That is right! I am so hooked on navy, that I brought it into our main living spaces!
As you may remember, we recently painted our living room to bring more flow to our upper level. I know it was a shock to many, but we have been so impressed with the difference the gallon of paint made. Wall to wall space for our kitchen, dining room and living room is about 24 feet wide. By painting the rooms the same light color, it felt like our space doubled! Although, after the painting update there was one thing that made it all feel a little lack-luster to me....
The creamy curtains seemed to just disappear into the windows and no longer supported the wall color. With the green walls they offered a neutral balance, however, with the grey walls their impact was minimal.
Being a deer in headlights with my studio, I ordered a few fabric samples to bring in some color, pattern and softness to the space. When I received the navy ikat pattern in the mail, I instantly placed it up against the wall in our living room and my gut said, "DO IT!" I wasn't even really looking for fabric {I actually planned to just paint/stencil our previous curtains}, but it was just so right. So I ordered twelve yards of the Premier Prints Raji Slub Premier Navy Fabric. I always get nervous at this point, but I love that fabric.com offers coupon codes, free shipping and the ability to return your fabric if it doesn't work out {not paid to say that, just where I shop for fabric}.
When it arrived, we took a good week to measure, cut and sew up the new panels. The process was pretty simple for a sewing rookie, however, I will say that a huge table and extra hands were helpful at times. Four basic sewn rectangles later and we were able to use drapery ring clips to hang the new panels.
We used our previous curtain rods and hung the panels from ceiling to floor. It makes such a dramatic statement and also gives the appearance of taller ceilings.
We also opted to do the same panels in both the living room and adjoining dining space to unify the feeling and flow between the two areas.
The updated panels brought in SO much warmth! I can't get over the dramatic impact that the single change made to both spaces.
My favorite view...
The navy seemed to work well with the tealy blues and other accent colors we already had within the two spaces. And although I was initially more giddy for the curtains to make a statement within the so-light-so-much-white living room, I was a little surprised at how much I loved them in the dining room as well.
And because no post is complete without a before and after, not only does paint make a statement, but apparently curtains do as well!
This morning when I walked up the stairs and entered the living room, my heart literally fluttered. The room impacts my mood and I am giddy about how it is evolving!
The overall goal for the space was to only make a few minor changes to get a big impact. We started with a gallon of paint, now added the curtains and the final stage is to address the white built-in with the addition of doors and a rustic wooden top. Can't wait to see how that warms things up even more!
Navy is my current color crush, what is yours? What one change have you recently made to a space that completely changed the entire feeling?
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As you may remember, we recently painted our living room to bring more flow to our upper level. I know it was a shock to many, but we have been so impressed with the difference the gallon of paint made. Wall to wall space for our kitchen, dining room and living room is about 24 feet wide. By painting the rooms the same light color, it felt like our space doubled! Although, after the painting update there was one thing that made it all feel a little lack-luster to me....
The creamy curtains seemed to just disappear into the windows and no longer supported the wall color. With the green walls they offered a neutral balance, however, with the grey walls their impact was minimal.
Being a deer in headlights with my studio, I ordered a few fabric samples to bring in some color, pattern and softness to the space. When I received the navy ikat pattern in the mail, I instantly placed it up against the wall in our living room and my gut said, "DO IT!" I wasn't even really looking for fabric {I actually planned to just paint/stencil our previous curtains}, but it was just so right. So I ordered twelve yards of the Premier Prints Raji Slub Premier Navy Fabric. I always get nervous at this point, but I love that fabric.com offers coupon codes, free shipping and the ability to return your fabric if it doesn't work out {not paid to say that, just where I shop for fabric}.
When it arrived, we took a good week to measure, cut and sew up the new panels. The process was pretty simple for a sewing rookie, however, I will say that a huge table and extra hands were helpful at times. Four basic sewn rectangles later and we were able to use drapery ring clips to hang the new panels.
We used our previous curtain rods and hung the panels from ceiling to floor. It makes such a dramatic statement and also gives the appearance of taller ceilings.
We also opted to do the same panels in both the living room and adjoining dining space to unify the feeling and flow between the two areas.
The updated panels brought in SO much warmth! I can't get over the dramatic impact that the single change made to both spaces.
My favorite view...
The navy seemed to work well with the tealy blues and other accent colors we already had within the two spaces. And although I was initially more giddy for the curtains to make a statement within the so-light-so-much-white living room, I was a little surprised at how much I loved them in the dining room as well.
And because no post is complete without a before and after, not only does paint make a statement, but apparently curtains do as well!
