Because It's Awesome: October 2014

October 29, 2014

One Room Challenge // Week 5

Oh man, you guys. Before we get into One Room Challengeness, can I just say ROYALLLLLLSSSSSSSSS!!!! Our city is blanketed in blue right now. All blue everything! It's amazing.

Moving on.

Down to week 5 of the challenge.

To recap:

Catch up with the starting point for my master bedroom in week one.

Peep rug, paint color and Ikea dresser inspiration in week two.

See the adjusted plan with a great vintage score in week three.

And peruse lighting, fabric and hardware options in week four.

I was expecting a relatively drama free week five report. And then this arrived.

Quite nice, but that is not a sconce. Which, hey, wrong item. You return it and get your new goods and all is well. Except that it's preeeeeetty late in the game and I must remind you that they only had white sconces in stock. So they need to be painted black and installed before this weekend's photo shoot. Here's hoping the situation has actually been rectified and I get what I ordered this time or I'm in trouble.

In other news, I did get the correct bench fabric and dresser hardware.

Went with the Dodie fabric from Ballard Designs and I. Am. In. Love. I want to reupholster all of the things! Also quite smitten with the hardware results. They're smaller than they were in my head (despite measuring), but that's probably good. You can find all of my favorite hardware options here.

A little sneaky peek of said hardware on the sassy white Malm Ikea dresser:

Ava clearly approves. Definitely no pinched baby digits in our future.

There are still art decisions being made. Originally, I wanted a pretty tight neutral palette so the rug would really sing. (I always love the look of this when I see it elsewhere. Very chic.) But then I came across this special treat over the weekend and I couldn't resist. The palette really complements the colors in the rug, so I'm thinking it could possibly live in our room.

Hard to pass up, right? Neutral with one exception? Pretty sure I will make the call about 10 minutes before the photographer shows up.

I think that's all I have for you guys. I know we originally discussed giving the shoe barrister a makeover, but it was my late grandfather's and I just can't bear to make any changes. Had it been a miscellaneous find, I would be all over it, but I can't bring myself to do it.

Bringing the big guns next week. Hope you guys come back for the big reveal! Thanks for all of the kind comments, support and valuable feedback up to this point. It really makes all the difference.

Time to visit our friends:

Trademarked by Calling it Home

October 23, 2014

Home Feature in KC Magazine

I'm not sure why I feel so sheepish about sharing this. I've been saying for years that one of the items on my bucket list is to have my home published. And, well, I'm excited to say that I actually get to check this one off the list! If you're new to Because It's Awesome, the article, written by Kelsey Cipolla, will give you some background on myself and my design philosophy. And if you've been around for awhile, you finally get a peek into my home.

photo by Jennifer Wetzel for KC Magazine

I'm so honored to be featured in this month's fall fashion issue of KC Magazine. Look! I even did my hair.

photo by Jennifer Wetzel for KC Magazine

I haven't been able to track down a physical copy just yet, but the digital version is available here. I share a spread with local sweethearts Melanie of Style Scout and Kat of GoBlogSocial, and that is a pretty big compliment. You can find the full feature on page 92 of the digital version.

photo by Jennifer Wetzel for KC Magazine

Huge thanks to the fine folks at KC Magazine for tapping me. It's such a thrill! (Click through to see more of my home.)

October 22, 2014

One Room Challenge // Week 4

thinkmakeshare

I feel like today's post should be titled "nothing to see here." Which I know is not a solid way to start a post, but it's kind of the truth. If you're just joining us, you might want to peruse week 1, week 2 and week 3 for a thorough history of where we've been with my master bedroom redo.

For me, week 4 tends to be when things start to fall into place (but you can't show things in place because it gives it all away). It's also the week that you start to freak out over the ambitious list of things you haven't tackled yet (or recently ordered and must now pray for their timely arrival).

There's a term for the latter...It's...Wait...Oh, right. Procrastination.

Which should have been my middle name. But I guess Gwendelyn sounded better.

What do I actually have for you this week? Well, most of the furniture is in place. This ensures that the room is good and lived in before you see it. Because I like these challenges best when it looks like someone could actually use the room.

Outstanding elements from last week:

I considered a LOT of fabrics for the bench at the end of the bed. Animal print definitely reigned supreme with its timelessness and ability to act as a solid. Can't wait to get my final choice! Can you guess which one I went with?

I had a lot of black lighting options to choose from as well.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8

Truthfully, this one had me a little deflated as my favorites were well out of my budget. Reader to the rescue! Thank you, Anonymous (words no blogger ever expects to say), for your suggestion! I had to order them in white, which I'll give a chance just for fun. But they're probably getting painted matte black as discussed last week.

Art has been another slow process for me. Most of my choices are getting vetoed by the other party that shares this room. I want both of us to love what we wake up to every morning, so this may just be a matter of rearranging pieces we already have in the house in the interest of meeting the 6 week deadline. Verdict is still out.

