Category: House & Home

Color Combinations- Better Homes and Gardens — Pencil & Paper Co.

I have to be honest, I much prefer neutral color palettes. Grays and whites are just so calming to me. I must admit though that certain color combinations are just so eye catching that even I stop and take notice. The March edition of Better Homes & Gardens really has me ready to color splash a room or two in my home! Check out these gorgeous photos.

We love color and pattern and creating homes that just make you smile…..so we are especially excited to be featured in the March Better Homes and Gardens “color issue”! This vibrant space perfectly captures the whimsical spirit of our dear friends The Johnson Family, and we are thrilled to have helped make their house a “home”. A huge thank you to Eddie Ross for styling this fun shoot and to photographer Adam Albright for capturing all the fun! Dive into color and shop the story below.

Reprinted with permissions from Better Homes and Gardens® Magazine. © 2016 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved. 

Source: better homes and gardens — Pencil & Paper Co.

DIY Painted Leather Office Chair

Painted Leather Chair

So I’m still working on the renovation in fixer upper #2, and it’s a slower process than I had anticipated. Recently I’ve been switching around the rooms, turning the former walk-in closet into a bedroom, turning the former bedroom into an office, and turning the former office into the new walk-in closet. Sounds crazy, right? Anyway, everything’s come to a screeching halt because I’m completely obsessed with trying to find the perfect office chair.  I really like the feel and the texture of leather, but I’m not sure if the look of a leather chair is what I’m going for. Then I came across this wonderful DIY and I had to share. I had no idea that you could paint leather with such amazing results! This opens up a world of possibilities. There are plenty of places to find cheap, quality second hand furniture and with a simple DIY paint job, one person’s trash can easily become another person’s treasure! For the full tutorial, follow the link below.

Leather Chair

This little chair has been transformed more than once. I got it several years ago at Goodwill for $12.50. It was the style of chair I had been looking for, but not the color, so I made slipcover for it. You can read about how I did that, HERE. Well, the slipcover had worn out {thanks to my boys}, and I needed to do something different…

Source: Painted Leather Office Chair {Radiant Orchid} – Beneath My Heart

DIY Lantern Light Fixture

Easter sales are in full swing, y’all! This is the perfect time to get a little crafty with a DIY project. There are so many goodies marked down that you can experiment without feeling like you’re being wasteful. I just bought a lovely white lantern on clearance for $5! My plan is to DIY a light fixture for my vintage bathroom. Seriously, I looked at it and just knew how perfect it would be mounted as a chandelier. Lindsay, over at the White Buffalo Styling Co., shared her own version of this fun DIY project some time ago, and I’m so happy to finally share it with you!

For the full post follow the link below.

Source: DIY lantern light fixture

Quick Cleaning Checklist – Get Ready for Guests in Less Than an Hour!

So Easter Sunday is right around the corner. For those of you that have guests coming over for Easter dinner, here’s a great checklist to get your home all tidied up in a snap. I always like to at least aim for the illusion of clean when I’m hosting a get together, but these tips are the real deal. For all of the tips and the downloadable checklist, follow the link below!

Tips for getting your Spring cleaning done in no time with a little help from our Quick Cleaning Checklist.

Source: Quick Cleaning Checklist – Get Ready for Guests in Less Than an Hour! – Home. Made. Interest.

Fixer Upper Friday (on a Monday!): Inspired Bathroom Renovation

The projects in fixer uppers are never ending. Sometimes it can be truly overwhelming, but other times you get to have a little fun. Finding cheap and easy ways to add something beautiful to a home is so gratifying. When I redesigned the attic bedroom in our fixer upper #1, I had so much fun creating a headboard.  Now I’m trying my best to figure out an affordable way to renovate the bathroom.

This bathroom has been the bane of my existence since we bought these houses. Popcorn ceiling and popcorn walls, ugly tiles on the partially finished floor, a sink that needs to be replaced, no shower or tub,  and worst of all, a leaky toilet. Honestly, this is a bathroom in name only. A renovation is long overdue, but bathroom renos can really break the bank.

So I decided to address some of the cosmetic issues first, partly because I wanted learn to love the space again and be inspired. A little back story: I was standing in the backyard with my sister and I looked up at the attic. There was a window overlooking the yard and I said, “where’s that window? Is that in the attic bathroom?!” I ran back into the house, grabbed a hammer, and beat the crap out of the drywall. Lo and behold, some former owner had covered an entire window with gross cottage cheese drywall. Sigh. Anyway, I called my handyman and had him replace the window, and then I set about tearing out the rest of the drywall.

Hidden Treasure

Not only did I excavate that wonderful window, I’ve also uncovered these really cool wood panels. Since then my design ideas have been taking shape around the shabby chic feel of those panels. So far, Ive managed to tear out the rest of the drywall, scrape and sand the wood panels, paint the walls in a vintage looking grayish blue (Behr Marquee in White Metal), and replace the medicine cabinet.

Shabby Chic Bathroom

I’m still a long way from the final reveal, but at least now I’m making progress. My next step is to create a bathtub out of a stock tank that I’ll place right in front of that beautiful window. Stay tuned for the stock tub bathtub post! If it works out, it’ll be a pretty cool thing to brag about 🙂 Have any of you seen stock tanks used as bathtubs? What do you think?