PROJECT CONDO: THE DETAILS

I was so excited to be able to reveal my finished dining room space on A Beautiful Mess last week! It's been such an exciting accomplishment to finally finish this room. I've learned so much and overall really felt like keeping my focus on one room at a time helped me complete the space well and love the end results...AND have a completed room!

I've had a couple questions regarding where I purchased some of the items and furniture in my space and I wanted to give a full disclosure post, as well as share a couple extra photos of the finished room! If I missed anything or if you have any questions, please tweet me @maiedae or leave a comment below!

O N  T H E  W A L L
For the artwork, I really wanted to chose pieces that would add color into the room. All of my big pieces are very neutral and I needed something that would pop and add in the interest I was trying to achieve. For the art collage, I tried several combinations of art I already had and new art to see what looked best together. Once my favorite art was selected, I framed everything. I had Jenny help me lay the frames on the floor to create the shape I wanted. What I love about this is that I can easily change out the artwork if I decide I like something better and still keep the same look. In addition to the art collage, I really wanted a statement art piece. I fell in love with The Places in America print and decided to build a statement frame out of wood scraps to add more drama and really make it stand out. I love that Jon and I can record the places we've been and want to go on it with little push-pins. It's a special piece we can continue to enjoy throughout the years. And finally, I wanted to balance out all of the art with something different, so I decided on a handmade papier-mache deer head to hang next to the curtains. It's one of the first things you see when you walk into the room, which is great because I feel like it's a perfect "greeting" piece.

* The Universe - Society6
* Tiny Trees - Renegade Shop in Chicago (now closed, but check out their site)
* I Love My Family - BeauChamping
* Renegade Craft Fair - Renegade Shop in Chicago (now closed, but check out their site)
* Yes Ma'am Print - Jordan Grace Owens
* Green Andy Warhol Car - art.com
* Small Nebula Prints - Elise Mahan Fine Art
* Papier-Mache Deer Head - West Elm
* Places in America Print - You Me & The Royal We
* Wooden Frames - Michael's Craft Store
* America Pallet Frame - Handmade with my father-in-law

T A B L E  A R E A
I knew I wanted a wooden table, and this was actually one of the first purchases we made for the space. I love how the legs face different directions and the coloring is fantastic. I was also set on not having all of the same exact chairs. We started with the metal chairs and then purchased the high-backs when the room was nearly finished. At first I thought that these would go at the head of the table, but in order to balance out the room and still make the art collage visible, we decided on a "benched" look near the windows.

* Metal Tub Chairs - World Market
* Suede High-Backs - World Market
* Blox Wood Table - CB2
* Sheepskin - IKEA
* Faux Deer Antler - Z Gallerie
* Celestial Coasters - Anthropologie

C A B I N E T
The cabinet was my second furniture piece purchase for the room. Jon and I loved the metal detailing on the doors and the little touch of vintage it added to the room. Jenny helped me decorate the inside with dinnerware and glassware pieces, as well as special items we've collected and been given. I love how it looks sophisticated and also serves as a functional piece.

* Plants - Whole Foods
* Tray under plants - IKEA
* Candle Holders - Target
* Organic Dinner Plates - West Elm
* Vintage Cabinet - Antiqued from Kudzu

R O L L I N G  B U F F E T  T A B L E
I originally envisioned using a bar cart or some other piece of furniture for this space, but after we purchased the cabinet we decided something like a buffet table for serving would be perfect. I created a small bar area and left the rest of the space mostly open on top for meals, snacks and extra drinks when we host get-togethers. It's very practical AND ended up being a great space for my record player and records.

* Console Table - World Market
* Record Player - Crosby Turntables
* Wire Storage Baskets - Urban Outfitters
* Hammered & Copper Bowl - World Market
* Terrarium - Urban Outfitters
* Boyd Owl - Antiqued
* Mirrored Tray - World Market
* Honeycomb Glassware - West Elm

T H E  E X T R A S
* Curtains - Target
* Metal Pipe Curtain Rod - Do It Yourself
* 3-Jar Light - West Elm
* Paint Color - Sherwin Williams  
* Filament Light Bulbs - Restoration Hardware

Overall, the words for this room as I was designing it and picking out pieces were: industrial, a touch of vintage, a little rustic, sophisticated, functional, and comfortable. I feel like we achieved our desires for the space and that it's a perfect combination of Jon and me. I've loved sharing my dining room decorating process with you! To look back on all the brainstorming and the full process click here! Also, be sure to continue following along with my Project Condo posts to see how I decorate my next room!

CHEER: DECORATE FOR CHRISTMAS

Every year after Thanksgiving I look forward to the "a-okay" from my husband to start decorating for Christmas. This year, Jon surprised me with a real tree. We bought a pre-lit tree before we got married and used it for two years, but this year I had my heart set on a real one. We went to a little tree farm in Georgia that our families go to get their trees and picked out our very own. It's beautiful. Just a few glittering lights and a handful of collected ornaments. We love it and so do the cats. ;)

This Christmas is also the first Christmas that we have a fireplace for our stockings! It's probably one of my favorite things about our new place. We set up a fire as often as possible now that the weather is getting cooler. :) For day 5 of Christmas Cheer, Jenny and I wanted to share with you a couple snapshots of our Christmas decorating. I'll be sharing my mantel decorations and Jenny will be sharing her beautiful Christmas tree and DIY tree skirt later today. :) 

When decorating my mantel, I went for a more "neutral Christmas" look. I reused a fall inspired mobile DIY to add some texture to the wall, stuck some candles in a few of my collected bottles, used spare Christmas tree branches to add a touch of nature and a few of my favorite pieces from around the house. 

