Transitioning from Nursery to Little Girl's Room

My youngest daughter is growing up so fast! I’ve been meaning to write this post for a long time but life happened and then I forgot about it - until now. 

When our daughter Annalise turned three it was time to take down her crib and put up a twin bed. It was time to transition from nursery to a big girl’s room.

We fun have playing tea party in this cute corner of her room. The chair and tables were given to us 14 years ago with our older daughter’s Kay-Lynn. The table and chairs were originally white, but I spray painted two of the chairs pink for a pop of color.

I knew I wanted a princess themed room and with a canopy to hang from a crown. I found several beautiful ones at Pottery Barn Kids - but they were way over my budget. So I decided to create my own - with my husband’s help. I found this resin crown at Hobby Lobby. It was originally hot pink so I spray painted it gold to match the blush and gold princess theme. We then screwed the crown into the custom made wood box. My husband built the wooden box from scrap wood in our garage. Then we attached it to the wall. I then added the white chiffon fabric that I bought from my local Joanne’s fabric store and fastened it to the back of the wooden box with rope. I also sewed the bows and made the crib skirt. For the pink edge on the chiffon canopy, I used bias tape The crib bumper and quilt are from Pottery Barn Kids.

My husband and I dressed up this @ikeausa dresser by adding new feet, moldings on the top and bottom, and new mirrored knobs. I also added a glass top for elegance. And do you see that pretty pink dress hanging on the hanger? That was mine from when I was a little girl! I love sentimental pieces - do you?

As much I loved this cozy corner where I would cuddle up my baby girl, I knew the tufted arm chair had to be removed to make room for a table and chairs that would inspire childhood play.

Here is is! Her beautiful grown up princess bed! I knew the exact bedding I wanted and needed for her. I chose Beddy’s in Vintage Blush because it works wonderfully with the existing room decor, paint and throw pillows. (Use can use code NISSALYNN for 15% off your entire purchase at Beddy’s.) I also ordered the gray poka dot minkey blanket from Beddy’s.. I picked up the gold dot and blush throw pillows from Hobby Lobby. The small white monogramed ruffle pillow sham is from Pottery Barn Kids.

My husband added the white trim work on the walls.

Even though Annalise has a big girl room, I still kept these new born photos of her on her dresser.

Annalise is loving her new room! She spends hours playing in her new space!

You can shop similar items below, or you can click here to shop more decor from this post.

Three Key Pieces for a Simple Bedroom Refresh!

I decided my bedroom needed a small refresh, and my goal was to do it with only a couple of new pieces! I needed a new mattress, bed and nightstands. I knew with those three items alone, they could make a huge change to my master bedroom! 

To start this refresh, I began with the essential part of any bedroom - the bed and mattress! I’ve have the same bed and mattress for almost nine years. My old mattress was causing my back to ache, so I knew I wanted a firmer mattress. BedInABox was the answer! I’ve been sleeping on my new BedInABox mattress for about a month now, and I can honestly say that my body feels more rested!

We have the Tranquillium in king size, and I love the 12", multilayer firm, foam construction. It makes such a difference in my sleep! And to save money - use code NISSALYNN20 for an additional $20 off! #ad

My prior bed was a well loved four poster bed that I bought at Goodwill. We brought it home and my husband replaced a couple of the slats and spray painted it in satin white. Then I distressed it with sand paper to make it look shabby chic. I loved it! (It’s so amazing what you can do with spray paint!) But over the last year, the bed has shown significant wear and tear, and the wood frame started to break - so it was time for a new one. 

The traditional four poster bed was so large, that it seemed take over our entire bedroom, plus the poles were the first thing you noticed when you walked into the room. I decided I wanted a French country bed with a large tufted headboard. The Realyn King Panel bed from Living Spaces was the answer! 

I need to tell you about Living Spaces, because it is a furniture store unlike any other! In my local Living Spaces store, in Frisco, Texas, they have four, 2000 sq ft homes built inside the store to showcase their beautiful furniture. This also helps give you decorating and furniture placement ideas. Such a great concept!

