Everybody's Doing It...

Black walls, that is. At first, I thought, oh no, what a disaster! I can't imagine how many coats of paint it would take to fully saturate the walls and not appear streaky, and well, awful.

They also remind me of my old bedroom in high school. When we moved into the house, the room had patterned black wallpaper and one wall of gold mirrors. I guess the previous owner was ahead of the design game because now black, wallpaper, and accents of gold are all the rage. And I'm actually liking this trend. Waah! Oh thankfully my mom took down all the wallpaper and mirrors for me. What a nice mom!

The other day I was painting some chairs glossy black, and I had about a half of a can left. I was this close to painting a small wall in the hallway black, but I didn't have any painters tape or rollers, just one little two-inch brush, so that spur of the moment idea was put on hold. Plus I live in an apartment, so I'd have to paint it back white.

Anyways, here are some black bedrooms. I think they are lovely, very cozy, and the black walls make everything recede into space, or depending on your accent colors, they make everything pop! Three and four are my favorites!

Images via Apartment Therapy:

Chesterfields

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I've posted. I've been searching for the perfect Chesterfield sofa all this time (actually, planning my wedding is more like it!)

I have recently fallen in love with the Chesterfield sofa. It's overstuffed, yet still sleek because of the lack of back cushions. I love the tufted back and rolled arms. It's elegant and classic yet playful and vintage. I appreciate those contrasting qualities in just about every aspect of decorating.

Here are some beauties:









Craigslist here I come. Please please have one in ivory with nailhead trim.

Merry Christmas!

I'm heading to Massachusetts with my fiance to be with his family. Should be fun! Merry Christmas everyone!

Here's a shot of our tree:



And our little snowman:

Bedroom Inspiration

My bedroom keeps changing...Hmmm, imagine that! I'm still just not happy with it.

I bought new curtains from JCPenny, and they're velvet in a rich caramel color. Cindy Crawford (or her team) is good! Oh and they really block out the bright morning sun our bedroom gets.

I also bought some new lamps, which I love, from Pier 1.



They're very similar to this in size and shape, but they have a cream drum shade, and the base is glass stacked bulbs. They're not on their website for some reason... They were only $30 each, and they're the perfect height for reaching over and turning off the light while in bed. Success.

But I'm still not satisfied. Hmph!

I think it's the pink/peachish wing back chair I have and the dark wood night stands. Too dark! I'm going for a light and airy bedroom. So then I came across this gem!



Woah! This is a $40 Ikea Rast dresser madeover! I paid more than that for my nighstands. So this is a must! Plus there's storage, so no more plastic crates for my socks and whatnots. Sorry, Brian, another project...

I want to skip work for a week and do nothing but projects. It's a sickness.

Let There Be Light?

I do not have this kitchen:



Or this one:



I have a galley kitchen in an apartment. Enough said. We have an overhead light which is decent, but we like to keep a little light on instead of having to flip the switch each time. Plus at night, the kitchen just looks dark and sad. I had a cute little lamp with a red shade that gave just the right glow, but it burnt out and the shade tore.

Any suggestions? What do you do for light in your kitchen?

Jewelry Display

I used to keep my necklaces in the bathroom! Bad idea. Hot showers and little ventilation is no good!

I wanted everything in one place, so I bought this cute little jewelry box at TJ Maxx for $20, sorted through my jewelry and got rid of a lot! Then, what to do with the necklaces? I had seen on several blogs people displaying their necklaces in all sorts of ways, and this is what I came up with. A few vases and some pretty chains dangling down. Plus I put out a vase of buttons 'cause I like buttons. I know, it's a sickness. I used to dump my mom's jar of buttons out on the floor and pour over them for hours.





Too many books = no room for dresser, so I had to clear the top row of books on my shelves to make room. But I kept a cute little stack of orange books and popped a bird on top. Instant happiness. Now I have my own little dresser/vanity top, which I've always wanted.

Before and After Office Chairs

I was debating for awhile about recovering and painting these office chairs I picked up at the thrift store for $15 each! Here they are before with a yellow dingy floral fabric:




I decided to go ahead and recover them and see how that changed the look instead of painting them. I'm super bad with spray paint and paint--I'm impatient and it always comes out streaky or spotty. So just recovering them made all the difference. I got a yard of this fabric for $11 from Calico Fabrics. I like the subtle pattern and the gray color. Here they are after:



Much better! Old but new with a pop of pattern. I am finally starting to love patterns. Ridiculous I know. Even my wardrobe could use a little of this kind of makeover.