Well, I could go on an on about how sorry I am that I’ve left y’all hanging the past couple weeks. I could talk about the babymoon we went on to Asheville, having my first baby shower, working like crazy on the nursery and all the other things in my life lately, but I won’t right now.

Instead, I’ll share a project with you. You guys know how much I LOVE an organized closet so when I started designing the nursery, I knew it was the first place we had to start.

Girl + First Grandchild on Both Sides = Lots of Clothes

I mean, really I had no choice but to re-do the closet. A couple tiny rods just weren’t going to cut it. Here’s what we started with.

My first step whenever I’m working on a closet is to paint. I’m still loving the Fashion Gray color we’ve used on our other closets ( here & here ) so on went the paint. We’re still on the same gallon we used for the other closets so even better than a painted closet was a “no extra money out of pocket” painted closet. My favorite kind.

My handyman taking out part of the basboard so the units could mount flat to the wall.

The next step was to actually source materials for a built-in closet on a DIY price. Enter ClosetMaid. After looking around, ClosetMaid had the perfect mix of units to customize the closet. I also found Lowe’s had the best prices and since we used our Lowe’s card, we got an extra 5% off.

(Disclaimer: We definitely don’t believe in buying now paying later. We simply use the card for an extra discount and then turn around and pay the bill immediately. Trust me, no design project is worth going into debt over!)

A few hours later and this is what we ended up with!

There’s still a lot of accessorizing to do. I have fabric bins to put in, labels to make for the drawers and sizing labels to make for the rods, but you get the idea. The best part of the closet is that it can grow with her as she gets older. Once she’s old enough to get ready on her own, the bottom six drawers will be re-labeled with days of the week (Sun-Fri) and we’ll put her outfit for each day in the specific bin. That way she can learn to get dressed on her own. Oh, and for those wondering if I can do math (7 days, 6 drawers), Saturday will be a free day.

We can also easily remove a couple of the rods to accommodate adult sized clothing down the road. I’d rather have more rods now since her clothes are tiny than large rods that leave awkward spaces in the middle. It’s all about customizing to what you need right now!

I’ll share more pictures as I get things finished. Right now we’re in the middle of working on a big project for the rest of the nursery but once that’s done, I can’t wait to share!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Our was filled with football, surprise dinner dates and lots and lots of crossing things off our to-do list. We finally had our new mattress delivered so we also got to do a little work on the guest room. I’ll share an “in progress” picture this week. There’s still a lot to be done, but we’re getting there!

Today, I want to share with you a moodboard I recently completed. This living room was for a client who liked lots of different accessories and pieces of furniture, but wasn’t sure how to pull it all together. This client was a perfect candidate for e-design. The e-design option gave her a direction for where to go and how to pull the entire room together at her own pace.

I have to say (and I know I say this with all my designs), I love this room. Cozy, modern and easy to change up if she ever gets tired of yellow. The client has already ordered the sofa and a couple of the chairs so I can’t wait to see how it all turns out!

If you’re having a hard time figuring out a direction to go with a room, e-design is a perfect option for you! Email me for prices and more information at SomethingLikeThatDesigns@gmail.com

The window/door installation is FINALLY done! Amen!

It feels like forever since we started pricing different companies and getting estimate after estimate. It was a pretty clear choice who we went with in the end as a couple of the other companies made the mistake of saying these things to me,

“When are you guys wanting to have kids?”

“How much did you pay for your house?”

“Honey, sweetie, sugar, etc.” {Do NOT call me anything other than my name!}

“Well, we sell this type of window but it’s not really good. This other kind is better.” {Umm, ok. No thanks.}

As you can see, it was an interesting few weeks with window salesman. Oh and never forget to ask for a better price. I managed to get an extra $400 off just for asking. I told y’all I’m cheap.