A couple tips when decorating your home for Christmas:

* Use natural pieces from around your yard or from your tree. I re-used the extra Christmas tree branches all around my condo, cut a couple pieces of holly from outside to decorate, and used some of the pine cones I picked up from work. 

* Candles are an easy way to add warmth to any corner of your home. Since Jon is sensitive to strong scents, I usually stick with the simple white candles and let them sit out alone or put them in decorative candle holders. 

* If you're having a difficult time decorating an area of your home, try decorating it by a color palette and picking things from around your home that compliment that color combination. 

* Once you've decorated a space, step back and see if you like the way it looks as a whole in your room. Maybe take a couple things out or rearrange it until it feels right. My favorite thing to do is to get help from Jenny so another pair of eyes can take a look at it and offer suggestions.

* And most importantly, have fun. :) 

What are some of your holiday decorating tips?? :) Feel free to follow along with my Christmas pin board to get more inspiration AND please share your pin board in the comment section below. :)

PROJECT CONDO: ART WALL

It's done!! I put the last pieces of artwork in the frames today. :) Before I go into the details of the dining room art wall, I have to preface this post with the fact that this is the first time, since being married, that I've picked art, bought frames and put something like this together. I had a couple failed attempts when we were living in our old apartment, but ended up taking everything down since we didn't plan to be there long. I've had some of the artwork for over 1.5 years...all rolled up in poster tubs waiting to be used! And now, they're up on the wall...and it's made such a HUGE difference in the dining room. It added so much color and interest. I love it. I also love that as I find new art I can just replace what I already have, I tend to have an ever-evolving sense of style. ;)

For this process I first started by picking the artwork. A couple pieces got cut in the end, but I knew I really wanted my "yes ma'am" piece and my renegade piece to be up on the wall. I started with those as my foundation and began building around those pieces to find other prints to go with the collage. Once I got all of the art, I took a trip to Michael's and bought a variety of wood frames in different colors and styles. I got all of the frames for 40% off PLUS I had a 25% off total purchase coupon, so I ended up being way under budget for the frames. I totally recommend checking out Michael's for frames in the future if you have one close. They have so many to choose from and fantastic prices. The quality is beautiful too.

After all of the artwork was framed, I had my bestest, Jenny, come over and help me collage them on the floor to figure out the right composition. I love the shape she came up with and how she made everything work together. Thanks again, Jenny. I couldn't have done it without you! With a little teamwork, we started at the middle of the collage and began hanging the pieces on the wall. After about 30 minutes we were done! And voila! Art wall complete!

In case you're curious, here's where I bought my pieces: 1// The Universe - Society6 2// Little Trees - Renegade Shop in Chicago 3// I Love My Family - Beauchamping 4// Yes Ma'am - Jordan Grace Owens 5// Construction of a Nebula - Elise Manhan 6// Starlight Symbiosis - Elise Manhan 7// Green Andy Warhol Cat - Art.com 8// Renegade Craft Fair Poster - Renegade Shop

Also, here are a couple helpful posts on how to hang art collages that I recommend checking out:
* Two Rules of Thumb for Hanging Things on Your Walls by Smile & Wave
* Get the Hang of It by Young House Love
* How to Hang Art in Groups (Like Kate Space) by Apartment Therapy

Up next for the dining room? Well I still need to order the rest of my "final touch" pieces, put together a DIY, replace a few things and then I will be DONE, for now anyway. ;) But I'll finally be able to start working on the living room! I'm planning to post about my DIY framed art piece over the buffet table next and then I'll do a big before and after reveal. So exciting!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! I'll be over with the beautiful ladies of blogshop, assisting them with their event in Atlanta on Saturday and Sunday. Planning to share pictures next week. :)

PROJECT CONDO: FINAL TOUCHES

I can't believe my dining room is *nearly* finished! It's looking like my goal of having it complete by December 1st is going to happen and I can't wait to host a formal dinner party for my friends to celebrate! Yesterday was exciting because my father-in-law and I got to finish a very special project that's now hanging on the wall. That leaves only a few final touches left to complete the dining room!

1. I'm still really wanting a "bar cart" area in the space. Since we nixed the actual bar cart idea, I'm planning on using a space on our buffet table to create a bar area. I'm going to buy a mirrored vanity tray to put all of the bottles and accessories on. Something with a filigree element and some shine to add a little more metallic to the room. I also LOVE the branch styled bar accessories above. I have silverware very similar from West Elm.

2. I would love to have a small terrarium somewhere in the space. Most likely on the buffet table. Jon and I don't have a single live plant in our home due to my fluffy Kaito who LOVES eating all plants. I think a closed in terrarium like this would keep the little plants safe from kitty teeth and add an organic touch to the space.

3. These faux antlers are beautiful. I think I've settled in on this being my centerpiece for the table. I wanted something simple and natural looking for the centerpiece and I think this will look just right!

Aside from these purchases, I have just a small to-do list left! I can't wait to put it all together and show you how much it's changed from the beginning! I'm planning to show off my art wall and special project soon. Keep an eye out!!