Weekend Decorating - Splurge & Save On The Master Bedroom

Most people work full-time during the week, leaving only the weekends to pack in chores getting done, errands run, family time, couples time, and somewhere in there, fit in a little time to maintain  (or update) home decor. What helps to fit it in, is take a moment during the week, perhaps during lunch, to plan what tasks need to be completed, and little by little, tackle them and cross them off your list. Since we just moved this past November, getting settled has taken a little time, especially with the holidays, but it also means not every room has been rushed to get thrown together - we've been taking time to 'get to know' the new house and its spaces. One room that is finally (slowly) coming together for us is our master bedroom.

Now yes, it would be nice to toss out all the old furniture, rip up the rug, tear out the builders ceiling fan, but, as with most people, we don't have those kind of funds available. So how do you get the most bang for your buck? Planning. Have a vision of what you would like the end result to include: Added moldings around windows, crown molding for ceiling and tray ceiling, replace existing ceiling fan with a chandelier (or updated fandeleir), and eventually, change the rugs. Those are some of the bigger ticket items that can help refresh a master bedroom, and another is to work with what you have, making minor alterations (such as changing hardware on furniture, update art for walls, layer in a new metal, invest in better quality bed-linens and drapery panels, update decorative hardware - and of course: paint.

Just right find at The Red Collection!

 Gorgeous - but too large for wall space.

Left - too skinny. Right - too short & chipped.

Friday afternoon, I ventured out to a few of the local consignment shops, specially hunting for a new shape of mirror to hang over our existing silver-leaf chest of drawers. I was looking for oval, and found a few, but they were either too small, too large, too skinny, too short, or a good price (only $24!)  - but damaged. Since shopping consignment is pretty much a final sale (vs. shopping a specialty home  store), you really need to trust your gut - and follow your instincts. Although I was specifically looking for an oval mirror, I also kept my eyes open to what was around me and spotted an elongated octagon mirror - it was the correct scale, wide enough and tall enough for the space, it was gold and it was priced just right and not damaged. After I circled the shop two times (like one of Katy Perry's sharks! lol) I made my decision and said, this is the one!

Although the scale was right, the shade of gold was too yellow - but fear not! A quick dry-brush of a burnished gold from Ralph Lauren paint, and it became just the gem I was looking for. And perfect timing too, because the weekend before, I had finally found a sunburst mirror online, and it arrived Saturday morning. The sunburst mirror was a bit of a splurge at $59 (from Kirklands) but it had the right finish, and the right style of rays I had already been looking for, both in stores and online. A similar style on Overstock was $128 and the SAME mirror (from Overstock) was $500 (oh the games retailers play). To relate the two mirrors I bought for the space, I'm layering in a few other gold hints - one tiny detail being new drawer pulls for the furniture.

 

Tons of brass hardware at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore! 

Octagon knobs relate to the octagon mirror over the silver chest.

You would think that because drawer pulls and knobs are so small, their cost would be too - but no, their not. Luckily I remembered popping into a habitat ReStore back in Phoenix and was floored to have seen all of the gold hardware they had available. Makes sense though - so many people buying homes built in the 80s or 90s wanted to update to nickel, so they removed all the brass hardware - from bathrooms, from kitchens, from closets and doors. So when I knew I wanted to change the hardware on our existing furniture, I knew a source to check on would be the Habitat ReStore. It took a little digging, but I did find 3 octagon drawer pulls (from Hickory Hardware) two weekends ago in Greensboro, and found the 4th at another location in High Point. So this weekend, along with the mirrors, I also updated the bedroom side tables - I just need to find two smaller pulls for the top table pull-out. in the meantime, I just painted the pull front with the same gold mirror paint. And just need to change hardware to brass on the dresser too.

 Tested the back of the bedroom door to see how he greys would flow with existing wall color and the black furniture.

This past week, we also had the door opening to the accessory closet fitted for a pair of 15-lite French doors, which will be getting installed this Friday (yay!). And speaking of doors, I painted two of our bedroom doors a medium grey. Just like with picking paint for the house, testing the colors with tester samples was a huge help. C (Marquee - Magnet) was just the right shade of grey to pair with the existing pale grey walls (Behr - Gentle Rain).

