home improvement: dining shelves

Here's the latest development in our dining room project.

The Mister had installed new shelves.



We really needed space to put our books, DVDs, magazines and other whatnots out of reach from Bud so the shelves are intended to be both functional and decorative.



We've had the shelves for a while now but it's still a work in progress. We're taking our time hunting down decorative pieces that resonate with us. The Mister and I have different personal styles so we have to choose pieces that appeal to us both. So far, the theme of our collaboration is eclectic Asian, if that makes any sense.

Here's a great guide for accessorizing your tabletops.

Happy nesting, bunnies!

welcoming spring

It's finally starting to warm up - meaning temperature highs are now in the 40s (or 5 celcius). It's amazing how everything is relative, isn't it? 40s in Minne-snowta already feels like spring! The snow has started to melt and the sidewalks have reappeared. The coming days are only going to get better and brighter.

To usher in the season, I baked a batch of colorful M&M cookies.

We also spruced up the living room with some new pillows.


And I have brought out more colorful pieces of clothing to wear!


How have you been preparing for spring?

home improvement: picture wall

We finally finished our picture wall project for our dining area! Up on the wall is a collection of photographs taken during our travels. We had our photos printed at Costco and mounted them on Ribba frames from Ikea.




I know the photos don't do justice to the collection but I was just too excited to share them with you.

Before you start your DIY picture wall, here are some tips I would like to share from our experience.
#1 Have an visual reference for the layout before you buy your frames and print your photos.
#2 Make paper mock ups of your frames that you can tape on the wall so you can easily measure and adjust to your desired layout.
#3 Start at the center of your wall so you can keep adding more frames on each side.
#4 You can drill through the paper mock ups to get a more accurate measure of where the hooks should be.

Happy nesting, bunnies!

home improvement: entryway

As I have mentioned here, we've been decorating our home one area at a time. This week, the lucky part of the house to get some sprucing up was our entryway.

During our latest trip to Ikea we found a wall shelf that had hooks underneath. We thought it would be clever to mount it low on our entryway wall so that I could finally have some sort of decorative mantle without sacrificing space. At the same time, the hooks made it practical for hanging Bud's diaper bag for easy access.




Aren't wall shelves just ingenious? Now small spaces don't need to compromise on neither form nor function.

chic and simple

littlegreenbook

Here's a crafty way to get that fashion inspiration everyday.

You don't always have to spend a ton of money to have style.

practical design solutions

One of my bestfriends, Anonymous, sent me this message after reading this post that I wrote the other day:

maybe you should help me do some home improvement too! my place is just a toy dumpster...we now have 3 rooms full of toys! F's bedroom, the spare bedroom AND the living room! plus bec we don't want to hang anything on the walls since we're renting, it looks so blah! should i perhaps take pics and send to you then you can come up with some ideas?

I'm far from being an expert in interior design but practical I am and good taste I have so here goes trying to help out a friend in need.

To my dear Anonymous, I have a two part response to your dilema. First, let me introduce you to the renter's best interior design solution - 3M Command Picture Hanging Strips. This allows you to hang as much photos, paintings and prints without having to hammer a nail through the wall! In Manila we got them at Ace Hardware and here in the US we get it at Target or Walmart. I'm sure you have it over there in Switzerland. They also come in hooks for the heavier frames.

Aside from wall art, you can also incorporate character to your space by adding floor lamps, plants, jars and mirrors as seen in these photos.

Now to address your clutter issue, I have three words for you - storage, storage, storage! Let me share with you some of my favorite design ideas that allow us moms to organize and de-clutter without scrimping on style.

use matching baskets or bins to corral your clutter

use benches and ottomans that double as extra storage compartments

giant baskets and chests can be both decorative and functional

I hope you found these helpful, Anonymous.

Happy nesting, bunnies!

photos courtesy of designsponge.com, diyideas.com, ikea.com, apartmentherapy.com

home improvement: bud's room

For the past months I've made a conscious effort to restrain myself from decorating Bud's room. We wanted to keep stimuli in his room to the bare minimum while we were sleep training him. So for months the walls have been bare and the toys out of sight.

Now that he has no problem putting himself to sleep, we've started sprucing up his room with some fun frames and wall stickers. Here's the work in progress...

wall stickers from Ikea and frames from a garage sale

You probably noticed he still sleeps in a crib. I do plan to put him there for as long as I possibly can!

home improvement: toy shelf

I know I've been very deliquent with updating my blog. I can't believe how easily time passes. Even as I am typing now part of me is already going over the other to-dos that I need to attend to after this quick post.

I've been on home improvement mode for a month now and I've been trying to organize and decorate our home one area at a time. Nothing fancy or elaborate. Just trying to make it look more like a cozy home than a daycare. I get surprised with how little things like new rugs and towels could do wonders for a bathroom. Or how a few frames and a vase could change the mood in the living room.

Today I just completed my project for the week which was to decorate our "toy shelf". This particlar shelf in our living room is literally full of toys! Since it's still part of our living room, I wanted it give it a more polished look. Here's how it looked before:

Here's how it looks like now:


I just put 6 new items on the shelf and now it looks like adults DO actually live in this house!

The house is still a work in progress so I'm pretty certain I will be writing more about my home improvement projects in the coming weeks. Feel free to give me your ideas and suggestions, ladies!