DIY porthole mirror and nursery art

You know my baby's growing up little by little when I actually have a few moments here and there to blog :)

Here are another few touches from the nursery - full reveal coming next week! I wanted some art over the change table, and had 2 gold frames that I wanted to use. I also had the idea to do a round industrial looking mirror...I looked everywhere for one but I couldn't find one (that was less than $100), so I took matters into my own hands and made one.

 

What kicked off the whole DIY idea was that I found the perfect round mirror at an antique store on Queen St East after a glorious pre-baby massage.  There is no doubt in my mind that it is not an antique given it had a made in China sticker on the back :) 

 Thus, no guilt in spray painting over the tortoise shell finish!

I taped it up and the Mr spray painted it for me since I was pregnant.Once it was painted, I got my glue gun and some large twine, knotted it and got to work.

 I wanted it to look like it was hanging from a knob but knew my glue wasn't that strong (or the plaster walls for that matter). So, I hung it using the notch on the back of the mirror, and then spray painted an extra cabinet knob I had from our old kitchen cabinets. I put the knob on the wall hanging on a nail to use as the fake hanger, then I laid the rope over top (hang the knob first so you know how much twine you will need when attaching to the mirror). Faking this is a reeeeaaalllyyy important step for it to stay on the wall and not crash on the change table :)

The gold frame closest to the mirror is Ikea and has card stock and a heart I cut out from a paint chip (I did the art once Owen was born so I went with blue). The top mirror was a Goodwill find, as was the bottom one.  I did simple blue and coral paint chip art in the bottom frame to finish it all off.

Simple, cheery, and cheap!

Project Baby Room - Moodboard

I have a lot of ideas floating around in my head of what I want the nursery to look like...I'm getting to a point where I really should get going on some of these ideas, so to help me visualize it better, I created a couple of mood boards.

 

Since we don't know whether this little baby is a boy or a girl, I want to do a gender neutral nursery without doing green & yellow or gray & yellow. I like a lot of nurseries in those tones, but I want something a bit different so I am thinking navy, gray and coral. The current walls are a green-gray and we won't be painting (there are enough other projects going on around here!), so I also wanted something that would coordinate with that.

We have all of the pieces of furniture - crib, dresser/change table, and a glider. I was debating getting a really nice glider / rocker, but I just can't picture it in an area of my house after the baby grows up. So instead, I got a great deal on a glider from craigslist and will be recovering the cushions to zhush it up.

The plans above are me playing around on the internet, so who knows what we will end up with but what do you think?

Now we're talking...

Hi all!

If you follow me on instagram (interiorgroupie) or twitter (@interiorgroupie) you have seen that we had some exciting grout progress last week. This is uber exciting as it means the bathroom is kind of getting close...to looking like a bathroom again...

 

Loving the dark grout...

 Loving the floor...

Loving the future home of our double vanity...(which is proving to be a challenge since the vanity placement won't be lined up with the studs...right...)

 

And now the hard part - to choose the perfect paint colour. We have to do the painting before the plumber comes back so we have a chance to paint properly behind where the rad is going and where the toilet is going...but what colour? 

Currently Benjamin Moor Distant Gray (2124-70), American White (2112-70), and Paper White (OC-55) are in the mix. Bathrooms don't get a lot of light, so I'm thrown by how light / white to go, or if I should go with a touch of grey. I'm also a bit worried about the gray being too blue (I don't want that)...what do you think?

Friday faves - coloured pencils

I'm writing this in advance because last night was the IDS2013 gala...I'm sure that I had a great time and won't be writing a blog post at 7am the morning following...but I did have something fun to share so I decided to schedule it in advance to share the love.

Without further ado - happy Friday (as I'm writing this I WISH it was Friday already...I'm positive "present" me is glad it's finally here). 

Sometimes the stuff at Anthropologie just isn't me...I'm more profesh then hippie, and given that I work 5 days a week as a Corporate-Connie most of my closet leans towards work clothes. I am on Anthro's email list because I like their pretty stuff, and this week's email about pencil skirts GOT ME. Love these and am definitely digging all the colour.

 

 Chrysalis midi skirt

Brocade skirt in mint

Painterly skirt

Alva lace skirt in red

And with that I bid adieu; Happy weekend all!

Guest Post | Would you wear your rug? (Lindsey from Recreated)

We have another fabulous guest poster here today! Lindsey from Recreated is popping over for a visit and sharing her interpretations of how fashion inspires decor (and vice versa!). Lindsey has a great eye for fashion and is always wearing an outfit I want to steal when I see her. She's also a very talented re-upholsterer. I recommend checking out her blog if you haven't already for regular decor, fashion, and furniture inspiration!

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Hello all! Lindsey here from Recreated. I'm happy to be here today visiting Interior Groupie for one of my favourite blogger peeps Heather while she is taking a well deserved vacation. I'm a big believer that design/decor for your home inspires your wardrobe and vice-versa. You don't often find someone with very classic/refined home decor but with a very eclectic wardrobe...your personal style generally tends to follow you in all aspects of your life. Today I've put together some examples of where different flooring options inspire an outfit....hmm, or maybe the other way around.

