Inspiration Board

Here's the mood board for my room design. I'm going for a gray palette with pops of bright colors and accents.

Here's what's featured in my mood board:

1. Bed: The headboard design is actually from Brocade Home, their version of Myrica's Sir Elton headboard design. Unfortunately, it's no longer available. *sad face* 
2. Icicle Chandelier: This is perfect touch for the decor in my room. At first I wanted a good ol' traditional crystal chandelier but then wanted something unexpected and found this little guy by accident to replace it with.
3. Candy Bar: The candy bar is just an idea of how I want to kill two birds with one stone. I love to craft and my room serves not only as a place to sleep, but my craft room and studio as well. My plan is to use apothecary jars, cute vases, etc. to fill up with all my supplies and notions (pencils, buttons, strings, yarn, etc) so that it makes a cute display but also serves as storage. 
4. Neon Frames: Cute way to add pop of color and a bit of retro vibe all in one! :)
5. Felt Circle Garland: Just as an example of the color palette I'm aiming for in my room.
6. Ottoman: This is probably the only piece of furniture in my room that is not going to be white. I want this in front of my bed and wanted to add one big color statement piece and think this guy should do the trick. 
7. Curtains: I was having a hard time finding curtains appropriate for the rest of the design and colors in the room and ran into this one in Urban Outfitters. They fit in perfectly! This I think I will buy, but need to find out where I can get them for cheap. They have them in white too. Depending on how adventurous I'm feeling, I might get those instead and dye them to match the color scheme. But for $49 each pair, I probably wont risk it.
8. Bedding: Not really into this, but the colors work great. If I can find bedding with fabric similar to the one on the ottoman, I'd be set!
9. Rug: I'd probably get something with more color in it and fluffier. Tons and tons fluffier. Mmmm....fluffy carpet squishing underneath your toes in the middle of winter.

Well, that's it for my mood board. Now, to actually find stuff that fits in my budget. I've been saving allllll summer long (I'm bad at saving, but I think I've done a great job) and I'm ready to buy stuff. I've made a shopping list at Ikea, but its already WAY over budget. Darn.

Speaking of mood/inspiration boards, check out WakeUpFrankie here for some really great inspirational boards! These are sure to get your design juices flowing, at least they were for me.

Inspiration & Board

For the last few weeks, I've been floating around the web checking out as many room designs as I can to get an idea of what it takes to create the room that I'm dreaming of as well as inspiration. I've found tons of stuff that I feel should be shared since they're just to amazing to keep to myself. Some I wish I could work into my final room design, but then it'd turn into one crazy mess. Anyways, off to show and tell!

Adrianchristian - Rosette Ottoman

I really love this piece! It looks like a delicious wedding cake doesn't it?! Plus she has a wide selection of solid colors so it can fit any decor color scheme (for the wall art, but I'm sure if you send her an email she can work something out for the ottoman). She even has matching wall art too!

Matching Decorative Wall Art

Brocade Home - Laser Cut Rug

I really thought this was very cool idea. You can probably do a DIY version of it using something like a floor mat or so like a sisal rug for those of you creative souls out there.

INSPIRATION

The inspiration of my room came from a headboard I saw by the Swedish designer Myrica Bergqvist. Her website is filled with tons of cool and sleek designs that are also whimsical. I love it! The particular headboard design that inspired me was the Sir Elton headboard pictured below. 

Sir Elton Headboard in White

I knew I had to have that frame no matter what. Unfortunately, being a poor college student, not only could not afford it, but I don't think her designs are available in the US yet and buying it from online and getting it shipped was out of the question. Don't worry though, there's an upcoming tut on how to get that headboard on your hands DIY style for about $80 bucks....so stay tuned in the future. Well, once I had my bed, I felt like everything else fell into place since my bed was my focal point and I want everything in my room to fit in with the design. I'll admit, I was having trouble in color schemes and such but finally decided on my wall colors to be two shades of gray with a zebra pattern on the lower half (I have chair rail moldings). I then ran into this bedroom design by WakeUpFrankie and my inspiration prayers were answered. 

This room was pretty much was I was going for in decor. I wanted a clean palate. My furniture is all white and my walls will soon be a very light neutral gray. I wanted vintage vibe that has been updated, but I also want lots and lots of bright happy colors. I love colors and can't let them go so I had to find a way to incorporate it into my room. I'm working on my mood board at the moment so expect one soon!

Interior Design Tips

So, I'm in the process of redoing my room completely from top to bottom. I've been looking online for design tips and ideas for my room since I want to squeeze as much as I can, but still have tons of room. I've found some really good ideas as well as some interior design 101 info to share with you guys and also to save later on for me to see lol.

