A girlfriend and I were just talking about how "modern" (and I use that term verrrrry loosely) don't ever seem to have a dedicated spot for a broom, mop, vacuum, etc. Why is that? Seriously?! I'm sure MOST of use would kill to have just a little cabinet, like 12, maybe 18", to house those items right in the kitchen where they're most likely to be used. But nooooo. We've all got completely useless cabinets above our fridges, but a useful cabinet is too much to ask for. I'm willing to keep the mop and the vacuum a little out of the way, but I use the broom at LEAST a half dozen times a day: it needed to have a home in my kitchen.
I have no idea how I thought this up, but it occurred to me that I could buy myself an inch or two if I scootched my fridge to the right. JUST an inch or two, but that was all I needed. So scootch-scootch, bought myself two inches and the broom slides in neatly next to the fridge, with the dust pan tucked right above. They pretty much blend in (probably more if they weren't, you know, cherry red), they're within arm's reach, and I didn't have to change anything to get them that way. You never know, maybe you can buy yourself some room there, too. And hey, if you do end up storing something there, let me know.
"How do you keep up with the dusting, living next to a field?"
The downside, maybe the only downside to living with THIS in your backyard? The potential for dust. It's beautiful, but a canola field isn't exactly conducive to a tidy home, y'know? But I'll let you in on my secret weapon: no. dark. surfaces. You wouldn't know it to look at my house, but I love dark woods: espresso, mahogany, you name it. What I don't love is feeling the need to give myself the full Silkwood every time the sun catches a surface the wrong way. Dark surfaces act like a mirror, not only highlighting anything light that lands on them (like crumbs or dust or animal hair) but magnifying it! This is one of those times when you're going to need to choose between style and practicality. If you LOVE dark surfaces and can't imagine living without those coffee-coloured floors, knock yourself out. In that case I STRONGLY suggest going with something with as much texture to it as possible. The smoother and glossier the surface the more every crumb will be screaming "CLEAN ME!"
Oh, electronics, my love/hate relationship with you never ends does it? No matter how well put together a room, the minute you go to plug all your "stuff" in, you run the risk of detracting from all your (or your minion's) hard work. Seriously, when did an ugly black cord ever ADD to a room? Um, let's go with never. I'm convinced that a big part of why people tend to rely on those huge entertainment units is that it mostly takes care of your cords and cables problem, hiding them away behind their bulk. But it doesn't have to be like that, kittens! I've got this cute little number as a media stand:
And look! Not a cable or cord to be seen (or barely, anyway)!! "But all that open space, Leah! I must have way more cables than you because I could NEVER do that with mine!" Lies. You can, and you WILL tackle the rat's nest of cables at the back of your tv, and I'm gonna help!
I'm an evengelical yoga bitch. I tell anyone who will listen about it's benefits. I'm annoying, but well-intentioned. To say that having a yoga practice (ugh, even TYPING out "practice" made me cringe at how pretentious it sounds!) has improved my life and my health is a total understatement.
One of the things I find beneficial is that it's never stopped challenging me. I've never gotten bored. The challenge isn't about how many more sets you can do, or how much further you can go. For me it's almost completely psychological. I mean it's cool to see your body do new things, but getting over the mental roadblocks that prevented you from getting there, well that's the real accomplishment. Learning to focus, NOT to multitask. Learning to breath. Learning to take risks. These aren't things that come easily to me. And maybe the biggest one: learning to set aside your ego, to be willing to look ridiculous. To accept yourself as you are NOW.
I'm trying to focus more on my health after having backslid for a couple of months, and yoga is my go-to "hard" workout. It's the one that I can NOT half-ass. It's just not even possible, at least not without injury! I'm lucky in that while my general fitness might decrease (my endurance and cardio drop), I'm usually able to hold onto most of my flexibility and strength, not to mention the knowledge that comes from years of practice, and I can usually jump back in (no pun intended). Basically this means that I can't run to save my life, but after a half dozen workouts, I can get back to what I'd consider a decently challenging routine. Recently I've been adding these crazy "yoga pushups" and "yoga mountain climbers" to my routine, along with more arm balances like this one:
Some of the reasons that poses like this are challenging aren't because you need to be flexible, or because you need arms of steel, but because you're core needs to be BAD ASS. You try that mofo without with pulling everything together first, and pain. Pain will be coming.
