Saturday 4 April 2015

DIY Ideas For The Weekend

Here are some DIY ideas for you to give your garden a makeover this weekend. Go through the links for a complete post.

A very quick way to create a zen corner in your garden, click here to know how you can do that.

Zen Corner


Paint hanging baskets:
Paint all those hanging baskets in some vibrant colour to add charm in your garden. Click here to know how I did it.

Hanging baskets

Make a pot full of happiness:
Paint a pot (any kind of pot) and place it in your garden. It will sure add some drama there. Click here to see how I made one for my garden.

Painted pots

Summers are already here and it would be great if you could give a home to some birds, and please don't forget to keep bird bath in your garden. Click here to learn how you can make bird house at home. 

Bird House

To give your balcony garden a face-lift, you can paint one of the walls of your balcony. You can choose Madhubani, warli or any other Indian art form to give personal touch to your garden. Click here to know how I painted my client's balcony walls. 

Warli Painting on Balcony wall


You can make some garden accessories by your own like mushrooms, duck and ducklings, turtles, butterflies and bird nest too. Don't you believe that, then click here and here

Garden Accessories


Garden Accessories


Hope now you have a fair idea to give a complete makeover to your garden. Choose any of these DIY ideas as your weekend project and don't forget to share your work here :)
Have a creative weekend folks!!


Thursday 2 April 2015

Welcome Spring ~ Part II


So glad it's here!

































These parties I love to link up to or check out my Blog Parties tab
Monday
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple 
Inspire Me Monday @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Masterpiece Monday @ Boogieboard Cottage
Sunday Showcase Party @ By Stephanie Lynn
Creative Link Inspire @ The Crafty Blog Stalker

Welcome Spring ~ Part I


No words needed...


























These parties I love to link up to or check out my Blog Parties tab
Monday
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple 
Inspire Me Monday @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Masterpiece Monday @ Boogieboard Cottage
Sunday Showcase Party @ By Stephanie Lynn
Creative Link Inspire @ The Crafty Blog Stalker
Your

More Changes in our Kitchen ...

Greetings, friends!

Well, we've been messin' around in the kitchen again ... and we're not done yet! (Are we ever?)


And, to truly appreciate the madness thus far, let's take a stroll down decorating lane to see where we started, shall we?   

So, here's our kitchen (pic courtesy of Hour Homes) right before we moved in last summer ... while we loved it as it was, I knew it was only a matter of time before I added my "stamp."


And, here it is after "that" little redo last Fall, which involved painting the cabinets and tile backsplash ... removing a cabinet by the sink and adding open shelves in its ... personalizing the island a bit ... and, topping it all off with two matching "bling-y" chandeliers:


Now, Phase 1 1/2 has been done!  Anyone who knows me understands my obsession with symmetry ... since we took down a cabinet on the right side of the kitchen and replaced it with shelves, it was only a matter of time before I got the urge to take down a cabinet on the left side and add shelves there, too ... gotta have balance in my world!

BEFORE (pic courtesy of Hour Homes):


AFTER!


While I loved all of the cabinets, it was just a bit too *much* cabinetry (VISUALLY), which is why I wanted to break them up a bit by adding open shelves.


We didn't stop there, though ... once the new shelves were installed, my preoccupation with odd numbers resurfaced; and since we had shelves on both the left and right side of the kitchen, it only made sense to create the illusion of open shelves in the middle, right?

So, that's when "this" happened ... down came the doors on the cabinet above the ovens.


Maybe now that a few of my cookbooks are "on display," I'll actually open one up and cook something!


 Once "that" was done, it was time to turn my attention to the backsplash.  It was originally darker tile, which I then painted, knowing that was a temporary fix.  That's when I turned to the faux brick wallboard that we used in our old house in SC.  We had the folks at Lowe's make our cuts, with us having to make the more intricate cuts for the outlets.  I then painted the panels ... added a bit of trim at the bottom and thin dowel rods at the top to hide any gaps ...

