Making it Lovely » Making it Yours (MiY)

MiY 4e: Subdued

Making it Lovely — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:52:21 +0000

We’ve come to the last look in this fourth edition of Making it Yours (MiY). This one may be my favorite, though it’s a toss-up because I really liked the first look as well.

The bed, sofa, lighting, and tables that we have followed throughout this edition are here again. Sheer shades instead of curtains, a black rug, and a creamy gray wall color help the room feel restful and modern. I’ve added ochre bedding (paired with white sheets) and a black bedspread, along with art that picks up on those colors. A green velvet pillow matches the sofa, and an interesting vase (that I found via Design*Sponge) would be beautiful in this room.

You can go back and see each previous design in more detail: 4a: Striking Stripes and Polka Dots, 4b: Feminine Moorish, 4c: Fresh Picked, and 4d: Seaside Fair.

This was an interesting challenge because normally I only use one piece of furniture for my MiY series. The four items in this edition were not inexpensive, but I wanted to show that you can invest in a quality base while allowing for different styles with easy changes. What do you think? Did you have a favorite out of the five designs?

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MiY 4d: Seaside Fair

Making it Lovely — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:10:59 +0000

Scallops and dots and ferris wheels, oh my!

As in the first three looks in this edition of Making it Yours (MiY), the bed, tables, lighting, and seating remain the same. Even the reversible quilt and sheer linen curtains have made a reappearance, yet this room looks completely different from the last.

That bold green color is the same one I used for the rug I painted on our front porch. It’s a little more vivid than I would usually recommend, but the fun wall color paired with embroidered scallop sheets and pom pom pillows would make for a pretty fun look. The round, graphic rug adds some zip, and the ferris wheel photo is perfect for this room.

There is just one more look to go!

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MiY 4c: Fresh Picked

Making it Lovely — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:33:31 +0000

Making it Yours (MiY) is all about finding ways to update your home using the items you already have. In this edition of MiY, I’m using four key pieces to create five different looks. The bed, studio sofa, lighting, and tables are the same as in the first two designs (4a: Striking Stripes and Polka Dots and 4b: Feminine Moorish), and there will be two more looks after this one.

I really like the idea of the apple and the pear pillows representing the couple that sleeps in that bed together! Those sheets (on sale for half off) look like sketched stripes until you look closer and see that the print is made up of tiny triangles. And because I love red and aqua together, we have the reversible quilt with two lovely shades of blue, pale aqua paint on the wall, and sheer linen curtains in a similar tone. Soft rugs like this shag are perfect in a bedroom, and that giclee print is a fun, colorful addition.

The upcoming fourth design will feature various shades of greens and blues, and we’ll be seeing that quilt again.

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MiY 4b: Feminine Moorish

Making it Lovely — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:15:13 +0000

We’ve already seen the first look (striking stripes and polka dots) in this fourth edition of Making it Yours, and now we’re on to the second. I love that this one is so different, yet we’re still using the same bed, lighting, seating, tables, and even the same sheets.

The rug has a moorish tile design, yet it’s done in a cheery coral and the bedding picks up on that. The curtains also echo the shape in the rug, but on a smaller scale. Creamy white paint, a white pillow with feminine details, and the photography keep the look light and sweet.

Next time, we’re drawing inspiration from the fresh produce section.

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MiY 4a: Striking Stripes & Polka Dots

Making it Lovely — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:45:06 +0000

Let’s find some beautiful place to get lost. And then we can come back home and spend the weekend in bed reading newspapers and sipping hot chocolate, OK? Because that’s what I’d want to do if this were my bedroom.

I love the striped bedding, and I’m particularly like the way the chartreuse picks up on (but doesn’t match exactly) the green sheets and sofa. Warm gray paint, linen curtains, and a soft rug add to that never-want-to-leave coziness. I’d introduce polka dots in a pillow on the bed, and again over on the sofa. And then of course we have the same bed, tables, and sconces that will appear in each look of this fourth edition of Making it Yours.

