More books!

I feel like librarians everywhere are probably cringing as I tell everyone to buy books simply to rip out the pages.

 

I really do love books and feel bad about harming them. So another suggestion could be to purchase the books and then have copies made of what you want to use as artwork at your local copy store.

 

Here are a couple more suggestions for chic & some what cheap artwork:

 

Botanicals Butterflies & Insects: $34

Art Forms from the Ocean: $ 16.50

The Parrots: $67.49 (This book is on the higher end, but I flipped through it and it’s pretty amazing!)

The Roses: Used copies for 7.99

 

Besler's Book of Flowers and Plants: $9

What other inexpensive ways do you use to get artwork for your home?

A book you can plaster your walls with!

I get many emails from my lovely readers and one of the most common questions is where do I find a book that I can take apart and use as artwork.

 

One of my favorite books that I’ve seen sprinkled throughout a home is, “Temple of Flora.” Kyle the blogger behind Knight Moves ( great blog from a girl that loves design and the color orange! Hello, she had me at orange!)

 

Due to a massive amount of wall space & a budget Kyle got creative and new that with some nice framing and matting she could get chic artwork on the cheap!

 

Check out the pages of Temple of Flora throughout her home:

I’m in love! I think she got quite the bang for her buck with a $75 book!

 

So, dear readers I now have to turn the question back around on you. What books would you recommend ripping apart and using as artwork?

 

*All images via Knight Moves.

Keep Calm Gallery

I’ve gotten many emails about the, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” print in my downstairs bathroom.

 

 

I bought it years ago! I think it was sometime in 2007.

 

It was purchased at Keep Calm Gallery.

 

Yes, their claim to fame is this:

But they have lots more to pick from like:

 

This

And This

They don’t seem to have the one in my bathroom anymore. Sorry about that!

 

It does seem like an easy DIY project and I even found a program online that lets you make custom eye charts!.

 

* I tried doing, “Beauty is in the eye…” but it was too long.

Reveal: Downstairs Bathroom

When we first moved into our house our downstairs bathroom was just okay. There was nothing wrong it. It had a white vanity, white toilet, drop ceiling, neutral paint color, it was pretty much a snooze with no character!

So, little by little we started giving it a little something, something and I’m happy to say it’s finally finished…for now.

When we first moved into the house I wasn’t blogging so I don’t have a true before picture.

The first thing we did when we moved it was add wall to ceiling bead board all around the teeny tiny ( 9ft x 4 ft) space. We lived with it like this for a while:

Little by little I started gathering items to fill up those white walls that I was tired of starring at.

We now have this:

And this on the opposite wall:

I had an old straw dispenser sitting around for ages not doing anything so I finally decided to give it a job and it now houses my favorite nail polishes!

View of both walls:

Close up of my gallery wall:

The walls are filled with mostly vintage finds, but that chic plate was actually from Christmas Tree Shoppe. I got a set of 4 dessert plates with different chairs for $1.99!

Opposite the vanity is our toilet with some build in storage above. My roman shade was another project from this week.

Since I love adding character to a space I knew this new/old looking handle would fit right in.

Wall opposite the window: This wall is a mix of thrift store finds, a small mirror from my trip to Colombia and the largest print was a gift from a friends Mom! How sweet! Thanks Mrs. D!

There you have it. My teeny tiny bathroom all spruced up and loaded with character.

I know many people live in semi new construction homes and always feel like they lack a bit of history to their home. With some small inexpensive touches like the bead board walls and/or a faux tin ceiling like ours you can take your basics and give them charm.

* The faux tin ceiling was also done right when we moved in so I don’t have pictures of the process. It was purchased at Home Depot. You can see them here. Real tin was really expensive so we just used faux fin backsplash that we adhered with liquid nails.

Baubles & Sequins & Jewels! Oh my!

One of my favorite new stores in Newport, Rhode Island had to be a place called Sequins.

 

It was girly heaven!

 

The first thing I noticed were those white bamboo boxes that were sprinkled throughout the floor.