Along the same lines is my next challenge: headstands. This is definitely a case of needing the extra core strength but mostly? I just need to quit being such a weinie. Those suckers scare the crap out of me! If I can get all the way up there, I'm ok, but the idea of basically flinging your limbs over your head, upside down, ON YOUR HEAD is scary as hell. I was totally that kid that, in gym class, would run right into a handspring and bail at the last second, usually wounding myself in the process. But you know what? That's why this is the perfect "next step" for me. I know how to increase my flexibility, my cardio, and my strength. Really, I could do most of that by running. Why I do yoga is because it scares me. Because it challenges me to push myself outside my comfort zone. Because it forces me to look ridiculous. Because I often stumble over and over and over again, before I can log even the most basic attempt. Because as bad ass as I think I look in that pic above, I look like a drunken wallabee attempting a headstand. Because being forced to set aside your ego, is good for the soul.
So I pulled off a "sort of" head stand today at the gym, and I'll keep trying, and I'll keep being humbled. But one day, probably sooner than I would have thought, I'll be back to feeling like a bad ass. In the meantime, I'm gonna keep watching this video and trying to rub the burn off my ego:
You know you've got little girls when organization their paper doll collection takes on epic proportions. Seriously, where in the hell did these all come from?! Fifty tiny paper shoes??? wtf?? Well, this is what I came up with: small stuff in clearly labeled envelopes, bigger stuff in freezer bags, then the whole shebang will go in one clear plastic bag. Yeah, if I really wanted they could all have cutesy labels, but my level of motivation is somewhere around the Peg Bundy level today, so that's not happening. How about you? Any wicked-good ideas to store all this shizz?
A little cool, minty, colour inspiration goodness for this lovely summer day! The great thing about mint, aqua, turquoise, et al is that they're able to straddle both cool (greys, blues, navies, etc.) and warm (reds, oranges, browns, yellows, etc.) colour palettes, making them fantastic choices for home accessories.
When my overwhelming cheapness confronts my white shirt fixation, bad things happen. Bridges fall down. People lose their sight. Cars spontaneously combust. Basically it`s a conflict that I just don`t even bother denying anymore. I've accepted that after less than six months the majority of white shirts I buy will be good for nothing more than workout shirts. And only "at home" workout shirts at that. So I try to buy fewer white shirts, I TRY to keep them crisp and pretty and blue/white, but to no avail. Dingy, gnarly and blegh. So I was stoked to read ecstatic reviews of Resolve Crystal White. This was to be my "whites" salvation.
Seriously, I have a white shirt obsession. My Pinterest rats me out everytime.
Well, I followed the instructions to a T. In my load I had items that just needed spot removal (stains that I assumed were "set", not just something easy.), sort of dingy whites, and ts with the dreaded gnarly underarms. As a spot treatment it worked pretty well; little old stains came out and the mascara smeared all over my pillowcase (classy, I know) was totally gone. In terms of brightening up the whites, honestly, I didn't notice much of a difference, which was major bummer since this was one of the benefits that I've never found in another detergent either. But what actually sold me on this product was it's effectiveness on the underarm area. I've tried EVERYTHING to get those stains out. All the old wives' tales on the internet (damn you, Pinterest! You have failed me!) everything detergents and stain remover, but nothing has EVER worked. Suprisingly, this stuff REALLY did. It's not TOTALLY gone, but there's a solid 90% improvement! I'm thinking that if this was used regularly as a specialized stain remover for that purpose you could easily save your whites!
In short, if you're the kind of person willing to shell out for specialized cleaners, this certainly does it's one job (perspiration stain remover) very well. Otherwise, it's just a decent detergent with an extravagant price point.
I've been trying to decide what to do with my Ikea Bosse stools that I managed to score in the "as-is" section for $15 each. I've stained them a dark chocolate brown, but to be honest, I'm not even done them! They still all need at least two more coats PLUS poly! But I got so tired of the project dragging on forever that I put them back in the kitchen until I made a solid decision. I've tossed around the idea of painting them but I'm afraid to commit to that much colour in my kitchen. My original inspiration was this image featuring the same stools in a vibrant red/orange:
Image found at: theinspiredroom.net
I've thought of a bright cherry red, but that seemed like too much. Aqua? Still too much. The stools are quite large, after all, and with four of them they take up a good bit of visual space, especially against the solid white of our kitchen peninsula.
Now don't ask me why, but for some reason this image showing up in my newsfeed this morning just made my decision for me:
So let's see where we're at, shall we? So you've cleaned up and thouroughly purged your space, getting it down to the bare essentials and the things you genuinely like/love; you've taken stock of your flooring, the second biggest surface in your room, figuring out whether it's warm or cool, and how to work with it; you've chosen a wall colour, between warm and cool, light and dark; and you've made sure that you've got some furniture basics, namely seating for at least three adults, "landing zones" for that seating, and something to set a tv on. Ideally your room shouldn't be looking too bad, right about now. Afterall, if you've followed the previous steps, you now like/love the stuff that's in there, it's functional, you love the wall colour; things are coming along! Next up: let's figure out the plan for furniture.
