Nursery Reveal

June 27th 2011 was the greatest day in the world! It was the day we welcomed our first baby, a baby boy! Like many excited Mama's out there I dreamed of a beautiful nursery. I did not want anything typical, I wanted something different. I wanted a room that was kid friendly yet chic. I knew I wanted all white furniture, however, when it came to the bedding I searched and searched and found nothing I liked. With my inspirations and bedding sketch in hand I went to a few fabric shops and found the fabric I liked. I took the fabric and sketches to my tailor and had her make me custom bedding for my nursery. As for the accessories each piece was purchased by my husband and I while we were pregnant. Each little toy was purchased from a special place with excitement for our little man. The first item purchased was the vintage red gum ball machine. It was the inspiration to the room that really has no particular theme at all. 

Welcome the my baby boys room!

Every baby boy needs his ties!

We had the room painted in grey and added boxes of molding throughout the room. It does not look like it in the picture but the grey in the boxes are darker.

Here is a large view of the room when you enter. 

Changing station:

We named our boy after the famous Middle Eastern poet Khalil Gibran. I bought this vintage book from a library before my boy was born. 

The dresser from Babies "R" Us came with plain white knobs. I had a bucket full of these standard silver knobs from my bathroom makeover. I decided to put them to use. I purchased number stickers from Target and simply stuck them on to make my own DIY number knobs!

My favorite part of the room is the wall to wall book shelves. They are actually picture ledges from Ikea. I bought a few to make the perfect size to fit the room. 

The drapes were actually purchased for the master bedroom but baby was due soon and I did not have time to make or look for the right drapes. These are working great for now, however, I would like to add some fabric with pattern and color. 

Ikea frame turned chalkboard.

I used some chalkboard paint to add some easy and fun labeling.

Who needs a diaper pail, this is what we use to house our dirty diapers for the day. Who knew stinky can look so pretty!

A better look at the bedding. Don't you love the luxe fabric! So far baby is treating it well!

The closet: 

Hope you liked my first, but not the last, attempt on a nursery! I would love to know what you think!

Living Room Reveal

This room is 99% done. The remaining 1% comes with little changes that I make when I am bored and want something new and exciting. Like many of you out there, our family spend the most time in this room. It is where we watch movies, play games, cuddle, entertain, read, study, snooze, eat (only on special occasions), talk, argue and hug it out. To me the living room should receive the most love when it comes to design because it is indeed the room where most memories are made.

In our home, the living room sits adjacent to the kitchen. We also have a small patio and lots of windows with views of the amazing Pacific Ocean. Sticking with our beach house design our living room has that of a nautical theme. Enough babbling......  come on over and put your feet up....but please take your shoes off!

                                       Outside these windows are views of the Pacific Ocean.

Not the best of photos. As you can see we get a lot of sunlight. These photos were taken around noon, should have waited till later in the day for picture taking but baby was asleep so Mama could not wait!

This Middle Eastern side table and coffee pot were purchased from my trip to Jerusalem. They make me feel warm and fuzzy giving me a daily reminder of my roots and background.

The coffee table below was the first piece of furniture purchased for the entire house! It was a must have and the inspiration to the whole rooms design. 

Adjacent to the sitting area is our amazing art piece that sits on top of our make shift fireplace; they call this piece the TV!

When we purchased our home this wall had floor to ceiling built ins. They were so overwhelming and had to go. The built in was so overwhelming that I wanted to make sure I stuck with a clean simple look. The hubby hung the TV and I ordered a makeshift fireplace. The thing really looks like it is a built in. It provides the look we were going for and even keeps us warm and cozy in the winter time. 

Matching chairs create symmetry besides the fireplace and TV

At least I tried to make these ugly boxes fit in!

The art on the walls:

A tribute to my love of bridges and Portland, OR.

Word!

This piece was also purchased from the Holy Land of Palestine. It is a verse from the Holy Quran.

Here is a look at the room when we first moved in:

Don't you love those plastic patio chairs! It was a hard decision substituting them for the wing back chair!!

And that overwhelming built in I mentioned:

Now I am off to lift my feet on that chaise and watch my self some Real Housewives of BH before the baby wakes up!

Sources:

Big White Chair: Zgallerie

Coffee Table: Pottery Barn

Lamp: Pottery Barn

Sofa:

Accessories: Zgallerie

Fireplace: Sams Club

Two Side Chairs: Newport Beach Furniture

DIY Orchid Arrangement

I love orchids. Who doesn't? People say orchids are easy to maintain, ya not always. For our master bathroom, I wanted a grand arrangement. I went shopping for a rustic weathered looking pot and I found one at my go to "pot place" a consignment shop that sells model home furniture. I scored some succulents from a local nursery and scrounged up some moss and shells from around the house. The orchids you ask?! Ya they are fake! I am not the biggest fan of silk flowers, however, these look really REAL...

Although the orchids are fake and will last forever, I still wanted some real-ness. For the little bit of realness I added some REAL succulents. Adding the live succulents fools people and my self into thinking (or imaging) that the orchids are live!

I am enjoying my arrangement very much. My Mom loved it so much that she asked me to make her one for her birthday. Hers sits nicely on her kitchen counter.

The COOLEST step stool

OK, so maybe I am overly excited for this step stool but I think it is genius. Maybe it has been around for a while, however, it is new to me! It not only is fashionable but it is functionable! I hate having a step stool take room up in my kitchen so I usually do not have one (I just scoot over a kitchen chair, ruin the hardwood while I am at it, and reach for what I need). When I found this beauty at Marshall's the other day for only $9.99 (wohoo) it immediately went into my cart. 

Here she is standing tall all pretty and teal!

Not only is she pretty but with the just a tug on the handle she flattens and looks so slim.

She easily stores in the cabinet without having to move anything around!

Go get one...... you will be excited too!