EVERYDAY GOODNESS

It's Friday and I am back again this week with things from around the web that I find cute, interesting and inspiring. I'm hoping they inspire you!

Over at DEAR LILLIE they created a gallery wall going up a staircase. Doesn't it look great! 

This is a fantastic tutorial from CENTSATIONAL GIRL on how to make your own flanged pillow shams. I hope to get around to doing this soon. I definitely have plenty of extra fabric I could use!

Here is an office makeover done by 6th STREET DESIGN SCHOOL that takes the space from utilitarian and boring to fabulous. The cabinet color is so fresh! Who wouldn't love to craft in here!  

I have had my name registered to participate in one of MEG'S craft weekend getaways for years. I think her enthusiasm for hosting these weekends, is what makes them look like so much fun!

My house has two back staircases (remember it was once two houses) and one has yet to be painted. Check out what Meg did. Maybe some variation of this is in order for my house!

This TUNIC  is perfect. It's affordable, looks clean and classic. Best of all, it is long enough to cover your bum if you would like to pair it with leggings!

I know I have been M.I.A. around here this week. I've been finishing up a few bigger projects around the house that have, literally, been years in the making. I am hoping to have at least one completed to share next week. Here is a sneak peak of what I've been up to! If you'd like to see more sneak peaks follow me on INSTAGRAM. 

If you are looking for something fun to do this weekend consider going to the movies to see While We Were Young. Paul and I went for last week's date night and it was good! I really enjoy Ben Stiller. Something about him reminds me of my awesome brother-in-law!

I AM SURE WE CAN ALL RELATE TO THIS FEELING TODAY!

 

Happy Weekend Everybody,

Valerie

EVERYDAY GOODNESS

It's Friday and I am back again this week with things from around the web that I find cute, interesting and inspiring. I'm hoping they inspire you!

Zoe Deschanel and I are soul sisters! Not only because of our love for bangs, but also because of her rockin' wallpaper in 500 Days of Summer! 

Isn't it swoon worthy

Earlier this week when I saw she was selling her home I just had to check it out. 

I am in love with her kitchen, especially the lighting, hardware, floors and stove! Truth be told, I would maybe do the blue more of a true navy, for myself, but really the girl has style!

The Met Ball was on Monday evening. The theme this year was 'China Through the Looking Glass'. I thought I would share with you who's fashion I thought was smashion. 

Allison Williams

Brie Larson, Courtney Eaton and Annabelle Wallis 

Emily Blunt

It seems like if you love something, and you want it to stick around, you'd better hope I don't love it too! First, there was Target closing in Canada and now, "The Mindy Project" has been  cancelled! I must be bringing them bad luck. I've decided to never declare my love for anything again ... that way, I won't jinx the chances of it doing well and staying around. Mindy posted THIS VIDEO to her Instagram account. Judging by her wink, there may be a little hope, yet!

I am crushing on THIS WALLPAPER. Perfect for a laundry or powder room in an older house.

I am looking forward to so many special events with my family this summer and I need several dresses. I have been having the worst time trying to find anything I love to buy.  However, in true Valerie form, I did find THIS CUTE TOP!

It must be this shade of green I'm loving!

There has been some great inspiration all over home decor and design blogs on the internet, this week. Wednesday was the reveal date of the "One Room Challenge" and these ladies did not dissappoint. While all of these ladies have talent and their rooms are lovely, here are some images from the ones that caught my eye the most.


VANESSA FRANCIS  did an incredible transformation to create this crisp bathroom.

STEPHANIE KRAUSS  created a picture perfect room for her daughter. 

JILL SORENSEN  took on a huge project! Boy oh boy, did it pay off!

If you are interested in seeing all of the One Room Challenge transformations, there will be links at the bottom of the individual reveals I've highlighted. Trust me when I say that, if you love home design, it is worth your time to see them all. 


For one last bit of everyday goodness, here is the sweetest video of ASHTON KUTCHER surprising his Mom with a home renovation. It's awesome! Kelso is a man now!

TO ALL OF YOU HARDWORKING, NURTURING AND LOVING MOM'S EVERYWHERE

MAY YOU BE SURROUNDED BY FAMILY AND SNUGGLED TO YOUR HEARTS CONTENT.

