Dabble's New Office

I recently retweeted the link to my old post Definition of Self and Style. Sometimes it makes sense to go "back to the stacks" and blow the dust off an old blog post to reintroduce it to your readers, or to make sure your new readers had a chance to see it! This post was important to me because it was my "Hi world, I'm Kate!" post that told everyone to define themselves before they started trying to determine their style. Also, in the post I made a list of how to go about designing and decorating a room that is pretty foolproof if you execute it appropriately and put the time into your "homework". In case you missed it, here's the list:

• Go room by room and pick a vision - this can be inspiration boards (made easy by our friends at Olioboard)
• Collect your favorite patterns, colors, furniture....and then do some old fashioned editing
• Set a budget for the entire house - or however many rooms you want to do
• Prioritize the rooms in your house
• Break down your budget by room
• Edit again if needed
• REMOVE EVERYTHING FROM ROOM
• Start with canvas - your paint and wallpaper
• Move furniture back in
• Decorate with accents

Here's the KEY to making this work:

• IF IT DOESN'T HAVE A SPACE IN YOUR NEW ROOM....IT DOESN'T GO BACK IN...IT FINDS A NEW HOME OUT OF YOURS!

Sounds pretty easy right?! Then WHY is it so hard? A few reasons come to mind:
Sentimentality: that "one thing" you got somewhere that you can't get rid of, but never use, or look at until you wonder for the third time this month if you should throw it out
Time: Isn't it ALWAYS a matter of time?
Expense: Somehow what you dream of putting in your room is always more than you have to spend (at least in my world!) That's why I'm bound and determined to pair up with some fabulous DIY experts and "thrifters" to make your dreams come true!
Inspiration: I know it's hard sometimes to pull your ideas together, hopefully the blog can help! Also, take 10 minutes and pull some things together on Olioboard. You'll be surprised how easy it is and how inspired you can really be!

Here's what I have come up with for my first BIG room project: My home office and client meeting space. Yesterday I posted the room layout and some before pictures. Now, this will show you what I've come up with on Olioboard:

You can shop the items in this look here 

Items from CB2, Zinc Door, Layla Grayce, Kirklands, West Elm, Modern Furniture, and Benjamin Moore

I'm off to Goodwill and HomeGoods this weekend to see if I can find anything the budget friendly way! I hope this has sparked a first phase of inspiration, and as always please share your design ideas as well!

Fun New Things to Play With!

After needing to go to our old office this morning to "deal with" some things I needed a pick me up! I have spent most of this week working on the blog post for Monday's OlioHop (be sure to follow the #OlioHop hashtag on twitter for the latest news!), and I noticed that Olioboard has a new collection of backgrounds and textures! This is amazing for use with 3-D rooms, or just to give people an idea what a room might look like up against a certain type of wall or floor! So of course, I played around a bit!

Check out this board and shop the look here

While the orientation of the table isn't perfect I loved it too much not to toss it in there! I'm a sucker for fresh flowers, and while I was thinking of a space I could go to curl up and read a book, or drink a cup of coffee, I was happy to find a vase of white tulips available for use! (of course, I could have added my own if need be!). The "painting" on the wall is actually a new texture on the site, but someone should make it a painting! I'd buy it....or maybe I'll just make it a painting and save myself the $$! Dablet might like to play with some paint!

Most of the furniture here is from The Well Appointed House, with a dash of Zinc Door. I came across The Well Appointed House while working on my OlioHop blog post, and decided to take a closer look so I could share some of my favorite finds!

I love "old school" lamps! These Pharmacy Floor Lamps are perfect to give an industrial feel, even in a way most men would be happy with!

We talked about planters yesterday, and I love fun mirrors so these Mirrored Planters are a perfect fit!

These are by far (at least that I've found so far) my FAVORITE thing on the site! I love teal (can't you tell from above?) and I love having fun things to serve with! These serving trays have a wrapped leather handle and come in three colors, all sure to add a punch to your outdoor dining this summer!

Can't wait to share with you all on Moodboard Monday!

Front Guest Room Face Lift

So you've seen what we have in our front guest room, and some of the things we have been thinking about putting in it. Now I would like to take you one step further to show you the Olioboard I've created to pull it all together!

Benjamin Moore Paint colors used: 

Plum Royale, Gray Owl, French Lilac

Furniture:

West Elm Tufted Headboard

Orchard Chair from Zinc Door

Regina Andrew Hammered Nickel Lamp

West Elm Aluminum Hexagon Side Table

Accents:

WAC Aurora Pendant Lighting

Jonathan Adler Nixon Charcoal Throw

Kivi Candle Holder

This look gets me all kinds of excited and inspired. I keep visualizing the way a bland and boring room can come to life with some paint and fabulous pieces added to it! When I get this project done, I'll show you the pictures....until then I'll find another room to dabble in!

Dabble