Showing posts with label Inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inspiration. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Pinspiration: Halloween Edition

Well, I know it's pretty early, but I just can't wait any longer. Right now is just one of my favorite times of year! I absolutely love fall. Want to know what I love a little bit more than fall itself? You guessed it, Halloween! I seriously collect decor ideas year round for this fantastic holiday. This past year Nick and I were in the process of a life changing move from Traverse City to Southfield, so I didn't get to decorate or celebrate Halloween at all. *sad face* There were a few other things that trumped carving pumpkins, like, unpacking all of our belongings and trying to settle in to this crazy new routine before Harper was born. Wow, time flies!

When I am looking for decor ideas, I try to keep a theme in mind. This year I have chosen to go with a more modern and minimalist approach. Don't get me wrong, I love in-your-face decor, but I know we're going to be super busy with the move again this year, and I don't want to stress myself out by biting off more than I can chew with decorations. (
P.S. I've come to the very sad realization that we will most likely NOT be in our house by Halloween. Which means, another year without decorating. *saddest face ever*)

Anyways, I wanted to share some of my current favorite decoration ideas.



House 36
Nadia from House 36 has quite a few great (and cheap!) ideas to decorate for this holiday. I love the idea of swapping out some pictures around the house for creepy images of skulls, bats, spiders, etc. Really inexpensive way to make the home feel festive without going overboard! Can you even go overboard with Halloween decorations? I don't think so! Also, that striped candle, just a plain white one with electrical tape on it. So great!

House of Earnest

Erin from House of Earnest gives a simple DIY to create a creepy display out of a branch and some dollar store items. You could even wrap some books that you have lying around in black construction paper, or, better yet, brown kraft paper, for an even more natural vibe. I am also planning on putting some black branches in the vases I painted white.

in the fun lane
I really love how Holly from in the fun lane did a monochromatic theme for her Halloween decor. Very chic, if I do say so myself! While I will probably got a little lighter on the faux crows, I think they way it comes together looks so polished. If you check out her post you'll see some better pictures of the plates that are hanging on the wall above the mirror. They have what I'm assuming are vinyl decals on them. Super simple plus, once they could be swapped out if/when you got sick of them, but lets be real, I wouldn't ever get sick of those beauties! 

Pretty basic ideas, but they're inexpensive and very simple to DIY which is perfect in my book. Don't be surprised if a version 2.0 of this post makes it's debut in a few weeks once we get closer. 

So, what did you think? Do you have a favorite Holiday where you go "all out" with the decorations? 

Let me know in the comments below!

XO Sam

Friday, August 30, 2013

YOLO! Colorhouse

I'm talking about the paint, of course. Haven't heard? 


"YOLO Colorhouse was born out of a need for healthier paint and better color. We like to think of ourselves as the “indie” paint company – we are dedicated to making paint that is better for us and the environment. We are dedicated to making beautiful color solutions simpler and we are dedicated to doing business in a more sustainable way."

Virginia Young and Janie Lowe (get it?) founded YOLO in 2005. 

Nick actually found this paint while creating our kitchen mood boards last week. While I wasn't super pumped when I heard the name, the fact that the paint has zero VOCs (or to sound more science-y, volatile organic compounds) got me a little excited. Then mix in the fact that they are a company committed to green practices? Sign me up! 
Choosing paint with low (or better yet NO) VOCs is an important thing to keep in mind when there will be kiddos running around, but for your own health as well. Many VOCs are known carcinogens.  "A typical bucket of paint contains chemicals, such as benzene, methylene chloride and others, that have been linked to cancer." The chemicals are released into the air not only while the paint is wet, but also for years after it dries. This puts you and your family at risk for other health problems such as allergies and asthma. 

YOLO has 128 beautiful colors to choose from on their website. You can also use their store locator to find a retailer near you. According to their website, for Michigan at least, you can purchase their colors online through Home Depot. 

I love their composition of the trend color palettes on their website!


Urban Farmer

Edge of Night

Rustic Modern

Natural Neutral 

Right now, my favorite would be a toss up between the last two. I love how the warmer white, it's really more of a beige, plays up against the distressed wood and sand tones. The 'Natural Neutral' has the deep charcoal grey that I'm thinking about for the living room couch but that greige color is a bit greener than I think I'd like, and, maybe, not quite blue enough. 

This whole choosing a house color palette has become a pretty daunting task. Especially for someone who has never been able to paint any of the rooms in my home (golly gee, thanks ex landlords!). 

Luckily we have yet to hear anything new back from our real estate agent or the lender, so we have quite a bit of time left. In the meantime, I'll continue to psych myself out about it, and try and read as much as I can.

We're pretty excited for the long weekend ahead! We'll be doing the weekly Eastern Market grocery trip and probably stopping by Belle Isle (maybe I'll even post about it). I had a cold last week, so, of course, Nick caught it too. So we'll probably just lay low for the most part and try to get our immune systems back in proper working order. 

Hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend! 

Oh, and do you have any tips on how you coordinated paint colors throughout your home?

