Plaid + Dots

love affair: serena and lily

I am in love with Serena & Lily.  I absolutely adore their bedding, furniture, and designs.  So much so that I decorated Miss N's nursery in the "Kate" collection- it's fresh, feminine and so adorable!  It's a bit of a splurge for nursery bedding but her room just looks fantastic.

Well, when thinking about redecorating the bedding in the master bedroom, I looked to my friends Serena & Lily for inspiration.  Their latest catalog had some beautiful things.  I wanted to keep some of the existing bedding (sheets & accent pillows) and was looking to replace the duvet and shams.  I found two great lines, Ventura and Tess, and bought swatches of the fabric to see how the colors would coordinate with the existing accents and decor.  I seriously think the Tess line was made for our bedroom.  Not only did this bedding work well with the existing accents, but the color matched the paint in the room so well that all I needed to do is put the duvet on the bed and be done.  Sold!  

I purchased the duvet from Layla Grace and it arrived yesterday.  I spent my morning watching the Today show and ironing.  I put the duvet on the bed and the room has been transformed into a relaxing retreat...  I cannot wait to hop into bed tonight with a good book and a cup of tea.  Pure Bliss!

i heart fabric + making pillows

In my quest to completely overhaul our family room (see previous posts:  changing up the family room), I've decided to swap out my old pillow covers with some new decorative pillow covers that are more fresh and vibrant for the spring/summer seasons.  I searched online a bit and couldn't find what I was looking for... so I bought some fabric, created a simple pattern and started sewing.  Here's the end result:

And here's another view...

And for all you DIYers out there... here's some simple instructions so that you can make your own decorative pillows.. [note: these instructions are for square pillows]

1. Select the fabric of your choice - I bought this fabric at Joann's but I've also found great fabric at Calico Corners, Purl Soho, and other small local boutiques.  
2. Pre-shrink the fabric according to manufacturer's instructions.  Press the fabric so it's laying flat.
3. Measure out the fabric.  This is a simple envelope enclosure pillow.
   1. Front:  Add one inch to the length and width.  So, for a 20x20 pillow, I measure the front at 21x21 inches.
   2. Back #1:  Divide the length of the pillow in half and add 5.5 inches (for seam allowance and provide enough overlap with the envelope).  Add 1 inch to the width.  The measurement for this panel will be 15.5 x 21 inches.
   3. Back #2:  Divide the length of the pillow in half and add 2.5 inches (for seam allowance and hem).  Add 1 inch to the width.  The measurement for this panel will be 12.5 x 21 inches.
   4. Here's a picture of my pieces cut out and assembled.
4. Create a one inch hem on both Back #1 and Back #2.  The length is the area that is hemmed.
5. Match the pieces of fabric together so the patterned sides are facing inwards.  Back #1 and Back #2 will overlap to create the envelope style.  Pin the fabric pieces together around the edges of the pillow.
6. Sew around the entire pillow leaving a 1/2 inch seam.  Cut the corners of the pillow so that it's easier to turn the pillow and get clean edges (making sure you don't cut through the stitches).
7. You're pillow sham is complete and all you need to do now is to put a pillow insert in and your done.  Ta Da!!!  Wasn't that easy?!?!

These are super easy to do and you can quickly change your room with just a little fabric, a pillow insert and some creativity.  Enjoy!!

carpet turned area rug

With our lil girl starting to crawl, we needed a larger area rug for our living room.  Well, I am excited to let you know that we found it!  

The size I was looking for was 11x15 which is not a standard size for an area rug.  So, I was on the quest to find a soft, large and cool area rug that didn't cost a fortune.  I surfed and surfed and surfed for days looking for a custom rug that wasn't crazy $$$$.  Well, on a trip to our local carpet store, Avalon, I discovered that you can get any carpet bound into an area rug for a fraction of the cost.  JACKPOT!  Well, I found a piece of carpet that I loved... we had it bound and now it's hanging out in our family room.  It is amazing how much larger our family room looks now that we've added a larger rug and changed the layout a little bit.  I love it!

Here's a recent pic of our family room transformation.. it's coming along and we still have a few more things to do.  Stay tuned for more changes to the decor in the coming weeks!

 

One thing you'll also notice is that we have new wood blinds.. so happy to finally have some "real" window treatments (which we got a Smith + Noble).

soon to be crawling baby = new area rug!

Well, we've made a bit of progress on updating the decor in the family room.  The new chair was delivered  - HOORAY!  [See first post to see the chair : Changing up the family room..]  We absolutely love this chair and are so happy with the purchase [Thanks C+B!].

In the past few weeks our little girl has turned into a little mover and is on the brink of crawling.  We desperately need a new area rug so that it'll cover enough of our floor for the lil crawler.  So...  the search for the perfect rug has begun!