It took a few months to complete my living room make-over, but it is finally ready for sharing:
Click above to see a larger image.
My living room was previously styled in turquoise (my favorite color) but I decided a change was needed. This makeover was primarily accomplished by updating existing accessories and furniture. Come take a look at how I turned my living room/home office into a peaceful yet enjoyable place with a neutral color scheme.
For a while now, I’ve passed on decorating my home for Christmas. People would try to convince me otherwise and scolded me for being a “scrooge.” It wasn’t that I despised Christmas; it just felt like pulling out all these decorations would be a waste of time. It felt like a waste of time since the season is so short (although the shopping season starts earlier each year).
This year I decided to get more into the holiday spirit. I read a lot of decorating and DIY blogs, so naturally I was coming across many articles on holiday crafts and ideas. I couldn’t help but get excited over all of it! I’m slowly working my way back into it with a tabletop Christmas tree.
These trees are a great option because they don’t take up much space and don’t require many ornaments or lights. All in all, you save a lot of money with one of these miniature evergreens. Find out what I repurposed and used to decorate this tree after the jump. Continue reading
During my recent vacation, I planned to finally paint my wooden tanker desk. Problem was, I couldn’t figure out what color to paint it. I’ve been updating my living room from turquoise and red to a neutral color scheme of black and white.
I wavered between painting it in gray/white or turquoise/teal (my favorite color). While a neutral shade would’ve been practical, I thought “what the hey” and decided to go with color. I even went a step further and chose a different color than turquoise: green. I bought “Garden View,” in the Behr Premium Plus Ultra line; I wanted to eliminate extra work with a paint that included primer. This line of paint seems to have worked well so far.
Unfortunately, this color appeared much brighter when I started painting. Thankfully, I began this project with the desk drawers. I knew I wouldn’t be happy with seeing that color close up, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Plan B: new color. To save money, I used some leftover paint and only bought an additional quart of a color I’d previously used when I created some Moroccan-influenced wall art. It’s called “Pacific Sea Teal” and is in the same line of Behr paint that includes primer:
I like that it’s one of those colors that looks different in light. In the daylight it appears bluer but at night in artificial light, it’s more like a true teal/green-blue. Here’s some shots of my revamped pride & joy:
(click to see a larger image)
One key component of my living room makeover was to create a new decor scheme. I’ve always liked a mishmash of decorating styles, so I came up with a fusion of mid-century modern and Moroccan decor. When a DIY folding screen project didn’t work out, I had leftover panels of wood. I used them to create customized wall art to fit into my new theme.
There were a few things I considered in making this piece. I wanted an exotic yet subtle design. I didn’t want the decor to feel overwhelming, both in creating it and in its finished state. The piece would also have to be large enough to serve as a focal point and to help visually extend the height of the room.
Check out more info on what I used to create this decor after the jump.
I’ve been a lazy blogger lately. Part of that is due to slacking and the other part is due to working on a project: once again, I’m redecorating my living room. (Newsflash of the year, LOL). And of course, I’ve rearranged the room as I always do when the season changes.
I finally decided to make over my living room with a neutral color scheme. A neutral scheme allows me to easily update the colors with small changes like accessories whenever I decided a change was needed. I still love the turquoise & teal but they now serve as accent colors. Here’s a sneak peek into some of the changes I’ve already implemented…
Even though the wooden room divider/screen was a bust, I used the leftover pieces to paint large wall decor. I also sewed new pillow covers and am working on more. (They’ve got to be the EASIEST way to change up your decor, I swear.) Here’s a tease of the new sitting area:
This weekend I started a new watercolor painting. The current piece is a redo of the last one I painted back in April. Others gave me positive feedback on that painting, but it didn’t end up as I’d intended. I knew I’d end up recreating it. This time, I changed the palette to include blue-greens (LOL, go figure) and will not be painting through the hand/leg so the blue energy stands out more.
Here are some shots throughout the process so far:
Slowly but surely, I will be caught up in posting all the little changes I’ve made around here. This one is quite simple, and you can find several tutorials out there but they really aren’t necessary if you have basic sewing skills. And believe me, my sewing skills are über-basic.
A while ago, I went a little bookshelf crazy and ended up with more than I needed, so I started using the extras for storage in my closet and placed one outside on my balcony. At the time, I didn’t mind if it became damaged from the elements so I didn’t seal it or anything else for protection. I used this bookshelf to display plants and also store my gardening tools, pots and soil. This wasn’t the most attractive display so I used some leftover teal fabric and stitched up some quick little curtains. I purchased a small tension rod from Big Lots and was good to go.
It’s a simple, straightforward project: cut paper squares, arrange, glue, and seal. I however, found a way to make it more complicated. 
Note: while this is an easy project, it is a bit time-consuming so you better have a fresh jar of patience. I came across this mosaic project over at Remodelaholic and felt like it was fated to coordinate with my retro kitchen countertops: 
Continue reading
One of my projects for Transformation Turquoise was to create a large piece of art for the living room. I’d considered painting bamboo blinds a while ago when I decided to take down the generic vertical blinds that came with this place. I bought matchstick bamboo blinds at Big Lots for fairly cheap—$5 for 36″ wide?— and hung three of them over my large living room window. (I decided not to paint a design on those.) I’ve also used a set of these blinds in a wall cut-out between the kitchen and living room.
They are matchstick blinds, so they provide sheer coverage since there is more space between the “slats” vs. typical blinds. Because of this and because the matchsticks are rounded, this wasn’t the easiest painting project. For the image to appear more dimensional, I also had to paint my design in between the matchsticks. I was a bit impatient and didn’t want to give in to perfectionism, so I didn’t get too technical with this part of the painting.
A little while ago, I discovered this tutorial for a patchwork pillow at the blog Made On Maple. I’m not usually a fan of quilts or quilt-like decor, but this one has a modern edge to it with the geometric pieces. What also sold me is that the directions are pretty straightforward, less of a need to measure each piece of fabric (my least favorite part of sewing) and the chance to incorporate different patterns/colors in one piece.