T.G.I.F.

Valerie

SHIPLAP DIY

I know you guys may be tired of seeing pictures and posts about this little room. I really want to share with you one last DIY tutorial of the thing that made the most impact in the room. It's on how to actually install your own shiplap, of course!

For those of you who are interested in creating the shiplap look in your home, go for it, it really isn't that difficult. I feel like it changed the look of this room, dramatically. It is an inexpensive way to add architectural detail and charm to any room. All it takes is some patience and rolling up your sleeves to put in a little elbow grease. 

Here are some reminder photos in case you are reading here for the first time!

Room before in MLS listing.

Room after

Room before in MLS listing.

Room after

To begin with you need to measure how many square feet your room is. I used a thin utility plywood that was ready for paint. It comes in 4x8 sheets and our room required 12 sheets, in total. It should cost between $12.00 and $15.00 a sheet, depending on where you buy it.

As you head to your hardware store, armed with your shopping list and measurements, you might want to consider getting the store's cutting service to cut down your sheets into strips that are 6" wide. It saves a lot of time and mess at home for a minimal fee. It was well worth it! 

You should also count the corners in your room, where the planks will meet, and buy corner moulding accordingly.

SUPPLIES:

• Sheets of thin plywood cut into 6" wide strips (planks)
• Corner moulding
• Air compressor
• Mitre or circular saw
• Nail gun and plenty of nails
• Measuring tape
• Corner moulding
• Wood filler
• Level
• Nickels (yes, Nickels!)
• Caulking
• Sanding blocks

When you get home the boring part of prep work begins. This is the stuff I dread because I want fast results. However, I've come to accept that these steps are necessary in order to get good results! 

If your walls are anything but neutral or white you should prime them. We used old taupe paint to touch up our walls. You do not want blue or pink peeking through your cracks once complete.

Next, pull out your sanding blocks and start sanding the edges of each plank. This is a necessary step and will make all the difference to your finished look. I also suggest sorting the planks with the best side facing up so that you make sure to have a nice smooth surface for painting. 

To start attaching your planks you need to find the least obvious corner in your room and begin there. This is similar to how you wallpaper a room. That way if the pattern does not line up as you would hope at the end, it is not as noticeable. Ours was over the door when you enter the room.

If there are inside corners, be sure to attach the corner moulding ensuring that it is level to get you off to a good start. 

I started my first plank at the bottom of the wall measuring the length (twice) and putting it up, holding the level on top, before nailing, thus getting a good baseline to go by. 

We found nickels to be the perfect thing to use as spacers between the planks. 

Place several nickels between the planks and make a quick level check, then nail planks into place. Continue doing this until you reach the top of your wall. Basically you do this right around the room, always trying your best to keep each plank level and seams matching as closely as possible. If your house is old and quirky like mine, these corner pieces will save you!

 Here the inside corner is attached and we haven't yet secured the outside corner. 

This highlights how the corner pieces help hide when the seams don't lineup perfectly.

We added a crown moulding to finish of the look at the ceiling. This also looks great with a simple board at maybe 3" wide as a topper.

Painting this properly is also a very important step to creating a professional looking finish. Filling your nail holes with wood filler and giving them each a light sanding is the first step. Using a good primer is crucial, as well.

This is what one coat of primer looks like!


The top here is one coat of primer and the bottom is two coats!

You finish all this off with two more coats of paint. I used a brush for the primer and a foam roller for the paint. To help keep the paint out of the cracks I used a small tool for applying drywall compound and plenty of paper towels to wipe it clean.

Here is one last picture of the shiplap.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask! Let me know if you decide to try it, I'd love to see some pictures! 

Valerie 

HIGH / LOW

It is not often the case that one has an unlimited budget to decorate their home.  It is because of this that I am a big proponent for learning to mix the high with the low while maintaining great style and being true to your vision for the space.

In my opinion, a great coat, shoes or jeans are a worthwhile investment but unless I really love it, I more than likely wouldn't pay any more than $35.00 for a blouse.

