Lulu- My Six Year Old's Bedroom

When I found our new place, there were two fantastic bedrooms.

One was quite a bit bigger and had four gorgeous windows.

As much as I wanted that big bedroom, I thought it would be nice for Luce and her friends to have a large area to play in.  Especially since her bedroom in the condo was so small.

Yes, there is enough room to include a super cute peacock blue velvet settee.

Beautiful tiled fireplace.

Gi-normous dollhouse.

uh, yes.  That is my West Elm Parson's desk.

Didn't fit in my bedroom, so the lucky girl gets to use it.

Picture of me when I was little.

Picture of Matt when he was little.

Still one of my favorite pieces of art.  

Custom made for Lucy (those are paint chips!).

See the cafe 'a La Lucy'?  

As in my favorite restaurant.

Luce does in fact appreciate and is very proud of her bedroom.

She loves having friends over.

{{Love that girl}}

My Etsy Store!

I recently opened my own etsy store, appropriately called "cozy and eclectic".  I'm not a whiz with the technical 'store front' stuff, but I've been wanting to open one for a while.  There are so many great things I come across when I'm out shopping, but tend to talk myself out of something I don't really need.  Now I can get the things I'd want for myself (the fun part!) and make them available to others.  Which is the key part:

I will only include items in my shop that I would display in my own home. 

It's really a win-win situation, yes?!

Currently, the shop is not very big as I've been slowly adding peices.  When you have time, take a peek and see if there's anything you like.  Or if there's something in particular that you're looking for, drop me a line and I'll be on the look-out.

Here are a few of my favorites:

vintage butterfly dish

porcelain tulip candle holders

vintage brass lion

The weather has finally cooled down for us, can't wait to open some windows.
Have you all have a great weekend!

IKEA Hack

As the popularity of the 'IKEA Hack' continues to grow, 

I long to join the ranks of those DIY'ers.

When I dream of having my own design business, there's usually a lovely faux bamboo brass etagere that would hold all of my books,

clippings, fabric, paint chips, etc.

The price point for one of these can top out in the thousands. 

And then I saw this one on the blog Little Green Notebook 

spray painted gold (from IKEA), a VITTSJO Shelving Unit for a mere $70!

(Before)

(After)

Looks pretty amazing!

Instead of the gold, I'm leaning towards painting

one white and putting it in the living room

(you know, until I start my own business...{dreamin})

From the blog, Centsational Girl.  She replaced the glass shelves with stained wood, and with kids in the house, that is a pretty grand idea.

 

Snakeskin Fabric

As a lover of all types of animal print, I've never covered anything in snakeskin fabric.  I think an entryway bench might be the right job for me to experiment with...





a tutorial on

covering a desk with snakeskin fabric:

love the color!

Outfitting the Entryway

The entryway is the first area guests see when they come into your home.
While most home owners admit this is usually the last space they tackle, 
it's your chance to really 'wow' your friends.
Go a little wild, make it a fun project! 
Hang that wallpaper you love, paint it a bold color,
use pieces and accents you've always been afraid to.

You'll want to create a focal point. 

A chest, table, bench, chairs, mirror. 

A rug is always a nice and warm way to welcome your guests.

Although I currently rent, I'd love nothing more than to hang wallpaper. 

David Hicks La Fiorentina, one of my favorite patterns.

How fun to have a church pew in your home.

Create a photo gallery here.

Or an art gallery.

You can't go wrong with a bench.

A great place to take your shoes and coat off.

I would do a really simple bench with most likely an animal print or a dalmation print like this one.

I'd also like to update my chest of drawers with some new shiny hardware. 

Either a pretty knob or a basic ring pull.

And yes, I'm willing to admit that I'd like to have a cowhide rug. 

(Although I'd use a faux one if it would make you folks happy...)