After changing up the bed and mattress, new nightstands were next. I wanted to mix styles and add more of a modern looking nightstand to go along with the French bed, so I ordered two night stands from the Presby collection at Living Spaces. The Presby nightstands are great because they have lots of storage and an USB outlet. Plus, I love the pull out piece to hold my lap top. I highly recommend them!

I kept the same bedding and accessories but moved the decorative bench from my office and placed it at the foot of my bed. I also moved my ginger jars from living room to the nightstands. 

Don’t be afraid to move accessories or accent furniture in your home. It can give a space new life and save you money! 

So remember, next time you want to redo a room, you don’t have to change everything, just change a couple pieces and then that room will take on a completely new look!

Let's Talk About Pillows!

Tired of the current color scheme in you home?  

Pillows are one of the easiest and least expensive ways to change the feel of 
an entire room!

Here we have two shots of the same living room. They both have the same
furniture, rug and window treatments, same white tray and white candle sticks. I just changed out the pillows and the florals! Now the room has an entirely different feel!

Mix and Match

Mix and matching fabrics and different textures is a fantastic way to create an interesting look. It also looks more professional and custom - like you had direction from a decorator or designer. Here I have a navy block design pillow from Chloe and Olive a linen fabric paired with pillow from Home Goods in a polyester fabric.

Remember pillows don’t always have to match perfectly. Below is a fuzzy leopard print from Home Goods paired with a chiffon rose patterned pillow from H&M. Totally different styles and fabrics (one heavy, the other light), and yet, they compliment each other perfectly!

Inserts

Most pillows are sold just as pillow covers. So you will need to purchase the inserts for the covers. I have found that inserts at Pottery Barn are a little more expensive then other places, but they do last much longer! You are paying for quality! I've also used cheaper inserts from Ikea. They're great on the budget at around $7.00 an insert. Below are some Ikea pillows and inserts. Pillows from discount stores, such as Home Goods, Ross, Walmart, and Target normally
come with the inserts included.

3-D Elements

Another fun to dress up your pillows is with 3-D elements. Beads, tassels, buttons, rhinestones, and sequence all add texture and visual interest to the pillow - and to the piece of furniture it's being displayed on. See how the broach in the photo below, adds elegance to the gray ribbon. Without it, the the pillow wouldn't look half as fancy!

You can add elements yourself to any existing pillow with by hand sewing the item on. or using a glue gun.

Zippers

When choosing a pillow color, you might want to take into consideration the zipper. Most pillows have a dress zipper (right photo below). It does the trick, but if you're constantly switching out pillow covers, or if the pillow is being laid on a lot, the zipper can fall apart pretty easy. However, pillows with a YKK zipper (right photo below,) such as these from 
Chloe and Olive, are much more durable! Some pillows don’t have a zipper at all but an “envelope” closure instead. Where the fabric folds over top of teach other.

Holiday Pillows

Pillows are the especially perfect for decorating for the holidays! In fact, it seems almost every home decor retailer has a line of holiday pillows now! Pier 1, Target, Pottery Barn, and Home Goods, are just a few of my favorite places to buy holiday pillow goodness! Boutiques and specialty home decor stores are other places to get one of a kind pillows that the masses don't have. Krumpet's Home Decor is one of my favorite online home decor stores for holiday goodies.

It's been fun sharing my thoughts and experience on pillows with you, now go out and have some fun some shopping!

Picking Out the Perfect Gray Paint

Everyone year towards the end of summer, I start getting an itch to redecorate, or fix up things in our home. So today my husband and I went to Lowes and picked up some paint for some touch ups around the house. We're touching up walls before we start some new small DIY house projects (Don't worry - I'll share those in the coming weeks as we work on them.)

A great place to start is gathering suggestions from family and friends who have already painted with gray colors. Pinterest and the internet are also other great ways to aid in your search. And, of course there is always the old fashion to pick a paint color - going down to the hardware store and looking at paint cards, then bringing them home and placing samples on the walls.

