Home Inspiration - Fall!

 What's trending for FALL!!!

I know, I know. It's 100 degrees outside and I'm talking about fall already. Well, maybe it's because it's my favorite time of year, and believe me, it can't get here soon enough! Not to mention, the runways and home stores are already fronting their fall designs. So I thought I would give you a little looksy on whats "cool" for fall - See it's helping me think of cool weather already! 

Here a sneak peak at some of the fall trends at your favorite places!

West Elm is crushing on graphite and blue!

Looks like chevron is hanging on as the graphic da jour!

Love the mood this deep gray/blue creates in this bedroom!

We are seeing beautiful global inspired textiles and natural textures.

Pottery Barn is all about wine country inspiration with an artisan's touch! 

They are calling it "Rustic Luxe".

I think just by adding a few rustic pieces to your room you can achieve a warmer more lived-in look, without going over board. Think of things like changing lamp shades to burlap, a rustic wood tray on the coffee table, or worn pieces of pottery.

I soooo want this green glass lamp! 

What can I say I love it all!!!!!!!!

Better Homes and Gardens has a few DIY fall decorating tips using acorns. I love the mix of red and aqua blue as a fresh idea for fall colors!

You could easily duplicate this art piece with simply taking a picture of a beautiful leaf on a background of your choice and enlarge the photo, then frame it in a poster size frame. Hang and enjoy your creation.

I love the simplicity of this easy peasy center piece, it's just branches and painted acorns hanging from jute string.....why haven't I thought of that?! You could also just paint the acorns different fall colors and fill glass hurricanes with them and candles....okay I can claim that one!

Glue acorns to a napkin ring or a wooden ring and you have instant fall decor!

I just love fall!  So even though we are melting in the heat right now, it's good to know it won't be long before the cool weather rolls in and - yes - our homes will be ready! 

Fun "indoor" summer activities, because it's just too hot outside!

We all  want to have a fun summer with the kids, but we can't spend every minute at the beach or pool, and it's just tooooo hot to do anything else! So, what's a mom to do? Well, I came up with some fun "indoor" summer ideas that will help! Mommy to the rescue!!!!!! Most everything is either free or can be found at your local discount or dollar stores! Yep....I'm a super hero!

Indoor camp out! 

Move the sofa/coffee table and set up a tent in the living room. Let it be an all day thing, you'll be surprise at how just a tent can entertain kids for hours!

• Fire up the grill for roasting hot dogs and marsh mellows
• Set up a camp game
• Tell funny childhood or not-so-scary ghost stories
• Set up a movie on the computer or iPad and put it in the tent on a little table for the kids to watch at bedtime. They'll want to do this one again, I promise!

Itza Make-your-own Pizza Party! 

Invite friends to participate in the fun!

• Set up a big table and cover with the fun red and white checkered pizzeria table cloth.
• Give everyone an plane white apron and chefs hat to decorate - these can be ordered on line for super cheap!  go to: http://www.kidsaprons.com
• Set out parchment paper in front of each person and tape the edges to secure in place.
• Purchase the ready made crusts and give each individual 1/2 to roll out and shape as they want.
• Put a long line of ingredients down the center of the table and let everyone make their special pizza!
• Bake and enjoy!

Indoor Scavenger Hunt!

I love doing this one! The kids have so much fun hunting and gathering the items! You can make the hints into riddles, like..."What is black and white and read all over and puts you to sleep each night?" - a book! Just get creative!

Another idea is to hide fun dollar store items around the house and each hiding place gives you a hint as to where the next item is. For instance: "What is tall and big and keeps things cold?" - the refrigerator! On a side note: I do find that I have to have one of the same items for each child or set up a hunt that sends each child to their own treasures! This prevents major arguments....this is suppose to be fun and there's nothing fun about kids fighting! Well, let's get real they will fight about something, but at least you tried!

Indoor Game Day!

Set up games for the kids to play around the house.

• Hop Scotch is easy to do with low adhesive tape on carpet or hard floors use the grid for a bean bag toss, also!
• Set up bowling with a small ball and Solo cups: just keep score with how many cups get knocked down and give each person 2 tries.
• Bucket ball toss: Purchase about 3 to 4 beach buckets put a score value on each one and toss in the ball!
• Set up a table with a board game or two.

Messy Art Day!

For our little ones who love to be creative!

