White out

So I've been slow to blog lately because I've been eyeballs deep in white paint as our living room has been in desperate need of some freshening up.

Exhibit A of part of our built-ins with the shelves removed. 

Yikes:

Now, trying to paint with a baby is tricky. 

Thank goodness he's a good napper lately because that's really the only time I've been able to chip away at it.  I'm not going to lie. It's been pretty terrible (I hate painting) and I'm sure I've lost some brain cells from the fumes so please excuse any typos.

We still need to do the ceiling (and it's not your average ceiling so it will take twice as long) and the windows.

Why not hire someone to do it? 

Because I'm a DIYer (too cheap to pay up)!

So while painting the room, I've been turning my attention to our built-ins and scheming a little.

It's always bugged me having the TV exposed and seeing those ugly wires hanging down. So, Chris is building a pair of doors that mimic the smaller ones below the TV that will conceal the space. 

They are 95% done so as soon as we have them up, I'll share it with you.

Excuse the ugly photo below but this post isn't the pretty "after" picture quite yet:

I've also been toying with the idea of painting the backs of the built-ins a contrast color.
I've freshened them up with white for now because frankly I'm too tired to pick out a color and carefully paint in there. But if and when I do decide to go for it, I've found some inspiration on Pinterest.

I don't think I'll go as dark as the pictures shown below but it still gives me ideas as to what it might look like:

source

source

source

Have a great night!

- Caitlin

My Daily Bubble: 3 home decor shopping tips

Happy Friday!

Yes, two posts two days in a row...so unlike me lately.

Anyway, this month's post on My Daily Bubble is up and you can check it out here.

Have a great weekend :)

- Caitlin

The armoire that broke...but not the bank!

We've been wanting a more substantial piece of furniture for this wall in our bedroom for a while now.
What we had was nice but a little too small for the space:

We searched a bit on Craigslist for an armoire but every time we found one we liked, we discovered it would be too large to fit up the staircase and tricky to get down the hallway of our house (that's what you get when your house is from the 1860s).

Until we finally found this one for a really good price:

We measured and were fairly certain it would fit getting it into our room.

Emphasis on fairly because it was a close one.

It took four of us to hoist it up the staircase and over the banister with only a few dings and chips to the walls and woodwork. Down the hallway it went almost skimming the ceiling and walls. Literally steps before our bedroom it got stuck. Then, it fell apart...into about 10 pieces!

Don't believe me?

Here are a couple pictures I snapped with my phone when it actually started to resemble an armoire again:

Luckily Chris and my dad are handy (and optimistic) and were able to piece it back together and repair it to the point where it might even be sturdier than it was originally.

The whole fiasco of getting this thing into our room was a headache but one that was worth it and we were able to laugh about later over a glass of wine. I love the shutter doors and really like how the armoire picks up on the color of the bamboo shades.

P.S. If you are wondering what happened to our fiddle leaf fig tree, take a wild guess...so sad!

- Caitlin

New year, new art

It's a New Year and our living room is showcasing some new art! 

This print might look familiar. It's hanging in the foyer of Jackson and I've been telling my brother and sister-in-law that if they ever wanted to part with it, I'd happily take it off their hands.

Well understandably, they didn't want to give theirs up. However my brother generously gifted me a copy of the print for Christmas (my sister-in-law may have had something to do with it). 

So thoughtful!

Anyway, I knew exactly where I wanted to hang it. 

I've been feeling ready for a change from this print that we had hanging in the same spot:

So, I simply had the prints switched and changed the mat.

I really like it here and think it gives the room a new look. 

Like the print for your home?

You can find it here in all different sizes.
Use code EEY643 to get 35% your order!

- Caitlin

Pillow picks from Overstock

I usually head to Overstock for furniture browsing as I've had good luck with our guest bed and kitchen chairs we purchased from the site. But recently I found myself browsing their throw pillows and was pleasantly surprised. They have a huge selection and some really good prices. If you know me, I clearly don't need another damn throw pillow but what's the harm in looking?

Here are a few of my picks...

Contemporary Cotton Blue/Ivory Square Pillows (Set of 2) $62.99

Neutral Diagonal Stripe 16x16 Inch Pillow $28.34

Safavieh Dina Red Feather Pillow (Set of 2) $52.19

Striped Design Jute Down Fill Throw Pillow $17.99

Dip-Dye Decorative Indoor/Outdoor Pillow Cover $25.19

Sweet JoJo Designs Blue and Taupe Hayden Collection Throw Pillows (Set of 2) $48.49

Stay warm!

- Caitlin

A nursery for my niece or nephew

Recently my brother and sister-in-law (whose wedding and house I have posted about before here, here, and here) announced that they are expecting! We are all so thrilled and can't wait for baby's arrival. In the meantime, my SIL and I have been scheming about nursery ideas. I had so much fun getting Charlie's nursery ready, I am excited to help get this nursery going.

Here are two mood boards I've put together to get the inspiration flowing (one for if it's a boy and one for if it's a girl):

1. The pom poms on these curtains are playful, as a nursery should be!
2. They sell paper maché deer heads like this one at Michael's. I think it would be fun to paint the antlers a different color.
3. A little carpentry project for Chris (source for arrow unknown).
4. I'm sure my sister could re-create some graphic art like this one with the baby's initials.
5. My sister-in-law is loving this crib and I'm loving the price. Super affordable.
6. It will be fun to do a DIY project inspired by this Anthropologie globe.
7. I like how the orange arrows in this crib sheet pick up the orange in the rug.
8. The colors in this rug sort of spawned the whole design of the room. It's a tad pricey but we can save in other places, like the rocker.
9. Way to go Ikea! This lamp is awesome.
10. This tree stump table picks up on the woodsy vibe of the room. It's currently sold out but I guess we could always chop down a tree and make one ourself, right?!
11. This rocker is definitely a splurge but we found a much much more affordable look-alike here!
12. I love how this pillow picks up the colors in the rug and has pom poms like the curtains. And for $32 with the insert included, the price is a no-brainer.
13. The peach in this crib sheet picks up on the colors in the rug.
14. Minted has great art options, like this monogrammed print.
15. The price of this rug is so so affordable.
16. This pillow is too perfect.


Happy Friday!
- Caitlin