Lily's Nursery

This is a continuation from Tuesday's post and is once again all about baby Lily, the most popular little girl not yet born. I stopped by Kim and Dave's place last night to put the finishing touches on Lily's new painting and I got to see her amazingly chic nursery (which any little girl would LOVE). I kind of wanted it to be my new room! It was equal parts sweet and elegant. From mirrored dressers and custom art to plush rugs and luxe linens, this little girl has the nursery of dreams. Take a look.

Dave is such a devoted dad-to-be and is so excited for his little girl to get here. He took me on a tour of the house, of course saving the best for last: Lily's room. He took time to show me all the details, including their new glider, Lily's impressive wardrobe (the girl has more clothes than I do) and his favorite stuffed animal, a peek-a-boo bear from his mom.

Kim has done such an incredible job pulling this room together, and she actually did a lot of the work herself -- with the help of her sister -- to save some dough, which I love. She made all of these purple clusters hanging above Lily's crib, some from tulle, some from streamers, and some from cupcake tins! So creative and cute. She also made Lily this canvas with her name on it, using broken mirrors from old cosmetic cases, adhered to silver ribbon.

The mirrored dresser/changing table and nightstand/side table are from Pier One, but Kim got a discount by taking the floor model that had the slightest ding on it. I love, love these and think they are such amazing pieces for a room of this size. They reflect light making the room look larger, and they will be something Lily will have forever. Is it possible to be jealous of an unborn baby? If so, I am. I want these really bad.

Lily's bedding adds another homemade touch as her pillows and blankets were made by her aunt. Isn't the elephant fabric the cutest ever?

It was a real pleasure getting to see this little one's nursery, and I can't wait until I get to have a cute little face to put to the name in less than a month! Thanks to Kim and Dave for allowing me to share Lily's space on my blog. If you guys have a space you think my readers would enjoy seeing, I would love to feature it on the blog, send me an email at trimmedandtailored@gmail.com. Also, don't forget to follow Trimmed and Tailored on facebook @Trimmed & Tailored, and on twitter @trimandtailored.

Have a great holiday weekend everyone!

Sweet Celebrations

This past weekend I attended a baby shower for a dear friend of mine. We first became friends more than 8 years ago when we bravely jumped out of an airplane together in a crazy teenage state of mind. She's now married and expecting her first child, a little girl who'll be named Lily, and I couldn't be happier for her.

I wanted to give Lily something that was heart felt and homemade -- I truly think those are the best gifts, so I made her a similar version of a cute quote from a popular children's song I saw in a kid's store a few months back. I put my own spin on it and liked mine even more than the one for sale in the store for around $50. (I won't say exactly how much I spent, but let's just say it was far less than that).

I started with an old canvas I scored at a thrift store a while back, and had intentions to paint over it, but the surface was rough (due to the thickness of the existing oil paint) so I just grabbed some leftover drop cloth from a previous project, cut it to size and stapled it in place firmly around the canvas.

Next, I laid out the letters in an arrangement I liked and started painting them in with purple, Lily's main nursery color. You'll want to be careful not to put too much paint on your brush as paint tends to clump underneath the stencil letters causing blots rather than neat letters, so use a small amount of paint and apply a few coats until you achieve even coverage.

Once I was finished with all of the letters, which took quite some time, so you'll need patience for this project, I decided to add nailhead trim to the corners in silver (Lily's other nursery color). And because I felt it needed a little more pizazz, I also decorated two of the words with nailhead trim. Unfortunately Home Depot ran out of trim before I had enough to finish the project, so I'll just stop by one night next week to quickly finish up. The words "Happy" and "Clap" will be adorned with nail trim.

I hope this is something for Lily that encourages creativity and makes her happy for years to come. I'm so excited to meet this sweet girl soon!

Guest Post: Amity's Collections

When I first purchased my house in 2010, I'd been a renter for the previous four years and never put all of my vintage finds and antique hand-me-downs to good use. I never felt compelled to fully decorate a house because I knew it wasn't a permanent situation. So, when I finally took the plunge into homeownership, I had amassed quite the collection of "stuff" and had to figure out how to artfully arrange all of it. Dealing with an empty house is the equivalent of looking at a blank canvas or making a pot of grits. It's an avenue in which to express your creativity and personality. 

I started with what I already had and built on that -- bottles, books, vases and paintings -- and what I soon discovered was that creating collections of items is a really simple, yet stylish, way to fill a space. Of course, a place to display those collections is clutch, but we won't focus on that just yet.

From the many bouquets of flowers delivered to my doorstep by admiring boys (I wish that were the case -- thanks, mom), I ended up with quite a few "1-800-Flowers" glass vases. As great as they looked resting underneath the kitchen sink, I decided to make use of them by placing them atop a book case and intermixing a couple of porcelain statues and coffee table books to break up the monotony of plain glass. Easy peasy. And totally free because I didn't buy the flowers for myself. 

