home tour update

Since the nursery is at a bit of a standstill for the next two weeks, I thought it would be fun to post an update on some of the rooms that we've worked on a bit since I last shared photos with you.

Master bedroom 
-since you last saw it: painted, floating shelf hung & filled, curtains & curtain rods hung, and I found the most FABULOUS painting at Garden Ridge for above the bed!! I'm in LOVE! This is such a great space with all the natural lighting, high vaulted ceilings, and extra square footage. We love to relax in here!
-still to do (tomorrow): build headboard
-eventually: find a couch or beautiful chair to put in front of the bay windows

Kids' bathrooms
I've never shown you the bathrooms, but one was tan and one was sage green when we moved in. There really wasn't much to see before, they were pretty plain. Both are now Behr's Southern Breeze, which is a favorite of ours. The bathrooms and laundry room in our first house were this color and we just had to bring it with us. Both bathrooms have the same shower curtain and color scheme, and coordinate well with the colors we've chosen for the rest of the house. It's so hard to get an accurate depiction of the color with the incandescent lighting, but trust me, it's the most beautiful, calming blue/green/grey you've ever seen.
bathroom #1 

In bathroom #2, I took the awkwardly hung towel bar off the wall above the toilet and replaced it with some pretty prints. Right now we don't use the bathroom much, but when it is regularly in use by a kiddo, we will probably put a towel bar on the back of the door.

bathroom #2

-still to do (in both bathrooms): replace linoleum flooring with wood-look ceramic tile, frame out mirrors, replace faucets and light fixtures

Little man's room

This is another room I never showed you, which is pretty much complete (for this stage in his life), except for updating the ceiling fan. The wall color is Neon Mint by Valspar. I'm not much of a "themed bedroom" type person. I like to just pick a modern yet versatile color scheme, focus on that, and see what develops. That keeps me from being tied down to one look, and also keeps options open for changing things out as the kids grow. Our little man has really started to love airplanes, and I kept seeing the cutest airplane decor on Etsy and in random places, so we just kind of went with it. We tried not to go overboard. You may remember the world map mural from this post.
-still to do: replace ceiling fan and finally add more fabric to the bottom of the curtains (I incorrectly remembered the measurements I took when we came to see the house the first time, so I wound up about 6 inches short. I've been saying "I'm going to fix that" since we moved in.)

Entry hall
-since you last saw it: nothing has really changed here, but the last photos I posted of it were pretty crappy, so I thought I'd give it another shot. Changing the living room up has also had a major impact on what you see when you come through the front door.
-still do do: possibly hang another art piece or two somewhere

Note: our special headless cat

The light fixture in here will eventually be updated, hopefully with something a little larger and contemporary like this from west elm:

Living room
-since you last saw it: The only thing that's changed is our seasonal decor and a few lighting pieces. We had an additional eyeball light installed over our new built in shelves to bring some light to the corner and really showcase the contents of the shelves. The opposite corner of the room was pretty dark, so we got a cool floor lamp from Target and now it has the perfect amount of light to balance out the space.

-still to do: this year I'd like to retile the fireplace with something lighter, cleaner, and more modern - like these beautiful marble tile examples:

   

We'll see how hubby feels about that ;)

We had some recessed lighting and a fan installed in the media room, but we haven't yet built or had someone build an entertainment/shelving unit around the TV.

Our kitchen and dining room remain a bit unfinished, so I'll hold off until we make some more progress in there to show you what we've accomplished. 

Some overall/eventual (read: big & expensive) home updates we'd like to do is replace all the tile in the entry, kitchen, and dining room with dark wood flooring. Another rather expensive upgrade will be replacing all the brassy doorknobs & handles throughout the entire house. We are currently focusing some of our time and energy into the exterior of our home, to give it some more color & curb appeal. Oh yeah, and this little thing called Project Nursery. 

When you are creative, it seems like things are always changing in your home. I am still in shock when I look back at all the old photos we have of our house, compared to the look and feel of our home now. It has evolved so much, and continues to do so - seems like - every day! Hubby keeps telling me, "No more projects!!". Pssh. 

What is it like in your home? Are you always working on something like I am??

Thank you for coming over today to see what we've been up to! 

home tour: entry way

Thanks to one productive trip to Garden Ridge (Why don't I go there more often??), our entry way is finally complete! Now I feel like people really feel "welcomed" as they enter our home.

I had been building up this area piece by piece with Etsy finds and a few DIY projects. Saturday I found the perfect sunburst mirror I had been searching for, as well as a fabulous rug in just the right size & colors.

Garden Ridge is so inexpensive I was filling my cart like a kid in a candy store - except, maybe even more excitedly. My sweet MIL and AIL (aunt-in-law) followed behind with laughter as little man entertained us (and everyone else in the store) by playing the harmonica.

My cart was overflowing, and as I approached skipped to the register, we had a big laugh about how we were going to fit everything in the trunk of my MIL's car (on top AIL's wheelchair!) It was just another adventure to add to the books.

We got all set up as soon as we walked in the door :)

Also purchased on our trip: two mercury glass lamps for the master suite, and the side table I've been searching for! More on that, later...

etsy favorites

Being an Etsy seller myself, it has naturally become the first place I shop for neat decor & accessories (as well as great ideas) for myself and our home. These happen to be three of my recent favorite finds that will soon be making their way into our home:

from yumalum

from MadeByGirl

from harperjanssen

I love the modern, playful touches each of these will add to the new digs!

