interior design Archives - Darling Darleen

10 Favorite Wallpaper Resources

10 Favorite Wallpaper Resources

When we wallpapered Stella’s bedroom in our Georgia house, I was concerned she would get sick of it after a few years. Nope. We still love the coral and pink fish scale pattern and were so sad to say goodby to it. Now we are in our new Connecticut house and we are excited to wallpaper some of the rooms to bring it to life and make it our own. So wallpaper has been on my mind, and I have been grabbing as many samples from some of my favorite wallpaper resources websites – like Simple Shapes where I found some great geometric wallpaper – so I can get the ball rolling in this house. I even visited places like Soundproof Panda checking out their soundproof wallpaper. Wallpaper can easily transform a plain white room to something whimsical, geometric or traditional. There are so many great options with wallpaper! I have had many people ask me where to find wallpaper. Many of the best can be found right on the internet from sites like Primetime Paint & Paper. So here are 10 favorite wallpaper resources that are easy on the budget and found right on the internet. I would say that before you place a huge wallpaper order, definitely pick up samples and get a sense of how it would look in your room. It is worth taking that extra step.

10 Favorite Wallpaper Resource

1.Bellacor–known primarily for selling furniture, Bellacor has a great selection of brand wallpaper names for a fraction of the price if you bought from a showroom or designer. They also have it broken down by different types of wallpaper like pre-pasted, removable, non-pasted. And they are always having different buy more save more sales.

2. Serena and Lily–monotone colors yet modern traditional wallpaper. We used their Lamu wallpaper in Stella’s bedroom and another wallpaper style that has since been discontinued. We love the painted texture on the Lamu wallpaper. Their wallpaper prices are very reasonable and the quality is great. They are always having additional discounts and that’s the best time to order wallpaper.

3. Anthropologie–if you are looking for wallpaper that has more pattern, a little more whimsical or a little more spunky, I love to check out Anthropologie’s selection. I will say their wallpaper pricing is a little more on the higher end, but sometimes the price is for a double roll instead of single roll. If you have an Anthropologie home store nearby, I would recommend to check out their wallpaper books. They are great to see in person and some of their top-rated wallpaper are up on their walls for display.

4. Wayfair–similar to Bellacor, Wayfair has an awesome selection of wallpaper. You may need to do some digging but it is well worth it to save on price. They do have some great filters so you can really get down to the style and color theme you are look for. Also, their prices are some of the best!

5. Etsy–yup, Etsy sells wallpaper too! You will mostly see removable wallpaper available on Etsy, which is a great alternative if you are looking for temporary wallpaper. It doesn’t necessarily mean it is cheaper. Removable wallpaper usually runs the same but it much easier to put up and a professional is usually not needed, so that is where money is saved. I’ve never down removable wallpaper so I don’t know how well it lasts over time, but am curious! We are definitely looking of doing removable wallpaper in this house.

6. Calico Corners–fabric store turned wallpaper store. Calico has a nice selection of wallpaper and carries familiar brands like Magnolia Home and DwellStudio. They are always running a sale or if you sign up on their mailing list, you receive coupons in the mail.

7. Rifle Paper Co.–known mostly for their stationary and art prints, Rifle Paper Co. also has wallpaper that are just as darling. What I love is that all their paper has the hand-painted technique, which bring the wallpaper to life and adds beautiful texture.

8. Caitlin Wilson–love Caitlin’s cohesive pattern and aesthetic designs. She is one of my favorite and has such beautiful wallpaper that are so striking. The pattern colors always go together. Her prices are on the higher end but her wallpaper will add so much beauty to a space.

9. Katie Kime–Katie Kime is new on the playing field, but her bright, bold wallpaper patterns stand out from the rest. Many of her patterns are available in peel and stick wallpaper, which again makes it easier for a novice to apply. Also her patterns are available in fabric.

10. Spoonflower–I always find wallpaper I love from their collection designed by the community. And I am been wanting to upload my own design and have it printed in large scale. So cool! Their prices are reasonable and designs are always change.

