Evolution of a Dresser

It's refreshing to start seeing the style of my house start coming together. It's about time! The first thing I see when I walk into the bedroom is the dresser on the opposite side of the room.  Seems like a logical place to start styling.

Step 1:  Start with a blank slate.  Clear everything from the surface.

Step 2: Place the anchor pieces.  Start with the biggest pieces and work your way to the smaller pieces.  The 2 largest elements that I wanted on the dresser are the tv and a mirrored tray (from HomeGoods, where else?).  I elevated the tv from it's traditional stand and used a wooden easel.

Step 3: Experiment with your accessories.

Think about things in layers.  By placing an item on a stack of books, or layering them on top of each other, it makes the arrangement more interesting.

Vary the heights of the objects to help draw your eye across the surface.

Keep playing with your accessories until you are pleased with the result.

This is what my dresser looked like when I was done playing.  (Yup, I still have to put pictures in the frames.  Baby steps here, people.) I'm really pleased with the result, although I'm sure it will continue to evolve.

So, what do you think?  Are you itching to attack some of your styling issues?

Styling Crash Course

This week I've decided to give myself a styling crash course.  It's kind of embarrassing actually, but in the year and a half that we've had this house, I really haven't styled anything.  I made things look nice for my housewarming over a year ago and then have been collecting things in piles since.  *slaps self on back of hand*  bad dog designer.  That's also why I've been dragging my feet in showing you an updated home tour (soon, I promise!!) Naturally before I actually got to styling my own house, I needed to find some inspiration images online.  My name is Karen, and I'm a Pinterest addict.  Such eye-candy!

The first room in my house to get styled is the bedroom.  I've got all the big components in it- furniture, curtains, bed linens... Now, it's all about the icing on the cake, the cherry on top- the accessories!

This really was easy- all I had to do to style the bedroom was put a cat on it.  Me-ow.

Ok, well, maybe there was a bit more to bedroom details than capturing Charlie's excitement over a made bed.  I was losing daylight with my futzing styling, so unfortunately you'll have to be patient until tomorrow when I can show you some well lit styling montages.

AAAAAAND the living room is getting a very exciting addition this week (no, not a chair yet) that I can't wait to share with you.

So many pretty things are happening over here this week, I hope you stay tuned!

End of an Era {Mini Home Tour}

My parents have lived in the same house for almost 29 years, in the same town they grew up in, in the same town their parents grew up in.  Then both their daughters moved to Massachusetts.  See where this is going? It's official.  My parents are moving to MA!  My mom has a job (as an elementary school librarian) starting in the fall, they've listed my childhood home (already gotten a few offers), and even put in an offer on a house in between my sister and me.  The pieces are falling into place.

Before they uproot and put their stamp on a new house, I want to showcase some vignettes and vintage treasures surrounding them in the house my sister and I grew up in.

The chair in front was Handy Dad's $20 brimfield find last year. Looks amazing after being refinished and reupholstered, don't you think?

They picked up this desk on the side of the road, refinished it and made a new top for it.

Is my personality beginning to make sense?  I think my antiques/DIY gene lay dormant until I had a house of my own to fill.

Another trash to treasure side of the road find.

I realized when looking at this picture that the bench has evolved in my lifetime. When I was little, there was a heart cutout on the back. I have a feeling my mom commissioned Handy Dad to fashion a new back for it when she got sick of hearts.

Even the finished basement did not escape vintage treasures. This hope chest was my great grandmothers and the mirror is a recent tag sale purchase.

My parents are obviously fans of vintage fans. This one has been rewired and is 100% functional. The sewing machine (which is folded down into a compartment under the top) is also 100% functional and operates via foot pedal.

There will certainly be some awesome transformations once they move into a new house.  I'll be sure to share them all with you!