I mentioned last week that I was narrowing hardware choices to customize our sleek new white Malm dresser. Well it's now been selected but I'm still not revealing the final choice just yet. If you follow on Instagram, you'll probably get a sneak peek because I'm guessing that I won't be able to contain myself when that box finally arrives! Here are a few of my faves, which you've likely seen ad nauseum on Pinterest. But they're just that good.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11

Tough decision, right? I basically had to close my eyes and point.

And now it's time for the best part of my day!

Who's doing a better job of procrastinating than me?

Trademarked by Calling it Home

October 15, 2014

One Room Challenge // Week 3

Hello and welcome back to the One Room Challenge! It's week 3, which means we are HALFWAY THROUGH. Bananas. Also, holycrapistillhavealotofdecisionstomake.

To recap in case you're just now joining us: In week 1, we took a look at the starting point for my master bedroom and established a loose plan. You can see that here.

I hate planning ahead. I'm terrible at it.
So when this Sarreid chest showed up in my garage while I was out of town

my plan immediately changed. Because, if you don't already know this about me, I looooooove me some brass in a people-worry-about-me kind of way.

In week 2, we took a look at the rug I chose for the space, narrowed wall color choices to 8 shades of gray, discussed Ikea dresser hack inspiration, and decided on the mismatched bedside tables.

Which brings us to week 3. I could say that I'm very impressionable (and I am), but I was quite literally willing you guys to agree that the room couldn't do without the Sarreid/Saarinen combo. So thank you. I ordered the sexy Astrid Marble White Side Table from ORC sponsor Lamps Plus (thank you, Lamps Plus!!!) and it arrived yesterday. I don't have everything in place, so I can't say for sure that it's the perfect combo....but it is. We all know it is.

Here's the evolution of the room thus far:

I went with Modern Gray on the walls. It's a soothing, barely there gray and I'm really happy with it. Grays are haaaaaaaaaaaard. Finding the right shade takes a great deal of patience and $8358476849 in samples. Here's a peek at the transformation:

Never was able to snap an after photo with good light, but trust that it's purty.

As you can see above, I've opted to skip the painted Ikea hack because I just don't have the strength. (And by "I don't have the strength," I mean my husband doesn't have the time.) But he did have time to decipher Ikea's instructions, so he got to work constructing the Malm 6-drawer dresser and it's looking good!

God bless husbands. Especially mine.

We'll give the dresser a little je ne sais quoi with stylish brass pulls. I'm still collecting options, so let's break that down next week, m'kay?

Since the bedside tables are different sizes and heights, I'm leaning towards sconces instead of lamps. I love the idea of matte black because it's sexy as hell and adds a masculine touch to the space. Something like zees:

Christine Dovey

Because yes, Christine, YES.

David Ross

Elizabeth Cooper as seen in Lonny Magazine

Of course, with a minimal budget, this may mean finding the right shape and spray painting them myself. A girl's gotta eat, you know.

Also, I was able to snag a set of gorgeous chairs over the weekend. I'm thinking one may make it into the bedroom because DANG. My daughter, Ava, even approves :)

I'm finally honing in on art and fabric selections, which I'll be discussing in more detail soon. Is that all over the place enough for you today?? Whew!

Time to check on my fellow participants.

Trademarked by Calling it Home

October 13, 2014

Terrarium Crush

I came across the most amazing succulent terrarium recently and have been obsessed with making one of my own ever since. Add it to the list for the One Room Challenge! (Well, probably. Okay, just a maybe.) I snagged this simple set of glass vases from Ikea for the project. Which means mine will be nothing like the gorgeous examples below, but they are definitely inspiring nonetheless.

images via Boxwood || Zen Succulent || Jacquie Summer

Anybody made their own terrarium (...or air plant rope. What the whaaaa??)? Seems pretty intuitive. I suspect the art is in selecting just the right combination of plants. Any tips?

October 8, 2014

One Room Challenge // Week 2

Hello again! Welcome to week two of the One Room Challenge, where I am making over our master bedroom in six short weeks. You guys were crazy kind last week. Thank you all for your support! We're well into week two over here, and still with many many decisions to make. Those of you that know me probably aren't surprised by this. Those of you that don't know me, that's because I failed to properly introduce myself the first time around. Hashtag dumdum.

I'm Tobe. I am a graphic designer and hand lettering artist by trade. I was one of those kids that constantly rearranged my bedroom, so no surprise that I grew up to find a passion for interiors. Creative frustration led me to blogging almost 5 years ago, and it's been an unbelievable journey ever since. My style is definitely eclectic - if you follow me on Pinterest, you will see a wide range of influences....I'm a big fan of mixing old and new, and I like things to change all. the. time. Which is why I became a vendor for One Kings Lane's vintage market -- to avoid hoarder status as I collect all of the things. (You'll notice that I have a particular weakness for brass.)

Whew. On to the ORC.

Last week I said the goal for this space is comfortable, bright, airy, and very livable. Here's how I'm planning to achieve the look:

- As bedrooms go, I definitely tend to like generally neutral spaces with centralized color on the floor. When my mom and I came across this beautiful Persian rug several months ago, I knew it would be really fantastic in my bedroom. The palette is pretty soothing, but still bright so it's a great fit for the space! Here it is the day I found it:

It's since had a good bath.

