Decking the Halls...for Winter?!

We put away most of our Christmas decor over the weekend, a process which is slightly traumatic for me because there is just so much of it, not to mention the fact that I'm always a little sad to see the holidays end. That's why I've taken, in recent years, to leaving selected items in place. It makes the frozen hell that is New York right now seem a little less gloomy. Today is Elvis Presley's birthday, so the Elvis tree remains in place at least until the end of the week:

The snowman blow molds are also sticking around for the season. They not only make us happy, they're a valuable source of light on a gray day like today!

I've also kept a pink tree in place, which I'll be decorating soon for Valentine's Day. I haven't quite decided what to do for March yet. A Mud Season tree? Maybe a green tree, for St. Patrick's Day? Stay tuned!

Inexpensive Home Decor: Wrapping Paper

I recently blogged about framing record album covers for inexpensive wall art, but what if you're trying to fill a larger space? Posters and paintings are great, but wrapping paper is another cheap and easy option. At the very least it's a great placeholder until you find that perfect work of art, but a fabulous pattern just might be the perfect solution to your decorating woes! I found this paper, which I love, on Spoonflower and the costliest aspect of this project was the frame:

If you're really ambitious you could even switch your papers out seasonally! That's the great thing about an inexpensive project like this - the commitment level can be as low as you like. Grab a roll of paper and some scissors and cover those walls!

My Secret Shame: The Closet Edition

I've had a few requests to peek into my closet. I have nothing to hide, clothing-wise, but my closet is kind of a disaster, as you'll soon see. By nature I'm organized and love having things in tidy piles. However, we happened to purchase a home with no closets, with the exception of a tiny closet in the bedroom the width of a door, which houses Paul's clothes. We got creative and built a "closet" in the bedroom by running a bar across most of the width of the room, which has curtains to hide everything. I love the curtains (really tablecloths from Target, into which I sewed channels for the closet bar), but we need more closet space. My ultimate goal, closet-wise, is to build a cedar closet in the attic. In the meantime, here's what I'm working with!

This section is normally hidden by a curtain. That green ceiling and reed wall will soon be hot pink!

This poor closet unit came from IKEA about 20 years ago. It is very close to the foot of the bed and difficult to completely open! Have I mentioned our bedroom is small?

Necessity is the mother of invention in finding hanging spaces in this house! I do love those curtains, though.

I'm in upgrade mode with our house lately, so I'll be sharing some more shots soon!

Kitschy Kitchens!

Have you ever stood in a boring, modern kitchen and wondered, even for just a moment, what it would be like to cook in a kitchen of Brady Bunch-era splendor (or am I the only one who's ever done that)? If so, the booklets from the Doubleday Home Decorating Program are just what you need to provide the inspiration to slap up a little wallpaper or maybe hunt down an avocado or harvest gold stove! The Doubleday Home Decorating Program was a subscription service which mailed subscribers, "once a month, a whole packet of decorating guidance and ideas" in the form of "a colorful new Handbook (prepared exclusively for our members) that gives you concentrated, in-depth treatment of a specific part of your home."

I wonder what would happen if I mailed this in now?

If you value kitschy, fun, vintage late-'60s-early-'70s decor, these books will blow your mind! Here are just a few of the kitchens I found in this amazing series:

Here's a resplendent gold kitchen for the space-challenged, with a laundry area to the left. Is that toy truck in a portable sandbox?! That's really making the most of apartment living!

This one is a little dark for my taste, but I admire their complete commitment to paisley. And that avocado and paisley range - wow!

So many seating choices here: love seat, cushioned chairs, tasseled bar stools. You could throw a party in this kitchen!

The striped wallpaper in this kitchen makes me nostalgic for my mother-in-law's house, although her striped kitchen wallpaper was brown. 

There are so many patterns and styles going on here that it's tough to know where to begin! I think my favorite part is the canisters that match the wallpaper. Why waste extra wallpaper?!

Call them tacky, call them horrible, but I love these kitchens! My personal tastes run a little more mid-century modern, but I adore the fact that these designers weren't worried about fitting in or being tasteful. Our homes should be fun, not a showcase for conformity! If you love it, it belongs in your home!

Don't Settle For Boring: Customize Your Belongings!

The renovation of our powder room, which almost killed us in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, was largely completed before the holidays, but we're still putting on some finishing touches. Yesterday we added vintage shelf paper to the front of this boring, utilitarian cabinet from IKEA. We bought it knowing that we'd never leave it white. I found the paper on Etsy and we finally got around to affixing it with spray adhesive. Now I love it! You don't ever have to settle for leaving furniture (or clothing or shoes or anything else) the way you find it. Customize it! Find the right adhesive for your project, whether it's for fabric or rhinestones or food safe or heavy duty, and make it uniquely yours!

Customized cabinet - just add shelf paper!

Easy Project!

I'm so thrilled to have my cookbooks on display and easily accessible, but the heavy duty bookends we needed to keep them from falling over were so ugly. Now they're fabulous, thanks to this easy project! All you do is laminate postcards and stick to bookends with double-sided foam tape. That's it! Easy and easily removed, if you want your postcards later for another purpose!