Sunday, May 22, 2011

New Home Love

So I'm about a week away from moving to my new place and I'm definitely feeling under the wire. As much as I've tried to be prepared, there is always something that I remember and think to myself, "will I ever get this done?" And of course, I know I will.

I am so far from an interior designer, but I've taken this new move as an opportunity to really build a home that will rise up to meet me at the end of a hard day. I have a friend and co-worker who has an awesome blog, Suite Revival. She uses pieces that are totally thrifted from her family or thrift stores and turns them into beautifully unique pieces of home. I have been inspired by her creativity and am thankful that it's rubbed off on me. I've come up with some ideas that I think work well in my small space and I look forward to seeing my ideas turn into reality.

I heart Nate Burkus. I've loved him long before he became Oprah's protoge and had his own show. I read an article where he talked about color choices and the writer shared this color palette:


And then I saw
these curtains at Urban Outfitters...and everything just started to come together after that. I'm liking grey more than the taupe at this point, but I think it still works. I still need to pull in the green.





The black cabinet is an example of one that I plan on refinishing. I inherited a cabinet just like this one from my mom and I have always wondered how I was going to use it and this seems like a good opportunity. I have a few more pieces that need to be worked into the space but it's a work in progress. The two fabric samples in the lower right corner are for either pillows or I may use one to add to the background of the cabinet to lighten up the black...not sure yet.

Overall, I like it and I am excited to see what happens. It will happen a little bit at a time, because I am on a tight budget but I think once it's done I will definitely enjoy the fruits of my labor!




Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Cha...Cha...Cha...Changes



My poor blog. It has suffered for lack of attention lately. I owe it an apology.



In an attempt to make up for my lack of attention, I have a fresh new look for Hearts & Crabs. I have an amazing and talented colleague at work who insists on remaining anonymous...but she designed my new logo, my business cards and everything blog related. She did it from the goodness of her heart and I am so thankful. I hope y'all likey because I love it!



My lack of blogging is not for lack of inspiration because I have lists of goodies yet to be made. It is simply for lack of time and the reality that my world has been consumed with finding a new home. I'll be honest, I'm picky. I'm not conscious of it, but I am. It also wasn't easy because I have high expectations and sometimes have caviar dreams on a hot dog budget. I have to admit that a part of me enjoyed the search but that enjoyment wavered as my move date crept closer and closer.



June 1st is my moving day and I am happy to report that I have found a home. I visited the property on Friday, made the decision Saturday morning and informed the owner before the end of the day, knowing that they had other possible tenants viewing the property all weekend. I had chosen my home, but would my home choose me? Well, they did and I am excited for the next steps.



I'll share more as I progress through the moving process, thus the picture above. I cannot wait to get back to crafting, but for now, my life is packing, sorting, organizing and moving and I figure, why not share the process with you. My new place is a blank slate and I look forward to making it my own. A designer...I am not. But the blog world is full of inspiration and tutorials and I look forward to making building my little nest.



On a side note...can you believe it's May already? geesh.