Home Design Cool

Femina via Design Attractor

I love the grey, white and wood colour combination and of course the beautiful way they've furnished the apartment. I spy many items from By Nord, the cushions for example, are high up on my very long wish list!

I also have a huuuuge design crush on any lighting by Tom Dixon and am so envious to see they have his lights throughout.  My absolute number one light is the CopperShade which they have over the dining table, spot on!

Right, I'm off to enjoy my last few hours of London over a bacon butty and a cup of tea...yay!

Have a lovely evening and happy halloween!

And as always, let me know your thoughts! x

Remember that one time, back in January, when I had that idea to transform our dining room into a library? And then, back in March, when we started the process of building bookcases for the new library?

Yeah, it was eight months ago, so I don’t blame you if you can’t remember. ;) Well, they are finally done!!!! And I’m thrilled!!

I have worked  my butt off over the past few days to get them done. Seriously, my butt should be a third of it’s size.

There was so much to do to finish up, I didn’t realize how long it would take. There was a TON of painting – I had done one coat of primer on the bottom cabinets before, but then I dropped a can of blue paint that splattered all over them (fun times) and I got a recommendation to use an oil-based primer instead anyway (more on that later). So, I reprimed the cabinets and taped off the baseboards and cabinet trim with my Frogtape:

I did one more coat of primer and two coats of semi gloss white paint.

I primed the cabinet doors and then sprayed them with the semi gloss two times:

The finish is impeccable! I’ll show you more of that process soon too!

I used a TON caulk. It was insane. I used this trick I saw on a DIY show. Or maybe it was a blog? Pinterest? Who knows anymore!:

And found an awesome tool that helped this process immensely that I’ll show you soon too!

I installed the crown molding in the room and caulked the top and bottom of that:

I originally picked out hardware that was a nickel finish, but I realized after I got the lights in that I wanted the hardware to match it, so I went back to Home Depot and picked these out:

I love their clean lines – they say “library” to me:

I installed some lattice wood on the side of the cabinets just to add a little detail:

And THEN I could really start decorating the shelves! I’ve had most of them (mostly) done for awhile now, it was those taller shelves on the bottom that were hard:

Sometimes accessorizing is the easiest thing and everything just falls into places nicely. Sometimes it takes FOREVER to get it right. These took for.ev.er:

I’ll share more detail on all of the accessories soon, but for now, let’s just enjoy the final result shall we?:

The dog likes it too. I swear I don’t stage him like that – our animals are just obsessed with being in each photo. I had just shooed the cats out of the shot. ;)

I know I say this a lot, but they turned out EXACTLY how they looked in my head. I really don’t think I could be happier:

I love how the shelf spacing turned out – we made the bottom one bigger because we had to deal with the light switch and thermostat. We have a ton of bigger books that I wanted to have room for on the bottom, but I ended up laying them all flat anyway. ;) At first I was a little nervous about the bigger bottom shelf but I really like how it came together.

By the way, we asked two heating and cooling guys about the thermostat – I thought we’d have to move it. They both said it’s fine as is, which was a nice surprise. I’m even more surprised that they don’t bother me much. I hardly notice them.

We have a column in the room that prevents a good straight shot of these, so here’s a couple that show more detail of the bookcases:

 

I didn’t want to lose much floor space in the room, so we used upper cabinets for the bases – they’re only 12 inches deep. It worked perfectly – I didn’t want the shelves to be any deeper than that:

The cabinets were just the unfinished kind you can find at most big box hardware stores. Even at 12 inches deep they hold a TON! I’ll show you that soon too! ;)

Obviously it took me waaaay longer than I thought it would to build these. I’ve never done something this large. Dad helped me a TON by coming by a day or two a month to help me create them -- but I otherwise it was (mostly) me. We had help on one part – adding the trim to the front of the shelves.

Now I can’t wait to get moving on the rest of the room! Most of it won’t be too bad – I’ve had a new light sitting in the garage for months (this one is too ornate for what I’m going for in here – it’s moving elsewhere). The drapes won’t be too hard (just have to find the perfect fabric!). I’ve already got a coffee table that will go in the middle of the room that will get a redo.

The chairs are going to be the biggie – finding four, super comfy, pretty, affordable chairs will be interesting. :) My plan is to put the coffee table and four chairs in the middle of the room for another comfy spot to sit:

We never ever, I mean, never used the dining room. Ever. I do think a dining room table would look lovely in front of the built ins, but I just don’t want to go back to a space that we don’t use. For now, the chairs are the plan!

Since I’m obsessed with before and afters, let’s take a look at the room earlier this year:

This was a result of my dark and dramatic phase. ;) I really did love this room, but when I painted it chocolate brown the floor was light carpet. The addition of the hardwoods made it feel like a cave.

