How to layer vintage rugs in a bedroom! I'm obsessed!

3.04.2021

How to layer vintage rugs in a bedroom! I'm obsessed!

I've been working on our bedroom the past few months since we moved our bedrooms around and moved upstairs. We're in a large square room with sloped, low ceilings (7' at the highest) and one window. (You can see my posts about it in my recent bedroom posts.) We upgraded to a king-sized bed and got a nice big 9'x12' rug to fill the room a little better, but it's been feeling kind of plain. Even with the fun pattern and color I've added with the DIY fabric-covered sconce shades and dyed curtains.

I thought about it, and I'm so glad I tried it... turns out layering a smaller vintage rug over our jute one was a great solution to adding interest, and I LOVE it!! I'm sharing my top tips for how to layer rugs in a bedroom below, too!

Thanks to Wayfair for partnering with me on this post! They have so many great affordable vintage and one-of-a-kind rugs!

I went with another neutral colored rug on top of our jute patterned one. I'm dipping a toe into decorating with more color and pattern... this time I went with pattern. 

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Our successful vegetable gardening experience and plans for this year

3.02.2021

Our successful vegetable gardening experience and plans for this year

Last summer we did our first large vegetable garden and it was a huge success! Jason’s sharing how he started our garden from scratch, what he did to prepare the soil, his tips for seeds and starts, and what we learned and will do differently this year.

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Digital art downloads & how to print

2.23.2021

Digital art downloads & how to print

Digital art downloads are inexpensive and can be a great way to get art on your walls!

Learn more about them in today’s Your Home Story Podcast episode including where to find them (we have a list of a bunch!), how to print them, and how to make them look more like intentional art pieces instead of just printed pieces plopped in a frame. 

Image from this blog post

Art Print Shops:

1. Juniper Print Shop
2. Heirloom on Etsy
3. BFF Print Shop
4. Blue Jay Art
5. Unsplash
6. Smithsonian
7. The MET

Free Art:

1. Shop Vintage Supply
2. Hearts and Color
3. Chaos and Wonder

More resources:

1. Places to print digital art: Mpix and Nations Photo Lab
2. So Much Better With Age did a great printable art round-up
3. Ashley’s roundup on digital Christmas art prints
4. My post: Unique, vintage-inspired bathroom art updates and affordable custom framing
5. My post: Get the Look: Vintage Oil Paintings with Custom Framing. Free downloads!
6. Cabin in Wilderness | Smithsonian Institution (si.edu))
7. Art from Museum Quality Art in my bathroom

You can find us on our blogs or connect with each of us on Instagram:
@suzannahstanley
@biggerthanthethreeofus
@yourhomestorypodcast

And you can join our Facebook group here to connect with other listeners and ask questions!

Listen here or in your favorite podcast app: iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, GooglePlay, or Overcast!

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Easy DIY fabric covered lampshades (and the block print sconce shades I love!)

2.18.2021

Easy DIY fabric covered lampshades (and the block print sconce shades I love!)

I am really pumped about this project!!! After my successful spray adhesive/Indian block print cotton DIY Roman shade, I knew I could do this... it was even easier. I covered the shades of the sconces by our bed with a beautiful patterned cotton for a totally unique look!

Funnily, this is not the first time I've done this... in 2013 I did basically the same method on a thrifted lampshade and shared about it here, though I didn't show any step-by-step photos. Ha! This project is much cooler, anyway! 

DIY fabric covered lampshade tutorial

You will need:

• Lampshade(s) (I used the ones that came with these sconces)
• Lightweight fabric (I used this Indian block print cotton, very lightweight)
• Spray adhesive
• Tacky Glue or other crafty glue

That's it! Really short list! I did this outside with a helpful toddler playing in the mud and sand around me... not recommended. But it's nice to do it outside for ventilation and not getting spray adhesive mist on anything.

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Design, Make, & Live: Kids' Bathrooms

2.16.2021

Design, Make, & Live: Kids' Bathrooms

This is a fun one! Bathrooms used by kids and toddlers have to be high on function but can also be great places to try out some of your edgier design ideas and get creative! 

This week on the Your Home Story Podcast we talk about some of the most important functional elements we’ve found for our kids, some fun favorite bath toys, and more!

Image source

Resources/links:

1. Designing a Perfect Kid’s Bathroom
2. Creating a Kid Friendly Bath
3. Greyson’s favorite bath toy/fountain 
4. Frog scoop bath toy storage 

You can find us on our blogs or connect with each of us on Instagram:
@suzannahstanley
@biggerthanthethreeofus
@yourhomestorypodcast

And you can join our Facebook group here to connect with other listeners and ask questions!

