After the beautiful weekend we had last weekend, this weekend it has been cold and cloudy.  Though (thankfully) we did not get any more snow.  All the more reason for my obsession with spring colors!  Since we have already hit up pink, yellow, and blue - it is time to move on to green.

I love the way you can look at a hillside of trees and watch them go from grey to green as the leaves come out in the spring.

Photo via Webshots

Photo via Webshots

I think the bright green that first comes out in spring is so refreshing and energizing.  Which is why, for today, I decided to focus on green in a home office.  Green is a great color for an office, because it can represent new ideas, creativity and of course money!  I love the way it is used in the offices below. 

Green Office home design

Basement Office from BHG.com

So I did some running around online to find you guys so cute chic green office pieces! These are all just me surfing around online - no one gives me anything to find these for you guys! 

Green Office by frugalflourish on Polyvore.com

So, let's run through these picks!  The neutral base for this set is the Liatorp Desk from Ikea for $299.  I like the classic lines of the desk and the fact that it is a larger piece that grounds the room.  Starting from the top right we have: 

-  A Green Throw from Ikea for $7.99

-  A Pair of Curtains from Ikea for $59.99

-  A 5' x 7'6 Green Area Rug from Overstock for $57.99

-  A 2 pack of Magazine Files from Ikea for $2.99

-  A 2 pack of CD Boxes from Ikea for $3.99

-  A 2 pack of Paper Storage Boxes from Ikea for $5.99

-  A 2 pack of Magazine Storage Boxes from Ikea for $11.99

-  A Decorative Throw Pillow from Overstock for $27.99

-  A Green Wall Clock from Amazon.com for $6.99

-  A Green Side Chair from Ikea for $89.99

-  A Green Handmade Paper Desk Set from Crane and Co. for $24.99

I am in LOVE with those Ikea desk accessories!  So cute and so affordable!

Do you have a home office or a "office space"?  Is it decorated or is it just functional?  Ours is more functional because of the lack of space, but I am hoping to change that soon! 

Sorry I have been away!  I have been working on a special project.  One I hope to share with everyone very soon!  But until then... lets get back to our spring colors! (If you missed Yellow or Pink be sure to check them out.)

Ok - so I have been tossing up if I should do green or blue next.  I decided to do blue.  I think there are a couple different blue colors that are associated with spring.  There is the blue of the robin's egg, the bright blue of a clear spring sky, bluebell's and cornflower's, so many shades!

Photo by Russell Lupins via Webshots

A lot of people do blue in bedrooms since it is a calm relaxing color.  However, besides using the cool, chill, mellow blues that people typically use, I think doing a bright pop of electric blue or turquoise can really add some energy to a bedroom!  I especially like the way it is featured in the rooms below.

Martha Stewart bedroom design

contemporary bedroom design by 4.bp.blogspot.com

eclectic bedroom design

Seriously - Don't you just love the bed skirt and pillows in the first picture!  So I thought I would round us up some fun blue accents to use about the bedroom.

Blue Mood by frugalflourish on Polyvore.com

The neutral base in this set is the Aspelund Bed from Ikea for $179.  That is a pretty good deal for a classically styled bed frame!   Starting directly right of the bed and going clockwise around we have the following:

- A Stick Lamp from Target for $16.99

- A Framed Andy Warhol Print from SmartBargins.com for $59.99

- A Blue Striped Vase from Ikea for $14.99

- A Blue Carafe from Ikea for $9.99

- A Blue Terracotta Clay Vase from Overstock.com for $23.49

- A 3-Piece Blue Bordered Quilt Set from Overstock.com for $33.99 (Great Deal!)

- A Bamboo and Cotton Throw from SmartBargins.com for $44.98

- A 4x6 Chenille Shag Rug from Overstock.com for $75.99

- A 14x11 Pop Art Cat Print from Target.com for $39.99

- A 18x18 Buddha Print from Target.com for $39.99

- A Blue Embroidered Pillow from Target.com for $19.99

- A Blue Cotton Cushion Cover from Overstock.com for $16.49

- A Blue Quilted Sham from Target.com for $14.99

- A Sapphire Silk Cushion Cover from Overstock.com for $27.99

I love the Blue!!  As always this is just me finding good deals.  No one poked or prodded me to offer these for you! 

So I am curious, do you like the brighter blues or the more mellow light blues? 

P.S. I am linking this up to Melissa's Inspired By Party at the Inspired Room! Come join the fun!

I have to tell you guys that this week I was uninspired to do any fun crafty projects. This is probably the first week in a long time that I am not participating in any of the Link Parties in a week. But I was uninspired this weekend. I decided to trek over to Hobby Lobby at lunch yesterday to see if I could get a spark of an idea. As it turns out, that was a most excellent decision!

