Our New Mudroom! Which I Forbid Mud To Ever Enter

Hello beautiful people! 

I hope you are all having the BEST July and soaking up as much fantastic Summer fun as humanly possible. We were able to take a long week to vacation with both of our families this year and had an absolute blast. 💜But now that we're back, things have been moving around the house and we are getting down to business!

That's why I'm so excited to share with you today our completed Mudroom!!! We worked on this space for approximately two months, and the transformation was 100% worth it. The function and layout work so much better for our lifestyle and the amount of storage has tripled. 

So this is what we started with when we first moved in. Nothing to brag about - a cute-sized room - but our shoes piled up, there was nowhere to put anything extra, we didn't have enough hooks for our coats, and it brought me NO joy walking in every day. 

To really utilize the space we decided to create a whole built-in moment. I knew from the beginning I wanted lots of shoe cubbies, lots of hooks, a bench, and a large shelf on top to put decorative baskets for even more storage. As we started to build things out, we decided to add four additional shelves to the right as well. 

Oh, and it was going to be a KILLER color. 

This killer color is Alexandrite by Sherwin Williams. It was the March 2021 color of the month and as soon as I saw it I fell in love. Bold colors are the best. If you're timid about adding them to your home, smaller spaces like mudrooms, bathrooms, pantries, or closets are great places to dip your toes into the paint! 

With this room I also made the call to paint the ceiling. I wanted to give the sense of "coziness", have color completely surround you when you entered and bring it's energy over your entire being. That, and painting the ceiling is a whole mood. A mood I am here for! 

I also knew it was the right call when we hung the light. Something just wasn't doing it for me when I saw green walls, a white ceiling, and a blue chandelier. One of those elements had to give, and it was NOT going to be my new light fixture. Can we just take a moment to appreciate her??? She's glorious. And an absolute STEAL since a reverse image search led me to discover her OG price was over $450, and I snagged her for $60. Eric had to do a little mechanical magic to make her compatible with the ceiling height, but man was it worth it. 

With the light hung, the painting complete, and the bench assembled, it was finally time for accessories! I headed to At Home one evening and found these baskets (brown / white) which fit great along the top. The rug is from Overstock, and the shelf baskets and hooks are both from Amazon. 

Things are looking pretty good right!? Could it get any better? 

You betcha because there is still TRIM to be had! And if you whip around to the back wall, we did a little self-assembly and used two of these IKEA cabinets to create storage for all of our cleaning supplies. It's narrow depth was perfect for against the wall, and of course I couldn't leave well enough alone, and had to add my favorite hardware. 

The rest of the decor came together via DIY art and pieces we've had for years. As I was laying things out, I contemplated trying to move the Dyson, but ended up just incorporating it into the gallery wall design. I think it works! 

The black basket tags were the last thing I picked up before delcaring the room complete. There's just something about "slapping a label on it" that gives that feeling of satisfaction and done-ness like nothing else, you know? 

The fact that our house even has a mudroom is such a blessing. We went from our first place (that didn't have any sort of "landing" space at all) to a full size room right off the garage (which we ALSO didn't have before). There's a place for our shoes, a place for our stuff, a mirror to check yourself out, and hooks on hooks on hooks! Top it all off with it's brand new look and you have here one happy lady. 😊

What would some "must haves" be in your mudroom? Have you ever painted your ceilings? Do you have somewhere just begging to be a bold color? Share your thoughts below! 

Check out all of our home improvements, by visiting the OUR NEST page.

2016 Pantone Color(s) of the Year

It's that time of year again!!! 

Pantone has announced their 2016 Color of the Year, or should we say "colors" , because for the first time they've selected TWO as representatives for the year; ROSE QUARTZ and SERENITY. 

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So why two colors this year? 
Pantone Color Institute Executive Director, Leatrice Eiseman best sums it up as so:

"Joined together Rose Quartz and Serenity demonstrate an inherent balance 

between a warmer embracing rose tone and the cooler tranquil blue, 

reflecting connection and wellness as well as a soothing sense of order and peace."  

source: www.pantone.com

At first glance, the only thing this color duo brought to mind is a baby's nursery. I wasn't very impressed, considering the past bright and vibrant colors of 2015, 2014, and 2013. But also like years past, my first impression began to shift after digging deeper and seeing each color in action. Pastels have been such a huge trend lately, and I think Rose Quartz and Serenity will be fuel for the fire. 

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If only I could pull off pastel hair...oh baby I'd be a mermaid in an instant! A lot or a little, this light pink is sophisticated, but at the same time super soft and feminine. 