I’m so thrilled to have a much brighter, useful room now!:

And for all that is good, I am SO GLAD this part is done!!! :)

Can I get a WHOOOOO??

Thanks so much for coming along on this ride with me – and thanks for your patience. I hope you love them and are inspired!

For more on this project, check out these links:

We started out with adding toe kicks to the cabinets and fitting them in place here.
I pulled down all the trim in the room, had the lights and outlets wired (we had help on that too) here.
I installed and primed the cabs, painted the walls (twice, ugh!) here.
I showed you how we built the bookcases (frame and shelves) here.
The trim was added and shelves beefed up here.
The library light drama was covered here.
Also, check out my method for decorating these shelves in this post.

Whew!! MAJOR props to my Dad for all the help, and my hubby and son for being patient with me for the past few days so I could get ‘er done!

Now I’m off to create a new Halloween costume for a cute little boy. The ninja now wants to be the Headless Horseman and I’m determined to make it happen. And then…I’m taking a nap. For a few days. ;)

Hello! Back to something Scandinavian today and closer to home in the Southern Sweden west coast village of Lomma. This pretty white and wood home has been photographed by blogger and interior shop owner Daniella Witte for Nya Hem. I love how the pared back look has been softened by the use of patterned textiles for a homely feel.



 

Stylist: Suzanna Nilsson, Photographer: Daniella Witte for Nya Hem.

We're kind of used to seeing all white spaces so it's kind of interesting to see a wooden floor with a wooden ceiling, what do you think of this look?

Pictures shown with kind permission from Daniella.

I'm actually in London today (re-charging my British batteries for a few days). I can't believe I'll have lived in Sweden for 10 years next summer! This is definitely reflected in the way I have styled my home.  It's always nice to pop home though :)

Hello all! First off, I hope everyone on the east coast is staying safe and dry today!! We are praying that everyone comes out unscathed and the weather isn’t as bad as they are expecting!

Well I’ve been working my booty off this weekend peeps! I have worked SO hard on finishing off the bookcases – my body is screaming at me but I am so stinkin’ excited. I WILL show you this week, even if it kills me. OK, that’s extreme. Even if it makes me really tired. ;)

Just a couple more things to finish up, and then to decorate the things. I’ve had stuff on them for weeks now, but not really how I want them to stay. Sooo…the reveal will come this week, but it may be a couple more days.

Anyway, I continued the DIY from the weekend and finished up a project this morning that I started a couple weeks ago. After I painted the coffee table to a pretty white color, I knew I wanted to add a little somethin’ to it – a wood tray for the top. Now I’m not really a decorate the coffee table kind of girl – I try and then inevitably the surface ends up covered with mail and paper and Legos.

But I thought adding a tray would be a nice in between – it would keep the Legos corralled and would be pretty at the same time. I shopped around a bit for a tray the right size, and found one for $20 at Target – it was the perfect size, but I didn’t care for the design and I really didn’t want to spend $20 when I figured I could make one myself.

See, I had all the wood I needed in the garage. Thing is…I had to overcome one of my tool fears to make this happen. I would have to learn how to use the circular saw.

Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnn.

I’ve never used one because, well, they scare me. :) But when I thought about it, I realized it was silly when I was thisclose to a pretty (free!) tray – I knew I needed to overcome my fears.

So I took a trip out to my awesome True Value and took a look at their power tool selection:

I was a little overwhelmed but quickly knocked out the bigger options – I wanted my saw to be as small as possible because for me small = manageable. And then when I saw there were cordless options I was sold! That is because one of the biggest fears I have about circular saws is accidentally cutting the cord and electrocuting myself. For real.

So I landed on this one:

Master Mechanic is the True Value brand (which I didn’t realize till they told me that day) and I have been really pleased with this brand so far – the drill I bought last year was the same and I LOVE it.

I can’t remember the cost, but it was way less than I thought I was going to pay – I think it was $60. The blade is pretty small, but plenty big to handle the items I’ll be cutting. And my favorite part of course is that there’s no cord – it’s battery operated:

So I charged it up, set my wood up on saw horses, and had hubby hold the end of the wood as I cut it.

Umm…I’m hooked. It was FUN. Fun in the I’m a DIY kind of girl and love power tools kind of way. If you’re not like me it may not be as exhilarating. ;)

I didn’t take pictures of this part just because our hands were full and I wanted to focus on using the tool. I will say it was SO much simpler than I thought it would be. And the safety features made me feel much calmer about using it.

You can see above that I went ahead and put a couple of coats of dark walnut stain on it before I moved on.

Making the tray was so simple – just the bottom piece, and then the edges (again scrap wood I had):

If you aren’t great with mitered corners (where they meet up at an angle like that) you could just butt them up to each other – when it’s done you would hardly notice.

