small + friendly

Living Room Makeover - From Kid Clutter to Family Chic

I've got another room tour for you today and this one is even cooler than the last!  My living room got a seriously grown-up makeover!  I partnered with Sauder to create a space I've always dreamed of, one that is comfortable yet sophisticated. (Sneak a few peeks of the old space here; basically lots of red, lots of clutter, and lots of kids stuff.)  

It all started with a new entertainment console, one that would not just hold our stuff but look great too.  The International Lux Media Console gave me the opportunity to display a few special pieces and hide all the required tech.  It also meant that we didn't store as many toys and kids books in the living room.    

I didn't want to take the kids out of this room entirely, I just didn't want toys to dominate the space.  The Accent Storage Cabinet was a perfect solution because toys and books can be hidden out of sight, but within reach.  And someday this piece can become a proper bar, but the top still serves that purpose when entertaining.  The corner next to the cabinet is the "kids corner" with comfy floor pillows and two small baskets for toys and books.  The corner is both inviting and easy to pick up, a win-win for sure!  

To make this wall look great and feel like home I finally created the gallery wall I've been pinning for years.  A great mix of family photos and kid art, I love the personality it lends to the room.  I'm not sure what stopped me from doing this sooner, now I can't wait to add even more frames.  

Jude's art station moved to the garage which meant we had space for a cozy club chair.  You can find me here most mornings with a cup of coffee on the "side table" and a kiddo or two in my lap.  The Ellis Accent Chair is oh so comfortable and a big stack of books makes the perfect little table.  

Since clearing up the clutter and adopting a more neutral color palette, my coveted vintage pieces have the chance to shine.  I found this awesome leather sofa on craigslist and it is the perfect spot to cozy up on family movie night.  My other favorite vintage find is the coffee table, and now it finally has room to breathe!  I love that the design of the Sauder furniture coordinates so nicely with mid century pieces.  I also love that Sauder works hard on sustainability, they even create power from their own waste.  

I can't believe I was able to make such a small space feel so open, spacious, and inviting.  Having a living room that I'm proud of has inspired me to entertain more.  We've already hosted a few fun get togethers and I can't wait to have everyone over for the holidays.  Be sure to check out Sauder's Put Together Lookbook to get tons of great decorating ideas.      

Here's to fresh family spaces!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sauder. The opinions and text are all mine.

DIY Kid Art Gallery Wall

When I found out I would be receiving a Sprout as part of my partnership with HP, I was super excited, and then a little stumped as to where to put it.  As I've mentioned before, we live in a very small (+ friendly) house, like less than 1000 sq ft small; and friendly in a cluttered, approachable kind of way.  

But with a bit of creative rearranging and Craigslist scores, I was able to carve out a sweet little spot in our bedroom.  First, I found a small vintage desk on Craigslist for $15.  It was an ugly shade of tan, but otherwise serviceable, nothing a coat of matte white spray paint couldn't fix.  Then I got this cute little chair (available at Target but also found on Craigslist) for 10 bucks, and I was all ready for my Sprout.  

I liked having a nice, quiet spot to work, except that the wall felt very empty and a little sad.  So I decided to create a kid art gallery wall.  I didn't want to just stick a few of Jude's creations in frames and call it a day; I wanted to elevate it and make it look at home in a grown up bedroom.  Sprout to the rescue!  I scanned a whole bunch of Jude's artwork, from doodles to paintings, and got to work combining them.  Abstract paintings became the backdrop for drawings of rainbows and robots.  I then printed and framed the final collages.  

It's seriously too easy to scan and save your child's artwork with the Sprout.  I no longer have any excuse for piles of preschool projects and triple layers of drawings on the fridge.  The preschool creations can be especially challenging to store, as many of them have three dimensional elements, such as cotton ball clouds, but now I can scan them and keep them forever without appearing on the next episode of Hoarders.  

Putting Jude's work on display in a beautiful way makes us both happy.  I love having the bright colors and sparkling reminders of childlike creativity where I work.  And Jude feels special that his creations have a place of honor.  When he saw what I'd done, he got right to work drawing me another picture, which I promptly scanned.  I plan to keep adding frames, but this is a great start.   

Here's to celebrating creative kids!

This post was sponsored by HP.  As always, all opinions are my own.  Thank you so much for supporting the brands that make this blog possible.  

Let's Talk Modern Homemaking

I was recently gifted this amazing box of quilt pieces.  They belonged to my great-great grandmother.  They are all hand sewn, and the fabric came almost exclusively from feed bags and flour sacks.  I love them.  And I obviously must learn to quilt.  I can't wait to give these beautiful pieces a meaningful life.  Plus, I've never met a craft I didn't like, so I'm pretty sure quilting was inevitable.  When I sort through these squares, I am all at once sad that this art form was not handed down from generation to generation (and deeply saddened that my chicken feed doesn't come in beautiful cotton fabric) and also thankful that because quilting in my family is a lost art, I get to be the one to revive it.  

I love learning a new, useful skill.  I love the idea that someday there will be a quilt in my home that is a magical collaboration between two homemakers separated by generations.  My great grandmother was a practitioner of "Old Domesticity"; she grew a garden and raised chickens because her family needed to eat.  She sewed quilts and clothing from feed bags because her family had to keep warm.  

Joining the workforce and paying for these things instead wasn't an option for her.  Since we never met, I can't ask her whether she enjoyed her role as a homemaker.  Looking at the love put into those perfect little stitches, I can't help but think it wasn't a total drag, but I could just as likely be romanticizing it.  You see, I have a choice.  If I don't get around to making this quilt I can just pick up a comforter at Target with money I've earned at my job.  I am mostly grateful but sometimes overwhelmed by this choice, and the many other choices our generation is faced with.  

