Helping a Friend Decorate a Livingroom

I love being asked for decorating help by family and friends. It’s rare but being able to pitch in an opinion when someone is doing a room is so much fun.  It’s important to keep their style and their needs in mind but having an open mind is essential in creating a room they’re going to love.  
My friend is elderly so she has certain comfort/medical requirements and her apartment is small.  She chose a leather loveseat that can accommodate her need to recline and put up her feet, easy to clean and care for. It’s similar to the one shown below with dark leather and nailhead trim, but it does have a center console for holding her drinks.
Loveseat Sofa Nail Head Trim Dark Burgundy Leather
She also has a leather lift chair…as you can guess, style is limited but we were lucky to find one with similar color and shape to go with the loveseat. 
Apartment walls are newly painted white but work well with the dark furniture, she wanted to add a little bit of femininity to soften up the masculine vibe of the leather and a fun color to lighten things up.  She loved the suggestion of blue color paired with the dark brown.
Here are a few accents we found locally where she could see before buying…
area rug and pillows from KMart:
Jaclyn Smith Traditions-Medallion Rug Collection
Curtains and rods (Target).
The drapery isn’t shown below (only the pretty medallion sheers) but they’re a pretty blue/gray-beige pattern that matches the pillows above.

The tv console is perfect height and has a lot of storage (so helpful in a small apartment).
APA Alvamar 62" TV Console
(source:  BonTon)
End tables and coffee tables seem to be the hardest part of furnishing a room. I’m so indecisive.  Here are some beautiful accent table options. Which would you choose or is there something completely different you would suggest?
A lift top coffee table might be very functional for her, bringing things within easy reach.
Jofran 280 Series Wood Lift-Top Coffee Table in Merlot
Thinner-style end tables would be perfect for the limited space on either side of a love seat in a small apartment living room…
Jofran 251 Series Wood Chairside Table in Milton Cherry
Something along the lines of wooden trunk coffee table would also be a great solution for much needed storage…
Southern Enterprises Pyramid Coffee Table and End Table Set
(images source: Cymax)
Any suggestions?  What do you think so far? It’s hard to tell without seeing the room, but this is a start.  I’m sure I can get her to share the completed reveal once we’re done. Next up:  Art and accent pieces!  

I Like It, I Love It!

Meet:  Meg from

I first ‘met’ Meg when she submitted her living room. Beautiful, colorful and full of energy. I was “lovin’ I Like It, I Love It” and couldn’t wait to see more.  A home tour that had me at “I like it”. 
Here are some pictures and the links for you to meet Meg too and see more of her beautiful home:
I love the bright fun colors and beautiful arches.
So pretty, so peaceful. I love the color selection and beautiful details.
What a beautiful, dreamy space.
Special room for a special little girl.
With a pantry in the works during our kitchen makeover in our own home, 
Meg’s pantry is truly an inspiration…
Organization Heaven!
If you’d like to see more or just make a new blog friend who shares your interest in creating a beautiful home (along with milk and chocolate chip cookies, margaritas, magazines and fashion on a budget – we’re all going to be good friends!), head over to Meg’s blog. She scored a fabulous blue ghost chair and I know I’m looking forward to seeing her upcoming office makeover!  Meg, thank you so much for sharing your design talent and beautiful home!

The Mustard Ceiling

The Mustard Ceiling

I‘m sitting here multi-tasking: surfing the web, looking at entries for today’s blog post, searching inspiration (I could look at beautiful homes all day long), taking a break for dinner, trying to figure out how the Nook works that I got for my birthday and watching “Speed” out of the corner of my eye. Anyway, my point is…I came across Elizabeth’s home tour, before and after transformations and DIY projects and knew right away that I wanted to introduce her to you.  I love that feeling – motivation that I get from the blogging community, don’t you? Elizabeth will inspire you.

Her blog is dedicated to her obsession with interior design, do-it-yourself projects and other daily musings.  🙂

Here are a few before and afters of her gorgeous home. 

Kitchen before had charm but an outdated feel with what she calls ‘groovy gold’ countertops and matching dishswasher…
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Kitchen after is so pretty with even more charm. I’m glad she kept the sink – love that! The open shelving is so convenient and a great way to bring more interest to a wall of cabinets.
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Bedroom after…chocolate! I spy with my little eye something beginning with a L-O-V-E (remember that car game?!). A couple of things I want: that bedding, the chairs, that rug and chandelier!
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I want to curl up on the couch with a throw blanket and good book and never leave this living room:
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See more of Elizabeth’s before/after home tour at the The Mustard Ceiling Before/After.



Elizabeth’s husband also contributes to The Mustard Ceiling blog.  I love this post about the “Cloffice“(closet office)and living with an interior designer…
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And great tutorial on wainscoting (their gorgeous dining room):

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Learn how to DIY these chevron magazine files at “Dressin’ it Up“. So cool!
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See more of Elizabeth’s DIY projects as listed below:

Tutorials

It makes me want to get up off the couch and tackle every project all at once, not knowing where to begin!  Thank you so much for sharing your before and afters and DIY, Elizabeth (and Alfred).  Beautiful job on every single detail!