Decorating Cents

Do you ever wonder what the inside of the house across the street looks like?  What's their floor plan?  What's their design style?  I do all the time.  New houses are still being built in my neighborhood and I love walking through the empty ones before they are sold.  This gives me a chance to see other floor plans and how the house is laid out.  What makes this experience even better is when the houses are staged.  In my neighborhood, there's only one model house that's staged. When I come across signs for new subdivisions nearby, I love to stop by and take a peak.  Model homes are great places to get ideas for your own home.  Sure, sometimes model homes are staged very unrealistically and too perfect but gives you general ideas about decor items or placement of furniture.  I also like to look online for new subdivisions because usually the model home pictures are there as well. I love the openness of these two spaces .  An open floor plan was definitely at the

I recently added a new Inspiration Boards page to the blog.  As I create new boards and plans I will add them here.  This way I can always go back and reference them at a quick glance and you guys can see them as well. We're headed to Florida for spring break with the kids next week!  We are so ready for a vacation. Have a great weekend!

I love a good DIY project.  Especially when it involves tools.  I feel inspired whenever I see others build pieces of furniture that look like they came straight from a furniture store. This octagon dining table from Shanty-2-Chic is fabulous!  It looks great with her chairs. Sew Woodsy built this adorable dresser for their baby's nursery.  It's simply stunning.  It reminds me of other dressers I've seen at a much higher price.   Centsational Girl built this x-base table .  Girl's got skills I tell ya and she never disappoints. How lucky are you when your friend and hubby make a cool desk for you like at AKA Design? How about this desk from Designed to Dwell?  I would love a girly desk like this but me and the hubby share the office and I don't think he'd like the white. I dream of having a tool shop one day so I can build amazing things too!  If I could just clear some space in the garage, that table saw would be mine.  

Forever the space at the bottom of the stairs has been empty.  I have been looking for a nice bench to go there but have never found the perfect one.  Every week I make a few Target runs for diapers and things and I always make a quick dash for the home decor section.  You can probably tell by now Target is one of my favorite stores to visit.  I came across this storage ottoman that I had liked since it first came out.  It was small but I liked the pattern and the colors. On this visit it was marked down to $20.99 from $69.99.  That's 70% off.  I love those little red stickers!  At that price it was meant to go home with me.  I had other things in the cart and the kids were with me so it was tough getting it all to fit.  I originally bought it with the intention of putting it in our loft but it ended up not working there. At another Target the next week, I saw they had one of the same ottomans sitting by its lonesome.  It needed a playmate and it was waiting at my house

I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when I came upon this What's Your Spring Style? quiz from Lonny.  I decided to try it out and see what the results were.     The results are based off random questions about your ideal place to live and where you would like to eat.  Not sure they are relevant to decorating style. My results: The Professor.  You don’t put Monocle on your peg-leg coffee table to impress—you actually read it. And your bookcase, meticulously arranged (by theme, not by color—how preposterous!) is sparingly interspersed with curios of the magnifying-glass and agate-bookend variety. If you were ever to get a tattoo, it would be Dieter Rams–themed, reading “less but better," and when it comes to seating, you’re on a strictly last-name basis: Wagner, Eames, Bertoia, and Saarinen. Your taste in decorating is informed by years hitting the books—design-oriented or otherwise. When it comes to your ideal space, you're all about subtle textiles,

Spring is finally here!  The weather may not know it, but it is.  I love the mixing of blues and greens in home decor.  They are both bright and perfect to bring in the new season.  To welcome spring, I put together a board of the two colors.  curtains / console table / rug / sofa / chevron pillows / chair / ombre pillow / garden stool / lamp shade / lamp base / coffee table / wall art Sharing with A Glimpse Inside * Glamorous Affordable Life * Remodelaholic * Homecoming * Skip To My Lou * Uncommon Designs * A Bowl Full of Lemons * Elizabeth and Co * Home Stories A to Z * Homework * My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia * The Winthrop Chronicles * The Blissful Bee * Just Us Four * Thrifty Decor Chick *

I was browsing Target.com when I saw they have introduced custom furniture.  What the what?  Go ahead then Target.  You mean I can get the same affordable pieces but with the fabric of my choice?  Count me in.  I began to look at the various pieces in their customizable collection. I love the shape and lines of this bench .  With a little fabric, it goes to a whole new level.  The price tag starts at $220 so still not sure it's worth the extra money for me to get a custom fabric.  It would be an easy DIY to buy a standard bench and re-cover it yourself. I love the size and shape of this chair .  The price tag of this one starts at $450.   I don't know how long I've wanted an upholstered headboard.  I will have one some day.  Sooner rather than later.  This one makes me drool.  This piece starts at $700.  I'm sure I could DIY one for much cheaper. Although I love the idea of customizing my furniture pieces to fit my style and home, I don't th

Hip hop hooray!  We got ourselves some new dining chairs and I absolutely love them!  I wasn't going for beige in the beginning but I'm glad that's what we ended up with.  They are the Threshold Brookline Tufted Dining Chair .   They totally change the look of our dining room. Look at the cushioned seat.  They are firm but not too firm and should soften with some use.  Very comfortable to sit in I might add. I love the button tufted back.  So elegant looking. There's a story behind how we got here so let's start from the beginning.  I showed you these chairs as one of my choices but I was aiming for the light gray.  I was set on that specific color.  The only problem is they are never in stock and on sale at the same time.  They are either on sale one week but the color is not available or they are available but full price.  I had a set price I was willing to pay for new chairs.  I needed six and I wasn't trying to break the bank. I just so

With spring coming up fast, I feel like changing up the decor a little.  What better way to do it than with new pillows?  Pillows can refresh a room in seconds.  Here are a few that caught my eye and can definitely get your room in the mood for spring. 1 / Target 2 / West Elm 3 / Wayfair 4 / Ikea 5 / Kohls 6 / Target 7 / Wayfair 8 / Pier 1 9 / H&M Have a great weekend!

I was searching online for some possible lighting options for our master bedroom.  I came across several that I liked but one stood out to me.  Not because I liked it for the master bedroom, but because it looks a lot like the light in my daughter's bedroom . Lamps Plus Possini White Flower Pendant Lowes Style Selections Hanseen The one from Lamps Plus has a few more layers of petals but is still made of plastic and has a white ceiling canopy.  All for a whopping $199!  I don't think so.  I bought mine at Lowes and it was significantly cheaper at $30.  Mine is also larger at 23 inches around.  I shortened the cord on it to fit the room better. To think someone would pay that much for a plastic light is unthinkable.  Unless you just want to and got it like that!