Small & Functional Kitchen

My kitchen is freshly painted and uncharacteristically clean, want a tour?  Hurry, before pizza night starts and everything is covered in flour.  Don't worry, it won't take long.  In fact, if you stand right here at the entrance, you can see the whole thing.

 I love my small kitchen.  What it lacks in size and newness, it makes up for in vintage charm and functionality.  

Oh, before I forget ... Can I get you anything to drink?  Coffee, tea?

There are lots of reasons to love a small kitchen.  I thought I'd use this tour to highlight a few of them.

Everything is within reach. No giant island to walk around.  No space to store unnecessary equipment.  Enough room for me and a small helper, not enough for the entire party.  

I spend more than my fair share of time in this space, and while there are things I'd love to change (better flooring, banquet seating, a fancy range, a skylight), the changes we have made (shelving, butcher block, paint, dishwasher, hardware) make it a functional, cheery space. 

See that little door up there?  That's where my ironing board lives.  It is so fabulously fifties, it actually makes me want to iron.  The cabinets, tile countertop, and sink are all fifties original as well.  

Looking for a few details?  The door and above the cabinets are covered in chalkboard paint.  The door serves as menu board, message central, and art station.  Above the cabinets I wrote an Italian saying that I love: "La cucina piccola fa la casa grande." (A small kitchen makes a large home.)  Walls and ceiling are Sharky Gray (Martha Stewart) and the cabinets are Decorator's White (Behr).  A big thank you to good old IKEA for: cabinet pulls, metal shelves, butcher block, light fixtures, and dining table.

The embroidered potholders are a family heirloom.  The fantastic painting is by my bestie.  My fabulous husband built the shelf above the painting to house my ever growing collection of cookbooks.

 Well, that pretty much sums it up.  Small, yes.  Functional, it works for me three times a day, seven days a week.  Loved, undoubtedly.  

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Hopefully next time you can stay for pizza!

New Acquisitions

Have you ever noticed what a difference a new item can make for your home?  I recently scored this awesome vintage coffee table on craigslist for a song.

It replaced a very tired red leather ottoman, and my whole living room feels lighter.  I love that it is round: great feng shui and safe for little ones.  Plus, its mid-century modern roots make it a perfect match for our 50's home.  I am also very excited about a book that just arrived, in perfect time to grace the new table.

 My awesome sister-in-law gave me Sew Liberated for Christmas, which I love, and this latest book (Growing Up Sew Liberated: Making Handmade Clothes and Projects for Your Creative Child) by Meg did not disappoint.  I want to sew every single project in this book.  I was visibly giddy flipping through it ... major craft geek moment!  Speaking of craft geek, I finally completed my DIY headboard.

I upholstered it in gray velvet, which was no easy task.  By the end, I was sweating and a little shaky, but I'm pretty happy with the results.  I plan to share all the details as soon as I recover.  My bedroom makeover is going a lot slower than planned, and I clearly have a ways to go.  I am not at all loving the red ikea shams, but for now they're all I've got.  Someday, this room will be soft and gray and sophisticated, in the meantime ... I've got somewhere soft to lay my head.

Here's to small changes making big differences.  

Jude's Nautical Nursery

I finally put together a nursery tour, I figured I had better document his nursery before it becomes a big boy room.  So I cleaned up a bit, and took some pictures.  I'd love to know what you think.  Click here for the tour.

My First Attempt at Upholstery

I'm on a roll with this whole finishing projects thing ... I started this chair makeover before halloween, and it's finally done!  I knew I wanted a chair for my bedroom, but I didn't want to spend much, so I scored this swiveling, rocking, beauty on craigslist:

And with a little paint, some IKEA fabric, a whole lot of staples, and a fair amount of swearing ... it became this: 

I am really happy with how it came out.  Somebody else is pretty stoked too:

What do you think?

Here's hoping it gets plenty of use, and not just as a place to fling clothes when I have "nothing to wear!" 

The Tree Skirt

So here it is, the only Christmas decor craft I've actually managed to complete this year.  Overall, I'm actually quite proud.  It was easy, looks pretty, and best of all reminds me of my great-grandma, Reenie. (The buttons all came from her fabulous collection.)  Most of all, we really needed a new skirt.  I made our old tree skirt years ago out of white fleece and glued on sequins and jewels.  It was actually really cute but it had two big problems: 1.  White + falling pine needles = major eye twitching, and 2.  Glued on jewels + baby = chocking hazard.  So inspired by this and this I came up with my own vintagey-homemade felt tree skirt.  

Here are the DIY details:

For my 60" Buttoned Felt Tree Skirt I used:

-almost 4 yards of 36" wool blend felt (washed and dried to make softer and thicker, more info here)

-7 vintage buttons

-3 felt poinsettias - DIY can be found here

1.  Using pinking shears, cut 2 semi-circles with a 30" radius.  Cut a smaller (3" radius) semi circle from each piece to form the hole in the center of the skirt.

2.  Sew one side of the semi-circles together.  On the other side, you will do your row of buttons. 

3.  For the button closure: sew your buttons down one edge of the open side.  Pull the other side over to cover the buttons and mark where each one is.  Using a seam ripper or scissors cut your button holes.

4.  Tack on felt poinsettias and you're done!

The only thing left to do is cover it in pretty packages. (And in my case, convince Jude that I didn't put it around the tree for his pulling, stomping, and fort building pleasure.)  Happy Skirting!