Renovating Ideas: Drop Cloths

We all know how costly fabric can be. There are a lot of great deals to be found in the Los Angeles fabric district, but what if you don't have access to a place like this? If you are looking for a very natural and organic look, I'd like to introduce you to drop cloths.

Yep, I said drop cloths. The fabric cloths that painters use. What makes drop cloths so attractive for home decor is that you can actually do some pretty cool things with them and you get a heck of a lot of fabric for a low investment.

Drop cloths can be found at Home Depot, Lowe's or many other home improvement or paint retailers. They come in a few different sizes and in two different weights. If you choose to work with drop cloths, you don't need to purchase a heavy weight unless you are creating a project that requires a stronger fabric. I hear that drop cloths from Home Depot have a seam down the middle of them and the ones from Lowe's don't. I am not quite sure what that may or may not mean to you but if having a larger piece of fabric is important to you, than it may be wise to purchase yours at Lowe's. A drop cloth of 6'x9' runs approximately $10.00 each. The size is an estimate. Please be sure to check the packaging for the exact measurement in fine print. I want to say a 6'x9' is more like 5 5/8'x8 5/8'. This is important to note if you are looking for exact measurements. Also, these cloths aren't cut in a perfect rectangle. It's very possible that you can lose a few inches in length from one corner to the next. There are red and blue threads that run through the fabric and not all drop cloths are the same shade of beige. Be sure to check all of these small possibilities when selecting your drop cloths.

I traveled around the world wide web to find a few gorgeous home items that were creat with drop cloths. Just look at how lovely drop cloths can be:

What a great way to use an unexpected medium in a really beautiful way!

xoxo, tami

Living Room: Gallery Wall

WAY back in the day, I decided I wanted to do a gallery wall in my living room, but I never actually did it. {Confession: I am a procrastinator on some things}  However, part of designing my renovated life is bringing great ideas to fruition. I think the area just left of my front door is the perfect spot for a gallery. I decided to scout the world wide web to see what I could see.  Look what I saw!

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I especially love the ampersand, the oversized letter and the all black frames. I want to focus my collection using pieces of art, framed family photos and text. This might be a bit of a process because I am a bit picky but I am excited about this. 

Do you have a gallery wall? If so, share the link, I'd love to see it.

If you don't, what do you think about this? Seriously, I wanna know!  xoxo tami

Living Room: Curtains

If you have been following along, you will know that my living room is unusually dark because we have a very tall brick building mere feet away from our living room, kitchen and bathroom windows. Alas, most of the time our place is very dark and requires constant electric lighting. For now, we illuminate the living room using the lamp on our ceiling fan, but my goal is to eventually strategically add lamps and sconces to warm up the place and perhaps add some mirrors so the light has something to bounce off of.

Suffice it to say, I really pondered the type of window coverings I should use. Currently the windows have metal mini blinds in ivory. They are great for keeping the neighbors out of our beeswax, but during the day, when the room begs for natural lighting, we want to open them to allow what little light we can into the room, but still have some privacy.

My initial idea as to simply put up sheers. However, the only sheers that would even attempt to allow in the light we get would need to be white. I am not exactly fond of windows covered in white sheers. It says "cheapskate" to me in a space that is supposed to be City Girl Chic. After a little hemming and hawing, I decided to go with aubergine taffeta curtains with white sheers underneath. The blinds will remain up but on the days we want to open the blinds for light, the sheers will give us some privacy and the taffeta curtains are also great for adding a bit of privacy and an element of glam to the look of our room.

Although I can score inexpensive white sheers at Walmart, I cannot find aubergine taffeta drapes to save my little life, so I will be DIYing them. The only decision now is what type of drapes shall I craft.

I love the idea of the fabric puddling on the floor. Below is an example of a basic drape shirred onto a curtain rod. This is one option and the easiest to create.

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Next is the pleated drape. I really love how this looks, but I will need to study the methodology for this type of drape as it requires pleating hooks and additional sewing and measuring.

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Then there is the grommeted drape which is very contemporary and may go well with the City Girl Chic vibe but also requires a bit more skill level and a few more tools. If I make the grommeted drapes, I will not puddle the fabric onto the floor as this is a more polished look. Aren't these pretty? The pattern and color of this material doesn't really go with my look but I do appreciate them.

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So what do you think? Shall I go with shirred, pleated or grommeted?

2012 Home Goals Party

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I was browsing through some of my favorite home decor and home DIY blogs and came across a super fun party! The 2012 Home Goals Party is a wonderful links party on The Nester .  What I love the most about participating in this is that I not only get to know other amazing ladies who are loving their families and homes but I also have a place to be accountable for the things I plan to accomplish this year.


We are on month 3 of our 13 month lease.  I have some very specific things I want to accomplish before I move into a larger place, so I have actually been thinking that I may stay on for another 13 months. After all this place is pretty cheap for Los Angeles and it's ALL utilities included. {SCORE} By staying on, it will put us right in line to move into a much larger spot and settle in just in time for Christmas 2013. However, while we are in transition in this little place, I plan to make it the best little apartment I can.


As I read the questions The Nester asked herself, I really reflected on my own home and why I started this blog when I moved in here AND why I called it My Renovated Life. Her questions were:

• What's my favorite room in my house? Why?
• How and where does my family hang out together? What's working for that room? What's annoying in that room?
• Is there something in my home I want to do but I'm afraid? What if I take that risk? What's the worse that can happen?
• What's the purpose of my home? Is that obvious by how we use it and what is filling it?
• Do the objects in my home reflect our family or do I just have things because someone told me it looked good, gave it to me or bought it for me?
• Am I neglecting my home and not putting money into something that is needed? Am I squandering money on something I don't need or enjoy?

