cut lengths of ribbon & laid them across the frame back & then glued the ends to the back of the frame with craft glue. i didn’t do perfectly straight lines because (1) it was easier to do diagonals because the frame was oval, and (2) i thought it might be good for different earring lengths. once i was done with the ribbon, i just put the back back into the frame.

{my jewelry all organized. i am in desperate need of a mirror for above the dresser, but i think i may be getting a new dresser in the near future since i am too short to see the top of it. {hence, why the frames are on the sides of the dresser & not above it.) sad, i know. so, i am hoping to find a shorter dresser that will give me as much storage space & then find a fun mirror for it.}

how do you store your jewelry?

pinspiration: wine box garden.

this is a bit of a belated post, especially since it was completed back in may!, but better late than never, right?

as soon as we moved into our house i knew i wanted some kind of a garden. since i didn’t want to take on too much (like building raised garden beds), a small herb garden seemed fitting for our first garden. especially since i am not exactly known for having a green thumb.

almost as soon as i pinned this idea on pinterest, my friend amanda commented that she had two wine boxes that would be perfect for the project. i knew it was meant to be!

{the original tutorial link: diy wine box vegetable garden.}

supplies:

wine box(es)
dirt
seeds or plants
drill for making draining holes
1×2 & screws if you want legs
cork, sharpie, & bamboo skewer if you want to make signs

the wine boxes that amanda gave me were gorgeous. they were high quality & already had the dividers inside. my dad added the wooden legs by screwing on pieces of a 1×2 (i think) & then snapping off the end of the top screw so that i wouldn’t cut myself when i was planting. my mom drilled a couple of drainage holes in each section as well.

my mom & i decided the best place to put the garden boxes was over on the side yard (east of the house). here, it would get sun & rain, but not be in the way (like they would have been on the porch, which was the original spot for them).

we filled the boxes up with dirt, & then planted seeds for basil & baby greens, & plants for thyme & chives. we also added a rosemary plant in a separate planter as it was too big for the wine box.

i had some corks lying around from our wedding (we used them in our centerpieces & in the bulletin board my mom made for our seating chart) & we used those for marking the different herbs. i used a (purple) sharpie marker to write what the name of the herb was, & then we stuck the cork onto a bamboo skewer, & then stuck the skewer into the dirt near the plant.

{left box from l to r: thyme plant, basil seeds, chive plants. right box: baby greens seeds.}

it has been really fun to have our own herb garden & be able to use the herbs in our cooking. it is so much cheaper to grow an herb plant than to buy the cut herbs at the store. i think next year i will also add parsley to the mix.

{those tiny little green leaves are my basil plants! once they start growing more, i will have to thin them out.}

{the chives are flowering!}

{the baby greens!}

do you have a garden – herb, veggie, fruit, or otherwise? what is your choice of planter?

kitchen cabinet update.

as some of you know, i recently did a bit of an overhaul to our kitchen in regards to the cabinets. the process was long & tested my patience, but we now have fresh, updated kitchen cabinets & a start to an entire update to the kitchen space.

per usual, i found some pinspiration. i love the look of two-tone cabinets, don’t you? i knew this would be a great way to modernize our kitchen without totally destroying the craftsman-style feel of our house.

{via}

{our kitchen before we moved in.}

{our cabinets right before i took them down. sorry for the blurry i-Phone pictures.}

i started the update to the kitchen by doing the toughest (well, hopefully!) work first & that was priming, sanding, deglossing, & painting the kitchen cabinets {soon to follow is updating the backsplash tile & laminate countertop!}. i followed the young house love painting cabinets tutorial, which i found to be really thorough & helpful. i pretty much followed their timeline, although my project was a bit more complicated because i painted the upper & lower cabinets two different colors. i used benjamin moore cloud cover (same as YHL) on the uppers, & benjamin moore cinder on the lowers. after doing a bit of research & then chatting with aaron, we decided to pull the trigger & buy the benjamin moore advance paint (which is also what YHL used). it is a bit more expensive, & i still had to buy a primer as well (i used a valspar contractor’s bonding primer which was low-VOC), but it was money well spent. so. worth. it. the advance paint is great to work with, has no odor, & dries with an amazing finish (i chose satin). i highly, highly recommend anyone who is painting kitchen cabinets (or wood furniture?) to use benjamin moore advance paint.

we also replaced the hinges & hardware while we were at it. originally there were knobs on the cabinets, but i ~~could hardly~~ couldn’t reach the knobs on the top cabinets (like above the stove) because they were placed a few inches above the bottom of the cabinet door. we figured since we would have to wood fill, sand, & drill new holes for the knobs, we might as well replace them with something we really liked, & that ended up being handles. then we figured we needed to replace the hinges to match the color of the handles. we bought our handles & hinges from myknobs.com.

i don’t feel like i need to give you a play-by-play since the YHL tutorial is so good. i will just let the pictures fill in the details. you really just wanted to see the pictures anyways, right?

