10 DIY Fall Garlands Ideas

after sharing yesterday's fall decorating ideas I started looking for some garland ideas to DIY here are my favorite top ten fall garlands I found around the webs click on the source link for tutorials

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5 Easy Home Decorating Ideas to try this Fall

Central Louisiana has not received the "fall is here" memo. While temperatures have been dropping during the morning and evenings, day temperatures still fluctuating in the 80's. I mean I'm not really complaining... its been feeling nice out, warm but nicer than the summer heat. After celebrating Halloween I'm ready for fall to get here.. so while I to keep sending smoke signals to central Louisiana's weather, here are some easy decorating ideas to try this fall season. 

1. Select or paint pumpkins to match your current decor color scheme- no need to change all of your current decor items, just select pumpkins or other fall items that match your decor. Here I added green, gold, white and black pumpkins to complement my existing decor. 

2. Display Family Memories from previous fall- It will be nice to receive your family members with pictures from previous thanksgiving celebrations or your fall family portraits 

image source Architectural Digest 

3. Add a garland- Very simple way to make your home more festive   

image source Earthflora 

4. Bring Nature Inside- add fresh flowers, wood or other natural looking items to create the fall look

image source Style me pretty 
5. Fall Gallery Wall Art- I love this idea from Layla at TLC. An easy way to update your current gallery wall art for the season. 

image source The lettered Cottage

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Lacoste France

Last spring I had the great opportunity to study at SCAD's Lacoste campus. Lacoste is a small medieval town, one of the most charming and peaceful places I have ever been.  Lacoste's streets are filled with lots of history and cute and charming houses 

House Tour: My Downtown Savannah Studio

today I want to share the little studio apartment  I lived in downtown savannah. After scouting craigslist, trulia, and every other house renting website for about two months, I was lucky to find this 500 square feet  of cuteness! Originally my wish list consisted of: 

• rent price I could afford on my own- check!
• preferably no roommates-check!- 
• in a safe green crime area in downtown savannah-check! control access and security cameras made me feel at ease 
• walking distance to SCAD's Eichberg- check! 10 minute walk 
• on site parking or near parking garage-onsite parking was not available but I had access to a nearby SCAD parking lot 

Savannah House Tour

I'm moving on... I mean it's been a year since we moved out from our savannah home. It's time we move on to our next homes but in honor of the great memories created in our first owned home I wanted to share a complete tour of our home and how it all started. 

Guest Room Makeover

Last summer I worked with my friend Sally to decorate her guest room.  She wanted to have welcoming place for her guests. We chose to go with a tropical/travel theme with happy colors.  Here are the results for your enjoyment :-)

Savannah House Tour: Guest Bedroom

I really never finished decorating our guest bathroom in our savannah house. 

I wanted to go for a nautical theme. I started with the nautical window seat, and added a few nautical nodes throughout the room. I sold the dresser during a garage sale and wanted to get another but never had the chance. I score the mirrors that mimic windows at home goods, and i love them!  

Savannah's Home Office Makeover

Before things got crazy last year I did finish making over our home office in our Savannah Home. It became my girl cave/home office/playground/craft room, and I miss it so much!

Bonjour! Hola! Hallo! Ciao!

Hello there! How are you? It's been quite a while!... me?? I'm good and back to "normal" What have I been up to in the past 17 months, you ask?  Well, let's see, a lot has happened... Last time I blogged we were in the midst of selling our house in Georgia. I’m happy to report that the house sold way faster than we thought it would! We had an offer within a week of posting it. We were really blessed, everything went smoothly and we closed the deal without major issues ( expect for having to run to buy new curtains because the packers packed the curtains and the buyers had requested in their contract to keep all of the window treatments, including my diy roman shades, smart buyers!)

I got a full time job offer in May (its funny how it works out, this is the third time I end up getting a job offer when my husband is about to PCS and we have to move again, oh the joys of being a military spouse) Since we had a few months until “PCSing” I figured I would accept the job, at the end we decided I should stay in Savannah a while longer to continue working and continue my MA in interior design at SCAD in the classroom as opposed to online…

5 tips to prepare your home for sale

My husband is scheduled to PCS this year, planning for the move we decided to sale our current home. I have been looking for ideas on how to get the house ready and hopefully sell it right a way. I thought I would share my favorite tips here. I grouped them in 5 major areas or to do items: 

Inspect & Fix

Try to see your house through buyer’s eyes. What do you see that might detract buyers from buying the house? Check for leaks, cracked caulk in tiles, damaged wood floors, paint condition and every detail that the buyers will notice or that might come up during a home inspection.

Repair any items that you found faulty during your inspection.