I fit them all together first to make sure the worked before I nailed them into the square base. Oh, and I stained the insides of them as well:

I wanted to stain all the inside parts first so the stain wouldn’t gum up in the corners. I can’t remember why I didn’t just go ahead and stain the whole thing before I put it all together, but I’m sure I had a good reason. Whatever. ;)

There were just a few more parts to stain:

  

I picked up these felt jobbies while at TV to add to the bottom:

I use these things on everything! This keeps the wood from scratching up surfaces underneath.

The tray sat mostly done for a couple weeks till I finished it up this morning. I knew I wanted to add handles, and originally planned on installing regular cabinet hardware to the sides. Then I thought it may be cool to use some thick rope instead, but it was so thick I couldn’t tie a knot in it to secure it.

So I came up with another idea this weekend and I LOVE how it turned out! I grabbed one of my old belts (I haven’t worn a belt in years!) and cut two strips out of it. I used my cabinet hardware tool to determine where the holes needed to go:

Then just drilled through the belt and the wood for the screw:

I wanted to use something a little prettier than a screw, but couldn’t find anything in my stash that would work. I just used some flat end screws I had (they don’t have the pointy ends):

I was going to cover the screw heads or at least put some Rub n Buff on them, but I really don’t mind them at all, at least so far. I kinda dig the look.

One of the reasons I love this coffee table so much is the drawers that hold all of our remotes and pens and coasters. Since that stuff doesn't normally stay out I was able to pretty the tray up a bit:

I just put some of my magazines and catalogs in there with a few other pretties.

The “handles” work awesome – and they’ll stretch out more as we use them. I love how the combo of the leather with the dark wood against the light table:

And honestly? I think I may try keeping this stuff in there – it may prevent us from using it as a dumping zone. A girl can hope. :) And with the added handles, it’s easy to just take it off for Lego play.

I love how it came together and love even more than it didn’t cost me a dime! It’s exactly what I wanted for the table and this space:

So do you decorate your coffee table? Or does it stay cleared off just so you can fill it with clutter like me? It sure is nice to have this surface pretty and organized – we’ll just see if it stays that way. I’ll let you know. ;)

 

I was one of the bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program as well as my writing about my experience. I have also been compensated for the materials needed for my DIY project. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.

Hej! Hope you all had a great weekend. Last week I was talking about how immaculate houses tend to be here on MSH which isn't always feasible when you have small children (or if you're as messy as me haha!). And then I spotted this beautiful Atelier Beau Travail and home of French designer Céline Saby in Paris. It's slightly different from the spaces I usually share but I instantly loved the relaxed vibe, charm and pretty mix of colours.

Freunde von Freunden

What do you reckon, beautiful and relaxed or to hectic for you? Could you work in Atelier like this?!

Shown with kind permission from Freunde von Freunden (where you can pop over for more pics and to read the full interview with Céline)

Well hello there and welcome to the weekend! :)

I’m bragging on a few of you today – I went through the latest Show Us Your House linky and could not believe all of the beautiful bedrooms! I seriously had to stop adding pics – it was so hard to narrow this down!

SO many pretty spaces and great ideas – let’s take a look at a few!

I think I caught my mouth hanging open when I saw Kristin’s beautiful space:

She did such a great job at making this a cozy space, even with the cooler, lighter colors.

And I LOVED how she worked her TV into the decor so I had to share that too:

Brillz. The layered look behind the TV is awesome. So doing this.

I think I may have shared Mary’s awesome drapes before, but take a look at them in this room!:

So pretty! That mirror and the lamps paired with the beautiful hydrangeas are all gorgeous. You can see more of her space here.

I love this teen room Julie created for her son:

And I LOVE that chalkboard knock off they made! I think boy’s rooms are especially hard, so I love sharing boy room ideas. :)

I am so into deep, rich blue lately – and when I saw Carmel’s bedroom I was swooning! This little “Mom’s nook” really had me:

So lovely! That chair is gorgeous!

Vel had a big wall behind her bed to contend with, so she used painters tape and some paint to create some interest:

This gives me an idea for the big wall in our bedroom! I’ve been trying to figure out a way to make it less BIG and more cozy.

Kelly’s bedroom is so serene and pretty and I loved her DIY touches:

The painted furniture, the pallet art – it’s all so well done! The window above the bed is so pretty too.

The stenciled wall in Kate’s room makes a beautiful statement:

Love how the bedding works with the wall too.

I was digging Joanne’s more contemporary bedroom as well:

The ornate mirror combined with the simple lines of the nightstand – beautifully done! I REALLY like the graphic black and white pillows too.

And finally, I love color in a kid’s room and this nursery over at Megan’s had me smiling big time:

So sweet, so vibrant, but not over the top. The chalkboard is fun too!

Well, again, you all did not disappoint! I’m so thrilled that you all share your talents with us every month. If you missed this party, you can see 200+ rooms linked up here.

Have a GREAT weekend! Can you believe how close we are to November??