You can see it in its original darker state here:


and, VOILA!  Yes, we love it ... so much so, that I'm contemplating continuing it up and behind the shelves, too.


For now, I'm really pleased with how it turned out, as it helps give our kitchen a "farmhouse-y, Country French-y" feel, 


and I love how little accents (such as these pretty blue/white mugs from IKEA) pop against it.


Another BEFORE pic (courtesy of Hour Homesfrom where we started:  


Annnnd, today ... yay!


I love how the new backsplash resembles subway tile ...


without the expense!


And, how removing the original 4" granite backsplash allows for the faux brick backsplash to "meet" the countertop ... a cleaner look, which I really like!



Our kitchen island got another new coat of paint (this time SW's Perfect Greige).  BUT, I have another project for the island that I'm starting today ... fingers crossed it turns out okay!



While a few permanent changes took place, a few *not-so-permanent* ones have taken place, too .... 

I took away the sisal rug under the kitchen table and replaced it with this larger rug that was once in our sunroom.  We also traded out our dining chairs and farmhouse bench for new, inexpensive chairs from IKEA.  


A pretty runner from Home Goods completes this little redo.


Over in the corner, our etagere got dressed up with a few pretties ...


like this cute vase from Home Goods.


As one last touch, I moved our "EAT" letters from beside our pantry door and placed them in a more prominent spot ... 


you know, just so there's NO doubt what we expect you to do in our kitchen!  

One more time ... BEFORE (pic courtesy of Hour Homes):


Annnd, AFTER!


Well, that's it for now ... off to Lowe's I go!

Thanks so much for visiting!

Going to play with:

Savvy Southern Style/WUW
French Country Cottage/Feathered Nest Friday

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Tuesday 31 March 2015

My Home Office/ Workspace

Today I will be showing you my workspace and telling you story how it came into existence.
I have always wanted a space in my home dedicated to my creative work and blogging. I began my blogging career sitting on a sofa and for my creative work I worked wherever there was a space. But as my creative business and blogging started expanding, I needed a home office or workspace or you can call it a studio. I believe that if you are working from home then it is very important to have a workspace to be focused and productive. 
I have been wanting to create my workspace since long. My husband gave me that much needed push and suggested me to create my own workspace in an alcove in my living room. So I was ready to create a space that reflects who I am and what I want to be. I have minimalist aesthetic, so I wanted clean edges and neat look for my workspace. I didn't want to get stuck with a particular style. I surround myself with the things I love, no matter if they are vintage, contemporary or kitsch. I love to mix things and put them together. Here is a before and after image of the place.



First step to create my workspace was to know what are the things that I already have and the things that I will need. I already had desk, chair, art supplies, my artwork and some beautiful knick-knacks. Things that I needed were few storage units and wall unit to display my artwork, a table lamp for when there is no natural light and a key holder because all my keys were lying on my desk earlier and were giving it an ugly look.
Now I was ready with a list of the stuff that I needed for my workspace. I love online shopping and I have always been selective about the online shopping portals from where I shop my stuff, so I did all the research and found out that Flipkart's home store section has the best collection of all home goods at best prices. I browsed through different categories and then found a beautiful and very elegant looking wall shelf to display my artwork and knick-knacks to beautify my workspace.
There were vast variety of wall shelves available on Flipkart. I was totally confused so I bought two wall shelves. When things are well organised, it really helps the creative juices flow. These wall shelves were perfect addition to my home office. Up on the wall shelf are trophies won by my husband. These trophies not only make me proud wife every time I look at them but also boost my positive energy.




See all my stuff is so well organised and my workspace is emanating lots of positivity. Some of my recent reads are on the shelf. Whenever I have some spare time in my hand, I read them again.
With the onset of summers, there is beach theme going on in my home. Did you spot all the conchs and shells.



Next I hunted for nice table lamp in Flipkart's home store section and found out the one that was perfect fit for my workspace. They have lovely collection of table lamps, floor lamps and wall sconces. I spent lot of time gazing all the beautiful products there.




I checked out dimensions of the table lamp that were given on Flipkart and it was exactly the same I wanted for my workspace. And see my decision was right. Lamp is looking beautiful on my desk.


