Hirondelle Rustique

Saturday Morning...

2012-02-04T16:16:00.001-08:00

Guess what came in the mail today? The ottoman and mirror I ordered! I'm really pleased with both of these, now to find a place for them!

Thrifty & Not So Thrifty Finds

2012-01-30T00:18:00.000-08:00

The decorating fairy has been visiting my dreams rather frequently I guess, because I've been on a mission to ~~spend~~

{thank you, Hyperbole and a Half and for whoever made this a meme}

While visiting my local Value Village a few months ago (forgive my lateness on this post!), I spotted two beautiful pieces of furniture I couldn't peel my eyes from. And just what were they?

Grandma couches!

Ha! Never in my life did I think I would buy a blue sofa. Or anything that even remotely resembled chintz. But I fell in love with the shape of these sofas and the stretcher bar legs immediately. They aren't perfect (as you can sort of see by the second photo, the cushion is missing a lot of foam and was re-stitched, badly) but I plan on having them re-upholstered (hopefully sometime this year). I can see them in a linen colored fabric, possibly with some tufting on the back and a taller seat cushion. Oh and just in case you were wondering, no, I'm not going to attempt to tackle the reupholstering myself. Call me wimp, but I'm leaving this job to the pros. In the meantime they are quite comfortable and the fabric has grown on me (it could be much worse, right?) Did I mention they were $75... total? Nab!

Rachel (my roommate) and I moved one of them into the dining room area and it's been a great place to sit and enjoy a meal. I love curling up right in the corner and looking out the window too, and this was our view a week and a half ago:

Beautiful snow!

While out thrifting, I also snagged some George Briard glasses (these ones actually, but taller) and some large picture frames I'd love to find some cool art for.

Meanwhile in the not-so-thrifty department, a "vendor closing, BOGO" sale sign caught my eye at a place close to my work. I decided to swing by for a look and ended up having an intense moment of brainwave transmitting with a lady. It went something like this:

Me: Wow, what an awesome mirror! I love the style and color... I need this! $70? Hmm.. it's a little steep, but since it's buy one, get one maybe I can find a cool picture frame too. *Tries to get mirror off the wall and pauses as it bumps another mirror* Maybe I'll go find someone to help me...

One minute later, another woman found the only salesperson in the store and mentioned she was looking for some frames. No worries, I can wait.

Two minutes later, they are standing in front of the mirror.

Lady: "This mirror is fantastic! I was shopping for frames but I think I might get this!"

I started to worry that she might be serious.

Lady: "Oh, there's a white one too! Hmmm... this is a tough choice!"

Me: Oh man she is serious. (Brainwave transmission) "You should definitely get the white one..."

Lady (turns to salesperson) "I have a room with gray walls, do you think the white mirror would look better or the gray one?"

Me: (brainwaves) "WHITE!"

Salesperson: "Hmm... I think the white one would pop more against that color..."

Lady: "Hmmm yeah I suppose so, but I think I like the dark one more..."

Me: (brainwaves) "GET THE WHITE ONE!"

Lady: "Well I guess I can get the white one and if I don't like it I'll come back for the dark one."

The salesperson helped her get it down and the second they walked around the corner I snatched the dark mirror off the wall with such force Obi-Wan Kenobi would have been proud and then promptly found a brown frame to purchase as well. This about sums up my mood walking out of the store:

{via Etsy, although I can't seem to recall the seller who made this, sorry!}

As you can see from the mirror photo above, it is now hanging in my room between the two paint swatches on my wall that I STILL have yet to decide on. Yikes.

In other wallet-getting-thinner news, I also fell in love with this bench from Kirkland's:

...and this mirror from Seventh Avenue:

In my imaginary entryway, I think these two would go great together (I would hang the mirror vertically over the bench). We don't have room in our entryway unfortunately, so I'll have to make due somewhere else. Decisions decisions. I'll post pictures when they arrive!

What I've been up to lately...

2011-10-13T22:22:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! It's been quite an extended "blogging vacation" for me - over 6 months, whew! I just wanted to drop in and share what I've been up to lately:

First, I moved! I'm now living in a condo with my friend Rachel, who is just as excited about decorating as I am (score! and... dangerous?) Here are some messy "before" photos (moving in):

Hallway into living/dining/kitchen area

View of the dining room form the living room

Living room

Things have moved around quite a bit since these photos were taken, I'll be sure to post updates soon!

My bedroom.

I painted some swatches on the walls right away... and that's pretty much as far as I've gotten. I can't decide if I want to commit to the blue-gray. And yep my computer is in my room, which is where I blog from. :)

In other news, I went back to school (of sorts). I took a 3 month class from a new local college and it was awesome, I loved every second of it!

About 4 months ago I was contacted by Houzz to create some ideabooks for their website and it's been awesome working on those. In my search for products I've found way too many things I'd like to buy!

In August I got a new pet. I was driving home from work and saw something running across the freeway and nearly had a heart-attack when I realized it was a kitten! I pulled over and he stayed right where he was and just meowed at me. When we got home I sat down on the floor with him and he immediately crawled into my lap and started purring and fell asleep. My heart just melted. Due to the condition he was in I suspected he was abandoned, but in the following weeks I did what I could to find his owners and didn't get any takers. I took him in for check-ups and treatments and all that good stuff and he's looking so much better now. He's been such a blast to have around the house (albeit rambunctious at times!) I'm very glad we crossed paths!

I named him Tobermory (Toby for short) after the cat from

Nocturna, one of my all-time favorite 2d animated movies.

Feisty!

Other than that I've been keeping busy with work and Etsy and taking some time to just enjoy life. I haven't been doing any projects lately which is unusual for me, although I did pick up a few things I plan on fixing up and changing (I'll share those soon!)

Hope everyone has a fantastic Friday and a wonderful weekend!

Vacation

2011-03-06T12:07:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be on a vacation of sorts for the next three months. I've been working full-time as well as managing my Etsy business and recently I decided to go back to school (for 3d modeling/video game environment art). I couldn't be happier with the classes and I'm excited for this change, even though it means I'll be spending less time blogging (for now). I'm going to be moving soon as well, which is another reason why I'm taking a little time off.

{Country Living}

I still have projects I'd love to share and I really appreciate the comments and emails I've received in the meantime, even though I've been slack about posting lately. Just know that it will be short lived and come summer time I'll be back in the game. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend!

London Love

2011-02-13T12:51:00.000-08:00

Fantastic design inspiration straight from flats for rent and for sale in London.

{found via foxtons.com}

A New (old) Cabinet

2011-02-12T11:06:00.000-08:00

While exploring one of my parent's old barns, I saw a little cabinet shoved against the wall amongst other old items. It was full of tattered books and looked like it had seen better days, but what a charming thing it was! (Uh-oh, is my crazy starting to show?)

The barn it sat in is slowly starting to fall apart with old age and the roof is badly leaking, so my dad told me to rescue the cabinet and bring it home. I was in the market for something to hold supplies for my office, so this seemed to fit the bill perfectly!

Since it was in the barn for 50 years or so, it's definitely musty and a bit moldy too (and there were even traces of a mouse nest, eep!) But it's nothing a little bleach and airing out in the sun won't cure. I do plan on painting it and I've been gathering ideas. Even though it's down low and you probably won't see much of the inside, I'd like to do something fun with the back, perhaps a bold color or stencil. Which of these painted bookshelves/cabinets strikes your fancy?

{young house love}

If you have any ideas you think I'd like, send them my way!

DIY: Gold Branch Mirror Tutorial

2011-01-30T23:14:00.000-08:00

When looking at the after photo of my mini office makeover I realized that the space was reading more like it belonged in a kid's room than an adult's (or at least that's how I was seeing it anyway). Here's a little mirror project I did to give it a bit of glam and a more "grown up" feel.

My inspiration first came from these beautiful mirrors:

Mecox ($1000)

Bellacor ($698)

image via Decorpad

image via Aussie Vogue Living via Coco + Klley

To start, I began by taking a walk in the woods and collecting sticks from the ground (it really helped that we had a windstorm come through the week before!) I gathered a small pile and got to work breaking the branches up into smaller, more manageable pieces.

I used one of the medium sized mirrors from the pack of 5 that I got from Home Depot and placed the sticks around it until I was happy with the result.

Then I broke out the hot glue gun and began gluing the sticks together in place, trying not to let too much glue glob up and show.

By the time I was finished, I had a "frame" that could be held up. I flipped it over and added extra glue to the backsides of the sticks to reinforce them all.

Then it was time to paint the whole thing. I taped off the mirror...

...and used Rustoleum's specialty metallic gold spray paint, thanks to Bryn Alexandra's recommendation.

I gave the branches a coat on both sides and did two coats on the mirror, no primer needed. I was really happy with how it turned out, it really reminded me of metal. Because the branches that actually touch the mirror are a bit fragile, I decided to hang both pieces up separately. The mirror already had a hook on the back for hanging and after I got that up I used a nail to hang up the branch part and overlapped it on the mirror.

I was surprised by how quickly this project came together and in the end it cost me less than $20 ($15 for the 5 mirrors and $3-4 for the spray paint). I'm hoping to show an updated photo of the office with the mirror in it soon, once I finished up a few things!

A Little Update

2011-01-30T01:39:00.000-08:00

I feel so bad for not posting in two weeks! I got a new job and I'm still adjusting to the new schedule while running my Etsy shop on the side as well. I'm really looking forward to having a little extra cash to tie up some loose ends on old projects and take on new ones as well. Speaking of new projects, I have one that I'll be sharing tomorrow!

Something else I'd like to do is make some large scale artwork for one of the rooms in our apartment. I've posted about this painting in the past and I still find it so fascinating. It's wonderfully bold and dramatic! (bonus points if you can name the artist, I'd love to know more about this piece!)

Apparently, my boyfriend picked up on the moody vibe I had in mind and painted a little something for me as a present:

I absolutely love it! The colors are stunning and I was completely floored by how much thought he put into it. It's framed and sitting on my dresser right now, but I think it would look so sharp blown up into large scale artwork. We'll just have to wait and see where things go!

Shopping Loot

2011-01-15T22:20:00.000-08:00

Remember how I posted about the $250 in Visa gift cards I got for Christmas? Here's all the things I got for updating my bedroom, dining room and office area:

Store Bought Items:

A white duvet cover + 2 pillow cases from Ikea

Gold spray paint

Pumpkin Orange spray paint

2 tablecloths from Target
2 lampshades from Target

A bedskirt from Bed Bath & Beyond

Smaller things - sandpaper, glue, rit dye (Home Depot/Ace Hardware/Michaels)
A set of Martha Stewart mirrors from Home Depot - I've got plans for these

Thrift Store Finds:
2 funky duvet covers (above)

2 pillows (above)

Chrome pillar candle holder

Chrome sea shell
Gold bird figurine
Red-Orange fabric

A mint julep cup

And... a dining table!

