DIY Colorful Cubes | Nursery Closet Organization

Our nursery is the smallest room in our house, so one of the biggest goals of this space was to maximize every square inch to handle the onslaught of baby gear, toys, and clothes. I really wanted to create storage areas that look awesome and are highly functional (I often sacrifice functionality for form). So we started with adding additional storage to the closet.

Closets are such an easy-to-overlook space and ours get disorganized quickly. I'm positive once the baby arrives this closet will get messy and my perfectly styled space won't be photograph-worthy. But for now, I get to relish the order and pristine nature of the nursery and smile every time I peek in at this little space.

We started this project by finding these 6-cube organizers on Amazon. When we measured the closet, we discovered that two organizers placed side-by-side would fit perfectly in the space (that never happens, so we were psyched!). If these organizers don't happen to fit your space, you could check out Ikea's shelving storage options for this project as well. 

After assembling the cube organizers and placing them inside the closet, I started looking for affordable cube bins and fell in love with all the Land of Nod choices, but didn't love the idea of spending over $150 for 12 bins. So I found these on Amazon ($6.29 for 2 green bins) and came up with the idea to add new front panels.

Get the rest of the DIY details and sources after the jump...

DIY Circle Wood Shelf

I've had my eyes on the round dorm shelf from Ferm Living for quite some time and have seen more and more circular wall shelves popping up again and again in stylish spaces I drool over. The price tags on most of these gorgeous shelves is hefty and way out of our budget, so I took the liberty of creating a budget-friendly version that retained the modern minimal look of the originals without breaking the bank.

One of the most challenging problems was where to find large circular wood pieces that didn't require a carpenter's know-how of bending wood. When I can't think up a solution (or Google a solution) to a DIY problem, I'll just go to a local craft or home improvement store and wander the aisles until a material stands out. This is the approach I took with the round wood circle and I found my answer in the quilting aisle... 23" round quilting hoops.

I couldn't use the outside hoop that screwed together since the wood wasn't connected, so I had to rely on the inside hoop that was already a full circle. I picked through the eight hoops they had in-store and picked out three that had similarly-colored wood and lined up evenly.



Get the rest of the DIY details and sources after the jump…

DIY Wooden Bead Pendant Light

With a little over a month to go until our babe arrives, we have finally entered the finishing touches stage of the nursery project. From the very beginning, I started scoping out ridiculous amount of nursery inspiration. And I kept coming back to the brilliant simplistic and modern styling of Sharon Montrose's Animal Print Shop nurseries. Her baby alpaca nursery, and this pendant light, are just so spot on.

So I set out to recreate a DIY version of this pendant light using wooden beads, twisted cloth covered wire, and a vintage light bulb. Aside from the electrical assembly, which did take a couple hours, this project was simple with big payoff in terms of bringing color and whimsy to the nursery.

Get the rest of the DIY details and sources after the jump…

DIY Changing Pad Cover

My DIY inspiration usually arises after trying to take on a new project, looking high and low for good tutorials, and having a hard time finding what I'm looking for. At that point, I'll just wing it. And if the project turns out well, I share it with you all.

Putting together our little one's nursery has been one of my favorite projects to date. I've really loved exploring new colorful decor styles and incorporate a soft feminine vibe into the space without going over-the-top girly. I couldn't find a changing pad cover for sale that had the modern boho vibe I'm going for. So when I came across embroidered mustard yellow curtain panels on clearance at Target, I thought it may look awesome on a changing pad. Here's how I did it...

DIY Modern Vanity

I had this antique mahogany vanity in our bedroom for quite some time. And even though it was gorgeous, it was too large for our space and wasn't comfortable as an everyday makeup table. So we found it a new loving home and went to work creating a more minimal modern vanity more suited for our space.

I wanted something sleek and able to organize my makeup. One, among many, surprises of pregnancy has been my insatiable desire for order and organization. Maybe it's part of the whole nesting thing, but I suddenly want, no NEED, systems in place for everything. Closets, cabinets, drawers, you name it, I want to organize it.

I saw the EKBY ALEX shelf awhile back and thought it may look cool paired with tapered wood legs. Rich spray painted shelf brackets white and stained tapered legs with a cherry oil stain. And ta-da! A pretty rad looking set up for minimal cost and efforts. Here's how we did it...

big news! we're having a BABY and it's a...

We are so very excited to announce that we're having a baby this spring!

I'm a few months along (almost 20 weeks to be exact) and hopefully that explains why I've been somewhat MIA around the blog lately. My second trimester of pregnancy has brought with it an influx of energy and excitement, so we've been diving full swing into nursery preparation and will have some really rad DIY's to share in the coming weeks (think a dresser, bookcase, and decor galore!) 

