Safari Themed Room Reveal

Before I share today's post I want to say a giant THANK YOU to all who commented on my blog yesterday and sent me nice emails. I was a little shaky and scared to hit publish on my post yesterday because it's always nerve-racking to get personal on this design blog. I was overwhelmed with your positive feedback and it truly meant so much to me. To think that after four years of blogging I still have readers that are tuning in every day astounds me! Truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. 

A few months ago I helped with a darling Safari themed boy's room. The gals at Sweet Little Peanut enlisted my advice transitioning a nursery into a big boy room. We wanted to keep it feeling classic, fun and playful. 

You can get all the info and the sourcing over at Sweet Little Peanut but I thought I'd share some of my favorite pics. with you today. 

One suggestion I had was to change out the bulky ottoman that came with the glider for a Moroccan pouf. I love how the leather adds a lot of dimension to the space and makes it feel more eclectic than it did before. 

The room has a little nook that we didn't quite know what to do with so I suggested adding a soft rug to define the space. Now instead of being an awkward area of the room it is clearly defined as the play area. 

Like I said you need to head over to Sweet Little Peanut to get all the details. Thanks for letting me help girls! 

Seeing Good in The World

For the next few months I'll be sharing in the Fiesta Movement by tackling design projects in my home and community. This months' theme is Social Activism and to celebrate that theme Ford Fiesta is presenting the second annual What's Trending Tube-a-thon.  The Tube-a-thon is a live-streamed holiday party featuring huge YouTube stars as well as traditional Hollywood celebrities. On Thursday, December 12 at 6pmPT/9pm ET, viewers can tune into What’s Trending for two full hours of fundraising, music, comedy, performances and lots of surprises from your favorite online stars.

image via Small Sweet Steps

I have been doing so much thinking lately about the topics of online bullying, being kind and overall just seeing the good in people and situations. 

Since starting my blog I have had an occasional brush with negative criticism and it has been pretty easy to brush off because it usually involves a difference of opinion on how a space should look or have been designed. I know that there are so many different styles and aesthetics that I can't please everyone so these types of comment don't bother me very much.  This last year I came face to face with attacks that were much more personal and they seemed to almost cripple me. There is so much bad in this world that it can suffocate us and become all consuming if we let it. We start to doubt ourselves and the doubt stifles out all the good and all the wonderful things that make us the people that we are. None of us are perfect. We are all trying to do the best we can. I have always made an effort in my life to cut people a break because I recognize that there is so much good in people even if sometimes it's harder to see. 

I have always loved blogging because of all the kindness and support I feel from the online community but more and more I feel negativity surfacing online. People love to tear others down and point out their flaws.  This group of people are definitely in the minority but their hurtful voices sometimes seem the loudest. These emails, comments etc are the hardest to forget and push from our minds.  Even if you are not a blogger I'm sure you all have experienced someone saying hurtful things about you before. You know how it feels to be beaten down by negativity. So my challenge is for us all to see the good in each other and in the world.

Last week I watched this video and was overwhelmed with the optimism that exists in this world. I can never imagine how devastating something like losing a child would be and the strength that this mother portrays is so inspiring.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who read my blog. Without your positive comments and feedback I'm not sure if this blog would still exist. You are the reason that I love sharing design ideas, tips and new design reveals.

Thank you to all who see the good in me and this blog.

disclosure: This is a sponsored post and I was compensated for my participation. The opinions expressed are my own.

Last Week's Links

I hope you all had a great week last week! I was busy finishing up Christmas cards, meeting with clients, hanging with friends and also spending lots of good holiday time with my little family. Did any of you watch the Sound of Music on thursday night? I thought it was pretty good. Good enough that I watched the entire 3 hours of it an almost teared up a few times... (a love a good musical).  Here are some of the other things I was loving last week:

1 || I seriously love all the pattern and color going on in this Living Room reveal. 

2 || This DIY garland puts me in the Christmas crafting mood! 

3 || I always enjoy a good burlap banner DIY. 

4 || This is my new desktop wallpaper. 

5 || Have you heard about Together Box? They deliver boxes to your door filled with fun activities for your family! 

6 || I love this guest room reveal.  The color palette is so pretty. 

7 || This little DIY snowglobe is so adorable. 

8 || This coat is so sweet and such a good deal! 

9 || Great transformation of an average amazon light fixture. 

10 || This playroom is amazing! I love all the pattern. 

TOP PHOTO: I Suwanee // BOTTOM PHOTO:  Simplified Bee

DISCLOSURE: AFFILIATE LINKS USED

DIY Ring Display

Today we have a fun art tutorial from my contributor, Brittany! She is constantly coming up with great projects on her blog, brittanyMakes. This latest DIY project would make a great gift!! 