My Georgia Home Tour

My Georgia Home Tour

This summer has been a whirlwind of moving, traveling then moving again. I can’t believe how quickly summer has flown but also how much it has dragged on and on. Moving took a lot out of me if I am going to be honest. I never thought it was going to be easy, but this was something else. I’m glad this is all sorted now. A friend of mine is currently in the moving process to a house near little lake, so I thought I would give her some advice, to help make the move a lot easier. Moving is exciting but there are so many different things that need to be considered. As she basically lives on the other side of the world, I was doing some research and recommended she looked into something like ConveyOnline service these suburbs, just so she knows that when it comes to the legal documentation of moving, she doesn’t have to do this alone. It is always great to know that there is someone out there willing to give you a helping hand, especially from people who know what they are doing. This was a really good tip that someone gave me, so now I feel I should offer it to anyone who needs help when it comes to moving. Anyway, we have been unpacking our new house in Connecticut. I finally have my computer up, wifi and a little spot in my new office to work. But everything is still a complete mess, and we are still mostly in boxes, which makes me nostalgia for my home life in Georgia. Moving is the worst on so many levels! One tip I would give if you are moving house, is to make a list of your new local emergency contacts just in case, for example, if you’re moving to Perth you might need a locksmith in Bentley quickly. So since I’m in this sentimental stage I thought I need to give you my Georgia home tour since I haven’t really given the grand tour, just bits and pieces of rooms. I will say when we bought the house six years ago it was not a house I really liked. The whole house was painted yellow inside and there was a lot of brown. Very southern especially with it’s sweeping staircase. But slowly I made it my own. Just before we put it on the market I really loved the home, and we created so many wonderful memories there. We lived right outside Atlanta and had the convenience of a big city but our neighborhood backed up to a little river and a private nature preserve with walking trails. We felt like we had our own little forest in our backyard. I’m excited to give you my Georgia home tour:

Entry Way

The entry way was the selling feature of the home with its grand curved stair case and two story ceilings. I always felt a little embarrassed by its grandiose entrance especially when friends came over but I tried to keep it minimal and welcoming with seating and a basic cow hide rug (which is the best rug for a lot of foot traffic!). I made the DIY entry metal bench, which had storage for shoes and a place where guests could place their bag. Having the piano in the entry way was such a great idea because every time my kids walked past it, which was multiple times a day, they would sit down to play it.

Family Room/Great Room

This was the room where the family hang out most of the time. We watched TV here, played board games, held parties. I really loved how the great room opened up to the kitchen area. These two rooms were our favorites and are missed the most. I pulled all the wooden blinds down and added curtains and made the roman shades (which I still need to do a how-to post). We had the two sofas reupholstered to the current fabrics. They used to be brown and yellow! We added the orb chandelier. Check out how I styled our built-in bookshelf. And check out how to make your own DIY copper planters and DIY copper blanket ladder.

Kitchen

I’ve posted my kitchen frequently through my social media outlets. My kitchen is your typical white builder-grade kitchen. When we first moved in all the handles were dark brass and there was no pendant lights over the island or chandelier over the kitchen table area. We made those changes pretty fast and it brought beautiful visual interest and was a fairly easy update.

Office

My office is right off the entry way so I wanted it to be another inviting room but also functional for my every day needs. I recently posted all about my office studio and the inspiration behind it along with many more photos! Find out more along with resource guide.

Dining Room

This is the room that gets the best morning light! We added wallpaper to the room to add visual interest. We bought the ikat wall paper at a local wallpaper store and I can’t remember what the style or brand! The dining room table is my favorite from Restoration Hardware along with the white pleather chair that have held up so well with children after so many years.

Guest Bedroom

You can read more about my Guest Bedroom, which I posted many of the resources. The gold framed art pictures were an easy watercolor DIY. Our guest bedroom was located on the main level.

Powder Bathroom

You can see the before and after pictures of our powder bathroom. We wallpapered the entire bathroom and I still love that trellis wallpaper! It’s amazing how a few easy updates can drastically change the look of a room even in a bathroom.

Boy’s Bedroom

I just recently posted all about the boy’s bedroom. This was a room I ignored for a while! But slowly the room came together. The boys loved this room. The final decorating piece we added was the pendant light, which I was so sad to part with. Such a fun light! Check out all the resources on the original boy’s bedroom post.

Girl’s Tween Bedroom

Another favorite room that we are sad to part with or at least the wallpaper! We still are so obsessed with that wallpaper and it’s been over 5 years! This was a room I quickly put together shortly after moving into the house. You can find all the resources and additional photos on the original girl’s tween bedroom post!

Master Bedroom

Okay our master bedroom was the VERY last room…or two that we furnished, partially because it was so large and needed a lot of furniture. I did a few DIYs in the room like our dresser (which isn’t pictured) but you can see the before and after of the dresser. Also I lacquered the two tall bamboo mirrors that are beside the bed. The little tub chair was a garage sale find that I reupholstered. I should of done a little more posting on that cute chair because I love it and love how it came out with the complementing solid and print fabrics! You can, however, see the before pictures of the chair. The two tall lamps was a flea market found that my friend found for me. I lacquered the middle section white and then spray painted the bottom and top gold and replaced the shades for new ones. I really wanted to do a few more things to this bedroom so I wouldn’t say it was completed but close to it!

Thanks for coming along my Georgia Home tour! We have loved this home but are excited to change up the new home we are have moved in! Let me know if you have any questions about resources. I will try and answer!

