Orange is the new black halloween mantel

There are so many things I love about October.  I've mentioned before that it's a big celebration month for my family with 6 birthdays and four wedding anniversaries.  And that's just in the first two weeks of the month!  You know what else I love about October?  It marks the beginning of my total obsession with the holidays.  Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.  So many decorations, so little time.

There are countless creative ideas and ways to style your home for each holiday.  It can almost become overwhelming especially if you're a Pinterest stalker like me.  You want to do everything!  Here's some friendly advice - to help get centered focus on your mantel first (or create a vignette on a hall table if you don't have a mantel).  Mantels are often the focal point of a room.  Their design and structure practically tell you to dress it up with decorations for the holidays.  This year our Halloween mantel is a classic orange and black spook fest with a chilling spider web back lit with orange lights, lots of evil skulls, lurcking eyes and creepy branches.  Take a look.

Have you checked out the latest HGTV magazine?  If you have the chance, flip to page 38 to see my red kitchen door featured in the "Wow, what is the color?" section!    

I'm sharing this post with these fun parties this week:
Hit Me With Your Best Shot at Just a Girl and Her Blog * Work It Wednesday at The Turquoise Home * Inspire Me Please at Liz Marie Blog * Your Turn to Shine at Anderson + Grant * The Pin Junkie * Vintage Chic * Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now * Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest * Link Party Palooza at I Heart Naptime

Week 4: One Room Challenge Reading Nook Progress

We're moving full steam ahead into week 4 of the 6 week One Room Challenge.  Just in case you're not familiar with the ORC, it's that challenge hosted my Linda at Calling it Home where participants go totally crazy transforming a room from start to finish in just 6 short weeks.  It's my first time participating and I must say that I'm loving every crazy moment of my Playroom Office Combo makeover.

To get caught up to speed on how the room has transformed check out the previous weeks.

Week 1… It's On
Week 2: Play Table and Chairs Reveal
Week 3: Closet Re-Org

This week I'm checking in to share how the cozy reading nook is coming along.  Take a look.  Construction, installation and the first coat of primer are complete.  It still needs some finish work and another couple coats of some semi gloss white paint to match the trim.  And course it needs all the bells and whistles - like cushions and pillows to actually make it "cozy".

I've been Instagraming sneak peek photos of our progress each week.  Here's a couple pics posted of the construction.

A Lo and Behold Life Instagram

A Lo and Behold Life Instagram

Before the built-in could be installed "we" (Andy) had to relocate the cable/internet wire about a foot to the right.  This required an adventure underneath our house in the 3 foot crawl space that is covered in spider webs and God knows what else!  GROSS!

Here's Andy entering.  Loving the thumbs up enthusiasm, babe!  Also loving Ben's Storm Trooper PJs.

A picture says a 1000 words right? My PixelateImage app came in handy on this one.  He is definitely not holding up that same "thumbs up" finger.  HA!  Needless to say Andy did NOT enjoy his adventure underneath our 100 year old house.  But he got the job done.  Relocate cable wire - check!

Aaaaaaannnnyyyway.  In other news, my fabric samples arrived!  I could not be more happy with the color and quality of each sample.  The plan is to use the blueish green with cream geometric pattern fabric for the DIY roman shades, the gray arrow fabric for the reading nook cushion and the yellow and colored arrow fabrics for a few oversized accent pillows on the reading nook.  

I need to order the yards of fabric ASAP if I want to complete everything within the next 2 weeks.  YIKES!  

Don't forget to check out these amazingly talented bloggers that are participating in the ORC at Calling it Home.

Abby M. Interiors * Because It’s Awesome * Bijou & Boheme * Chinoiserie Chic * The Decorista * Design Chic * The Design Daredevil * Design Darling * Design Indulgence * Design Manifest * House of Turquoise * Jana Bek Design * Jill Sorensen * Maddie G. Designs * Mimosa Lane * A Piece of Toast * The Pink Pagoda * Stone Textile * Waiting on Martha * The Zhush

Land Of Nod Play Table Knock-off

When we decided to tackle the Playroom Office Makeover a play table was on the "Must-Have" list.  The boys were always trying to find space on the floor to color or play a board game amidst a clutter of disorganization.  I'm sure it didn't bother them as much as it bothered me.  It drove me nuts!  I started flipping through my fav kid's catalogs and of course loved all the options and hated all the prices.  At this point in time dropping a couple hundo (plus tax and shipping) on a toddler table seemed silly.  Realistically we're going to get 2 more years out of a kid's play table and then I'm sure we'll need a proper desk and chairs as they grow.  Enter super awesome husband slash carpenter. 

I showed him this piece from the Land of Nod catalog…

via Land of Nod

and after a trip to Home Depot for supplies that cost just shy of 50 bucks we were on our way to a custom fit table for the playroom.  Here's how….

Supplies & Cuts

TIP: for a custom look cut a 15 degree angle on the bottom of each 2" x 3" legs

TIP: for a custom look round the top edge of the pre-cut wood top with a router and sand down the edges

How To

TIP: for custom look add decorative trim along the bottom of the shelf

Not a bad Land of Nod knock-off for $50 right?  