My room is about 15ft by 11ft and its pretty much a rectangular space. Since I still live at home, I can change the design of my room too much structurally or my mom, who's very particular about her design, will get mad. In other words, I have this annoying chair molding going all around my room which means I can't put bookcases or other things flush against the wall. I'm going to college too and have tons of hobbies so I need lots of storage space and desk space. I've had the same bed since I was 2 (it has a canopy and its a twin and its so unbelievably little girly like) and now that I'm 22.....its seriously time to to upgrade! I'll post my furniture shopping list up later, but let me get right down to all the cool tips and design help and ideas I've found.

Tips for Decorating Your Bedroom

1. Create a focal point.   This is what you will want people to first see or notice when they come into the room. It should be your wow factor and what draws the eyes. For the bedroom this is usually the bed, but it can be any piece of furniture you want to highlight and show off like a cool armoire or maybe even a painting.  I do highly recommend the bed though.

Source

Source

2. Balance.   I'm not going to get too much into balance, but will let you know that there are three types of balance: symmetrical, asymmetrical, and radial. Click here to learn more. 
3. Color.   Color does a lot for your room than you'd think. Besides creating a certain mood or feel, it can also create or reduce the appearance of space. If you have a small room and want it to appear bigger, lighter colors create the since of airiness which opens up a room. If you have a large room and  want to keep the furniture minimal, I would suggest darker colors since it helps to close the room and make it appear smaller. In my case, I'm going with a lighter color on my walls to help open it up. I also don't get much natural light because of the trees in the backyard so lighter colors will help me a bunch.
4. Organization.   Organization in a room is a big factor! If you want your room to look like a magazine page or a showroom, keep it clean at all times. What separates a good room from a bad room in my opinion is mess. No matter how beautifully designed your room is, if it's messy it loses its touch and looks anybody's ol' room. To keep your room clutter-free and organized shouldn't cost space or design. You'll be surprised of what you find out there and all the wonderful furniture these days that have hidden space. 
5. Accessorize!   Imagine your bedroom as an outfit. You've a great pair of jeans (nightstands) and cute blouse (bed) and some gorgeous boots (dresser, armoire, etc.) with an amazing belt and designer bag to pull it all together (desk, bookcases, any other furniture). Now that you're all dressed and ready to go you take one last glance at the mirror and notice you fell very....bland. You're missing something and then, "Aha!" you realize what it is and quickly run to your stash of jewelry and make-up to polish off your look. Just as your outfit needs a great set of pearls or some really cute earings, so does your room. Accessorizing not only pulls the look together, but it's what makes the room pop!  Thinks pillows, paintings, pictures, great pair of window shades, candles, and the like. All these little details is what makes the room personal too and they're so fun to pick out too!

This is pretty much all I have so far, but check out the links below. Not only are they super helpful, but they teach you the how and why of interior design so you can design your own room. 

• A Designer's World: This blog not only features the basics of interior design (such as rhythm, scale, emphasis, balance, etc.) but also shows you some great examples and gives you some tips. I've learned much from here and it's one of my favorite sites.
• HGTV: Everybody should know this one already. They have tons of pictures and design ideas and tips.
• Kristy Mastrandonas: A great interior design blog to check out for some tips and ideas. 

Project Shoeshine: Part 3

So...what have I been doing for the last 7 days? Thanks to the gorgeous weather (and one freaky thunderstorm/lightening experience) I was able to get tons done!

For starters, I went ahead and took all my cut and drilled plywood pieces and slapped on some wood filler. I used some really weird putty mix thing that my dad bought at Ollies last time we visited them. I hate that stuff and wouldn't use it again even in a tight pinch. It's very powdery once it dries and cakes. I had to use a LOT of it too since I was suuuper cheap and got the underlayment plywood for my project (BAD idea! Just spend the few extra dollars and get yourself some good quality wood! It will save you all the trouble). Anyways, I worked for a whole 8 hours on Monday with filling up all the holes with wood filler and then sanding. I also managed to squeeze in some primer on some of those guys. I used the Mighty Mouse sander from Black & Decker which really saved my life! I used 120/130 grit sandpaper before and after the putty to make sure I got all of the rough bits off.

Stupid knotholes

Why cheap wood sucks....

Wood Putty mix that totally sucked

All putty-ed up!

Don't forget the edges! They love to suck up paint.

Great workout! :) Especially if you go old school!