10 Ways to Prepare Your Guest Room

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10 Ways to Prepare Your Guest Room for Guests

Do you have guests coming in for the holidays? First things first, if they’re staying for a while make sure you look at an energy comparison website to see if you can reduce your utility bills at all, every little helps when you have extra strains on your outgoings. Have you prepared your guest room for your guests? We have quite a few family members coming in for the holidays, which is such a treat because we usually never get to spend the holidays with other family members! It’s so wonderful, and my children are so excited! With that said, I have been hustling in getting our guest room ready for their arrival. Needless to say, our guest room has become a clutter mess of randomness. So, I have been de-cluttering and attacking those neglected piles. While we don’t always have a ton of overnight guests, I will say that I am quite the expert of being a guest in other people’s home. So I feel like I know from experience of staying in a large number of family and friends’ home what a guest wants and how a guest room should be set up to make the stay comfortable and really like you haven’t left home. So, I am sharing 10 ways to prepare your guest room for overnight guests. Remember that it is the little touches that can go a long way.

Clean Linen, Pillows and extra bedding–You definitely want your guests to sleep well, so preparing the bed properly is essential and probably the most important part of preparing a guest room. The obvious is clean linen, so if needed maybe buy new linens if the sheets have stains or old. Make sure that the sheets have a high thread count like 300. These are my favorite high thread count sheet set. It just makes slipping in the bed so relaxing and smooth. Have at least 4 pillows! Some soft, some hard. I sleep with at least 3 pillows. My husband sleeps with one pillow. Lots of pillows are a plus. Also have extra bedding like a throw blanket, coverlet and comforter. The Sferra throw blankets are best and a favorite in our home.
Nightstand and Table Light–Having a nightstand near the bead is nice for the guest because they will be able to have a place for a cup of water, or contacts, glasses, phone or other personal items. A table light is convenient in case they need to get up in the middle of the night especially if they are not use to the room and need to find their way around at night. These two items are essential. I like to include a pretty bowl for the guest catch-all like jewelry or change. Reading material or magazines are a plus. Leave a note on the nightstand with your wifi-password
Fresh flowers–Having a small vase of fresh flowers is just one of those little things that makes a guest feel like they are truly welcomed in your home. Place one on the nightstand and another in the bathroom they will be using.
Bathroom Essentials–Stock the bathroom with toiletries like a body bar, shampoo, conditioner and lotion. Have towels and washcloths easily available. If there isn’t a bathroom attached to the guest bedroom, then place the clean towels on the bed so they don’t need to ask for it.
Have a Sitting Area–if you have the space, set up a comfortable chair in the corner or reading for catching up on their social media outlets. This is also nice to have a chair to sit when putting on shoes.
Window Coverings–there is nothing worse than waking up because the sun is shining in your face. Make sure your guest room has proper window coverings. Maybe get black out curtains or shades. Also, it adds privacy.
Have a pack to unpack–Keep your guest room clutter-free. Move items that might get in the way of your guest’s luggage. Include a closet or hooks for them to place their coats or hang their purse. If you wanted to add a TV to their room (if you are going for a hotel feeling guest room), then why not check out something like these TV units with storage as they can also help with storing your guest’s luggage? Also, decorate sparingly. Don’t clutter the room with too much furniture.
Welcome Goodies–place a basket of goodies on the bed or nightstand as a welcome gift. Nut bars, power bars, candy, mints, snacks, drink mixes are a fun surprise for guests and will always put a smile on their face.
Make the floor comfortable–Your guests are walking in an unknown space with their bare feet, so add a rug near the bed especially if you have hardwood floors. Or make sure your carpets are clean – this may require you to use a vacuum cleaner from somewhere such as Bissell. Try to get rid of stain or hide them with a cowhide rugs or sheep skin rug. Currently I am loving the look of layering rugs. If you have an old rug, place a complementing newer rug on top of the old one.
Clean and then Relax–I know this is so obvious, but it does have to be said. There is no excuse for a dirty guest bedroom. Get it cleaned and make the bed before your guest comes. Clean the bathroom they will be using. If your guests are family, it’s still not an excuse. Then once it’s clean, relax and enjoy their company!

What are some of essentials you think a guest room should have?

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DIY Abstract Art Painting: Anyone Can be an Artist

DIY Abstract Art Painting: I am determined, and have set a goal to get our home finished this year. Which means, I need to fill empty walls with pretty pictures. Doing a DIY Abstract Art tutorial has been on my to-do list for some time. I am by no means a professional painter, but I have taken many art classes and know the basics. But really to make a DIY abstract art painting, you don’t have to be a professional or have taken an art class. Any one can do it! Even a child because I’ve done many with my own children, like this DIY abstract painting. Abstract art is my favorite, and I love how you can take different views and perspectives from it. You can even do different mediums; Some people choose to take their abstract art and turn it into a diamond painting. That’s when you overlay your art with small diamond-like dots to make them really stand out. If you’d like to give that a go, consider looking over all the steps online, such as where to get supplies, what works best for it, and how to seal your diamond painting. Me? I prefer the paint approach, but that’s just my medium of choice. It’s the one we’ll be focusing on though, so grab some paint, canvas and brushes, and let’s make a DIY abstract art painting for you to admire!

