Frames Re-Done

I've had these frames above my piano for a year now. The wall is tall and quite big, and I had been trying to find something to fill the space. I went to a bunch of D.I.'s and other thrift stores to find frames. These are what they looked like before I painted them, don't mind the crap on the piano!

I painted them a deep purple, and it didn't come out exactly the way I wanted it to. They were pretty dark and the detail of the frames blended in too much.

It's taken me a complete year to date to finally change the color. I still don't think I'm "in love" with the color, but it brightens up the room a lot more, and you can see the great texture of the frames.

My inspiration was from Blueprint magazine before they vanished after only 8 issues.

(Image from Google)

After I had painted my frames the blue, I came across this darling blog. She has empty frames painted all one color in her master bedroom. I absolutely love the look she created.

You need to check out her blog, and make sure to look at the pictures of her house, they are so unique and cute.

Images from Vintage Glamorous

If Wishes Were Fishes...

Then this mirror would be above my piano right now. I guess I have a thing for mirrors. My first "Wishes" was a mirror also. There is something about the shape and style that I'm completely drawn to.

I wouldn't mind if the mirror came with this bedroom either!

Mirror from here.

Tuesday's Organizing Tip #6

Short on space in the bathroom, or any room for that matter? This storage compartment from Ikea is great. It's very slender and doesn't take up much wall space. It opens from the top and is perfect for almost anything. Hang it on the wall in the bathroom under a pedestal sink to house your hair dryer, straightener, and brushes. Hang it up in a closet for loose gloves and scarves, or in your pantry for plastic bags.




For only $40 dollars you can get three of these storage containers, find them here.

Local Spotlight-Tai Pan Trading

I remember going to Tai Pan when they were located by Fashion Place mall on State Street. At that time the store was on the smaller side, and you had to have a wholesale account to buy anything. They since have moved to a gigantic location in Sandy, Utah on 9000 South and 500 West, and no longer just for wholesale dealers. I went there recently to look for some things for my sister-in-laws wedding, and spent about an hour and half not looking for what I needed. This place has it all: Great accessories for the home, kitchen supplies, fancy cooking items, purses, jewelery, flowers, lamps, and more. There is even a cafe, bakery, and frozen yogurt shop in the back.

When you start your trek in the store, and it is a trek, you start at the $5, $10, $20 dollar section. There are some really great finds in this section.

These cow piggy banks were in the $5 dollar section, well they were actually 0.97 cents, and are so cute. My little girl would have loved one, and what a cute idea for a birthday party to let all the kids color their own.

The next thing I saw I almost dropped over dead it was so pretty. It is a massive pewter bowl. The bowl is so big that it came with a stand to set it on. The outside is a pretty hammered design. This pewter bowl is literally so big I could have given a bath to my baby in it! Yet still so beautiful.

This is a great place for the necessary items in your kitchen. A very wide range of glass, white, and black bowls and dishes in all sizes.

These flower hooks are cute and came in all sorts of colors for only $7.97.

Tai Pan is a great resource for Chinese Garden Stools. These different styles come in an assortment of colors to fit any space.

Also, a great store for glass vases, silk flowers, and baskets.

Design often starts from fashion. I think it's important to accessorize your home and yourself. Look how cute this purse is!

After going through the whole store once or twice, I couldn't walk away with nothing, so I added this lime green piece to my home.

Check out their website to find a store near you, (they are now in California!) here.

Beautiful Styling

Besides the amazing furniture and accessories at Restoration Hardware the styling is out of the world. These pictures make me want to live there.

Image from Restoration Hardware

My Favorite Thing

Right now my absolute favorite thing we have in our place is our "photo wall". I got this photo holder at Urban Outfitters and it has been the best purchase. I love filling it with our favorite photos, and it has grown up with our little girl.

The Pouf Revisited

In the latest issue of House Beautiful there was a section about Poufs. The article says that "it's one of the most practical accessories around: a place to rest your feet, an impromptu side table, and extra seat". Could not agree more! To see more of the poufs they used check out the article here.

One of my favorite poufs from the article:



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The Color Green

Today we're adding green into our homes! Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, and freshness. It also has strong emotional correspondence with safety.

Click on image to enlarge

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Tuesday's Organizing Tip #5

Today's tip is about tools that I like to use when organizing.

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This rolodex has so many more functions then just the normal phone number use. It's perfect for passwords. List your password to a log-in of a site or email or alphabetize your recipes.

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Not just for magazines: music books, cookbooks, and for corraling loose papers.

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Use this to organize kids' school papers. Each kid can have their own "shelf". Or have this be your mail slot. Top one for incoming, middle for outgoing, bottom for bills. The picture above is just one of many types of sorters that can be used.

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This storage tray can be used in the kitchen, for your cooking staples like garlic and onions, or in the bathroom for small lotions, hair clips. In the bedroom for jewelery and more.

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These cabinets are meant to be in the garage but they're cute and would look good anywhere that storage is needed. They could be your form of a "junk drawer".

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I think these can organizers are genius. They fit the cans perfectly, come in different sizes, and can be moved easily from place to place.

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And last but not least, this spice and measuring cup holder. If you're short on space, this is the way to go!

Hope this was helpful!

The Green Piano

Look how amazing this piano looks painted. It just shows how paint can have a big impact for a small price.

This piano belongs to Gabrielle over at Design Mom. I have always liked the idea of painting a piano, but I wasn't sure of how to do it until she posted her "how to" here. Why get rid of something if it still works?...Instead transform the piece to work for you, which is exactly what this paino is doing.


Image from Design Mom

The Barn

I have gotten into cooking a lot in the past few years, and I love watching cooking shows. My absolute two favorite shows to watch are Giada at Home and Barefoot Contessa. Besides loving to get new ideas and tips about cooking, I dream that I'm in their kitchens myself. Ina's (barefoot) "barn" as they call it is so beautiful. She used to film in her home, but decided she needed to have a separate space so they built this barn. This is not a barn. This is a dream home in the Hampton's. If this is what people are talking about when they refer to barns then I'll gladly move into one any day!























































































All images from House Beautiful and the design is by Robert Stilin