I'm Floored!

After months of debate and lots of calls with contractors (some things are best left to the professionals), this bundle of joy arrived at our house about a month ago~

Two weeks later our lovely beige carpet went to carpet heaven.  RIP soft carpet.  It wasn't you.  It's me.  I'm a little crazy.  I have 3 dogs, you know.  It just wasn't working out.  We'll both be better off~



Then the boys got to work~

They pieced it together like puzzle~



And this baby was born~

Before and after photos coming later this week! 

Blinded by Bamboo

I've been admiring bamboo blinds for quite a while now.  I love the layer of natural texture they add to a room. Unfortunately, they can be quite expensive through many typical blind sources.  Smith & Noble sells similar blinds for around $200+ per standard window size blind!! 

All images via decorpad.com

A few months ago, I discovered Emily Hewett's blog, which regularly features fabulous spaces, frugal finds, and bargain decor DIYs.  Emily is a very talented, young desinger who recently left her full-time job as a designer for a local home builder here in the Dallas metroplex to set out working with her own clients full-time.  Emily prides herself on bringing stylish design to clients on a budget.  I emailed Emily to find out if she could help me put some of my rooms together.  She agreed, and we started our journey of trying to finish out my living room and master bedroom  I had a lot of ideas, but I was tired of bringing pieces home and realizing they didn't work in my space.  I needed help making the space cohesive without wasting money on pieces that just didn't work for me.  Emily turned out to be just the girl I needed.  She understood my budget concerns, and we've worked on my rooms step-by-step.  She's been great to recommend sources that I wouldn't have thought of on my own and to let me transform my space as my budget allows. 

Emily and I were discussing adding bamboo blinds to my living room.  I told her I wasn't sure because those I'd researched seemed pretty pricey.  She suggested I check out the local JC Penney store.  Score!  I purchased 3- 32" x 72" woven roman bamboo shades on sale for $30.00/per blind!  My grand total tax included was $97.42 for my chic magazine-worthy window treatment.  At the time I purchased the blinds, they were available online; I couldn't find them today, though. 

Here's the window before adding the bamboo blinds.  You can see the back side of our patio awning in the background.  I wanted to hide it from direct view in the house~

And, after adding our bamboo blinds~

I love how they look in the room.  So much more polished!  And, most importantly, I love the price!!

The room is still a work in progress, but I love where it's going.  My project for May is to raise the curtain rod and add new curtains.  I've been learning to sew, so I'm debating whether to make the curtains myself, do a semi-DIY curtain or to have the local fabric wearhouse, which is very budget friendly, make them for me.  We'll see what happens!    

Aloha!

This past February my parents, my brother, my husband and I, along with 5 family friends, travelled to Hawaii.  We spent 3 days on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu then headed to Maui for 7 days.  It was my first time, and it exceeded all of my expectations...which were pretty high.  I took over 1000 pictures!  Since I haven't really featured any design this week, I though I would share a few photos of our condo in Maui. 

We stayed at the completely amazing Honua Kai Resort located on Kaanapali Beach in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, which I highly recommend.  The stellar reviews on Trip Advisor sold me on where I wanted to stay.  Then, after extensive searching on VRBO and other travel rental sites, I found a killer deal on our 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom ocean view condo.  We had the most amazing time and can't wait to go back.  More on our trip in future posts, though!

I thought I'd share a few pictures of the incredible kitchen, which included an oversized built-in refrigerator, built-in dish washer, granite counters and back splash, all gourmet appliances, and the list goes on.  And, let's not forget that view!