The bright pops of coral and pink in this combo just make me smile....

via 1, 2

Hmm, some stripey grey goodness...love than dress.

via 1, 2

Holy herringbone....someday I will own a home that has herringbone hardwood floors. They look so freakin' fab.

via 1, 2

Ok so I chose the outfit photo below not just because it had the lovely teal and yellow from the rug, but also because that model looks an awful lot like the gorge Miss Interior Groupie herself, no? Hello, doppelganger. Does anyone else see it?

via 1, 2

I enjoy a pretty tile, and the colour combo of this one is unexpected and lovely.....and that burgundy leather skirt makes me weak in the knees.

via 1, 2

Thanks, Heather for having me! Happy to come by and visit any time!

XO,

Guest Post | Taking a dip (Barbara from Hodge Podge)

Today I am thrilled to have a guest post from Barbara at HodgePodge. Barbara is the blog maven behind the "So Canadian, Eh?" series that is oh so successful (and that I was honoured to be included in). She is also a master sewer, DIYer extroadinaire, and busy west coast mom. If you don't know Barbara yet I highly recommend a visit to her blog.

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Hello everyone. So glad Heather trusted me with her blog  while she is on vacation. She gave me carte blanche to write about anything I want! Brave girl :)

So what shall I humour you with? I think I'll talk about what I see as being the next rage around blogland, heck I am even going to try my hand at it since I LOVE me a great DIY!

 Dipped furniture and fabric!

There is something so whimsical and fun about it. You can dip just about anything. Table legs, chair legs, baskets, drapes, even clothes!

via Little Green Notebook

Design Sponge

Dans Le Townhouse

via Michael Penney

Martha Stewart

source

I LOVE the drapes and I have a few pairs of those Ikea drapes kicking around my house. And I have a set of knock-off Bentwood chairs that are getting the dipped treatment too.

Anyone else out there try their hand at dipping? I can see it becoming addictive!

Thanks for having me here Heather. Hope you are having a great vacation!

Hugs,

Barbara

Guest Post | Painted Ceilings (Carol from The Design Pages)

Hello all! As I mentioned, I will be having some lovely guest posters popping by over the next little while, and one of them is Carol from The Design Pages. Carol is a talented designer who is a kindred spirit! Somehow we found each other in blogland and have emailed back and forth since...we have similar tastes in books too - Carol is my partner in Crime for the Blogger Book Club. Check out some of Carol's insight below and her blog for a regular dose!

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Hello to all of you Interior Groupie readers.  I"m so happy to be here today at one of my very favourite blogs.  When Heather said I could write about anything I knew immediately that it would involve colour.  This trend may not be new to you or maybe it is but it's one that I adore and have plans of my own to incorporate into our home.

PAINTED CEILINGS - Say What???

For years and years I've been trying to convince clients to be brave and do a bit of colour on the ceiling instead of just plain white.  White ceilings tend to draw the eye up but by adding either a tint of the wall colour or a shade lighter than the wall colour it becomes invisible, which is really what we want, right?  We really don't need to emphasize the ceiling, right?  Well now I'm seeing a brand new trend.  Painted ceilings.  I don't mean a little bit of colour but I mean an actual paint colour.  

This brave homeowner added a big punch of colour but I love the way it connects with the colour down below in the print.

via

Blue is the most popular ceiling colour right now because of the feeling of the sky and the connection to outdoors.  If you live in the west coast as I do you have a need to see blue sky even if it's indoors.

via

If you're really daring you can attempt something amazing like this

via

This ceiling was gold leafed which creates a light shimmery effect.  Maybe a great solution for a dark space.

via

I love this kitchen.  What a great way to distract from the dated, cramped space with all the drama.

via

SOOOO, what do you think?  Are you brave enough to add some colour to your ceiling?

Trend report - spring

Style at Home puts out a trend report every season, and I love looking at it for inspiration. Here's a look at the trends Spring has in store for us:

Florals:
Florals have really come into everything between home decor and fashion. Here are some simple ways to include them in your space.

via Style at Home

Floral prints in my dining room



And if you want to keep it REALLY simple without changing your decor, just add some fresh flowers to your table:

via Martha Stewart



Coloured Glass:
I see coloured glass as a great high/low item to have in your home. You can splurge on some beautiful hand made coloured glass, or find it at any discount home store like HomeSense.



via Style at Home

via Southern Living

Orange:
I did a Friday Faves last year on orange (see it here), and love the bright pop it brings to any room or outfit.

via Style at Home

via House of Turquoise

An orange throw (or pillow) is an easy, non comittal way to try out orange. via Too Cute Things



These three trends definitely make me think spring and seem like a perfect introduction to the warmer weather to come.

Friday faves - have you seen this?

Apparently this is all over the interwebs...however I just saw it the other day on my friend Ashley's Calmly Chaotic blog:

via Calmly Chaotic

Melty crayon wax art. Pretty cool, non? And fun to boot. I remember I used to melt crayons on hot glue from a glue gun because I loved the colours melting! I think this is a fun DIY that would be perfect for (a) a colour lover of any age or (b) a child's room or playroom.

Here are some more:



via JKCreate

via Frugal Nashville

via Light & Spoon

via Artistic Life

Hope you have a colourful weekend!

For those of you in Toronto, the ever delightful and insanely talend Ms. Christine from Bijou and Boheme will be presenting at the One Of a Kind Show on Sunday at 1pm - if you're thinking of going to OOAKS anyways, drop by and show your support! I have something else going on but will be there in spirit!