The table was only $75 (marked down from $275) and has a leaf extension to make it 7.5 ft long. The sad part is it doesn't fit in our dining area, (and believe me, I tried) but how could I pass it up? I'll have a house someday and it's the perfect table for dinner parties. I plan on stripping and staining it a warm brown. It's over at my brother's place right now waiting for attention.

All that and I only went $2 over my "budget" of $250. Not too shabby! Time to start some projects!

Reupholstering a Chair

2011-01-09T14:51:00.000-08:00

Since I'm in the process of redoing my bedroom/office, I thought I'd share my process of reupholstering a chair. I was in the market for something pretty that could be used as an office chair when I happened to stumble upon this one for free - I found it sitting outside next to the trash bin at my old apartment. I was hesitant to take it in because it looked really dingy (there was also green fringe trim on the bottom) but after going past it several times throughout the day I finally caved.

I wanted something a bit more feminine for my office space. I had received a free can of Glidden paint in white and decided that was the color I was going to paint the wood since the original finish was badly scuffed, chipped and wearing away completely in spots. I removed the layer of green upholstery fabric to save for later, and that's when I discovered a much prettier fabric underneath (although it was really stained and gross)

This fabric was nailed on with tiny handmade nails, similar to this:

After removing what seemed like a million of them, I finally was down to the insides of the chair and that's when I realized it was full of coir and horse hair! Coir is a fiber that comes from the husk of a coconut shell (it's seen a lot today in doormats). The horse hair thing is what had me worried - what if this chair was old? I can't paint an antique white, I'd be burned at the stake! Well, after researching for several days, I couldn't find anything mentioning my chair was some super rare antique piece. There were a few similar ones that sold for $50-125 which is about what I'd end up spending on a new office chair anyways. With that in mind, I took a deep breath and started painting.

When all was said and done, I started in on upholstering it. I kept the coir and horse hair but added some new foam on top for more support. I used the green fabric as a template to trace the pattern onto my new linen fabric.

I stapled it on using the same method I had used in art class to stretch canvases. Starting with a staple on one end, I moved to the opposite end and pulled the fabric tight to place another staple. I then went to the untouched sides and did the same thing so that by the time I was finished, I had a cross like this:

{image via Marion Boddy-Evans - About.com}

By continually switching sides to put in staples, this ensures that your fabric will be pulled as tight as possible resulting in a professional finished look. As you can see below, I was a little slack in a few places, resulting in some waves - eep!

The next step was to add something to cover up all those staples. I could have gone with gimp, which is a really affordable option, but I really liked the look of double welting. I purchased my double welt cord from Ebay and followed this tutorial from Curbly (I didn't switch out my sewing machine foot for a double welt foot or a zipper foot and still had success). With all my pieces cut out and ready, I glued them in place using hot glue. As I was gluing I was able to pull some of the fabric a little tighter to reduce the waves a little, but someday I may end up tearing the thing apart again to fix it completely.

...and ta-da! The chair as it is right now. The bottom still seems a bit plain so I've been thinking of adding nail head trim. I think it would also be fun to add a toss pillow in Pantone's 2011 Color of the Year - Honeysuckle. What do you think?

Creating a Stylish and Organized Home Office

2011-01-08T02:12:00.000-08:00

Like many other bloggers, I've caught the organization bug. Running a business from home requires that I have a space dedicated for working and unfortunately that space must share itself with my bedroom, a room that is 9.5 ft x 10.5 ft. Can you say yikes? Needless to say, I'd not only like to have my office space be clean, organized and functional, but (since I look at it a lot) stylish as well. While I'm off daydreaming about how to make that happen, here are a few of my favorite items one could use to create a stylish (and functional!) office space.

{Desk - Cost Plus World Market}

{Console Table - ZGallerie}

{Table Lamp - Target}

{Vase - Target}

{Masai Rug - West Elm}

{Iznik Dhurrie Rug - West Elm}

{Magazine Tote/Book Boxes - ZGallerie}

{Sophia Sofa - ZGallerie}

{Stefan Pillow - ZGallerie}

New prints added to my shop!

2011-01-05T14:37:00.000-08:00

I've been busy updating my bedroom to show you all, but in the meantime I wanted to share some new prints available in my Etsy shop!

Rainy Day Walk

Ride Away on a Rocking Horse

Bunny Silhouette

Welcoming in the New Year

2010-12-31T19:29:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! Do you have any resolutions? This year I'd really like to get things organized and get rid of a lot of clutter. I'm also aiming to do a lot of new projects, including a bedroom and a dining room makeover to start the new year off with a bang!

{welcoming in the new year with some pretty red doors - a house for sale a town over from mine}

I received some Visa gift cards from my family for Christmas ($250 in gift cards to be exact, I was so surprised!) and I'm determined to stretch my new "budget" to the limit on decor items. I've already purchased a few things but I have a lot to go yet so I'll check back in and let you in on my findings!

Hope you all have a great night!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T09:00:00.000-08:00

I'm heading off to visit family for Christmas, hope you all have a wonderful day!

Since I didn't post earlier, here are a few of our around-the-house decorations and our humble Christmas tree. I love this time of year!

Room with a Twist

2010-12-16T13:50:00.000-08:00

This room is not only calm, serene and modern, it has a secret. Can you guess what it is?

It's modeled entirely in 3D! Pretty neat huh? Images courtesy of Pixela

Nice Room

2010-12-15T18:49:00.000-08:00

My friend Sarah sent me this tumblr link the other day and I thought I would share some of this eye candy with all of you! Thanks Sarah!

Pretty in Pink

2010-12-08T18:37:00.000-08:00

Here's a small Christmas decoration I put together using mostly thrift store finds.

My Style Formula

2010-12-07T11:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Nicole at Sketch 42 for this fun link party! My style is still growing so I suppose the following photos make up my style "wish list."

One part curiosity {source unknown}

One part mountain lodge {skiingbc}

One part white {Name 5 Things}

One part glamorous {Knight Moves}

A hint of industrial {Knight Moves}

One part romantic {source unknown}

One part folk/kitschy {Cottage Living}

One part cottage {gostocaipira}

Part traditional {source uknown}

One part hotel/spa {Pottery Barn}

One part secret {Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles via Heidi Claire}

One part bold {Mary McDonald}

One part Candice Olson

One part fairy tale {Hamleys}

One part trendy (if you can call this that?) {decorpad}

I'm quite a mix! What's your style formula?

Rooms With A View

2010-12-05T20:40:00.000-08:00

I'm loving these rooms with a view from Rocky Rochon Design in Seattle.

Tutorial: Christmas Pillows From Shirts

2010-12-03T14:23:00.000-08:00

With Christmas coming up I thought my bed could use something a little more festive. Sweater pillows look so cozy and since I already had all the materials on hand I set out to make my own (technically - a sweater pillow, t-shirt pillow, a tube top pillow & a leftover fabric pillow).

I started with a white cable knit sweater I got at a thrift store for $3 a while ago. The green and white striped pillow was a t-shirt I had (and was about to donate since it was rarely worn) and the red and white striped knit pillow was a tube top straight from the 70's (woo hoo mom!).

I began by cutting the white sweater straight across, just under the arms.

I then turned the "pillow case" inside out and stitched up the sides, leaving enough room on one side to insert my pillow form. Sweaters/shirts are handy for making pillows because two of the sides are already stitched for you so the sewing goes by a lot faster.

I turned the pillow right side out again and inserted my pillow form. Thez form was quite a bit larger than the pillow case, but the knit sweater stretched and it was no problem fitting it on and getting it to look right. I then whip-stitched the open end and that was it! I followed the same method for making the t-shirt and tube top pillows as well, and the little white furry pillow was one I made using leftover fabric from an old project.

I really love the Christmas-y colors the pillows add and I would definitely do this project again!

Oh Christmas Tree

2010-11-26T22:55:00.000-08:00

We went and picked up our Christmas tree this morning, it smells SO good! We've all been pretty wiped out due to Black Friday shopping but I'm so excited to start decorating! Here it is, waiting on our deck:

Cozy Thoughts - Interior Designer Anne Boa

2010-11-24T10:11:00.000-08:00

I love the snow we've been getting in the Seattle area this week! Everything is so quiet and beautiful. Unfortunately along with the snow I've come down with a bit of a cold, so my thoughts are turning to rooms that are cozy and warm. Anne Boa, an interior designer from West Vancouver BC, Canada, has designed some spaces that do just the trick.

French Blue & Burnt Orange Lamps

2010-11-23T19:27:00.000-08:00

In the near future I'd like to add two lamps to a white console table I have (I was bringing out accessories to play with, hence the empty frames).

I keep going back and forth between french blue lamps and burnt orange. I love both colors, and both would work well with the space (the entire room this console is in is very neutral).

{image via decorpad.com}

{source unknown}

{Christopher Spitzmiller Three Ball Lamp via Cococozy}

Which color do you like best?

Is Chintz Making a Comeback?

2010-11-14T21:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went on a shopping trip, and while in a few stores I couldn't help but notice a trend in fashion: chintz.

{images from Forever 21}

Chintz, known as a "calico cloth printed with flowers or other patterns in different colors," has been around since the 17th century so it's no surprise that it goes in and out of style as our tastes change.

Normally when I think of chintz though, I think of rooms like this, which has me running for the hills.

{image via Design Ties}

However, like many design trends, when done in moderation and in the right setting, chintz can look wonderful. (side note: I just realized how tall that lamp is, wowzers!)

{image from Lulu DK via Style Court}

So what do you think? Should the revival of chintz be banished or is it here to stay?

Style Watch: Seattle-based Interior Designer Nancy Burfiend

2010-11-12T13:35:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been loving the work of Nancy Burfiend from NB Design Group, an interior design company based in Seattle, Washington. When I saw the private library she designed, my heart just stopped.

After watching Beauty and the Beast for the first time as a child, I fell in love with Belle's library and have since sought out countless design ideas should I ever be fortunate enough to have my own library someday. I love reading and while most of my reading has switched from books to blogs, there is nothing more perfect and inviting to me than to sit in a cozy chair by a fire for hours with my nose buried in the pages of a favorite book.

The use of black in this space is perfect. I love the time-worn look of the fireplace mantle and those wing-back chairs are gorgeous. The burnt orange touches are both cozy and luxurious, and what is more fitting in a library than a book page chandelier?

Her portfolio is full of beautiful design work:

Something about this painting below really speaks to me.