The next day I spent priming and sanding once again to get a really good smooth finish for the paint. Well, everything but the smooth, I still had really long striations in the plywood that I got too tired to fill with putty....so now my closet is going to have a really 'shabby chic' feel (haha!). I used 220 grit sandpaper after the primer which made it feel as smooth as it can get.

Coming up next is putting it all together! Ooh, so can't wait! I've come up with a really cute idea to finish the edges for my closet as well as the drawers. If all comes out as planned, get ready to see some bling! (hint hint, nudge nudge!)

Handbags Galore!

I'm a bag hoarder. It's a shame since I buy them and then I'm afraid to use them and have them wear out. So, here's my window shopping for the day to satisfy my handbag hunger.

Career Calling Satchel - ModCloth

Sommelier Sophistication Satchel - ModCloth

Project Shoeshine: Part 2

Thankfully the weather was beautiful today despite it being 94F outside, the shade was really cool and there was a nice refreshing breeze. Perfect day for working on my closet!

First thing I did was cut the wood to size....I already did this a couple weeks back and it was grueling work since that day was really hot! I used Otimize Nesting to figure out how to best cut out my parts from the plywood sheet. Here's an idea of what it looked like (only 1 of 3):

OptimizeNesting Cutting Layout

Cutting Layout (on my frist try on MDF which was a total fail)

Anyways, today we just added the holes needed for the shelves that will go on both Units A, B, and C. Unit A is for shoes, so that one had holes drilled into it all the way down both sides. Unit B and C have drawers so I just drilled the 1/4" in. holes about 1/2" deep or so. Since a shelf drilling jig is too expensive. I went ahead and used a pegboard for the job. I cut a 3" wide piece and using clamps, clamped it to the sides to drill my holes. My dad had a drilling press, so I just used that, but you can use a drill and a drill stop (or a piece of tape) for drilling your holes.

I used my CAD model for measurements and and such. For Units A and B, the shelving holes were made between 32 1/4" space.  I didn't drill holes about 6 inches from the top and bottom though since I didn't need my shelves to go that low.

3" wide strip of pegboard used as a shelving drill hole template

Pegboard in action!

You can use tape to let you know how far to drill

Holes for Unit C all done! (ignore the markings, they were big fails that were avoided!)

Well....that's all that was accomplished today. Next up is working on putting it all together.

Project Shoeshine: Part 1

My closet sucks. It's the one part of my room that I've never liked since day one and always dreaded opening my closet doors. First of all, it doesn't feel like a closet at all, but more like an upgraded dumpster with shelving and a clothing rod. So, over the summer, after perusing post after post of DIY's at Apartment Therapy, I some how came up with the thought that "Hey! I can so build my own closet! It's going to be easy!" Unfortunately, not so.....my first try was a disaster and a waste of money, but I've learned a few things.

1. Measure your closet. This is the very first thing you want to do in order for you to be able to plan correctly.  Below are my closet measurements. (It's a very, very tiny walk in closet!)

My Closet

2. Plan your closet layout. I went the easy route and used this website: EasyClosets.com. They have a great selection of closet basics to choose from for your design and it's so customizable to whatever size your closet may be. I was almost tempted to buy right there and then, but the price tag is a big ouch for your wallet. So I just used the design as a idea of where to design from since they give you 3D views  from all angles as well as dimensions and skeletal views. 

3. This is the important part if you're going to make your own closet system from scratch. You  absolutely need a plan....with diagrams! It's a tremendous help and means less mistakes. Thanks to ana-white.com, another blog I've become addicted to over the summer, I've sketched my closet plans in Google SketchUp modeled after the ones from EasyClosets.com. This is where I made my mistakes. I used the ones from EasyClosets as my diagrams and plans but I wouldn't recommend it since it is very general.

Wall B Design using Google SketchUp

I'm not going to show Wall A or C here since you'll see them later on in future posts anyway, but this is just to give you an example of what you want to do. This isn't going to be the final color either, mines will be painted all white in high-gloss paint. 

3. Materials and costs. Once you're done with your plans, SketchUp does a fantastic job of giving you the dimensions using the Dimensions tool. This will help you figure out your cut list. I'm very, very cheap/frugal and couldn't afford to lose anymore money (*cough*lastdisaster*cough*) so I found this site: Otimize Nesting which takes all your measurements and gives you the best cutting layout so you use the least amount of plywood (which saved me tons since I only needed 3 sheets of 4'x8' of plywood for the outer shells). Of course calculate for nails, wood glue, paint, and any other materials that need to be purchased.

4. Make! I'll show you guys this part as I go along. So be sure to check back and check out my closet DIY.