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Living for Pretty

Celebrating all things pretty, happy and inspiring. From renovation stories, to recipes, decorating, parties and little life lessons, you’ll find a little bit of everything here.

our small kitchen – before



December 19, 2014

Our kitchen may have been the ugliest, most depressing room when we first purchased our house. Everything was so awful. In a kitchen that was roughly 100 square feet, there were a total of three doorways, including the bathroom door! Then there was the brown, 70’s flooring and blue laminate backsplash, a plastered-in half chimney, a super tiny attic access hole, and a space between the oven and built-ins that was maybe 20 inches wide. (Here’s a reminder of the initial layout)
 

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fall harvest



September 24, 2014

 

We’ve been in our house for about a year and a half (time flies!) and while we’ve had many a parties, we have yet to have an open house where aunts, cousins etc. can visit. No more! We are planning a fall fête to celebrate summer turning to autumn. For me, hosting seasonal get togethers instead of holidays is far better. There’s no holiday pressure, no scheduling headaches, and you aren’t tied to the calendar. It’s just a relaxed, happy time.
On the other hand, having a little get-together is a wonderful motivator to get a few of our smaller, already-started projects to the finish line. Our fence has been half stained, our crown moulding still waiting to be installed in the living room, and there’s some small paint touchups required. So we are very much looking forward to checking a few more things off our list.
Below are a few images we are using as inspiration for next week’s gathering. I’m thinking a pumpkin carving station for kids and adults alike, white and green pumpkins as decoration, butternut squash soup, pumpkin risotto, apple pie, and caramelized onion flatbread. Can’t wait to make it a tradition!
everyday occasions |  style me pretty | spoonforkbacon | ivilliage |

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garage sale tips and tricks



June 10, 2014

I get a surge of excitement when I spot bright-colored signs at street intersections. Yard sales are the one place left to get amazing deals on used goods. This is especially true in the Seattle area as flea markets are few and far between, and thrift stores prices have caught up with their level of trendiness. Here are just a few of my tips and tricks to getting ready for the garage sale season so you can score big!

—-Time it right —-

I start the yard sale season in May when the first few sunny days hit and people start spring-cleaning. College towns are a treasure trove the weekend after finals week. Students are moving home for the summer, or relocating for work and don’t want to deal with large pieces and clutter. These sales are perfect for finding bohemian home decor, trendy clothing and nicer bicycles.
Look for annual community garage sales, and mark them on your calendar. Many communities pull together to do joint advertising and encourage community members to host garage sales on the same day. This means there will be house after house of sales, block after block. We have three annual garage sales we hit every year. We mark off the whole day for them and save up some cash. This makes for efficient garage sailing. These sales can attract treasure hunters from across the state, so come early (but don’t be an annoying early-bird).

—-Make a game-plan—-

…but feel free to stray off course. Before casual garage sailing (note: not day-long community sales) I like to start with a route or location in mind. Yard sale treasure map is a cool tool that combines garage sale listings from Craigslist and creates a treasure map route. I usually pick a cluster in a nice neighborhood and go from there. But the older generations aren’t in-the-know on that Craigslist thing, so feel free to veer off course when a new sign appears.

—- Location, location, location —-

I find higher quality items in neighborhoods with higher real-estate prices. Be strategic. If you’re looking for kid stuff, try suburban areas. If you’re looking for nice antiques, try the established neighborhoods (which are often in a higher real estate bracket). If you’re looking for art or quirky accessories, try the upcoming neighborhoods that attract the 20-somethings.

 —- Haggle —-

Garage sales are the one place I feel comfortable haggling. Think of the posted price as a suggestion and keep in mind what you’re willing to spend. The afternoons are the best time to strike a bargain as sellers want to close up and be done for the day. In the mornings, I tend to be a little more conservative. I try not to offer less than 50% of the asking price. If you’re new to this, start by offering to pay 80% of the price.
If you think the posted price is already a screaming deal (like 10 cents for a book), pay it. If it’s already rock bottom, don’t be rude, you’re both winning here. If you’ve struck yard sale gold and are buying multiple items try grouping together for a lower price.
Remember, it’s always in your favor to get the seller to identify the price first. If it’s high, counter or put it back down. If it’s lower than expected; you scored! If there’s an item you’re interested in that’s overpriced, give the seller your phone number and ask them to call you if it still needs a home at the end of the day.