Hobby Lobby - who did have a bunch of home decor stuff marked 70% off - has now dropped prices yet again to 80% off. I found a couple fun things and got stuff for at least three crafty projects. Behold below the fruits of my shopping expedition!

I got the lidded basket for $8, the wooden apples for 80 cents to $1.20, the white basket for $4, the beautiful white jar (I know these have a name but I cannot for the life of me remember it) for $7, the super cute clock for $6, the black lantern for $4 and the frame for $5.

So what am I going to do with these treasures? Oh I have some ideas... you will just have to stay tuned to see those! 

Anyone else pick up something fun recently at Hobby Lobby?  And does anyone know what the "official name" of those white jars?  I know there is a feature on them in one of my back issues of Domino.  Just not sure which one ... 

P.S. I am linking this up to Jane's Frugalicious Friday Party over at Finding Fabulous.  Come over and check out the other great deals!

Growing up, we had two HUGE rhododendrons and a wild bush of azaleas in from of our house. Part of knowing it was spring for me was seeing the bright pink blooms popping out!  I had to go find some pictures so I could share the vivid pinks that used to greet me every morning and when I got home from school. 

(Azalea photo by Sonya Johnson via Wet Canvas)

 (Rhododendrons at Grandview National Park - Photo by David Caldwell)

So my next inspiration color for you guys is, of course, pink!  This is a tricky color to use.  You don't want to look like someone doused the room in Pepto!  However, when used sparingly, it can create the same smile inducing effects of the pictures above.  Pink isn't a color I normally gravitate towards, but I love how it is used in the two rooms below!

(eclectic living room design)

(photo via BHG.com)

So I thought I would dig up some pink fun pink accents! I gotta be honest with you - I am not a pink person. But even as a non-pink kinda girl, I think these are super cute and I wouldn't mind having them in my place!

Think Pink! by frugalflourish on Polyvore.com

So for this round of playing in Polyvore - our neutral base is the Ektorp Sofa from Ikea.  Again, I wouldn't recommend piling all of these elements in one room - but a couple ought to add a fun burst of spring color to your space!

From the top right we have

- A Set of 3 Framed Prints from Walmart.com for $49.97

- A Set of 5 Tealight Holders from Ikea for $2.99

- A Vase in Assorted Colors from Ikea for $1.99

- A Pink Storage Basket from World Market for $8.99

- A Pink Dot Table Lamp from Walmart.com for $16.88

- A 4x6 Pink Chenille Rug from Overstock for $66.99

- An Orchid Hand Embroidered Pillow from Overstock for $22.99

- A Pink Diamond Stitched Pillow from Target for $29.99

- A Bright Stripe Pillow from Target for $19.99

- A Pink Chandi Pillow from Target for $14.99

- A Bird Print Pillow from Dwell Studios for Target for $19.99

- A Bamboo Print Pillow from Target for $24.99

- A Pink Throw from Ikea for $29.99

That's a lot of pink!  As always, I didn't get anything to tell you about these items, just me finding cute stuff for you!  Don't forget to get your Bing Cashback if you shop Target or Overstock! 

So since people tend to have pretty strong reactions to pink - are you a pink person?  Would your significant other allow pink in a room or is that considered too feminine?  I think the hubby might veto some of this, but some he might be ok with me getting.  How about you?

People - it was gorgeous here yesterday!  Got up to the low 60's and was perfect.  I was able to run errands without a coat.  And at one point, I got in my car and it was HOT (I have black interior so it heats up quicker).  I know I am going to be hating that soon enough - but man, it was nice!

Pretty much that and all the Easter stuff out has got me in a Spring color mood.  So I wanted to find some cute things for you guys that you could add to an existing room that would bring in a bit of Spring without totally breaking the bank.

My first inspiration color is yellow. There is something about a pop of yellow that is really inviting and hopeful.  Yellow is probably one of the colors that is most associated with spring.  Perhaps it is the welcome sight of daffodils popping up after the snow.  Perhaps it is the the warmth that is associated with sunlight.  Either way, yellow has a way of making you smile.  

traditional living room design

(Photo from BHG.com)

So my idea was, if you have a neutral kitchen/dining area, how could you add just a few pops of yellow to brighten it up and create a little spring in your step whenever you walked by the room.

Mellow Yellow by frugalflourish on Polyvore.com

My "Neutral Base" for this set is this Black Pedestal Table, at JCPenney for $199, and some classic Ladderback Chairs that were $129 for two also at JCPenney.  I say insert whatever you have sitting in your house, unless you were in the market for a new dining set, in which case - that is a deal!