Chic Finds from Kirkland's

2010-11-10T20:08:00.000-08:00

A few of my favorite finds from Kirklands.com

{ Roll Arm Bench - $149}

{Ginger Jars in blue and red - $39ea.}

{Wood Sunburst Mirror - $120}

{Robilio Bronze Mirror - $60}

{Becca Mirror - $110}

{Espresso Twist End Table - $40}

5 Fun Home Decorating Apps for the iPhone & iPad

2010-11-10T14:47:00.000-08:00

Here are a few fun apps to fuel your decorating habits!

Dream Home - an app that keeps you up to speed with the latest design trends with design ideas for every room in your house. There are TONS of beautiful photos and you don't need an internet connection to view them. Users can even upload their own rooms for people to rate, and you can save your favorites in a folder.

There's even a free version available, which is just as awesome!

Color Snap & Ben Color - From Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore, these two apps allow you to snap a picture of a paint color and match it to one of their paint colors. I love their paints and have had excellent experiences with both so this definitely comes in handy! Oh and did I mention it's free?

ColorChange - I've received a few comments about the presto-chango wall color treatment I did using Photoshop in our entryway. If you don't have PS and happen to have an iPhone, for $2.99 this app can do the same thing. Take a photo of your room, upload it and use their paint colors to change your walls and help you find the perfect fit. It does have a bit of a tough time in low-light conditions and, like Photoshop, it's really better for finding the right range of colors rather than an exact shade. But if you just can't decide between that sage or blue paint you picked out, this app can show you how they would look in your room and help you make up your mind.

Handy Man DIY - An awesome home improvement planner. This app is really helpful when you need to calculate the square footage of a room for painting or for buying trim or flooring. It also lets you keep track of your budget with pricing, organizational and shopping lists. Plus, if you're stuck on a project there are lots of video how-tos and instructions to help you out.

Tutorial: Making a Headboard from a Door

2010-11-08T16:09:00.000-08:00

My how time flies! It's been almost two weeks since I posted last, eek! I've been busy filling orders for Etsy and making new prints, as well as listing items on Ebay (did you know it's free to list 100 auction style listings a month now through January 7th? It's also free for BuyItNow listings for 2 more days). I've also helped to launch a new Etsy shop with a great friend of mine, I'll be sharing it with you sometime next week!

And now for some DIY. This was a project that I started over a year ago (speaking of time flying) and ended up finishing it only recently. I started with an old door that I found in a barn at my parent's house, as well as some wood beams.

I hauled them over to my grandpa's wood shop, where we cut them down to size. The door had about 5 layers of paint on it. I bought some Jasco paint/stain stripper and a plastic palette knife and got to work.

It worked so well! Too well perhaps, since it "stripped" my foam brush. I'll go the cheap paint brush route next time. Oh and a word to the wise, DO NOT let this stuff touch you! I accidentally leaned up against the the door while I was working and got some on my jeans. I wiped it off thinking nothing of it and within seconds my leg burst into flames. Ok I'm kidding, but that's pretty much what it felt like. Thankfully there happened to be a garden hose nearby, so I aimed it at my leg and turned it on full blast.

{Did anyone catch that Jerry Seinfeld reference? Skip to 1:38}

After getting the door down the last layer of paint, the stripper stopped working. Not exactly what I was hoping for! I bought another can and kept at it, but the paint would not come out. That's when I did a bit of research online and found out I had a door painted with milk paint. Normal paint strippers can't get milk paint out. Ack! If you're ever stuck with this problem, supposedly ammonia will get milk paint out, or there's a product called PDE Paint Remover that's made for removing it.

While mulling over what option I was going to go with, I flipped the door over and randomly tested a spot with the paint stripper. As luck would have it, the paint came right off. Strange that a door would only be painted on one side with milk paint, but I was jumping for joy. The rest was a breeze and after letting it dry overnight, I got to work assembling all the pieces of the headboard.

To attach the legs I used wood glue and nails and for the top piece I used a few screws (square head screws to be exact, I was amazed at how wonderful they were! I'm no carpenter but I'd definitely try those again). I made sure to fill in all the holes with stainable wood filler and to sand them before staining. I wasn't too worried about the hole in the door where the knob used to be as it would be covered by my mattress, but because I had some wood pieces that fit perfectly, I ended up plugging it and filling in the cracks with wood filler.

At this point I used a scrap piece of wood and tested out the stain. I had purchased wood conditioner and tung oil and gave those a try as well, but I ended up liking the raw stain as it was.

I really liked all the dinged up spots in the tester piece and how the stain puddled and turned black, giving it a rustic feel. I noticed a few pre-existing dings in the headboard...

...and decided it could use a few more. I used a paint can opener to give it a few small nicks and a hammer for larger ones.

I also grabbed a nail and hammer and made "worm holes."

Once I was finished beating up the headboard, I stained it a dark color - Jacobean by Minwax. I accidentally left the last coat of stain on too long so the headboard looks black in a lot of lighting conditions, but I don't mind it actually. For protection I also used a spray on polyurethane finish in satin.

So what was the total cost for doing all this? Well, since it's been about a year I don't have all my receipts but here's a pretty good guess:

Door - free from parents barn

Jasco stripper - $13 (x2)

Foam brush - $1

Plastic palette knives - $2 (x2)

Face mask - $3 ish?

Rubber gloves - already had

Wood conditioner - $4 ish? (didn't use)

Tung oil - $7 (didn't use)

Minwax Jacobean stain - $5 (x2)

Wood filler - $4

Spray-on Poly - $7
Sandpaper - $1 for several sheets

Nails/Screws/Glue/Tools - already had

Total = $67

I plan on re-designing my bedroom in the near future too, I've already started collecting a few new items and I'm excited to share the results with you over the next two months!

Linking up to:

Miss Mustard Seed

Funky Junk Interiors

Trip to Molbak's

2010-10-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit Molbak's Nursery in Woodinville with my boyfriend's family and some of mine. It. Was. Wonderful! The place is HUGE and not only dedicated to all sorts of beautiful plants and flowers but things for the home as well. Each area has a unique design and was so well put together. I was told it was pretty expensive beforehand (which it was) but even so there were deals to be had! Mom and I stumbled on these little mushroom clip-on Christmas ornaments for $2-3 each.

Our cart all filled up. I can't get enough of these!

I snapped a few photos for some Christmas inspiration as well. Like this adorable snow-covered pinecone window display! I'd love to make one!

Stick vases!

One of my favorites - a cardinal tree.

My mom fell in love with this owl. We didn't get it but now that I think of it, he might be a neat (and unconventional) tree-topper. Especially with the mushroom ornaments. And other forest-y things decorating the tree. Oh my...

Their home decor section - I love the shade on that lamp and the bird print!

I thought this was a great table idea, they took two small etageres and placed a chippy old door on top.

So there you have it, if you're ever in the Woodinville area I highly recommend checking this place out!

Entryway Update: Possibilities

2010-10-19T16:21:00.000-07:00

I recently posted about the makeover I did to our entryway. It's had a small update since then with the addition of the Georgina Rug from Pottery Barn, which I got for $22 after the sale using some gift cards. I absolutely love this rug, it's incredibly soft and cushy. I'm also happy that it is a bit darker in color than what's shown on the PB site, especially since I'm using it in the entryway.

Now that the rug is in, my eye keeps going back to the art on the wall. I think it could use a change as well. I haven't had it up that long, but that wall just seems too sparse. I dug out all of the picture frames I had and placed them on the ground in an arrangement that I liked and snapped a photo. Using photoshop I got to see how they would all look up on the wall (while still covering the circuit breaker box):

I like how it looks so I think I might make the switch. I had planned on painting the frames to match, but I'm kindof digging the eclectic mix and how a lot of the frames pull the same colors in the rug up onto the wall. But it didn't stop there, I decided to play around with paint colors in photoshop just for fun:

I fell in love. Nooooooo! Why do I tease myself like this? We're allowed to paint the apartment but the fee to paint the walls back is something like $200. Le sigh! Maybe I can figure out what the standard apt paint color is and we can just paint the walls back ourselves... since this area is so small it would be such an easy change!

Karen Templer: Design Idea Book

2010-10-16T22:32:00.000-07:00

I was looking around at the library when I stumbled upon a book by Karen Templer called the Design Idea Book. I was hooked by the gorgeous colors and ideas on the cover and the page after that, and the page after that...

Here are just a few of my favorite inspirational images from the book, I highly recommend it if you need to jump start your imagination!

Estate Sale

2010-10-15T19:43:00.000-07:00

I ventured out to my first estate sale today. I actually went to check out a dollhouse for my parents (which was a really cool house but turned out to be way way WAY out of our price range) but since I was there I decided to stay and have a look around. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, so instead of a mad rush to grab things before someone else did, I got to take my time and enjoy looking.

I'm still learning the ropes to estate sale-ing so if you have any tips I'd love to hear them! Something I did learn: if you see piles in corners, they usually belong to someone who has "claimed" those items. One guy got some major scores: a really neat leather chair, a rustic table, a bar cart, a giant wine bottle... his pile of stuff was enormous! We definitely shared the same tastes, I would have purchased everything in his pile (if I were made of money that is).

{image via Pottery Barn}

Oh and on a bit of a bad note, another thing I noticed was that people were not very patient at all. It's unfortunate really. The owners had set up a list to put names down on and they would let about 20 people in at a time so they weren't overwhelmed (there were easily 100 there). Well, quite a few people proceeded to yell, yes yell, at the owners to let them in, or gripe about how long we were waiting in line, or make rude comments about certain items or the way the house looked when the owners were within earshot. Just remember, the people putting on these sales are allowing everyone to be a guest (of sorts) in their home. A little courtesy is always nice! (Not that I need to be telling YOU this... you know, just the invisible mean people who might be reading).

At the end of my walk through, I spotted some pillows piled on a window seat marked $1 each. They were in awesome shape and were a pretty gold cotton velvet. Nab! I bought 6 of them, 4 large gold pillows and 2 smaller taupe ones. I figured if I got them home and didn't like them I could at least use the pillow forms. Nope! Not gonna happen. Love them! Here's a photo of a tiny corner of one because I'm mean like that. Hope you all have a great weekend!

A little Halloween Decorating

2010-10-14T18:07:00.000-07:00

I don't usually decorate for Halloween so this year I thought I'd try out a small vignette in our entryway. It's just something simple, but I love how it looks with the candles all lit up!

Hirondelle Rustique on the Front Page of Etsy!

2010-10-12T00:11:00.000-07:00

Hooray! One of the 8x10 Sea Fan prints from my shop made it to the front page of Etsy.com thanks to ToonyJewelry (who made the treasury)!

