This is Why I Thrift #3

On Instagram you can get a behind the scenes peek into the Let’s Rock This House! series.

Look for hashtag:

#rockthishouse

Posted in DIY projects, Interior Design, Thrifting, Uncategorized, Vintage
Tagged decor, decorating, design, DIY, DIY library wall, DIY projects, DIY/Design, flea market finds, Home, home and garden, home decor, home improvement, home project, interior design, interiors, Let's Rock This House, library wall, Pimp My Library Wall, style, thrift, thrifting, used books, vintage
14 Comments

May 15, 2013

Agates and Geodes

ag·ate

/ˈagit/

Noun

An ornamental stone consisting of a hard variety of chalcedony, typically banded in appearance.
A colored toy marble resembling a banded gemstone.

ge·ode

/ˈjēōd/

Noun

A small cavity in rock lined with crystals or other mineral matter.
A rock containing such a cavity.

Growing up, I remember going to my grandparents’ house and playing in their spare room upstairs. They had a bookcase and sitting on it in front of the books were agates and geodes which I called cool rocks. I was fascinated by them. The crystal formations pitted in the rock and the smooth and intricate designs and colors were amazing. My grandfather had spent a little time in his college days studying geology, so I am guessing he was just as captivated by them.

So, naturally, I took to rock collecting as a child. All children do this right? Right?? Amongst other normal kid things to collect (French stamps, totally normal), my rock collection was one of my favorites and to this day I have no idea what happened to it!

It’s funny the things we take with us into our adulthood.

I hadn’t thought on that collection or my grandfather’s cool rocks for years until I stumbled across a rock shop on one of our trips out-of-town together. Then, working on our Let’s Rock This House! series, I have been thinking about bookcases a lot. Which triggered that memory and now the collector wants to start collecting again. Is it no coincidence that the word rock just happens to be in the title of this series? I think not.

So, by chance I found this agate and it wandered home with me for the pimp my library wall project, naturally, as all agates do. It’s not gracing my bookcases just yet (only because we are in the install process) but it is sitting happily on my coffee table and when I look at it I can’t help but think of my Grandpa and my 5-year-old self playing in that room. Happy thoughts are the best exercises our mind can do.

The collector is going to start collecting again…I am keeping my eyes open for some more cool rocks for my collection and library install.

I guess in some small way, this is a tribute to my Grandpa who is no longer with us. I love how an object can transport us to a different time and place in our history. It’s just a rock, but when I see it, I see my Grandpa’s face, I feel like that little girl again. I smell the room (everything at my grandparents’ house always had a just cleaned smell), I remember rifling through all the books on the shelf. History books, LIFE series books, and encyclopedias. I see myself staring in amazement at those cool rocks, studying them with the wonder of a child.

So, there’s a little trip down memory lane.

Until the library wall reveal, I thought we could all drool over some pretty images. I love bringing natural elements into a design. I also love how nature can inspire some really bold design choices.

Here’s what I’m talking about:

My 5-year-old self is really excited to add some more cool rocks to the collection.

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On Instagram you can get a behind the scenes peek into the Let’s Rock This House! series.

Look for hashtag:

#rockthishouse

Posted in DIY projects, Home, Interior Design, Uncategorized
Tagged agate inspired rooms, agate slices, agates, coffee table styling, crystals, decor, decorating, design, geodes, geology, glam, glam modern, Home, home and garden, interior design, interiors, living room, nature, nature in design, rocks, style, styling, trending in decor
24 Comments

May 14, 2013

Great Reads// The Chronicles of Home

Today I am featuring another great DIY/Design blogger Jennifer and her blog The Chronicles of Home. I am always amazed by bloggers who have only been blogging for a year or under and look like pros. Jennifer has some really great DIY’s, furniture tutorials, and ideas. She also shares some TO DIE FOR recipes. I always feel like I’ve gained ten pounds just by looking at her mouth-watering photos of her creations. She is one sweetheart too, and I always enjoy her posts.

Good looking family, huh? Aren’t her girls adorable!?!

Jennifer has been so kind to share her favorite project with us. Her rustic X-base console table is beautiful. She is one handy chic! To see her tutorial check out her DIY Rustic X-base Console Table post.

My favorite pick from her projects is hands down her X-bench. I love X-benches in a seating area and they are great for spaces where you have multiple conversation areas.

I may have to try my hand at this one of these days. To see the full tutorial check out the DIY X-leg Upholstered Bench here.