XO Sam

Monday, August 26, 2013

Pinspiration: Kitchen Edition

We posted our kitchen mood boards last week, so I'll continue to ride on that same thought train and share some of the inspiration photos that helped create those mood boards.

We've been trying to find as many images as we can to draw our ideas from. We want to make sure that things will "work" the way that we imagine they will. Placement of the sinks, appliances, peninsula (maybe?), etc. So, it is nice to see what other people have done. Here are a few of the kitchens that I've been drooling over on my Pinterest board
source: here
P.S. Holy cow! Check out those BEFORE pictures! 

I love the pop of color on the peninsula! Nick and I have tossed around the idea of paining the seating side of the peninsula (if we choose to install one) a bold color. Probably a peacock turquoise.

source unknown

source: here
As you can see, I've done a pretty good job sticking to my original design idea of white cabinets, light countertop, and dark flooring. I try to look at different color schemes as well, to get some variety, but I always find myself going back to this one. It is just so bright and airy. Which I think is an important aspect for a room where we'll be spending a lot of time. 

Maybe when the time comes I'll go out on a limb a little bit and take a chance with some more bold colors?

Do you have a "safe" color scheme that you find yourself drawn to? 

XO Sam

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Mood Board: Kitchen 1.0

Well, I said we were going to and we did! Hopefully they don't disappoint. 
Nick and I both made a mood board for our future kitchen that is going to need a complete renovation. Everything from the old tile floor with stained grout, to the terrible drop ceiling with fluorescent lights, yeah, it all has to go. 

Even though we're a long way off from being able to complete a complete renovation (it definitely isn't at the top of our list. revisit: #moldproblems) it is still fun for us to come up with design ideas for when we can afford it!

Here is what I have come up with so far...


Sam's Kitchen Mood Board

Sam's Kitchen Mood Board by sammywalton featuring IKEA


For details on items in my mood board click on this link

Like I've said, this is the very, very, utmost beginning stages of this kitchen redesign. However, we are already set on a few things. I would absolutely love a big white farmhouse sink, seriously, I'll never complain about doing dishes again once I get one of these bad boys! 

And here is Nick's...

Kitchen.01


To see the details on items in Nick's mood board, click here.


As you can see, we have pretty much agreed on every aspect of this room. It's fun to see what is important to each of us. Clearly, Nick is more concerned with the actual appliances. (Note: the cooktop, fridge, and oven!) He does the vast majority of the cooking, so it makes sense that those are his main concern. They're important to me too, obviously, but I also love shiny tiles. 

We have also agreed on a ECO countertop by Cosentino. It is made from 75% recycled materials, and even the water it is manufactured with is 94% reused. While we definitely aren't going with the most eco-conscious everything, we are absolutely going to try and make Earth friendly choices when possible. The flooring is another item that was chosen because its design and appearance appealed to us (and lets be honest, at $3.49/sq ft the price doesn't hurt!), but also because it is an eco friendly flooring option. The bark of the cork is harvested and peeled without destroying the tree. It grows back and can even be harvested again, pretty cool!

The general "theme" of the home is going to be pretty heavily industrial, but I definitely want to mix in lots of classic elements and crisp clean colors to keep the whole thing from feeling like a salvage warehouse. Nick and I both really like the exposed iron pipe furniture and accessories, which is super on trend right now. Plus, there are tons of DIY's floating around! Like this one for a plumbing pipe light fixture (shown in my mood board!) oooh, or this one for a coffee table! 

I'm sure that we'll have our fair share of compromises to come to once it actually comes time to start the renovation. In the meantime I'll bask in the happy glow of agreeing with my partner.

How do you come to design compromises with your significant other? 

XO Sam

Friday, August 16, 2013

Pinspiration: Living Room Edition

Earlier today I posted a link to my Pinterest boards

If you checked them out, you probably noticed a few of my inspiration boards for the new house!(I've only been pinning to these boards for a few weeks now, so they're still a little empty. Bear with me for a bit while I continue to add to them!)

The main floor living room has windows looking out into the front of the house. It is connected to the main hallway with the main staircase and you can see into the breakfast nook.(Do you think I could have said "main" any more in that past sentence?) 

We're thinking that it will probably be used mostly for when people come for a visit, and possibly to lounge while dinner is cooking. We don't want to put a TV in this room, because I just hate it when I drive by a house and can see their TV through the front windows. No thanks! 

Not that we're fancy or anything, but I think we want it to be more of a "formal living room" maybe a little more "put together" than the basement family room? At least in my dreams that's how I picture it. Yeah, sometimes I dream about our new living room. 


Anyways! These are some of our current key inspiration pieces for this new space!

White Washed Fireplace
(Source unknown)

Benjamin Moore Paint Palette 

I'm really thinking that the whole vibe of the house is going to be pretty cool, calm, and collected. Maybe then my life will start to reflect that? Eh? Really though, we're just very drawn to the cooler tones, like blues, greys and some greens, rather than warm ones, like yellows, tans and reds. We don't have a master color palette, yet! But once it's been created I'll definitely share that as well!


XO Sam


If you want to watch my inspiration board continue to grow, check it out here