Set up an arts and craft area....and by set up I mean cover everything, cause this one can get messy! Use a plastic drop cloth on the floor and table and then set up the supplies. Gathered everything you can from around the house like scapbook paper, beads, toilet paper rolls, glue, scissors, paint supplies, cups, tin cans, ribbon, etc. You can use anything that you want and let the kids imaginations do the rest!

I hope these have been helpful! I know how frustrating it is to have the kids begging for things to do all summer! So just hit the dollar store and have a blast! And Remember stay cool!

Designing from the heart, progress!

Wow! What an awesome, but busy couple of weeks! We got a lot accomplished in the Castillo home and they are loving their new spaces. God is so good and it was easy to see His hand in this project! Stretching $2000 to do a whole house takes a little divine intervention....don't you think?

Creating Home's goal is to help family's create a home that reflects them and what they love, regardless of budget. And that's exactly what we did! She wanted an orange kitchen and she got one. She wanted her Mexican heritage reflected in her home and we did that! She wanted her love of faith, family, and friends to be the center of the home and that's exactly what we gave her! 

Here is the home we've created so far, with lots of tips on how you can do the same. It's going to be a long blog, so enjoy all the information!

Lets start in the living space!

Here's what we have so far:

The "almost" After. I am in love with the homemade Mexican tile art!

Remember the before!

 We started out with a "storage living room with cold walls with an ivy border. Now the space is a comfortable and warm living space that reflects the families multi-cultural background. Adding the homemade Spanish tile art work, opened the room up to lots of colors! Wall Color is SW Basket Beige, warm but not too dark.
 

Home made Mexican tile art, $64. Here's a how I did it!

First, I found these awesome pictures of Mexican tiles on the Internet....not copyrighted. I had a friend who is a graphic designer tweak them so they would print in larger scale with true color (you don't have to do this step). We sent the images to our local print shop Kinko's and had them printed in 10" by  10" square on photo quality paper, $28!

Next, I went to a craft store and bought 12" x 12" canvases and painted the outside edges and 2" around the outer edges, as well, in dark brown. As the paint is drying, cut the images out of the paper (I used a straight cutter to get a good line). Next, spray an adhesive spray - I tried Mod Podge, but it wrinkled the paper too much - onto the canvas and center the image and affix to the canvas. Allow several hours of dry time before you hang you new art!

Before

Before this recessed area of the room served no purpose.

After

Now there are natural wood shelves for more storage!

Now the area has beautiful handmade bookshelves and an accent of aqua blue, SW Cloudburst. The shelves are perfect for Mom and daughter to put all their books and photos. They love to read! The top shelf is perfect for special treasures!

 

Here's another "how to". Homemade book shelves:

I couldn't believe how easy this was and inexpensive too! Total cost was a whopping $99! I bought 2 x 12 pine lumbar and had the Home Depot cut it into 5' pieces. I bought these simple wood brackets or corbels to support the shelves. Then I sanded the boards with a sander to get rid of any splinter and give me a smooth finish. Lastly, using Minwax's one step stain in dark walnut I applied the stain to the wood with a sponge brush and then wiped it down immediately with a clean cloth to allow the grain to show. I really was that easy and maybe took me an hour or two!

Now just a quick trip to the kitchen, it still need a lot of final touches! But I can at least show you the progress and how we transformed the cabinets!

Before, dingy white cabinets and an 80's Ivy stencil, yuck!

Soft Beige and new hardware make a big difference! SW Macadamia 

 Well what can I say about that kitchen other than gross! The cabinet were dirty and dated and with not budget to replace them, we had to paint! Mom didn't want white or cream, because with a 6 year old and a big dog they would look dirty fast! But I didn't want dark, because we were going for a happy bright feel in the kitchen. This beige was the perfect solution and it's pulled right from the soft beige in the tile floor. Quick design tip: Always remember the floor color you're working with when you are picking colors. 

Here are the steps to painting cabinets:

First remove all cabinets and drawers and the hardware (This makes it so much easier to paint the frames in the kitchen and the cabinets).

1. Lightly sand and all surfaces first for a smooth grease-free finish

2. Wipe them clean

3. Add a good primer using a good brush, let it dry

4. Add your color again using a good brush in nice even strokes for a smooth finish. I used Behr Ultra Premium Plus and it went on beautifully! Sherwin Williams also has a wonder paint for this job.

