arianna belle

Thank you to everyone who left comments and words of encouragement last week!

I'm lucky to report that I've made some progress in selecting things for my space. I can be pretty indecisive sometimes, but this challenge is pushing me to trust my gut and not overthink.

I started off by making a list of everything I needed to get and then began sourcing various options for each. Something I found super helpful was to measure and determine the maximum and minimum size I'd want each piece to be, and keep all those measurements in one place that I could reference. Especially with online shopping, the number of choices can be a bit overwhelming, so having a specific size range determined, helps eliminate a lot and narrow down the choices significantly. You may find that like me, there are a lot of things you're drawn to and then think, how am I gonna choose between all of these?? When you determine the ideal size, you'll find many things are either too deep, too tall, or too wide, and so you can quickly dismiss them as options. That makes choosing so much easier and helps avoid costly mistakes and unpleasant surprises!

To get organized I've been using Evernote. I created a notebook to keep everything (notes, photos, bookmarks, etc) in one place, that I can access from my phone, laptop, and desktop. Their little web clipper is so handy. It's one of my favorite digital organization tools.

Here's some of what I've chosen so far:

accent chair / lamp / art / rug / dining chair / basket

Yup neutrals, but don't worry, I'll be adding color with accessories and art. I like that a neutral base will allow me the flexibility to change things up easily for the holidays, etc.

Some stuff has already started to arrive, like these Minted prints, and more things should be arriving soon. I'll be sharing photos on Instagram, so be sure to follow along!

art prints clockwise from top left: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

ORC Fall 2015 Participants

I'm thrilled and excited to announce that I am participating in my very first One Room Challenge! I'm joining the ranks of some inspiring and talented ladies (links to their blogs at the bottom of this post) and we're each transforming a room in 6 weeks while documenting our progress along the way.

My husband and I moved into our current home last November, and have not "finished" decorating any of the rooms yet, so the One Room Challenge will be a great push to get at least one done. I've decided to tackle the living/dining room, which is one long open space and where we spend the most time in as a family. Here's a look at my starting point:

The space has a nice base. We painted the walls a creamy neutral as soon as we moved in and we have a big comfy light grey sofa that we love.

Everything we have, has been carried over from our previous homes (Thousand Oaks and Sherman Oaks). While some things like the sofa work great in this new space, others just don't. For the dining space, I'd love to get a bigger table and new chairs. What we have currently worked great in our previous homes since they were smaller spaces, however their scale looks a bit off here. The Expedit against the wall will likely stay, but I'm thinking of giving it a little makeover.

The walls look rather empty and bland so I'll definitely be doing something about that. I'm thinking mirrors above the Expedit unit and a trio of white frames placed vertically in the living space next to the sunburst mirror.

I'll be switching out the two rugs in the living room for one large one that's appropriately sized. If the budget allows, I may also switch out the chair. It's a slipcovered one that I've had since college!

I have a gallery wall going on where the TV is, but it's half finished. I used a lot of the frames that I had in my previous home office, but since the configuration is different, some of the art no longer works (do you spot the the eiffel tower going horizontally?) and some frames are empty. I also need to do something to hide those ugly TV wires.

I hope you'll follow along as I transform this room. I'll be posting weekly updates every Wednesday morning here, and smaller updates on Instagram. I'll also be on Pinterest pinning inspiration and the products I'm thinking about or will be using for the space.

If you're new here, welcome! I am a pillow shop owner, and I blog for fun. Feel free to browse through my past posts. I not only love design, but I also have a thing for beautiful organization :-)

ORC Fall 2015 Participants

The One Room Challenge Week 2

accent chair / lamp / art / rug / dining chair / basket

art prints clockwise from top left: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

The One Room Challenge!