An Oasis at Home

Happy August! Can't believe it's here already. According to the internet, the official first day of Fall for the northern hemisphere is September 23rd. That date seems so close...but it's still so hot. It's too hot even to go to the pool out here. So, let's talk about indoor oases.

By this, I means bathrooms of course. To me, nothing says relaxation like the spa-like quality of an awesome bathroom. Just a few steps down the hall and you can find yourself in heaven. My perfect bathroom starts with my ultimate luxury. A claw foot tub!

  

I love the feet on this tub. I like that they're off white, so they don't blend too much with the rest of the tub. Also, they look a little "shabby," so if you've read much of this blog you know why that appeals to me! 

Of course, Ben wouldn't be thrilled if all we had to bathe in was a claw foot tub. So, we would need a great shower for him and for every day. I really like this one. 

  

I love that it's masculine, but not so manly that it's an eyesore. Also, I love the brown. It would be a lovely contrast with the blue and white of the rest of the room. (Nevermind the fact that we'd need a big house to fit this in. We are daydreaming here!) 

I'm a big fan of beadboard. I think it looks so classy in any room, but I especially love it in bathrooms. When painted white, I think it makes a very clean and fresh statement. Like this. 

  

I really like how high they've taken the beadboard in this bathroom, turning it into a picture rail instead of a chair rail. I love the starfish arranged on the ledge, and I'd probably do the same or something similar. 

Above the picture rail, I want color. A nice fresh color like blue. I love this shade: Sweet Bluette from Benjamin Moore. 

  

Onto the next necessity:  the vanity. Having lived in a few places now, none of which had a double vanity, I can appreciate the value of this little luxury. Storing our personal toiletries and other bathroom things would be so much easier. Plus, it looks pretty! 

  

I like the idea of individual wastebaskets too. That's a nice little convenience. Mine would be seagrass too, of course. 

Rugs are an important element for bathrooms as well. They can really brighten up the space with color, or add interest with unique patterns. I have fallen in love with two! 

 

I like the first one because it looks botanical, something I always think is nice for bathrooms. I fell in love with the second one because I love the blue color and the pattern. 

Will I ever get a bathroom as nice as the one I've dreamed up? Who knows. But a girl can dream! For more neat bathroom ideas, check out my friend Amanda's blog on my bookshelf to the right of this post. It's "Meet the Perrys."  

The Perfect Kitchen

Realtors like to say there are two things that sell a home: the kitchen and bathrooms. I think this is true, because every time Ben and I are scoping out a new nest, those are the first rooms we look at.  If the kitchen is ugly, you can usually bet I won't be sold on the place. So! I thought today we could talk about what I think makes a great kitchen. 

First and foremost, and I cannot emphasize this enough: I. Need. Counter space! We live in a small apartment at the moment, and while it is a nice place, I can't wait to be in a house so I have some breathing room in the kitchen again. It's not just for work space, I also have canisters, cookbooks, and some small appliances that need room too. I think this kitchen has the right amount. 

  

This kitchen also leads me to my next point: openness. I love a kitchen that is open to the living and dining areas! This makes the space feel larger than it is, and I don't feel like I'm separated from the rest of the family while I'm cooking.  

I also love the island in this kitchen! I've always wanted one of those. I really like the antique white cabinetry as well. It fits my style perfectly. And who doesn't love granite countertops?!

  

I believe that every beautiful kitchen needs a window. Natural sunlight has a way of cheering me up, and it makes me want to be in the room. My grandmother has a window in her kitchen, just like the one above. I've always loved it and I think it would be great for a kitchen herb garden. I also love the wood trim above this window as a replacement for a traditional valance. 

Now, let's talk flooring. I'm not a huge fan of tiled kitchen floors. I'm not sure why, since I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with a tile floor for the kitchen, it just doesn't appeal to me. I am, however, a huge fan of hardwood floors! 

  

I think this hardwood is the perfect shade! Not too dark, not too light, and it's a nice warm color. This is the look I want in my dream kitchen. 

And last but not least, I like quirky decorations. Not something too weird, just what you don't see every day. So when I came across this on Pinterest today, I fell in love. 

  

Muffin tins, pie plates, and bundt pans hanging on the wall! So clever and cute! I will definitely be using this idea in my next kitchen. I would love to do this with some antique cookware! 

Thanks for stopping by today! This is my last post for July, and thank goodness for that. I will not miss summer when it's gone this year! See y'all next time. 

A Fruitful Shopping Trip

Today has been great. Sadie (and mommy!) slept in, Ben got a little playing time on his Xbox, and I cooked a good weekend breakfast. Then we had showers and headed out to run our errands.

