Flower Arranging

I wanted something fresh in my decorations so I put together a festive diy. I got the idea on pinterest and thought I would give it a try. I rubber-banded three boxes of candy canes around a clear glass cylinder vase. I then filled it with red carnations and evergreen branches.

An important note: Not all of my candy canes were the same height. An extra box may come in handy to get things more even. 

DIY Christmas Ornaments

I changed up my decorations this year. I normally do mostly red with silver and green accents, but this year I wanted a metallic and green look. I needed to fill my tree in a bit so I made a few ornaments. I used a silver sharpie and clear glass ornaments. I filled them with fake snow and sheet music.

Christmas Decorations

I don't know about you, but Christmas is my favorite time of the year, all of the lights and the glitter :). Derrick puts up with my extreme enthusiasm well. I did a few diy projects for Christmas this year and I will share them throughout the week in the hope that it will inspire creativity. 

My Store is a Mess!

We are in the thick of our renovation and my store is a mess! The walls came down last week and I am excited to see it finally taking shape but, its dusty and noisy and our poor sales staff is constantly looking for the new location I hid all of the furniture. Good things ahead though now that our new flooring is in.

Next Project

More like next projects. We are working on a few things right now.

Project 1: Master Bedroom

We just purchased a new king sized mattress not too long ago, yay better sleep! Problem is we don't have a king sized bed so I am working on a new headboard idea. We have dressers that I love but, I don't think I want the bed to match. They go with the full size bed I have in my spare bedroom so they will look perfect there, thus giving us a clean slate. This is the look I am thinking. I love a clean space because you can spice it up as you see fit but take it down when you're tired of it. I am going to make this headboard to go on our bed frame.

Project 2: Landscaping the front yard

We have been working on our curb appeal all summer! We had such overgrown planting beds and everything looked a mess. We tore it all out and now we have something of a blank slate. I painted the front door and I want some plants. The idea is just to soften up the corners by the door and add a bit of interest.

Project 3: Master Bath

I touched on this subject already and yes we have made some improvements from the navy blue start, but I want to keep the momentum going.  The bathroom will never get a full gut but we are thinking of re-doing the tile on the tub surround and a new sink top.

Project 4: Kitchen Island 

We are in desperate need of kitchen storage. I was all too spoiled in the last place we lived and now I have more stuff than places to put it. We don't have an island in our kitchen, but we do have enough room to put one in our kitchen (a small one). I love this project and I think we will do something similar, but with a stainless top.

The Thing About Merchandising a Furniture Store...

Mass appeal is very important. If I had my way, everyone would love a slightly refined casual style with formal accents and an ever rotating selection of beautifully tailored upholstery. However, I know this does not work for everyone. I have the task of thinking for mass appeal when it comes to rugs, lamps, art work, and accessories (my contribution to the big picture). I love the ever rotating selection of things to pick from and my vignettes are constantly changing.  Its fun to create a look that is out of the norm for my style. It may not be my personal taste, but there is something for everyone.

We are rounding the final bend of our renovation at the store and I am at accessories. Bedding, to be specific, is what I have been working on this week. My bedding department is lacking and in a few weeks it will be the jewel in the new area of the store.

This is what we look like now for the most part. Bed in a bag and a few accessories has become the norm, but I am working on the layering and really filling this space out. All new bedding has been ordered and exciting things are coming.

gearing up for fall

I have started doing some small fall decor changes around the house. I know I will get more into it as we get further into the season, but it's only just barely September and I don't want to go too crazy.

I will probably move into the kitchen next with a small tablescape. We don't have a dinning room so our eat in kitchen needs to be functional as well as pretty. I like the look of this one from my pinterest.