Guest Blogging with Style... and Stardust

Is everyone so psyched that the weekend is finally here?!  I am!  I have major plans for this weekend and all I can hope for is that I can accomplish 5 of the gazillion items on my list.  Since one of my plans is to finish up the guest bedroom project, I don't currently have a reveal to share with you.  I do, however have some exciting news.  Olga from Stardust - Decor & Style has asked me to create a guest post for her blog today.  I am super psyched and humbled that this fabulous blogger had even noticed my still-wet-behind-the-ears site.

Just a warning, if you check out her page, you will not want to leave!  It is jam packed with amazing transformations and tips by Olga and other guest bloggers like myself.  Here are a couple of my personal favorite posts by Olga:

Her Living Room - I heart the eclectic vibe going on

Her Hallway Transformation - Oh my goodness!  I may just have to "borrow" this idea somehow.

A HUGE thank you to Olga for offering me a guest post spot on her Amazing Blog!  So, take a gander and don't say I didn't warn you!  Very addictive!

~*Abigail*~

The Comeback of Paintable Wallpaper... Refinished Sidetable

Happy Tuesday!  I'm taking a week break from work and I am getting loads on my to do list crossed off.  It's amazing what 7 hours of no work and my daughter sent off to school will give me: precious alone time.  I am definitely taking advantage of it.

Did I ever tell you how much I love HomeGoods?  Did I?  Did I?  Oh yeah, I have...plenty of times.  Well, let me tell you again - I LOVE HOMEGOODS!  It seems I never walk out of that store empty handed.  During my last trip, I snatched up this baby before anyone else can see the unbelievable clearance tag attached to it.

I whistled and sang some happy "I just scored the best deal ever" tunes during my drive back home.  As I set her down inside the house, I saw this:

A humungo chunk of glass was missing from the bottom drawer!!!  Whhhaaaaaat???  By the time realization had set, I was fuming and bewilderedly yelling, "I can't afford to have that drawer face replaced!" (It's about a hundred bucks around here, kiddos - no joke)  "I can't fix that myself!"...or could I?

I had a light bulb moment and decided not to sweat the minor detail any longer.

Do you remember my Executive Desk Makeover?  I used a paintable wallpaper by Allen & Roth to cover up all the ugly.  I decided this is what's going to save that side table from being smashed into tiny bits from my frustration.

56 sq ft for $17 at Lowes.

I decided on covering all the drawer faces with this fabulous design.  I still have tons of this wallpaper left over from my desk project and I only needed to use a small portion of it.

Yes, I did this while watching some HGTV in my Living Room

 After some careful consideration, I opted to keep the wallpaper white.

 Here she is.  I do believe she looks even better than the original all glass design.  I've set her up in her temporary home in my formal living room until another room is all finished (hint: starts with Guest, ends with Room).

This took approximately 30 minutes from start to finish.

Now I can continue onto my happy dance...

~*Abigail*~

Where Did They All Go? Entertainment Organization Solution

I know, I know...  I haven't posted anything in over a week now.  It's been a little crazy around the Smitten household and I have finally found some down time to share a couple tips with you.  As you all know, coming up with an organizational master plan is not my area of expertise.  That's where my sister, Winnie from Fam Och in the Yukon steps in.  I am the one to find a gorgeous piece of furniture that I MUST buy and she is the one to ask "So... what's it for?"  "Isn't it pretty?" just won't cut it.  It must be functional to be top notch.  

In this instance, I found a small mirrored dresser for my Living Room and wasn't sure how I was going to fit all of my dvds into one dresser drawer since Mr. Smitten's gaming systems and video games already occupied two of them.  I was stumped and needed help.

Naturally, I called the organization guru and asked for a solution...

You've got to check out her ideas and tips on how to keep all that clutter organized and out of sight!  They work for any decor whether you are traditional, eclectic or modern.  Her post also shares pictures of the outcome of my dvd system.  

Also, stay tuned!  I have been asked to be a guest blogger over at the fabulous Olga's blog, Stardust - Decor & Style on some of my transformations.  I heart her blog!

~*Abigail*~

Color Palette Inspiration

It's Monday again tomorrow, folks and I wanted to close this weekend with a bit of sharing.  I've received a few emails from my fabulous followers asking me how I came up with the color palettes for each room makeover reveal that I've posted.

Do I go straight to my paint swatch book and start to randomly choose colors?   

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It helps quite a bit to tie all of my ideas together, but no, that's not where I pull inspiration from.  

I am inspired everyday by everything!  I am very observant by nature and what I'm drawn to, I catch it and keep it locked in my noggin (or my trusty iPhone camera roll) for safekeeping until it's ready to be put to use.

For my guest bedroom, I have a few key inspirations I'd like to share with you...