At this point it's important to step back from the room and really assess what furniture will add to the space, and what would just be... there. Basically you want pieces that will balance out the room, and hopefully have some sort of practical application. The pieces typically up for consideration will be: extra seating, display shelving, additional tables.
Extra seating is almost always going to be your biggest expense in the room. It's also some of the bulkiest and it's more difficult to get home (you don't usually find an armchair in a flatpack from Ikea, you know?) The question you want to ask yourself is "Do I NEED extra seating?" Do you entertain often? How many people use the room regularly? Is it WORTH it? Even if the room seems a little empty, there are ways to deal with that without adding pieces that you don't use. Do NOT buy extra seating just to fill in space. Even in a large space, if you don't use it, don't buy it.
Alright so maybe you DO want/need it, what now? Well, now it's time to assess your layout. The fact is that most other pieces of furniture can either be tucked against a wall or in a corner, or are going to need to relate back to your seating. Where you put that seating really sets up the whole room. Now without seeing your home, I can't really give you a universal guide, but I'll try to give you a couple of common scenarios that might help.
Regardless of whose room I'm in, I try to keep three things in mind:
What's the first impression of the room. In other words, what do you see right when you walk in?
Where will the tv go? Even if it makes the most sense of paper, you need to make sure that a tv is NOT directly opposite a window since the glare is usually a deal breaker.
What will people using the room see? Find "your spot" and take a seat. This is your point of view, so you might as well make sure it's pretty!
This room is laid out, to scale, as a small-ish 12ftx12ft space, one window, one door. This would be a SUPER basic layout for you, seating for 5, one table and a spot for the tv. You could easily swap out the two chairs for another couch or loveseat. One of the nice thing about two chairs is that it gives you more options down the road. They can stay together, they can be in opposite corners, you can keep one in this room and move one to a bedroom as an occasional chair, etc. One of the other things it does is provide more visual interest: more places for cushions, etc. That said, this is where taking into account how you use a room is important. If you're a family of 5, you might prefer a sectional for cuddling, for example. Or even if you're just two adults, you might both want a couch to sprawl out on. Buy what works FOR YOU.
Along the same lines as using a vintage dresser as a media stand I've got plans to write up some tips on what makes for a good second-hand/vintage find, but for now I thought I'd share one of my favorites with you: my china cabinet turned extra kitchen cabinetry.
If you've read parts 1 and/or 2 of the Layman's Guide, I'm going to assume (probably a stupid thing to do) that you've managed to purge the room you're concentrating on, getting down to just the things you love/absolutely need, you've accepted your flooring, be it tile, or wood, or laminate, or carpet, and you've chosen a paint colour that plays to both the room's strengths as well as to your comfort zone. Annnnnd time for more assumptions! Let's assume that you now fall into one of three camps:
I LOVE my furniture and I want more just like it.
I can deal with my furniture, but it's not my favorite. How can I make it more "me"?
I have no furniture! Where do I even begin to fill up a WHOLE ROOM without going broke?
Should you find yourself thinking "I HATE my furniture. How in the heck do I work with this?" I STRONGLY suggest going back and re-reading part 1. I KNOW it seems daunting to get rid of so much stuff, but living with crap you hate isn't doing you any favors. All you REALLY need in a livingroom (which has been our basis for this plan) is a couch, and probably something to set your tv on. That's it. Yeah it can feel like you're a college student again, but so what? It's temporary, I promise.
I know this will go against what you often see on tv, but let's face it, for most folks nowadays, watching tv is the main use for the livingroom. Number #2 would be entertaining. So any furniture layout/plan should take those two things into account. Ideally you want an appropriate amount of seating for the company you entertain and "landing zones" to accompany that seating (more on that in a bit).
Regardless of which scenario you found yourself agreeing with above, I would suggest the following pieces:
Seating for at least three adults. Even in the tiniest of apartments, you can make this happen. At a minimum this will imply either one larger sofa/sectional (3 people), a loveseat and chair (2 + 1), or three chairs ( 1 + 1 + 1)
SOMEWHERE to set down a drink. You might surprised to learn that I don't think a coffee table is always a necessity. The fact is, most of them take up valuable floor and visual space. As long as you've got a shelf or side table within reach where you or your company can set down the remote, a coffee cup, or a wine glass, you're good. Even in a larger space, sometimes the open floor space can be more valuable than the IDEA that everyone "needs" a coffee table. When we lived in smaller homes, I found the open space invaluable as a play space for the kids, not to mention the perfect place for me to flip out my yoga mat without rearranging furniture every day. My point is not to always go by what everyone SAYS you should do, but with what actually WORKS for you and yours.