 —- Grab your insurance —-

Did you buy an awesome dresser, but need some time to secure a friend with a truck? Pay for the item and ask the seller to put a ‘sold’ sign on it and a note to serve as a receipt. Before you leave (to come back later), grab a dresser drawer or couch cushion. This way the seller won’t be able to re-sell your item to the highest bidder. This doesn’t happen often, but it’s not unheard of either!

 —-Come prepared —-

Here are a few items I find essential on the hunt.

  • A big sturdy bag. This can be a backpack, canvas tote bag or reusable grocery bag. This is VERY important. Use as a shopping basket and with it on your shoulder, you’ll still have hands to rummage. If parking and walking from house to house, this will carry it all. On the bigger, multifamily garage sales, I might even pick up some wheeled luggage (or bring your kid’s radio flyer) to tote my wares.
  • Small bills. Stock a lot of $1’s and $5’s. Because it’d be embarrassing to haggle your way down to a couple bucks and hand the seller a $50. Also, sellers appreciate it.
  • Cell phone. Did you find that perfect navy blue couch, but didn’t bring the truck? This is your life-line to outside help. Often sellers will hold on to the bigger items till the end of the day, to give you time to hunt down transport options. Often I prearrange emergency help before a day of garage sailing. Luckily my family values a good bargain so they will usually do the favor. In addition, cell phones are great maps that help you get orientated in unfamiliar neighborhoods and locate the nearest ATM.
  • Bungee cords. In case you don’t have nice friends and family with a truck (or own a truck yourself). With enough bungee cords you can put some pretty big items on the top of your car. Just, don’t quote me on that….
  • Space measurements. If you’re shopping for larger items, keep a list of what you need, with measurements, dimensions and sizes. That way you won’t forget, and you’ll know when it’s the perfect fit.
  • Tape measure, to make sure that darling armoire/bench/couch will fit in your house.
  • Fabric Swatches. I typically look for a lot of home decor, so I like to bring pictures of rooms in progress and fabric swatches. This makes me make smarter design choices.
  • Water and snacks. My husband will get hangry fast, so we make sure to guard against any problems of the stomach. Sunscreen isn’t a bad move either!
Update (6-18-14): Wear Sunscreen. Lesson learned from a recent garage sale adventure. 

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kitchen accents – mint



May 23, 2014

In an attempt to get over my color anxiety I’ve been on the hunt for great mint kitchen accents. I think eventually we want to put some open shelves above the fridge (or even an eclectic gallery wall), and it’d be fun to display all our pretty white dishes and our pops of mint too!  Below are a few items I think give the perfect hint of mint in the kitchen.
bowls | knobs | apron | print | plate | clock

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project entryway complete



April 23, 2014

Well, we finished the entryway! The last piece that we needed was a set of hooks to hold our daily jackets and catch items before they landed on the couch or dining room table. Zooey has a hook too; the Scotty is the perfect resting place for her leash. The shelf with hooks was a $10 find at Goodwill last weekend. Sometimes the stars align and you find exactly what you’re looking for (usually you have to thrift with an open mind). All the art we already owned, and the “be happy” mouse hung in my room when I was a wee one. Hope you all like it! We’re excited to move on to bigger rooms.