Master Bedroom Mood Board Makeover

2010-10-11T12:45:00.000-07:00

I recently completed a mood board for a client, Rachelle, who wanted to update her master bedroom and make it a relaxing place to unwind at the end of the day. She was very friendly, amazing to work with and is DIY savvy to boot!

Like me, Rachelle is a bargain hunter and wanted her room to be completed in stages as her budget allows. She already had the bedroom set and gorgeous bedding. I suggested a new paint color, rug, curtains, lighting and pillows would make the largest immediate impact while keeping within her budget. Later on, she'll add accessories like picture frames, mercury glass candlesticks, accent furniture (including DIYing the tufted cube ottomans with nailhead trim from Project Pretty) and a cozy throw to finish off her room. I'm so excited to see how it turns out!

A Feature!

2010-10-05T22:56:00.000-07:00

First, I want to say a big thank you to Danielle over at Danielle Oakey Interiors, who was so sweet to feature my DIY Imperial Trellis pillows!

She has such a fun style and while browsing through her blog, I stumbled upon a post where she visited the okotoks alberta dump and found some seriously fantastic steals. Wanting to do the same, I called the dumps in my area to see if they had any sort of salvage shops set up. Sadly they didn't, but I did learn that there was a Salvation Army close by (how did I miss this with all the thrifting I've been doing lately?) where they donate most of their salvaged items. Score! I can't wait to check it out!

Cozy up your home: Fall Finds from Etsy

2010-10-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

A collection of Fall items from Etsy to warm your heart.

{5x7 Fine Art Print - Lori411}

{Antique Wooden Dough Bowl - CountrysideAntiques}

{Velvet Drape - avecdieu}

{Mountain Goat Candles - PegandAwl}

{Embroidered Table Runner - Kainkain}

{Beautiful Wreath - twoinspireyou}

{Merino Blanket - RiverFarmRI}

{Pumpkin Spice Latte Mix - NotYourMamasMix}

{White Oak Watercolor Painting - GollyBard}

{Small Market Basket - LittleDande}

{3 Knit Pumpkins - PreciousKnits}

{Plaid Pillow Cover - HughMartinHome}

{Hanging Sphere - PinkPeace777}

{Pine Cone Mirror - haknyak}

{Pumpkin Spice Candle - aBreathofFrenchair}

{Pillow Cover - PersnicketyHome}

Entryway: Drum Shade Tutorial

2010-10-01T17:20:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Today I thought I'd share how to make a super easy drum shade using some fairly inexpensive materials.

I can't take credit for the idea on this one. My inspiration first came from Young House Love, when they shared how they added a drum shade to one of their existing lights. I didn't have the same type of light they had with that handy finial on the bottom, but it got my wheels turning. I went out in search for a shade but couldn't find one that was large enough for a reasonable price. As luck would have it, Sherry and John soon shared a blog by a handy gal who made a beautiful drum shade for her dining room. Her tutorial seemed easy enough to follow so I got to work (my tutorial deviates slightly).

1. I found an 18 inch embroidery hoop at Joann Fabrics and after a 40% off coupon it was only $2.62. I chose to buy only one, figuring I could use the two wooden pieces for the top and bottom of the shade. The burlap came from Ben Franklin's (since Joann's was out of that warm caramel color) and while it was quite a bit pricier ($6.29/yd vs. roughly $2/yd at Joann's) I had a store credit. I bought 2 2/3 yds. because I would need 58 inches of fabric to cover the hoops.

2. I removed the screws on the hoops and used a butter knife to work the wooden block off of the hoops. It didn't take long, but I tried to be very careful because the hoops are a bit fragile.

3. I glued the ends together using a dab of hot glue.

4. I wanted a 9 1/2 inch tall drum shade (to allow room for the door to swing open without hitting it). I allowed an extra inch on each side for overlapping and cut a long strip of burlap at 11 1/2 inches wide.

5. I couldn't find plexiglass or overhead sheets anywhere so I decided to use 80lb card stock I had on hand to make the shade stable. I taped 6 sheets end to end (not overlapping) to make one long piece and trimmed the excess.

6. I attached the top and bottom hoops to my paper strip using hot glue. Here's where I should have stopped to rework one part. Because the embroidery hoops were slightly different sizes, there was a taper to the shade and the paper did NOT want to cooperate. I should have gone back and cut down the larger hoop just a tiny bit until it was the same size as the other. But being my silly self I forged ahead anyway, dents in the paper and all.

7. I attached the burlap to the shade using a line of hot glue around the wooden hoops, making sure to leave an even amount of overlap on both sides.

8. I folded the edges over and glued them down, making sure to pull tight so there weren't any wrinkles.

9. Once I was finished, I cut off the excess fabric, leaving just enough to fold over and glue down.

10. I had purchased some ceiling hooks and eye hooks to hang up the shade. I figured this was a great solution for apartment dwellers and home owners alike because the hooks cause very little damage and the holes are easy to fill in should you need to move.

Well, what I failed to take into account was the length of the hooks once the shade was hanging. Once I had it up I realized the door could freely bash into my new project however much it pleased. Whoops! So here is the "behind the scenes" shot of my remedy. The eye hooks had once been pointing upwards, so I turned them upside-down (I just used hot glue to attach them). The ceiling hooks were now too far off from the eye hooks and not wanting to re-glue anything or put more holes in the ceiling, I used some thin wire to attach the two.

12. All done! I'm happy about the fact that you can barely see the hooks coming down from the ceiling (even though the inside is a different story), and I love that the paper diffuses the light. A word of warning though, I would NOT use paper if your shade is going to be close to your lights because it could become a fire hazard. I made sure to test out the heat of the light over time, and thankfully the shade is large enough and enough heat escapes through the top that the paper stays quite cool.

In the future, I'd like to add a diffuser to the bottom made of white muslin to hide the mess going on inside, but I'll have to re-work the hooks so that the shade can easily be hung and removed. Since it's so close to the door, most people walk right past it without stopping underneath to inspect my cob-job anyway, so I'm ok with it. :)

I can see doing this again too, it was really easy and I have enough burlap leftover to make another.

Materials:
2 2/3 yds burlap = $11.49 (Yikes! But I had a $7.50 store credit)
1 Embroidery hoop = $2.62
Eye hooks - $1.09
Ceiling hooks - $2.18
Wire - approx $2

Total = $19.38 (Not bad for under $20 huh?)
If you buy burlap at Joanns and don't use wire to hang up your shade then this project should only cost about $10-15 (with muslin added in for a diffuser). For a shade that big? So worth it!

Making an Entryway More Inviting

2010-09-26T16:08:00.000-07:00

Looking back through the past few years as I've moved from apartment to apartment, I realized I've never bothered to decorate the entryways. I was always too busy focusing on the other rooms to notice how empty and neglected the entryways were. Since the entryway is the first thing a guest sees when they step inside, it adds a nice touch when you make it just as welcoming and inviting as the rest of your home.

Living in an apartment has its challenges. I would have loved to paint this entryway a fun color or tear out the linoleum floor for real hardwood and baseboards. If it were up to me I'd even add a new door in an old world style with paned glass windows. However, having restrictions isn't always a bad thing, it inspires one to be creative with what they have.

Above is our entryway. As you can see in the before photo, it was really bare. The lighting was what we referred to as "murder light," as in murder on your eyes. You know - the super bright, washes out your skin type that leaves you blinking when you walk in and looking like a pasty ghost with deep shadows under your eyes. Then there's the circuit box, not horrible (especially since it was painted to match the wall) but not wonderful either. The two neutral colored rugs were actually hiding a blue internet cable to keep us from tripping on it. Fancy huh?

Our lucky break came when I was visiting my parents one weekend. I was out in their woodshed (an old barn) when I discovered a rusty piece of steel buried under a bunch of old garden tools. Dad figured it was something used to hold batteries or other electrical components in a workshop. I figured it was the perfect table base. He had no use for it and fished it out for me (thanks again dad!)

Together, we looked around for some wood and came across some weathered pieces of cedar that seemed destined for this table. After a few cuts, they fit perfectly. I cleaned it up and brought it home and what do you know - another perfect fit!

Next up was the big blank wall. I wanted to cover up the circuit breaker but still have it be accessible should we need it. Enter: an old broken mirror.

After removing the mirror part, I made the graphic art using vine charcoal and drew right onto the cardboard backing. I'm actually not sure about keeping it so this might change sometime in the future. I "hid" the internet cable by painting it a taupe color and hot gluing it to the metal carpet tack strip (making sure to test it first so that it could easily be pulled off should we move).

To solve the light issue, I went to several places and bought lampshades to see which one would look the best. The one we all liked turned out to be too small and since they didn't have any in a larger size I returned them all and decided to make my own using the famous embroidery hoop and burlap DIY idea that's been floating around the blogosphere (I'll post a tutorial soon).

Here's a look at the entryway now when you walk in the front door:

The mirror is great for checking hair and makeup before leaving, and the basket under the table will probably be used to hold mail as we come inside. I'm looking forward to switching out the accessories as the seasons change too.

I'm participating in Metamorphosis Monday over at Between Naps on the Porch!

Project Link Party!

2010-09-16T18:05:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

The time has finally come for the project link party! Here's what I've been up to over the last two weeks. I'll be sure to go into more details for certain projects later on.

{Click on the images to make them bigger}

Entryway

Door to headboard

Office makeover

Chair redo

Updated urns

Painted laminate cabinet

Now let's cut to the good stuff, show me what you've got! This link party will be up through next Thursday, Sept 23rd at 6pm so if you're just joining in, find a project you've been meaning to do and add your link!

Rules:

Create a blog post about a DIY/Home decorating project that you've been meaning to get to (recent projects are ok!)
Be sure to add a link to your blog post including your project and not just your blog
Grab the Project Link Party button or link to this post and have your readers join in!

Inspiration: Speed Decorating

2010-09-15T12:40:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon! It's overcast and chilly here in the northwest, a perfect day for finishing up a few small things for the projects I posted about almost two weeks ago, and I'm happy to say things are wrapping up nicely. How are your projects going? I'll be posting the link party tomorrow at 6pm PST and I'd love for you to join in the fun!

Two weeks ago I also mentioned a book I read called "Speed Decorating" and I thought I would share some of my favorite photos from the book. When I'm stuck on something (decorators block?), I look at inspirational photos to jump start my mind. Sometimes the photos can lead to even more projects, which is fine with me!

Below: I love how dramatic this black fireplace mantle is! The teapot on the tree stump turned side table is adorable too.

The fresh flowers are such a pretty focal point here:

I'm tempted to use these red shelves as inspiration for a smaller project of mine, every house could use a bold splash of color!

