Dining Room Plans

I can honestly say I don't have one finished room in my house. The past year and a half, I focused more on filling up the rooms with furniture instead of on any details. It's now time to go back and completely finish each room, and I'm starting with the dining room. It's mostly because I couldn't take that builder grade chandelier a day longer! I also bought these new white marble lamps for the buffet for such a good deal on Overstock.

I might add a bit of gold rub and buff to the silver areas later, but we'll see how the room turns out. I say that because I just happened on this artwork from ZGallerie I absolutely love. I hate to replace the mirror because I like that too, but this is just so perfect to go with the room and the gray drapes.

I've had my eye on a Restoration Hardware crystal chandelier for a couple of years, but the price made me hesitate. I also knew I was going to have to shell out a ton of money for someone to hang it. The dining room ceiling is about 20 feet high, which means we will need to use scaffolding. I did see a knock-off on Overstock of the same chandelier, but the reviews were terrible with people saying the entire chandelier needed to be re-wired. I found another one on Overstock from a more reputable company, but it was smaller with less crystals than I had wanted so I held off on buying anything. 

Once I decided I needed to buy something I went with the smaller chandelier. It came in last week and it's absolutely beautiful! I'm happy about having less crystals because I like my bling in small doses. I am still not completely sold on the size. The width is the same as what I have now, but it's quite a bit shorter. I knew that when I bought it, but I didn't realize the one long chain at the bottom would make up five inches of the height so it's even shorter than I thought. If I didn't have such tall ceilings it would be fine, but I'd prefer a longer chandelier. It's just sitting on my dining room table right now. I keep going back and forth every day about it. If I hang this one it's going to stay after paying for the labor!

I made my husband hold it up to see how it would look. He looks thrilled, right?

I also moved my bedroom rug in here to try it out. It would marry the gray and blue I have in the room, but it's just too light so I decided against it. I just have to try and talk him into helping me move it back to the bedroom now.  That should go well.

I decided to mock up my different design plans on an app. This is something I did when picking out furniture and was so easy. I could be in a store and paste it all together instead of having to go back to my computer. It's not the prettiest, but it gives you a quick idea. It also saves my husband's patience for the all of the other things I ask him to do every weekend.

Maybe with gray chairs and a gray rug? The artwork doesn't come in for a couple of weeks so I have time to figure it all out!

A Romantic Valentine's Day: Le Meurice in Paris

I did a Valentine's Day post once before about this hotel and it is still one of my favorites. When I went to Paris several years ago this was definitely not my experience! My husband had Marriott points he wanted to use for our hotel. It was nice, but definitely not what I had imagined. I keep saying we need a Paris do-over. I know exactly what to do now if we go back!

A hotel with an Eiffel Tower view is a must.

The hotel overlooks the Tuileries Garden. The location is in the heart of Paris.

A floor to ceiling marble bathroom!

I would love to have breakfast here before walking around the streets of Paris or spending an afternoon at The Louvre.

What to wear...something special that's not quite a gown, but a bit dressier than a typical cocktail dress.

Have beautiful pictures taken so you will always remember a once in a lifetime trip. French Grey Photography is just one of many that has photo packages for visitors.

Don't forget the pink champagne! Happy Valentine's Day!

My Blue Master Bedroom Reveal

I haven't shown you the master bedroom since we moved in except for a few peeks the new furniture via Instagram. I had big plans for it that got pushed back because the main areas of the house took precedence. Instead of re-inventing the wheel with a fabulous design I settled on something that required no manual labor. Anything that requires paint or woodwork these days is a stretch with our schedules. That's funny to me considering how much DIY we did in our last house, but I also didn't work nearly as many hours as I do now. My weekends are now dedicated to family, friends, errands aka shopping,  and dining out. It makes up for the other five days of work, work, work. One good-bad thing about moving into this new neighborhood is that my husband has found new weekend golfing buddies. He's not interested in giving that up to put trim up in the bedroom. I can't say I blame him!