For me personally, Serenity may take a little longer to warm up to. I could see it being a big hit this Spring for wedding colors, but the grey-ish tone this blue has could easily lead itself successfully all winter as well. 

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So maybe it is time we toned it down a notch. Not every color-of-the-year has to be loud and scream "OMG LOOK AT ME!" Sometimes subtlety is key. 

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Whatever side you're on, team Rose Quartz or team Serenity, be prepared to see these colors popping up everywhere. And if you're having a baby soon, you no longer have to decide what shade to paint the nursery! 

What are your thoughts on Pantone's 2016 choices?

Color Your World

Often when starting a new design or project, one of the biggest challenges is coming up with a color scheme. Sometimes it's not that big of a deal to go through a hundred different colors, if you're working on the computer for example. But if you're painting a wall, or planning a wedding, you want it to be a color you will love day after day and for years to come!

One of my favorite places to turn when I need a fresh dose of color stimulation, is Instagram. Scrolling through my personal feed, I’m reminded why I snapped these pictures to begin with. Something about the moment caught my eye, and captivated me enough to forever immortalize it in social media history.  

Take time to look back at your photos and discover which colors you’re naturally attracted to. You already have a strange attachment to those little filtered pics, they might as well help get your creative juices flowing.

Visit STRONG IS OUR SEXY for a few of my favorite Instagram accounts bursting with fresh color.

Of course when discussing where to find ideas on the world wide web, we can’t leave out the mother-ship of them all; Pinterest. Just search the word  “color”,  and there’s enough image overload to scroll through you won’t leave your computer for a week. I find it best to organize my pins by category or idea. For example; one of the projects I’m working on in my home is the guest bedroom. I found this image a while back, and instantly fell in love with the deep navy. Now whenever I see a picture fitting that theme, I pin it to a specific board, so everything stays together.

Get the links to boards and pinners who are especially good at picking great color at STRONG IS OUR SEXY.

So you’ve searched high and low, and have curated the perfect color combo to make all your dreams come true.

Now what???

Executing a color scheme can sometimes be a tricky task. It involves a bit of balance, and some definite hierarchy. What do I mean by hierarchy? Well each color in your theme needs to have a certain level of importance. This will help keep colors from competing with each other, and create a sense of equilibrium. When decorating a room, your wall color is dominant, and everything you use to accent (bead spread, decor, curtains) is secondary.

Another real-life-example where a color scheme is important is planning a wedding!

For my own wedding (like most little girls) I had an idea what I wanted my colors to be for A LONG time. Purple has always been my favorite color, so that was a must. Our wedding was in September, so I used burnt orange to tie in the Fall season. And lastly my husband and I are HUGE Beatles fans, so to pay tribute we decorated with Granny Smith apples, and used bright green as our final color.

So in my case, the color hierarchy was; purple, orange, and then green.

This helped me make decisions such as what the bridesmaids would be wearing, what color flowers to focus on, what the jewelry would look like, and so on.

Image credit to Lindsey Kay

Our world is completely saturated in color. When deciding on a scheme focus on how certain colors make you feel, and latch on to those that fill you with JOY. Every time I see that perfect shade of purple or a green apple, I instantly remember the happiest day of my life.

That is the kind of reaction color should bring you.

For as many rules there are about coordinating color, there are just as many reasons to break them. As long as they make YOU happy, that’s all that really matters.

Picture This: Instagram Inspiration

Often when starting a new design or project, one of the biggest challenges is coming up with a color scheme. Sometimes it's not that big of a deal to go through a hundred different colors, if you're working on the computer for example. But if you're painting a wall or piece of furniture, you want it to be a color you will love day after day for years to come! 

Yes, there are countless color templates on websites, Pinterest, or in books that you could turn to for ideas. But why not pull colors from images you're already in love with? 

Like from your INSTAGRAM! #genius!

You already have an incomprehensible attachment to those perfectly filtered snapshots, so put them to some use! I have found that browsing through my photo feed can provide me with all of the beautiful swatch satisfaction I crave. 

Below are a dozen examples of beautifully coordinated color combinations pulled together from my Instagram photos:

#easypeasy! 

So the next time you're stumped about what color to paint a room, what shirt would look great with those killer purple jeans, or what theme to make your next birthday party, look no further than that truly addicting little app on your phone. #coloryourworld #everydayinspiration  #hashtaghashtaghashtag ...sorry I'll stop now :)

Pantone Color of the Year 2013!

It's that time of year again! 

Pantone has announced their color of the year for 2013, and it is.... 

EMERALD! 

photo from www.pantone.com

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