Here’s the before picture of our living room…

And here’s the after! It’s so much lighter and brighter! In real life, the screens on the bottom of the windows aren’t very noticeable and we decided to go with a 3/4 glass door instead of a traditional french door for a different look and LOVE it. The window shades were a steal from JcPenney on sale for about $13 a shade! We still need to repaint the entire room and get some curtains, but what do you think? Big transformation, huh?

Oh, and I also finally found the perfect cushion for my $10 thrift store chair I shared a while back. The cushion was 50% off at World Market (my latest obsession) so for the chair and the cushion, I only paid $25! Score! It’s currently sitting in the guest room but will make it’s way to the kitchen at some point.

There you have it, a completely random house update. I have a few more projects to share, including an update on our guest room so stay tuned!

I hope everyone had a fun and productive weekend and survived Monday! We’re up to our eyeballs in projects over here. Between doing work for clients and starting a few new house projects of our own, I’m seriously dreaming of lamps and chairs at night. This morning we’re finishing up our new window/door install so hopefully I’ll get to share a picture with y’all tomorrow. It’s amazing what changing a window can do for a space!

Until then, I want to share a fun take on one of my ideas that a reader sent me. A couple days ago I received this message from Astrid,

“These pillows are the result of combining your posts on how to turn a placemat into a pillow plus your news of a sale at World Market! $2.50 each plus the cost of batting for 2 new pillows for under $10. And just the splash of fun and color my apartment needed I also picked up some new patio furniture. Love reading your blog. Keep up the great tips!!”

Didn’t she do a great job?! I had to stop myself from running out of the door and going back to World Market as soon as I saw this picture. Two pillows for under $10, yes please. Thanks for sharing, Astrid!

If you have a project you’d like me to feature, email me at SomethingLikeThatDesigns@gmail.com !

Yesterday I started a fun new project so today it’s only fitting that I finish up sharing an old one. In case you missed the other parts, you can find the entryway { here } and the living room { here }.

I’ve said it before, but I really, really enjoyed working with this couple. Great clients always make for even better projects! The last room I’m sharing today is the master bedroom. They wanted a relaxing retreat and that’s just what they got. Here’s what we started with…

And here’s the plan, Stan. (Or umm, just put in your name. Only if it rhymes, though.)

(That limits it to man, wham, bam, Sam, ham. If your name is ham, you’re parents were just mean.)

Tada!

 It’s been scientifically proven that your sleep with improve if you love your bedroom. And by scientifically proven I mean, I said so. It does make sense though. If you feel relaxed, it’s easier to sleep. Beautiful bedrooms = total relaxation. Enough said.

What do you think? Does this room just make you want to curl up and take a nap?

Do you remember this picture from earlier this week? Well, I’m about to let you in on a little secret.

See that artwork on the wall? Well, here’s the secret…

Ikea Frames + Decorative Paper = Affordable Art

Yep. Affordable, easy and customized. I think that’s starting to become my motto. For this space, I wanted to fill the wall without making it look cluttered. Using all white frames and muted tones helps to create a beautiful space that doesn’t command too much attention. Gorgeous, no?

The best part is that no one else will have a wall quite like it. You could frame wrapping paper, old maps, scrapbooking paper or the pretty decorative papers you can find at speciality art stores. The options are endless!

So let’s have it, what would you want to frame?

Since they say a picture is worth a thousand words, I’m going to let the pictures do the talking today. A couple things to keep in mind when you see the final room pictures: 1) we had just laid the rug down so if it looks bumpy, it’s because it was rolled up, 2) the lighting still hadn’t been installed so you’ll see a stray wire here and there. Nothing to fret about.

Ok, so here’s a quick reminder of the moodboard I revealed yesterday…

And here it is finished!

 Wouldn’t you just love to call that room home? I have to admit I’m a bit jealous I can’t live there. Comfortable, classic and a bit of whimsy. What more could you want?

Was last week weird for anyone else? It felt unusual to celebrate a holiday on a Wednesday and then resume the usual work week after that. I think if a holiday falls in the middle of the week it should be law that you get the rest of the week off. Amen?  