Friday I picked out the greys (ONLY 3) and tested them on the back of the (black) bedroom door - watching their color change in different light: sundown, nightlight, candlelight, sunrise - made a decision, got the paint the next day, and now, builder white doors are gone - but again, maintaining the existing hardware (to help save on expenses - sanding the dated yellow tone & shine gave them a more vintage look)) - plus, this grey (Magnet) is the grey I'll use to 'quick-fix' update our bathroom vanity (until remodeled next year), creating color harmony in the spaces. Although I've done bold pattern mixes for the bedroom before, I'm using those mixes in common areas (such as the living room) and wanting a more soothing and sophisticated look for the bedroom.

Little by little, the new space is coming along - and without breaking the bank. Just a little saving here and there, mixed with a little splurge and paired with existing pieces - plus paint.

Very much looking forward to the doors getting installed Friday - French doors to allow the light from the accessory closet window to still come into the bedroom space (I love natural light - especially from the sun!) - Hoping to get them painted Sunday!

Thanks for stopping by!

Around Town: The Red Collection Consignment Shop - Greensboro

I love exploring new (to me) consignment and thrift stores in my new area. I'm a HUGE fan of salvaging the past into something new for today. Savvy shopping for secondhand style finds is also a great way to curate quality pieces for a home, but without spending an arm and a leg for the craftsmanship, and sometimes history. One of the consignment stores I've visited here in the Triad area of North Carolina is called The Red Collection. I've found a lot of great bones and lovely pieces at both of their shops, located in Greensboro. Sometimes, it's good to leave the finish as is, and just clean it up a bit, and sometimes, a fresh coat of paint + new upholstery can breath new life into a very traditional piece to update it for today. Here's a peek at some of the finds I've spotted at The Red Collection...

 

Love the design of the doors on this china hutch...

 

Loved these doors too...

 

Petite étager ... 

 

Great hardware - a pair of Century end tables...

 

Great storage piece for a kids room or guest room...

 Good bones and beautiful hardware - vintage Broyhill chest of drawers...

 Both high ($565) and low ($18.95) busts...

Even HPMKT showroom finds like Gabby are being consigned... I've been in quite a few consignment shops, and I have to say, their pricing system makes it easy to know when the next markdown will be, but you may not want to chance letting that find get away.

 

Baker coffee table in brass & glass...

 

Great Federal style mirror...

 

Side table heaven!

 Hello Greek Key!

 Perfect for a transitional style dining room: Sheraton Style sideboard...

 Lovely bench for an entryway - I'd leave the black & gold and re-upholster (probably with dalmatian dots!)

 

GORGEOUS NAVY velvet sofa...

 

Chair heaven!!

 

Great shield-back chair - perfect for a writing desk or dressing room - just needs to be re-upholstered...

 

COTY 2015 - Marsala - Flamestitch Chevron Wingbacks...

 

 And for the coastal collector - a fantastic over-sized and shell filled glass top coffee table (I'd probably paint heirloom white or grey).

 

The Red Collection is open

Monday - Saturday - 10AM - 5:30PM

at

1201 South Holden Road

Greensboro, NC

336-632-0091

 and

1411 Mill Street

Greensboro, NC

336-279-8519

Delivery available.

And since it's a consignment shop, you can also bring in some of your old (but still good condition) home furnishings to sell, and put those funds towards something new (to you). Read more about how their consignment system works at: theredcollection.com

I've enjoyed 'hunting' here, and have even scored a few new pieces for #HarmonHouse. Can't wait to head back and discover new treasures!

Thanks for stopping by!

