Cats in the Closet and the Wooden Spoon.

It’s been a rough week at the Wiltshire’s. Our 19.8 lb cat Cooper wasn’t acting like himself lately. He’s normally lazy, but not THIS lazy. Like, hiding in the closet lazy instead of laying on the sofa lazy. He then stopped eating, drinking, and litter-boxing because he wouldn’t get up. We finally took him to the vet and they said he hurt his shoulder ligament. Since he’s a fatty, he probably kept jumping on it and making it worse. Nothing a little pain medicine injection couldn’t help and he’s back to being a very happy cat. And yes, he’s come out of the closet for good. Rupert’s happy about that.

In even brighter news, my mommy dropped by this weekend with a little surprise. Actually, a big surprise. See, before I realized that these hit the big time, the first time I saw a giant wooden fork and spoon in a dining room, I HAD to have it. Then I googled it, and found out they were becoming hugely popular, and being scooped up like hotcakes at thrift stores. Mommy and I took a trip thrifting and I found a set! But it was more than I wanted to spend, so I passed. Then, the heavens opened up, mommy found a set, and they ended up in my happy little hands. They were dressed up in pretty curly ribbon, and ready to be worshipped in my very own dining room. You know, after we remove the wood panel overload. I plan on painting these to pop off the new wall color.

Speaking of all this medium brown wood in that room, we finally sold our old dining table and chairs on craigslist last night. The couple was super friendly, and even emailed me after they got home to tell us how much they loved the table! I’m glad it only took months to sell it, and it ends up in a happy home after spending the last several decades in the same room :)

My Own “Short Tall Combo”.

On one of my favorite reads, Bower Power, Katie posted today this genius find, which she dubbed the “short tall combo” at Pottery Barn. I have a hard time keeping our mantle alone long enough to enjoy each new design I come up with. But when I read It’s the Tops, I thought FINALLY, a way I can use my white ceramic hippo on the mantle!

I’m sure that wasn’t her idea of the short, wide next to the tall and skinny, but hey, any excuse to use a hippo is a good one.

I’m so happy. Thank you dearly Katie!

I Wanna Lay You Down in a Bed of Roses.

When you want to find out what appeals to you design-wise, the easiest thing to do is clip from magazines, or save on your desktop, a few (hundred, in my case) photos that stick out at you. I tend to go towards two pretty different styles: super modern and 40’s romantic/ hollywood. So naturally, my house mixes the two together to make sort of a Glamodernous look. Ok, so I totally just made up the word, but it's all I’ve got to describe my mismash of style.

I realized mirrored side tables and acrylic ball lamps with white shades were in most of my inspiration photos for the bedroom. And after I put together this photo for Melinda, I realized nothing says romance like red roses in a bedroom… and I have to have it for myself!

But my hesitation is that the colors in my room were intentionally complimentary orange and blue, with white and dark brown accents. I have a hard time breaking out of my certain-colors-and-ONLY-those-colors in a room, so I just couldn’t picture putting red roses in the mix. And then, just like they were reading my mind, this room appeared on Apartment Therapy and everything I want is right there in one place!

It helped me realize that I should break out of my comfort zone and get some dang red roses in my bedroom. Step one: I need a cute vase to put them in, and I really don’t have one! So I hit up Goodwill and the Dollar Tree cause I’m pretty cheap. I came out with this vase from Goodwill (that closely resembles cow utters. AWESOME):

And filled it with some Dollar Store roses:

And Walah. Instant romance. And an almost finished bedroom I love love love love LOVE.

We’re Floored!

Upon moving into our house, we immediately wanted to make it a cozy space. One that oozes with Wiltshire style. We wanted fresh paint on every tired wall. We wanted to gut and makeover the bathroom and kitchen to feel minimal, modern, but still functional. In such a small home, this wouldn’t be so easy, but we were determined. We were successful on most of our hopeful endeavors, and many have been pushed back (and pushed back, you know how big renovations go).

The biggest thing we wanted to do, which really wasn’t THAT big at all compared to most of the projects we’ve taken on, was putting carpet in the bedroom and Drew’s Xbox Command Center. See, we’ve both grown up in bedrooms with carpet, so that naturally feels like home. Well, except that one time I was 12 and my cat decided to urinate all over my carpet and we had to tear it up. But other than that, it’s always been carpet. Oh yeah, my first apartment, that was hardwood. But really! Other than that, I wanted some dang carpet in my bedroom! So we decided for Christmas this year (also our 4 year dating anniversary)..:

That’s us on the left the day we started dating, Christmas 2005. Actually, that was about 2 hours BEFORE we started dating. The one on the right is us now. Where was I? Oh yes, Christmas present! Being married, and older, we get what we want all year and we don’t like to pile up junk in our house. So the only logical thing to do is to invest in a project we’ve put off. For 2 years. CARPET!! Can you just feel the excitement spilling out of your computer screen? I love a good before and after, and I hope you do too.. so without further ado:

And yes, I said Drew’s Xbox Command Center. With me taking over the attic for my seasonal craft room (boy is it COLD up there right now!) he got the spare room turned office turned man cave. It’s only fitting he has the darkest walled room in the house, to keep it all cave-like. I chose carpet that would compliment both that wall color and the furnishings and the bedroom’s colors as well. It’s super plush, soft, and makes both rooms really feel like home. This was easily the best present Drew has ever given me. Well, except himself back in 05 ;)

Roomboard: Olive Juice!

You know, the phrase you mouth that looks like “I Love You?” I gave myself a mission. Make a room look a little more 3D, and I mostly accomplished it. However, being the perfectionist I am, I have to say this can’t happen again! I spent many days on this room, but OLIVE how it turned out ;) I wanted a room that needed few decorations and pieces of furniture to test it with. So what better than a nursery? I know there are so many cute pet names for babies in the belly, like peanut and bean, but I thought olive fit, and I hadn’t heard it being used to describe the “bun in the oven.” Then somehow that one little word birthed this baby:

1. When I thought olive, I immediately remembered this Ikea fabric. And at $7.99 a year, with a couple cuts and stitches to create panels, it will be easy on the wallet and will stick with any design baby has as she grows. I took the tan color from the fabric and created the wall color, and since a nursery should give off a comfortable atmosphere, I wanted a darker ceiling to cozy it up. I love the combination of green and purple, so I chose a dark purple for the ceiling and accessories only made sense to be dark purple and olive green as well! :)

2. For the lighting, I picked not one, but two drum shaped linen shades to keep it feeling contemporary and light. From there, I decided to use tan colored piping and details on the super comfy looking rocker and foot rest.

3. With all the light colors, I wanted to ground the space with espresso colored furniture. However, to keep things contemporary, I wanted storage that was stylish and minimal. I chose a crib with a pull out drawer and the Ikea Malm Dresser, both with nice clean lines and no visible handles. Rather than a changing table, I stuck a changing mat on the dresser so the furniture can grow up with baby! For toy storage, I like the espresso colored wicker with linen lining to compliment the other linen and dark wood elements in the room (and it’s way more stylish than primary colored plastic bins!)

4. For the remainder of the room, I dropped in more green and purple accents. To inject a little personal touch, I put a vinyl graphic of baby’s name and leveled it over a shelf with a vase so it looks more intentional, and a big painting of an olive over the crib. I couldn’t resist throwing in my signature pony obsession with a rocking horse, and softened up the wood floors with a super soft sheepskin rug.

The room feels much more welcoming and cozy because of all the texture spread about. Between the sheepskin rug, chenille throw blanket, linen shades, and wicker basket, all that texture will certainly “feel” like home for mommy, daddy, AND baby!