Office Oldies

After I posted the picture of my beloved office for my personal style mission, I discovered the OLD pictures of what our office looked like when we first moved in. I must say it was very sad. I used my figure drawing studies and printmaking pieces to adorn the walls, but that was the whole story at that point. I wanted to do a make over using everything I already had and only added in a few pieces. I used wrapping paper to recover the storage boxes and magazine files, changed the arrangement of the furniture and brought in a little more storage. 

From this:

Add in:

Paint - $25/gal, and $8/quart

Rug- on clearance $30

2 cabinets with doors- $50

Curtains- on clearance $20

Equals =

Small changes + color = a lovely place to write and create.

© The Simple Wife

New & Fun Living Room Additions

Remember when I said I was fickle? Well it has struck again. I have not been loving our living room as of late, so I decided to add some fun stuff. When we first moved into our house I wanted a comfy adult space, but then the matchy, matchy got out of control. I wanted everything symmetrical and the same value. I think that you should never seriously decorate a space until you live in it for a while. We tend to over decorate in order to make things feel cozy. And sometimes your taste just changes. I am more drawn to colorful, fun stuff now.

 So here is the before:

{ Please excuse Doc's blanket fort, he likes to hide }

I decided to update and change the two main features: the wall art above the couch and the pillows. Pillows have been a challenge for me. I have wanted something with a fun  pattern, but with a washable, removable cover since Doc likes to make forts (see above) while we are at work. And, I'm sorry, but I refused to pay upwards of $20+ for a PILLOW!!! That is madness. So I used the fabric I mentioned earlier and made these fun pillows. Both are removable and washable! 

{ The tie pillow exterior is fleece with Amy Butler's Polka Dots, and the woodgrain is cotton. }

{ Amy Butler with felt ribbon accent }

I got the idea for the tie-sided pillows from a pillow that is on our bed from West Elm. The beautiful bird fabric ended up not working so well with the other fabrics so I'll have to find something else to use it on.

Next is the wall art. I kept my painting but I gave it some friends. I love to make and see fun stuff on walls. I hate the modern aka "showroom prints" on walls. I think Art should be entertaining. I used a charcoal bone study from college and I made a fun collage about my favorite food, and I did a felt portrait of my little Doc. The owl, a mirror, and graphic G top off the collage.

Finally I swapped my candlestick lamps for an industrial touch that I love so much. I got these lamps at Ikea for a steal $8.99 and spray painted them a lovely pumpkin orange. They give a nice ambient light great for watching TV. 

So there is another change to the Grubbs' house. 

Let me know, what do you think?

© The Simple Wife

Revealed! My new Master Bedroom

I cannot express enough how much I love my navy oasis of a room! The color turned out perfect and everything wonderfully feel into place. The Art wall came out amazing, the new shades are nice and fuzzy, and the bronze Japanese tea table looks beautiful. Here it is:

{ Oh dreamy blue... }

{ The mustard velvet shades pop against the wall, and the tea table glows. }

{ My drawings, prints and pictures of Mr. Grubbs and I are all featured on the Art Wall.}

{ My orchid is flanked by the crystal candlesticks- beautiful sculptures without candles. }

My only concern is with the new accent pillows. The golden pillow will stay, but I'm not sure if I want to introduce the fabric I had originally purchased for the accent pillows. I was going to make 2 patterned pillows with this fabric and two solid orange ones to play off the hints of orange in the fabric. What do you think?? Too funky for the room, or just the right amount of funk?

© The Simple Wife

Update: Master Bedroom

{ www.midatlanticpaint.com }

Bright and early Friday, the painting began. I got up semi-early, grabbed some leftover Thanksgiving goodies for breakfast :) and got the paint out. I edged, rolled, then rolled again. Our room took almost the entire can of paint with a little to spare for touch ups. Then I caulked the trim for a nice clean line and waited to move the furniture back. It was so stinky in the room that Mr. Grubbs and I had to have a slumber party on the couch for the evening (yes, we forgot that we have a guest room.) But it was worth it because the color turned out AMAZING. It has a nice edgy-preppy style to it. Our gold Japanese tea table really pops. I also switched out our old paper lamp shades for these cool mustard yellow velvet ones from Ikea:

I also got all of my artwork and photos framed and hung on the Art wall. Our dresser is updated with more crystal candlesticks that are in need of some new candles. All I have left is to get the new pillows sewn. I'm waiting until then for the big reveal, so hold on for just a little bit longer!

© The Simple Wife

The BEFORE:Master Bedroom

Mr. Grubbs and I love our bedroom. It is our nook, our cave, our home. We have enjoyed many lazy Saturday mornings in it. We were so excited when we moved to this house to have a bathroom in our room! It is a loved room, but it is about to get a mini-make over. 