Relocation & Home Organization: 3 Months After Move

As exciting as moving to a new location and a new home can be, it can also be very exhausting - both physically and mentally. Just as important as it is to get, be, and stay organized throughout the moving process, the importance of pacing yourself is crucial. Pacing yourself during and after a move can help keep you sane by not getting frustrated with yourself when things aren't necessarily going as fast or as planned as you'd like them to be. As excited as I was to be moving back east, the move has definitely had its highs and lows. The lows being a mess behind closed doors that is out of sight, isn't necessarily out of mind, plus dealing with all the damage claims from the movers unpacking the same day they unloaded. The highs though have been cutting through the clutter, purging and donating - but pacing myself - one space at a time - and by no means going for perfectly decorated spaces, but rather comfort zones we can live with until tackling larger scale plans such as adding crown molding in the master or remodeling a bathroom. With this move, some spaces I've knocked out on my own while Jeff is at the store, such as organizing kitchen cupboards, the home office plus closet, bathrooms, our bedroom plus clothing closets, and continuing to paint doors and trim. Some tasks we've tackled together, either at night or on a Sunday, such as installing drapery rods, a new dining room chandelier (from my mom) and putting together a desk I scored at a local consignment shop and I refinished. here is a peek at some of the house transformations completed this January, our third month in North Carolina since moving from Arizona...

 

We lived through the holidays with the existing Tiffany-style chandelier, but I ordered this 5-lite drum chandelier from NY Lighting. it was on back-order, but still arrived at expected time (mid-January).

 

Jeff has been great about installing those projects requiring the drill and electrical...

 Although the space may still need an area rug, it's a little softer now since reusing some of my existing curtain rods and these burnout sheers (I actually had scored thrifting back in AZ, and had used in our living room, here.)

 

Found a fantastic pedestal table for a more casual eating area between kitchen and living room...

 

It just needed a little TLC with Magic Erase + touch-up wood stain pens and polish...

This weekend I found a great circular lantern light fixture to hang over the pedestal table - A great deal at the habitat for Humanity ReStore: only $35 vs. $350 for new.

 After Christmas, I neutralized our living room, removing the reds, and layering in my 'go-to' favorite pairing: Black & White. Along with the touch of pattern layering, I also brought up two black & white framed pictures I had gotten last Summer at HomeGoods, and used them as the focal point behind the sofa en lieu of the gold painted mirror...

 I wanted to get the round mirror back up above the wall unit, since I removed the AZ cow skull, but I didn't want to keep it gold (I painted it gold back in 2013). Since I do have some touches of gold, (the brass hardware on the black doors), I just painted the outer rim of the mirror with the same paint as the doors - but it actually came through as a charcoal (because it's on the gold) and I really like it!

 Although no major changes in the Study (my office), I have started to layer in some white flowers (a friend lovingly calls 'forever flowers') and picked up a pair of more graphic, navy pillows from Target, to pair with my organic print blue & white panels plus sea-fan wall art I found at HomeGoods back in Phoenix.

 

 But now the home office, is definitely where most of the months focus was on, from paint, to refinishing a desk and organizing the space...

 

Painted the home office with a splurge: Ralph Lauren Paint from Home Depot...

I found a great deal on a solid wood, L-shaped desk for our home office, and finally donated the old 90's particle-board desk -- Next will be to update the bookcases, but like I said before, gotta pace yourself (or you'll get into a financial hole).

 

The home office is still a mix of old and new (to us) - The small table, I used to have in Sephora's room in AZ, has come in handy to hold the new printer, just under the TV Jeff mounted with a tilting wall mount - so the TV can also be watched from the small sofa - a great little "After Christmas Clearance" find at the store "At Home" (formally Garden Ridge).

 

Sephora is enjoying the new home office too...

Along with hanging the light fixture downstairs, painting and organizing the home office upstairs, the bedroom also got a little attention -- I had been looking for crystal finial hardware for the 4 windows, which was a little hard to come by (without breaking the bank) but I finally found 4 of the same rods in HomeGoods!

The rods pair great with the gunmetal grey jacquard window panels I found online at jcpenney.com. Together, both are creating much needed winter warmth on the bare windows we lived with through the holidays - and the room is also much darker now, for a much better nights sleep!

Along with the panels in the bedroom, I also added a pair in the bathroom, along with some floating shelves for toiletries storage. The black shelves I had used in AZ are in the powder room now, and the black just didn't look or feel right in this bathroom (which needs to be remodeled, but we're planning that now and budgeting to happen in 2016) in the meantime, I had the space painted grey when we moved in, and I picked up some white floating shelves from Target, along with a few new pretty glass containers from HomeGoods - for cotton balls, q-tips, and bath salts... and even the white garden stool I had gotten at HomeGoods back in Phoenix, has come in handy for extra towels next to the tub...