Downsize & De-clutter

This is a good time to go through your stuff and get rid of those that you don’t need or use often. You can always take them to goodwill.  If you have extra or bulky furniture a good idea would be to rent a storage unit to store extra items.  Extra unnecessary furniture can make the house feel small, cluttered and with lack of storage. A good rule is to leave enough furniture in a room to showcase it’s purpose while allowing easy movement and flow. If you have an expandable dinning table, like we do, a good trick would be to leave it in its smaller size to help the room appear larger. Reduce clutter by putting away kitchen appliances that would normally be on the kitchen counter. Make sure you walk through and identify clutter areas and organize or eliminate them.

Clean & Organize

Potential buyers will have a positive experience when the house feels clean and smells good. A clean good smelling house can be perceived as that it was well taken care of. Make sure to dust off surfaces, clean the fridge and kitchen cabinets on the outside. Organizing closets will help make the house feel clean as well as show that there is plenty of storage room. Pay special attention to bathrooms, a good practice could be to keep the toilet seat closed.

Stage

When staging your home you want to make it appealing to as many buyers as possible, so it’s a good practice to keep décor and wall colors in neutral colors. Make sure bedspreads, curtains and towels displayed are clean and in good conditions. Open up the curtains/windows to let natural light in and include indoor plants to bring a sense of nature indoors. My environmental design psychology class couldn’t stress more how positive human response is to natural light and nature indoors; it just makes us feel better! By including these items potential buyers will feel happy and well in your home. 

Take the opportunity to create vignettes where potential buyers may identify with or visualize themselves in. For instance create a spa atmosphere in your bathroom by adding candles, fresh flowers, pretty soaps, bathmats with slippers on them and nice towels. Buyers will think of the relaxing time they will have in the bathroom.

Another idea is to make the home look lived in by showcasing how the space can be used. A comfy chair flanked by a reading light with a side table with books on it will create a reading nook where buyers may visualize themselves reading. Or a table displaying board games in the family room will remind buyers of family time and the memories they could make in this home.

Curb Appeal 

This is the first impression buyers will have of your home, make sure it’s a good one by making the outside of your home feel inviting, well taken care of and clean. Mow your lawn, clean plant beads and repaint any faded surfaces. Add yellow or red flowers, which are known to attract buyers.

Do you have any tips for preparing your home for sale that is not included here? Share it on the comments below!

10 rooms for spring decor inspiration

Hola, design lovers!  Happy first day of spring! (...first day of spring, already?!? say what? … Although I am happy about the warmer and nicer weather I cant believe its almost april! where is the time going!?!?! make it stop!! ) Anyways,  I'm happy to have my first trimester of school behind me and am ready to tackle some projects until returning to classes in the fall…. Now, leaving aside my dramatic frustrations about how time is going by so fast (also known as my birthday is approaching, and totally freaking out about getting older) lets just celebrate the first day of spring (and forget about our silly worries) by looking at these beautiful rooms that evoke the season! 

Designer Crush: Kate Spade

found here

i'm currently working on a brand design project for a class, so I have been researching different brands to decide which one to use. i've had a crush on kate spade for a while now. i just love their brand, the fun, colorful, playful yet classic and sophisticated aesthetics turn me on! after reading how kate spade started & about their rebranding and visiting their store in downtown savannah I got convinced that this is the brand I would use for my project. 

Valentine's Day Wedding Inspiration

If I could I would renew my wedding vows every year just so I could have another wedding party! I mean there is so much inspiration and pretty things out there.  I think the idea of a Valentine's day wedding is so cute and romantic. I love the idea of mixing soft pinks and accents of gold with red, it makes the decor feel romantic and elegant. 

Image Sources:  Paper hearts, pink cocktails, cake, seating, heart shoes, pink macaroons

Valentine's day breakfast / brunch idea : pancake bar

Hello there! Today I'm sharing a Valentine's day breakfast / brunch idea. (BTW can you believe that   next weekend is Valentine's day!!??  This year is already going by way too fast) One of my favorite meals to enjoy with my husband is brunch, so what better way to celebrate valentines day that with a heart and love inspired brunch pancake bar.

 This pancake bar would also be a great idea for a family valentines day brunch, kids would love and appreciate the heart shaped pancakes.  Add a mimosa bar and this pancake bar would be perfect for  a girls brunch party or otherwise known as Galentine's day party.  

I had fun styling this small pancake bar and I'm looking forward to recreating it on Valentines day weekend.  The best thing of creating your own bar is that you can customize it to add as many ingredients as you prefer or have on hand. And everyone can add the toppings they prefer. 

*all images by design dearly*

A room inspired by an outfit

This is a cute outfit for the cold weather. I love the mix of neutrals and warm colors. The outfit translate beautifully in a room. I think the room has a good balance between feminine and masculine. The leather and warm colors inspire masculinity while the gold and the sheer curtains evoke femininity. 

Image sources: outfit, sheer curtains, leather chair, mustard couch, wall clock, books, decorative pillow, pendant light