Surrounding it I have picked out several yellow accents.  Now - I would not recommend adding ALL of these accents to a single room.  But a couple here and there should give you the bright look you are looking for in your home.  Starting in the top right corner and heading clockwise, we have

-  A Sunny Valance from Target for $25.99

-  A 5' Yellow Shag Rug from Overstock for $74.99

-  A 5-quart Yellow Colander from Overstock for $13.99

-  A Calla Lily Print from Overstock for $71.09

-  A Fun Apron from Overstock for $28.49

-  A Set of Two Rachel Ray Bakers from Cooking.com for $19.95

-  A LOVE print from Made By Girl for $25.00

-  A Yellow Teapot from Overstock for $24.99

-  A Set of 6 Placemats from Amazon.com for $23.18

-  A 16-Piece Dining Set from Overstock for $79.99

There you go!  Ten Bright Sunny pieces for under $75.  As always - I got nothing for picking out "these items" - this is just me finding fun stuff for you.  Don't forget when if you are shopping online with Overstock or Target to make sure you go to Bing.com/shopping first so you get your cash back.  Target's is worth 3%-7% and Overstock is 3%-10% back!

Does yellow make you feel sunny?  Are you an all over brights person - or do you switch out your brights seasonally?   I'm more of a switch out your brights seasonally kinda girl myself - but I am curious if I have some more adventurous folks out there!  

I am not going to lie. My style is probably traditional mixed with a lot of comfy! While I appreciate the clean lines of things that are modern, I think many of the designs end up cold and (quite frankly) hard on the tushy. Plus, when I see someone with a traditional or country or transitional home - they seem more like the down home "Come in an have a glass of tea" type. Whereas a lot of the modern peeps out there are like the cool kids club that I simply have never been a part of in my life. They are too cool, too hip, too with it... and I can feel my goofy 7th grader standing there impressed but understanding deep down that it will never be for me.

So when I saw the blog "Unhappy Hipster" featured by Erin at Elements of Style I was instantly amused and somewhat disturbingly satisfied by the pictures and their imagined captions! All of these pictures are based on those from Dwell Magazine so if you love it, my apologies for this post! But please, allow me to share a few that made me giggle. 

"She’d been begging her parents to swap out the gravel for a real lawn, with chairs and everything. She hadn’t counted on their literalism."

"It occurred to her that in choosing the repurposed airplane ramp as a staircase, she hadn’t considered the child."

 

"He reassured the distraught homeowner: Though there was only one window, the twisted stack of boxes was eminently livable."

 

"The porthole windows seemed like a good idea. But now the house appeared to be leering at them, distinctly ominous."

"Sober (and in the light of day), she realized that buying the companion sculpture to the photograph had been unwise."

So what about you?  Do you find this kind of modern architecture and design pretentious or are you a huge fan?  This chick is very interested on if she may have alienated some of her readers!  Sorry - I still think these are funny! 

P.S. - This is my 100th Post!  Thanks for hanging with me. 

After I did my closet cleaning out post yesterday, I got a lot of posts and feedback that people just don't feel like it is possible to clean out their closet.  Here is all you have to do, spend a couple hours watching some episodes of Clean House or Hoarders.  I remember thinking forever that I had to be one of the messiest people ever until I watched those shows and realized that I was OK!  Of course, if you watch those shows and it looks like they could be filming in your house then perhaps it is time to get more professional help from a cleaning crew or apply for the show!

One of my favorite quotes is "Rich people aren't cleaner - they just have more storage."  And its true!  It is so much easier to keep your house clean when you have a place for everything. Unfortuntaly, most traditional closet designs are riddled with tons of dead space. Space that could be holding your stuff is instead, just holding air.

For me, I want to clean out my closet and "create" space when I see closets that inspire me to make my closet "be all it can be".  Obviously, I will never own a closet like this one below, but a girl can dream right.

(image via Hooked on Houses - read her full post on the fab real estate from SATC movie)

Here are some great closet spaces for you to drool over and get some storage ideas to implement in your life. 

