Inspiration: 5 Home Office Spaces You'll Actually Want to Spend Time In

My Christmas break is officially over. It's back to the grind (aka school) for the final semester of my three-year break from adulting and the beginning of what I hope to be a long and exciting career path in Interior Decorating and Kitchen Design!

To ease the transition of having had three glorious weeks worth of lounging around and doing nadda, into what will likely be a hit-the-ground-running type of January, I'm in need of inspiration to get my work space looking like a place I want to spend some serious hours in. I had a great setup in our last house, with a fun little live mood board, but this time around I'm hoping for something a little less fussy and time-consuming that I can easily pull together.

Storage and shelving are always a must (gotta have space for my chachkies and books), I have my rattan chair that I still love and want to keep, plus my faithful Besta Burs Ikea (best investment) and just some pretty things to stare at while I think about all the things I would rather be doing than sitting at a desk struggling to finish a project at 3:32 am.

Alright. Enough slacking, time to get to work...and by 'get to work' I really just mean stare at pretty pictures of home offices I found on the internet...

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Winter Inspiration: Merry + Minimal

The holidays may be over, but that doesn’t mean you have to box up all of those lovely decorations! De-Christmas your home and put away anything that screams ‘Santa’ or totes a traditional red and green colour palette. Instead, opt for a monochromatic scheme accented with fresh greens from your neighbourhood park. Need help keeping those greens fresh? Martha has the 101 on how to keep your winter greens looking their best.    In the mean time, here are a few pretty pics to inspire your winter decor.  

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**As hard as I try to source correctly, it can be tricky to find an image's owner. If you notice an image that has been incorrectly sourced, please notify me so I may correct ** 

Merry Christmas + Adorable Snowman Marshmallow Recipe

Merry Christmas to you and yours! Hope everyone is cozy, warm and indulging in a pile of holiday treats (because Christmas is one of those calorie-free days, where nothing you eat or drink counts). Saw this super cute recipe from i am a food blog that was too sweet not to share. These mint marshmallow snowmen can still be made and enjoyed after the holidays, without feeling too festive. 

The Most Underrated Feature in Your Home

What's one of the most underrated and underutilized decor feature in your home? This week, my vote goes to your stair risers!

Commonly found in Spanish Mission-style homes, adding tile, wallpaper, paint or stencils to the risers on your staircase can transform them into an interesting focal point. In many North American homes, our staircases are among some of the first things guests see when entering, which makes it the perfect place to add a touch of personality. It can also help to create a sense of connection between your home’s main floor, and the often over-looked second floor.

From bold, high contrast colour schemes to soft and subtle monochromatic palettes—no matter your décor style, those blank risers have potential.

Renters can also take advantage of this DIY with Apartment Therapy's clever (and less permanent) hack.

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**As hard as I try to source correctly, it can be tricky to find an image's owner. If you notice an image that has been incorrectly sourced, please notify me so I may correct ** 

spring giveaway! Win $75 PayPal Cash

 

Today officially marks the first day of spring! And despite only having moderately spring-like weather here in Ontario, we are slowly getting closer to enjoying some above freezing temperatures. I'm not much of a winter fan, so I definitely am looking forward to finally being able to ditch the heavy winter coats and boots, slip into my sandals and bask in the glory of not having to wear socks.

To usher in the new season, I've partnered with some blogging buds to giveaway some cold hard cash! You can do whatever you want with it as long as you have fun doing it (ie: grab a venti unsweetened iced coffee with light ice and milk and head to DSW for new sandals).  But this isn't just about a giveaway (although who wouldn't want $75?), you can also link up any of your favourite Spring posts, whether they are recipes, crafts, home decor, outfits, or anything that you love about the season!  Now meet your beautiful hosts... 

 

Lindsey of Follow the Ruels | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest 

Shirley of Intelligent Domestication | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest 

Chelc of Inside the Fox Den | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Ashley of Homegirl | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Dee of Meatloaf and Melodrama | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

  LINK UP!