 This month, I'm planning on painting the oak cabinet a darker grey, which can temporarily help to update the bathroom until we remodel.

Besides the bathroom and the bedroom getting some love (ha ha), the closets did too. We have a (small) walk-in, U-shaped closet, which is tight for two (especially a fashionista!) but since we also have a small area adjacent to the bedroom, which could be used for exercise, a small office or a small nursery, we turned it into an accessory closet. This is a HUGE help with clothing storage space, because now all the clothing fits in the walk-in, and all my accessories (bags, shoes, boots, jewelry, perfume, cosmetics, and mani-pedi things) are ALL in this space -converting it into more of a dressing room area...

Now I can't add a lovely hanging chandelier in here since the attic pull-down access is right here, but I was able to maximize the space with the ClosetMaid untis from Home Depot, Jeff built for me one Sunday, and I couldn't wait to empty the guest room closet to fill it up!

Talk about utilizing every square inch of space!

 I kept the top shelf  'light', so if we need to access the attic, things can easily shift - and to layer in some glamour into the space, I repurposed the gold gallery wall of mirrors, I previously had as the focal point in the living room for two years in AZ, you can read about here.) now in the dressing room - along with a fun framed vintage print. Keeping the clear storage totes helps to keep dust off seasonal shoes plus maximize space (think NY vertical - within that one shoebox space, 2-3 additional totes fit, giving more shelf space for other items, like bags.

For breaks from getting the house in order, I've been scouting out the new areas, using my exploration time to learn the area, traffic patterns, new routes, and remember landmarks - some of which, I must admit, has been a little frustrating at times. What's frustrating is not having some of the regular "go-to" shops as close as I'd like them to be (such as Home Depot vs. Lowes), and of the probably six actual thrift stores I've been in... they have all been strike outs. Thankfully, learning some of the area's consignment shops has been the bright spot, definitely to help save money when purchasing some of the new needs for the new spaces. I'm looking forward to the weather warming up to also explore some of the local farmers markets, historic sites, art walks, and wineries!

After moving - Donate + Recycle + Purge to get organized! Thankfully, Goodwill does pick-ups!

 

On one of the more warmer days, outside got cleaned up and I organized the potters shed - can't wait to get in there and start planting come Spring!

And somewhere in the mix, I went had got my hair cut & colored, my eyes checked and getting use to bi-focals (which is frustrating!!), got my new drivers license, the car registered, and a new personalized tag on the way!

Along with getting the house in order, especially now that the holidays have passed (mind you - everything featured above has all happened since after Christmas!) , I've also helped Jeff with updating some 'behind the scenes' areas in his new store (such as updating the reception area, hallways, and break-room), I registered to attend Design Blogger Conference coming up in Atlanta at the end of February, I've continued my weekly writing contributions for the Hadley Court interior design blog, I'm making arrangements for my mom to fly up and visit at the end of March, and most recently I accepted an invite to be one of this Spring's High Point Market sponsored bloggers coming up in April - which I'm super thrilled about! I'm so grateful for all that has happened these past three months - both the highs and the lows. In all, I'd have to say, 2015 is looking to be a pretty awesome year ahead!

 One Sunday evening, I went with Jeff, and met a team of 4 of his associates and they painted while I helped purge and organize the reception area, hallways, and break-room. The break-room is still a work in progress - because Jeff too needs to pace himself (and the store's budget) but what has been updated, his new team loves and he's even inspired his District manager to update their hallway, since this is the District store...

Looking back through all these pictures, seeing what we've been able to accomplish the past month makes me proud... and also no wonder I wasn't blogging as much!! lol But If you're friends with me on Facebook, you know I've been sharing many of these photos, projects and details along the way this past month - It's just now in the "Pinterest Era", it's more important to not only to select those "pinworthy" images, they also need to be watermarked, which all takes time to do - but I will get back into the blogging swing of things - oh look a squirrel! lol - I say that because Jeff jokes about how distracted I get, trying to do too much at once :)

Thanks for stopping by!