How do I know what are the best things to buy at IKEA? Well if you’ve been keeping up with me on Instagram, you know I’ve got a lot of love for IKEA. Many people think of IKEA as a starter store – people shop for dorm furniture, first apartment stuff, “cheap” goods for the house. Let me tell you a little secret, half of my designer friends who have plenty of money to go elsewhere still swear by IKEA. Why is that? Well the potential is endless! Not only does walking through the store ignite your imagination for how to use their items in your own home, but their items rarely have just one use. They are affordable, and their furniture is very customizable! From painting, to completely over hauling stuff, there are about a million posts out there on how to customize IKEA furniture – they are dubbed “IKEA HACKS”. But that’s for another day! I’m here today to tell you WHAT to buy from IKEA – where you will get the most bang for your buck, because let’s be honest, when you’re walking through the ginormous home goods store with your big yellow IKEA bag, and things are labeled $1.99 or $5.99, you end up wanting it all. So I’m going to give you a list of my favorite tried and true items that are truly worth getting on your next IKEA trip. Low on storage space? You MUST buy a Wardrobe! This is something I […]
What I learned during my 1st year working from home: Tips for success!
It’s been a year since I made the transition to working from home full time. To say it’s changed my life would be an understatement, and I think it’s now safe to say that I will never return to a 9-5 outside the home. If that makes me a home-body, so be it! It all started last spring when my boyfriend and I decided to bring a little wrinkly pup into our lives; Wilbur! He was undeniably the cutest thing I’d ever seen, and from all the people who would stop me to take a picture of him, I know I wasn’t alone in that belief. Having a puppy is a full time job, anyone who tells your otherwise is lying. At the time I was working 40 hours a week at a design office, and would rush home to take Wilbur out, spend an hour training him after work, and then have little time to myself. I didn’t like it, and I knew my job was a dead end, so quitting is was a no-brainer. When I landed an at home part-time design job, I was thrilled. I also did a lot of freelance interior design work in my city, and consequently got to be a stay-at-home dog mama [ dream come true right there ]. It wasn’t without much trial and error however that I learned how hard it can be though to work from home, especially when your hours are flexible. I realized I had been […]
Creating a Bedroom Sanctuary: why it matters for your health
bedroom: noun 1. a room furnished, primarily for sleeping sanctuary: 7. any place of refuge; asylum. When I moved into my new house, I focused on the rooms I felt needed the most TLC. My outdated kitchen and boring bathroom to name two. They did in-fact need a lot of love from me, and I poured all my energy into them, but I abandoned the most important room in my house; my bedroom. Creating a bedroom sanctuary and why it matters for my health never crossed my mind; I have to work on practicing what I preach! I’ll start by saying it doesn’t matter what your style is. It doesn’t matter what your budget is, the size of your home, your marital status, if you have kids, if you pet is your child, your occupation, your gender, race, or age. It doesn’t matter, because everybody in the world sleeps. We all understand that concrete concept right? But do you understand what your bedroom does for you? A bedroom should be a safe space. For kids it’s their own space, regardless if they share it with a sibling or two. Have you ever met a child who was so excited to show you their room and so proud of everything in it, because to them it’s their safe space, it’s catered to them. A child’s room is fun, it’s bright, it’s full of toys, cozy bedding, child-sized furniture. It’s adorned in things that make the child happy. Fast forwards – teenagers rooms. They are […]
How to create a style board for your space
When I moved into my house – it was a blank slate. It was a 1970’s house that had been pretty much untouched since it was built, so when I saw blank slate..I mean wood paneling, white walls, and standard lighting, I was a excited. There wasn’t anything crazy going on, which made my work easier, but blank slates can also be very daunting! Even as a designer, I was perplexed with my family room. It’s so uninspired and just BLAH. I painted the wood paneling a beautiful boho white, and after that, I was stuck. It took about 2 months until it hit me, I needed a vision. I don’t mean I was going to space out and it was going to come to me in a vision what to do in this room…I mean I needed to visually see it instead of thinking about it! So I did what I do for all my clients; I created a style board! This is my style board below. It has all the elements I want to see in my space, the color palette I want to carry throughout, and has some of my existing furniture pieces I’m working with. Now i’m going to break it down for you, so you can learn how to make your own for your space! First I will say, style boards are like dream boards. They are meant to inspire and reference – so when you’re mindlessly walking through Home Goods and you have the […]
Modern Boho Budget Bathroom Makeover
I’ve been teasing you all about a bathroom makeover since I moved into my 1970’s house. The vanilla color on the walls..cabinets, countertops..paired with the grey floors made for a horrific sight. Plus the faded green curtain on the rusty metal rod? So cute, right? I know, I know, it could’ve been worse. I wasn’t dealing with yellow or pink tile or some horrific peeling wallpaper, but still, it was uninspired for lack of a better word. Last week I shared my inspiration for my bathroom and the elements I loved from each picture. You can check that post out here. There were elements I knew I wanted in my bathroom, like brushed gold (DUH) and high contrast design. I also always loved the idea of a Vintage/Persian style rug in a bathroom space, so I made it my mission to find one. Just like my thrifty kitchen makeover [if you haven’t checked that out yet, you don’t want to miss it] I didn’t want to spend an arm and a leg – I capped my budget at $200, and ended up spending $170! I love budget makeovers, especially when I surprise myself and come in under budget. A lot of the items I already owned, like the soap holder, tray, plants and some of the baskets. What I really was searching for were the big impact elements, and I was on the hunt for deals! Before I show you the after, let me show you what I was working with. There […]