An InLinkz Link-up

Now lets get to the reason you are really here... THE GIVEAWAY! Follow us on the social media channels linked below. Each time you follow us you increase your odds of winning! a Rafflecopter giveaway Good luck!!

Contest closes March 25, 2016. Winner verified and announced on March 26, 2016. Open to all residents of US and Canada.

inspiration: cabin in the woods

Have you ever walked by a house and wondered what it looked like inside? When I lived in Toronto, one of the creepy things I liked to do was walk my dog at night. People usually had their lights on and you could kind of peek inside and see what was going on with their decor. I lived on the border of a pretty swanky neighbourhood, which made it pretty interesting--and is why I don't care to do it as much in my new slightly-less-swanky neighbourhood (no offence to my current neighbours).

I came across the above image on Pinterest and thought it would be interesting to pull together a few images, imagining what the space might look like. One of my favourite bloggers, SF Girl By Bay does this often on her blog, and the results are always fun.

image 1 | image 2 | image 3 | image 4 | image 5 | image 6 | image 7

pinspiration: gallery walls

I have no idea how to create a gallery wall. For the past few months I have anxiously been staring at blank walls with my stash of frames sitting in a closet.  

It really shouldn’t be that hard. And if I make a mistake, it’s nothing a little putty and coat of paint won’t hide, right? But this project seems to really intimidate me, and the more I look to Pinterest for inspiration, the more confused and unsure I become. I want my gallery wall to look a little eclectic and slightly uneven, colourful but cohesive, a focal point but not to overpower the room…see the problem? 

I’ve picked a few pins to sum up the direction I want my gallery wall to take. Soon enough I’ll just have to pick a layout, cross my fingers, hang something up…and just make it work. 

images from top: Domaine Home  |  Rue  |  mscott218  |  Domino   |  Emily Jenkins Follwill  |  A Beautiful Mess  |  ffffound

before + after: kitchen bookshelf

 

My aunt found this handy bookshelf in the trash outside of my building on move-in day. It fit perfectly in my kitchen between the two large windows, and has stayed there ever since. 

At first I was a little ashamed to drag a piece of someone else’s garbage into my home, but having salvaged the shelf and a few weeks later, two new picture frames, I’ve started looking forward to garbage day. Free is free and there’s nothing a thick coat of paint can’t fix—right?

Plus, as always, a few of my favourite pins featuring open-concept kitchen cupboards and shelves.

** You can find absolutely everything shown in this post at Indigo, Ikea or wherever your neighbour happens to toss their trash. 

images clockwise from top Janne Peters  |  Apartment Therapy  |  handz Etsy Shop  |  Design*Sponge  |  Heater Bullard  |  This is Glamorous 

eat, drink and be scary

Last night my sister, brother-in-law and I carved a pumpkin. 

I honestly can't remember the last time I had done that, and for my brother-in-law, Kervin, it was his very first time. There's something about the smell of a pumpkin that brings you back to homemade costumes, pillowcases full of candy and childhood parties. I think that's what drew me to these nostalgic-inspired pins on Pinterest. 

images clockwise from top: Craftily Ever After | A Beautiful Mess | Not Martha | Martha Stewart | Whimsey Box Blog | Unknown | Unknown  | Martha Stewart | Mr. P Blog

the ladies' room

Despite moving into my new apartment and posting absolutely nothing within the past four months, I thought I’d start with one of my most unexpectedly lovely projects—the ladies room.

My tiny powder room has an unfortunate set of purple tiles that I could not figure out how to match. Instead I made an attempt to distract the eye as much as possible, and it may have worked. When entering my pint-sized potty room covered in metallic gold polk-a-dots, the last thing anyone seems to comment on is the dreaded purple tile. Mission accomplished? I'd like to think so. 

The entire project cost less than $10 and involved one baking potato (carved into a circle for the stamp), a bottle of Martha Stewart craft paint, painter's tape a ruler and pencil to mark the pattern. And the idea came from Pinterest (of course), a few of my favouite pins below!

images clockwise from top: The Designer Pad | The Lovely Department | A Beautiful Mess | Kelli Murray | Kitty Cotten