Supplies

water

Any canvas will work to make a DIY abstract art painting. It really depends on your wall space. I painted on a 30×36 canvas and bought the cheapest one. If you don’t have one, set up a work space. I used two stools and leaned the canvas against a wall. Make sure to cover you space with paper or an old cloth. Also have a paint palette to hold your paint and mix colors.

On your palette, I organized the paint by color family (pinks with pinks, blues with blues, neutral with neutral). Make sure you have white paint. That was color I used the most! I have two different shades of white. You can use any color you are going for. These are just the colors in my house. So if you want to use reds and yellows or some other color, go for it! I just suggest getting three different shades of the same color family. One medium, darker and lighter. Unless you know how to mix colors!

If you’d like you can prime the canvas with a color. Use Gesso paint to do that. A primer also helps to control the texture of the paints. But I didn’t do that with mine. I just started with a blank canvas. Begin by painting with the medium color with brush strokes of up and down or side to side anywhere on the canvas. This will set where that color family will be located. Make sure you have a few different brush sizes to create different lines.

You can start by making horizontal rectangular formations of brushstrokes. Start out with a vague plan of composition and color
Work around the canvas in your color family, but be open to change and let go of out expected outcome. That’s the fun of abstract!
Start blending the color families together connecting them with complementary colors
Add white to paint over areas you don’t like or want to blend together or want to lighten. I used a lot of white!
Don’t be afraid to create depth and use circular motions and patterns. I wanted to tone down all the up and down strokes so I changed to circular patterns in the middle.
Once you are satisfied, paint the sides of the canvas to create a finish piece

I also suggest walking away from your DIY abstract painting and then coming back to it 10 minutes later. You might see it in a different way and add more colors or different patterns. To finish it off, I added gold metallic acrylic paint to create depth and interest.

Once dried, you can add a finish gloss over your piece. Don’t forget to name it and sign it! This piece is called Ocean Rainfall. Then display it and create more!

Get the look:

At Home with Amy Howard: If you follow me on IG, you may have noticed I have been talking quite a bit about Amy Howard Home. Well, I recently was invited (along with 13 other bloggers) to attend an Amy Howard Home Painting Workshop in Memphis to learn all the painting techniques, which I can’t wait to share with you in the coming months. One night, we were invited to dinner at Amy and Gene Howard’s Home. Every corner of her house was impressively decorated, and I love how she incorporated traditional pieces with a touch of modern.

The first thing that caught my eye and made my mouth drop in admiration was her white painted hard wood floors. I really wish I captured better lighting but it was at night, so these are the best I could do. Amy and her team are currently developing a paint for floors that are strong enough to handle the wear and abuse from children, dogs and husbands too! Her white floors looked amazing, and I saw no marks on the floor. How gorgeous is that dark oriental rug against the white? I love the Restoration Hardware milk globe light fixture against her traditional pieces.

White painted floors! How beautiful! One of the things I came to really appreciate while browsing around Amy’s home is that most of her furniture pieces were rescued and refinished. But you wouldn’t have thought! Her paints do an amazing job making them look real or as though you bought it at a high-end furniture store. They just looked so perfect and new. Her farmhouse dining table and mismatch chairs and antique chandelier were a gorgeous surprise to her elegant home. Her lighting choices in general were fabulous, from ornate pieces to industrial pendant lighting; each fixture fitted its room perfectly.

The little girl’s room was probably my favorite room! Schumacher navy blue wallpaper against pink curtains was a darling combination. The beds are restored and reupholstered in a velvet blue fabric. The restored lamps were laquered in pink, similar to my lacquer lamp.

Kitchen and bathroom shot of at home with Amy Howard. The acrylic bar stools with cow hide were custom made. And her bathroom floors were marble tile that she had placed in a herringbone pattern to give it a richer look. Sea grass wallpaper in the bathroom and the abstract painting gives the right amount of color to the room. I always love a good kitchen and bathroom!

The last bedroom was so impressive! The room’s walls were completely covered in a Schumacher damask fabric! The bed was restored using Amy’s toscana paints and then upholstered in the same fabric. The lamb fur benches give the room a touch of modern.

Amy and Gene were so gracious to open up their beautiful home to us! It was quite a treat !

Get the look of At Home with Amy Howard:

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10 Favorite Wallpaper Resources

My Georgia Home Tour

10 Ways to Prepare Your Guest Room

DIY Abstract Art Painting: Anyone Can be an Artist

At Home with Amy Howard

DIY Tassel Pillow

Vintage Dresser Re-do with a touch of Modern

White Leather Modern Chairs

Guest Bathroom

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