le pouf

the past few months I have found a new household item that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!  I have seen the pouf trend for quite some time now, but most have been too "middle eastern" looking for a lack of any other term-- you know what I mean-- I picture them in jasmine and aladdin's palace.  but, I have started seeing them on design shows I watch regularly and finally fell in love when my design crush, genevieve gorder, was doing a eco friendly room and used a knit pouf-- it was perfect cozy and functional, my fave.

the pouf is the perfect room accessory--it is an ottoman, floor pillow, and aesthetically pleasing comfy-ness all rolled into one knitted beauty!  I had seen them on etsy, but didn't know how to pull the trigger.  Then one weekend afternoon the hubs and I rode our bikes downtown to a favorite local indie artists' shop, indie made, planning to drool over the hand made goodness.  once inside I found an artist's merchandise that I ALWAYS love, pepperberry knits.  little did I know that she'd begun making poufs herself!

one of pepperberry knits 'le poufs' has made its way into my home and is nestled into a corner where I can see it each day and love the coziness that it is!

take 1 | guest room

after much searching for inspiration for our guest room we finished the little project.  this was honestly one of the easiest, inexpensive art project I've done.  but first, let me show you the room.

one of the biggest purchases we've made as a couple yet was this bed.  we needed a spot for our guests to stay.  and I love the way that the bedding works in the room.  I'm thinking of what to do for the headboard, but that can wait a while... if you have any ideas please shoot them my way ;)

a little seating area for guests to read a book, make a phone call, or just simply put on their shoes.  plus, I love showing off the hub's mates he picked up while living in argentina.

and here is the art project.  honestly, so simple (tutorial here).  well, picking out the fabric was a little bit of a chore, I have a hard time getting what I want to work together when I have so many different kinds of fabric I love.

this room is still a work in progress as we have a few more things to hang on the walls, a desk to save up for, and other little things... but, it is ready for guests!  so come visit, stay for a while and enjoy boise with us!

moving into our first home

we moved into our very first home the first weekend of december.  with help from my parents, brothers, and my roommate that now lives in san diego, but came for the weekend.  we had some painting to do before moving in, both inside and outside.  but we were so excited for that moving day.  since then, getting everything settled has been a continual project, and we've loved most of the process.  here are some before and after photos of the interior.

the living room/dining room is one large room stretching the spans of 

the front of the house.

before

after we moved in.

(paint: martha stewart spud)

one decorating project has been this collage above our entry table.

the bedroom

before

after

(paint color: martha stewart arrowroot)

I love the walk in closet!

and the small office/dressing space that is attached to the master

the bathroom

before... the yellow was far too bright!

after a little paint and cleaning... I love the vintage tub, shower, and floor

(paint: martha stewart tidewater)

the kitchen

before

after... we have so many plans for this kitchen in the upcoming year...

second bedroom

before and after!  

making our house feel like home has been a process.  we've enjoyed every part.  there are many projects on our list and items we want to purchase, but for now it's perfect... a place we can come home to at the end of the day and enjoy.  and so close to places we enjoy.  the move has been great.

and the projects have begun!

we are officially homeowners!  all papers are signed and we have the keys in our hands and are so excited to move in!  first, we are traveling to california to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family, then we will come home and start the moving process.  

however, the projects have already begun.  we have sold some furniture (remember my chairs?) to make room for some new furniture pieces, we have started looking for items to add to what we already have so that we can have a grown up house and not just a pieced together house from our mismatched belongings.  but the first project we have nearly conquered was a big one.  we scraped and painted the entire house!

you can't tell from pictures, but before the paint was peeling, a lot.  so the husband scraped and scraped with a painter friend and prepared the house.

 then we had the painter come and spray the entire house a new, fresh color.  we were a little nervous at this point, because it was a little darker than we thought it would be.  but we held on tight and continued on.  we hired a painter for the base paint of the house, but thought that we could do the trim ourselves.  WORD TO THE WISE: don't paint the trim yourself, it's tedious, takes forever, and is harder than you'd think!

because the weather is quickly becoming wet and COLD we had to do as much as we could in one day.  we were able to get almost all of it done.  if we get another warm day the back windows will all be trimmed out, if not the project will continue through the spring.

 we love how it turned out!  the yellow door against the gray and ivory.  we love how much the ivory brightened it up.  and though you can't tell in the pictures, a fresh new coat of paint makes a world of difference!

now to paint a few rooms inside too...