Ding!

I'm such a sucker for re-purposing.  I'm also a sucker for terrariums which will be a project of mine in the spring.  Apartment Therapy has compiled some great pics that combine my two loves:

From Re-Nest "10 Ways to Repurpose Light Bulbs"

Charlie Jones

Chalking it up

Oh man... that was just... well, that was just cheezy.  Sorry.

I was toying with the idea of painting the storage room door that faces the dining and living room area yellow.  Now I've been considering giving that door a couple coats of chalkboard paint.  I love the way the colours of the chalk pop out from the dark background.  I won't know if it will work until I complete my move.  Here are some inspirational pics that I found:

From Rhapsdy

From Domino Mag (Oh how I miss it so)

Jenny Lyon's inspirational home.  For more pics, check out Habitually Chic.

See the "Before" and "After" pics at Design Sponge.

The insanity never stops

So, after three days of labour, I finally completed the slip cover for my sofa bed.  Right now, it looks a bit like an ikea slip cover - generic and boring.  My fingers are raw from all the pins that have stabbed my sensitive and tired nerves.  My neighbors must have thought I had Tourette's, with all the random curses that were entering their homes through sound osmosis. 

I tried to add leather covered buttons to class up the joint but I gotta tell ya, it was like leaning on golf balls.  So I ended up removing them.  I'm thinking about adding lime green felt, cutting them into circles and adding on some iron on backing instead. 

The problem that I'm having right now is that my couch completely blends in with my area rug which is really giving it a Town and Country type of feel.  All I need now is some Laura Ashley throws.  Ughhhh.

When I first moved into my home, I had searched and searched for pillows or fabric that would fit my budget but alas, pillows are ridiculously priced.  Okay, okay - I get it.  The fabric might custom, the pillows might be stuffed with water fowl down, etc... labour..... but 80 bux for a pillow!  Jeebuz!

Here's an example of some pillows or fabrics that I HAD in mind with my first apartment:

But I ended up making my own pillow cases from ikea fabric:

Good enough.  For now.

Now, back to my current situation:  I had thought of some other ways to help distinguish my couch from my area rug.  I toyed with adding trim to the base of the slip cover but since it's a fold down sofa bed - this would end up being a bit tricky.  I have some accent boxes at the bottom but they will remain mostly hidden because of the coffee table.

So my only option at this point is to find bolder pillows.  However, my budget, again, has restricted my ability to buy what I want.

From Inhabit

I would have gotten this pillow if it weren't so small:

Fauna Squirrel Pico Pillow

So, instead, I'm going to try to make my own pillow by stenciling a design on to fabric.  More to come when the project begins.