IKEA Hack Gold Etagere

Happy Hump Day Everyone! In honor of hump day, I'm sharing my latest DIY project. It's one of my favorite kinds, an IKEA hack.

Every now and then a piece of IKEA furniture really blows up among the DIY community. Last it was the RAST dresser, and now the VITTSJO series. The series offers a lot of great pieces to redo from coffee tables to shelving units. I picked the single shelf to redo for our living room since it's the perfect size for the wall next to the couch.

This do-it-yourself project is really simple, and just requires some time and patience. 

Here's what you'll need:

Cost around $25

And the VITTSJO shelf from IKEA 

Cost - $40

The first step is to prime all of the pieces.

Next, spray each piece with the metallic gold spray from every angle and allow to dry. I did about 2 coats with just the one can. I used a painter's mat and wore a face mask to make sure I didn't get any spray paint on the ground and didn't inhale the fumes. You can also wear protective eye wear.

 Once dry, you will need to assemble the piece following the instructions and spray the heads of the black screws that show. Once all pieces are gold, spray all of them with the shellac finish, and let dry.

Here's the color and texture up close.

That's it! The hardest part for me was really just finding the time between a new job and new home to get outside and spray the pieces through all the steps. I love the end product and it fits perfectly in our new space. I decorated the shelves with items we already had and a few birthday presents (see pig and hostess book). I love the look of this kind of shelf with a lot of magazines or books, so I'll be collecting those of the next few months to add to it.

In other news, our building took the sign down from our window and we now have an amazing view of the city!

The Midas Touch - Gold Etagere

Those of you who follow me on Instagram know that I've been working on an IKEA hack. My latest obsession has been the vittsjo hack from a black bookcase to a glamorous gold one. I'll be sharing my update Wednesday as this week's Hump Day Home Makeover, but until then...my inspiration.

Better Homes & Gardens 

Better Homes and Gardens

via

Lonny

via

Friday Favorites

ONE // blue and white are such a classic combo - love the look of this navy plum jar from Furbish Studio for $150. TWO // This is probably my favorite item I've seen this week. I love this idea of a natural wood coffee table from Jayson Home. This style table is also in an end table. THREE // Love the gold and marble combination in this piece with the French surrealism flair from Jonathan Adler. FOUR // This bright and colorful tribal rug caught my eye this week. Great mix of colors from Domino Magazine. FIVE // There's nothing quite like an in style piece at a steal price from Target for $90. SIX // A few aviation influenced pieces caught my eye this week like these airplane coasters from One Kings Lane. Unfortunately the sale ended, but I wouldn't be surprised if they popped back into a sale soon.

Apartment Update II

The other week, I shared a few pieces I was happy to find for the apartment, but today I'm excited to share how the living room is really coming together. I had a hard time deciding on what rug to pick, if you all remember, for the living room. So I picked two! 

Ok, but seriously, I went to nearly every store that sells rugs in Atlanta (that may be an exaggeration, Atlanta has thousands of wonderful home decor stores), but let's just say I went to a lot. And I found way too many beautiful rugs. I finally decided on getting a natural rug like a jute (it's softer than sisal), and layering a cowhide over it. One piece of advice I will give to people looking for rugs is you have to actually touch the rug in person. I went to Myers Carpet knowing they'd have a large selection of natural rugs for me to choose from, and turns out I'm allergic to them. So, it was back to the drawing board. I ended up picking this hand-tufted trellis rug that was one of my rug backups. It's soft to the touch and I love it! The double lined trellis print mixed with the different sized patterns makes it unique.

I still loved the idea of a cowhide, so I took two out on approval and tried them over the gray rug. This is another tip I will suggest if you're looking for a rug. Make sure you take it home and try it in the space. If you can't decide between two in the store, take both home and test them in your space. The one I liked in store wasn't the right color in my space. 

The coffee table itself was by far the easiest piece for me to pick for the room. Due to the size of the room, and my current obsession with lucite, it was a great solve for a table that gives the illusion of not taking up space. For the coffee table tray, I felt like the room needed some natural wood to balance out the modern pieces. I picked this tray up at Home Goods for under $20! 

I also found this awesome mini trunk there too for a similar price. I love the copper finish, and may go back for another (fingers crossed it's still there).

Couldn't help but share another picture of my antique rug now that I have my DSLR again. This thing is probably still my favorite piece in the apartment.

And last but not least, my new piggy bank CT gave me for my birthday! I'm still working on finding the right home for this guy.

