House Tour; Amy Butler

Did you see this amazing house on apartment therapy? I've been obsessing over it for almost a solid 24 hours so I knew I had to share. Amy Butler's name is practically synonymous with bold color, print, and pattern. Not surprisingly, her home reflects that as well.

The entry way and the detail on the front door is absolutely stunning.

I just love the mid-century architecture and all the light. There's a full wall of windows plus skylights! This is on the future house list for sure!

I could sit here all day with a good book and a cup of tea.

Love this table

Is that the Ikea pendant everyone loves painted gold? Superb!

Must. Have. This.

The kitchen is recently renovated. It matches with the character of the house but has all the modern luxuries you could want, including two of everything. Two dishwashers, two fridges, two warming drawers. I really like the storage next to the fridge especially.

The office is set up in their basement. But with all this light, I would never guess.

Is that a freaking hospital gurney being used as a desk? I love it.

They did all the work in the backyard themselves. It's gorgeous. I would love to have a yard like this. I wouldn't even know where to start!

See more photos and read the interview here.

This house feels so cozy and full of personality. One thing that really draws me to it is that the style feels so attainable. I don't think you would have to spend a lot of money to get this look. 

What do you think?

Currently Obsessed With; Black & White Seating

Something about it is just so crisp and beautiful. Not to mention you can do anything in the rest of the room with a black and white stripe chair or couch. The possibilities make me squeal with glee!

This is one of my favorites, from Wisteria.

                                                                         Source: tumview.inucara.net via Brandi on Pinterest

                                                                  Source: amberinteriordesign.blogspot.com via Brandi on Pinterest

                                                                           Source: matchbookmag.tumblr.com via J on Pinterest

Source

This is the kind of thing that can move from room to room in your home and transition through every decor mood you may go through. I'm so happy to finally have some b&w striped chairs to call my own!

Do you have any black and white stripes in your home?

I Have Art on the Brain

I have had inspiration to make art like crazy lately. Which is great! I finally finished my gun art, now all I need are the perfect frames.

 

I was inspired to do this after I saw this picture in Rue from Peppermint Bliss.

                                                                 Source: marcusdesigninc.blogspot.com via Brandi on Pinterest

I think these gun chairs are super sweet. I got the black and gold paper from Paper Source. All I did was draw the outline on the back side with a white pencil and cut out using some precision scissors I already had. I was worried they wouldn't come out right and that the pattern might make the silhouette seem lost but they look great! I'm going to hang them over our headboard in the bedroom methinks.

I made these using a few lines of the vows we we wrote ourselves for our wedding. I wanted them to be simple and to not look too perfect. I think they turned out great.

Apologies for the horrible picture on this one but I didn't finish it until night. This is my repainted Goodwill bamboo frame. I bought this sea fan and spray painted it white and pressed it against some black fabric I had. I really like the way the white fan looks against the black but I'm not sure if I love the pink frame. When I painted it I had no idea what art would go in it and I intended the color to look coral, not pepto pink. I think it might look great with a charcoal colored frame. Oh well, I'll get around to repainting it someday...!

I don't think this is its permanent place on the wall either but I don't want to leave my art in a pile while I figure things out because could take forever. The other two pieces are the flea market frames I scored with some simple scrapbook paper in them.

What projects have you finished lately?

Water for Elephants Costumes

I saw this movie over the weekend and am now completely obsessed. The set, the costumes, the story, the actors, all of it. I read the book and loved it as well so I went into the movie with some trepidation but this seriously surpassed all my expectations. I wasn't sure how I would like Reese and Robert as the main characters, even though I love them, I had always pictured these two differently. They were, of course, just wonderful in these roles.

Even more so I can't get all the fabulous dresses the main character, Marlena wore out of my mind! Reese looked stunning with her blond ringlets and red lips.

Can you imagine trying to look this fabulous when you live on a train?

This red dress was certainly a favorite.

Did any one see it and love it as much as I did?