{we also hung some artwork up. this lovely corkboard was made by my mom for our wedding (the seating chart was pinned to it). we just bought an empty antique frame & my mom hot glued corks to a piece of corkboard & duck-taped/gorilla glued the board to the frame.}

the whole space has really changed just with a few coats of paint – it is awesome! we are really loving the updated cabinet colors & i am really happy we went two-tone.

next week i am going to attempt to paint the backsplash tiles (as the forest green & pink hearts really aren’t going to make the cut with the new cabinet colors). wish me luck! the following week i will attempt to paint the laminate. i am still deciding on a color, but something in the grey family.

have you painted kitchen cabinets before? would you ever want a two-toned kitchen?

a color scheme for our living space.

our living room & dining room combine to form a large, wonderful living space. the big picture windows on the front & side of the house are awesome & let in so much light (when there is any light!), but the yellow color was awful. i knew i wanted to update the color in this space immediately, so i waited to unpack most of this room until i could get paint on the walls. it was a lot of taping, but it was so worth it! i left the upper portion of the wall above the picture rail the original white & also left the picture rail & baseboard the original colors. we anticipated needing to re-paint the trim, but after the new color went on the wall, it was clear that the trim color was perfect the way it was, phew!

these pictures were taken before we even moved in (& are the same as the ones on the house tour page). obviously there was a huge update in just furnishing the space.

i wanted to add some color in this space & really, really worked at not painting it grey. aaron & i both gravitate towards grey & i know it will show up in other places in the house (yep, like in the kitchen. you will see soon enough!). i knew that if i painted this big room a not grey color, i could basically paint every other room in the house grey & it would probably be fine. our couch is grey & our coffee table & bookshelf are black, so i didn’t have much of a jumping off point since basically any color would go with our furniture. i found inspiration in two places: pinterest & young house love.

{color scheme pinspiration}

when i saw this color scheme, i fell in love instantly. it was the first & last color scheme i considered for the space. the next step was finding the perfect shade of mint green for the walls.

i looked online for colors & originally thought mint julep by benjamin moore would be a good choice. even seeing it again it looks like a great choice, but when i got a color sample home & put it up on the wall, it turned into this yellow mess. i don’t know whether it was the blue-hue in our grey couch or the existing yellow wall, but it was an immediate no.

i also picked up some other mint-y green colors from the store, along with carolina inn club aqua by valspar which is the color john & sherry of young house love painted their bedroom.

i was a little hesitant about using aqua at first, but this color (the winner!) is gorgeous! you can see in some of the pictures that we have a color trifecta going on in this room: white upper walls, ivory-ish picture rail, & aqua lower walls. {i didn’t have a ton of light when i took these pictures, so i apologize for the darkness. you do get an idea of the color though, & that is the point. i will try to update the pictures once we get a little more sun!}

the three dining room lights are on the chopping block, but we need to get an electrician in the house in order to put the power over the actual table. right now the lights are centered in the middle of the room. lighting placement fail. so for now, we have really brightly colored dining room pendants.

also, i am not joining the show extreme couponing. i like to use paper cut-outs on the walls to help with art placement & coupons are what we had on hand since we don’t get the newspaper. i hope to get the rest of the art up in the living room this weekend!

source list: {if you are interested}

entryway table {antique from my mom & dad}
eiffel tower lamp & shade {target}
diy upholstered tables
lounge couch {crate & barrel}
coffee table {craigslist}
rug {overstock}
diy pillows
(old) billy bookshelf {ikea}
dining table {long term loan from a friend}
sideboard {ikea}
diy framed chalkboard
tv stand {unknown}
torchers {target}
white ceramic garden stool {target}
blue & white ceramic garden stool {vintage from my grandmother}
dog bed {fetch dog}
magazine basket with handles {pottery barn}
white throw blanket {pottery barn}