To be more organised, I thought of buying a key holder too. The moment I saw this beautifully carved wooden key holder on Flipkart's home store section I just wanted it. It has vintage charm. Not only vintage, Flipkart has modern, classic and funky kind of key holders too. I just loved mine, it's going really well with everything else there in my workspace.




Added some personal touch to my home office with my handmade name plate for my desk.


 I loved the overall look of my home office. It's full of positivity and warmth. For me it is a little slice of heaven. All thanks to Flipkart for turning my dream into reality. Would be buying some more stuff from Flipkart for my son's room makeover.
Stay tuned!!



Friday 27 March 2015

Cutest Pink Baby Shower! Part II




This is the continuing post on the very PINK baby shower that I had for my daughter.


If you missed Part I you can see it HERE.



In the first post, I showed you some decor and the Sign-In Table with a couple of games.




Let's move on to the dining tables...


I used my handy Silhouette electronic cutting machine to make a lot of my decor for this shower.




Let's take an overview of the

2015 Spring Great Room

Greetings, friends!

Can you believe there is only one week until Easter?  Before it comes and goes, I wanted to share our great room, dressed up for Spring!

I don't know about you, but when it comes to decorating, I like to start with a "blank slate," before transitioning to a new season or holiday.  I take the existing pillows and accessories away for a bit ... it clears my mind and helps me visualize what I want to do next.  That's what I love about having a white Ektorp sofa now ... for me, it's the perfect starting point and backdrop as any colors play nicely with it!

BEFORE: "nekkid"


AFTER:  MUCH better with color!


I broke out our apple green pillows, along with cute floral pillows from HomeGoods.  Of course, white flowers bursting out of a glass demo-john were in order for the sofa table.


I then added in our cute faux plants from IKEA ... and, to give them a bit of  height so that they weren't "hiding" behind the sofa, I perched them on top of white candleholders (also from IKEA).


Nothing says "Spring" like a crisp white bowl with faux green apples tossed in, now does it?


Let's not forget a little nest occupied by cute eggs doused with Annie Sloane's Duck Egg chalk paint.


If you glance on over from there, you'll see our mantel dressed up for the Easter Bunny's arrival!


Yes, my middle name should be "faux" because, once again, I'm adding such florals into my decor.  Alas, when you have a "brown thumb" like I do, faux is always my best (well, ONLY) option!


I also brought back the "Spring" banner that I found at Target a few years ago.  The letters (stenciled onto burlap) used to be layered over pastel colored felt, but because I wanted to change it up a bit, I decided to cut off the burlap with the letters and layer them over white felt instead.


Our cute bunnies are back center stage this year ... reminding us all, yet again, to "hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil."


Down below, our chair got a little makeover, too, thanks to Annie's Duck Egg chalk paint.  Yes, I painted the fabric, and we love it!


Ta DA!


These colors are a welcomed change since it means that warmer temps are on the horizon!


Over on this side of the room, I played a little musical chairs by switching out our white slipcovered wing chairs for somewhat more relaxing EKTORP chairs that I bought off of Craigslist when we first moved here last summer.  They had sage green slipcovers on them, so I removed those and covered them in white slips instead. With IKEA's white slipcovers for these chairs being only $29 a piece, it was easy to justify that tiny splurge!


That inexpensive purchase helped me justify a-NOTHER splurge by buying the matching ottoman while I was there (oops).  I just couldn't help myself!


And, there you have it ... our Spring great room. 


And, see that *lovely* ceiling fan in there?  Well, soon, it will be heading upstairs to our son's room, and this beautiful chandie from World Market (that my sweet husband and son surprised me with for my recent birthday) will hang in its place ... can't wait!


I'll be back soon to share our kitchen, which I not only dressed up for Spring, 


but also made a few other changes ... down came 2 more cabinets (thanks to my awesome hubby) ...


and up went more shelves, along with a faux brick backsplash!


Ahhhhh, home projects!

Thanks for visiting,

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