I love wood counter tops for the element of warmth they add to a kitchen.

What a cozy place to sit down and write! I once found a metal desk lamp like the one below at a thrift store (in an oil rubbed bronze finish) and I was kicking myself for not buying it, until I found a way to add lighting to my office area for $0! I'll be showing you tomorrow, can't wait!

Room Redo: Attic Playroom

2010-09-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

I'm back with another photoshop room redo. Remember the attic my parents and I cleaned out a while back? We were surprised by how much space there was. Once we finish cleaning it, the majority of the things that will remain in the room will be kids toys. The ceiling is low at about 7 feet and the door into the room is very small as well. That's when we had a light bulb moment, what if we turned this attic space into a playroom?

I got to work designing a room that would be fun for kids and full of storage. Because the attic actually extends beyond this room, my parents wouldn't be losing much storage space for other attic-worthy items and since a corner of this room has been dedicated to toys anyway, it would be the perfect space to make use of them. The room is also out of the way so my darling new niece and any future grand kids can make as much mess as they want.

My inspiration actually came from these tea towels, on sale right now at Target for $8-9. I loved the warm colors and wanted to incorporate them into the room.

Here's the attic before:

And the after:

Starting at the back, I've always been fond of window seats, especially when there is something interesting to look at outside. Built in bookshelves flank each side of the seat, which has a cozy plaid cushion, soft curtains and pillows, making it the perfect place to curl up and read a book under the lamplight on a rainy day. A diamond grille on the window and a dentil cut valance in raspberry adds extra charm.

Did you notice the blue table in the back right corner of the before photo? We would cut it down to be a more appropriate size for the room and paint it white. Storage boxes underneath would corral toys. Upper kitchen cabinets added as built ins into the knee walls provide tons of storage space as well.

See the raspberry stripe? The stripe above it would be painted a few shades lighter than the ceiling paint to act as "crown molding" - a trick to make the short attic ceiling appear taller.

Before (the other side):

After:

A sectional couch full of colorful pillows is the perfect place for kids to plunk down and watch a movie or play a video game. A white Moroccan pouf could be moved anywhere in the room for extra seating. The wood floors would be sanded and stained a deep espresso color and a Flokati rug adds an extra touch of coziness and texture. Recessed lighting would work well with the low ceilings, and a few lamps (Velcro'd down of course since this is a playroom) would cast a warm glow. A tone on tone pattern on the wall (I love the pattern used by The Vintage Laundress) adds a bold punch of color.

As a side note, the accessories used in the bookshelves would probably be toys rather than vases or other breakable things.

Here is a top-down floor plan of the space for better visualization:

Since the room would need insulation and drywall (not to mention a ton of decorations) this idea is really a pipe dream right now while the rest of the house is under construction, but it sure has been fun to think about!

Thrifty Finds

2010-09-07T13:45:00.000-07:00

I went out thrift shopping with my mom and our good friend Krissy yesterday. Krissy showed us some great new places and if you're ever in the Redmond/Bellevue area of Washington you should check out the Children's Hospital Thrift Store. It's incredibly clean, the prices are low for what I normally see in thrift stores AND the profits from the store benefit children. Win-win-win!

Here are some of the thrifty things I picked up for a grand total of $6.10:

A wooden bowl. I think it would be perfect on our coffee table or to add a rustic touch on a bookshelf.

A carved wooden candle holder. I'll show you where this little guy ends up when I finish up my projects in a little over a week.

A silver plated mint julep cup! This was only $1.60 (still needs a bit of polishing) but it'll make the perfect vase for flowers.

What are your favorite thrift stores?

Urns - Which do you prefer?

2010-09-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

You may have seen the urns I posted yesterday for the project link party. I've been trying to decide what to put in them and there seem to be so many options! What do you have in yours? A fun pop of color or a sleek and classy evergreen? Maybe even something a little more festive?

{via Room U}

{via NicNac Maniac}

{via Trusty's Landscaping}

{via Pawleys Island Posh}

{via Emily Ash}

{via BGhandtools}

{via Good Housekeeping}

Finish that Project Link Party!

2010-09-02T13:41:00.000-07:00

I recently read a book called "Speed Decorating" by Jill Vegas (checked out from my local library), which provides tips on how to find your style and create the atmosphere you want in your home quickly. I'm still having a bit of trouble wrapping my head around re-designing an entire house in 1 week or less (unless you have a truckload of money!) but I know doing a few rooms is definitely something the average Joe can accomplish, especially if you re-purpose and re-use things you already have. If you're selling your house any time soon, this can be a pretty handy book!

One of the tips that really stuck with me though, was: "All you need to do is dive in." She really emphasizes that the point to speed decorating is to stop procrastinating, one of my hugest road-blocks when I'm trying to decorate one of my own rooms, or simply finish a project.

So with that in mind, I'm giving myself a deadline of two weeks to finish up a few things that I started over a year ago, as well as some new projects! We all have things we've been meaning to finish, so I thought it would be fun to host a link-up party (my very first!) and include all of you as well! If you lurk, comment or even if you are a first time visitor here, I'd love to see your handiwork!

The rules are pretty simple, I'll post the link party on Thursday, September 16th, giving you plenty of time (I hope!) to finish up a fabulous project. It can be an entire room, a piece of furniture, or even an accessory - something you've been meaning to get around to. Then, link up your post and share your work with everyone!

Here's a sneak peak of the things I'll be including:

Entryway update:

Re-purposing an old door:

My office:

A chair redo:

Updating urns:

Painting a laminate cabinet:

Be sure to tell your friends and join in the fun! I can't wait to see what everyone has to share!

Etsy Milestone

2010-08-31T15:46:00.000-07:00

Hirondelle Rustique has hit 100 sales on Etsy! (101 actually...) To some, that might not be very much but I'm so flattered and thankful for all of my wonderful customers! I've met the friendliest people along the way and found a lot of great sellers and blogs because of this adventure.

{My first Etsy sale - Grumpy Bird. If my dad bought it does that count? Hehe love you dad!}

I remember what it was like opening shop and anxiously awaiting for someone to buy something. It took me quite a while to get on my feet actually, but I still get the same heart-leaping-out-of-my-chest feelings I did with the first sale (err...second?) and it's a lot of fun. If you're thinking about selling on Etsy or are just starting up shop, post a comment and let me know! If you have any questions post those as well, I'd love to help out if I can!

Now I have a rather serious question for you: What do you think of my shop (and blog) name "Hirondelle Rustique?" Is it unique enough to withstand the test of time, or is it too hard to pronounce and spell? It will always be special to me, but I've been struggling for months trying to decide if I should open a new shop/blog with a name that's a bit easier to remember, so I'm turning it over to you. I'd love to hear your feedback!

Houses: What can you buy with 1 Million in the Seattle Area?

2010-08-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

I love hopping over to the local real estate sites now and then just to see what kinds of swanky houses are up for sale in my area. It can be a great place to find inspiration photos for decorating ideas (as well as not so great ideas), plus it's fun to dream right?

Here's a magnificent house in Kirkland that's currently listed at $1,050,000.

I love those doors, and the hardwood floors are so pretty!

I've always wondered how it would be to have a fire going while you are taking a bath. Would it be too hot or cozy and romantic? I love the idea of having a fireplace in the bathroom for those cold winter days. What do you think?

Having a covered patio area with a fireplace would be so fun for BBQ's and other get-togethers.
I can just see billowy curtains and cushy dining chairs pulled up around a table full of delicious home cooked food out here.

This house even has separate living quarters with a full kitchen for friends and family visits or to rent out.

And for those of you who have an extra $250k to add to that million dollars lying around (couch change right?) here's a house in Redmond that has jaw-dropping craftsmanship throughout.

I love the old world effect of the glass doors on these built-ins!

Another covered patio with a fireplace! Love it!

{all images via zip realty}

Someday... someday...

Loving this Blog

2010-08-15T23:18:00.000-07:00

I just stumbled upon the blog Studio Freas (the sister blog of Team Freas). It's one of those blogs where you just keep scrolling and scrolling through the pages because you can't get enough. Jennifer has posted so many wonderful inspiration photos and design ideas!

A few of my favorites:

And the best part? You should see her house! It's stunning.

Talk about curb appeal! I can't get enough of their front door/entry, it's so charming and inviting!

The house underwent an impressive remodel to get to where it's at today (love the added french doors and wall cutouts to make the room feel larger).

The tree branch bracket is such a cute touch.

And those are just a small amount of the beautiful photos she's posted. Definitely a blog to keep an eye on!

Floating Shelves

2010-08-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

Living in an apartment definitely has its challenges when it comes to decorating. Here's a quick project we did a while ago that added some height and interest to the dining room (with a slightly scary before photo, I was in the process of moving in).

We measured the space and looked around online for some floating shelf options. Ikea turned out to be the clear winner price wise, with 3 1/2 ft shelves for only $19.99 each. So we made the trip down. The only catch? The color we wanted (Black-Brown) was sold out, and we were told all Lack shelves were being discontinued in that size as well (we actually went around and asked 3 different people about that since we couldn't believe our ears). Not wanting to miss out on a great deal, we purchased 3 shelves in Walnut and went home (actually I had to be dragged out of the store, there are too many fun accessories there!)

Once we got home we were debating how to darken the shelves to go with the tv console we were using as a sideboard, at which point we received an awesome tip from my boyfriend's sister about faux painting. She mentioned how she'd put paint on a sponge and wiped it onto a piece of wood and it darkened it without covering it completely, and the sponge gave a nice wood grain effect. So with a cheap tube of black acrylic craft paint, I got to work.

Here's a side by side of the old and the new, I love how the shelves turned out.

And here's the dining room wall all decked out:

Note: Our shelves have actually been up for a month or so now, and I just went and checked back at Ikea again and it appears they DO have the Lack shelves in the same size and in black-brown. *Sigh* Well at least you're in luck if you want to purchase those shelves, and at least I learned a cool painting technique in the process. Perhaps it'll help you out someday too!

Photo Consultation: Bathroom Before and After

2010-08-09T12:19:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo consultation I did for my parents, whose bathroom is actually under construction. They wanted a space with a bit of drama, and Newburyport Blue by Benjamin Moore fit the bill. They also wanted to use glass tiles as a back splash along the vanity wall, which I thought was a wonderful idea considering this bathroom has no windows and the glass tiles will help reflect light. This bathroom is off of the mudroom in their garage, and it needed to not only be functional but practical since they plan on using it as their master bathroom while their house is being remodeled.

Before:

After:

The vanity will be built by my grandfather, and I love the extra shelf along the bottom with baskets for storing towels and other toiletries. A recessed medicine cabinet also offers extra storage as well.

