The Style House

Ello Lovelies :) Apparently... I have been bitten by the design bug. I literally want to redo every room in the house. Now that  could get expensive. I guess I can thank Pinterest, HGTV, TLC and Etsy for this little dilemma... not to mention that when I walk into clients houses that are GORGEOUS (like this morning) I get a tad bit jealous...
I somehow managed to talk Jason into a bedroom redo. He really wants dark gray walls, which I'm totally down for because I will be able to rock the gray & yellow color scheme I've been lusting after. And bonus, if I stick with neutral bedding and curtains, I can accessorize with yellow for now, but I can also change colors anytime if I get bored.

Here is what the bedroom looks like now. I like the red, but I think we both have gotten sick of it. At least when we redo- I can use all of the existing bed throw pillows on the couch.

Here is the gray we picked out. It's a Porter color called Knight's Armor
Now here are my inspirations from Pinterest, where else?

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Hello pretties & Happy Easter to you! Let me just say I soo miss the days of hunting for eggs, anybody else?? Anyways... you guys know Jason & I had been working on re-doing his rental house over the last month or so, but I'm just now getting around to posting the after pics!! For those of you who don't remember seeing the before pics, they are HORRIBLE! See for yourself...

Ummm yeah this is how a former renter left the joint. Yuck! But after a ton of cleaning, new windows,  new flooring, all new paint, new light fixtures & a lot of time, this is the end result!

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I've talked to a few clients this year who are looking for ways to spruce up their homes in time for spring & I thought you guys might be interested, too!

Whether you're thinking of putting your home on the market or staying put, there are a lot of small things you can do around the house that don't cost a lot of money, but give you a lot of bang for your buck!

1.) Paint your front door! The front door is the first thing guests see when they walk in, and a fresh coat of paint can do wonders!

2.) Get a few flowers! Nothing too crazy, but pick up a few hanging baskets or potted plants to sit out on your porch, sidewalk, or balcony. The colorful flowers will add drastically to your homes curb appeal (and your mood!).

3.) Get some new throw pillows & accessories! You can change the look of an entire room by switching out your regular pillows on your couch with bright throw pillows. Then pick up a few inexpensive accessories from places like Target, Home Goods, or even Goodwill. You would be amazed at some of the things I've picked up at goodwill that needed new hardware or a couple coats of paint, but turned out awesome!

4.) Get organized & de-clutter! It will simplify your home and your life - promise! Get everyone in your family a decorative basket to house all of their stuff that would normally pile up elsewhere around the house. For kids, this might be backpacks, school papers, shoes... For grown-ups, paperwork, lists, receipts, etc. Your house will look better, and more importantly you will feel better!

5.) Replace door or cabinet hardware! You can give your kitchen cabinets a more updated look by something as simple as replacing the knobs or handles. Want an even bigger change? Switch out your brass door hardware to something more modern like satin nickel or oil rubbed bronze.

6.) Create a gallery style wall! Rather than have picture frames sitting everywhere all over your house, think about creating a gallery wall. This would look great in a foyer, hallway, office, or even going up a staircase. You could showcase a few family photos alongside your favorite artwork & quotes. For a more cohesive look, tie everything together with the same color matting & frames. Don't want to buy new frames, spray paint existing ones!


I am dying to try out the gallery wall at my house! I'm collecting things to frame as we speak :)
What projects do you plan to get into this spring??

xo
Sam

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Lately I have been dreaming about recreating my office area/craft station into something a little more functional & well... pretty. Right now it's a cute little setup, but lets face it - sort of thrown together.


Here it is now...

I love my artwork & the "sawhorse" table legs (from Ikea, duh)... but what I'm really lacking is storage (the dresser is no longer cutting it) and a cohesive kind of look. Right now it's a pain to switch gears from real estate paperwork to, say, painting wine glasses. NEED to fix this asap. Here are some office areas I'm loving right now... all via Pinterest, where else?!

I like the idea of large memo boards for ideas... plus all of the overhead storage on the high shelf. I think I'm seeing Ikea & Hobby Lobby in my future...

Love the office chair and storage on back wall. Especially love the paper storage slots. Great for scrapbook stuff.
Ok so this is a similar idea for a desk... Love how its out in front of the window rather than up against a wall. I could do something like this and have storage on each side wall.. hmm.

Love this for file storage... then you could close it up & turn into a little bench when you're not using it. Complete with cute little throw pillows, of course!



What I really need is a professional workspace that still gives me room to be creative. Shouldn't be too hard to achieve, right??

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So with the big game being Saturday.. I decided to revamp one of my lovely UofL t-shirts. I seem to have the problem that whenever I find a Cardinals t-shirt I like, it's too big! Jason bought me this one, which I love, but it still has the same problem. You know how t-shirts never seem to fit right? Well here is your solution :)


Start with this...