I send a big thank you to Jennifer for being a part of Great Reads and continually inspiring all of us DIY’ers out there! You can follow Jennifer at www.thechroniclesof home.com

Need more inspiration? Check out one of our furniture tutorials along with other great ways to make over wooden furniture in an article at: Earthlink 911

Happy Reading!!

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Posted in DIY projects, Great Reads, Interior Design, Uncategorized
Tagged build your own furniture, decorating, design, DIY, DIY projects, DIY/Design, furniture building, furniture plans, great DIY blogs for 2013, Great Reads, Home, home and garden, home decor, interior design, interiors, style, X-bench, x-leg bench, X-table
15 Comments

May 13, 2013

A Few Updates & Duluth Giveaway Winner Announced!!

Just a couple quick announcements this morning and I’ll be back later today with another fab JESSEd home review and a gift for you!

Thanks to everyone who entered the Duluth Trading Co. Giveaway! The winner of the $50 Duluth Trading Co. gift card is….drumroll please…
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats Kim!! I will be contacting you via email so I can get your prize off to you and you can get your shop on!

I hope you all had a fab weekend. I was spoiled beyond belief even with a sick kiddo to take care of in the mix. Here’s a peak at the major Mother’s Day spoiling via Instagram…

Also, over the weekend we announced a new 3 part series we are starting. I am super-duper excited about this one!

You can get all the details on the new Let’s Rock This House! series here.

So, that’s it. I feel like I should have hit a few notes on the xylophone all school announcement style before I started that! I’ll back in a few with a new post and a great gift for you!!

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Posted in DIY projects, Giveaway, Happenings, Home, Interior Design, Shopping, Uncategorized
Tagged blog giveaway, crafts, design, DIY, DIY projects, DIY/Design, Duluth Trading Co, Duluth Trading Co Summer Solved, giveaway, giveaway winner, Home, home and garden, home decor, home improvement, interior design, interiors, style
6 Comments

May 11, 2013

Week in Review

Here’s our little weekly recap, just incase you missed something or want to revisit something again. We are mixing it up and I am ranking them from the most popular post of the week:

The Great Ikea Heist of 2013

You guys dug our silliness and I totally love that! So, if you missed it we shared our latest Ikea finds Mission Impossible style.

#2

Duluth Trading Co. & a GIVEAWAY!!!

Again, this post possessed a little silliness and a fantastic giveaway! I reviewed some Duluth Trading Co. products and planted our herb garden–gnome and all. You still have time to enter the giveaway for a $50 Duluth Trading Co. Gift Card. A winner will be selected Monday, May 13th. So click on that bad boy above and enter to win!

#3

Great Reads// Primitive & Proper

I am so happy to see that Great Reads is something everyone is enjoying. This week we featured Cassie and her blog Primitive & Proper. Check it out!

#4

Creating Your Dream Kitchen with Electrolux Suite Designs

It was fun to share more kitchen plans with you guys. I have been pouring over so many dreamy kitchen images since we began our kitchen remodel. Just to think that new appliances are a couple of months away is so exciting! Check out the Suite Design approach.

#5

This is Why I Thrift #2

I chronicled one of my latest thrifty adventures with one of my best friends. Thrifting is such a part of designing for me and I love to share the inspiration and savings with you guys.

I wish you all a fantastic weekend! Happy Mother’s Day to all you mommas out there! I’m hoping to spend my weekend working on projects and eating something yummy and drinking something yummy!

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Posted in Crafts, DIY projects, Garden, Giveaway, Great Reads, Happenings, Home, Humor, Interior Design, Shopping, Thrifting, Uncategorized, Weekly Review
Tagged blog recap, blog week in review, crafts, decorating, design, DIY, DIY projects, DIY/Design, Duluth Trading Co, Electrolux, Electrolux Suite Design, flea market finds, gardening, giveaway, Home, home and garden, home decor, home improvement, humor, interior design, kitchen appliances, kitchen remodel, lifestyle, retro, shopping, style, thrifting, vintage, week in review, weekly recap
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May 10, 2013

This is Why I Thrift #2

We are really blessed to have some really awesome friends. Our friends, Anna and Steve, are the sweetest couple. They live 3 hours from us, but we try to see each other as much as we can. They’re one of those couples that’s fun to play house with over the weekend. They have us for weekends and we have them for weekends and it always feels like home. Our kiddos play together well and we always have a good time. We are all pretty much family at this point. If you took a blood sample it would probably reveal we are all related now.

Anna likes to thrift and that is something we got to do together when I was in town. We set out to see what little gems her town had to offer. I love her style. Her home is comfortable, she decorates with her kiddos art (which I adore), and she loves to do home projects. She has country roots, but she has a more modern spin on them and her home has very traditional bones.

