Decor Deals!

H&M Home Cloche | Kate Spade All in Good Taste Book – 25% off with code MERCI | Yay Champagne Glass – Up to 25% off with code GOBIG15 | Polka Dot Tray – Up to 25% off with code GOBIG15 | Tory Burch Candle – Up to 30% off with code THANKS | Kate Spade Bottle Opener – 25% off with code MERCI | H&M Pink Kitchen Mitt | Hammered Copper Pitcher | Jonathon Adler Lips Vase – Up to 25% off with code GOBIG15 | Kate Spade Polka Dot Cocktail Shaker – 25% off with code MERCI | Read my Lips Mug – 25% off with code MERCI | Garance Dore Coaster Set – Up to 25% off with code GOBIG15

I’ve got decorating on the mind this week and I thought I’d share some of these adorable pick-me-up finds for the house ;) And don’t get me started on the sale at Anthropologie. See my favs here:

#GirlsNightIn

There’s something about summer that seems
to just pass you by faster and faster as you get older. What used to seem like
an eternity of long weekends, date night, sleepovers and more when you were
younger is now a reality of weddings, showers, double-bookings, meetings and
more. Even attempting to get the girls together on a weekend – forget picking a
restaurant – can seem like an impossible feat.

So when Palm Bay approached me and asked if
I’d be interested in hosting a girls night in at my place, you can imagine my
immediate response: errrr can we pull this off? You know, it’s funny what the
promise of girl talk, carbs, candy, sparkling drinks and more will do to
people’s calendars ;)

I hosted 5 ladies that night so keeping
things easy was definitely the mantra for the evening. Although not pictured, I
set up our harvest table with appy foods like a caprese salad, tabouleh, warm
naan bread, dips, focaccia pizza and more. The drink and candy stations were
also equipped with scoops, candy bags and napkins so everyone could help
themselves.

Although I was fully stocked with board
games, a mini mani station, magazines and chick flicks, it wasn’t until we were
beginning to yawn we realized we had chatted most of the night away just
hanging around the kitchen island, sipping Palm Bay and catching up. It was the
perfect evening any girl could ask for!

Special thanks to Always Lou for the decor items!

Foyer Makeover with York Wallcoverings

I am SO thrilled to finally be able to say that the foyer of our home is complete! Since the day we moved in, it was one of the first areas I planned on tackling and yet it was one of the projects that continued to be bumped back time and time again. If you can’t tell from the pictures, the ceiling extends up to the 2nd floor in our entrance and features an open concept to the staircase above. This definitely made the design process more tricky since we knew the decor had to appeal to now two floors instead of just one.

While I tend to gravitate towards wild prints (have you seen our powder room?), I knew I would have to veer towards something more traditional for an open space such as this. This modern trellis pattern from York Wallcoverings was the perfect solution for our space. We have used York Wallcoverings in the past and always had a great experience so we were eager to use the product again. The rolls feature Sure Strip which not only made it a cinch to install but will also remove just as easily should we change our mind. I’ve worked alongside hubby in the past on wallpaper projects and let me tell you – it’s not pretty. This time, we had the entire accent wall (which is more like two considering it goes up to the ceiling) wrapped up in one Sunday morning. We literally looked at each other in shock at how smooth things had gone. I mean I had no glue in my hair and he hadn’t fallen off the ladder before the end off the project. Success!

Overall we’re thrilled with our foyer and want to thank York Wallcoverings again for their collaboration on the project. Now I have to move onto all those empty picture frames going up the stairs lol!

Morning Grind

Coffee plays a MAJOR role in my morning. Many people often refer to ‘rules of the house’ and in our house, the first to get up is the first to make the coffee before we both head off to work. What’s sad is I am normally two coffees into my day by the time I sit down and start to tackle emails. I’ve been drinking pod cup coffee since I was in university (I actually don’t know how to brew a pot – eek) and while it wasn’t always the best tasting, it did the trick to jolt me into my day. In recent months however, Adam and I both noticed our go-to Starbucks orders were evolving to latte’s, cappuccino’s and other coffee-drinks that our pods just couldn’t replicate. Enter the Saeco GrandBaristo coffee machine :) Total game changer.