5. Replace hardware

6. Put the cabinets back on to the frames and enjoy your new kitchen!

Yes, it's a little extra work, but we saved thousands of dollars, our cost was less than $100 for paint and supplies and new hardware was $25. Not bad for a whole new look!

On to the girls room!

Before, scary! I wouldn't want to sleep in here!

I hope she enjoys her new space!

Bright colors, a place for toys, and a bedside table make this space functional and pretty.

We are going to add a hot pink soft headboard to break up the blue.

Now it feel like a little girls room! She wanted to be a part of the design, she even picked her on bedding and made her own art with her friends.

What a tranformation from dark and depressing to bright and fun! We did this for around $150! Again my 10 year old "Designer-in-the-making" put together the plan for this room based on the wishes of the little girl. First the paint made a huge impact. She wanted blue, so Brooke and I pick a soft aqua blue called SW Raindrop. Then we let the little girl pick her bedding and we went from there! 

We added handmade art made by herself, my daughter, and a friend using a paint splatter technique that Brooke devised. Now the art is personal! We added pillows and pin art of flowers and butterflies above the bed to anchor the bed. We found this table at Goodwill for $5 and added this super cute hot pink lamp from Target. We still need to add a few more things to finish off the room and then she will have a perfect space to hang with her friends!

Finally, Mom's space! 

"Every mom needs a place to retreat at the end of the day, and a place to inspire when she's awake."

And this ain't it!

Mint chocolate chip anyone?

This is more like it!

New bedding, Target plum colored quilt set....Mom loves purple, classic silver lamps with linen shades, simple silver frames all create a nice calm retreat feeling for mom at the end of the day!

A soft neutral gray, SW Versatile Gray, sets the mood for this tranquil space! A desk area beside the bed was needed for mom to work in quite. 

The other side of the room was a mess!

Now mom and daughter can enjoy a cozy reading space in her favorite chair! 

Hope you enjoy seeing our progress....I told you I've been busy! All that left is a few finishing touches and they can enjoy their new home! 

Designing From the Heart

Well, I know it's been a while since I posted, but between the end of school and lets just say life, I've been a little preoccupied.  I've also taken on a new project and I wanted to share my new adventure with you. I can't say this is something that came out of no where, but this is the first time I am making something happen.  I have been given the opportunity to help a mother and her daughter at our church make there house into a home. Our church recently had a service day for the community and our motto is "Serve where you are gifted". I thought...hmm, I would love to use my creative design skills some how to help brighten someone's life, and God did just that! He gave me this sweet family and I am thrilled to be helping them.


When I first visited this home, immediately it didn't match the vibrant, loving, and giving personality of this mother and daughter! It was very depressing! Picture this: dark rooms, lots of clutter, white walls, hunter green and dated "ivy" everywhere! 
Well here, I'll show you.

Dark and dingy breakfast area! Yikes, she needs more storage! We'll have to get a storage cabinet for containing the clutter. Dark yukky colors need to be brightened up with happy colors!

The Kitchen...

Dull, Dark, and Dated!

Let's make it light and bright!

The dated cabinets with ivy stencils have to go! Ivy only belongs in the garden...I'm just sayin'! Lets update by painting them all one neutral color and add new hardware to give them a fresh look! A cute valance, a dash of happy color, and a way to contain the clutter!

   The Living Room...

Living room looks more like a storage garage!

The Design Plan

The living room looks more like a storage garage than a warm and inviting place to hang out as a family. I propose a warm color on the walls, comfy sofa, rug and some lamps for that warm homey feeling! We need a good entry catchall piece for bags and shoes and some curtains with color will soften the room.

The Little Girl's Room...

Buy, buy depressing dark cluttered room!

My daughter came up with this plan all on her own! Now it looks like a little girls room!

The little girls room is soooo depressing and doesn't reflect her personality at all! Let's bring in some color and function to make this a place for her  and her friends to hang out. I picked a soft teal blue for the walls that will grow with her...not pink!

BTW, my 10 year old daughter designed the little girl's room plan! Can't wait until she old enough to go into business with me! 

Mom's Space...

Looks like mint chocolate chip ice cream!

 

Tranquil and serene will be soooo much better!

Mom especially needs a place to relax that is tranquil and warm! I love using warm grays and lavenders to achieve this! I will start with a simple quilt bedding set from Target and build around that! I like to bring in that grown-up sophistication with a hit of silver and mercury glass for a little sparkle. Every girl needs a little sparkle!