Next lay the t-shirt on a flat surface, making sure the front and backsides are lined up correctly. Then, begin to cut strips (about 1" - 1 1/2" wide) towards the middle of the shirt starting at the bottom all the way up to the sleeve.
The longer you make your cuts, the tighter the shirt will end up. I made my cuts start out longer, and taper off towards the sleeve.

Next, cut your shirt along the seam of each strip, giving you two sections you can tie together.


Now your ready to start your ties! Start with the one closest to the sleeve, and tie together. Do this for 2 or 3 of the strips.

Now put your shirt back on & finish tying off the remaining strips. I trimmed off the excess material after I tied, but you could leave it if you like the finge look.

And THIS is what you're left with...

A cuter, more form fitting version of your favorite tee. Pair with skinnies and some cute flats and you have your game day outfit ready to rock :)

xo
Sam

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Hiyya lovelies! Sheww its been a busy Tuesday! First off... check out this deal I found on Etsy..

This super cute tunic is marked down from $78 to $39 at Simone's Rose Boutique on Etsy. I would totally purchase for myself, but there is one left and it's a size large and won't fit me :( Somebody get this! Just click the picture to go to the Etsy shop.
Today I met my friend/client Patrick to do the final walk through/closing on his new house! Soo excited for him and his gf Ashley. We saw tons of houses and finally found the perfect one :)

Isn't the front porch cute? Makes you want to grab a glass of tea and a good book and stay a while:)
After the closing I had to book it to the office, then clean a clients house. Thennn it was painting time at the rental house AGAIN. Jason has our friend/renter Heather moving in this weekend and we are really pushing to get everything finished. Today was painting ceilings (yuck!) and the bedroom, bathroom, and laundry room.

Still on the list:

New carpet & laminate flooring
Finish painting upstairs, living room, and trim touchups
2nd coat of paint on front door
Finish HVAC maintenance/install vents
Deep. Clean. Everything.

I'm pretty confident we will finish... but you never know. I am excited to post more before/after pics for you guys though!

... I've still been addicted to Polyvore the last few days... Here is my latest creation. This looks like the perfect weekend look. If only I had my red pants!
You want to know something crazy?? I posted this to Pinterest and within 5 minutes it had  6 likes and 50 repins. Whoa. This just shows how much Pinterest is used literally 24/7 EVERYWHERE.

Hope y'all enjoy the rest of your week :)

xo
Sam

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Today has been a super lazy day! Last night was the Buffett concert at the YUM! center downtown. We went with two of our best friends, and got downtown early around 3ish, (margarita machine in tow) & got ready to hit the streets. Jason was not feeling too good, but he was a trooper :)

We headed toward Whiskey Row and walked through the Troll Pub which was crazy busy, attempted to make it to Los Azteca's for chips & queso, but somehow got lost in this maze of alleys and hallways.. and ended up at Bearno's to watch the Cardinals battle Syracuse. (Sadly another loss!) We ordered breadsticks instead of the chips and queso, and ordered drinks. We got the margaritas with a "twist". We soon found out that the "twist" was Razz liquor. Lets just say it was NOT a good fit with my salt-rimmed glass. BUT... we ended up getting free replacements from our awesome bartender.
(source)

Buffett ended up being ok. The average age throughout the audience was prob. 20-30 years our senior. ha ha. And it was certainly a full house! I think it would have been wayyy better if it was warm enough to properly tailgate "Buffett style" before the concert, but sadly it was not :( All in all, it was a great excuse for a night out and multiple margaritas!
We got home this morning a bit on the tired side. I caught up with KandeeJ *http://www.kandeej.com/ *(another one of my fave blogs!!) She is super creative and always posts great make-up, hair, fashion, and project ideas.
CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT HER GORGEOUS CHAIN EARRING!

That got my "creative juices" flowing and I decided to pull out my bag of "junk".. old belts, chains, tops, old jewelry...etc.

I made... necklaces :) Far left was part of an old dress. The next necklace was made from random chains put together. The keychain was from part of a belt, and part of two different necklaces. The gold necklace on the right was part of an old belt.

Here is a close-up of the keychain. I think it adds a little something to my yellow bag.

Here is a wrap bracelet which I love! It's made from part of an old leather belt, along with various metal fasteners I added to give it an edge. Wrap bracelets are really in right now but you can totally make them yourself instead of spending money for one :) And you won't run into anyone else wearing the same thing!


I love piecing old things together into something totally new. Plus being creative is such a stress reliever, trust me! Alot of times people think you have to have certain skills to be creative, but the truth is you don't! All you need is patience & trial and error.
Here is a quote that I read today & thought I would pass along:

"Life is too short to think average, be average, or just be what you think will fit in. You're not living unless someone doesn't like what you're wearing, doing, or dreaming of becoming!"

That pretty much sums it up!

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