When we got to the furniture store (Darby's Big Furniture, for you folks in Lawton), I had a  mini panic attack.  The store had been rearranged since our last visit, and I couldn't find the bed I fell in love with! Luckily I spotted it at the back of the store and breathed a sigh of relief.

Mary, the lady who helped us, was so sweet. She gave us a price on the bed that was actually lower than I was quoted previously, and since Ben is in the Army she knocked a hundred dollars off the price of the chest of drawers we liked! As an added bonus, when she checked the store's stock, they actually had a full size bed there. We don't have to wait for it to be ordered, so both pieces will be delivered on Monday. I'm so excited! Seriously. This is like Christmas morning for me!

Here is a picture I snapped of the chest. Pardon the poor quality, it was taken with my phone.

  

For a picture of the bed, please see last night's post. I promised an update, and there you have it! This really takes a burden off my shoulders. I'm so glad we've got the necessities for Sadie's room now. Now I can focus on the fun projects! Like that mirror I mentioned last night....ha! Until next time, thanks for reading, y'all! 

Biting the Bullet

Tonight has been one of those lazy nights. You know the kind. You've done the laundry, the dishes are washed and so is the kid, and the child is tucked in bed. You settle down to enjoy the night, and there is nothing on tv! Nothing going on online either. So...you start window shopping.

Tonight's window shopping was for Sadie's furniture. In a few short months, her dresser will be the baby's, and she is growing up so I want her to have something with more storage, therefore I want her to have a new dresser and a chest of drawers. Also, as I mentioned in a previous post, she still needs a bed.

We decided to go with the wrought iron bed from our local furniture store. We've been putting it off forever, and we just have to bite the bullet and go pay for it.  The price is the best we have found, and they offer free delivery. Always a nice touch! To refresh your memory, here is the bed.

  

See that dresser in the picture? I LOVE it. That fits perfectly with the shabby chic/ antique little girl vibe Sadie's room has. Unfortunately, the thing costs a thousand bucks! No can do. Unless we want ramen noodles for dinner every night.  So, I'm on the hunt for an alternative. Like I told one of my friends earlier, sometimes I wish I knew nothing about decorating or what makes a good piece of furniture! (Not that I'm an expert, mind you, I just have expensive taste!) 

I also want a mirror. One I can hang from a ribbon, and suspend (well...give the impression that it's suspended) from a crystal knob or maybe even an old door knob. I've also thought of finding a pretty "shabby" frame and using it to frame a mirror.  I think I need the basics first before I tackle these projects, though. 

We are headed to the furniture store tomorrow afternoon, so I will update y'all and let you know what we come away with. I think I'll feel better once my little girl has her own furniture. 

Have We Discussed our Bedroom?

Hi readers! It's a slow Sunday out here in Oklahoma, and as usual for a slow day, I don't have much to talk about. So I thought we could discuss another room in our humble abode.

Our room is still something of a work in progress, but I really love the way it's coming together. I think the direction is sort of coastal meets plantation. We have a sea grass bed (my absolute favorite thing in the room), and a cherry dresser and chest of drawers.

This is a stock photo of our bed. (I'm in the process of washing sheets today, so please forgive me for not taking a picture of ours!) I love that this is coastal without being too "beachy." Also, it suits my style without being too feminine for Ben.

  

For bedding, we have a blue and white palette. This combo looks really pretty against the natural color of the bed. In the summer, we use the painterly paisley duvet and euro shams from Pottery Barn. (Stock photo, again.) This set instantly brightens the room and it just screams "summer" to me. 

  

For the winter months, it's nice to have something a little darker and heavier on the bed. So once it starts to get cold, we switch to Thomas O'brien's pale sky paisley. I got this set for a great price at Target last winter. Unfortunately, the reason the price was so good is because the set has been discontinued. I love the navy and cream tones! (It's a little hard to see them in this photo.) 

  

Now. For this fall, I'm itching to switch things up a bit. I want to add some yellow! I have "fallen", haha- pardon the pun- in love with another set from Pottery Barn. Sunflowers! I saw this in person at the store and liked it even more. 

  

And, of course, I have to change the bedding for Christmas. This is another trait borrowed from my mother. It's such a fun tradition, and I want to continue it. Unfortunately, the set I had picked out for us is already completely sold out! I may or may not have almost cried over this.  Hopefully I will find something else soon. 

If you're still reading this, thank you!! I realize today's post probably isn't nearly as interesting to everyone else as it is to me. I find it helpful to get these things down on paper, so to speak, so I can keep my decorating schemes in order. I get so many new ideas from so many places that it's easy to lose track of them. 