Despite offering 16 coffee options and featuring two coffee grind trays, the unit is sleek and blended in well with the rest of our kitchen decor (a definite must-have for us). And yes, set up was shockingly way easier and user-friendly than I had expected – bonus!

A cappuccino or macchiato are the two drinks I typically opt for. I also love that the milk carafe easily pops in and out so I can use Almond Milk for my drinks and Adam has a second for his whole milk (recommended for frothy drinks). The machine also uses ceramic grinders which consistently grind the beans and avoid over-heating the coffee. We’ve both been able to personalize our own settings so the perfect coffee for you really is just at the touch of a button.

I’ve had this art print forever and I’m so excited I finally have a coffee nook to display it in :)

The best way to ease into my morning: macchiato and fresh scones.

Overall, the GrandBaristo has been a pleasant addition to our morning routine and has certainly made our house rule a lot easier to follow ;)

Thank you to Saeco for partnering on this post. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

How To Spray Paint A Light Fixture + Dining Room Reveal

I always get a ton of questions about the gold light fixtures we have in our home. When we moved into our house we knew we wanted brass accents but found that since there was minimal inventory of gold lights, the prices tended to be quite daunting. Aware of the fact that this trend MAY not be fav in years to come (doubtful, but ya know!), we needed a budget friendly alternative. Adam and I have put together an easy-peasy DIY with some help from The Home Depot to show you how to spray paint your light fixture.

What you’ll need (aside from the light fixture):
Painter’s Tape
Sand Paper
Rubbing Alcohol or Varsol
Micro-fibre Cloth
Rust-oleum Metallic Spray Paint
Rust-oleum Semi-Gloss Clear Spray
Energy-Efficient LED Lightbulbs

While you’re welcome to do this inside, we recommend doing this kind of work outside if possible. Since we had to spray paint different angles and underneath the light fixture, we hung outs from the ceiling in our garage. The light fixture we have used for our dining room is the Sea Gull Lighting 9 Light Burnt Sienna Incandescent Chandelier.

Step 1. Remove any bulbs or casings around the sockets
Step 2. Using the tape, begin to seal the socket

Ensure the tape is sealed around all sides.

Step 3. Using a piece of sand paper, sand all areas of the light fixture that will be painted. Don’t worry about getting into every crevice possible but try to cover most areas.

Step 4. Spray a rag with rubbing alcohol or Varsol and wipe down the light fixture to ensure all debris, spots or oils have been removed.

Step 5: Spray away! Just an FYI: we used 2 cans for this light fixture and coated it twice.
Step 6. Seal all surfaces with a semi-gloss coating. Once dry, remove the tape from all fixtures.

Since the home came with a ton of efficient features from our builder, we wanted to carry that through with our lighting. The Home Depot team was kind enough to provide Philips LED bulbs which will last an average of 25,000 hours (insanity) and use 85 perfect less energy than regular light-bulbs. With more projects on the horizon and the need to keep our utilities low with winter temps ramping up, we said sign us up!

So are you wondering how the final product looks in our space? Here’s a reveal of our dining room! And yes, before you ask, the plate wall is not yet complete but more of a working progress ;)

Table: Provenance Harvest Tables | Chairs: Palette Furniture | Curtains: West Elm | Chalkboard: Homesense | Lantern: Ikea | Wooden Console Table: Wicker Emporium | Napkins: Target | Plates: Target | Mercury Glass Vases: Target {similar} | Gold Candle Holder: Target | Placemats: Kitchen Papers | Confetti: Target | Plate Wall: Anthropologie, Homesense | Glass Vases: Target | Pine cones: Michael’s | LED String Lights: Indigo | Flower Arrangements by Petals Flower Design