And, you'll notice inside that bookshelf is a seemingly haphazard collection of books. I'll never give in to a Kindle, so consider me a book junkie who will continue to collect, whether that's the latest Sophie Kinsella or a vintage Junglebook from the 1950s. I wanted to accomplish a sense of whimsy with this entire setting, from different sized glass vases to the chicken wire doors, so I arranged the books in all different directions. To be honest, I would not consider this a space-saver, but I've also never been known as an organized person so it fits my lifestyle. 

For years, I've been admiring those super chic "art walls" that are featured in pretty much every magazine ever printed. I always thought I'd be constrained due to budget, but I stumbled across this awesome vintage store outside of Havana, FL, called Second Hand Sandie's. For about $20, I bought one empty picture frame (great for framing other paintings), two matching Victorian portraits and a tall print of a rather random Greek bathing scene. At home, I already had a little collection of gold-framed prints, so, to keep with the theme, I made sure to only buy gold frames at Second Hand Sandie's. And, voila. I have my coveted "art wall" and it cost me only a couple of lunch outings. 

And, finally, here is my small collection of bottles that are displayed in my living room (on the top half of an antique hutch, but that can be another story for another post). I've made it a point to buy a new one whenever I travel somewhere different, so I've got bottles from San Diego, Italy, North Carolina, Savannah. Not only do they look good but they remind me of my love of travel. And, a collection that has meaning behind it serves two purposes -- sentimentality and functionality.

 The beauty of these collections, no matter how big or small, complex or simple, is that they give you good direction when it comes to decorating, which is an intimidating task. When you're in a jam-packed antique store, a junk yard or Pottery Barn, you'll know what to look for and you'll have a vision of where it should sit in your house.  

The Power of Paint

Apologies for my lack of posting recently, this week has been crazy busy. Last weekend I spent some time helping my boyfriend get settled into his new apartment -- an apartment in which one very crazy landlord thinks it's ok to rent a place with nearly every wall a different color. Like I said, CRAZY. I worked for a property management company all through college and I have never seen a place rented in this state.

Luckily, I absolutely love to paint. It's an amazingly affordable way to transform a room, and the results generally provide instant gratification.

As you can see, this place was in DIRE need of a revamp. But it's nothing a few cans of paint and a few hours of hard work couldn't fix. We spent a total of $100 (which I was able to negotiate as a discount on rent with the landlord in exchange for doing the work) on Glidden Paint and Primer in one. I splurge for the good stuff, which results in better coverage meaning fewer coats! It's a good idea to get a primer and paint combo if you're painting over various colors to ensure even tone of your new color. I prefer semi-gloss as I don't like matte or high gloss indoors, but still like a bit of sheen. They are also easy to clean, and let's face it, spills always happen. The last thing you want is to wash away a finish on a wall while cleaning it. On another note, you can always get the color you like color matched to a different brand. I usually love Martha Stewart's colors, but I do not love her price point, so I have her colors matched to Glidden paint, which is significantly cheaper, but still great quality.

I chose a warm gray for the living area, which I love. I'm really on a gray meets gold kick right now, and I don't see it going away any time soon. It's my favorite color combination. I envision adding gold frames to define the entry with a welcoming console table for keys and mail, a lamp and a place for magazines.

It's nowhere near finished, but I like the direction it's headed. And it's a thousand times better than before! I'll be sure to update you guys on the progress of the place as we move along. I still need to get and lay rugs, determine a furniture placement that makes the most sense, and hang curtains and art, to name a few.

Don't forget to tune in tomorrow for Amity's guest post!

Guest Post: It's All "Relative"

I bring you Ashlie Carter's first guest post! Get excited, there are so many amazingly unique pieces in her home that I absolutely love. Especially the gutted clock she now uses as a shadow box to hold pictures from her wedding. Enjoy!

Although we purchased our first home about about two years ago, the need to make my living space intimate and cozy came three years prior when I had the opportunity to live in my great grandparents house. This was where I began learning the joys of personalized home decor, how much bright colored paint can liven things up, and it's where my love for antiques flourished. The house had been sitting for a bit so it was in need of some major love and care; but little did I know this home would feed my soul with family treasures. I have grown to appreciate and admire the family heirlooms that I was lucky enough to acquire, as well as additional pieces passed down from other relatives.

First I want to start off with some small items such as glassware and dishes that typically just need to be dusted or washed, and voila, you have yourself some nifty shelf items!

I've been asked before "What's up with all of these clocks?" To answer the question, my great grandfather was a master at repairing watches and clocks. There were many old, wooden clock frames in the house and I decided to keep them. Some I painted, one I gutted and used as a shadow box and others I left as is.

These are some of my absolute favorites! Although we plan to refinish the buffet and china cabinet, the rest of these just needed to be cleaned to let the antique charm exude!

This antique trunk, wooden bread box and framed crocheted doily are items special to me and were passed along by relatives. I want to point out that even if you do not have family pieces to add to your home decor, a lot of these types of items can be found at yard sales and antique stores. Digging for the treasure is part of the fun! Just remember to keep an open mind and envision the potential, not the current state.