More Living Room Progress

Just recently came back from a much needed 4-day mini getaway. For my husband, going camping every year is an absolute must, so we headed out to Lake Cachuma and took day trips to Solvang and the Santa Ynez Valley wine country (see a few snapshots of the trip here).  These past few months have been a bit crazy so it was nice to slow things down for a few days and relax.

Back at home, and feeling refreshed, I'm motivated to make some more progress on decorating our little rental apartment.  You may remember the last post on my living room it was looking pretty sparse (see the move-in post here).  Since then, the main things we've added are the rug and mirror. Here's what it looks like currently:

The mirror was a bargain find from the Home Depot. The rug, also a budget find, is from Overstock.com (bought it using a discount code).

On the list of things to do next:

• make pillows - on the sofa will be two pillows in aga reverse black with black piping, and two black solid with off-white grosgrain ribbon; on the chair will be one lumbar in zig zag french blue with black piping
• paint the side table - I'm thinking possibly this sapphire blue
• make the abstract art I talked about in this post
• bring in a piece of furniture that will store and hide the TV wires, DVDs, xbox, and games

In an upcoming post I'll share with you all, the progress we've made on the bedroom, so stay tuned for that!

p.s. For any of you who may be interested in getting pillows made out of the same fabrics mentioned, email shop@ariannabelle.com for a quote.

Double Duty Piece

Pieces that do double duty are so great for small spaces. This piece below, a bookcase turned on its side with a cushion on top, doubles both as a place to store favorite books as well as extra seating.  So clever!

image credit: sous style by pippa

Muji Acrylic Storage

I love finding pieces that can be mixed and matched to accommodate various space and storage needs. My most recent finds are these Muji acrylic drawers and stands. The configuration below shows the 2 Drawer Acrylic Case with the Large Acrylic Stand on top of it, used for organizing makeup brushes, tools, and cosmetics.

For additional storage compartments I could swap out the 2 Drawer Case for the 3 or 5 Drawer Case...or maybe add the Small Acrylic Stand... or this case placed horizontally on top of the drawers... So many possible combos! 

image credit: top photograph by Emily Weiss

Beautifully Organized: Magazines

A good tip for magazines that are current reading material is to store them wherever you tend to do most of your reading. Here, a basket next to the sofa makes them easily accessible, perfect for reading while lounging:

You could follow the same idea and place a basket or rack next to or under your nightstand if you read in bed.

Or near your desk if you tend to do your reading there:

Maybe you have a desk that has built-in storage, like the one shown above right (lucky!). Since chances are you don't, you could consider creating your own storage using display shelves.  A magazine wall like this one shown below would be perfect for an office or breakfast nook:

In a later post I'll go over ideas for storing larger collections of back issues saved for future reference, so stay tuned for that!

image credits: 1 -via plantation design, 2- anthology, 3 -cupcakes and cashmere, 4 -found via pinterest, 5-lonny, 6- made by girl

I'm on Instagram!

Clockwise from top left: beautiful painting by mira belleza, my pup little foot at the dog park, bright pink peonies on my desk, brunch with my husband in malibu

Are you on Instagram?  I use it every now and then ...when my phone will cooperate.  I'm planning to use it more often once I get a new phone next week. My current one is incredibly slow, will go to a blank screen even though it's on, will randomly turn off on it's own (even though it supposedly still has battery life), among other things (can you tell I'm frustrated with it? lol).  You can see my current Instagram photos here. This weekend we're finally getting around to painting the bedroom so I'll likely be taking a few progress shots of that. Let me know if you have an account, would love to see your photos!

Short on Space?

Do like Kelly and use a hanging organizer like this one:

The pockets are a good size for jewelry and other small accessories and they're clear so you can quickly see what you have. Overall it takes up little room - perfect for small spaces!

image credit: the glamouri

Coffee Canisters

In continuation to the 'coffee bars' post earlier this month, a few stylish coffee canisters pretty enough to keep out on the counter:

1- vintage storage canister, 2- bristol canister, 3- clamp canister with chalkboard, 4- caffeine 5- english charm canister, 6- storage coffee jar

Which one would you pick for your kitchen?

Beautifully Organized: Patterned Storage

I'm always on the lookout for storage options that aren't just functional, but stylish as well.  Below is a round-up of patterned pieces that have caught my eye:

1-dvf square dot rectangular tray, 2- teal ikat storage bucket, 3- pink and navy ikat storage bin, 4- black and white patterned bone boxes, 5- yellow and white zig zag strapping baskets with lid, 6- orange and white chevron fabric basket, 7- black and white striped photo box, 8- multi colored chevron round covered boxes

Happy 4th!

Enjoyed a lovely brunch this morning and planning to catch the fireworks by the harbor later in the evening.