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Hello everyone! I'm so happy to be back with another fun and simple DIY. Today I'm sharing arguably the easiest, most chic project ever! This DIY will certainly inspire you to display your jewels in the  highest of fashions. 

   The supplies are simple: grab a can of your favorite gold spray paint and a polyresin hand form. I picked up my hand form from Michael's, and using a 40% off coupon, it cost me less than $3! I buy my Montana Gold (in Gold Chrome Metallic) spray paint from Blick art supply, but many other art retailers also carry the brand.  

 Apply a few light coats, letting each coat dry for about an hour in between. I waited overnight before piling on the jewels. I love displaying my gold on gold, don't you? This ring display is such a statement in itself, it's really a show stopper! Don't worry, if gold ain't your thang, try Montana Gold Silverchrome spray paint!  And there you have it! 

A very chic ring display for about $10! Think about giving these out as Christmas gifts, you'd surely wow your girlfriends, sisters, mothers and all the other ladies in your life! Every gal needs one, if I do say so myself :)   

Learn about all of my great contributors on my Meet The Team Page. 

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Hi! I'm Brittany from the blog brittanyMakes, where I journal my adventures in DIY projects ranging from everyday home decor to handmade jewelry, from tips in photography to stories of bulldogs, and everything else in-between.   I am a fierce accountant by day and a zealous DIYer by night.  I spend my time balancing my love for home decor and design with the everyday responsibilities of my corporate day job.  My main mission is to inspire my readers to do what they love, take risks, and above all, to exercise their creative muscles!

Feature Friday: Amanda Carol Interiors

I love featuring the homes of other Interior Designers. I wish I could walk through the homes of all my designer friends so I'm excited to share designer Amanda Carol's home with you today! Here is what she says she loves most about here home:

Our home is casual and comfortable without sacrificing elegance.  I love mixing traditional with touches of modern luxe without being too fussy- we have 3 children and we "live" in this house so nothing is too precious or off limits.  I approach my home the same way I do my wardrobe- I look for something stylish, chic and comfortable.

Enjoy!  

L I V I N G   R O O M

D I N I N G   R O O M

B E D R O O M

O F F I C E

Thanks so much to Amanda for sharing her home with us. Make sure you check out her blog here. 

Hawaiian Themed Nursery Before & After

Erin and I recently completed a nursery recently and I'm excited to share the results with you today! Kids' rooms are my absolute favorite to design. I get especially giddy when I get to come up with a design for a baby! 

Our budget for the room was under $3,000. We needed everything new except the existing dresser.  Here is the before...

Our client wanted a Hawaiian themed room because her family had just moved here from Hawaii. We wanted the Hawaiian theme to be subtle enough that it didnt' scream "beach!".  Here is the after! 

The bulk of our budget went towards the West Elm Graham glider in performance velvet. It cleans really well which makes it great for a babies room. It's also SO pretty!

The clients only real request was that a picture of Jesus and an LDS temple be in each of her kids' rooms. So we chose to buy a print of the Hawaiian temple from this etsy shop.  Next to the glider we added this brass end table from Target. The bla bla doll is from Soel Boutique. The shag rug and floor lamp are from Ikea. I am pretty sure this floor lamp will be appearing in most of my designs. I'm obsessed with it! The white pouf is from Amazon. 

The other majority of the budget was spent on custom roman shades done in Schumacher's Adras Ikat in sky. The windows are the first thing you see when you come in this room so we really wanted to do something that made a statement here. 

Like I said our client already had this dresser. She wasn't totally in love with it but it helped us save room in the budget for other things so we kept it. All it took were some new pulls to totally give it a new life! 

The lamp and basket are from Home Goods. The little VW bug I picked up at a hotel in California. 

The planter is from PB Teen. 

You may recognize this tortoise shell from the Nate Berkus for Target collection. They don't sell them anymore so we actually bought this one on Ebay. It was green so I just painted it white with some high gloss spray paint. 

The baskets are from Ikea, rope knot from Hobby Lobby, VW bug is from ebay, coral is thrifted and the art is from Sugarboo. 

We bought the Babyletto crib from All Modern. The crib sheet is from here. The whale pillow is from Urban Outfitters. 

We did a little gallery wall over the bed to bring some more of that Hawaiian vibe into the room. Overall we love how it turned out!

To find out more about our design services send an email to kirstenkrason@gmail.com 

Thanks again to Samantha Kelly for all of these photographs! 

Christmas Etsy Roundup

It's officially the Holiday season!! So excited. If you need a little extra Holiday happiness I've rounded up some of my favorite Christmas decor and gift items on etsy. 

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.