Hey You!

Yeah, you!! I've been hearing quite a buzz about projects some of you have tried. You've painted your cabinets, redecorated spaces, painted a pumpkin, organized closets, and even painted your fridges. If you've been inspired by something you've seen on W Design, send me some mail and some pics. I'd love to hear about your decorating adventures and even show other readers what you've been up to. Contact me at w.design@live.com.

My Father-in-Law is a Ninja

I am so excited. My oldest three children have always begged for bunk beds - begged. Our answer was always the same, "You have very nice beds. You don't need bunk beds." Well, it turns out the kids keep growing {who would have thought?}, and their needs continue to change. While Charlie used to be perfectly happy spread out on the floor playing with Matchbox cars for hours at a time, he's now more interested in drawing and constructing projects that require a smooth, flat surface.

And Greta and Frankie, though their room is big, have a hard time keeping a space clean with toys and clothes and beds and everything else girls need.

So we started thinking, and we thought, "Maybe??? Maybe bunk beds would be handy?" It turns out that bunk beds would be very handy, especially ones that are customized to our exact needs! Charlie doesn't need a second bed, but he could use a bed that's lofted over a large desk. And Greta and Frankie could certainly benefit from having all the extra space that bunk beds would provide. And another idea - what if all three girls shared one large room, and we made Lou's nursery into a play room? We could do a wall of bunks, with one side having a desk/vanity table space on the bottom.

Wouldn't these girls look sweet sharing a room?
How about in their teen years? {We're not thinking that far ahead!}

One problem: bunk beds are pricey, especially ones so specific. The solution: my father-in-law.

Have you met my father-in-law? Dave's dad is a wood working ninja. He has an awesome talent for building furniture. And he's been very generous with building beautiful furniture for us for birthdays and Christmas and even just because. He made a gorgeous baby cradle that each of our tiny babies has slumbered in.

He built our dining table. He built our bar. Ready for this one? We handed him a couple pictures of this entertainment center from the Pottery Barn catalog,

and he made this:

I told you he's a ninja. So my father-in-law has agreed to build customized bunk beds for his favorite grandkids {his only grandkids} for Christmas. They know about it. Oh, believe me, they know all about it, and every single day they inform me that "Grandpa is building us bunk beds for Christmas!" As though I could forget!

So I'm taking this opportunity to make the most of these bedroom transformations and redo their rooms to suit them - their personalities, their wants, and their needs. Of course I'll be painting. And I am so excited. I think I already told you that.

Stay tuned!

Framed!

I love photographs - love, love, love them. I have photos framed and placed all over the house.

My husband thinks I have an unhealthy obsession with trying to get just the right shot. Can you blame me? I'm trying to capture a moment in time! He'll thank me someday. A home filled with photos tells several stories, reminders of people and places and pets and special events - memories. But over the years I've found that photographs aren't the only items suitable for frames. Special letters, love notes jotted down in hurried moments, cards, and oodles more can all be framed, and they all have that same effect of evoking memories and personalizing our spaces.

One of my favorite framed items is my mom's recipe for chili. Before my wedding, I asked her to handwrite several of her recipes for me. Her recipe for chili is a favorite of my husband's and mine, and I placed it in a double frame alongside a picture of her and myself on a day that we were doing some shopping for my wedding.

I keep the frame on a counter in the kitchen. It's both functional and personal; it's something I'll cherish for the rest of my life.

We have a space downstairs that outfits a bar and a second family room/game room/media area, and we've devoted the wall space and decor to photos and momentos from vacations. One of my favorites includes a frame with some memories from a trip to San Juan. My husband and I were there for an evening, a stop on a cruise, and we had dinner at a restaurant called Barrachina. Barrachina's claim to fame is that it's the birthplace of the Pina Colada. Obviously we had to indulge in that! I picked up a business card from Barrachina along with one from a cigar shop we stopped at that same evening and put them, along with a photograph, into a frame to remember the trip.



Cigars and Pina Coladas
Old San Juan
Jan. 2008

In that same room, along with vacation photos {and business cards!}, we've included maps from some of the places we've visited. This is a tradition that started on our honeymoon in Jamaica. A framed map of the country is displayed in the middle of some of our most favorite honeymoon photos.