This morning when I walked up the stairs and entered the living room, my heart literally fluttered. The room impacts my mood and I am giddy about how it is evolving!
The overall goal for the space was to only make a few minor changes to get a big impact. We started with a gallon of paint, now added the curtains and the final stage is to address the white built-in with the addition of doors and a rustic wooden top. Can't wait to see how that warms things up even more!
Navy is my current color crush, what is yours? What one change have you recently made to a space that completely changed the entire feeling?
This week's giveaway is coming to you a day early and I couldn't be more excited about this one! It is quite the GRAND event! Think of it as a great way to reward all of your hard work this past month with the clean home challenge. Or, just think of it as AH-MAZING! Because it is!!
I have partnered up with the most darling blog pals to bring to you an over-the-top incredible giveaway!
Did you see that?! A $1000 gift card to NORDSTROM!? I can think of at least 1000 grand ways I could use such an amazing gift {but I can't enter, so YOU must take advantage of this for me}! Time to purge your closet because you are going shopping! Handbags, accessories, summer dresses and shoes? Oh yes!
So what is the catch? Well, once you stop giggling, happy dancing and pick your jaw up off of the floor, you just take a second to get to know each of these lovely ladies a little bit more, and then you get a chance to win!
Shay at Mix and Match Family is a mom of two (and adopting a third!) lifestyle blogger who shares her daily life with her readers along with her fun world travels, organization tips, shopping and fashion and easy, yummy recipes.
Sheaffer from Pinterest Told Me To is a wife and mom trying to look cute when she heads out the door, and she's using Pinterest to help her do it.
Jen at IHeart Organizing is an organizing lovin' gal who is trying to simplify and beautify her fun-filled life as a mom of three boys {but you all know that already right?!}.
Chris at Just a Girl is a wife, mom, a professional, a student, a friend, and on and on and on. Essentially however, she's just a girl who loves to create, decorate, and inspire-ate.
Cassie at Hi Sugarplum is a design-obsessed Texas girl, and lover of DIY, travel, fashion, sarcasm, Mexican food, & shiny, ruffly things.
I am so happy to introduce you to each one of them, as they all fill my blog reading time with enjoyment. Now, enter away my friends!!
.png)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
IHeart Organizing official giveaway entry rules can always be found here.
I have partnered up with the most darling blog pals to bring to you an over-the-top incredible giveaway!
Did you see that?! A $1000 gift card to NORDSTROM!? I can think of at least 1000 grand ways I could use such an amazing gift {but I can't enter, so YOU must take advantage of this for me}! Time to purge your closet because you are going shopping! Handbags, accessories, summer dresses and shoes? Oh yes!
So what is the catch? Well, once you stop giggling, happy dancing and pick your jaw up off of the floor, you just take a second to get to know each of these lovely ladies a little bit more, and then you get a chance to win!
Shay at Mix and Match Family is a mom of two (and adopting a third!) lifestyle blogger who shares her daily life with her readers along with her fun world travels, organization tips, shopping and fashion and easy, yummy recipes.
Sheaffer from Pinterest Told Me To is a wife and mom trying to look cute when she heads out the door, and she's using Pinterest to help her do it.
Jen at IHeart Organizing is an organizing lovin' gal who is trying to simplify and beautify her fun-filled life as a mom of three boys {but you all know that already right?!}.
Chris at Just a Girl is a wife, mom, a professional, a student, a friend, and on and on and on. Essentially however, she's just a girl who loves to create, decorate, and inspire-ate.
Cassie at Hi Sugarplum is a design-obsessed Texas girl, and lover of DIY, travel, fashion, sarcasm, Mexican food, & shiny, ruffly things.
I am so happy to introduce you to each one of them, as they all fill my blog reading time with enjoyment. Now, enter away my friends!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
IHeart Organizing official giveaway entry rules can always be found here.
Welcome back to the Monthly Clean Home Challenge daily task! I am on a quest to maintain a clean and organized home in less time and the goal is simple; four daily tasks, four weekly tasks and one additional quick task each week day.
In no particular order, here are the individual tasks I am tackling each day this month:
Today I am chatting about the extra task: File Paper Piles
Over the years I have gone through trials and errors in regards to paper clutter. There was a day when I was so on top of every piece of paper that entered our home, that it consumed more time than I care to admit. There also have been times in which I have had to face months worth of papers all at once. For now, I would like to think I have found a happy medium, which has been working for us for awhile now.
I get asked all of the time about how to manage paper piles and clutter, so consider a condensed version of what we do.
We have had a wall system of in-boxes for years now, and to this day it is still one of my most favorite organizing products ever {found here}.