The same goes with decorating. The goal of many stores, both retail and online, is to recreate looks for less, taking the high price point of items and making it more accessible, and reasonably priced, for the masses. I am not going to say good design is cheap. It's often not but it can be made more affordable.

Sometimes things might seem comparable in price however, for us Canadians, often times the dollar exchange as well as shipping and tariff costs don't make the comparison as close as you'd hoped. Plus, the wait times can sometimes be quite long.

With a good eye and some research you can often source items that are more affordable to achieve the same desired look and feeling you are aiming for. I am not divulging any trade secrets here. You can spend a small fortune and still not be pleased with the results of your room. Having on eye for design is what can set these things apart.

Here are 10 examples of ceiling lights that I have either used or hope to use in the future that I believe are good examples of high/low. 

RESTORATION HARDWARE $995.00 US

                                         

 KENT BUILDING SUPPLIES $259.00 CAD   

POTTERYBARN $299.00 US

HOME DEPOT $149.00 CAD

SCHOOLHOUSE ELECTRIC $385.00 US

                                    

   KENT BUILDING SUPPLIES $349.00 CAD

SHADES OF LIGHT $489.00 US

BOUCLAIR $299.00 CAD

SHADES OF LIGHT $169.00 US

IKEA $39.00 CAD

SCHOOLHOUSE ELECTRIC $399.00 US

KENT BUILDING SUPPLIES $229.00 CAD

BARN ELECTRIC $495.00 US

KENT BUILDING SUPPLIES $229.00 CAD

SCHOOLHOUSE ELECTRIC $575.00 US

BOUCLAIR $179.00 CAD

         POTTERYBARN $399.00 US

            LOWES $199.00 CAD

     BARN ELECTRIC $170.00 US

IKEA $14.99 CAD

So there you have it. This is something I could do all day! I source items I love while trying to keep budget in mind. I hope this inspires some of you to do the same.

Warm Regards,

Valerie

EVERYDAY GOODNESS

I am back again this week with things from around the web that I find cute, interesting and inspiring. I'm hoping they inspire you!

LITTLE GREEN NOTEBOOK was the first blog I ever read. I received my own Macbook for Christmas in 2006 and proceeded to spend a good portion of the holiday's reading Jenny's blog. This week she shared images from a baby shower, she threw, that inspired me for several events I am working on decor for, that already have the same color theme.

Isn't it lovely!

I am so enamored by JOEL PLASKETT. I actually missed a good portion of a Tom Petty concert a few years ago because I was sitting close to Joel. I was distracted the whole time, wondering what his opinion of the show was and if he fanned out like everyone else at concerts.

Some people may believe it was because he was a hockey and basketball player that made me fall for my husband. Truth be told, it was seeing him play the guitar for the first time, at a house party, that sealed the dating deal for me!

I digress back to Joel, his new CD does not disappoint. I worked away to it all week. As of today, the title track is my favorite song, tomorrow I'll surely have a new favorite. I cannot wait to see him again, for the millionth time, in June!

Mother's Day is fast approaching. I'm sure you all have been racking your brains trying to figure out some good gift ideas. The malls will surely be busy this weekend!  

Here are some gift ideas for Mom. Be sure they go along with an unlimited supply of hugs and kisses, of course!!!

THIS GREAT NEUTRAL BAG

 THIS WOULD BE A SWEET WAY TO ENJOY YOUR MORNING WAKE UP CALL

YOU CAN'T GO WRONG WITH INEXPENSIVE PJ'S

ANYTHING KATE SPADE IS FINE BY ME, INCLUDING THIS CUTE WATCH

A LOVELY PIECE OF CUSTOM JEWELRY WOULD SURELY BRING A SMILE

This week I made some cute name tags for my women's group annual meeting.

My son helped me make a cute video tutorial of how to make these fabric roses. Take a peak!

One last note, I thought I would share with you SHELLEY'S latest post. Some of you might read this as being insensitive or unkind but I see it as choosing to be grateful, for all you have and encouraging others in difficult situations to do the same. A lesson we all need to be reminded of from time to time!

Have a great weekend folks! Thanks so much for all your comments and encouragement here and on social media. It means the world to me! It inspires me to continue to share, knowing that so many of you guys are reading along!

Warm Regards,

Valerie