The shower curtain is actually a regular curtain from Ikea (the Merete line) and at $19.99 for a pair, it is an extremely affordable option (they're wide enough to fit most standard tubs, plus they are super long and can be hung up at the ceiling to make a small bathroom look taller). White is always a great option because if it ever gets too dirty you can always use bleach or oxy clean to bring it back to normal. Extra long shower curtain liners can be found online, like the one at this store.

Here's another shot of the room from a different angle.

Before:

After:

Recessed lighting will also add a new layer of light to help brighten things up and keep the room from feeling too cave-like.

Although the toilet area isn't shown, my parents plan to add another recessed cabinet above the toilet for more storage, and we've also been playing around with the idea of getting a luggage rack towel bar for the wall to the left of the shower (not shown) similar to this one from Pottery Barn:

So there you have it! I'm currently working on another photo consultation that I hope to share soon!

New Prints!

2010-08-06T14:34:00.000-07:00

I just added these fun lemon, lime and orange prints to my Etsy shop to celebrate the summer! They are each available as single 8x10 or 11x14 prints or as a set of three to make the biggest statement in your room (also available in 8x10 and 11x14).

Room Inspiration

2010-07-29T07:33:00.000-07:00

I lovelovelove the colors in this room! The Newburyport Blue by Benjamin Moore adds such a nice touch of drama and the neutral accessories really compliment the color.

{image via PotteryBarn}

And if you don't have a sun-filled room like the one above, look at how great this paint color still looks under different lighting conditions!

{image via flickr)

{image via If The Lamp Shade Fits}

Mom and I have been discussing using this color for her foyer area and downstairs bathroom (one of these days I need to share my parent's house with all of you). Although these areas are still in construction, the foyer has two huge skylights and a lot of extra natural light since it is very open to the rest of the house. The bathroom is completely enclosed and I think with the right accessories this color would be incredibly striking (the white trim would really pop!)

On that note, do you have any favorite colors you'd recommend for a foyer or bathroom? I'd love to hear your suggestions!

Cleaning out the Attic

2010-07-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Sorry I've been MIA lately, last week I was busy doing some major cleaning and organizing with my parents.

My mom and dad live in a wonderful old farmhouse that's been in the family from the beginning, built in 1926. Although the house has been remodeled and added on to, it still retains all of its charm. The only catch? This old farmhouse has an amazing ability to acquire and retain items up in the attic! When you think about how old the house is, it's no wonder there were so many things up there and since the house was in a constant state of remodel for most of my life (and still is, old houses need lots of love!) the most time we spent up in the hot attic was to toss in another knick-knack to get it out of the way of construction.

We originally started the attic clean out project a year ago. We spent roughly two days sorting, organizing and throwing things out (not to mention finding some neat old stuff!) before throwing in the towel. There was way too much to go through! Fast forward to this year and we decided it was time to get serious. We spent 5 entire days cleaning it out. Just think about that for a minute. 5 whole days from morning until night in a hot stuffy attic. 5. Yeah. And believe it or not we're still not done (getting there though!)

Above - An after picture (sort of). You couldn't walk through this room without running into at least 50 things. The boxes in the middle are mostly empty or need to be sorted and the old truck fenders on the left will be leaving soon. We were really surprised by how much room there actually was in there and we thought of a few ideas for this space for the future (stay tuned!)

Below - This part of the attic is partially insulated/drywalled and looking much much MUCH better than it did (wish I would have taken before pictures!) although there's still a bit more to do.

It's been completely worth every minute though, and we've found a few things we thought were lost forever, as well as some old things that would be neat for decorating.

So while I'm on this cleaning and organizing kick I thought I'd share a few tips that helped us conquer this monumental task, because when you're staring at a project this huge it is certainly daunting and can make you want to run for the hills.

{Govango on Etsy}

1. Pick a date (or several) and stick to it! If you put aside time for cleaning in your mind, you'll be mentally prepared for the big day.

2. Get family involved or work with someone else. It's a big job to do by yourself. Even if you have someone just running garbage and recycling down to the cans, it'll be a huge help.

3. Decide how organized you want everything to be. Should everything be perfectly tidy and in place or do you want to just de-clutter so you can quickly find things?

We opted to haul everything out of the attic to organize it once and for all and sort things in the unfinished ad-on space that will someday become a rec-room. We did this simply because the attic was so messy we couldn't walk around in it and the ad-on space was huge and empty with only about 5 steps between it and the attic. If you have tons of stairs to climb up and down however, it may be more beneficial to do your cleaning and organizing within your attic.

Tip: If you take this route and haul everything out, it's a good time to check and see if you have proper insulation in your attic. Proper insulation will help keep your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer and will help you save on energy bills.

4. Go through every single box. Yes it's time consuming (this is the part we're still not done with) but I bet you will find things you thought you lost and also things you probably don't need anymore.

5. Dedicate a space to certain items. In my parent's attic, we made a space for kids toys and games (for the current and future grand kids), home remodel/project items, home decorating items, Christmas decorations, filing and paperwork, a mom/dad pile and a pile for my brother and I (things we haven't taken yet because we're both apartment dwellers with no room - another reason to clean and organize!) Now when we need to find something we know right where to go.

Tip: If you are storing clothes in the attic I'd recommend a cedar chest to ward off critters!

{BlueMtnWoodworks on Etsy}

6. Make a garbage/recycle pile (self-explanatory), Ebay/Craigslist pile, and a garage sale/donate pile. Sometimes you find things that you no longer care to keep but may be worthwhile to list on Ebay or Craigslist. We found several pieces of furniture and some neat old items we plan to list. Whatever doesn't sell will then go into the garage sale pile. Why not make a little money for your efforts right? Whatever doesn't sell at the garage sale will be donated.

Above - a headboard and curved footboard we found.
Looks like someone started stripping it for a project many years ago!

Below - an old trunk. Maybe someone will want it for a coffee table?

As you go through things and determine that you don't want them anymore, see if they can be transformed into something new. We found old candlesticks, picture frames and vases that could be good as new with a simple fresh coat of paint. If you can save yourself money by re-purposing items instead of taking a trip to the store for new items then why not? Just make sure to use them and not let them sit up in the attic again!

{postroadvintage on Esty}

If you don't want to hold a garage sale, simply skip that step and donate. The simplest tip is once the item has moved into the garage sale/donate pile it can't come back in! Remember, the point is to de-clutter and organize!

7. Get proper storage. Those plastic rubbermaid tubs really come in handy when organizing an attic, and they stack well. We used a few clear ones for items we'd like to quickly be able to see, as well as some solid ones for items that were sentimental but we probably wouldn't need to be looking at for a while. Boxes work well too and are probably the cheapest option, but keep in mind that attics can be musty and full of bugs and over time the boxes will deteriorate.

8. Ditch it! Speaking of sentimentality, if you have trouble getting rid of items because of the memories behind them, here's a few tips that may help:

For papers, the simple thing that helped me go from about 6 or 7 huge boxes to 2 smaller ones was the fact that while most of the papers were sentimental to me, I didn't want to spend an entire day looking through them every time I wanted to go down memory lane. Time is a valuable thing and while I don't encourage throwing everything out, try to figure out the things that really mean something to you and try to give yourself a box limit. I kept most of the things from my young childhood (mostly because my drawings were so absurd and funny to look at), some things from my middle and high school days, a few more recent papers and lots of artwork. But when the time comes to move again, I don't want to haul around several heavy boxes of old papers so trimming down my collection was beneficial to me.

Tip: Keep a shredder handy for receipts or papers with too much information on them!

For knick-knack items and treasures, there's nothing wrong with hanging on to things that have meaning to you, especially when they've been passed down between family members. The problem comes when you can't let go of anything and you wind up with an attic like ours. Try to look at items objectively. If it really has a lot of sentimental value to you, then are you really honoring it by keeping it couped up in an old dusty attic only to look at it once every 5 years? Maybe it's your grandmother's old mirror you can't bear to part with, or your father's vintage telephone. Why not let everyone admire these items? After all you think they're really neat right? Bring them down into your house and make a statement out of them!

{Winterberrycottage on Etsy}

For items you'd like to have a memory of but are taking up too much space, take a photo of them and then decide if you want to sell them or donate them.

9. Last but not least, if you haven't used or thought about an item in the last 5 years or so you probably aren't going to miss it. Harsh I know, but if the point is to clean things out, this tip will be your best friend.

As luck would have it...

2010-07-15T12:30:00.000-07:00

Someone threw out a queen size headboard yesterday and I just happened to be taking the trash out and spotted it. Actually, there was an entire bed in the trash area, a metal frame, side rails and a footboard, but it was all pretty badly damaged. I love the people here! Some might cringe at the thought of grabbing something from the trash area, but with a quick wipe down the headboard was looking good as new, and all it had on it was a tiny scratch on the left side (easily covered over by a wood marker).

Have you seen the photo consultation I did for my friend? I think this headboard would work perfectly in her room! It's not exactly the conventional way of decorating but hey, she's happy and I'm happy to have stumbled upon this trash to treasure piece at just the right time!

DIY - Revamped Pillows with Imperial Trellis Print

2010-07-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

I love Kelly Wearstler's style. An award winning interior designer, she's done projects all over the world and one of her famous patterns, Imperial Trellis, can be seen as wallpapers, fabrics and even clip boards and trash cans.

I've been slowly putting together our living room area and quickly fell in love with her Imperial Trellis II print in Java after seeing this photo:

{Uploaded by Suzie on DecorPad.com}

But of course, the fabric is way way WAY out of my price range, the cheapest I could find it was $105.99 a yard. I could have bought the pillows here or here from one of these fabulous Etsy sellers and in hindsight that probably would have been the best way to go (Sometimes DIY projects take quite a bit more time than expected to complete!).

But since I had a few things I could make pillows with lying around the apartment, I decided to make them myself. I used a white tablecloth (one of the same ones I used for my balcony curtains) bought from Ebay several years ago for $7-$10 each. I also had 4 of these blue pillows.

First, I took the trim off the pillows:

Then I cut up my tablecloth into 18.5 inch squares (to allow 1/4 inch for seams).

I then purchased some Americana acrylic paint in Bittersweet Chocolate, some Fabric Painting Medium and a little stencil sponge tool (came in a two pack) from the craft store. The Fabric Painting Medium can be used with any acrylic paint to make it usable for fabrics. You just have to let the fabric dry for 24-48 hours after painting and then heat-set it for 30 seconds and you're done! It's even washable!

Using the Imperial Trellis design, I used 6 sheets of 100lb card stock and made a template.

