Powder Room refresh for under $100

Hey all! I JUST finished a little powder room refresh and I'm so excited to share it! 

How did this project start, you ask? Well, I was walking by the powder room and realized the lighting above the sink was, ummm, not cute. Then, I looked around the tiny powder room and thought... "Hmmmm, this room isn't that cute at ALL." So, off to Lowes I went, followed by TJ Maxx and Michaels. 

So, this transformation kind of just happened. No joke. I had NO plan. The only thing I knew was that I wanted a new light fixture. So, I found this light fixture from Lowes for just under $50. Couldn't find the exact bulbs but here is the brand and the style- my bulbs are much more round. GE Relax LED bulbs 

                                  

         

Light bulbs- $8.98 for a pack of 2

Vanity Light Fixture- $49.98

Ohhhh yea... want to see a before? 

I haven't touched this room since we moved in. Hung that cute little canvas on the wall and called it a day. 

After I picked up the new light fixture, my wheels started turning. I knew I wanted to do this entire refresh for under $100. I went on a hunt to find some kind of shelf unit for above the toilet but no luck. I found some cute ones from TJMaxx and Michaels... Since I had roughly $30 left in my budget (after light and bulbs) all options would exhaust the budget. I almost gave up until... right by the check out line in Michaels, I came across this white, wooden crate. I thought to myself, "Self, couldn't I hang this on the wall from the bottom and turn it into a shelf?" Promptly after my thinking, I googled "milk crate shelf" and boom. It's a thing. This crate was $10. 

                 

 

I decorated the crate with a little basket and tiny mason jar from Michaels. The books and greenery were things I had around the house. Stuffed the basket with 2 wash cloths. 
Basket- $3(ish)
Mason jar- $2(wish)

 Only thing left to get is a new hand towel. I also thought about spray painting the towel holder a matte black... but we'll see. ;) 

Thanks for stopping by!

xo - Cyndi 

A REALISTIC Laundry Room

I've spent countless hours searching through images of homes online. Pinterest, the gram, google image... you name it! I've read hundreds of home decor blogs and have virtually visited domestic and international homes. My point... I've done a lot of research. And still, I seldom find the realistic laundry room. Sure, bloggers always do a massive clean up before they photograph their home. Who wouldn't?!? If something isn't aesthetically pleasing to the eye, you best believe I take whatever it is and legit throw it into another room before taking a picture. (And my photography skills are subpar, at best.) 

But what about reality? For example, my laundry "room" is more of a closet that lives right off the kitchen. Homegirl gets the job done, lemme tell you. But I look for laundry room inspo online and they are all giant spaces with windows, french doors, mud rooms, floor to ceiling shelving units, marble counter tops, and I've even seem farmhouse sinks in place of a good ole fashion slop sink. Dude. I know. One episode of Fixer Upper had a dog shower that was the exact same tile and design as mine and Brian's master shower. It's fine... go back and reread that because you aren't delusional. A dog shower that looked extremely similar to my MASTER SHOWER! Wait... here it is!

Now, that's dreamy. Really. I drool. But even if I wanted to invest $$$ like that in my laundry room, it would be physically impossible because it's just too small. (And Griffin is already treated like a Arabian Prince so he's good.) 

So, here we are. I am giving you a very realistic tour of my laundry "room". 

Open the door and here is whatcha get... Bri installed those shelves like 5 days after we moved in. We went the "cost effective" route because looking at your bank account after buying a home is the saddest thing ever. Now that I'm really thinking about it, I may request a shelf upgrade... some floating shelves made from reclaimed wood or something... hmmmmmm. ;) 

So, a closer look. Found these prints online... for free! Find them here. They come in different colors too but I loved the chalkboard look. I had them printed on card stock at Staples (0.22 cents a sheet) and then clipped them onto clipboards and used  Command Velcro Strips to hang them up. It was less than $10. Win! 

I filled some mason jars with clothespins (both from the Dollar Tree) and Oxi Clean. (That stuff is magic!) I love Oxi Clean but that tub it comes in is SO obnoxious so I hide the tub and then transfer the Oxi Clean into a mason jar. The gray fabric bins are always floating around HomeGoods. I use them to store cleaning products and such. Great way to hide all of those colorful product labels. 

We have a front loading washer and dryer so I get to keep things on top for storage. I don't like to because the laundry room gets SO dusty but it's reality. I need to utilize the space. I keep rags, cleaning products and Griffin's food in plastic bins on top of the dryer. 

On top of the washer, I keep detergent, my iron and whatever laundry is on deck... in that really cute, bright green,  $3 plastic laundry basket... See, told ya this was reality!

That hanger is a "sock jail". I keep socks that are missing a mate there until they are recovered. Hung that sucker with a clear, thumb tack. CLEAR thumb tacks are my secret weapon! 

Well, thanks for checking out my laundry "room". Hope this inspires someone!

xo

Cyndi

Dining Room Discussions

When we bought our home in 2013, I was so excited to have a "formal" dining room. This special space is where we host Christmas every year, have cute little tea and dinner parties with dear friends and, more recently, where I wrote my entire Master's Thesis. My husband wanted a traditional rectangular dining room table where as I was aiming to get a round table with a mirrored base and over the top tufted chairs. Due to room dimensions, we went with a rectangular table that we both fell in love with at Ashley Furniture. I would consider it a transitional piece, being that the chairs are upholstered and it's a deep wood but the structure lines are very clean and sleek. 

The stenciled accent wall was done about 2 years ago with a moroccan tile wall stencil. Check out the link ^ for details. 

