RENTAL RESTYLE: MY RELAXED SUMMER STYLE HOME TOUR VIDEO

Have you heard of or used Slidely? Slidely is a great social media tool to use to create slide show videos - using your photos - that you can share on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and even Pinterest.  Since many people usually read through blogs in the morning with coffee, or wind down at the end of the day video can also be a time saver. If you're like me, and grab your (phone) camera to take a shot of everything that inspires you, you might want to give Slidely a try. The site is easy to use, giving you access to your online photo locations such as albums on Facebook, your Instagram pics, Google+, and your Picasa photos. Photos can also be selected from Flickr, however, you can't pull up photos by sets. I've found the best place to pull the photos from to create a video is to upload from your computer. And since it's a video, what's a video without a little sound? Slidely offers seven music sources from YouTube to SoundCloud to Movies & TV themes. You can also add text to photos, which again is a time saver vs writing or reading a blog post.

 

Before - Space played off the red painted buffet (I had done in FL, just before we moved in 2011) and the space was starting to become forgotten and unused...

 

Refreshed with a purge, pillows, paint and a few tropical like accents, we both use the space more. This has become a hideaway for Jeff (since his favorite chair is also up here).

The palms realy help give a nod to South Florida, and were a huge savings when I purchased: I found them both in reduced price areas of my local garden center (one was $2 and the other was $7)

 

Painting the thrift buffet (I've had now for 15 years!!) was a great way to restyle our rented home with color, without painting the walls. The color I used was Benjamin Moore's Old Navy (A fave blue for painting furniture on Pinterest!) Since it didn't even use the entire quart, I had enough paint left over to also re-paint a mirror in the living room...

 Lightened & Brightened for a Summer ReStyle...

A light white was to the wall really helped lighten the look and feel of the loft space. layering in framed textiles (I found thru thrift) + repurposing a tablecloth and an older thrift art piece helped add summery blues + print to the space...

 

I always loved the print of this tablecloth I picked up at HomeGoods - Even though it's from a few years ago, I used it in an alternative way (to create wall decor) it feels new again. I also updated an older green HomeGoods tray, by painting it blue, and I covered a square of cardboard with a blue printed sheet, to add a pattern insert to the tray...

 

Easy to do - and great way to update a fave HomeGoods find!

My White Washed Wall...

Just as I did in our Florida Dining Room (read post at: Rustic Washed Walls) I used the same technique: a bowl, water, sponge, and my free quart or Clark & Kensington paint I got last year plus a little light grey paint left over from the bedroom...

 Clark & Kensington: Vanilla Latte

The hubs and I both miss living in South Florida - from the rain, to the palm trees, to coastal trips along Florida beaches. Mixing thrift finds, travel treasures and revamping pieces I had, I tried to capture that essence of what we miss about Florida here in our Arizona home. Since the lighting in this space changes throughout the day, I've snapped quite a few pictures and it was taking quite a bit of time to sort, edit, and watermark every photo (thanks to Pinterest) so I thought this would be a great time to experiment with creating a video - which is how I stumbled upon Slidely.

 

Although I didn't paint any walls on the second floor in our living room, I did refresh all of the black accessories by painting them wish a white wash too. Layering in the wood & wickers accents I've collected while thrifting here in AZ also helped with a coastal feel for summer...

 

One of my fave curbside FL finds - this branch was painted black last fall for Halloween - refreshed with white, it layered in an organic texture. The terrecotta urns I've had since my apartment days, once again refreshed with a white wash. The mirror was cherry when I scored it back in '08. I painted it black and had it over our bed in FL - Here in AZ, it's in the living room (with the second one still outside), but to update its look: I washed it over with the old navy blue I used to paint the buffet upstairs. To help weather it, I just sanded some of its raised edges...

The gold framed mirror gallery wall I pulled together last Fall still works great in the space. When I was transitioning to the whites for summer, I added blue pillow covers to two pillows on the sofa -- but it was still missing the wow. Remembering the leopard pillow I had (my friend Jose made for me before leaving Florida) was just the wow it needed...

 

Since I had four framed fabrics, I was able to use the double sided placemats I cut & framed both upstairs and here in the living room -- It gives just enough blue to the space. I shifted the 4 B&W coastal shots from downstairs up to the livingroom, to change the feel for summer. It become a great little backdrop to create a entertaining vignette with a $5 wood barcart I scored at Goodwill... 

 

Since we have so many more windows here vs our townhome in Florida (and the windows are all also taller) I had used canvas painters drop cloths at each window in the living room & dining area. However, On the one wall where I only used them as singles (pushed to left and to right) I switched them for a pair of summery stripe tablecloths I picked up at HomeGoods... Just as I did in our FL Dining Room back in 2010 (read post at: No Sew Curtain Panels ) the panels were no sew and just clipped to the rod...

Using white runners & throws draped over black furnishings helped lighted the look for summer...

To experiment with the Slidely site, the first video I created is a video home tour of my Relaxed Summer ReStyle to share with you... And no other song could possibly convey what I felt as I've tried to create a 'home' for us here but "Home" by Phillip Phillips (I get choked up every time I hear it)...

RELAXED SUMMER RESTYLE HOME TOUR 

by Lynda Quintero-Davids on Slidely - Slideshow maker
(NOTE: to enlarge video  to full screen, click the double arrows to the right of the volume speaker - After video complete, click ESC on keyboard to escape)

Earlier this year, when I had attended the Design Bloggers Conference in LA (read post at: My First Experience at the Design Bloggers Conference ), "Go Viral With Video" was one of three hot topics at the conference - The other two were creating content and giving credit to photos when using other peoples pictures in a blog post (especially when posting photos from Pinterest). Creating these slidely videos taps into all three: 

1. You can create your own unique content with your own photos of your work. 
2. I don't think you can pin a specific image from a video, which will help with people copying your work plus save time editing photos with watermarks.
3. Videos are going to be the next wave of change in social media (just look at shelter publications like House Beautiful and the social media war between Vine and Instagram)

 

Sharing decor tips, fab finds and style stories on Pinterest with HomeGoods at

Happy By Design!

