Happy Labor Day!
Holidays are great, aren’t they? You have the day off work, nothing to do, the weather is nice and crisp and there are SALES everywhere! Living in Likely, I do a lot of shopping online, and I love finding sales and free shipping offers! I have a “Catalog” filter in my e-mail and I see the words “LABOR DAY SALE” all down the page! Sweet! For example – West Elm, Pottery Barn and Old Navy are all having sales through the weekend along with many, many other places – I might take advantage, will you?
West Elm Faceted Glass Pendant - Sale Price: $89.99!
And you have to check out Etsy for some great deals – I got 2,262 results when I searched for “labor day sale” on Etsy, but even better – 85,702 results when I searched for “FREE SHIPPING!” Because no one likes to pay for shipping! (In order to narrow it down, first I’d browse to the category you’re interested in, and then search for ‘free shipping!’). Best of all – 424 results for “labor day sale free shipping!” 
I don’t know if any of these sellers are offering free shipping, but here are a few things I have my eye on in my Etsy Favorites List:
| Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade pearllindsay.etsy.com |
Another great place to find some great deals is Twitter! They have a real time ‘search’ function and when I searched for “Free Shipping” I found tons of ‘tweets’ talking about great deals! And then I had to refresh because there were 77 new ‘free shipping’ tweets since I started searching. I love Twitter! (Follow me here: twitter.com/likelydesign).
I’d love to know what you’re shopping for this weekend! I might, or might not have splurged on some fabric and new craft punches. And found some $5 and $10 deals at Old Navy for me and Harper.
gyqx853fm{DIY} Cool Coffee Table
While browsing decor8 today, I came across Holly’s post on “By Nord” – a Danish label that is now stocked at the Le Souk shop – Holly was showcasing the pillows from the company – but the thing that I noticed from her photos is the AMAZING coffee table! And how easy would that be to DIY? I immediately did a google search for “coffee table on casters” and there were literally thousands of articles on making a coffee table on casters. Most are up at coffee table height with teeny tiny casters, but I love how it is low with big ‘ol wheels! And I need a coffee table. I had an IKEA Lack table – but I feel like it screams “I’m Cheap!” And I put it in the corner next to my sofa as a long side table. I like it there much better. And since I am cheap, I haven’t bought a new one because I refuse to pay $100+ for something that is just going to get dirty baby finger prints on and water rings. But this I like! What do you think??
Yes, the room and the textiles are gorgeous, but I’m drooling over the coffee table. And I think Glenn could whip this out fairly easily on the cheap! It feels very “me.” Which is amazing because I can easily put together a color/material board together for a client, but I have a hard time choosing items for my own house. I love it when the light bulb comes on, don’t you?
Alright, back to my Google search for a materials list – I can’t wait to show this to Glenn!! As soon as he gets home from the fire he’s on, that is. Have a great long weekend, everyone!! Thanks for stopping by!!
xo, Lindsay
(images: by nord via decor8)
Read More{E-Decorating} Trent & Brad’s Modern Boys’ Room
You might remember Tonya & Cody’s master bedroom board that I did — well they wanted more and had me design a board for their young sons’ shared room! And you know I love working on kid’s rooms!
Trent (almost 3!) and Brad (8 months) are the cutest little boys and have been moved together into a room of their own to share! Trent got a new “big boy bed” and Brad has been moved out of mommy and daddy’s room, and so Tonya wanted to put away the primary plastics, and create a fun, non-themey bedroom for her boys to create lots of memories in! It has to be kid-friendly, functional, and calming enough to not over-stimulate them — mom and dad need their rest, too!! Here is a collage of their room as it is today:
As Trent is well out of diapers, and Brad is getting bigger every day, we decided that it would be very impractical to go out and buy all new furniture for growing boys. Especially because Trent’s toddler bed is less than a year old, Brad only has a couple years of diapering left, and it is all in great shape. So all the furniture (glider and ottoman, toddler bed, crib, dresser and changing table) has to stay. Plus Tonya really likes both boys’ bedding, and that is where I started with the colors; green, blue, tan, cream and brown. I couldn’t help myself, though, and had to add a couple pops of orange for cheery fun, and to make the room feel less theme-y by adding an extra element. Plus orange is such a great color for fun little boys!