However, grays paint tends to be a lot trickier than other paint colors. This is because gray paint is not a true "color," but more a "tint." This means it starts with a black color base and is gradually mixed with white to lighten it up. It does not have true primary colors in it like other paint colors. Because it's more of a pigment, gray paint tends to easily look different in different lighting. I had a client who loved Amazing Gray by Sherwin Williams. It looked fantastic in her living room, which had lots of windows, but looks mossy green in her hall way. I've seen gray paints show all sorts of undertones like green, purple, blue or even pink undertones! It all depends on the lighting and windows.

The best was to avoid undertones is to buy a sample can (They run any where from $2.98 to $6.50.) Then paint several LARGE areas in your home in several different places that have different lighting. A small painted area will not give you the true color. This is because a small swatch can be influenced by the existing paint color already on the wall.

(*Also note, never use the rest of the sample paint in the container for more than just the sample. Sample cans, because they're just samples, don't have a finishing protect agent in the paint, and therefore the paint will come off easy.)

Another way to test out gray paint, is to paint it on a medium size paper approximately 12'x18' inches, and hold it up to the wall. This helps to see what the gray will look like with out the existing paint color influencing it.

I hope this information helps on your quest for the perfect gray! I'll be sharing all paint color in my home in my next

Dollar Store Wreath Tutorial

I LOVE Valentine's Day so much, and sometimes I just wish I could go into stores and buy everything that is heart shaped, red, pink, blush etc! (I have to constrain myself - especially at Target.) This year I wanted make a Valentines Day wreath- but I didn't want to spend a lot of time or money. So I took this Boxwood Wreath I bought at Target a couple years ago and transformed it!

To update this on wreath on the cheap, I went to Dollar Tree and bought three packages of heart picks at a $1.00 per package. I broke the sticks in half and stuck them in the grapevine part of the wreath. Next I added some Valentine's Day ribbon, (also purchased at the dollar store,) and made a bow. Now it's ready to hang on my front door! And it only took me ten minuets start to finish! 

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Now it’s ready to hang from the top of a door. Or you can make a bow instead, and hook the back the grapevine wreath to a Command hook or nail.

Santa Clause is Coming to Town!

I'm super excited to share with you what I call my winter white living room! I received so many wonderful compliments about my living room, as well as lots of positive questions about how I decorated this space. But the best compliment of all was having this photo featured on several of Better Homes and Gardens social media sites! Thank you for the love!

I'm to happy to share all the details with y'all!

The darling Santa Clause Decor came from http://www.krumpetshome.com Their Santa Clause collection is so magical!

Design Tip:  It's important to get some classic decor pieces that you love and fit your personal style.  This will save you money because you could refinish or repurpose those pieces in the future for an  to updated look - instead of buying new. My coffee table of 12 years is a great example. It's solid wood with a classic design. I've painted it several times to update it - instead of buying new!

Christmas Tree Detail
This year I had the privilege of receiving a 9 foot Flocked Christmas tree from King of Christmas. It gave me a whole new direction for decorating my living room! Since my flocked tree is such a natural beauty I chose to keep the decor simple and stately. I opted for larger round ornaments rather than many small ones. 

When decorating my tree the first thing I do is put on the ribbon. I cut about 5-6 foot strips, a little longer than the length of the tree. Then I start from the top and tuck about ever 3-6 inches it into the center of the tree - making it "bubble out." I repeat these streps until I reach the bottom of the tree. Then I cut 12 inch strips of another patterned ribbons and place those around the tree to fill in empty spaces.  I add sprigs of frosted sticks and silver was stems throughout. For a tree skirt I just added white fabric and an old white curtain I had in my decorator closet! Crazy huh? 

The Santa Claus boxes under the tree were a new addition this year! They were sent to me by a darling home decor shop called Krumpets Home Decor. The white candle sticks on the hearth I've had forever! I bought them from Hobby Lobby 8 years ago when they were black. I painted them white to give them a fresh new look.

Garland and Wreath

I purchased the garland on my fireplace about five years ago from Hobby Lobby. (I also have the same garland on my stairs.) The garland was originally just green. I added flocked pieces or stems, to brighten it up and give it an updated snowy look. 

Mantle Decor

The mecury glass vases and candles sticks, and cathedral mirror, are part of my everyday decor and are up on my mantle year round. Most times I like to mix holiday decor with my everyday decor. I also change out my Christmas signs as find new ones.