- I do love the current color of the room (you can see it again here). However, I'm leaning towards a more versatile light gray. These are a few of my top contenders:

Each has a great deal of depth and range of color at different times of day. I think I've narrowed it down to one, but I'm still a bit on the fence. Here's hoping I have the final answer on the walls next time we see each other...

- The armoires you saw last week are finally outta there, which makes the room feel one thousandy times larger. I debated moving this estate sale score from our guest room:

Quite a few of my Instagram friends loved this idea. (We're friends, right?) And I do, too, because it would be great excuse to finally get it painted. Except our master bath is small and space is limited, so if I can find a fun way to display a few things and free up much needed drawer space in the bathroom, that is most ideal. A low dresser would suit this purpose nicely. Since coming across the right vintage piece could take days, months or even years, I'm leaning towards an Ikea hack. Kansas City JUST got our own Ikea (!!!!!!!!!!!!) and I am dying for the excuse to take advantage. Some of my favorite hack inspiration:

via Glitter and Goat Cheese

via House&Home

via Lonny Mag

via Little House Blog

via Lonny Mag

Bold color? Two tone? Classic with fancified pulls? Not sure I can make a call until the walls are painted. (Nope. Not going to let that freak me out....yet.)

- The current bedside tables are a great style, but the drawers aren't very tall and that has proven tres inconvenient on more than one occasion. I could paint these guys and add some fabulous hardware:

Or go with a mismatched option using tables that I have in inventory. Like zees Sarreid beauty that magically appeared when I was out of town last weekend (thanks, Mom!):

Perhaps paired with a simple Saarinen on the other side?

via This is Glamorous

YUM! I love the idea of mismatched tables bringing a more casual vibe to the party.

Whew. There's still quite a bit to address past these items, but it's even tougher to make those calls without having the big stuff in place, so we'll discuss more next week after I've made some progress.

Things like

- bedding and pillow accents

- bedside lamps

- the shoe cabinet, which needs sprucing

- bench reupholstery - animal print?

- a reading nook...if there's enough space

- curtains?

- solve for a full length mirror (duh. a must.)

Please cross your fingers and toes that much is accomplished this week. Let's go see what kind of progress everyone else has made, shall we? (And did you catch the link-up party last Thursday?? So many great projects going down!! Excited to see everyone's developments tomorrow!)

Trademarked by Calling it Home

October 1, 2014

One Room Challenge // Week One

Hellooooooo. Welcome! I am so very very excited -- and only a little bit scared -- to be participating in the One Room Challenge for the second time around. (You can see my first go at it here.) I long debated whether to start over on our dining room or finally take a stab at our master bedroom....With a tot just over a year old and finally sleeping consistently in her own bed (knock on wood), I'm thinking there's more value in transforming our bedroom into a sanctuary. Outside of a new king bed, this room has not been touched since we moved in almost three years ago.

I think it's time.

Here's where we begin. And I would be remiss if I did not say that I am HUGELY embarrassed by these befores after three years here. Hugely.

That bed just looks so sad and lonely, doesn't it? Cute kitty though.

Books, mags and cords are my nemesis.

The shoe cabinet came from my grandpa's office. Needs sprucing. Bench will get a long awaited makeover.

Flashlight and toilet paper? So prepared for emergencies!

Why even make the bed?

I mean, sort of wondering what I was thinking when I brought this home....

BTW, there's my dirty laundry.

Two armoires?? Yes. Because my husband is attached to the last piece of furniture he can say he picked out himself (before I came along, of course).

Why is the breakfast tray up there you ask? We're not sure either.

Not because we use it for breakfast in bed, I can tell you that.

Truthfully, I don't hate the wall color. I just think the room could use some brightening up.

The moulding and trim are stellar at least.

And here's the rough plan:

I say rough because I am not really one to follow a plan. But for the sake of establishing a general direction, action items are below:

- bring in rug for a pop of color

- paint the room (most likely a warm, light grey)

- remove armoires (One of which is left over from the previous One Room Challenge! We never got it downstairs and out of the house. Oopsies.)

- solve for dresser

- new bedside lamps (gourd or round to counteract all of the boxy elements)

- explore new bedside tables? paint existing?

- account for additional beside storage needs if applicable

- art

- dress up shoe cabinet (wallpaper? paint?)

- reupholster bench - thinking animal print

- create reading nook

- solve for full length mirror with armoires out

- of course, display plenty of brassy vintage accents! #brassforeva

I'm hoping to achieve something that feels warm, bright and airy with color pops, comfortable and, ultimately, very livable. What you see in six weeks will not be staged for photos. It will reflect how we actually intend to use this space...which means I'm solving for the piles of magazines, the kleenex box, laundry basket, etc. Here's hoping I can make it beautiful! Thanks for following along.

Now for my favorite part -- let's go see what the other players are starting with!