After discussing the room with Tonya, we decided that these were the needs for the room: paint, art, curtains, side table, seating, rug(s), lighting and accessories. Here is the plan that I came up with for the boys’ fun new bedroom! Here is the new floor plan with all of the new goodies:
As you can see, Trent’s bed has been moved to the opposite wall, and the glider and ottoman go where his toddler bed was. This will balance that far end of the room a little better, and create one side for Trent, and one side for Brad. Brad’s crib and changing table will both switch walls, and go on the wall where the dresser used to be. We’ll switch the dresser to the opposite wall (to Trent’s side), and add the new bookcase under the window on his side. We’re also giving him a side table and lamp next to his bed, and we’re adding some fun new seating (in washable twill covers) for both boys – what one has, the other will always have to have, too!
Here is the shopping list!
And here is how it all works together:
1. & 2. Paint: The colors I chose for the room are a blue/grey called Feather Gray, and a slightly lighter version called Iced Cube Silver, both by Benjamin Moore. My thoughts on this are to paint thick, floor to ceiling horizontal stripes with these all around the room. The room is actually pretty big, so if that is too large of a project, I would recommend only doing the stripes on the wall without a window (which would be on the right when you walk into the room). Keep the bright white on the trim and on the doors, and paint the ceiling a barely-there light green, such as Benjamin Moore’s Bavarian Cream.
3. These are large (12″ or larger) initial wall decals, in a sporty font, and there would be a few of them around the room in a color that is as close to Feather Gray as possible. We’d place them high and low — wherever you need to fill a space. You can find customized wall decals like this here.
4. To add a little ambiance lighting, and to get Trent excited to read on his own in bed, I’d add this plug-in wall lamp next to his bed, above his new side table. The “spider-web” cover is a safety feature on this children’s wall lamp.
5. You always want to encourage learning in children’s rooms, and that’s why I’ve added this Modern Alphabet Print to hang above the dresser – except I’d frame it in white instead of black. It has animal silhouettes for each letter in great colors, and the animal names are listed at the bottom of the print as well!
6. To add a little softness to the room (and some fun texture!!) I love to recommend FLOR tiles for a custom-shaped area rug. The room is a rectangle, but with the closet in there, it’s a fat “L” shape, and a FLOR rug would let you create any shape you want and fill the room as much as you want. This is the cowhide patterned Stampede rug in Taupe. So fun!! Especially for a Wyoming bedroom.
7. The window curtains need to be long and thick (to block out light for naps), so I chose some heavy grommet-top curtains in a fun orange color for some warm color contrast. They’re made of cotton sailcloth (durable and easy to clean, plus it adds great texture), and the color is Foxtail Orange.
8. You can always add the best patterns into a room with throw pillows – so this boudoir pillow would go in the glider, which has been moved to the corner. It is in a gray stripe, working with the painted stripes on the walls, and adding neutral color to the warm woods throughout the room. Stripes are always welcome in a boys’ bedroom!
9. And what boys don’t love cars? This vinyl wall decal would be a great addition to the entry area (on the wall by the door), giving a little edge to the jungle animals in the bedding.
10. A glider/rocker in a nursery is not complete without a lamp – great for late night feedings or rocking baby back to sleep, and this one is sleek, on a dimmer, and will look great with Trent’s new wall lamp.
11. Trent’s new side table next to his bed will be great as he grows – it’s a mini-locker in white, and I’m sure he will love storing his treasures in there!
12. I love these IKEA stools and extra seating or surfaces are always great – and now each brother gets their own stool for story time or playing with their friends (when Brad is old enough, of course!). Plus they are so inexpensive, durable and they come in great colors!
13. We thought that the boys could use a little extra book or toy storage, so I searched for something will multiple bins and that would match the rest of the wood in the room — these bins can be stacked as high as you want (be sure to attach them to the wall for safety, though!), and they can fit books, toys, baskets and totes and will make clean up a snap!
14. & 15. We all know that boys are rough & tumble, so some tough, toss-’em seating is a great place for the boys to crash and when crashing, you always want something soft like these bean bag chairs with washable twill covers in tan and orange. How fun, right?
I think that a children’s room is a great place for some whimsical art, and I added some, but Tonya already had these stick on children’s decals that matched her boys’ bedding (you can see it lining the room at the ceiling) – I think they would look great in a gridded pattern right above each boy’s bed, like the picture below (which is from Project Nursery).
