Need a new pair of tennis shoes

As much as I love to design and decorate one of the many things I do not enjoy is shopping for tennis shoes. I am not one of the girls that like to cover my cute painted toes. I would rather spend money on another pair of sandals. However just the other day I realized as it was pouring outside that I had a hole in my New Balances. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise as I have had them for years. Tennis shoes make my feet look fat, cover my painted toes, and make me feel guilty I am not really exercising in them. However, my pace of speed has been on overdrive lately and it is exciting! Closing on our first place in May, starting Nest Staging & Designs (more on this next week), first family vacation to Disney, cooking meals for families, counseling, helping Kevin with the ministry, odd projects for the church, and those are just a few. So the running shoes are getting replaced so I can keep running. It is so exciting to see God work! So I better get my "armor" tennis shoes ready!

New Home

Home sweet home! (finally) So after months of house hunting, offers, disappointments; God gave us the perfect home. Cape cod style homes are my favorite. I love the little character it has and the many hidden storage through out the house. Closing date May 20th! Keep an eye out for some before and after photos as we put our own touches to our first place. (*hint no more sage green on the house)

Make Walls Talk

I am learning more on design I am realizing things that people can hate in a home have been recreated to the new style of today.

As we are looking for our first home, I walk into the doors I see floral wallpaper-ugh! It is even worse when you see different floral in each room. My first thought is "how can I remove this and how much is it going to cost me?" One of the many things part of my staging business I will face is those out dated walls screaming "I need a makeover!"

Just today we looked at a charming cape cod home with angled walls. My mind races with ideas in each home and I normally fall in love within 5 minutes as I decorate in my head. Kevin, not so much. He looks at every boring detail like foundation, cracks, ex. It is a good thing too, just not as fun or interesting to me. Yes there was wall paper boarder in one room and lots of bold paint. That doesn't scare me-bring it on! I came home thinking about the living room and the angled wall. What would I do? Shelves and wallpaper! Yes wallpaper. There are so many new kinds of contemporary wallpaper. So I searched to show you what I was thinking. Check this link out.

http://www.hgtv.ca/puredesign/theshow.aspx?season=2&sectionid=378&categoryid=5892666534844356552&postid=90735

examples of built-ins

Built in adiction

I am addicted to things off of the floor! Every house we look at to buy my first thought is how can I make built- ins. To make a space feel bigger it is better to get things off the floor and utilize wall space. The worse thing you can do is line each wall in a room with furniture and things. Let the floors free to show off! So as you are Spring cleaning think about what clutter you can take out and how can you get your items on the walls. It can also be a cheap way to decorate as you use everyday items and display.
Few tips for bookcases, built-ins, or shelves: 1) group items in color. Take all your books and separate by color. It makes it look like art. I go into Kevin's office often and do this. 2) Buy items in one color (white is classic) then group them in 3 or 4. 3) Don't fill up every shelf. Simplify!

Happy decorating for Spring!

Spring is almost here!

Who has started there Spring cleaning? I have! I get really excited when I start hearing birds chirp out my window, it is warm enough to open my sun roof even if it is for a second, and colorful things appear on the store shelves.
If you stopped by my house right now you would wonder where the color is in the place. I have stripped it all down to the cream, black, and tan. I am so in the mood for a change in this rental. Still not allowed to paint the walls=boring but I am determined to make it look airy and Spring like. This is the first time I am having a decorating block. Kevin said I could spend money on some new things but I want to be wise with the money and get the best bang for my buck. Any of you like this...you go to the store knowing what you want but see the sticker and change your mind? I don't know how many times I have left a store and wished later I had bought something I saw. So as I am writing this I am sitting on a tan couch with cream pillows all screaming at me to add a punch of color!
I saw this photo and loved the look. Not sure it is what I am going to do but a great start.

Lots of big projects

Not only am I business planning but working on parties, buying a house that needs remodeled, and still working on decorating projects. Here is my latest. Our church needed a face lift on the kids area, so bye with the tan walls and bring on color. We are designing a town theme. Lots of fun colors and incorporating some train items from the theme before. It is going to look awesome when it is finished! Full with a park, town shopping center, and train station. Pray for this remodel. For volunteers, funds, and for those designing that the ideas come all together. Will post after photos this Spring.