I'm sharing this post with these fun parties this week:
Hit Me With Your Best Shot at Just a Girl and Her Blog * Work It Wednesday at The Turquoise Home * Inspire Me Please at Liz Marie Blog * Your Turn to Shine at Anderson + Grant * The Pin Junkie * Vintage Chic * Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now * Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest * Link Party Palooza at I Heart Naptime

One Room Challenge: Week 3 Closet Re-Org

The One Room Challenge continues as we enter into week 3!  Jeeze, the weeks seem to be flying by and I find myself at the half way point of this crazy challenge I volunteered myself for.  To check out my progress from week 1 click here and week 2 click here.

As a former project manager in the advertising world I work best with to-do lists and a well thought out timeline.  When I convinced Andy that I (code for "we") was signing up for the ORC I went through a list of action items (that is such an agency word… the next thing you know I'll be writing up call notes after each completed deliverable (another agency word) ... DORK!).  Enough of that… let's get to it.  Here is the list of tasks and projected schedule for our Playroom Office Combo makeover.

Week 1

Put a plan in place with a design board
Define what is realistic and what are nice to have's

Week 2 

Order fabric samples
Build play table and chairs
Paint play table and chairs
Set up craft supplies for table top

Week 3

Clean out useless junk from the closet
Re-organize craft supplies
Organize the the boys' dress up/costumes
Organize shelves (house paperwork, envevelopes, photos etc)
Purchase supplies for reading nook and part of desk unit

Week 4

Create storage for board games, puzzles and extra craft supplies
Start building reading nook
Build book storage for reading nook
Plan how to use fabric
Order fabric
Order supplies for roman shades

Week 5

Start building desk unit
Paint reading nook
Hang book storage
DIY roman shades
Order art and accessories
Start to sew reading nook cushion and pillow covers

Week 6

Hang artwork
Install roman shades
Finish sewing reading nook cushion and pillow covers
Style room
Take final photos

I'm sure things will shift around.  And some of these things may not be realistic from a budget standpoint within these next few weeks.  But like I said, I work better with a to-do list and a thought out plan of attack.

Soooooo, without further ado, week 3 progress.  Take a look!  If you follow me on Instagram you may have noticed that I tackled my craft supplies on Monday and Andy picked up some supplies for the reading nook last night.

via aloandbeholdlife Instagram

via aloandbeholdlife Instagram

Week 3 tasks completed.  Next on tap for week 4… figure out where to put all these board games and puzzles and toys.. oh my!

Also, don't forget to check out these amazingly talented bloggers that are participating in the ORC at Calling it Home.  Thanks for hosting this amazing event, Linda!  So much inspiration!

Abby M. Interiors * Because It’s Awesome * Bijou & Boheme * Chinoiserie Chic * The Decorista * Design Chic * The Design Daredevil * Design Darling * Design Indulgence * Design Manifest * House of Turquoise * Jana Bek Design * Jill Sorensen * Maddie G. Designs * Mimosa Lane * A Piece of Toast * The Pink Pagoda * Stone Textile * Waiting on Martha * The Zhush

One Room Challenge: Week 2 Play table and chairs reveal

Well maybe a couple days late but checking in to provide an update on week 2 of the One Room Challenge.  I decided to jump in as Linking Participant in the ORC that kicked off last week over at Calling it Home.  Click here to see week 1.

This past week we made some progress on the play table and chairs!   I love how everything came together.  The table top is perfect for crafts, coloring & drawing, or playing a board game.  The bottom shelf adds extra easy access storage for coloring books and sketch pads.  I decided to paint the DIY school chairs a fun and bright turquoise.  They contrast nicely with the newly painted white trim and play table.

You all know how I love a good DIY designer knock-off.  My inspiration came from this adorable set at Land of Nod.  Be sure to check back this week to see more details on how the play table came together.

via

A close up of the DIY school chairs.

I found these adorbs galvanized tins with chalkboard labels in the dollar bin at Target.  They work as great storage for all our crayons, colored pencils, markers and paint pens.

The boys are loving the table, too.  They couldn't even wait for primer and paint before they started using it.  Ben used the bottom shelf to closely store his beloved (and smelly) blankie.

On tap this week - tackling the reorganization of this closet.  Oh boy.  I have my work cut out for me!

Also, don't forget to check out these amazingly talented bloggers that are participating in the ORC at Calling it Home.  Thanks for hosting this amazing event, Linda!  So much inspiration!

Abby M. Interiors * Because It’s Awesome * Bijou & Boheme * Chinoiserie Chic * The Decorista * Design Chic * The Design Daredevil * Design Darling * Design Indulgence * Design Manifest * House of Turquoise * Jana Bek Design * Jill Sorensen * Maddie G. Designs * Mimosa Lane * A Piece of Toast * The Pink Pagoda * Stone Textile * Waiting on Martha * The Zhush