 

Stencil // Royal Designs, Wardrobe // Thrifted/Craigslist (similar), Artwork // Thrifted, Scotty Hook // Anthropologie

More posts on our entryway:

  •  Entryway Inspiration
  •  Small Entryway Design
  •  Graphic Wallpaper: Look for Less

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graphic wallpaper look for less



March 25, 2014

I’ve been quite obsessed with graphic wallpaper. I love the bold statement it makes. And if there’s a place to be bold, it’s the entryway. The space should give visitors a sense of your style and say “Hello! Come on in!”.But after pricing wallpaper and figuring out quantity needed I received a big reality check. It would be over a $1000 to wallpaper this small space! So we went back to the drawing board and decided a stencil would do the trick. Well, a month later we’ve finally finished stenciling our entryway. It was hard, it was messy, but OH was it gratifying. It took us about three days solid, and a week or two to build up our motivation and break through our frustration. The first 1/3 went quickly, then we took a break, didn’t wash our stencils well and the stenciling got pretty rough. We had to paint over some sections because the lines weren’t coming out crisp. Then we had our “duh” moment. The stencils had too much paint on them! After we took a rough brush and some elbow grease we got them looking and acting like new. The stencils were coming out just as good as before and the only thing left was to find enough time to finish the project!

I just LOVE the look. It gives the feel of graphic wallpaper without the price tag. As frustrating as stenciling was, I can only imagine us trying to hang expensive wallpaper ourselves (not that I wouldn’t like to try it someday). If you mess up stenciling, the worst thing is that you have to paint over it and do it again. What helped me get through the project was one of this inspiration quotes found on Pinterest. “Done is better than perfect.” When stenciling, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I could have driven myself crazy trying to get everything to line up perfectly and look crisp! But then you step back, and it takes your breath away.

 

Our tips and tricks for DIY stenciling



Our Supplies
  • Stencil (ours is here)
  • Foam roller
  • Water-based paint
  • Small bowl for paint
  • Small artist brush
  • Paper Towels
  • Spray Adhesive
  • Painters Tape
  • Level
Do your prep work
Since a second coat of paint is cumbersome, and near impossible, the right quality paint is essential. Any water-based paint should work. After some research, I found many sites recommending Ben by Benjamin Moore, which is what we used. I agonized over the right shade of teal, because like other paint projects, redoing this isn’t something I can talk my husband into. We selected Benjamin Moore White Dove and StlateTeal. Make sure to mix the paint well before using. Practice on a sample board first, if not, the application may vary and colors may not be consistent.

Get sticky

Every part of the stencil window (the shape in the stencil paint goes through) needs to be firmly stuck to the wall. Before you place, spray the back of the stencil with contact adhesive and wait about two minutes or so. If you don’t wait for it to get tacky the stencil will be difficult to remove and leave glue residue on the wall (guilty as charged). One round of adhesive spray will last three or four impressions. Do not re-spray each time; we made this mistake, and it is near impossible to remove adhesive. (We found goo gone works the best to remove the adhesive, but it is labor intensive for larger stencils). In addition to the spray, tape corners down with painters tape.Manhandle when needed
The most difficult places to stencil are the corners. Wall-to-wall was okay, but wall-to-wall near the ceiling was cringe worthy. And don’t get me going on on stenciling around the crown moulding over the door. Yikes. Just remember you can always touch up with a brush or re-do entirely if needed. I recommend taping down one side and leaving the other free so you can bend as needed.Maintain your stencils
If stenciling over several days, wash the paint off the stencil before the end of the night, if not the paint will build up and make the stencil thicker, resulting in blurrier lines. In the end we found washing it every four stencils worked best. Our stencil package came with two patterns that worked together so we were able to wash and dry while using the other.

Perfect, to a point
For imperfect applications, I took a small brush and smoothed uneven lines. I had a designated brush for teal and white. I could have spent hours doing this if I had allowed myself. These brushes also came in handy near the baseboards and corners to connect the patter with a free hand.

Stenciling is not easy, but with practice and  patience the results are stunning and much more inexpensive than wallpaper. If anyone else has any other tips, please comment!

Other posts on our entryway

  • small entryway design 
  • entryway inspiration
Next, we add some pretty crown moulding, jacket hooks and style it up pretty… stay tuned!

5 Comments CATEGORIES / home

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Decor and home with a little bit of daydreaming and real life sprinked in. My husband and I are slowly updating our 1900 Dutch Colonial. I love hunting for vintage and flying the pacific northwest and the world with my aviator husband.
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