kapachino

Category: home

  • master bedroom progress

    As you may remember, I am s-l-o-w-l-y decorating our house on a budget. I’m not going for anything high style, but more of a handmade, collected, simple, personal, and comfortable look. My focus lately has been our bedroom and I’ve made some updates since the last time I shared about it here. This time, though, I worked on the wall with the window and dresser. See the full “before” here, but just for reference this is what this wall looked like:

    bedroom before

    bedroom before side

    Yup! It was terrible. But here it is now!

    master bedroom dresser

    master bedroom dresser

    So much better! It’s hard for me to get a great photo of this wall because of that big window there and I only use an iPhone. But you get the idea.

    I mentioned before how we painted the walls white and replaced the carpet. The next big change was getting rid of that huge TV (sold it in a garage sale) and moving the old dresser (it’s now in our guest room). The new dresser was given to us for free by a friend of my mom’s, so even though it might not be exactly what I would have chosen, it is a really great step in the right direction and the price was right. I love that it’s not blocking the window and we have lots more space. I have my own sock drawer now! I might replace the knobs one day but for now this is just fine.

    master bedroom dresser

    The top of the dresser was a bit scuffed up, so I made this table runner out of burlap and yarn (tutorial here).

    master bedroom dresser

    master bedroom dresser

    I hung new curtains up; they are from IKEA as well as the rod. I even hemmed them! I also hung a curtain in place of a door to our bathroom. Most of the time I leave it pinned back so we can pass through easily, but I like that if we have company I can close it.

    felt banner

    grow where you are planted print

    I made the “hi” felt banner from supplies I had on hand (idea found here) and I bought the “grow where you are planted” print from Urban Outfitters (with a gift card). I decided to leave the leaning mirror there because I get some use out of it and it’s not very distracting.

    master bedroom dresser

    I’m pretty happy with this wall of our room now! I would like to change up the plants eventually and add some real ones since it’s right by a window, and I’ll probably mess with the styling of the dresser too, but for now it’s making me smile. Next I’m working to create a gallery wall!

  • thrifty decorating ideas // on the wall

    Even though we are on a tight budget, I figure I can still do some decorating around the house. There are always the craft supplies I already own, thrift stores, and “shopping” at Mom & Dad’s house. :) In this new series I’m going to share with you some ideas I’ve found for thrifty decorating. Since I’m working on our gallery wall in the master bedroom, the first edition is focused on stuff you can make to hang on the wall other than traditional photos or prints.

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    woven wall hangings – I’ve already done one of these, and I love it. This link takes you to a great tutorial on how to do it by making your own loom, and it includes several ideas for making them interesting. I can’t wait to try some new techniques.

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    felt banner – there are so many options for this idea! I actually made one this past weekend very similar to the one pictured. It was SO fast and easy, and I already had all the supplies on hand. I want to make more in the future that are seasonal or holiday-themed.

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    geometric photo display – I think this is so cool. All you need are nails, some kind of string, clips, and photos.

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    quilted wall hanging – this one might be a little more involved, but if you can sew a straight line I think you can do it, just using fabric scraps. I’m really excited to try it.

    packing tape transfer art – couldn’t get a picture of this one, but click through the link to see what I’m referring to. You make art using packing tape and magazines and it’s super cool.

    So, any other ideas for stuff to hang on the wall? Have you tried any of these?

  • buffet, after

    If you will indulge me for another day with more updates on a corner of my home I would appreciate it. :) I finally put just a little bit of effort into this buffet nook and it makes me much happier now when I pass by.

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    Recall that this is what the area looked like before. The paint improved things a lot but it still needed a change. Eventually I want to paint over all the green (I crave white walls) but that might not happen for a long time so for now this is good.

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    This area doesn’t get very good light (I had a fern here once before that died practically the next day) so I bought some fake plants and pots from IKEA and I actually think they look great. The wooden plate is something that we got on our honeymoon in Hawaii and the angel figure was a gift from a patient.