Happy Monday! Come back tomorrow to see some projects I did over the weekend!

Spending Time in the Kitchen: Cookies N Cream Hot Fudge Oreo Brownies

Sounds ridic right? That's only because they are. On a side note, I think I've gained some weight!

These brownies are so easy. So I want to see even you novice bakers giving it the good ol college try. It's just a box mix of brownies with a few tweaks thrown in. This is sure to delight and impress your Easter guests!

 

Cookies N Cream Hot Fudge Oreo Brownies

 

Ingredients

1 Box of brownie mix + ingredients specified on the box
1 Heaping half cup Cookies N Cream Ice Cream
1/4 cup Hot Fudge (I used dark chocolate of course
1 Pack Oreos

1. Mix together your brownie as directed on the box but do not add the water
2. Add in hot fudge and ice cream and stir together until good and blended
3. Pour half the mixture into your desired sized pan
4. Layer Oreos on top then add the remaining batter. You want the oreos tight together to make a complete layer. Then the rest of the batter will cover to make the top layer.
5. Bake as directed on the box

Enjoy!

What are your holiday plans?

Accent Walls: How do we feel about them?

I think I may have finally found some fabric that I think will work for my upholstered headboard. I love it but the only problem is it doesn't offer as much contrast to the white bedding as I was hoping to have.

Um, Brandi, that's a shower curtain...I know it's awesome right?! I'm totally going to see if it will work. If not i can return it, you can't do that with fabric!!!!

So one thought led to another in my crazy brain and now I'm contemplating doing an accent wall. I thought with either a stencil or a fantastic punch of color may help take the room to another level altogether, which is something I would welcome. I wouldn't mind going all out in the bedroom but I do still need to make sure I have some level of calmness in the bedroom while still maintaining the wow factor.

I feel very hesitant because I had previously not liked them at all. I did some searching and found some really wonderful examples but I am still undecided.

We've all seen this amazingly awesome room from Danielle Oakey

But alas, I'm not a little girl. This does give me hope though.

Another issue is, I don't have a lot of natural light in this room. It's a generously sized room with only two narrow and tall windows. The rest of my house has huge gorgeous windows but somehow the builder really missed the boat on this one.

                                                                       Source: songofstyle.blogspot.com via Tricia on Pinterest

Yet another issue, the headboard and the two windows are on the same wall. Therefore, a lot would be going on on this one wall. Headboard, bedding, curtains, paint. I don't want the room to be too busy or heavy on the one wall. The bed wouldn't make sense on any other wall, so rearranging is out of the question. Oh the problems...

                                                                           Source: bhg.com via Celina on Pinterest

I'm loving this accent wall from Sfgirlbybay. But again I still have curtains to contend with all on this one wall.
I am open to changing bedding, I have no ideas of what to do for window treatments yet, so that is open as well. So what do we think about accent walls? How can I make sure it looks good? How do you feel about them in my room? If not an accent wall, what color could I paint the room to give it contrast?
Help meeeee!

Organize Your Jewelry: DIY style

My little homemade jewelry holders got me thinking last week about all the little ways you can organize your jewelry.

These little holders were so easy to make. Check out your local hardware store for wood trim. Then paint as desired. Screw a few cup hooks in, you will most likely need to drimmel the back of the screw off as my trim wasn't thick enough, easy fix though. Then I attached some of those 3M poster strips to the back and ta da!

There's so many other creative ways that would be easy for any novice DIYer to recreate.

How awesome is this?! And so easy I'm peeved I hadn't thought of it already! It's hard to tell but I think there are little hooks or nails all along the branches. I bet most of you have a frame laying around just begging for this!

Here is a similar idea to the one above. Here I like how it seems like they have string across the top frame to hold earrings. I never know how to organize all my earrings!

Or you can use one of those fantastic printer drawers you see at flea markets. Screw in a bunch of hooks and you have an amazing display!

How do you have your jewelry organized?