The furniture was fairly easy to pick out. Actually, I just happened to stumble across it on Restoration Hardware's website and said done! I wanted something a bit more traditional for this house that wouldn't go out of style because I know from experience that my bedroom is going to be the last room to get a makeover in the future. I settled a bit on the bed because the four poster bed I had in mind was way over the budget after spending so much on the dresser and nightstands. 

The hardest part for me is always bedding. I hate duvets with a passion, but I can't seem to stay away from them. They are always a messy, lumpy, wrinkled mess that could have something to do with the way we sleep instead of the actual bedding itself. I prefer coverlets, comforters and throws. Trying to find a decent looking comforter is almost impossible these days and coverlets just aren't heavy enough for me. I happened to see an Yves Delorme outlet when I was driving through San Marcos, TX on the way home from a wedding this past summer and went bananas. Of course we had to stop! I spent an hour putting together a complete bed with the sales woman. She also happened to be French like the bedding itself, which I thought was charming. My husband was not impressed by any of it! He had been looking forward to going to Lockhart for BBQ. The place he wanted to go to sells out many days and he looked at his watch with a big sigh every few minutes. Don't worry, I got my bedding and he got his BBQ!

I absolutely love this coverlet! It's amazingly soft and heavy at the same time.

These pillows shams are what sold me on the bedding. I haven't seen anything else like it.

I have new lamps in mind that will go with the gold hardware on the nightstand so even if I change things up they will still work in here. I'm not in love with the gold starburst mirror since it's too small, but it needed a little something for pictures I took recently so I stole it from my kitchen vent hood. Sometimes you just have to improvise! It will be going back to the vent hood soon.

I love the large scale size of this dresser. The tiny one I had before looked like it belonged in a dollhouse. This one fits the space so much better.

The bedding is exactly what I don't like, thin white fabric and a duvet. It was just too pretty and unique to pass up. I decided it will do for now until I'm ready to change the bedding, the rug, add trim and paint the walls. It really could be another year or two before that happens so just making it pretty enough was the plan!

Living Room Updates

My house is ever evolving as I find new decor or get inspired, but the last items I've bought make me feel like this room is more finished. The three pictures over the TV were a random find and extremely inexpensive. I really love the Spanish Santa Barbara look lately and you can definitely tell by my latest finds. My house is always a mix, but I think that's a good thing no matter your style. You can go in any direction that you're feeling at the moment and it helps keep your house from looking dated. It's much easier to change a couple of pieces instead of an entire room. Who wants their room to feel like every other one you see out there anyway?!

There are so many more new updates to see! Follow me on Instagram for the latest. I wish I had more time to update my blog, but between a full time job, part time design, and three kids I don't know if I'm coming or going lately. Don't feel sorry for me because I love every minute of this crazy life!

Entryway Re-styled

Entryway, foyer, or "foy-ay" as my mom likes to say...whatever you call it I have a big one. My last house didn't even have one when we moved in, but I was able to create a tiny one by adding walls when I closed in a formal living room to make it a home office. I was so happy to have a big entrance in my new home so the kids didn't bounce of each other and the walls as they walked inside. They reminded of me of little pigs trying to get into a pen. I didn't realize I would have to furnish it like a room until I started decorating it. I kept adding furniture and decor and it just never seemed to fill up. I can now sit three people in there comfortably and I'm not even finished. I could have a party in this "foy-ay."

After I took down the Christmas decorations I re-arranged things a bit. I moved the wall clock from my home office and added it above the bench. The colors and size are perfect. It's a bit too farmhouse for the look I'm trying to achieve. It worked in the last house, but I want something different here. Eventually, I'd like to replace it with abstract art as soon as I find the right piece. It will help offset the rustic table and add a bit of elegance. I also added the blue and white umbrella stand. I had mentioned to my mom that I was looking for one and she happened to have one. What are the chances of that happening?! I found an umbrella with a dog head handle at ZGallerie that I just love. I hope my family knows it's decor!

A better view of the clock.

And more pillows! I found a couple of these in a spare closet. I had forgotten all about them!

Even though there are things I want to add like artwork and a lamp or two, I'm just happy this space finally looks finished. Of course you can't see the other half behind me in this picture that's completely bare. It never ends!