We bought a map of the Virgin Islands and framed it among pictures from that trip, as well.

One of the most special things I've framed isn't a picture or a map or a card. It's a small pin of a Lily of the Valley.

The Lily of the Valley is the birth flower for the month of May. My father's birthday was in May, and the Lily of the Valley happened to be his favorite flower. He passed away several years ago, and whenever I spot the special flower, I think of him. This one sits on my dresser where I see it everyday.

Letters or quick notes from loved ones also make the list of frame worthy items. They're personal glimpses into special relationships; framing them is a great way to fill your home with memories.

Just make sure whatever note you're framing is something you're comfortable with your grandmother reading when she comes to visit! {It's probably best to keep anything hot and heavy tucked away in a box labeled "Bills and Boring Documents"!}

Of course, you can always get crafty and frame something you made, like the "W" in our master bedroom.

What an easy way to add personality to a space!

I'm kind of on a roll with framing anything other than photographs; I'm even thinking of framing my daughter's school lunch menu. Why not? I look at it Monday through Friday! I think it deserves a frame. What have you framed today?

Trash to Treasure

This is Charlie.

Charlie loves sports. He loves hockey, baseball, soccer, bowling, football, and golf. If it involves running, skating, a ball, a puck, throwing, kicking, shooting, passing, and scoring, Charlie is game. So high up on Charlie's list of most favorites are his soccer balls, footballs, hockey pucks, and baseballs. The problem was, where do we put them?

You know by now how I feel about plastic storage; I wasn't about to go that route. I needed something to keep all of our balls in one place and free from rolling everywhere. And it had to be an attractive solution because, why not? Charlie is crazy about sports, so why not make this storage solution work with his bedroom? I shopped the house {actually, I shopped our storage shed}, and happened upon this beauty:

A metal trash can - perfect! And free! I just gave this stud a quick cleaning and popped it into Charlie's room. Guess what? It's great!

Easy access to hours of fun, and quick clean up, too.

I could spray paint the can black or red or any color under the sun. Or I could paint it with chalkboard paint so Charlie could add his own artwork to it. I could make a little sign out of inexpensive wood and twine and lable it "SPORTS" or "PLAY BALL" or some other witty combination of words. But for now, I like the trash can as it is. And Charlie is ready for some soccer, and football, and basketball, and, well, you get the point.

Stay tuned for more peeks at Charlie's room. Big changes are underway, and I can't wait to share them with you!

Coming Soon!

I'm back from a relaxing weekend away with my hubby and looking forward to a whole slew of new projects. The ones I'm most excited about? The kids' rooms - lots of changes in store, and I can't wait to share! Stay tuned!

Good Clean Fun

Being a lover of homes and decor and texture and details, naturally I love the little things. I'm a believer that adding a wow factor to your space doesn't have to cost a lot of money or be the first thing people see when they walk in the door. Rather, a home's character is hidden in the details, the bits and pieces scattered about. So what's my point? I really love this monogrammed set of soap from Pottery Barn.

As in I really, really love it. I love how fancy it looks just sitting there in that bowl. I love that it's personalized with the owners' initials. I love how it seems so spa-like and pretty. I kept it on my list of things to buy sometime, you know, whenever I have an extra $49 sitting around for six bars of soap {on sale right now for $39!}. A few years ago, in an attempt to satiate my desire for the Pottery Barn soap, I bought bars of plain old Ivory soap and convinced my wonderful husband to help me shave them down so they were at least smooth and nice and looked a little better sitting in a bowl. I placed them in one of the bowls from a Goodwill Hunting trip, but they looked a little sad.

That soap needed help. I still loved the Pottery Barn soap, but I couldn't bring myself to hit "Submit." I wasn't about to carve our initials into the Ivory, either, so I had to come up with a different solution. Besides decorating and organizing, I also love to design cards and invitations. I decided to play around and make my own monogram to wrap around the soap.

Good enough for me! Watch out Pottery Barn; I was motivated now. I used my handy paper cutter to cut some strips from a paper bag I'd saved from the grocery store.