Admittedly these are all images from bedrooms, but the same idea would be great in a livingroom as well. It clears up floor space and adds visual interest, often for less than the cost of end tables (which tend to be freakishly expensive considering their diminuitive size.)
Images found at: freshhome.com, nextelements.com, and lonny.com
Alrighty, so if you've read pt.1 Be Ruthless you'll know that the first step was clearing everything out, and getting down to brass tacks, namely only the things you truly LOVE or NEED in a room. And now there's a good chance you've got one EMPTY looking room! But fear not, we're gonna start working on that! At first I was going to write about discovering your style, but here's the thing: that can change... weekly. And most of us can't afford to be swapping out major items every time we see something new on the ol' Pinterest. Now that doesn't mean that you can't embrace those changes of heart, but be smart about it. Start with a base that you can add to or alter to suit your mood, your style, even the seasons, or the changes in the light. Basically, you want to build a base consisting of furniture, flooring, and paint that you'll like, no matter what.
So, first thing's first:
When picking a colour the first thing I would suggest doing is looking at your floor. First: is it staying? Like I mean, RIGHT NOW, not in six months or a year, is this the floor you're stuck with for RIGHT NOW? If you're replacing it in the next week, lucky you! But, if you're like the majority of kittens reading this, chances are, since it's decently expensive, time-consuming and an all-around pain in the ass, the floor's staying. All right, no big. So take a good look at it: tile? laminate? carpet? REALLY look at it. What colours are in there? Because NO, you can't just cover it up; your floor is the second largest surface in the room and you will ALWAYS be better to work with it than against it. Even a butt-ugly floor can be worked with if you're savvy. Alright, so what's going on down there? Is it beige? Ok, HOW beige? Like are there pinkish undertones? Greys? Greens? Make sure to take this into account. Same goes for tile, or wood, or laminate. Don't just assume that it's "brown". What KIND of brown? Does it have red-ey undertones, maybe orange? How about bits of grey? Alright. Cool. Write that down (or lock it in the brain bank, or note it in your iPad. Whatever.)
Next up, take a look at the furniture you've already got: mostly dark? white? black? Same deal, don't just assume "brown", but what KIND of brown? Here's the thing, anything with red or orange undertones, like cherry, mahogany, or oak will have those undertones emphasized when you put them against anything with matching warm tones. "Warm tones" is anything in the red/orange/yellow/brown/tan family. If you heart those warm tones, you're on the right track. If they make you twitchy head on over to the opposite end of the colour spectrum: "Cool tones". This would be most of your greys and blues. These tones tend to neutralize warm colours. No need to lock yourself in just yet, just try to decide whether you're more comfortable with "warm" or "cool".
Confession time: you might be thinking "What about green? I love green! I want green!" Yeah, well, green is an asshole. Sorry. Green is one of the most difficult colours to get "right". It can change from barely-there-mint to ewwwwwww-snotty-yellow just with the changing light through the day. It's not ANYWHERE as neutral as people give it credit for being. It's unflattering to skin tones and whites (it tends to lend a yellow-ish tinge to everything). I'm not saying to avoid green altogether, just as a paint colour. Include it in pretty greenery, in textiles, in paintings... just NOT ON YOUR WALLS. Still want green? Go nuts. But you've been warned *insert ominous music here*.
Alright so you've picked sides, now let's narrow it down some. To make it super simple, you've got three options: light, dark, or mid. Here's the thing, a dark paint colour doesn't always make for a dark room, nor does it necessarily make a room look smaller. The key is to think about what's already in there in terms of the floor, the lighting and the furniture. If it's mostly dark, well then so will the room be, which is FINE. A darker room full of rich deep tones can be cozy and eveloping. But if bright and airy is more "you", stay away. That said, if the floor/natural light/furniture trifecta tends towards "light and bright" you can probably get away with a dark colour on your walls. For example, our walls are EXTREMELY dark navy, the last shade before full-black, but our rooms are flooded with sunlight and all of our furniture is white, so it all balances out. In fact the dark walls really emphasize all of the white, making it just gleam, and if anything, the room seems that much brighter than when the details all blended together.
Image found at elementsofstyleblog.com and decorpad.com
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