We had our midterm ultrasound this past weekend and found out the gender of our little peanut. To celebrate and surprise our families with the news, I made a special cake. And if I'm baking a celebration cake, you better believe I'm going to make it a gradient ombre layer cake.

DIY Holiday Sparkle Glass Dome

Last year, our holiday involved a kitchen renovation and traveling in and out of town, so I opted out of decorating for the holidays. I assured myself it didn't matter and kept saying how I had saved myself the work of cleaning up come January. But not having my own sparkly pine-scented green and red retreat was such a bummer. So this year I went all out. And I started early so we can enjoy the frivolity as long as possible. And I know many people have a strict "don't decorate until after Thanksgiving" rule, but I think you should just do what feels right.

So here is a super simple holiday DIY that you can do in less than an hour that will yield adorable sparkly winter wonderland results.

 

What You'll Need: 

12" Glass Bell Jar Dome

*Mine is Martha Stewart Collection's dome found here.

Anthropologie Aurora String Lights, 15ft. 

8"-10" Miniature Pine Tree 

*We got our tree from West Elm. They don't have it listed online, but you may be able to find it in-store this season. I suggest calling ahead and asking.  

Double-sided tape (something like this will do)

Cut a piece of double-sided tape and firmly stick it on the base of your glass dome. Place the miniature pine tree on the taped base until it's nice and sturdy. Take the tall glass dome and flip it upside down. Gently place the string lights in the top. While still holding the glass dome upside down, place the base (with the attached tree) on the top. Flip the entire piece right side up again. Carefully and gently use your hand to drape the lights strategically around the tree until you're happy with the distribution. And voila! Plug it in and let the holiday wonder take over. 

DIY Dried Flower Shadow Box + The Best Gift

September 7th of 2013 was the best day of my life. I married my best friend (you can see us in our wedding glory found here). A man that humbles me every day with his grace, kindness and humor. He's a better person than I am. A better person than most every other person I know, in fact.

On the day of our anniversary last Sunday, I was feeling really under the weather. We had just gotten home from a whirlwind weekend in Philadelphia and I crawled into bed and was ready to fall asleep. Rich excitedly comes into the bedroom and says I can't go to bed yet. First, I must open his anniversary gift. So I roll over, pull myself up, and see him smiling on the edge of the bed with a beautifully wrapped (always) box. Before I even open the gift, I felt terrible as I hadn't gotten him something. But, of course, because he's just the best person, wasn't even fazed. I tear open the paper and this unbelievable gem is inside. Rich MADE THIS. Out of the flowers from the boutonniere he wore on our wedding day. Arranged so artfully and carefully placed. It took my breath away and is absolutely the BEST, most meaningful present I've received. That man.

DIY Breakfast Nook Reveal - Before + After

When we first moved into our house, dark wood paneling was EVERYWHERE. It completely overwhelmed our small rooms and created a cavernous vibe. We knew the breakfast nook, a room right off our kitchen, was a space we would spend a lot of time and both craved light-filled minimalism.

We spent a few weeks debating the concept of painting real wood paneling. Were we ruining perfectly good wood? Should we just live with it? Can we take down the wood and use it somewhere else in the house? We came to the conclusion that the most important thing was us loving our space. And we love white walls. So we painted them white. And afterwards, we realized how much we love not only white walls, but white paneled walls. The texture is so cool and adds a dynamic visual. We loved them so much that we recreated a faux paneled look in our upstairs hallway.

Here are the before shots of the breakfast nook. If you can believe it, these photos are actually much more light-filled and exposed than the room was in reality. If I were to put up a true representation, it would look like I shot this space at night.


Check out the full breakfast nook reveal after the jump!

DIY WHITE TRIANGLE NAILS

There is something about having my nails painted that makes me feel totally put together. I'll go au naturale for long bouts, out of ease and a lack of time, but when I get back into the nail painting habit I realize how much I missed it.

As for the whole nail art trend, it hasn't been my jam. I see the nail stickers and pens in the makeup aisle, but it's too over-the-top for me. All that changed when I started seeing geometric and minimal nail art designs popping up. I especially love this inverted triangle design that resembles a flipped french manicure. Now that's a trend I can get on board with.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED: Nail Polish: ESSIE in Marshmallow, Top Coat, SECHE VITE, Tape: SCOTCH, Scissors

To see the DIY and tutorial, read on!

DIY GOLD SOUP CAN FLOWER VASE

Happy Monday! Hope you all had an awesome weekend. Mine was filled with laughter, great conversation, and inspiration. It was my best friend's bridal shower and close friends from afar gathered together to celebrate her upcoming wedding. As we get older, it's difficult to coordinate visits when people are scattered all over, so weddings are an awesome reason to travel and catch up!