Then I painted in the design. For the first pillow I just painted right over the template and then quickly discovered that the paint was moving around ever so slightly so I had to go back and fix a lot of it. For the rest of the pillows, I lightly traced the template design onto them with a pencil and painted them in with a brush.

I decided to use white for the backs because painting took quite a bit of time. Since I used a tablecloth that was thick, the blue pillows underneath don't show through, and neither do the lumps!

Ta da!

Cost Breakdown:

4 Pillows - reused
1 White tablecloth - re-purposed (you can get them for $7-10 on Ebay)
Acrylic Paint x 2 - $1.29 each
Fabric Painting Medium - $1.99
Foam Brush - $1.97
100 lb Cardstock - Already had for a school project but I bought it at Kinko's for 20 cents a sheet

Total:
$6.54!

Doing this project from scratch would run about $15-20 + four pillows.

Once again:

2010-07-04T11:53:00.000-07:00

Are you struggling with how to decorate your space? Want to do-it-yourself but need a little help along the way?

I'm excited to offer decorating consultations via email to those who need help with areas in their homes.

I offer three affordable options:

Have a design dilemma and need some advice? Supply me with a few photos of the room in question along with the problem you're having and I'll email you a written solution. I'll send you a list suggesting ideas for furniture placement, finding new furniture and accessories or re-purposing items you already have, color choice ideas, shopping resources, decorating tips and the thought process behind all of my suggestions.

$30 per room

Written Consultations are completed within 1 week of when your email, questionnaire and payment are received. Scroll to the bottom for info on how to receive a consultation.

Need help brainstorming ideas for a particular room? Supply me with a few photos of your room and fill out a questionnaire with details about your likes and dislikes, your decorating tastes and your budget and I'll send you a customized “virtual” mood board to serve as an affordable plan for changing the look of your space. I'll include furniture options, lighting ideas, floor, window and wall treatments, color schemes and accessory suggestions to help transform your space.

Along with the mood board, I'll include a written explanation of the plan as well as prices for the items and where to find them. Whether you're starting fresh or working around items you treasure and love, your custom mood board will be suited to your needs.

$75 per room

Mood Boards are completed within 1 week of when your email, questionnaire and payment are received. Scroll to the bottom for info on how to receive a consultation.

Entryways are the first impression people get when entering your house. Hallways connect spaces and are often indications of what's to come. With a photo consultation you can discover the amount of potential and impact your small space really has.

Along with the consultation, I'll include a resource list, prices for each item, and a written explanation of my plan.

$45 per room

Photo Consultations are completed within 1 week of when your email, questionnaire and payment are received.

When you want to see exactly how furniture and color scheme suggestions will work in your space, a photo consultation is for you. Using one of your photos, your room measurements and a detailed questionnaire, I will create a visual picture packed with ideas, style and functionality. I offer practical advice on choosing the right paint colors, window treatments, wall coverings, fabrics, furniture and accessories for your room.

Your virtual plan will also show you how to visually change the proportions of an awkward space, how to play up the good features in your room while disguising the bad, how to achieve the atmosphere you desire and how to make the most of what you already have, giving you the confidence and path to follow to to give your space your signature style.

$125 per room

Photo Consultations are completed within 1 week of when your email, questionnaire and payment are received. Scroll to the bottom for info on how to receive a consultation.

Here are some examples of rooms before and after one of my photo consultations:

TO RECEIVE A CONSULTATION:

Email Monica at hirondellerustique@gmail.com

What to send via email:

Photos of your room (preferably one of each wall and 2-3 overall room shots)
Your budget
Measurements of your room (a quick sketch is helpful). Include length of walls, location and size of windows, doors and built ins, and where power outlets and heating or air vents are located.
Ceiling height
Inspiration – Any photos or links you've collected of decorating ideas you like and represent your style. Don't worry if you're not sure what your style is, that's what I'm here for to help you figure out!

Once I receive your email, I'll send you a lifestyle questionnaire to help me learn a little more about you and your decorating tastes, as well as an invoice for the total amount.

My consultation prices are for one room/area only (for open floor plans, please choose one space to receive a advice on, for example the dining room OR the living room), however if you'd like to purchase more than one room I do offer a 15% discount for purchasing more than one consultation.

Payment:

Since these are custom consultations I do require payment upfront. I accept PayPal, Money Orders and Personal Checks. For PayPal and US Postal Money orders I can begin the consultation immediately, checks and regular money orders will require 7 days to clear.

If you have any other questions feel free to email me and I'd be happy to answer them for you.

Thanks!

Giveaway Winners!

2010-07-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for participating in my giveaway! As promised, here are the three winners chosen via Random.org:

That's mrso', wifeplzak andKaty! Congratulations!

If you didn't win you can still receive a free 5x7 print with any purchase from my Etsy shop!
In other etsy news, here are some new prints recently released in my shop:

These 8x10 silhouette prints with a chevron background are great for adding a pop of color to your room without breaking the bank and are completely customizable to colors of your choosing! I can even make them in larger sizes if needed.

Deer

Dachshund

Beetle

Butterfly

Climbing Trees is a limited edition print of 50.

Climbing Trees

Don't forget!

2010-06-30T21:49:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for your chance to win a 5x7 print! There are 3 winners and it ends July 1st at noon!

Handmade Design: Bedroom

2010-06-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

Here's my latest design board made from items found on Etsy.com. It's always a fun adventure making these because one can never be certain what will turn up in a search that will sway the overall look of the board one way or the other. It seems I'm always left with pleasant surprises!

1. A Vintage Headboard with a unique design - $195 from paintedcottages
2. A luxurious Duvet Cover in crisp white - $125 from ERLdesigns
3. Set of 2 Throw Pillows sewn with fabric by Joel Dewberry, Nap Sack in Grass - $38 from purplepajamas
4. Add a punch of color with some Bright Tangerine Linen Pillow Covers - $27.50 fom VintageJamie
5. This adorable ruffle pillow cover adds just a touch of femininity - $48 from iviemade
6. I love the lines on this Chartreuse Dresser - $550 from Poppyseedliving
7. A cheerful Damask Rug in lime green and baby blue - $100 from busbywarren
8. This Custom upholstered bench provides the perfect place to sit- $300 from beleganthomeandpet
9. A cozy White and Butter Cotton 60x60 Throw - $60 Dahlush
10. 11x14 Contemporary Birds Print - $35 from HirondelleRustique (that's me!)
11. "Be Happy, Be Loving, Be True." Use as a ring bearer bowl or store your jewelry in this dainty dish - $38 from palomasnest
12. I love the modern design of this Industrial Lamp - $90 from etcink
13. A charming Vintage Alarm Clock - $35 from ClockworkUniverse
14. Light and airy Ruffle Curtains to bring in some softness- $65 from PaulaAndErika
15. A sleek and stylish Walnut Nightstand - $600 from philipmilano
16. An XL mirror with wonderful contemporary lines - $1010 from artavironi

Paint color (background) Sherwin Williams - 7044 Amazing Gray

Making Your Own Laundry Soap Update

2010-06-24T12:39:00.001-07:00

Fellow blogger Heidi Claire did a fun post about laundry rooms and was so kind to include me in her post. After seeing it though, I realized that I never gave you an update on how the do-it-yourself laundry soap is working out for me (the post I did is almost 11 months old now!).

And my opinion? I love it! It's done a wonderful job keeping my clothes clean and it seems to be pretty gentle on them. I love the way they come out smelling and for the last 11 months I've only used up about 8 batches, which comes to about $8.72. Not bad for almost a whole year's worth of laundry soap huh?

Giveaway!

2010-06-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed all the great giveaways going on right now? There are almost too many to list! Sarah over at Thrifty Decor Chick is giving away a Silhouette Craft Cutter, Megan at A Life's Design is giving away two 16x16 pillows, and PK over at Room Remix is giving away a $125 gift card to CSN Stores!

I'm making room for new items in my Etsy shop and thus I'm discontinuing all 5x7 prints. As a special gift, the next 20 purchases will receive a 5x7 print (at random) with their order. This includes orders in the US and overseas! And remember my Free Shipping sale is still going on now through July 5th!

As a separate giveaway, I'd like to offer 3 lucky winners their choice of a 5x7 print. Choose from any of these prints below:

Since there are 3 winners and 5 ways you can enter to win, that's a lot of chances to win your own 5x7 print from Hirondelle Rustique! But you must leave a separate comment for each way in order for it to be counted:

1. Leave a comment on this post with the number of the print you'd like to win.

2. Blog about this post (with a link to it) and leave a comment posting a link to your blog.

3. Tweet about this post (with a link to it) and leave a comment posting a link to your Twitter update.

4. Post about this (with a link to it) on Facebook and leave a comment posting a link to your page.

5. Make someone's day! Find a random stranger's blog and tell them something you like about their blog. Leave a comment on here with a link back to their blog (don't mention the giveaway in your comment to them, this is just something I thought would be fun to spread around some summer cheer).

***This giveaway ends next Thursday, July 1st at noon PST.***
**Prizes ship to the US**

Photoshop Room Redo

2010-06-16T15:36:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine recently began updating her bedroom after deciding she had had enough of "the college look." A year ago she bought this quilt from Urban Outfitters and although she still loves it, (I do too!) she decided she wanted something a little easier on the eye and more sophisticated and cozy.

Here's a quick layout of her room:

Over the years she had been given or had bought some furniture and while the functionality of it was great for her space, the range of styles and colors from white to blond, honey and dark brown made her feel like her room was a bit chaotic. So she set off to paint her furniture a unified black, and she did a great job. She also got some Lack floating shelves for above her bed and a duvet cover and shams from Ikea in a cozy red-orange color. It definitely helped make the room feel a bit calmer and more comfortable now that she had large blocks of the same color throughout. But it needed something more...

I was browsing the web when I came across a picture that reminded me of her room:

And from there I thought it would be fun to do a little mock-up design.

Before:

After:

(my photoshop job is a bit scraggly but it gets the idea across right?)

The colors I've added help to lighten up (and girly up!) the space while keeping the original cozy look she was after. I'd paint her nightstand black and move it to the other side of her bed to give her a wee bit of walking space on that side and to allow some room for the floating shelf to be moved to the left. This way she could fit in some curtains if she wanted to give the illusion of height and add softness to the room. The white patterned curtains behind the gray are from Ikea and are only $30 for two panels!

If the shelf is moved, I'd lower the other shelf on the wall to provide her with more space for storage/display items. Her room is currently doubling as an office, and her newly painted black desk sits just to the left of the bed.

The gray throw blanket is also from Ikea and I actually found the drum pendant sitting next to a dumpster (oh dear this is becoming quite a habit for me) and I think it would add just a touch of glamor to affix some crystals to it.