The next installment of MiY will feature a lighter, more colorful look that I’m calling “Feminine Moorish”. Intrigued?

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MiY 4: Making the Bed(room)

Making it Lovely — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:35:27 +0000

I’m working on my fourth edition of Making it Yours! This one will be a little different; instead of following one piece of furniture through five different rooms, we’ll be following four pieces of bedroom furniture through five different looks. It’s been a fun exercise for me, but I also think it’s true to real life and therefore more true to what MiY is all about.

In this edition, we’ll have a wooden bed, a set of two tables, a sconce for each side of the bed, and a small sofa. I chose that sofa in green velvet to give myself a bit of a challenge, and to show that you don’t have to cling to beige for versatility. If you love a color or a print, you can find a way to make it work in a variety of ways!

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MiY 3e: Fresh Start Dining Room

Making it Lovely — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:07:14 +0000

Making it Yours (MiY) explores ways to use stylish investment pieces for the home while keeping up with changing lives and changing tastes. In this third edition, I’m focusing on the ever popular Madeline Weinrib Zig Zag Rug. It started out in the home of a young woman who had just splurged on the rug (it was the most expensive thing in her apartment!), and it is making its way with her through several changes of residence. We first saw it in the living/dining area of her girly apartment, and then in her bedroom. When she and her sweetie moved in together, they made the apartment more masculine and then they continued and went for a modern cabin look.

Now we’ve come to the fifth and final room in this edition of MiY.

Well, good and bad news for our friend… She received a promotion, but had to move to a new city and is once again living by herself. She has decided to buy some really nice chairs and a quality credenza for the dining room in her new home, and the tee pee dining table is still with her from before. A fun chandelier hangs overhead, and the table is set with Classic Century Dinnerware by Eva Zeisel. A sweet baby deer photo and curtains made from Amy Butler fabric are unapologetically feminine since she is once again decorating only to her tastes.

Thus ends the third edition of Making it Yours! I hope you’ve enjoyed following along. Any suggestions for the next round?

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MiY 3d: Modern Cabin

Making it Lovely — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:35:01 +0000

This one is quite a departure from my normal style, but I’m liking it a lot. The chair, lamp, wire spheres, side tables, and paint color are all here from the last edition of MiY, but the feel has been totally changed. Art by Dolan Geiman is always a good choice, and I think he is one of those rare artists that appeal equally to men and women. A stately sofa with nailhead trim has replaced the old couch, and a pinecone pillow probably intended for Christmas decorating fits in well year-round here. I included the coffee table because even though it’s new, it looks like an old rustic piece.

We’re nearing the end of this edition of MiY now, and we’ll see the rug move into a dining room for the last installment.

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MiY 3c: A More Masculine Apartment

Making it Lovely — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:36:53 +0000

Now our fictional apartment dweller has moved in with her sweetie, and they would like a less feminine look for their apartment. The couch has stayed, but the pink chair is gone and has been replaced by the dark gray scan lounge chair. A pair of angular wooden side tables pick up on the wood legs of the chair and couch, and a self-referential news rack corrals newspapers and magazines in the room. A few wiry forms like the floor lamp and wire spheres keep things light, while a whale print keeps things heavy (ba dum bum). The wall color is one of my new favorites, Down Pipe (as seen in AB Chao’s gorgeous bedroom).

We’ll see the rug next in another version of the living room before ending up in its fifth and final space.

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MiY 3b: Bedroom

Making it Lovely — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 01:35:46 +0000

The rug has moved into the bedroom now, and the room is much more calm than the rest of the apartment. There is still a touch of pink in the sheets, but just barely. The Hoffman Bed is the same bed that we have (I love it), but in green. And I just had to put that Maskros Pendant in the room. If I can’t have it over my bed, then I can at least include it here! Two Engan dressers function as nightstands, and there is a nice creamy gray paint on the walls.

Next we’ll see the rug in the living room of a new apartment, butched up a little.

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