I've never been one to ask for jewelry as a present - that's one area of my life that I'm not too fussy about.  I have, however (for no apparent reason at all) always been smitten with these dainty little boxes and perfectly tied bows.  

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I absolutely love to garden!  There's something calming about being by myself and getting my hands elbow deep in dirt.  One of my favorite flowers is the tulip.  Although they don't last more than a few weeks here in Utah, I can always count on them to come back year after year to show me that warmer days are ahead.  As I was at Lowes the other week, I noticed a bag of bulbs with the prettiest orange and asked myself why I had never planted these.  Too late for the season, but not too late for a color add-on for the guest bedroom.

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After a much exhausting trip through Ikea on a Sunday afternoon, I bought my daughter a special treat for being so patient with me through the never ending arrows in that store (Mighty clever of them to have a snack bar located behind the cash registers).  Instead of giving in and buying one for myself, I noticed how simple, yet classic the color of vanilla ice cream was.

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With the technology we have today aka: the internet, you can't help but surf through thousands, if not millions of random pictures.  I came across this amazing piece of decor.  The design wasn't what I was drawn to, but the process it took to get to the finished product.  I am loving laser cut metal right now and I plan to somehow (no clue yet, but my determination never fails me) apply this to the scheme.  

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So there ya go.  A tiny insight on what makes my interior decorator heart skip a beat and a sneak peek of what my guest bedroom is going to look like.

Your turn!  Take a look around and tell me... 

What inspires you?

~*Abigail*~

From Blah and Boring to Bursting with Boldness... Living Room Reveal

I am going to give you a fair warning, right now.  This reveal is not for the faint hearted.  If you're way too afraid of change and color, stop reading NOW.  You may hurl from color overload.  If you are sick and tired of your boring construction grade beige walls, then follow along with me.  Also, if you were expecting this area of my home to mimic my Master Suite, then you're in for a surprise.  I no longer follow the rule of one home = one theme.  I want to love my home, but love all the rooms differently. 

Below is a reminder of how humdrum and lifeless my living room used to be.  It was so crammed and tight that I could almost hear it screaming to stretch its legs.  The couch was tiresome to look at, the ottoman had turned into a dumping ground for backpacks, remote controls, jackets, sweaters.. you name it - it ended up on that ottoman.  The entertainment center had also turned into an eyesore.  I am by no means a minimalist, but I hate hate hate clutter!

Note the old drum set chair is being used to hold Mr. Smitten's coffee cup.

So are you ready for it?  Brace yourself.  If you need a reminder or extra preparedness time, click here to see what color palette and decor I chose.  When I revealed to Mr. Smitten the color I chose for the accent wall, he looked at me like I had definitely been dropped on my head as a baby way too many times.  Guess what?!  It turns out I'm not as crazy as he thought!  

Taa-daaaaa!!!

How's that for stimulating the senses?!  I freakin love my living room!  With just a few changes and a small budget, you can wake up a room.  In my case, I didn't just gently shake my living room awake, I barged in with a marching band in tow.

Just another angle

Here's what I changed:

 Changed the accent wall color

Added an area rug

Gave the ottoman an overdue eviction notice

Added more eye candy

Finally found a storage solution

Cleaned up all that clutter

Do you love my ginormous Ikea light fixture?

I gave Mr. Smitten his very own table for his Friday Night Game Time necessities: Coffee, remotes, iPad, Xbox controller

Now he's ready to pull an all nighter for Halo Reach

 I found a tufted side chair in the perfect shade of green at Marshalls.

My favorite aspect of the entire chair is this great nailhead trim design.

No, I didn't give in to Pier 1 and spend $100 on each ceramic stool.  I found these lovelies at Ross for $29.00 each.

I can't seem to get the lighting right, but these stools are navy blue with an amazing glaze job!

 When I'm determined to find a piece of furniture, I never throw in the towel until I can claim it as mine.  I stormed through over seven stores until I found this mirrored dresser at TJ Maxx in Riverdale.  This stores over 350 dvds, all of the hubby's video games and a couple gaming systems.  My sister, Winnie from Fam Och in the Yukon will show you how she taught me how to accomplish just that in a future post.

So purdy

Added a touch of Asian to the mix.

 I will always stress in every post that I am on a budget.  I cannot afford to splurge on a fantastic piece of art on a large scale.  Have you ever checked out the prices on those babies?!  Not my cup of tea.  What do I always do if I can't but it?  I make it myself!  Since there was already enough going on with my dresser vignette, I needed my art piece to be simple, but at the same time make a statement.  I also needed it to be fairly large.  Paint canvases can get pricey and Walmart couldn't accommodate me with a huge one, so I used a thin piece of plywood.  I am resourceful, if nothing else.