Ok, so this space is fantastic because it was built by a closet design company.  But look at what types of storage "ideas" they used.  Alternating shelfing with hanging rods with the use of boxes and racks.  And note - they use all the space up to the ceiling and down to the floor. 

contemporary home design by Container Store

Here is another example of how to take your storage ALL the way up and down.  Purses on the tippy top shelf is a great idea since you may not use them all the time.

eclectic home design via Domino Magazine

Nicole over at Making It Lovely has this beautiful closet space.  I love her ideas for organizing accessories.  Speaking of which - if you missed it this week Lindsay at Living with Lindsay featured a great tutorial on how to make your own Jewelry Tree Organizer, kinda like the one shown below.

home design by makingitlovely.com

Love the shoe storage space here - note that all the vertical space is used and it is tight.  The shoe shelves aren't any taller than they need to be so there is no wasted space in any shelf.

home design by dc metro interior designer Neat Chic

Love this idea for a kids closet.  Kids clothes are small so normally in a regular closet you have a lot of dead space that could be used to organize toys and books.  Brilliant!

traditional kids design by boston interior designer Stylish Spaces

All vertical space is used here - even if it just to squeeze in a hat!  The canvas bins and sliding wire baskets are also fantastic!  They even built it around the radiator.  That is using ALL your available space.

home design by dc metro interior designer Neat Chic

Ok - for my thrifters out there - how adorable are these!  Those bracelet holders are old doorknobs!  This is giving me so many ideas on what to do above and around the wall space around the light switch.

eclectic bedroom design by philadelphia interior designer Designs by Shoshana

I hope this post has inspired you to think about the space you have differently and come up with some innovative storage ideas!  What is something you could do to add more usable storage to your closets?

P.S. I am linking this up to Melissa's Inspired By Party over at the Inspired Room!

So here in the apartment – we have a closet situation. It isn’t a horrible closet situation, but given that I had a whole closet in my house back in VA that was completely dedicated to shoes (hello – if you have two “linen” closets in one hallway it is totally acceptable to make one of those a shoe closet) I am a little less than pleased with the amount of space we have. Here, this one little closet has to serve as our clothes and linen closet. However, with some inventive organizing we have been able to make the most of our singular closet space.

However, that is IF you keep it organized. People, I have to share with you the disaster that has plagued me for the last several weeks …

 

  

 

Those pics really don’t do it justice. It was bad …

So I broke down this weekend and CLEANED out the closet. Again – I follow my mantra of remove everything, sort, and replace organized. Here are my tips for successfully organizing your clothes closet.

1. Seriously consider if you will ever wear that something again. If it has been too small for several years – it is probably time to let it go. If it was really trendy and is now a Glamour Don’t – it is probably time to let it go. If you said “I just need to take it to a seamstress/cobbler/dry cleaner” and you have not in 6 months – this is the time to either set up the date or let it go. 

2. Take stock of what you decide to keep. What basics are you missing? Perhaps those that just made it into the donate pile. I do this all the time with white shirts. I keep them forever and then when I do a big clean out I notice that they are not looking their whitest and brightest (and I know you KNOW what area of the shirt isn’t looking so good about this point). But I toss em and then I realize a week later that I have no shirts to layer. Bummer. So take note of what your staples are and make sure if you toss that you make some time to replenish soon!

3. Also, take stock if you are, as we like to say in retail, overstocked. Seriously – how many black turtlenecks does one girl need? If you could wear one every day of the week, it might be worth pairing back by your least favorite.

4. Finally – and this is the money tip if you were just scanning – when you hang all your clothes up, hang up the hangers the wrong way. You know – facing towards you (see below for a picture example). I know you think this sounds crazy – but do it … and then place a reminder on your calendar 3 months to go back through. Anything that is still hanging the wrong way you haven’t worn since you cleaned house.  At that point you know, you don’t wear it and haven’t since the last clean out! You can grant seasonal and/or necessity clauses. (For example, my interview suit gets a green light no matter what. So does my LBD – if it still fits!)

So the results from my cleanout?

 

  

 

Ahhh .. much more organized and look! There is an open space up there! Bliss!

Here are some great things to invest in if you are organizing a closet. 

Shoe Boxes - These are available from K-mart for $1.49 though I have gotten them at Wally World for as little as 88 cents! 

Stackable Closet Shelves - these are available from Wal-mart for $23.88.  I love these since there is so much "dead space at the top of closets were you could make useable - stackable space! 

Boot Shapers - Do your boots get all limpy and hung over themselves in your closet?  Get some Boot Shapers to keep them perky and standing tall!  These are $9.99 a pair at OrganizeIt.com.

Multiple Skirt/Slacks Hangers -Excellent ways to maximize your closet space.  These are available from Dormbuys.com for $6.49.  I had some fun browsing around on that site - totally geared towards college life but they have some great space saver ideas!

Shelf Dividers - Also found a great deal on these at Dormbuys.com these are another great way to organize out things like sweaters and jeans that you fold up on a shelf.  Only $6.49 for the small and $8.49 for the large. 

So, what are your closet cleaning tips?