Ok, good. Now that I got that off my chest, I’m here to share another moodboard! Remember this {entryway moodboard} that I shared a couple weeks ago? Well, this is the same project. This time I’m focusing on the living room.

The clients already had a lot of great items to work with: gorgeous gray sofas, a pretty wood coffee table (that the client made herself!), and a layout that worked for the space. They needed help with lighting, artwork, floor covering, pillows and accessories. Here’s what I came up with…

A classy, fun space for a classy and fun couple. I’ll be back tomorrow to share a few pictures of the finished space!

Today I’m excited to give you a tip on how to find a great rug in a custom size for a great price.

Great rug. Custom Size. Great price. Does it get any better than that?

In the entryway that I designed, I needed to find a floor covering that fit the unique space. I was looking for a rug that was nearly 15ft. long but only about 5ft wide. Not only is that harder to find, but it can get extremely costly. We’re talking in the thousands. I also needed a smaller rug in the same pattern to fit the smaller area at the end of the hallway. That’s a pretty specific set of requirements.

To get exactly what we needed, I would have had to custom order a rug and, well, that just wasn’t in the budget. Luckily, I managed to get the exact two rugs I needed for a fraction of what a custom rug would have cost. How?

Enter, my secret weapon. Carpet tiles. Yep, carpet tiles. That gorgeous rug in the photo above is made of carpet tiles. Who would have thought?!

The rug is made up of individual tiles like the one above. I used { this tile } and the clients couldn’t have been happier with the choice! These tiles hold up well to high traffic areas and if you should spill something and it won’t come clean, you can simply replace that one tile without replacing the whole rug. Brilliant!

The carpet tiles you’ve seen in office buildings are a thing of the past. There are a million colors and patterns you can choose from and they really do look fantastic in person. My tip would be to stick with patterns over solids since they tend to blend into a rug more easily.

There you have it–an inexpensive way to customize a rug. Sweet!

Somehow this week has gotten away from me. Last thing I remember it was Sunday afternoon and when I looked at the calendar this morning it’s already Wednesday. Does that ever happen to you??

Regardless of what day it is, I have a few easy tips that will help you conquer a can-be intimidating project without fear. Ok, quick: what words come to mind when you hear the phrase “gallery wall”?

Overwhelming? Time-consuming? Tricky?

Gallery walls can be all of those things and more, but they don’t have to be. Here are a few simple tips to create one perfect for your home.

Tip 1: Use the same color scheme when picking frames. Like in the example above, you don’t have to have the exact same style frame, but keep it the same color. This keeps the wall from looking too chaotic. For this particular project, we went with similar black & white artwork, but feel free to bring in different colors and textures with your  art. Even if you have different prints in each frame, the same frame color will help it to look intentional and cohesive.

Tip 2: Cut it out. (Yes, like Joey said in Full House.) Trace each of your frames onto paper and use those shapes to plan your configuration on the wall. Not only does this make hanging the frames much, much easier, but it also allows you to play around until you find the perfect placement on the wall. No one likes to patch a million holes and with the method, you’ll only hammer where you need to. Easy!

Tip 3: Make it relational. Just because it’s called a gallery “wall” doesn’t mean it has to take up the entire wall. If it’s going above a piece of furniture, it shouldn’t extend more than a few inches on either side of the piece. If it’s going on a blank wall, tape off an area on the wall to see how that space will look filled, and live with it for a couple of days. Trust me, more is definitely not more when it comes to gallery walls. Look at the space and try to relate it to something in the room. A doorway, a piece of furniture or even the wall itself, and scale it accordingly.

With these tips, there’s no gallery wall you can’t conquer. Just remember, you’re not like anyone else so your gallery wall won’t be either. That’s what makes it so special.

If you already have a gallery wall or are inspired to make one, send me a picture! I’d love to feature you!