Here are the references to where my decor is from:

Silver trees - Home Goods.

Large Decorative Truck Figurine came from Target.   

Decorative white deer - ZGallerie. 

Believe Sign- Kirklands

Mercury Glass- At Home

Fun Family Room Ideas

So here in Texas we don't have basements, instead homes are built with upstairs game/ family rooms. So for our upstairs game/family room, we wanted a cozy space for our family of seven. I decided early on that this was mostly going to be a kid/teen room, so I really didn't want to spend much money on decor - or even add much decor. But I wanted a place where we can all hang out watching movies together, or a comfortable space that my kids could hangout with their friends. 

So my husband Justin and I got to work and started planing! First, I drew up what kind of board and batten I wanted, then he started doing the measurements and bought the supplies. He also added a shelf lip to board and batten wall so that any picture frames wouldn't fall off. Then he built custom photo frames from scratch,  using chair rail molding at Lowes, and took the pics of everyone in our family. Taking the photos was the fun part as we smashed our faces onto the glass! (We wanted silly photos to show off our kid's personalities!) 

Now for the room layout, furniture and decor. The Ikea sectional faces a large wall with a tv on it and console table that is directly under the TV and the table holds the Xbox - because of that this room is the hot spot with the kids! The pillows also came from Ikea, with the exception of the bicycle pillow which came from Target. The table decor is wire apothecary jars that I already had.  And I bought a basket at At Home to place the decor in. The throw blankets I already has as well. 

This photo was taken a few days later when I went to Costco and bought these beautiful fresh flowers. The clock from Stein Mart. (In case you didn't know, Stein Mart has a great home decor section!)

Now I'm going to share my inspiration photo from taken from Ikea.
I found it on Pinterest a few years ago. My room space is much smaller than this Ikea photo, and I needed to keep walk way open to get to the bedrooms, so my family room has way less furniture and decor.

Hope that gives you a little inspiration on your next family room!

It's all About the Neutrals for Fall

So when people think fall colors, they tend to think of: orange, brown, reds and golds. I know that's what I think of-the colors of changing tree leaves. Well this fall the stores, decorators, and Instagram  homes are filled with a new, different set of fall colors! Creams, whites, mints, sage greens are being displayed everywhere- thus creating a new refreshing look and a take off off the modern farmhouse home decor trends.

My the color scheme in my home is already set in those colors- so I couldn't wait to try out this new fall color pallet! And you know what? I LOVE IT!! So here's a look of my new fall coffee table decor. (I can't wait to decorate the rest of my home in theses colors!)

How To Get the Look:

I used faux lamb's ear and natural looking mint green foliage, and intermingled it with a large sage green pumpkin, cream plastic pumpkin, and small off white and mint porcelain pumpkins. The small pumpkins I found at the dollar spot at Target!! It was a great find! Then a incorporated sprigs of faux white wild flowers for a little more interest and depth.

I'm mixed this new fall decor with my everyday ZGallerie alligator coffee table tray and silver Home Hoods candle sticks. I'm still decorating other spaces in my home- here's another photo.

Easy, Classy Fall Decor

This fall has been super crazy! With my five children each in all different stages of life, (one in high school, one in middle school, elementary school, preschool, and a nine month baby at home), this fall has been the busiest ever!

So this year fall decorating needed to be fast and simple! So that's what I did! 

 I already had the three metallic vases, but knew I needed a couple more. (Remember, when displaying lots of accessories, look best when grouped in odd numbers.) I then found two matching metallic candlesticks at At Home store.

Next, I found these wonderful, white pumpkins from Target. (I loved that they were white because it brightened up the room- instead of normal dark fall decor.) The greenery, gold pumpkin and fall garland pieces I've had from prior years.  I put them all together and-voila!

Easy fall home decor with only a few pieces! So simple!

DIY Dining Room

One of the first projects we did when we moved into our home six years ago was to paint and add a half wall of trim work to our dinging room. The paint color I used was Restoration Hardware’s Silver Sage. (As you can see from photos it looks different in different light.) Sunlight bring out the blue color and the warm chandelier light’s bring out the green hues.