Naptime? Makeover!

DSC00691Ever since I started this blog (a whole month ago) I have found myself even more inspired and determined to do things to my house than I was prior to my first post.  So it only seems natural that one recent day when I was home with my kids, I became possessed with the idea of redoing our plain vanilla back door breezeway into something a little more welcoming.  And here's the thing: I decided I had to do it that day (my husband can tell you I have issues with instant gratification and sometimes it manifests itself in really odd ways). So it was set.  I packed the kids in the car, made two quick stops (my local paint store and Lowe's, where I had to run an errand anyway), and the minute the boys were ready for their nap, I was masking off the door lights.  Two hours and $40 gave me the makeover hit I needed...here's how I did it:DSC00795

1) Added color: I painted the doors (one to the house, one to the garage) Benjamin Moore's Concord Ivory, a sunny yellow that I have used in my house already, so I didn't need to mess around with testing colors.

2) Introduced artwork: I hung a fun, inexpensive piece of art that I had recently moved out my living room.  It's a piece from Target that's printed on vinyl, so no worries about the weather!

3) Gave us an ID: Until the redo, we hadn't had house numbers on our back entrance.  It was time to admit most people enter through our back door.

4) Put up a mailbox: We finally gave the USPS a proper place to leave all my magazines -- no more mail all over the floor. This is the one thing that I had to do after the boys woke up, since the second coat of paint hadn't dried by the time they awoke.DSC00802

At some point I would love to add a new light fixture and a small bench (which is why the artwork is hung high), but until then, this redo is exactly what I needed.

With an oink oink here, and an oink oink there...

Animal IndexLast night, after a couple of weeks of successful -- ahem -- coaching, my husband and I felt secure enough to move the changing table out of our youngest son's room.  Now presented with a completely blank wall of opportunity, I'm thinking shelves filled with his ever-growing book collection, broken up with pig heads and bums...how cute are these?  Animal Index by Hiroshi Sasagawa, $23,  pig, reindeer and giraffe heads and hindquarters

Image credit: greenergrassdesign

Vase 101

DSC00705Here in New England, the peonies have bloomed, the hydrangeas are leafing up and snapdragons are just around the corner -- perfect timing for a little tutorial from House Beautiful on the eight vases to have at the ready for gorgeous, simple summer arrangements:

  • Mugs
  • Trumpet-shaped
  • Collection of bud vases
  • Cylinder
  • Ginger jar
  • Pitcher
  • Footed bowl
  • Regular bowl

My go-to vase right now isn't even meant for flowers...it's an IKEA glass placed carefully into a small drawstring bag I picked up late last month at Les Toiles du Soleil in New York (I wasn't sure what I was going to do with that little bag when I bought it, but I knew I had to have it!).

{Find House Beautiful's eight favorite vases and sample floral arrangements here.}