 

A have turned my mom into a interior design nut. She was itching to buy all the display mirrors instead of of the jewels.

 

The store was separated by color. Here is the blue/green table:

 

While the majority of the store was crisp white they have gold accents throughout. I love how the dangled the glass bubbles and star fish. It was a nod to the beach, but in a chic way instead of cheesy.

 

The white/clear section:

 

Bling!

 

Bowls filled with bracelets. I seriously loved everything and would have walked out looking like Rachel Zoe decked from head to toe in jewels.

 

Orange/yellow table. Don’t you love that they used vintage patio tables all throughout!

 

Another massive mirror. Don’t worry Mom didn’t try to shove that one in her purse. :)

A glimpse of the purple table and a mermaid that you can purchase throughout town in a variety of sizes with a glossy coat of white paint!

I love store design and this one made my heart pitter-patter!

Weekend Recap: Girls' Weekend

Hi All,

 

I just have to take a second to thank you all for your sweet comments and emails about my post on Friday. I know that I may not know each and everyone you, but you are my people and I knew you would totally understand why I was feeling a bit blue and lift my spirits! Kisses and hugs to all of you, because you really helped me out. :)

 

Now on to what I do best my weekend recaps!

 

After I spent Friday in the steamy NY city heat helping my sister move out we left for our girls weekend trip early Saturday morning!

 

Our eyes were set for Newport, RI, but when I saw a sign for Mohegan Sun I knew we needed to do a little detour.

We ran into the casino like kids in a candy store. Who doesn’t love playing penny slots! We stayed for one hour and my $20 disappeared rather quickly.

 

My sisters on other hand by came home a little richer:

 

After our detour we continued to Newport where we ate lunch at Bowen’s Wharf’s:

{Since they won at the casino the big rollers paid for lunch. }

 

So pretty. Me and Jon talk about retiring to Rhode Island all the time. With views like this I think you can understand why. Who doesn’t love the water, beach and old charms of Newport.

 

Thames street is the main street in Newport and we made sure to hit all of my favorite shops.

If you ever visit the area you must stop at Armory Antiques.

 

Take a peek at what I saw:

 

Lots of vintage furniture:

 

Treasures, treasures and more treasures…

 

A ginger jar that was practically as tall as me!

I fell in love with these ginger jars, but for $325 they weren’t coming home with me.

 

They had a whole blue & white set up.

 

Loved this pierced lamp!

 

Vintage prints you had your pick of maps, postcards, advertisements, flower plates, etc.

 

When I was little purple was always my go-to favorite color so of course I loved all of these old bottles! Anyone know anything about purple glass?

 

I know I had only been gone a couple of hours at the point, but I missed my husband so when I saw all these vintage fishing lures I thought of Jon immediately.

 

For the beach house owner there was lots of nautical finds. Ximena was more than happy to model for me.

 

Hee hee I art directed this shot and it makes me chuckle! All kidding aside I loved those Japanese Fishing floats. They were huge and ranged from $30-$37 a piece.

 

This place was truly chinoiserie heaven. Look at all of these finds that I’m regretting leaving behind:

 

 

 

After shopping in town and a drive along the coast to check out the mansions we headed to Narragansett. It is only 30 mins away from Newport and I good place to go if you can’t find hotel accommodations in Newport.

 

Here is a picture of the historical towers. People can actual hold their wedding receptions in there.

We were tired when we arrived so heading to the movies to relax. We went and saw Grown-ups. It was enjoyed by all!

 

Next morning we woke up nice and early and headed to the beach.

Then I had to take them to eat at my favorite place, Crazy Burger. Yum.

 

Afterwards we also hit an art fair that is held every weekend in the center of town.

We then hit the road back home. Of course we stopped at the casino again on the way home. What can I say it’s very addictive. No pictures on the return trip since we didn’t do so hot!

 

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. It was nice to get away and go to one of my favorite places.

 

Have any of you traveled to R.I? Any other places I should hit next time?