Oh boy, oh boy!

I've finished (for now) my design board for the master bedroom (next stop on the Decor Snowball!) This time I went a little less collagey, and a little more - modely? Took way longer, but I'm so pleased with the results, I can't help but think it was worth it.



You know, I know I could pay someone to do this for me. I do.

But then, I wouldn't enjoy this half as much I don't think - or lose nearly enough sleep. (I designed this entirely from scratch on Photoshop, thankyouverymuch.)

Where would my badge of "Oh! I'm so tired!" be without that?

It's interesting to think how much this will change and adapt as we work on the space. And considering all we have really now for the space that we want later is the space itself (and the wall color!) we've got a ways to go... and I know it'll change so I'm less apt to talk about the details now as I will later when it's pulling together. It's a bit more contemporary than the brown guest room, but still has enough rustic (we're looking to get black distressed furniture) and comfy and vintage to keep me happy. I love the play of the contrast and punches of color... A THOUSAND POINTS to anyone who knows where the inspiration for the color themes in our room came from (hint: above the bed).

Speaking of beds, a new mattress, after sleeping in a bed for three years that we inherited from Cliff's sister and brother-in-law that they got as a gift when they got married (I WON'T tell you how long ago THAT was) will be heaven... pure, pure heaven.

Guest Room Progress

It's coming together, slowly but surely. I've done more in the last week to pull some pieces together than I have in the more-than-six-months since I posted this. It's funny how design evolves over time, but I like it. And I know it will only continue to do so...



The accent chair? Picked this (it's a dining chair!) up from Trees and Trends this past weekend. After debating for months on the function and shape and style of accent chairs available, I ended up with this upholstered tweed version and I just love it. At a third of the cost of a similar armchair, this anchors the room and still provides a comfy place to rest. A lumbar pillow is soon to join this cozy corner, but you'll just have to wait to see that.

The photo frames? A collection of Goodwill finds (at about $1 a piece) that I spray-painted with a beautiful metallic color I found. The prints are an assortment of landscapes and abstracts I've taken in places that we love in the world; I edited them to bring in the warm vintage-y tones of the rest of the room. I really like how the monochromatic scheme of the frames and images balances out the non-symmetrical layout of the frames.



The end table? An old wooden produce box Cliff has had around for ever. Turned on it's side with the open-side away, it is the perfect height and even provides a place for magazine storage (yet to be stored).

The candlestick holders? These were AWFUL when I found them at Goodwill. Ceramic, painted with mauve paisleys... and now? Thanks to a bargain can of spray paint I found in a color I was looking to accent the room with, they're just perfect!

The vase? Same can be said of this little guy. He looked like a giant peppermint stick - probably some Christmas vase. Using the same metallic paint on the frames, I prepped this vase for the bunch of forsythia stems I picked up on the same trip to get the bargain spray paint. I can't wait for next spring when the forsythia will come from our very own bushes (it's what inspired the incorporation of these lovely branches) - but for now, I think these work great!



The lemons? Totally fake, and that's totally okay. For the time being, they're home is courtesy of one of our larger soup bowls but will eventually have a more permanent place to rest.

The mason jars? A find on my accent chair hunt this past weekend. I made a detour at the antique mall and found these pair. Immediate doesn't even begin to describe my desire for these. The color, the age, the size. Can't wait to decide what to fill them with!







The shams? Well first, I stumbled upon the lovely euro shams on a clearance sale Pottery Barn was having online. I just love love loved them, and thanks to a gift card we still have lying around from our wedding, made them ours ours ours. The crocheted standards? Handmade by my step-grandmother and passed down to me on a whim the last time we were home visiting my dad. Without really having planned to incorporate this color at the time, I gladly took them from my stepmom. In time, they made the perfect edition to my evolving color scheme.

Dream A Little

As the landscapers currently do their thing, I couldn't help but do my own.

That is, dream.

In the middle of an album design, I decided to take my own design break and pull together some of the inspiration I've been culling for our first guest bedroom design. We've decided this is going to be the first room likely to be finished in what we're calling the Decor Snowball. (You've gotta figure we'd pull out some Dave Ramsey-ite phrase in this, right?)

Seeing as it's the room closest to being complete, it'll be the first we actually do finish. And with that under our belts, each project will likely seem more feasible.

At least, that's our thinking.

So here's the guest bedroom to date:



(forgive the botchy merge job by Photoshop. my wide-angle lens isn't exactly wide-enough to get it all in one frame.)

And here's the design board I created for the room:



It'll be awhile, I'm sure, before it gets to where we want it to be but I'm really enjoying the direction it's headed. Beautiful neutrals with a pop of color, a real antique bed with soft, neutral linens, slight rustic meets vintage meets antique meets warm and cozy.

Can you see it? What do you think?

p.s. if you don't subscribe to Real Simple and haven't taken the Decorating Personality quiz, you can take it online. And maybe you've got it figured out, but this was a life-saver for us. We're predominantly Cozy Casual with a touch of Vintage Eclectic thrown in!