So here we are ready to find some treasures:

Our first stop was a store with the cutest name ever:

Anna scored some good stuff, I saw some fun things, but nothing on my list.

Then there was this place:

It was huge, it was set up with individual vendor booths, and the prices were good and they had sales. We had a blast looking through everything together. I found some goodies to bring home:

via Instagram

Here’s how it breaks down:

• Ralph Lauren Umbrella with Leather Handle $12 with an additional 15% off

• Gold antelope $10 with an additional 20% off

• Single antler $5 with an additional 20% off

• Mounted antlers $15 with an additional 15% off

• 4 Vanity Fair slips for $1 each (I like to sleep in them in the warmer months)

everything together came in under $40

I love a good quality umbrella and I needed one since I lost my last one. I think I left it at a restaurant?

The mounted antlers I plan on working into our library wall, but for now they are just hanging out here.

I love a single antler to work into tablescapes.

The antelope I named Gertrude and she is on my desk right now.

Sometimes I debate back and forth whether to post things that I thrifted. I think it’s good to show that you can have a stylish home on a budget. I also like that something that has been tossed aside is given a new appreciation and home. When I look around our home, I think most of the things I really love have been handed down, thrifted, or made over. I’ve said it before, but this is why I thrift.

Enjoy your weekend!!

Connect with Bliss at Home:

Click here to see more Suite Designs

Posted in DIY projects, Happenings, Interior Design, Shopping, Thrifting, Uncategorized, Vintage
Tagged antique stores, antiques, decorating, design, DIY, DIY projects, DIY/Design, eclectic modern, flea markets, Home, home and garden, home decor, interior design, interiors, retro, shopping, style, thrifting, thrifty finds, vintage
19 Comments

May 9, 2013

Creating Your Dream Kitchen with Electrolux Suite Designs

We have been doing this kitchen remodel for what seems like a century! No, not really, but fitting in a big remodel into our regular busy lives has been a challenge. As we have mentioned before this little 1950′s ranch of ours is our new dream house. No dream house is complete without a dream kitchen. We are making progress on the dream kitchen. We are finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Our countertops will be installed in June and we are weighing backsplash options. One thing that I am super excited about is getting new appliances!! Our poor oven is on its last leg and our dishwasher is so small.

I’ve been shopping around and know I want stainless. I also want them all to match and function. Quality is key. This is an investment for us and I don’t want to have to replace them anytime soon. I really like Electrolux’s Suite Design Approach. The key to creating a stylish yet functional kitchen is embracing the art of “Suite Design,” selecting beautiful appliances that complement one another – like the Electrolux matching suites of appliances, which are sleek, stylish and ingeniously designed to enable professional results.

In the image above, I really love the open shelving and the built-in look of the appliances. This kitchen looks so functional and well laid out. Dave and I have decided to incorporate open shelving into our design for our everyday dishes and cups. We go through them so fast that I have no concern about anything collecting dust. Plus, it’s all white porcelain which will also look great in our overall kitchen design.

I also really like that Electrolux offers great options:

Electrolux French Door Bottom Mount refrigerators feature a versatile Perfect Temp drawer that allows you to store and serve items at their ideal temperature
Electrolux Cooktops have a clean, sleek look that features induction technology that gives you the capabilities of a professional chef at home
Electrolux Dishwashers feature adjustable, customizable racks that can fit more than 180 items in a single load

If I can fit 180 items in my new dishwasher, I will be in heaven!

I really love how each appliance is designed to coordinate. The finishes and hardware all complement one another. Oh, I can’t wait to cook my first meal with new functional appliances!

To learn more about Electrolux Suite Designs and see more appliances check out:

www.electroluxappliances.com

Electrolux Facebook Page

Are you planning a dream kitchen design of your own?

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Posted in DIY projects, Home, Interior Design, Kitchen Possible!, Shopping, Uncategorized
Tagged design, designing a kitchen, DIY, DIY projects, dream kitchen, Electrolux, Electrolux appliances, Electrolux kitchen, Electrolux Suite Designs, Home, home improvement, home remodeling, interior design, interiors, kitchen, kitchen appliances, kitchen design, kitchen remodel, kitchens, modern kitchen, style
10 Comments

May 8, 2013

The Great IKEA Heist of 2013

IKEA.

Are we crazy for going to IKEA on a Saturday?…maybe. Are we crazy for driving almost 3 hours to get there?…NO WAY! Just to clear things up, the term “heist” is used only in good fun. We did pay for our items, but I feel like when you go to IKEA on the weekend that means you need a plan and a good one–dare I say mission.

