A Holiday Gift

I have to share my new zebra tray I got for Christmas from my sweet husband.  I love the navy blue color and it's perfect for holding rings, keys, etc.  I photographed it here on my console in my foyer with one of my new lip glosses since it's prettier than my car key :)  I got lucky and have two more of them I can use.  Anyone else get a fun home decor present for the Holidays?

My New Kitchen Barstools

I'm been working on infusing some personality and color into our kitchen.  You could say it's the most recent room that I'm obsessed with.  I know I wanted a pop of color- just exactly what color was the harder part.  I must have considered every color on the spectrum (and given serious consideration to purple and blue) before deciding on yellow.

Something about a nice pop of yellow makes the kitchen feel so much brighter and compliments our maple cabinets, which still, aren't my favorite.  The next step was ordering a bunch of fabric samples and trying to decide which would be the best.  I finally decided on Swavelle/Mill Creek Rossmere Sunshine and Coral Splendor, Citrine. 

One was for the curtains and the other I wanted to use to make slipcovers for our Ikea bar stools.  I was put in touch with Irene from Interior Touches who did a great job in  making custom slipcovers.  Here's the end result:

 

 

What do you think? Step #2- making the curtains!

Making Lamps Pretty...

Lamps are one of those things where the ones I love and are the most drawn to also end up being the most expensive.  I feel like every time I see one I love, the price tag seems to have one too many numbers than I care for.  So instead I've had to resort to alternate ways to shopping for lamps.  I've had some luck finding some nice ones via e-bay and by going to flea markets but more often than not I find my way into Target/Tarjay.  Their prices are pretty reasonable and you can mix and match the shades.

The past couple of trips I've made, I've found some bases and shades I liked decently enough but they needed some dressing up.  I've figured out that by adding some ribbon trim and tassels can do wonders (if not making it a total Betty, than at least a vast improvement- Clueless anyone?)

Here are a couple of lamps where I've added some extra ribbon and tassels.  I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out- especially the ribbon trim.  Never underestimate a spool of grosgrain ribbon and a hot glue gun.  I feel like the ribbon gives the lamp a more tailored, edited look.

Excuse the dark lighting- seems like the evening is the only time I have to take photos.  What are your thoughts- has anyone tried some DIY to make a lamp prettier?

My Obsession with Navy- the Powder Room

I'm probably one of the last people to jump on this train but I've been loving black painted rooms.  When we moved into this house, I thought our powder room would be a good place to try it.  However, our powder room doesn't have any natural light so I thought black would be too harsh.  Instead I went for navy, another color I've been obsessed with.

Next came obsessing over which shade of navy to paint it.  I finally settled on Bold Blue by Benjamin Moore and got it color matched using Glidden Paint at Home Depot.  Here how's it turned out.

It took me a little while to get used to it but I have to say, I'm loving it. It actually came out a little lighter than I was hoping but I think now it's a good choice.  It shows off the white accents nicely and now I'm trying to add extra pops of color.  I got the green and blue chevron rug from Home Goods but still need to add wall art.  Any suggestions for added extra decor?