Oh boy, did that get me to thinking. After careful reflection, I decided on 6 specific goals that I want to accomplish:

• I plan to sew up my own curtains for the living room and bedroom. Not only will they warm up our rooms and add a little personality, but I also want an additional level of privacy from the people who live in the building next door. Seriously, they can look out their windows into my apartment. We are all of 15 feet away from one another, if that.

{See what I mean. Mind you this is a full on sunshiney day! Yep... welcome to my world}

• I want to make an "inspired by Anthropologie" duvet cover and bed skirt, purchase a few new sheet sets and DIY an upholstered and tufted headboard for my bed. My mattress and box spring literally sit on the floor. I am actually okay with this. But I need a way to make it look more like an actual bed / faux platform and it will make a great focal point in the center of my window. As for the bedding, well, I no longer own an matching sheet set. That has to change this year. Nothing matches AT ALL. We have a variety of pillows in all shapes and sizes, rubber duck sheets with various pillow cases, a red comforter and a pink Betty Boop throw blanket. Um, yeah, how do you like that visual. Ah, well, it still does the job even if it isn't much to look at. {LOL}

 

{Oh you wanna know about the stuffed animals? Don't judge me! No seriously, my babygirl sleeps with me. But she knows it's time to move them off the bed. She is entering middle school next year.}

• I need to purchase an assortment of lighting options for my dark living room. When I say it's dark, I mean it is dark. Not an hour of the day goes by when we do not have the ceiling fan light on. It's annoying and doesn't cast the most attractive light. So, yeah. I have got to do something about that. 

• Once upon a time I rented a cute little studio in the perfect spot in Pasadena, just 3 blocks south of Colorado {the street the Rose Bowl parade comes down}. Alas, along with the recession and my decision to significantly scale back, those days are over for the moment. Therefore, I work out of my apartment along with our assistant, Cara. I have already begun the decor project for my workspace {which is in my dark living room, no less} however, Cara has no where to work. No desk whatsoever. We seriously have the best assistant on the planet. She is so excited to work every day she comes in and is sweet as pie. She literally plops down on the sofa and makes it happen with a smile. We are also fortunate in that there are a barrage of coffee shops within walking distance to my place, so we take advantage of that as well. My workspace needs to be completed and Cara needs a place to grind it out. Further, this space can double as a place for my girls to do their homework without distraction and without giving them free reign to disorganize my desk. I feel like a bad boss and bad mom. They are all such good sports. Love them.

 

{There is actually sunshine in the bedroom since my apartment is in the rear of the building. I love that there is a window in my closet. First time I ever had that! Do you see those sliding doors at the top for storage? They are actually painted in that position thanks to the people who painted the place before I moved in. I REALLY want to take a sledge hammer to it and risk losing my deposit. Not sure how to un-stick them. Still thinking about that one.}

• I plan to revamp my closet and buy a dresser. As it stands we have absolutely NO dressers or chests of drawers or armoires. Our clothes are either on hangers or residing in baskets and plastic bins. That has to change. My girls and I have a LOT of shoes. Seriously, it's ridiculous, but we love shoes. I really need a creative way to organize our shoes and free up the closet space a bit. And just look at those baskets. Enough said, okay?

 

• I will install art and photos on my currently bare walls. We need personalization up in here, up in here. It just needs to happen. Point blank period.

• Lastly, I need to bring more laughter and good times into my home. As a family, we have plenty of good times. But I have been notoriously bad about entertaining friends in my home. I would love to buy an iPod sound system, plan a fun menu, buy some wine and alcky-hawl and have the girls over for a little laughter and silliness. I'd love to host a Grammy party or a Golden Globes party. Perhaps a spa and pamper soiree. I need floor pillows, an area rug, some great dishes for entertaining and a bit more ambience. It's time to infuse more memories into this place.

I also need to do something to both my kitchen and bathroom, but I think that I have enough on my plate without adding stress. If I finish these goals by August, I will gladly add another goal or so to the list. In the meantime and in between time, let's just see how I do with what I am working with.

There are other things that I would love, such as having live plants and replacing the lighting fixtures, door knobs and switch plates. The plants will ultimately die with the lack of sunlight. And I need to really decide if I want to go through the trouble of replacing the door knobs, switch plates and lighting fixtures in a place that I will leave eventually. I know those things can be removed and I can take them with me when I move, but it's more about whether or not I want to make that much of an investment here. We shall see.

Anyhow, I am pretty excited about this because although I already had goals in mind for creating a loving atmosphere for my little family, I am now even more inspired and am in some really great company as I do so.

What type of home goals are you setting for 2012?

xoxo, tami

Living Room: Bombe Chest Update

You may recall in a previous post I shred my lifelong love of the bombe chest. Well, I am happy to say that I found the perfect bombe chest for my living room. I scoured Craigslist for weeks, seeing bombe chests running anywhere from $300-500 smackeroos. Well, persistence paid off and I am convinced that Craigslist is my friend because I snagged this little baby for $100 bucks. Thanks so much to my friend Melissa, who not only helped out with the use of her pick-up but also helped me carry into the apartment. And of course, a big thanks to Nicky who, in her preggo state couldn't help with the lifting of the chest, but did a great job keeping our spirits lifted with her funny stories. Love those ladies.

Without further adieu, here she is in all her glorious splendor ready to be the new media center for my living room. Isn't she a beauty? (excuse my horrible lighting and grainy iPhone photos, again). xoxo