The Mission:

To locate and retrieve 4 IKEA BILLY bookcases and transport them to the drop off point safely and unharmed. Then transport "the package" to home base. There are distractions everywhere. Do not, I repeat, do not forget "the package" ***WARNING...this message will self-destruct in 5,4,3,2,1...

Phew! We are still here. Let’s go on…

The Players:

The “Home Team”

The Architect: Yes, I am the Architect. The mastermind behind the plan. I want those bookcases and my home team will help me get them.

The inquisitor: He asks all the questions. Where’s the bathroom? Can I climb on that? Can I have 20 meatballs? Is that toilet real? If it is a question, he has no problem asking.

The Tester: The Tester ” handles” everything. He is really good at touching things. All things. Even things he shouldn’t touch. He will tell you how soft something is, how there is something sticky on his hand. He is really good at testing furniture and testing our patience, I mean…did I say that out loud? He’s lucky he’s cute…

The Transporter: Not to be confused with Jason Statham from the famed Transporter movies. That’s child’s play, this is real life people! Sorry, I had to throw that in. ~~Dave~~, I mean the Transporter loves those movies. The Transporter is in charge of all the heavy lifting, and is an expert at making “the package” fit into the getaway vehicle. He is an expert driver and can navigate Chicagoland traffic and bring “the package” back to home base in one piece…(well, several smartly boxed pieces that we will assemble later).

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!

The Inquisitor and the Tester at the drop off point.

Did we get distracted?? Well, OF COURSE. We did have to see everything there and walk through the showroom and eat food. The bookcases are not the only IKEA items that made it home with us…

The LAPPLJUNG RUTA Cushion cover…I know everyone and their sister has this, but I gave in. It’s white and black, has an awesome pattern, is woven and only $10…I got two…and they have down pillow inserts for $6.99…

…one for each chair in my sitting area

Then, there was the RENS Sheepskin…While in the middle of a mission there are always unexpected things that happen. I was asked to pick out some things for an early Mother’s Day present. I can’t say no to that, right??

My Goodwill chairs are going to be a summer upholstery project. Until then, these sheepskins will add some style until I can get to them and work. Plus, I love them on these chairs, even after I recover them.

There are also a few kitchen essentials we picked up…a cutting board, wine glasses, and an ice bucket.

The DOMSJO cutting board fits nicely across a sink which is a huge space saver for us!

Last but not least, we got the bookcases.

So with that, we are beginning our Project in Progress for May. The library wall. Here’s the wall as it is today:

Here’s what it could be:

via

We enjoyed the spoils of our heist, mission, plan…whatever! Warm cinnamon buns, chocolate, and Swedish fish on the ride home.

You guys are troopers! Thanks for hanging in there with my silly posts scattered here and there! I am not ashamed to admit I had the Mission Impossible theme song running through my head as I wrote this. Happy Wednesday!!

You can still enter the $50 Gift Card Giveaway for Duluth Trading Co:

ENTER HERE

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(Full Turquoise Dresser post here)

Posted in DIY projects, Happenings, Interior Design, Shopping, Uncategorized
Tagged bookshelves, crafts, decorating, design, DIY, DIY projects, DIY/Design, Home, home and garden, home decor, home improvement, home project, IKEA, Ikea home, Ikea shopping, interior design, interiors, library, library wall, living room, style, textiles
44 Comments

May 7, 2013

Great Reads// Primitive & Proper

Today for Great Reads I am excited to feature Cassie and her blog Primitive & Proper. You probably already know her wonderful blog, and if not you should! The relationships I’ve had the pleasure of making around the blogosphere are very special and Cassie is one sweet, compassionate, and talented lady who I would love to meet in person! Maybe one of these days?? She has a heart of gold, she’s a wife, a momma to two cuties, and makes making over furniture look easy. Her painted furniture pieces are A-MAAA-ZING!

Cassie has been so sweet to share one of her favorite projects with us. I adore her turquoise painted dresser! I adore it so much, I have to say J’adore! Yes, I desire to speak French when I truly love something…

That hardware is to die for, right?

Here’s another one of her great projects. I am such a fan of blues these days and just love the color she painted her master bedroom walls. Her gallery wall is so eclectic. I just love it!

(See more Master Bedroom and Gallery Wall images here)

A super big thank you to Cassie for being a part of Great Reads! To see more amazing projects and furniture reveals follow her blog www.primitiveandproper.blogspot.com.

You still have time to enter to win the $50 Duluth Trading Co. Gift Card:

Enter Here

Happy Reading!!

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