Here are the before shots:

{ Our lovely and large king bed. The bedding will stay but I will be making new accent pillows. And the paper lamp shades will be replaced with velvet ones!! }

{ The dresser will stay pale green but I'm going to add some more of the crystal candlesticks. The wall behind the slipper chair is going to become an art wall with framed art and pictures. }

I am going to be working on it on Wednesday. So hopefully I will have some after shots after Thanksgiving. 

I also went back to Ikea today with my brother. He had to return and purchase some frames for his house- he too has the design bug and is re-doing his living room so I was lending my design brain to help. I picked up some frames for artwork for the bedroom and some new lamp shades. I'm so excited for a new look, it will be love all over again!

P.S. Here is the artwork for the bathroom. It is a piece of fabric that I am using for the new bed pillows. I love the modern, organic feel and the pop of bright orange!

© The Simple Wife

Master Bedroom ReDo

Yes it has happened again. Mr. Grubbs is going crazy because I have once again been bitten by the design bug. As I have explained before, I am easily bored when it comes to imagery. I like fresh new things to look at, and my master bedroom is the new culprit. After our bathroom was done I craved more change. Currently our room is painted dark brown- can you tell I am into brown?- with ivory bedding and hints of a pale teal. We have a lovely golden, velvet-tufted headboard that I feel is not getting the attention it so rightly deserves. The windows are adorned with ivory and golden yellow plaid curtains. Pretty much everything is going to stay untouched in the room except for the walls and a few accent pillows.

I have chosen a dark navy for the walls. I love the warmth that a saturated color gives and it is perfect for a cozy bedroom. I picked Ralph Lauren Paint in Modern Loft. At Ikea today I also scored this awesome fabric that I am going to make new accent pillows from.

{ It has hints of bright orange, olive green, and slate blue. }

I am also going to use these bath towels I picked up for more accent pillows. Strange, I know, but I am all about texture and who doesn't love terry cloth?

I will get a 'before' shot of our room up shortly- it is in disarray at the moment. I also grabbed this modern light for our tiny hallway that connects our office, guest bedroom and guest bathroom. There is no light there and it is very difficult to see into the linen closet that is also there. 

These projects are now officially added to my To Do list for my week off for the Thanksgiving holiday. Why I do this to myself I will never know, but it keeps me on my toes!

© The Simple Wife

Drumroll Please.

Here it is in all its glory! My new and wonderfully chocolate brown porch! * Please excuse all the leaves, it's very windy today!

I'm so excited that it is finally done. There is no better feeling than the feeling of accomplishment. I have such a great sense of it on this project. I did everything by myself. I moved the furniture, pressure washed it, and stained it without any help. I love saying "I did that" and today is no different! Now on to the next project...updating the landscaping for the winter!

OMG!

HALLELUJAH!!!! The porch is stained! The porch is stained. The porch is FINALLY FREAKIN' STAINED!!!

Pictures tomorrow. 

Wow, I feel 10 lbs lighter.

Stain- I hate you.

Day 5 on the porch. 

Bad news: may have to get another can of stain to finish. 

Bad news: still not done. 

Bad news: my back and legs are KILLING.

Good news: it looks awesome so far!!

Status: Porch

My projects have been pretty dormant for the past week. While I was in Pittsburgh Mr. Grubbs was AMAZINGLY wonderful and tried to work on staining the deck for me. I only had the front section of the railing done and he got another section done for me before he couldn't take it anymore. Disclaimer: he is NOT a painter. In our first house, we repainted almost everything, even though it was a rental. We were painting our bedroom a fresh coat of white when Mr. Grubbs kicked the whole bucket of paint over onto the hardwood floors! It was awful so he hasn't had a brush since. Needless to say, I still have lots to do to get it done. I'll be working on it today for as long as I can before Sunday dinner at Mom's.

Here is what the stain looks like. It is a deep rich brown, I adore it!

Lots Going On...

It seems like busy is the norm round here lately. There is always something to do, paint, clean, organize, etc. I guess it is all in stride when you are OCD about cleaning, and organizing everything. Step 1- I have a problem! Just to let you in on a few happenings:

1. The master bath is painted and I am finishing up on some accessories. I have painted some mirrors that will go in a grouping over the toliet. And I have a painting to do to go next to our towel hooks. 

2. Front porch staining is in progress. Yesterday I pressure washed the whole porch for a good clean slate. I started the staining today and got the front of half the railing done. I couldn't have imagined it would be as hard as it is. Here is a before shot of our porch from the front of the house:

{Yes, Doc is guarding the porch, Keep Out!}

That's it so far. I hope that after these projects are done, I can take a vacation for a bit, but I'm sure that I'll come up with something to do! Stay tuned...