Weekends are for relaxing and putzing around my house. I usually always have some kind of decorating mess going on. I flit between projects with about as much concentration as my dog chewing on her wide array of bones. Neither one of us can seem to choose what we want to work on. But this weekend was beautiful with all kinds of gorgeous sunlight streaming through the windows and I couldn’t have been happier just messing around. And boy did I have a mess. There was potting soil. There was artwork. There were cleaning supplies, coupons and newspapers. Here are a few photos I captured of the weekend. Andi dog and I are both trying to decide what we want to work on. I picked up that green chair (and a bunch of other goodies!) at an estate sale this weekend. For now, it’s living here by the T.V. I (finally!) ordered custom photo mats to frame these scientific posters I bought in Sweden almost a year ago. I can’t wait to hang them! One of my new favorite beverages is this spiced chai tea from Trader Joe’s. (That pile of clothes to the right is freshly folded laundry....
Making a Spring ‘To Do’ List
After a winter that feels like it has hung around forever, I’m more than ready for spring. Spring is a time for planning and projects. For dreaming and getting stuff done. For freshening, sprucing, decorating and digging your hands in the dirt. Doesn’t the thought of spring just make you smile? I’m ready to garden and paint furniture outside and take long walks on warm evenings. I’m ready to sit in my sunroom and listen to the sounds of a spring thunderstorm. Ah. Can you feel it? Spring is almost here! March 20 is the official first day of spring. That means right now is the perfect time to make plans for spring, while winter still lingers just a bit longer. What are you going to accomplish? Making a spring ‘to do’ list helps me remember all of the ideas whirling around in my head. And, it gets me even more excited for spring. (If that’s possible?) How about you make a spring ‘to do’ list with me? It’s fun; I promise. Go on and dig out a pretty piece of paper and get to writing your ‘to do’s. Dream big! It’s almost springtime, the season of new beginnings. Here’s...
The ‘Making Do’ Office
Even though I moved into my rental house back in September, I’ve been holding off on featuring too much of the house because none of the rooms feel complete. Well, I’ve finally realized that they’re never going to be “complete.” So, I may as well just show off what I have managed to do. Decorating has been quite the challenge after my boyfriend and I moved in together for the first time. Meshing our random assorted furniture together has been…interesting. Especially when he refuses to get rid of things like a really (really!) ugly 70s plaid armchair, but that’s a topic for another time. Not too long ago, I revealed how I turned part of an upstairs room into my open closet. (It’s pretty neat.) Well, here’s the other half of the room. The makeshift office. Any of the furniture we didn’t want downstairs, made its way to this upstairs room. I’ve managed to turn it into something that resembles an office. I’m making do right now, but I have better ideas. For one, I have big plans for a whole new desk. I hope to get going on that project at some point. I’ve outgrown this midcentury desk with...
Weekend Finds: Junk-to-Treasure Estate Sale
I hadn’t planned on checking out any estate sales this weekend, but I drove by an estate sale sign on Saturday so, of course, I had to stop. I’m sure the sale was great when it started on Thursday, but as of Saturday it was slim pickings. Don’t get me wrong. Usually I like junk. But, I like what I call, “good junk.” These are items that have the potential to be awesome but you can’t see it right away. Maybe because the item is covered in dirt or a bad paint job. Think chairs with a good structure but chipped paint or a picture frame without the glass. That’s “good junk.” What was left at this sale was just junk. (Or, really expensive items.) I thought I was going to leave empty-handed until I dug through a pile of fabric and pulled out a few sweet swatches. I love how they all go together. And, I also grabbed a small glass jar. Here’s what I found: Five fabric remnants: $3.75 Glass apothecary jar with lid: $1 The estate sale was held by one of my favorite estate sale companies in the Kansas City area, Brown Button Estate Sales....
Decorating with Greenery
If you lack a green thumb but like the look of houseplants, then you’ll want to use this simple trick. This is by far the easiest (and cheapest) way to add some green to your home. You don’t have to buy plants. You don’t have to buy flowers. You don’t have to grow anything. Ready? Huh? Huh? Here’s what you need to do. Go outside. (Bring scissors.) Snip some trimmings from evergreen plants in your yard (or a nearby park). Run inside so the neighbors don’t see some crazy lady trimming bushes in her slippers. Or, is that just what I looked like? Once safely inside, slip your trimmings into your favorite mason jars or vases. You’ll get the “look” of luscious green plants without having to give the TLC required to keep them alive. I’m getting a lot better at keeping my houseplants alive. But I like the ease of just heading outside to snip a bit of greenery and using the trimmings to decorate my home. When I’m craving something fresh in my house, but I can’t really justify the unnecessary expense of buying flowers, this is the perfect solution! This is about as easy as it...
Weekend Finds: Winter Estate Sale
You know you’re really into thrifting when you’re braving the snow and scoping out the seriously slim pickings of estate sales during the winter. Last weekend I stopped by a local estate sale that was pretty junky–my favorite kind! Here’s what I found: Large wire basket, $1 Fish posters, $1 4 metal bookends, $1.50 My favorite days to go to estate sales are on Saturdays and Sundays because everything is usually half off or discounted even more. Check out past weekend finds! Have you hit any estate sales this winter? Tell me about your favorite estate sale finds in the comments. Keep Up With Red Leaf Style! Follow Red Leaf Style author Kirsten Hudson on Twitter @kirsten_hudson, Google+ and Pinterest....
Easy DIY Key Garland
It’s almost Valentine’s Day and I haven’t decorated my home at all. I’m not big on tons of frou-frou décor anyway, but it is nice to at least recognize the holiday. So, I put together this quick project. It’s a decorative key garland. In honor of Valentine’s Day I’m thinking of it as a “key to my heart” garland. (Any other time of the year it can just be a plain ol’ key garland.) This do-it-yourself key garland is about as simple to make as it gets. Take some twine and some vintage bone keys, loop the twine through the keys, string them up and you’re done. When I think about it now, it might seem kind of strange that I just happen to have a bunch of old keys stored up waiting for me to use them in a project. You don’t have things like that just laying around your house? In that case, you can definitely scope out antique malls, thrift stores and and secondhand shops for a few of these vintage gems. They’re not too difficult to find. Would you do this five-minute project? Do you have an obsession with old keys too? I want...