This DIY was inspired (and executed) by my friend Megan's incredibly talented florist mother (who did the flowers for the shower). It's a fairly simple project, but the results are stunning and made the tables at the shower ethereal and romantic. As soon as I got home, I had to photograph the results to share with you all!

See how to make these gold flower vases after the jump!

THE KITCHEN

The day is finally here! I am so excited to share our kitchen. It has been a LONG time coming and this project felt, at times, as if we tackled more than we could handle. All of the work of this remodel was done by Rich, myself and gracious friends and family willing to lend expertise and muscle. Despite its challenges, we finished. And all of the blood, sweat and tears (yes, literally) were worth it because we ADORE this space.

Here's the before shot of our kitchen. The photo quality isn't great, but they are the most forgiving and appealing photos I could track down. I don't need to explain the cons of our previous kitchen, but our main issues were the fluorescent lighting, dark wood cabinetry, beat up/burnt laminate countertops, butter yellow brick accent wall, and fake brick as backsplash. I also had a hard time with all the upper cabinetry. Since it's a galley kitchen layout, I didn't have anywhere to do all of my food prep, so some of the upper cabinets had to go to give it a more open feel with additional work space.

And in case you missed that...
 

See our full kitchen reveal after the jump!

DIY Modern Wood, Marble and Gold Necklace

When it comes to jewelry, I'm drawn to a minimal and simple approach. I love golds, geometric shapes, clean lines and natural materials. Often times I'll get an image in my mind of something specific, like a necklace, and search high and low for it to no avail. Then I'll just try to make it myself. Like so.

See how to make this necklace after the jump!

before + after: our bathroom reveal

One of the first projects we tackled upon moving into our house was the upstairs bathroom. When we moved in, it boasted a nautical theme with baby blue beadboard wainscot paneling and heavy drapes. It was the farthest thing from our style. Plus, this is one of the most light-filled rooms in our house, so we wanted to take advantage of the flexibility to do something creative with paint colors. We are so happy with the results. Check out the full before and after bathroom reveal after the jump!

DIY Horizontal Plank Wall

The first floor of our house is filled with wood planked walls. We've painted some plank walls white and others remain untouched, but I'm growing more and more fond of the white plank wall look and wanted to bring some of that texture to the second floor of our house. Switching it up with a horizontal paneled look seemed perfect for an accent wall. See the how-to below.

Materials (for a 8x5 ft. wall)

Two unfinished 4x8 ft. hardboard wall panels, cut into 5" horizontal pieces
Nail Gun
Finishing nails
Zinsser B-I-N Shellac-Base Primer
Benjamin Moore paint in Simply White

Instructions

Measure your walls to get an idea of how many panels you will need. If any sections of your wall are longer than 8 ft., you'll have seams. Go to your local hardware store and snag a few unfinished 4x8 ft. hardboard wall panels. They are usually under $10 a piece. Utilize the in-store wood cutting service and kindly ask them to rip the boards length-wise into 5-inch strips.

Using a circular saw, cut your panels according to the width of the wall, and begin placing the boards horizontally starting the top of the wall, working your way down. Using a nail gun, put a 3/4 inch finishing nail at either end of the board and one in the center. After you've nailed all of the boards to the wall, start priming using a shellac-based primer. It dries very quickly, and you will only need two coats for full coverage. Make sure to use an old, or cheap, brush with the primer. Once the primer is dry, put on a coat of the white paint.

DIY Modern Monitor Stand

In order to spruce up my new office space, I wanted modern and clean monitor stands for my computer monitors. I was formerly using two dictionaries to the do the trick and it just wasn't jiving with the high-design look I was going for. 

DIY Reclaimed Wood Dining Table

I really dig the reclaimed wood table look. I browsed a bit at Crate & Barrel and Restoration Hardware, but couldn't stomach the idea of dishing out upwards of $1,500 for a table. So Rich and I decided we would make our own this past weekend. With the right tools, this is easily a one day project. And for those of you that are drowning in long term home renovations, it's a breath of fresh air to start and finish a project in one day. The best part? It cost under $60 to make.

Almond Butters that will rock your world

An Illustration & DIY Frame

This was my parent's Christmas present. The graphite illustration is a Rich Kelly original :) It's a scene from the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life," my dad's all-time favorite.

In addition to the beautiful illustration, Rich handcrafted the frame with reclaimed gymnasium flooring from our local architectural salvage group Philadelphia Salvage. They have the coolest materials and we love wandering through their Mt Airy store.