The "it's taking me forever" family room

Man oh man...I just can't seem to wrap up decorating this family room of ours and call it a day!

And I can't help but feel a sense of urgency before baby #2 arrives because I know once he's here, it'll probably never get finished.

Anyway, despite my decorating writer's block, I was able to recently work on the window seat area which conveniently has built-in storage for stashing some of Charlie's toys.

Here's what it is looking like: 

The previous owners of the house had this whole bench area lined with throw pillows and I really liked how inviting it looked. So, I decided to add some throw pillows too.

Obviously I have a blue and white thing going on. 

Can't help myself.

The solid jute trim pillows are from here and the striped pillows are from here (sold out in blue and white but available in gray and white).

I ordered this blue and white patterned fabric from here and my mom made two throw pillows out of a yard (the backing is just a plain canvas).

The blue and white diamond throw is from here (and is available in two other colors).

Fingers crossed I can finish this room in time!

- Caitlin

The finicky fiddle leaf fig

So...I'm giving the fiddle leaf fig tree another try.

Last summer we bought one for our bedroom but it didn't last very long at all.

Maybe a few months?

It was probably all our fault. 

Between being driven home from the nursery in a jeep convertible (driver of the car shall remain nameless), then being placed underneath an AC vent (I'll own up to that one), and probably under-water and over-watered, our sensitive tree wasn't given the respect it deserved!

Take 2. 

I'm giving it another crack at it, this time in a nice sunny corner of our living room not underneath an AC vent.

I just love the way they look and think this tree brings life to this corner of the room.

 I vow to be more respectful this time.

She (plants are she, aren't they?) was carefully driven home in a car with a roof and gently placed in our living room.

I've designated a day of the week (Wednesdays) to watering her so that she won't get too dry and will give her the same amount of water each time (one coffee carafe).  

Maybe I'll even give her a little pep talk each week, haha!

Isn't there research that shows that plants respond positively to human conversation?

Either way, my fingers are crossed and my ears are open if you have advice on keeping these trees alive and kicking.

- Caitlin

The price is right rug

Today I'm sharing a recent purchase for our guest house makeover that I am so happy with!

This Pier 1 rug that I planned on buying would have cost me around $450 (we need a large rug to fit the scale of the wide nightstands). 

Yikes. 

That price was not in our budget. 

So, I shopped around a little and after reading really good reviews on Rug USA's Maui Chunky Loop Bleached Rug and reading this blog review on it (she even gives tips on how to clean it) AND having a friend of mine who has it in her dining room also confirm it's a good buy, I went ahead and bought it for more than half the cost (it was 80% off at my time of purchase).

I followed the recommendations of many and shook the rug out outside as best as I could to free any loose fibers and gave it a good vacuuming. 

Here it is in the guest house:

I love the bleach color and how it lightens up the whole room.

I actually love it so much that I am thinking of buying it for our dining room!

By the way, it comes in lots of different colors so if you're on the lookout for an affordable but great jute rug, this is worth your while!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

- Caitlin

Baby boy's bathroom

A few months ago I shared a look around my nephew's nursery and today I'm sharing a look around his bathroom!

It has a coastal/nautical vibe to it, which is very fitting considering their house is waterfront. 

And although it's the baby's bathroom, I love how it's not too kiddish for overnight guests that need to use it.

(At the end of this post, you'll find a source list.)

My sister-in-law found this buoy at a garage sale for $1!

While shopping at Home Goods, my sister-in-law and I spotted this cute print but it was in a smaller blue frame. So to make a bigger statement on the wall, she framed it in a larger white frame.

Looks great!

Some throwback pictures of my brother learning to use the potty, ha!

Source list:

shower curtain - Target (sold out but similar styles here and here)

window treatment - fabric is Serena & Lily (and also very much on sale!) and shade was sewn by my mom!

orange buoy - garage sale

"Rock My Boat" print - Home Goods

round mirror - Home Goods

boat cleat towel hook - Pottery Barn 

gingham towels and washcloths - Pottery Barn Kids

countertop - soapstone

vanity - custom

Bedding blues

Happy Labor Day to you!

Tonight I'm sharing the start of my makeover for the guest house.

I ditched the gray and white that used to be on the bed and decided to go with my current favorite color palette: blue and white.

My sister actually first bought this duvet (I think it just sold out!) for one of her guest rooms so I decided to be a copy-cat and get it too because I liked it so much!

She didn't mind.

When I saw these Serena & Lily throw pillows on major sale, I thought they went pretty well with the duvet and decided to get them.

They're technically outdoor pillows but I can't tell a difference in the fabric and they work just fine on the bed.

The bed itself which I bought a couple years ago here is a family favorite (my mom and sister-in-law also have it). I planned on spray-painting it white when I was dreaming up this makeover but now that the bedding is on, I kind of like the dark contrast against all of the white. But I'm not 100% sure I should leave it. Happy to hear your opinions, as always!

My next plan of attack for this room is the nightstands. 

I'm working on an Ikea hack that hopefully I can share with you soon.

- Caitlin

Recent Picket Fence Projects purchases

Today I'm sharing a few things I've bought lately that you might enjoy:

Clockwise from top left:

1. I've heard about this book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up from a couple people now. 

I don't let my organizational freak show too much on this blog but if you know me then you know I love neatness and order (remember our pantry and my closet?)

And recently I've been making a huge effort to de-clutter and simplify so this book will be the perfect beach read for an upcoming vacation and I'm sure it will really fuel my OCD ways.

2. Our family room is taking me an eternity to get together! It's weird, I'm finding that some spaces practically decorate themselves (like Charlie's nursery) whereas others take forever. Anyway, I ordered this fabric to have throw pillows made for our window seat which I recently shared a glimpse of on Instagram. I think the pattern will coordinate well with the striped pillows.

3. I've recently shared my plans on making over our guest house here. I loved the nightstands that I included in my design from OKL but I'm trying to do this makeover on a budget. So my design shifted a little. After seeing the cool ways you can customize the Ikea Tarva dresser, I've decided to use two of them as nightstands. I spared myself the headache of assembly (those wordless directions are the worst!) and even saved us a few bucks by finding two already assembled in great condition on Craigslist. I'll need to cut the legs down so that they are at more of an appropriate height and of course I plan on doing some kind of paint/stain treatment as well as changing the hardware. This post has me inspired with lots of ideas!


4. With fall approaching and a toddler that's picked up walking, I've ordered these Toms for our Charlie bear. Cute and easy to put on!

Thanks for stopping by!
- Caitlin