 

 

 

I've made four videos so far using Slidely you can now view on my blog. Just click the VIDEOS tab under the header.

Most of the slidely videos are personal videos people have created, but going forward I see tons of opportunity for Slidely video application in marketing - especially for designers, Realtors, retailers or even shop owners. Just be sure to utilize the tag application to help increase your SEO. Soon, Slidely will be adding in the capability to download vids to your computer plus upload/share at YouTube - until then, have fun creating your own videos of cooking, family, friends, events or projects - whatever you want - and share them with your social media connections and friends.

Thanks for stopping by!

See also:

 8 TIPS TO CREATE A SUMMER REMIX

THRIFT TIPS & BLUE FINDS FOR SUMMER

LINKING POST TO:

Cindy at

My Romantic home - Show & Tell Friday

Kate at

Chic on a Shoestring - Flaunt It Friday

Roeshell at

The DIY Showoff - That DIY Party

Note: This post is sponsored by HomeGoods and the Happy By Design project. All thoughts and opinions are of my own.

A Merry Makeover For Mom

What have you done lately for your mom? Have you called her? Have had lunch with her? Have you just listened to her? I listened to mine and heard the sound of JOY in her voice when we planned to decorate for Christmas this year....

VINTAGE PHOTO COLLECTION & BOOKS

Last year, for her gift, she asked me for the gift of time... She said she was FINALLY ready to have me come fix her place. And boy.... did it need fixing!! (she knew it) I brought over catalogs, magazines, and books so we could together narrow down her style. Within her, there are the characteristics unspoken, that I've just observed of her over the years: the importance of her FRIENDS and the memories of our FAMILY.

DEAR FRIENDS

My moms place was STUCK in time (and not necessarily the best one). She was stuck at the year my father passed away, I left the nest, and her cat passed soon after. This may sound harsh, but since her place was so VOID of warmth, I said she was living in a house of death. Now trust me, I've BEEN trying to get her to change her place around. She wasn't ready and I wasn't as clear on the importance of why.

BEFORE PICS

We (finally) decided on a color for the walls. This was a HUGE commitment for her because all she's ever known was her blah beige or picky peach. I insisted on a shade of green: Silver Sage from Restoration Hardware. Reluctantly, she went with it and couldn't be happier. (It's a funny thing: having a mom learn to trust her daughter... but I think this year she has developed that.)

DECOR BRAINSTORMING

She gave me a budget, gave me her 'wish-list', and a hunting & gathering I went. I shopped around at discount stores (Ross, Marshalls, BigLots) and big box stores (JCPenney, Home Depot, Lowes, Pier 1), as well as at Goodwill, Salvation Army, and online (Walmart, Overstock, Pottery Barn, West Elm). I filled our garage with treasures and projects for her. We even spent a few Sundays together having lunch, discussing her expectations, and me loading up her mini SUV to start transferring the inventory down south.

HUNTING & GATHERING

In May, even my husband got dragged into engagement of this monumental MOM task by loading up his truck, and acting as the electrician for the day. My mom went to work and left the keys under her doormat, but we didn't need because the painter was still there finishing up the trim. I spent time before on photos we gathered one afternoon. I tinted and cropped them: sepia for the living room and b&w for the wall unit. My dad's camera was a HUGE part of our life. It to got a special place on a wall.

MAKING A MEMORY WALL

Jeff installed three light fixtures, two floating shelves, and one rattan roman shade. I dug into repositioning existing furniture & accessories, unloading the truck & car, and unpacking & cleaning all her new goodies. The best part was actually loading up the front yard with all the 'donations' that would be difficult to do if mom were there.

AFTER PICS

She's had some time to 'live' in her new space (and I DO mean LIVE). She's enJOYed many mornings with the paper, afternoons reading her books, and evening with her visiting friends. After over ten years of no tree or Christmas decor, the space brought back her desire to WANT to sit and look at the tree... as we traditionally did for so many years.

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Again she gave me a budget ($200) and I listened to wishes: a tree, decorations, and some chocolate accessories to change space from bright Spring to cozy Winter. I tried to fulfill them all as well as give her more than she expected. I also reused some decor items of my own not in use this year (mirrors, ornaments, bowls). One of which were a pair of grapevine wreaths. I had actually used these for Halloween (in black), then sprayed them white for last years decor.
 

TOUCHES OF CHRISTMAS

Since her friends are what matter most to her, I found some inspirational quotes online, printed, pre-cut into rectangles and hole punched for wreaths for the interior of her front and back door.

SIMPLE QUOTE WREATH

Since I wasn't able to use ALL the photos we had selected at the beginning of the year, I printed a grouping of them to personalize her tree with. I had her help by hole-punching all the photos for hooks. I also brought some wintery scene Christmas cards for her to change out some picture frames into.
 

WINTERY DETAILS

So in a day, her place was once transformed into a space she can call home. A place I know she misses dearly since we moved to Florida back in '78.

MOMS MEMORY TREE

The best gift you could give for Christmas, or any other special time of the year is the gift of yourself and your time. What's on your lists this year? What gifts are you giving? Are you rushing and running to the nearest mall? Why not share a little bit of yourself and give time to your mom...



Thanks for stopping by