Hope you all have had a nice relaxing Sunday! (Did I really just type 'you all?!' I've been away from home too long, y'all...)  

For My Bathing Beauties

Today is Wednesday, and we are in what I like to call "the doldrums" of the week. It's not Monday, so we can't complain about that, and it's not Friday so we can't celebrate the arrival of the weekend. This gives me a bad case of the midweek blues. So, to pick myself up, I decided to do another decorating post! (I can hear you cheering...haha.)

Today I want to talk about the girls' bathroom.  I have gone ultra feminine in this room, with frills and more frills, and pink. It started with the purchase of a shower curtain.  This shower curtain, to be exact.

The curtain is (of course) from the Simply Shabby Chic collection at Target.  It is very similar to organza fabric, so I had to hang a solid white liner behind it to make it less sheer. I love the frills!

For hooks, I went with another Simply Shabby Chic item. I found these lovely crystal shower hooks that remind me of antique drawer pulls.  Aren't they pretty?! I like how old fashioned they look.

  

After the shower curtain, I knew I needed some coordinating towels. So, once again, I turned to Target and more Simply Shabby Chic. I promise they are not paying me to write this blog....

  

These are the hand towels. I also have the matching bath towels, but apparently I forgot to take a picture of those. I love these because they are so feminine, and they match the shower curtain perfectly.  And have I mentioned the frills?! Having little girls has really affected me! 

Now, on to lighting. Of course the room has the standard vanity lighting and overhead light. But where is the fun in that? Enter the nightlight. 

  

Yes, I shut the door and turned out the lights just for this shot! It's hard to see the details on her, but she's a kneeling fairy, with a serene expression on her face. I picked up this little beauty at Hobby Lobby. I love that she reminds me of Victorian lighting, and since the light comes from inside her pink dress, it gives the room a warm pink glow. 

The only thing missing now is pink bath towels. I'm one of those weirdos that likes decorative towels...and then towels you actually use for drying off. The pink ones will be used while the white frilly ones just sit pretty.  

Thanks for reading today! Tune in tomorrow for our New Recipe of the Week! (I know I just did one Sunday, but hey! It's my blog!) 

Rachel Ashwell

I think it's pretty clear from the title of this blog that I'm a little enamored with decorating. Ok.... a lot enamored. I get more excited when I see my Pottery Barn catalogs than I do when I see clothing magazines. I just wish we could settle somewhere and buy a place of our own. Then I could really have fun!

Today I was (still) contemplating my plans for Sadie's room and decided I should make a post about the designer who inspired the plans in my head. Her name is Rachel Ashwell. She is the creative genius behind the brand Simply Shabby Chic. Target sells bedding, bath items, and other household goods based on her line.

I love, love, love her work. If I could have an entire house decorated in her style, it would be heaven. (Of course, Ben wouldn't agree. This is not a very manly decorating style!) I flipped through one of her coffee table books at the store and decided that was how I wanted my girls' bedrooms to look.

                                                  

The image  above is from Rachel Ashwell's website www.shabbychic.com. While I can't possibly afford this particular bed, or that amazing (probably genuine vintage) chandelier, I think this is the atmosphere I'm going for.

Thus the desire for a white wrought iron bed, and mirrors and crystal details. We also purchased a small chandelier to hang over her bed. Here it is, in stock photo form. (we unfortunately cannot hang it in our current apartment.)

I guess it's a good thing I have daughters....I wouldn't know what to do with a boy!

A Bed for Sadie

"Mirror mirror on the wall, I am my mother after all...."

After a spirited childhood and stormy adolescence filled with vows that I would NEVER be like my mother, the inevitable has happened. I am my mother. And I'm thrilled!  I inherited everything from her love of interior design to her flair for cooking. (Although, to be fair, I should say that I haven't quite reached her level of culinary mastery. Yet.)  I find myself thinking like her in everything I do. That includes decorating my home. So. On that note....

Sadie needs a bed!!! Her sister will be here in November and she'll have to give up her current furniture. I'm glad that she's two and can't argue with me about this. For beds, I have my eye on two white wrought iron styles. One is slightly pricier, and one is local. I just can't pick the one I want!

                                         

This one  is from Pottery Barn Kids, and I think it's adorable! The only drawback I see is that it's a little more expensive than the one in my local furniture store, and from the reviews on the PBK site, it seems to be more cream/yellow than white. Not sure how that will fit into my plans for her room. 

       

This bed is from my local store, Darby's Big Furniture. It is a little less expensive than the Pottery Barn bed and it is true white. Added bonus: it has crystal finials on the bed posts! In all honesty I think I'm leaning more toward this one, but I'm still not completely sure. 

What do you think??