Listen here or in your favorite podcast app: iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, GooglePlay, or Overcast!

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6 months postpartum, 6 month baby update for baby #2

2.15.2021

6 months postpartum, 6 month baby update for baby #2

Lucy is 6 months old now! It flew by this time--I felt like the first few months of Otto's life took foreeeever. Things are definitely different with the second baby in a few other ways, too. With Otto I did some posts when he hit different milestones--1 month, 2 months, the fourth trimester, going back to work, 6 months. I really value those posts and enjoy looking back on them myself! So right now, I'm tired, I'm busy, I spend too much time at the computer... but I'm writing this post for future me if nothing else. Gotta document this special time.

(Here are the other Lucy milestones: 1 month, fourth trimester/going back to work.)

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DIY pinch pleated curtain dyeing tutorial!

2.11.2021

DIY pinch pleated curtain dyeing tutorial!

I am really having fun with our bedroom decor now!! I just did a possibly risky, but actually very low-risk, project and dyed our curtains to turn them from the plain beige cotton IKEA ones I got many years ago to a beautiful rich green, and added pinch pleat tape and hooks for a more high-end look! 

I'd been considering doing something like this as a way to bring in more color and then one of my friends on Instagram @ciarakenaston did the same thing, a very similar green, for her living room and they look great! She reminded me that Rit has a bunch of formulas on their website so you can choose from any number of colors and they tell you, for the size of item you're dyeing, how many bottles or cups of each color of dye you need to get the exact color you want!

Curtain Dyeing Tutorial + Pinch Pleating

The soft color and extra width from the pleating even when closed really add a lot to our room!

(Don't mind the un-trimmed, just primed window... that's on the project list.)

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Spray paint, gold leaf, & Rub n Buff

2.09.2021

Spray paint, gold leaf, & Rub n Buff

When should you use spray paint? How do you get the aged look of brass with Rub n Buff? Can you paint metal? Should you paint metal? Which is best for which application?

We are talking about all things spray paint, gold leaf, and Rub n Buff on the Your Home Story podcast today and sharing about successes, failures, and tips for using them in the future. 

I added gold Rub N Buff to the picture frame on the right!

Resources we mentioned:

1. Shuffleboard that Ashley ordered
2. Suzannah’s project of spray painting her fireplace screen
3. The embarrassing very old project I do NOT recommend: painting shoes
4. The gold alligator that Ashley painted
5. Spray painted light fixture in my breakfast nook
6. My nightstand makeover with gold knobs
7. Good FAQ on Krylon’s site
8. Quest for the Best Gold Spray Paint - Chris Loves Julia
9. Gold Leaf versus Rub n Buff
10. Rub N Buff Gold Test + DIY Tutorial (jennasuedesign.com)
11. @robyn.rebecca

You can find us on our blogs or connect with each of us on Instagram:
@suzannahstanley
@biggerthanthethreeofus
@yourhomestorypodcast

And you can join our Facebook group here to connect with other listeners and ask questions!

Listen here or in your favorite podcast app: iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, GooglePlay, or Overcast!

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Instagram home tour: Updated traditional home with soft color and character

2.05.2021

Instagram home tour: Updated traditional home with soft color and character

I am happy to bring you the second in my new series, Instagram home tours! I am all about sharing my friends' hard work on their beautiful homes with a different audience than just Instagram app users--so I am bringing their home tours to my blog!

This time it's Whiney from @theredfernhome. She's made some great classic updates to her 1990's home on 2 wooded acres in Oklahoma and has a cohesive but fun style with rich blues and greens mixed in throughout. She is also a talented painter and has done some DIY art projects of beautiful oil paintings she displays in her decor!

Take it away, Whitney!

Updated Traditional and Colorful Home Tour

Our house was built in 1997 and is set on 2 wooded acres.  It's a 3,500 sf one-story home that's more spread out than the homes that are being built nowadays, and that's what I loved about it (rather than being narrow and deep because builders are cramming as many new houses into developments as they can, it is more wide and long).  

It had builder grade finishes when we moved in, and the major renovations we did prior to move-in included installing 5" solid white oak floors throughout all of the main living areas and hallways, gutting and reorganizing the kitchen to "square up" the cabinets and walls (to get rid of those 90's angles) adding new trim and moulding to a few rooms, remodeling the powder bath and guest bath, and painting everything.

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