I am very excited to be doing this for this family and I hope you enjoy watching our progress! We will be painting on Saturday. I will be sure to keep you updated on the transformation!

5 tips to tackle any room on a budget!

I love using natural elements like jute rugs and woven blinds as a economical way to bring in warmth and texture.

We all have rooms we love to hate! But who has the money to make it over? Well, you do and you just don't know it! I did my living room using some of these tricks. You would think I spent a lot of money, but in actuality I didn't! Even on a small budget you can take your rooms from blah to beautiful, by following these 5 budget-friendly tips!

1. Devise a plan!

Never start a project with out a plan! Go through magazines and cut out pictures of things that inspire you and then go from there. Even an inspiration shopping trip can spark your creative juices... just snap a shot of things you love! Because when you have a plan you won't spend unnecessary $$$!

Keep your inspiration photo's in a folder for easy access!

I like using cork boards to pin up photos and ideas.

2. Shop your home! 

You never know what you have lurking in the attic or in storage ready for the next yard sale. Put on your creative goggles and take a "new" look at your "old" stuff!

For instance, the 80's called and wants their lamp back! But wait you can't have it, because with a little spray paint this guy has great potential! 

I primed him first with Krylon spray primer.

Look for things with good bones and classic lines and repaint them!

Look at me I am now! A beautiful lamp with classic lines and a new linen shade! All I did was spray paint him all over with a dark bronze paint and and added classic linen shade. Now he's happy to be in 2012!


3. I love this one! Customize your store bought finds!

I am all the time seeing beautiful ready-made drapes in the stores. But what is the deal with them all being 84"... that's a big "no-no" in the design world! But I don't let that stop me, because all you need to do is add a coordinating fabric to the top or bottom and you've got a high-end custom look that didn't break the bank!

This hand-me-down dining room was the perfect place to do this trick!

When I did this room for the homeowner, I was told at first that they didn't have the budget to do it! But being the first room you see when you walk in, I felt like I had to offer them some economical ways to make it beautiful. We found these ready-made drapes on mega sale at a local fabric store and she loved the pattern. But they were 90" and we needed 96"! All we did was add the brown to the bottom and they worked beautifully! Slip covers for grandma's chairs and a new rug made this hand-me-down boring dining room ready for guests!

If you can't sew, your local tailor can do it for you for usually around $20!

One more trick I use! I used some left over fabric from the curtains and made coordinating pillow by simply making a band around a plain gold lumbar pillow. I even added a trim to give it that high-end custom look!


4.  Can't afford art for your room? Make your own! 

Check out these idea's for inspiration and then make it all about you! After all, isn't that what your home should be about?!

Unexpected objects keep a room from feeling too formal and fussy!

My husband and are wine lovers and we recently took a trip to Napa and came home with these wine crates with our favorite labels. We picked them up for $5 at the wine shops. I stained them a darker tone and then hung them on the wall to display our favorite bottles. I added a butterfly plaque at the top to complete the vignette.

 

Use your vacation finds as art! My kids love to scour the beach for shells, but we end up with buckets full! So before I threw them out, I came up with this idea. I just glued them to burlap and left the glass off of the frame for 3D art!  Now I am reminded of our family vacations every time I look at them on the wall.

Frame pretty paper!

This one is soooo easy! With all the myriad of scrap booking papers available, there is no excuse to not use those beautiful prints in a room to pull your colors and look together. Even wrapping paper and wall paper can make for beautiful and unique art!


5.  Let nature be your guide!

I love using natural elements in a room. So when I am looking to finish off a design, I hit the yard with a basket and cutters in hand! I love using simple branches and greenery from the yard, even moss and lichen add great natural texture to a room! I also use natural woven shades and natural jute rugs as an economical way to design with texture!

Tea Olive branches in small bottles give my entry table new life!

A simple glass hurricane is filled with a birds nest.

As much as I love a glass vase filled with flowers, I can't afford to have them around the house all the time! So I use things from the yard like branches and bushes to fill them in the interim. It's organic and adds life to a room.  I will even simply fill a glass hurricane with a nest or moss, too!

I know that you can do these things! All you have to do is get creative and you can create a beautiful room regardless of your budget! HAPPY DESIGNING!