And there you have Trent & Brad’s shared bedroom – I hope Tonya likes it as much as I do!! I think the color swap will make the room feel more cohesive, and the added color and sporty accessories will make the room feel less theme-like.
If you’d like your own E-decorating package for a room in your house, visit this page, this page, feel free to click on over to my Etsy shop, or e-mail me at lindsay @ lindsaychristensendesign . com to get started!
Read More{DIY} Installing laminate flooring
Laminate flooring is a wondrous thing. It comes in hundreds of styles and colors, looks great (if you pick the right product and install it correctly), can take a beating, is an eco-friendly product to use (little to no waste in manufacturing and glueless nature), and can be very inexpensive to use throughout the home. When we moved into our house last July, we knew we had to immediately rip out the old carpets and I knew I wanted hard flooring throughout. New carpeting glues, and in most cases, the carpet itself can off-gas nasty VOC’s, plus you can never really get it clean! The dirt, hair, dust, etc., etc., gets smushed down permanently into the carpet, and as a pregnant lady I didn’t want my new baby crawling around in that. I was all about the healthiest environment possible for me and my future child, as well as an easy-on-the-budget option, so we chose laminate for our new home. Plus Glenn had installed it a few times in other houses, and we knew we could save money by Glenn installing it himself.
Lucky for us, our 45 year old brick house was PERFECTLY square and solidly built. We have a rather large living room, and from one end to the other, the laminate was laying perfectly square — unlike the other houses that Glenn has installed laminate in. It just makes the job a million times easier, so that was a huge gift. In some houses, by the time you get to the other end of the room, you’re cutting your end pieces at an angle and that is no good!
The brand that we purchased was Alloc (the color is Cognac Merbau) — both the flooring and the underlayment (foam barrier between sub-floor and floating laminate) — and it was a simple locking mechanism installation that is glue-free! You lay down the underlayment, then the flooring and you’re done!
Here are the recommended tools that we used:
- Right angle/t-square, or some other tool to mark perpendicular lines
- Pencil – for marking your lines and cuts
- Chop Saw – for cleanly cutting your planks
- Jig Saw (optional) – for cutting angles or curves, etc.
- Small rubber mallet – for locking the planks together
- Razor blade – for cutting extra underlayment off
- And… — that’s it!
Laying the underlayment was simple — lay the roll down with a 1/2 inch coming up the wall (you’ll trim it later with the razor blade). It has an adhesive strip on the long side that you peel off and stick to the top of the next layer. This simply floats on top of the floor — no gluing or taping necessary. Easy peasy – that was the pregnant lady’s job. I had to feel helpful!!
Now to lay the actual flooring, you simply start at the left side of the room, right on top of the floating underlayment, and the left side depending on which way you want your grain to run (you always go left to right, that’s where the locking mechanisms are) — lock the short ends together and when you get to the end of the row, you flip the last plank right-side down to measure where to cut. Lay the end that you will be keeping in this row against the wall (flooring side up towards you), lay your right angle on it where the second to last plank ends and mark your cut. We used a chop saw to cut the pieces in one clean stroke, then you have your short piece for the right end and your starting piece for the next row! Repeat, repeat, repeat. The rubber mallet can be handy to help lock long rows in place — and an extra pair of hands is always helpful when you’re tackling a project on your own. Just be careful when knocking with the mallet – you don’t want to damage the locking mechanism of the planks.
Angles and curves can be a little tricky, but we found after a few runs, we could figure out the right cut — so it’s a good thing that the single boxes are inexpensive (about $25/box – covers ~22 square feet), and you should always buy a little extra (a good rule of thumb is 10%) to account for waste and mistakes.
I love the rich look of our dark flooring – I think it looks a lot more expensive than it actually was! – and it is holding up great after the first year. Always check the warranties (laminate has a shorter warranty than hardwood most of the time), but I can almost guarantee you will be very happy with your faux-bois floor. My steam cleaner cleans it up great, and I even have those ding-repair brown markers to fill it any injuries! Unfortunately, it does show dirty dog prints, but I think any flooring you have (light vs. dark) will show SOMETHING! It’s just motivation to keep those floors clean!
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About Me
I'm an interior designer and a draftsperson, but I live in the country. I like it that way. I'm also a firefighter's wife, mom to 2 cute kids, and a homeowner and I like that even better. But right after that is a pretty and affordable space...and I mean a REALLY affordable space. Because I believe good design can be for EVERYONE!
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