Little Blue Bench

Pier 1 has a great selection of stuff in their clearance section right now. In fact, this blue bench, I posted about before. I am loving the color, the style, the cushion color, EVERYTHING!! the website has it marked down to $99.99. I may have to swing over and check this baby out.

While I don't have a specific spot in mind for it, I think it would work anywhere in our new house.

From Coast(er) to Coast(er)

I'm dreaming up a little project for the house. I've been hesitant to buy too much new stuff for the house, since we're on a limited budget. Plus, it might be easier when we are actually in the new space, to see what we need. However, as a low-cost Valentine's gift for Cory ( he doesn't really do the V-day thing...) I thought it might be nice to do a little home-made treat for him.

At our house, I am pretty insistent that everyone uses a coaster. However, the coasters we have are vinyl-decorated glass ones. Cory absolutely hates them though, since he often has ice in his glasses and the condensation drips mean his glass sticks to the coaster, and when he lifts his glass, the coaster sticks to the bottom and then falls and lands on his toe or something.

So in an effort to hear his cries about the awful coasters, I think I might try and make him some new ones..... or at least track him down some new ones...

I've got an hour to kill tonight, so I'll keep you posted on what I come up with!

Get (faux) stoned

The showhome of our new house, features gorgeous fireplace surround.

Covered in stone detailing, from floor to ceiling, it is really a show piece of the living room. ( Although, I hate the chintzy, dinky little mantel they have.....) Unfortunately, to save some costs, and give us a bit more flexibility in decorating the space, we opted to go without.

(p.s. we had our fireplace moved to a different wall without windows)

We did talk about the option of doing the faux-stone panels, down the line, when we can afford it.... if we still want it.

While I think it's beautiful, I wonder if it's just a "trendy" option and if it will still be in style in a couple years. Mind you, it can look really classic, such as in this Home Depot ad.

Since I have nothing better to do with my time, I decided to look into some of our options.

(Sand Drystack Panel)

The lightest one I liked, this one would still give some textural interest, but not be too "in-your-face".

(Quarry Gray Drystack Panel)

This mid-range color is my favorite of the three. It provides a good range of color variations, and still keeps a lot of our accent colors.

(Riviera Stacked Stone Panel )

I also kind of like this darker version, and would really have to see a sample of it in the space, to determine whether or not, the stone would suck the light out of the space.

My one concern is how we would dress the "wall" above the mantel once the stone is applied. I think it would be too much if we added artwork atop the stone. Essentially, we'd just have to go with a mirror, or just some gorgeous accessories atop a huge, chunky, dramatic mantel.

However, price-wise, it definetly seems reasonable, at less than $10.00/sq. ft. I am looking forward to trying this out!!

(All stone samples from Faux Panels . com )

Garden Patio Dreams

If I randomly come into some money, I'd love to be able to do something like this in our soon-to-be backyard. This pull-out sofa bed style daybed is where you'd find me curled up with a book, or sleeping for that matter. I like to think that the kittens would love to walk around the lush junble yard, and not run away.

What I'd have in mine, however that you can't see.... a concrete dog run... so doggie bathroom breaks, don't ruin that beautiul lawn.

Perfect Kitchen/Dining Area

When I saw this picture, I have to admit, I was quite taken with this space. Well, what's odd about that, is that it is not at ALL the type of decor I am typically attracted to.

The kitchen is very sleek and modern, almost mid-century looking. There is open shelf storage, and there is a lot of brown... and not that chocolate color either. Plus, there is a lot of stuff on the counter tops.

I'm not sure why I like it so much... but I do.

So you can thank Ideal Home for featuring this beauty.

Scent-sational Suds!

So, a couple weeks ago, the soap pump in our main bath broke, and I was pretty upset about it... the stupid thing was the most expensive pump I've ever bought. So I grabbed the pretty glass one from our masterbath, and switched it out. However, this left us a pump short, so in the meantime, I'm using a cheapie.

In our new house, we'll have three bathrooms that we'll need pumps for so I don't wanna buy something until I decide on the color scheme for each room. In the meantime, do you think it'd tacky to use the store bottles?

What about if they are pretty ones from Bath & Body Works ???

One Room, Three Looks

Starting with a blank slate in your living room? Know you want something dramatic but not sure what? These three rooms, all feature the same sort of layout, but with three dramatically different looks.... Which one do you love??

Personally, this is my fave of the three. It's also something I could totally see in out new house. Especially since it's pretty similar to a lot of the stuff we already have. It's got a very girly, Asian-zen vibe about it, and I heart it so much!!

Only two things I would change? A bigger rug, and another table next to that one.

Prefer something a little more, mid-centurey modern? This punch room is for you!! Everything in this room works. I also like how they've used a console table in the alcove, which would also function really well as a bar-cart!

Prefer drama and something more feminine and traditional?? More ornate pieces, in shades of purple might do the trick. This is a bit much for me....

(all photos coutrsy of Ideal Home)