Each day when the mail comes in, I open it and instantly do the following:
Each day when the boys come home from school, they hand over their folders for me to look at their papers:
The process each day is so streamlined and quick each day, and that is where everything stays throughout the remainder of the month. Until today! Filing day!
I have found that instead of heading downstairs to our filing cabinet and then back into our guest bedroom to the boy's school boxes and filing each and every day, that I am far more efficient doing it all at once at the end of each month. It is also nice keeping relevant items in the easy-to-access mail bins throughout the month where the entire family can locate them if we need to reference anything recent.
To start the filing process off each month, I completely empty the bins onto our kitchen table and keep everything sorted into easy to file piles.
I go through each pile and place anything that is still relevent back into our active mail bins, and file away the rest accordingly. Boy's items into their school bins, our papers into our file cabinet. Everything else is either shredded or recycled.
We were finally running out of space in our previous filing box so we upgraded to a filing cabinet about a month ago. I haven't gotten around to completely organizing it, so stay tuned for that post when it happens.
I have found that paper is inevitable, however, filing has gotten much easier since we have gone paperless with our bank and utility companies. We are able to save our bank statements digitally as PDF files as well as many of the monthly bills we receive. A lot of the items we still file are items that we need to keep for tax purposes, records of home repair, correspondence regarding insurance, etc...
I always wait until the end of the month to do this, so that we can start each month out with a fresh slate and nearly empty mail bins. Now we are all set for April!
Congrats on completing and entire month of cleaning and organizing tasks! I had so much fun with this challenge and truly appreciate everyone that followed along with me and shared their excitement along the way! I will recap everything within a post next week and be sure to include all of my current favorite natural cleaner recipes and links to all of the posts within the series.
In no particular order, here are the individual tasks I am tackling each day this month:
- Make cleaning supplies
- Cycle clean appliances
- Clean out cars
- Clean out microwave
- Wipe down cabinets/appliances
- Wipe down trim/doors
- Clean out one drawer
- Clean out fridge
- Clean out freezer
- Vacuum under furniture
- Vacuum mattresses
- Clean oven
- Clean out one closet
- Wash out garbage can/recycle bin
- Wash windows
- Scrub grout
- Clean out one cabinet
- File paper piles
- Purge bathroom toiletries
- Clean out pantry
Today I am chatting about the extra task: File Paper Piles
Over the years I have gone through trials and errors in regards to paper clutter. There was a day when I was so on top of every piece of paper that entered our home, that it consumed more time than I care to admit. There also have been times in which I have had to face months worth of papers all at once. For now, I would like to think I have found a happy medium, which has been working for us for awhile now.
I get asked all of the time about how to manage paper piles and clutter, so consider a condensed version of what we do.
We have had a wall system of in-boxes for years now, and to this day it is still one of my most favorite organizing products ever {found here}.
Each day when the mail comes in, I open it and instantly do the following:
- Recycle junk mail
- Clip correspondences with dates into my daily planner {invitations, appointments, etc...}
- Place invoices/bills into our budget binder
- All other mail/statements/catalogs/miscellaneous paperwork goes into our mail bin
Each day when the boys come home from school, they hand over their folders for me to look at their papers:
- Papers I wish to hold on to {tests, report cards, writing milestones, etc...} are placed into each boy's mail bin
- Papers with important information regarding school projects, events, newsletters, etc... are placed within each boy's mail bin
- Papers/homework which need to be logged and returned to school are clipped onto the side of the fridge {with their awesome fridge clips}
The process each day is so streamlined and quick each day, and that is where everything stays throughout the remainder of the month. Until today! Filing day!
I have found that instead of heading downstairs to our filing cabinet and then back into our guest bedroom to the boy's school boxes and filing each and every day, that I am far more efficient doing it all at once at the end of each month. It is also nice keeping relevant items in the easy-to-access mail bins throughout the month where the entire family can locate them if we need to reference anything recent.
To start the filing process off each month, I completely empty the bins onto our kitchen table and keep everything sorted into easy to file piles.
I go through each pile and place anything that is still relevent back into our active mail bins, and file away the rest accordingly. Boy's items into their school bins, our papers into our file cabinet. Everything else is either shredded or recycled.
We were finally running out of space in our previous filing box so we upgraded to a filing cabinet about a month ago. I haven't gotten around to completely organizing it, so stay tuned for that post when it happens.
I have found that paper is inevitable, however, filing has gotten much easier since we have gone paperless with our bank and utility companies. We are able to save our bank statements digitally as PDF files as well as many of the monthly bills we receive. A lot of the items we still file are items that we need to keep for tax purposes, records of home repair, correspondence regarding insurance, etc...
