black striped curtains

I have wanted black and white striped curtains for a while now! 

pinterest

Our bedroom is mostly black and white and I have never been able to find just the curtain that I wanted. I had seen horizontal stripes but never in black and white, there are plenty of vertical stripes but that wasn't for me, I am not the best seamstress so I couldn't sew the differnt colored fabrics together. I almost gave up and that is when I came across these painted IKEA drapes. I thought for sure I could do this and so I went and bought these inexpensive curtains knowing that if I totally bombed I wouldn't be out much money!

I started out making 14" stripes using painters tape.

I realized at about this point that I had not taken into consideration the tape and had to start over. Oops! Make sure when you are measuring out your inches that you measure from the top of tape not the bottom and take into account the tape when measuring :)

 Then onto drape two...

This part probably took the longest because I was trying to be exactly even with the first drape. In the big scheme of things it doesn't really matter all that much because if you are like me, you will never fully close the drapes therefore they will never be directly next to eachother. 

Now on to the fun part. Painting! 

I had some flat black paint in the garage I decided to use instead of going out and buying fabric paint. It turned out ok...a little hard, but it got the job done. I also applied the paint using a roller and a spounge brush for the edges. I was so so nervous that the paint was going to bleed through the tape, but it didn't!  It was easy, but time consuming! :)

Here is the finished project...

Betsey approves :) 

In the end for $50 I am VERY pleased with them! They really add to our room and I love having them to look at now! :) 

Happy Thursday! 

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Decorating for Christmas is one of my most favorite things to do! Below are a few pics from what all has been done inside so far. Enjoy!

Living Room:

little Bets snuck into this one :)

 Dining Room:

Hallway into the Kitchen and Breakfast area:

Breakfast Room:

A new addition this year...

 I put a small tree on our counter in the kitchen and filled it with some of our family's old silver pieces. I love it! 

Here is a close up:

The black and white bow tree in our bedroom:

Thanks for visiting! I will put up some of our outdoor decorations up soon :) 

Happy Saturday and Christmas decorating! 

southern living idea house 2013

Have you all seen it!? It came out over the summer but I just came across it again and it is just gorgeous!! I also added in some pics of their beautiful Christmas decor via KariAnne who was so lucky to tour it in person. 

at night

herringbone entry door


I LOVE these swags!!!

wood beams

barn doors and bar stools

the back porch

the front porch

my favorite room - the guest house living room

If you are in Nashville or plan to visit make sure a stop here is on your agenda! For more details and a wonderful video tour click here :)

Happy Wednesday!

dining room transformation

When painting a room it is always a struggle to pick the right color - as seen here! But once that is done it is pretty much smooth sailing...most of the time. :) After the ease of painting the living room I decided I was ready to tackle our dining room. 

pre-move in from HAR

I knew I didn't want to paint it all one color so I started looking into wainscoting. 

I knew I wanted it to be white....

it to be chair rail height...

above photos all from Pinterest
...and for the walls above to be gray. 

After looking at a few how-to sites I just went for it - I measured the ceiling height (8' or 96") and divided it by 3 (2.7' or 32") and that is where I taped for the bottom half or really bottom third. (After reading the sites I totally thought this would be too low, but it isn't! Its a great way to decipher where to put the rail and I am so glad that I followed this rule of thumb.) I knew I didn't want to use the panels so I just went ahead and painted the bottom third white including the baseboards.

Next up was the crown molding...this part almost put me over the edge. I had to do FIVE coats of paint to get it to the bright white I wanted. It took FOREVER and a few nights. Oh and then once I taped it to paint the gray it peeled off and I had to paint it again...good times.

Then it was onto the fun part!...the Gray...I chose three colors to pick from - BM Kendall Charcoal, SW Dovetail, and SW Mindful Gray. I wanted it to be darker than the living room and lighter than the kitchen so Kendall Charcoal was immediately out and I thought Mindful Gray looked too much like the living room so we went with Dovetail. It is still a little darker than what I originally wanted, but I still love it's contrast with the white! 

The paint is not totally dry here so it looks a little sloppy. :)

Next we added the chair rail...

and the finished product...

We are so so happy with how it turned out! A little on the darker side, but it adds so much more character and interest to the room! I love it :) I plan to put a white plate collection on the blank wall above...to be continued...

Have a great week!

ikea

I ventured to Ikea a few weeks ago and was so suprised by all the goods I found! It is quite a commitment to get yourself to go, but hopefully this will help because the prices are worth it! I also just go straight to the downstairs area and don't mess with the showrooms - it saves time and makes you feel less like a mouse in a maze :) 

Fiddle Leaf Fig Plant
I love my new plant! I put it in our bedroom's sitting area and it makes me happy :) I hope it doesn't die!

Placemats
These were such a great price I bought some for our dining room and breakfast area. They are a great texture to put under my new white dishes (see below).

Holiday plant pots
Who knew they had Chritmast decor!? There is an entire section right before you get to check out with wrapping, tins, faux christmas trees, etc. I bought these to use as candle holders or place settings for a party. 

Basket

This is what my fiddle leaf fig tree lives in. I love a basket and the colors of it combined with the tree :) 

black and white throw
This is also a new addition to the sitting area in our master - just slung over a chair. I love the stripes :)

White Dishes
Who can have too many white dishes?!? and 18 for $39...you just cant beat it! I loved the detail on these too!

picture frame
I love a gallery wall! I had one that I loved in our old house, but I haven't been able to find the perfect place for one yet in our new home. I went ahead and bought this and framed an old 8x10 photo from our engagement and put it in our bedroom. Could be the new gallery wall...we will see!

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I feel like I got some pretty good stuff all at a great price! I wouldn't decorate the entire house from here or anything, but it is a great place to find things here and there. So go and don't be scared of the big box Ikea! :) 

Happy Thursday!