Easiest painting I ever created!

I used a couple of the same pieces of decor I already had up.  Love this giraffe and charger  so much and it was perfect for the color scheme!

If you haven't noticed, it's all about circular objects for this project.

One more look at my *Color Splashed* living room.

Did I do David Bromstad proud?

Are you ready for more???  I've started a new project today.  The picture below was my old office before I moved down to my Marie Antoinette Inspired Art Room/Office.  It has slowly accumulated junk and transformed into a storage unit.  I'm turning this room into a guest bedroom that my out of town visitors will love to sleep in.  And my inspiration?

This little blue box

~*Abigail*~

Channeling David Bromstad.... Living Room Sneak Peek

Is everyone having a fabulous Monday, so far?  I am!  I am this --- close to putting together all the finishing touches to my new and improved living room.  I am so excited to share it all with you because I am doing something a bit different - a bit bolder.  In this post, I'll give you a lot of hints with how it's all coming together.

A major giveaway is my all-time favorite HGTV show, Color Splash with host, David Bromstad.  There is not one episode of this show that hasn't inspired me in one way, shape or form.  He is a color mastermind!  I always hear myself thinking, "Oh, I wish I was that brave with color." or "He totally pulled that off, can I?" Well, I say - WHY NOT?

My idol, David Bromstad
via HGTV

Love his style!

via HGTV

So here are the colors that I'll be incorporating into the furniture, decor, and walls.  I am, however staying mum about how I'm using them.  Don't you just love how I shed light on a current project and then pull you right back into the dark?  Bwahahahaha...  I really am laughing out loud right now.  I'm sick in the head like that.

Like any other room, I'll be using different shades and textures of each color.

Did I hear you just say, "Oh no, she didn't"?  Oh yes... Yes, I did.  I'm using small doses of these two colors below.  It's going to be sooooo much fun.  

Onto furniture and decor...

I need some textiles, extra furniture, storage solutions and fun accents.

I need a new area rug

I loooove tufted chairs!
via Perlora

I want some sort of mirrored chunk of furniture.  Not this one - too pricey for something being sold at Downeast.

I've been toying around with the idea of adding some ceramic garden stools to the room, but having a hard time finding some that are affordable.  These stools from Pier1 are $100 a pop.  Yikes!

Last, but not least, I'd like to add a fab Buddha Head sculpture into the mix.  Just because I feel like it.

So, there you have it.  I gave away quite a bit of what I've been keeping under wraps.  The only person that I've sent progress pictures to is my sister, Winnie of Fam Och in the Yukon.  She's doing an awesome job of keeping her lips sealed.  Keep watch because next week I want to wow you with the transformation.  Here's another reminder of what is used to look like:

Ewww

~*Abigail*~

Jello Molds = A Work of Art

Happy Monday, everyone!!  I hope everyone had a fantastic start to the week.  Today is my birthday and I've decided to spend it working on a brand stinkin new project!  Yes, I have moved onto yet another makeover - BUT, before I let you in on it, let me share with you something that I just wrapped up today.

I am constantly searching the internet for some great deals or DIY projects and I came across these Gold Seed Wall Art pieces through Joss & Main.  I thought to myself:  That's a pretty good deal.  $49 for 10.  As I always do, I scrolled down to study the specs and found they were only 2"x2"x2" for each seed.  Uhhh, that's tiny and a huge ripoff for those like me, on a budget.  I scrapped the idea of purchasing them and decided that I loved them enough to make a DIY project out of the unfortunate situation.

Soooooooo pretty!  Soooooooo expensive!

So where can I buy something that's similar in shape, bigger and extremely cheap?  Duhhh, the DI, of course!  I found 15 Jell-O molds for $1.00, ran to Walmart for some paint canvases (I didn't want to have 15 holes in my wall for each mold) and set them up on my counter top to make sure I marked exactly where I wanted them to be placed.

I painted the canvases

Buy the brush and paint at Home Depot.

 Chose metallic silver for these flat canvases.

Applied same metallic brown glaze on top of the silver.

I just rubbed on the glaze with a paper towel.

I wasn't too excited about spray painting the inside of the molds gold, so I opted for yellow instead.  

1 coat spray primer, 2 coats glossy yellow, 2 coats flat white

I used my glue gun to make sure these molds stay put on the canvases.

I need a manicure...bad!

 And here's the finished product.  All the supplies and molds cost me about $19.00.  Not bad, eh?

I placed them all in my Master Suite.  Fun abstract art to lighten up the mood.

In a couple weeks, I'll show you how I transformed this boring, cramped family room into something fabulous and grande!  I'm so excited!  This area is currently under construction as we speak, but I can't even show you that or I'll give too much away!  So... stay tuned!!!

~*Abigail*~