Hope you're having a wonderful 4th of July!

p.s.  Aren't those wedge espadrilles adorable? They're on sale here!

image credit: denise crew

Stylish Storage: Silver Painted Baskets

Check out this beautiful entryway from the home of Catherine of The Life Styled:

She uses pretty baskets to stylishly store and keep shoes and dog toys out-of-sight.

They're actually a fairly easy DIY project with a total cost per basket of less than $35. Learn how to make your own here!

image credits: 1- sarah yates, 2-johnny miller

Lending Hand

Loving the wall mounted "hands" in these two entryways:

Quirky yet functional additions to the decor, and probably fun conversation pieces!

image sources: 1-apt therapy, 2-dabble mag

How Jenna Organizes Her Makeup Brushes

Today participating in the How I Organize series is Jenna of the lovely blog The Three Little Birdies.  She shares with us how she beautifully organizes her makeup brushes.

With an increasing collection of makeup brushes and makeup itself, I found myself frantically searching for a specific makeup brush every morning while trying to get ready for work. With no rhyme or reason, I would just toss my brushes in a drawer and leave them to get smashed by the million other makeup items I would throw on top of them.

I got the idea from Sephora to use clear jars filled with a weighted object to display and keep my brushes organized. While having a hard time trying to find beanbag fill, I opted for a $1.00 bag of white beans to use instead. I filled each glass container halfway full of the beans and stuck my brushes straight in the beans to stand them up. I designated one jar for eye brushes and one jar for face brushes. It was a cheap and easy alternative to easily find a brush, keep them clean and keep them organized. Another suggestion is to use coffee beans as a filler; your brushes will have an extra special scent and might give you an early morning boost while doing your makeup!

Currently On My Desk...

...fully open vibrant pink peonies from Trader Joes and yellow ikat fabric that I'm considering using for pillows for my shop:

Loving the pink and yellow together - a great summer color combo :)

Beautifully Organized Space: Accessories Closet

Check out this accessories closet:

Beautifully organized by Flavia of Lulu Abroad, who lined up her shoes on shelves by type, hung belts on a row of hooks, used frames for sunglasses and jewelry, and cubbies for handbags.

Functional and looks great too.  Nicely done!

Photo Labeled Hat Boxes

Photos are a great way to label the contents of a box. We've seen them used for organizing shoes, and this lovely example from Elsie of A Beautiful Mess shows them used for organizing hats:

p.s. find out how she DIY'd her boxes here!

Living Room Progress

Last week I showed you photos of my office progress. Today I'm showing you photos of our living room. If you remember from this post, when we got the keys, the walls were painted a medium brown.  Similar to the office, we decided we wanted to brighten things up with a nice white (we went with Horseradish C15-1 by Olympic):

Here's my list of things to get/make:

1. Throw pillows - I've been so busy making them for others, I haven't set aside the time to make some for myself! lol I guess also, I haven't really finalized what fabrics I want to use.  I want to do four, maybe five pillows total.  Two will probably be in China Sea's Aga Reverse in black and white, but not sure what I want for the others. Still deciding!

2.  Art for wall above sofa - I'm thinking something abstract with various blues

3. Another table lamp and two side tables (the thing holding the current lamp is actually a shoe shelf turned sideways)

4. A rug to add a bit of warmth and texture

5. A mirror for above the fireplace - maybe a sunburst one or a tall rectangular one

6. Coffee table accessories

7.  A flat screen TV (you can spot the "mini", yet bulky one we currently have in the second pic)

I'd love to take out the blinds and add new window treatments but considering we don't really know how long we'll stay in this condo (1 year, 2 years?), it may not be worth the investment.  The white chair I've had since I was in college and was given to me by a friend of my mom's.  It'll probably stay for now.

Well there you have it.  That's what my living room looks like currently - a neutral base. Can't wait to add some life and color to it. Stay tuned for more updates!

My Office Progress

I know I promised more photos of our new place after this post. Well I've finally gotten around to taking some. First up, my office. Here's what it looked like when we first got the keys:

Since then we've painted the walls (it was too dark and depressing before!) and moved in my desk, etc., so here's the progress so far:As you can see, there's still a lot left to do.  I love how desks look centered in the room, but the cords in the middle of the floor are definitely a hazard so I have to find a solution for that or move the desk against the wall.  On the main wall I'm planning to have an Expedit shelving unit (placed horizontally) and a gallery wall with framed artwork, photos and maybe a mirror.  I might move the storage units that are currently on the side wall (with the window) into the closet, depending likely on whether or not I end up moving the desk.  The current rug is too small (it's the one I used to have in the closet at my old place) so I'm looking for a replacement  - something that will be big enough to cover more of the not-so-pretty carpeting.  We shall see! I'll post more pictures as I make more changes :)