All in the details…

LauriePerez.com_1500-square[1]_thumb[7]Source | The Decorista

Now I’m not normally attracted to the color purple. I could sit here and try to come up with tangible reasons why, but honestly I think it’s just one of those things that I can’t explain. We’ve all gotta have our least favorite color, and this one is mine. All of that said though, I can’t deny how much I love this space. Maybe it’s because there’s really very LITTLE purple when you look closely, I’m only counting around 5 pieces. It’s just enough to give this room a little personality without leaning towards the “frufru” – No offense, purple…Let’s talk details.

COLOR

Color

Show of hands. Who agrees that the focal point in this space is the couch? I think so too…My eye goes right to it thanks to the wash of rich grurple (gray+purple). The leopard print pillow goes a long way in focusing my attention too, of course. But overall, the color scheme here is all about being feminine, soft and luxurious – three of my favorite adjectives. We can all take a hint from this room. Exploit that favorite color of yours by surrounding it in neutrals. It’s definitely not a ground breaking theory, but it works!

BUDGET IDEAS

Budget Buys

Curtains have always been a little mind boggling to me. They can get expensive, and they can get expensive FAST. Even just your run-of-the-mill, standard drapes from Target can run you $39.99 a panel – a PANEL. Throw in the drapery rod and hardware and we’re talking around $100 a window. I don’t know about you, but that’s not in my budget. But, again, we can all learn a little piece of trickery from this room. Instead of springing for two panels for each window, the designer went with one each. Since it’s done on two “book end” windows, the overall feeling is balanced and symmetrical. Another simple trick, but one that could end up saving us all a bunch of moolah.

STYLING

Styling

I think this is where they splurged. Stacks of coffee table books, vases of fresh flowers, beautiful modern candle holders, glass table lamps and that stunning brass sculpture all add up to one sophisticated living room. Indeed, it’s styled to the teeth and I doubt you’ll find any children living in this home, but the room still feels homey and comfortable. I can absolutely see myself visiting with friends in this room, catching up, playing a game – Despite the opulence, there’s still a sense of ease. Now THAT is something that’s not so simple to achieve. Let me know if you have the secret – I’m all ears.

What are your favorite details?

For all of my top inspirational spaces, click here

P.S. If you’re feeling festive, check out my latest 2012 holiday project over on Burlap+Blue – DIY glittery tabletop Christmas trees.  

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“It Started With Yum” Blogging Exchange: DIY Holiday Bunting Flags

This past weekend, I had the enormous pleasure of visiting with Jessalyn, blogger extraordinaire behind It Started With Yum. If you missed our first blogging exchange back in August, click here to get the low down. Long story short, Jessalyn and I actually knew each other waaaaay back in high school and have since reconnected post-grad through our blogs. Now only living an hour away, she and I have made a pact to connect each season to bounce ideas off of one another and just generally exploit our general love for all things DIY.

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This latest trip’s objective was actually based off of a comment Jessalyn made after I posted a tutorial for one of our many DIY wedding projects – This particular one involved transforming scrapbook paper into bunting flags using twine and hot glue. After scrolling through the post, Jessalyn suggested a Christmas version using a collection of holiday cards. I jumped right on board with the idea and waited impatiently for December to roll around so we could test it out.

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The process was pretty simple – Start by gathering old Christmas cards and cutting the front cover off. Then, flip the card cover over and trace a triangular flag shape on the back – Use this first one as your tracing template to cut out the rest of the flags.

Once all of the cards are cut to shape, flip each one over in turn and squeeze a line of hot glue on the back towards the top, then settle twine into the still hot glue. Allowing for about an inch of room between each flag, continue the process until you’ve moved your way through the entire pile of paper flags. For the first and last flags, leave about six inches of twine off each end.

Once finished, cut the twine (again, six inches from the end) and allow the glue to dry for about ten minutes.

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(For more photos of this process, click over to the original post for our wedding bunting flag)

Now for the fun part: Hanging the finished flags up! We played around with several different locations around the house – from the wooden valance John and I made in the living room, to the entryway table. We even wrapped them around our Christmas tree as garland.

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Then we moved into the kitchen, where we decided to drape my shorter strand above the chalkboard calendar. I immediately felt like this spot seemed “just right,” but then we decided to beef up the look a bit by draping Jessalyn’s much longer strand (guess she’s been collecting longer than I have!) right underneath. I was in love.

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In the end, I had a blast making this project and love just how versatile it is in terms of display – I can’t wait to start collecting cards more actively and adding to my banner as time goes on. What a great way to honor the people we love (and the SEASON that we love too!).
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But the Christmas card project possibilities don’t stop there! Ohhhh no…Before saying our “goodbyes,” Jessalyn and I couldn’t help but brainstorm a few other thoughts. Try these on for size:
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  • Experiment with proportion: Try cutting your Christmas cards into different sized triangles for various spots in your home – For example, cut them into teeny tiny triangles for draping on the front of a shelf, or cut them into oversized triangles for places like a balcony railing seen from afar.
  • Experiment with shape: Why not take it beyond triangles altogether?! Cut your cards into circles, squares or beveled bunting like this.
  • Experiment with letters: Finally, consider cutting your Christmas cards into the shape of your initials or spell out a festive holiday word (like “Ho Ho Ho” or “Joy”) – These could be glued to twine like we did, or even used as fun DIY gift tags (ala yesterday’s post).

Now. Are you ready for a little BONUS time!!! For 3 more ideas, click over to Jessalyn’s companion post right here – She’s sharing a few extra bullet points that I know you’ll want to check out.

As always, thanks to Jessalyn for a great afternoon of creative crafting and chatting – It’s my new favorite cure for seasonal burn out…

What do you guys do with YOUR Christmas cards?

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P.S. Jessalyn sent over a bunch of her own photos (the one above being part of her lovely stack!) and, although we took mostly the same images, I just HAD to share this portrait she took of Rocky…Isn’t he just the sweetest?? She captured him perfectly.

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