And taped the paper at the back of the soap.

Next I printed my monograms and cut them out.

After using my hot glue gun to center the monogram onto the front of the paper strip, my soap was set.

Back in the bowl it went, and I now had my own spa-inducing set of soap.

Love is in the details! How great would these soaps be for baby or wedding shower favors? For a few bucks, these soaps pack quite a punch. Take that Pottery Barn. {But thank you very much for the inspiration!!}

Stowing Your Stuff With Style

It happens all the time. People complain, "I don't have a good system for storing _______" and "I'm tired of seeing all of the _______ all over the place." You fill in the blanks. We all have stuff to store, whether it's photos, crafting supplies, dog treats, DVDs, Tommy's toys - you name it. The challenge is not only finding a place to store your stuff but also to do it with style. Like Oprah says, "Your home should rise up to meet you" - I believe that pertains to every aspect of your home, storage systems and all.

One of the most common storage solutions is plastic stacking bins, like this one from Target.

Although the price is great and the drawers do keep items separate and contained, it's not the most attractive solution.

A lot of parents have turned to toy organizers like this option from Target.

The 12-bin organizer does allow for storage, but again, it's not the greatest looking item in your home. Not to mention, I hear moms and dads complain all the time about how it's way more fun for their little tykes to take each bin, one at a time, and dump them onto the floor. Nice try, Target.

Enter Ikea. Ikea's take on storage is a line they've dubbed Trofast, and it's a better version of the 12-bin organizing system from Target. Some people love the Trofast system. Admittedly, Ikea has done a good job with providing several pieces, allowing customers to mix and match for their individual space. However, the bins are still plastic and buying several components can be pricey.

The Trofast system does work for some {and I have seen people make it work in attractive ways}, but it still wasn't up my alley.

So having four kids with toys forced me to be creative with storage. And while it seems there are plenty of {plastic!} systems available, none of them scream "Lovely!" to me. Making your home beautiful often requires thinking outside of the box, but in this case it turns out that a box is exactly what I needed to be thinking of. Are you ready for my grand solution? It's something we all have and something available for not a lot of money {if you shop wisely}. Ta-Da! It's the dresser.

Sure, it holds clothes, but why stop there? Lots of sturdy drawers provide a great way to store your toys, photos, crafts, you fill in the blank. And no plastic! And it's a paintable option! I could go on and on. Maybe the best part is that it's cheap - much cheaper than some of the plastic options. Dressers are readily available at yard sales and secondhand shops. Every time I stop at Goodwill I peruse the furniture section, and there are usually dressers available for $50 or less. In fact, I wouldn't pay more than $50 or $60 for a dresser. The dresser we keep in Charlie's room came from my childhood bedroom. It was originally stained oak {which you all know I'm so fond of}. Since it came to live at our house, the dresser has been painted white, blue, and now red. It doesn't matter what state the finish is in. As long as it's sturdy, it'll work. And it's easy to change the appearance. The outside can be painted and the knobs replaced for less than the cost of buying all those plastic Trofast tubs. But enough rambling; let me show you how I've used a dresser in Charlie's room to keep his toys together.

One drawer holds Charlie's mega collection of Tinker Toys {probably the best toy we've ever bought}.

Trains and tracks sit in another drawer.

Our Quadrilla marble run takes up two drawers, tracks in one
and chutes and marbles stay in another.

Automoblox cars and their pieces are kept in a different drawer.

Everything is tucked away but still easily accessable. Charlie {and unfortunately for him, each one of his sisters} knows where each toy collection goes and can grab whatever he wants to play with and return it to its spot with ease.

A dresser or chest of drawers would look lovely in a living room or that right spot in the kitchen or bathroom, as well. Sturdy drawers that a dresser provides are perfect for DVDs, pictures, crafts, sewing fabric, kids' art supplies, etc.

If you still aren't convinced of the wonders of the dresser, let me leave you with this. When you walk into your kid's room, which of these would you rather be met with:


Plastic Containers in the Primary Colors Selection



or Real Furniture?


Do I even have to ask?