I thought it would also be nice to add a flokati rug to the room, as well as a storage bench at the end of her bed (you can always use more storage!)
I think these prints from my shop outfitted in black frames would fit in nicely with the colors of this room.

Trophy Print and Red Sea Fan Print

Modern Lamps

2010-06-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

Blogger Jen Woodhouse from The House of Wood DIY'd these vintage thrift store lamps and I had to share. The colors are so modern and fun. I love the way these lamps turned out! I've got a lamp project I've been working on as well and the way these turned out makes me want to throw my plans out the window.

Decisions decisions! Time to get to work!

A fun and funky bathroom

2010-06-13T10:31:00.000-07:00

For this week's handmade design I put together an inspiration board that blends sophistication and simplicity. In this eclectic bathroom I began with a cool shade of gray and added bold pops of color using items found on Etsy.com.

1. Yellow Vintage Frame with Handmade Mirror - $85 from TheFrameAndMirror
2. White Vessel Concrete Sink - $300 from DCsurfaces
3. Blue Lacquer Antique Oval Table - $499 from FabulousPieces
4. Driftwood Towel Rack - $30 from Bricheese
5. Turkish Bath Towel - $26 from TurkishBath
6. Vintage Silver on Copper Butler Tray - $45 from Gasquetgirl
7. Recycled T-shirt Rug in Grey (Small) - $58 from talkingsqid
8. Spa Bath Soap - $3 from beclean
9. All Natural Lavender Bath Salts - $4 from SeasonsComeAndGlow
10. Grey Shower Curtain with Wisteria Print - $45 from Appetitehome
11. Organic Fusion Shampoo - $12.50 from cindydevore
12. Walnut Candle Blocks - $34.95 from plwoodworkers
13. Reclaimed Firewood Bench (Free Shipping to USA) - $85 from embroiderforu

New changes coming to Hirondelle Rustique!

2010-06-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to announce some big changes at Hirondelle Rustique!

First up is a Spring into Summer shipping sale! Now through July 5th, shipping on all items in my shop is free!

I'm also slowly phasing out all 5x7 prints in order to make room for new items, so all 5x7's are only $12 instead of $16. There are a limited amount of prints left so get them while you can!

There are some new prints being added as well. You may have seen this print in my shop already in 8x10 and 11x14 sizes:

And these personalized monograms on faux bois perfect for your little girl or boy's room, also available in 8x10 and 11x14 sizes:

And there's even one that would make a great gift for newlyweds:

I'll also be doing a giveaway soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

Just for fun

2010-06-04T22:25:00.001-07:00

I recently got back from a week's vacation in Disneyland. I love it there, and of all things it was a great place for finding decorating inspiration.

The displays in some of the shop fronts were wonderful, this one reminded me of something you might find in an old study (I apologize in advance for the picture quality!)

I love this gorgeous planter/urn!Someday I'd love to build a house with as much character as this!

My favorite thing in the park are these trees, which mimic the ones painted by Eyvind Earle for Sleeping Beauty.

A favor to ask of you...

2010-06-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

I'm making some new throw pillows and I've been on the hunt for some type of modern geometric/abstract fabric. I'd like to get a fabric with some chocolate brown in it, but I'm having the toughest time finding any (for a reasonable price that is).

If you've seen any fabrics that look similar to the ones above (or a different fun pattern you think I would like) I would greatly appreciate a shout out, and if you have any favorite fabric sites you'd like to send my way, I'd happily check them out as well. Thanks and I hope you all have a great weekend!

Handmade Design

2010-05-18T01:17:00.000-07:00

Lately I've found myself cruising Etsy and adding tons of items to my favorites list. If you're not familiar, Etsy is the world's most vibrant marketplace for buying handmade and vintage items, as well as art and supplies. There are so many things to fall in love with! As a small way of giving back to the Etsy community for all the help I've received over the last couple years as a seller (and hopefully helping some shops that are just starting out to get noticed) I thought it would be fun to start a new series creating design boards for different rooms using items from the many skilled artisans on Etsy.

For this board I was inspired by the lovely Manhattan Walnut Desk, which quickly lead my search on to a multitude of fun items to fill a home office space with, including pieces for pure decoration and many for function and style. Have a look!

1. Vintage Industrial Bookshelf on Casters - $895 from VintageIndustrial
2. Ticking Beanbags/Bookends - $12 from theStillLife
3. Vintage Quail - $8 from stellabystar
4. Barnwood Clock - $45 from natureinspiredcrafts
5. Woodgrain Tin File Box - $20 from projecteur
6. Rust Steel Rectangle Wire Basket - $12 from baskets8899
7. 3 Piece White Birch Bark Desk Set - $19.50 from NHWoodscreations
8. Primative Toolbox - $37 from wworker
9. 32 Inch Light Brown Rug - $14 from grandmachris
10. Desk Manhattan Walnut - $495 from greenuvo
11. Vintage Bar Stool - $135 from jamesrobinson
12. Woven Lattice Table Lamp - $185 from Coosawlampcompany
13. Moss Covered 24inch Monogram Letter - $36 from restruct3
14. Birch Trees Laptop Vinyl Decal - $12 from thestickerhut
15. LiL Bloom Pendant Chandelier - $38 from splurgeavl
16. Free to Fly Message Board - $38 from nextdoortoheaven
17. Mango Burl Letter Opener - $45 from RichardandMelissa
18. French Text Paperweight - $10 from TheShabbyChicCottage
19. Brown Leather Journal - $48 from julieboyles
20. French Script Curtains - $32 from TheShabbyChicCottage
21. Bottle - Seam Series - $15 from taylorceramics
22. Vintage German Cuckoo Clock Fabric Basket - $29 from finchhome
23. Letterpress Hello/Thank You Stationary Set of 6 - $10 from missive

Paint Color (background) - Sherwin Williams 7029 Agreeable Gray

Finally!

2010-05-02T14:58:00.000-07:00

I'm done with college! Woohoo! Time to get out into the working world (hopefully soon anyways). It feels so strange to have time to spare now. I'm looking forward to spending time doing some DIY projects and creating new art and interiors for my portfolio.

Here's a 3D project I've been working on this semester using Maya, although there are still a few changes I'd like to make. I wanted to create a romantic bedroom that had both feminine and masculine features, as well as a little luxury. I drew most of my inspiration from Parisian apartments.

It's been a dreadfully long time since I've last posted and I'd love to catch up with everyone. I have months of blog reading to do :) I hope you're all having a wonderful Spring!

Updated Dresser

2010-02-13T14:13:00.000-08:00

Well I finally made up my mind on a paint color for this old dresser...

I used these photos as a jumping off point. I love the combination of gray and gold, it's so dramatic!

Ta da!

I should probably go back in and add another coat of paint to finish off the top edges of the drawers. Oops!

I lined the lower drawers with some fun contact paper. For the upper two drawers I cut out some foam core board and wrapped it with some taupe suede fabric. I hot-glued it to the backside and placed the boards inside the drawers. I now have a wonderful place to store my jewelry - hooray no more tangled necklaces! The fabric works really well to keep everything in place, I've even tried slamming the drawers and everthing stays put.

So there you have it! Now if only I could finish up my office chair...

Decisions, decisions...

2010-01-22T16:31:00.000-08:00

I've recently acquired a charming old dresser that I'd like to update with a new paint job. It's going to be going in my closet so I'm not terribly worried about it matching the rest of my furniture. I'm mostly torn between painting it white or gray. Or perhaps I should try stripes or a wild funky color?

Here it is in all it's glory:

Inspiration:

What would you do with it? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

2009-12-24T15:27:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I'm back from a long hiatus. I've been going through quite a rough patch in my life lately but I'm slowly starting to pick up the pieces and move forward. I've been very blessed to be surrounded by friends and family full of loving support. Christmas is my favorite time of the year and since I didn't really get the chance to decorate my apartment I thought I would post some cheerful photos full of inspiration.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

A Giveaway and a few other bits of news

2009-11-08T17:28:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

There is a great giveaway going on over at the DIY Showoff with lots of wonderful vendors. I've donated three 8x10 prints (of your choice) for three lucky winners so be sure to head on over and comment for your chance to win!

I've also been kindly awarded the Kreativ Blogger award by Francine Gardner. I absolutely love her blog so receiving this from her was such an honor!

To follow in the Kreativ Blogger tradition, I must now tell my readers 7 things about myself they do not already know and then nominate 7 other bloggers for the award. Here goes:

1. I could eat cereal for every meal of the day (but I don't!)
2. If I had another place I would decorate it very modern and kitschy. It's my secret alter-ego. :) 3. My favorite TV show is Frasier. Yep, I love re-runs!
4. If I had to live outside of the US, I would move to Bavaria (southern Germany). I love the countryside and how charming all the villages are.
5. I used to be a Starbucks barista and cringe when I hear "expresso" rather than "espresso."
6. I don't really have a favorite color, although I do tend to lean toward neutrals.
7. My favorite flowers are wildflowers and lilies.

The 7 blogs I chose are:

1. Just Beachy
2. A Day in the Life of Karen
3. A Life's Design
4. Adventures in Suburbia
5. At Home At Home
6. Belle Maison
7. Camilla at Home

Also, while I'm confessing things, I thought I'd take this chance to answer some of the questions I received from the Honest Scrap Award.

Q: If there was one thing you could do with no fear of failure, no amount of money standing in the way, nothing stopping you, what would it be?

A: I think I would complete the degree I'm earning right now and turn right around and go back to college for interior design. I love what I'm doing now, but I think about interior design every single day and feel like I could learn a lot with a college education and combine it with the 3D modeling skills I've already learned. If I could be an interior designer for a living I would die happy!

Q: What is your favorite DIY/creative project that you have completed so far?

A: I know I've posted about it a lot but I think my favorite is still our balcony makeover. I love sitting out there!

So there you have it! Be sure to check out the lovely blogs I've posted!

Oh dear...

2009-10-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

I'd like to introduce you to our washing machine.

Yesterday, it decided to be bad. Very, very bad. In fact, I'm pretty sure it grew a stomach because it decided to eat our clothes.

Yep, it ate them. There they are, stuck under the agitator. My poor shirt! And DH's poor apron!

We've tried for about an hour now to pull them out and no luck. Unfortunately there was no manual with the machine when we moved in, so we're not sure how to take the agitator thing off (if we even can?). I've already taken the cap off the top to look for some kind of bolt, but alas there was none. Any ideas? I suppose we'll have to call maintenance (what a silly thing to call for).

Oh the joys of renting!

I think I'm sold on a front loader for when we buy a house ;-)