Lately, I have been seeing bar carts all over the web. One of the most popular is the Ikea Bar Cart Hack... 

This is such a cost effective way to scoop up a bar cart! Check out more details here. 

Something I try very hard to avoid is over crowding a space. Too many pieces of furniture mixed with zillions of pretty little things gives me a headache! The eye can't focus and the space is no longer enjoyable. In an effort to avoid this all together, I decided to create a "bar tray" instead of a bar cart. I used all of the things I already had to assemble. 

Colorful straws don't need to be hiding in a drawer. Stick them in a glass for a fun pop of color.

We love to entertain so our liquor collection has grown over the years. I decided to keep the bottles that get the most use out on the tray. Some of these items are things we don't even drink but our family does so we always keep them in stock. I also made decisions based on balance and height. Although this is something we use, it still needs to look esthetically pleasing to the eye. 

There is no need to keep the colorful martini glasses hiding in the cabinet. Let them free for the world to see!!!

The bar tray lives on our dining room server. At one point, this sucker was piled with little things here and there but for now, less is more. 

Like our entire house, this room has changed so much since we bought almost 3 years ago. I snapped a few more pictures to share the most recent updates. A majority of the purchases came from HomeGoods.

Here is a shot from the stairs. It's meshed into one, long space. I love the open concept. 

I just put that hot pink knob on the end table. It's dreamy!!!! Find a comparable one here at Hobby Lobby. #color #color #morecolor

That chaise lounge is one of my most treasured purchases. After months of hunting for a chaise and being discouraged at the prices, I found this beauty at Bobs Discount Furniture for only $199. Does it get any better? AND it's comfortable, too! Check it out here. It comes in both grey and cream.

Griffin was keeping guard while I was snapping pictures this afternoon. 

Thank you for checking out today's post!!! Hope I have inspired you to be more decisive about your decor!!!! 

xoxo

Cyndi

Family Room Update on a Budget

I have slowly been making littles changes to our family room by updating throw pillows and decluttering spaces. I was "egh" about it to begin with because my style has evolved so much since we moved. The family room was a space I didn't create from scratch when we bought our home. I transferred the apartment family room to the new house. 

Here is a quick picture of the family room before... 

Way too cluttered, the space is not being utilized best and all these pieces together are way too big!

Check out the entire family room before, here! It's important to get the big picture to fully appreciate the changes. 

I didn't want to invest a ton of money into this update. In fact, I didn't want to spend any money at all! hehe :) So, I decided to sell a bunch of unused items on Craigs List and I was able to make enough cash to complete this update without spending any money in the bank. YES!

The biggest change was making more space! 

^ AFTER!!!!

The ottoman had to stay. My husband loves the ottoman a lot and we have gotten so much use out of it! It's great for entertaining and storage. Plus, it's super functional. Our sectional sofa seats so many people and it's really comfy. This is our lounge room so we need a lounging sofa. 

Adding this bird pillow from HomeGoods allowed me to incorporate blue into the room. Plus, it's so bright and colorful. Perfect for spring and summer!

Drum freakin' roll... my new chair!

This puppy was on clearance at Marshalls for $199

This blue chair added such great character to this space. This is a great definition of transitional style, which mixes contemporary with traditional. This is a classic wing back chair but the twist is the striking blue with brass nail head detail. It was love at first sight.   :)

Curious about my Sunburst mirror? It's a DIY project I did... check it out here. 

I am forever changing this shelf... but this shelfie is my favorite!!!

It's busy with books!!!

Griffin and I thank you for stopping by. The difference in this room is pretty amazing, right? If you shop smart and sell things that collect dust in your basement, you can easily update and spend next to nothing!

Leave some love, questions and comments below!


xo
Cyndi

Reupholstery Project

My first ever reupholstery project and I'm SO excited to share it on the blog! 

When we bought the house, the previous owner left her vanity bench in the master bath. It was fine; neutral fabric and silver accents. 

Totally acceptable, right? However, as the master bath evolved, I decided I wanted to change the bench. My first idea was to just buy a new one... little did I know, these suckers range from $70-$100, even at HomeGoods. To this I say, "BYE FELICIA" I'd rather put that money toward a new accent chair in the family room. (Reveal coming soon :)

So, my bestie and I ventured off to JoAnn Fabrics yesterday in search for the perfect fabric. 

FOUND IT!

This afternoon, my husband and I tackled the project. 

Here is what we used:

• Screw Drivers
• Scissors
• Staple Gun
• Staples 
• Drill
• Fabric of your choice

I began by removing the cushion from the metal frame. Simple. I didn't even need the drill for this- just a screwdriver.

There was a black fabric over the wood base of the cushion that I removed. 

Originally, I was going to remove the neutral fabric but it was so thin I didn't even feel the need. This made the process SO much easier. Otherwise, at this point you would need to remove the staples and original fabric. 

I bought a yard of fabric which was PLENTY. I even have left overs which I have a little DIY planned to use it up. 

Since I chose a ikat pattern fabric, I wanted to make sure everything was centered and even. Align before you staple. 

The next step is a 2 person job. I pulled the fabric as my husband stapled. We started with the longest side and then folded the corners like you would tuck them in to the corners of your bed. 

Be sure to pull tightly so there is no extra fabric. 

After the cushion was finished, we (husband) drilled the metal frame back on and...

There you have it! Took roughly 30 minutes and only cost $10 for the fabric. If you have to buy the tools, it will obviously cost more. 

Hope this has inspired someone to reupholster something "blah" into something fabulous!!!!

Share comments below!!

xo
Cyndi