I always wait until the end of the month to do this, so that we can start each month out with a fresh slate and nearly empty mail bins. Now we are all set for April!
Looking for something? Check out my favorite cleaning products below:
Congrats on completing and entire month of cleaning and organizing tasks! I had so much fun with this challenge and truly appreciate everyone that followed along with me and shared their excitement along the way! I will recap everything within a post next week and be sure to include all of my current favorite natural cleaner recipes and links to all of the posts within the series.
Welcome back to the Monthly Clean Home Challenge daily task! I am on a quest to maintain a clean and organized home in less time and the goal is simple; four daily tasks, four weekly tasks and one additional quick task each week day.
In no particular order, here are the individual tasks I am tackling each day this month:
Today I am chatting about the extra task: Clean Out Pantry
Well, this month you have seen a lot of our messy areas. In fact, you may be wondering what actually is organized around this place we call home. And although our fridge and freezer were a bit of a disaster going into this month, I am happy to report that our pantry organization is still going strong.
Just over a year ago we took everything out, lined the shelves and organized things the way we thought they would make the most sense for our family {you can catch up on all of that here}. Although there are times when the pantry is sparse or a bit overstocked and cluttered, it has been really easy to maintain and we have been really happy with the way it functions.
Each week while we are meal planning, we take a look at our existing foods and try and plan around those before purchasing anything new for the week. Because we keep the process quick, there comes a time when the pantry just needs a good cleaning out. This closet is used every day, multiple times per day, so it tends to get dirty. The shelves receive a lot of traffic, crumbs and an occasional spill, while the back corners of the floor seem to be a magnet for dust.
As you can guess, I started by emptying everything out of the closet.
And taking a couple of minutes to wipe down all of the individual shelves {we are still LOVING The contact paper covered foam core by the way}.
Once all of the shelves were clean and splatter free, I moved onto giving the floor a quick vacuum.
With everything feeling shiny and new and smelling of fresh lemon, I was selective about what was returned and had the opportunity to evaluate where everything was being placed. I found some items that were beyond expired to an embarrassing extent {sugar cookie mix from 2011 anyone?}, proving the importance of doing occasional pantry sweeps.
One more day of this monthly cleaning challenge! Don't be surprised if you spot me running up and down a random set of stairs with a boombox on my shoulder playing the theme song from Rocky on repeat when all is said and done!
In no particular order, here are the individual tasks I am tackling each day this month:
- Make cleaning supplies
- Cycle clean appliances
- Clean out cars
- Clean out microwave
- Wipe down cabinets/appliances
- Wipe down trim/doors
- Clean out one drawer
- Clean out fridge
- Clean out freezer
- Vacuum under furniture
- Vacuum mattresses
- Clean oven
- Clean out one closet
- Wash out garbage can/recycle bin
- Wash windows
- Scrub grout
- Clean out one cabinet
- File paper piles
- Purge bathroom toiletries
- Clean out pantry
Today I am chatting about the extra task: Clean Out Pantry
Well, this month you have seen a lot of our messy areas. In fact, you may be wondering what actually is organized around this place we call home. And although our fridge and freezer were a bit of a disaster going into this month, I am happy to report that our pantry organization is still going strong.
Just over a year ago we took everything out, lined the shelves and organized things the way we thought they would make the most sense for our family {you can catch up on all of that here}. Although there are times when the pantry is sparse or a bit overstocked and cluttered, it has been really easy to maintain and we have been really happy with the way it functions.
Each week while we are meal planning, we take a look at our existing foods and try and plan around those before purchasing anything new for the week. Because we keep the process quick, there comes a time when the pantry just needs a good cleaning out. This closet is used every day, multiple times per day, so it tends to get dirty. The shelves receive a lot of traffic, crumbs and an occasional spill, while the back corners of the floor seem to be a magnet for dust.
As you can guess, I started by emptying everything out of the closet.
And taking a couple of minutes to wipe down all of the individual shelves {we are still LOVING The contact paper covered foam core by the way}.
Once all of the shelves were clean and splatter free, I moved onto giving the floor a quick vacuum.
With everything feeling shiny and new and smelling of fresh lemon, I was selective about what was returned and had the opportunity to evaluate where everything was being placed. I found some items that were beyond expired to an embarrassing extent {sugar cookie mix from 2011 anyone?}, proving the importance of doing occasional pantry sweeps.
One more day of this monthly cleaning challenge! Don't be surprised if you spot me running up and down a random set of stairs with a boombox on my shoulder playing the theme song from Rocky on repeat when all is said and done!
Looking for something? Check out my favorite cleaning products below:
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