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    I stacked some magazines with a watering can on top, and then I figure this will be another place where I’ll change the decor with the seasons. For now I put some acorns and a candle in a bowl and set out a couple of mini pumpkins. I am a lazy decorator but I still think it’s cute.

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    I actually organized the upper and lower cabinets too, but they are nothing special. Up top has all of our vases, and below has games and extra kitchen/decor stuff.

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    Still looove my woven wall hanging.

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    Thanks for pretending to care and you may now return to your regularly scheduled week. :) Have a good one!

  • fall garland and mantel

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    I made a fall garland! It was one of my goals this month and I’m happy I pulled it off.

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    I had several ideas for types of garlands I wanted to make (and I do hope to get to the others eventually) but I knew I wanted it to be easy and I didn’t want to spend much money on it. One day on a walk I came across all these perfect pine cones and my mind was made up.

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    I already had the twine at home and I only had to pick up some screw eye hooks from Home Depot which were cheap and I have a bunch left over for other stuff now. I ended up using this basic method but I didn’t do the gold leaf. I think the hardest part of the whole project was measuring. I also recommend using garden gloves if your pine cones are prickly like mine were!

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    So after I hung my garland I wanted to make the whole mantel a little more fall-ish. But because I wanted to use what I have I just put up a couple of soup bowls that look like pumpkins and changed out one of my planters. I will be the first to admit that it is definitely missing something but this is the most fall decorating I have ever done so it is progress for me. :)

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    Yay! My plan is just to add at least one holiday decoration each year and eventually I will have a festive house for each occasion. So far so good!

  • ikea shopping list

    So as I was saying earlier this week, I visited IKEA last weekend since Meredith and I were kicked out of the house while our carpet was installed. It’s about a 30-minute trek to get there for me and we all know that once you’re inside it’s never a quick trip, so I don’t go very often. I do love it for home accessories though! I brought home a lot of this stuff and wanted to share.

    For our bedroom:

    ikea bedroom

    INDIRA bedspread – even though I want a handmade blanket with a little more color as a permanent bedcover, this will be great for in the meantime and for layering later on.

    EIVOR throw – so classic, so good. I need more black and white in my house.

    RACKA curtain rods – I’ve heard that these cheap curtain rods actually hold up really well! I got them for our bedroom and also for several other places in our house.

    FORSA lamp  – I think an industrial-style work lamp like this is perfect for our nightstands. I have learned that it is super hot to touch when it’s turned on though, so word of warning!

    For kiddos:

    ikea kids

    LATT children’s table and two chairs – Meredith would LOVE this and use it all the time. We didn’t get it yet because I think my dad might be making her a table, but if that doesn’t work out this is a great deal.

    BEKVAM step stool – we got this so kids can reach the sink for handwashing, and maybe to “help” with cooking.

    DUKTIG doll bed – Meredith has started to like to put all of her toys to “nigh nigh” so a little doll bed would be fun for her.

    DUKTIG baking set – It’s the season for baking and I would love for her to be able to mimic mommy. Plus these would be great play-doh toys.

    For the whole house:

    ikea house

    FEJKA artificial plants – I love the fig (they didn’t have it though) but I got the succulent and a couple of herbs. Most of their artificial plants look pretty realistic if you don’t get too close! I got a few for the low light areas of our house that aren’t great for plant growth. I’m not great at plant care yet but I really do want to have more live plants in our house as well, but there are some spots where they just won’t thrive.

    Planters: MANDEL, FRIDFULL, SOCKER, KARDEMUMMA – Of course plants need plant pots and I like these affordable options.

    SOCKER watering can – This is just useful, and the style of it is something I wouldn’t mind keeping out.

    Cushions & covers: LAPPLJUNG RUTA – I have a serious lack of throw pillows. Need more.

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    Aside from these things we also have some of their curtains, a coffee table (which isn’t holding up that well & we’ll have to replace), and all of our nursery furniture (crib, shelves, dresser) which is working out great. Especially the HEMNES dresser which looks so nice and is very solid quality!

    What do you love at IKEA? I’m taking notes for my next trip there. :)