Resources
Sofa: Vanguard Furniture, ADAC Sample Sale (similar)
Coffee Table: CB2 (love this too)
Tray: Home Goods
Candle: Home Goods
Trellis Rug: Designer Rug Warehouse (located on the Westside in Horizon Home)
Cowhide: Westside Foundry
Domino Book of Decorating: Anthropologie
Copper Trunk: Home Goods
Antique Rug: eSaleRugs (Currently have a 50% off sale!)
Piggy Bank:  Bday Present (can be found at Furbish Studio)

A Birthday Surprise

This morning I woke up to my fiancé placing a large box on the end of the bed. The outside of the box had the silhouette of a pig, and I knew instantly what it was. Talk about a great wake up call on my birthday!

via Mini Velvet

About a year ago, CT and I were in Charleston for Labor Day and ended up shopping at Michael Mitchell. At the time Michael Mitchell carried the Harry Allen piggy bank in pretty much any color possible, and I was obsessed. 

I'm really excited to add my new pig to my decor, and have found a lot of great inspiration from fellow bloggers. The pig makes the perfect jewelry stand and decoration, but I'm not so sure about as a piggy bank. Today, I read that the bank holds up to $10,000 in dollar bills. So, tonight I made a big deal about how we could use the piggy as a place to start saving for a honeymoon. I put a dollar bill in, and most importantly tested getting it out. Let's just say if you ever managed to save up $10,000 you'd probably end up breaking the pig and buying a new one before you pulled out every bill.

Style Me Pretty

i suwannee

Luxe + Lillies

Sally Wheat Interiors

 Lindsay von Hagel

Don't forget to check back tomorrow! I'll be sharing an update on the apartment!

Currently Coveting

This weekend I finally picked a rug! I'll be sharing an update on the apartment on Wednesday, but for now I've already moved onto picking out the stools for the counter top. My favorite stools I've seen so far are these Arteriors wooden and iron from Horchow, a definite splurge. But, aren't they lovely?

John Maniscalco Architecture

EAG Studio

Natalie Fuglestveit Interior Design

Tom Stringer Design Partners

EAG Studio

John Maniscalco Architecture

Decor Item of The Week: Lucite Trunks

Houzz

Lonny Magazine April/May 2010

Houzz

HomePolish

HGTV Serenbe "Green" Home

SPLURGE



STEAL

Apartment Update I

The apartment is coming along slowly, but surely. When we first moved in, I was dead-set on getting the apartment fully furnished (well, at least the living room) by the time CT returned from China. This gave me about 11 days, which was aggressive needless to say. I've decided to take my time and really find the pieces I love even and at a reasonable price even if that means waiting for the next month to go to Scotts or trolling Home Goods and One Kings Lane. So far, I have purchased my first antique rug for the entryway, which I LOVE. You may have seen my last post about how much I love esalerugs, but I can't say it enough. (Apologies for the crappy photo quality, my DSLR hasn't made it to the new apartment yet).

I also picked up this awesome TV console and a tufted bench at Home Goods. Both were total steals compared to the similar items I found online. Home Goods is one of my favorite go-to stores, but it can definitely be hit or miss. In the past three weeks or so, I have now been to the store about 4-5 times including two locations, and am so happy with what I found.

The guest bath is probably the most complete room in the apartment at the moment, and I love getting ready every morning in this room. The floor to ceiling windows let in a lot of light and compliment the yellow accents for a bright and cheery room.

And, here's my lovely couch that I also got a steal on from the ADAC sample sale.

My next goal is to find a rug for the living room. I have been pretty much all over Atlanta trying to decide on the style I want since I feel like the rug will really dictate that direction the room will go in. I've narrowed it down to three choices.

1 - White/Cream Cowhide Over A Sisal or Jute Rug

Industrial Living Room by Atlanta Paint & Wall Coverings ROMA

2 - Graphic Damask Rug

Nourison Riviera RI-04 Slate Area Rug

3 - Gray Geometric Rug

Modern Living Room by Calhoun Furniture & Accessories Surya

Hoping to finally make up my mind this week!

Styling For Creativity

source

This weekend I came across an article in the Business of Fashion about J.Crew's, Mickey Drexler. The article captured my attention telling stories about Mickey's success from his time at Bloomingdale's making the retailer's biggest unit buy in history to flipping J.Crew from a clothing store to a fashion trend leader. Mickey's whimsical idiosyncrasies in the article felt like a common trait found in high-powered and influential leaders. As a marketer and blogger, I was inspired by his story and his ability to identify trends, back them up with data and flip them into stores so quickly. A quality I often find hard to do just as a blogger with the competing demands of work and life.

Moving into my new apartment, I have been thinking a lot about how my new space will affect my thoughts, productivity, creativity and mood. The idea of having a personal office is something I didn't have in New York, my vanity doubled as vanity and desk. Now in Atlanta, my desk will cohabit with my guest room, but gives me more room for setting it up the way that inspires me.

Must haves: clutter free desk and organized inspiration. While I'm on the topic of J.Crew, I found this 360 tour of Jenna Lyons office, pretty cool.

source

source

source 

source