It's all in the details.

Since I got home from my trip to Cali I've been busy with several small "jobs" around the house.  It dawned on me, that having a new project in the pipeline oft times results in me moving on to the next thing before totally completing the thing before.  And because I am hosting a couple of gatherings at my home in the next few weeks, I figured now was as good a time as any to address some of these smaller, yet equally as important, details around the house. 

Studly just rolls his eyes.  He thinks I'm wasting my time, but I guess I can't expect a man to understand the notion of "it's all in the details".  A curtain is a curtain, a picture frame is a picture frame, and a rug is a rug, etc. etc. 

Women know that isn't completely true...at least when it comes to decorating the home.  Attention to details is what can separate a good design from a great design. 

I decided to start with my entry way, since it's the first thing everyone will see.  I love my entry way.  Ever since painting the front door with a chevron stripe the space has a renewed energy and life.


But it all sorta stopped there.  I finished painting the door and moved onto the next thing, leaving the accessories and all the fine details unfinished. 

I decided to rectify that by adding some bright, patterned, throw pillows to the bench on the left to add a punch of color and interest. 

On the right, I paired a cermaic horse bust with some brightly bound books and set them atop an old garden stool that I wrapped with hemp rope.



I found an inexpensive, flatwoven throw rug at Ikea for $20 which I added to help ground the space.

Here's how it all looks put together. 

In the kitchen/living area, I wanted to brighten up the walls so I decided to paint some bold, thick stripes on all of the curtain panels {Behr's Leapfrog}.  Before, the curtains {$20 at Ikea} were very neutral/very cream and were invisible on the wall.  The little splash of color on the wall now adds just the right amount of interest and energy to the space without detracting from the serene color palette. 

The rug I replaced in the entryway was painted {low pile and flat woven rugs are perfect for painting and repurposing just in case you were wondering} and repurposed in the bathroom.  I love it when I can reuse something.  I love it even more when it turns out better than it was in the first place.  The rug before was an inexpensive runner from Ikea.  It had become really dirty and stained from a constant flow of traffic.  I found some white paint lying around a gave the rug a couple coats.  After it was dry, I painted on some thick stripes in a tan color.  And voila.  A new, chic rug for free.  I love it in the bathroom. 

Lastly, I addressed my new photo gallery wall.  I still love walking by all of the photos and being reminded of how cute my little darlings were before they developed their sass{just kidding...kinda}.  But, there was something about the gallery that I bugged me.  I finally narrowed it down to the frames.  While I enjoy the "collected over time" look...usually, my frames were just a little too hodge podgey for me.  I couldn't enjoy the photos without obssessing over all of the mismatched colors and styles of the frames.  So I decided to paint them all one color...to unify them and add cohesiveness.  I went a little crazy with the yellow, but I wanted to add some color so I went with it.  Who knows, they may be a completely different color next month, but for now we will just enjoy the sunshiney yellow.

It's such a good feeling to get all of these little projects out of the way.  I know they weren't earth shattering or ground breaking ideas, but they haven't gone unnoticed. The best part was that they were relatively inexpensive and easy changes that have significant impact.  Sometimes it's the small, simple things that make all the difference. If you are feeling like your home needs just a little something something extra, try addressing some of the details...a new rug, colorful lamp or throw pillows in a cool pattern might be all your space needs to take it from good to great.