This week one of my goals is to really start pulling things together in our house. I've been working on each room simultaneously, and we are getting to the point where we can truly start creating a sense of unity and more completion throughout the spaces by putting up some of the decor & accessories. I still have one "staging" room full of boxes that need to be sorted through, and things that need to go up on the walls. So I really hope to make that happen over the next week.

This week I also plan to share with you a little in-progress peek at our media room, phase two of my studio redesign, and even an exciting and super easy DIY! Stay tuned, and have a happy Monday!

playroom sources

First, thanks to everyone who participated in my first giveaway contest last week! It was a blast and I hope to do another one soon! Congrats again to Lauren, the winner and my dear friend! Also many thanks for all the sweet comments about our playroom. We are totally loving it, so I wanted to write a post including some of the sources of the artwork, furniture, etc. in the room so you can get some of the same looks for your own space.
Today my friend Jill asked me where I bought my curtains, and when I told her I made them, she sighed and said, "aw, man!" But seriously people, it's not too complicated, and usually less expensive than buying store bought :)

• Curtains - TRADKLOVER fabric from Ikea - These particular curtains are 95" high, and each panel comes from a 3 yard piece, to keep the print even in all the panels. I had 9 yards in all.
• Banners strung across windows - made from fabric and ribbon scraps
• White EXPEDIT shelves, 2x4 and 2x2 - Ikea
• Little personalized red chair - Anywhere Chair from PB Kids - I totally love these because they're really customizable with the colors, patterns, piping, and embroidery. Makes a great Christmas gift :)
• Lamps - clearance section at Target, spray painted orange
• Square blue rugs - HAMPEN, Ikea
• Little table - garage sale find, painted
• Red rocking chair - hand me down, painted
• Woodstock poster - a few years old, from Target (sold during Woodstock's 50th anniversary, I think?)
• "C is for Color" 11x14"print - Apple Blossom Prints on Etsy
• Number canvas - clearance section at Target
• "Don't forget to be awesome" 11x14" print - Fresh Words Market
• "Laugh" sculpture - Hobby Lobby
• Square fabric bins - Target
• Pendant light fixture - by allen + roth at Lowe's 
• I bought my white frames from Hobby Lobby and Michael's

Paint
walls - Notre Dame by Valspar, eggshell finish
chair rail - Gecko by Valspar, satin finish

Looking through the rest of my house, it's very clear - Target and Etsy are pretty much my main places to shop. And not just for decor!

Have a lovely Monday, and Happy JULY (where has the time gone?!)! It's a lovely 84* here in Dallas.
Blessed.

Playroom reveal and Print Giveaway!

I'm thrilled to share with you a little piece of our home today as I take you on a tour through our playroom. This room was one of the very first to tackle as soon as we got the keys, because I wanted little man to have a nice space to call his own, where he could play and make a mess without being "in the way" of the work going on throughout the rest of the house. Please be warned, there's a ridiculous amount of photos in this post.

Here are a few before/during shots, some from the MLS listing & some from me. It was a totally beautiful formal dining room. Since we have a large dining table and area in the kitchen, we decided this would be the perfect spot for the playroom, because it is open to the rest of the house and connects to the kitchen by way of the butler's pantry.

after painting the chair rail LIME GREEN!

...and here it is NOW! I'll give you some details along the way and list major sources in a separate post, since this one is already ridiculously long.

These curtains were made from a fabulous print I happened upon at Ikea and fell in love with!

The bunting I made with some fabric scraps and ribbon. It looks so cute strung across the window! Also, check out our mcm-inspired pendant light! So in love :)

You may recognize this little table from a previous DIY post. It's already being put to good use :)

These EXPEDIT shelves from Ikea were perfect for this space and are safely anchored to the wall.

C is for COLOR from Apple Blossom Prints - which you have a chance to WIN in the giveaway at the end of this post!

I had fun finding some more vintage toys to display in this space (and sometimes play with). This alphabet toy was found at a consignment sale and the Russian nesting dolls - shown below - are actually mine from my childhood. My uncle used to live and travel all over Europe and bring us the most unique Christmas gifts!

Little man's "reading corner"

This big blank space? We have plans.

YES, I painted the chair rail molding. It had to be done because it wasn't coming down, so it gives this formerly-formal space a nice, modern twist and a pop of color! 

This corner of the playroom leads through the butler's pantry and into the kitchen where I am usually working/chilling.

One of the walls is a giant open arch that leads into the media room and the front entry way, which are both total messes right now. We're working on it.

This rocking chair was my mother's chair she rocked her babies in. When it was passed down to me, it turned from oak to bright gloss red.

NOW for the give away! Today through Friday at midnight you can enter to win a fabulous 11x14 "C is for COLOR" print from Apple Blossom Prints, a $30 value. Apple Blossom Prints are professionally made on thick archival matte paper with fade resistant inks. It will be shipped first class to you {from me} in a mailer tube, carefully wrapped in a cello back and tissue, and will arrive within 3-5 business days. It's completely gorgeous and featured here in my playroom. I just KNOW you will love yours, too! Thank you, Rachel at Apple Blossom, for this generous donation! To see more of her work, check out her etsy shop here.

A few reminders about the giveaway:

*The contest will run for 48 hours through midnight Friday, June 28th, central standard time.

*Only fans of Painterly Passion on Facebook are eligible to enter. 

*"Liking" my page on Facebook does NOT automatically enter you into the contest.

*One winner will be chosen at random and will be announced on my Facebook page Saturday, June 29th.

Enter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway