blog feature extravaganza.

Having missed my blog spotlight post this past Saturday, I decided to make up for it ten-fold. One, because I feel bad and two, because I've always liked and wanted to use the word "ten-fold". So without further adieu, here are ten blog spotlights all rolled up in one post. 'Tis the season of giving.

Anthology Magazine
I've never come across anything featured on this blog I've seen before. Always something new, always something gorgeous, this is a great change of pace when searching for something... different. Like the artwork of Elly MacKay.

via the blog post Elly MacKay

The Style Files
I can search this blog for days. Whoever owns this blog has absolutely impeccable taste and a knack for finding the unpredictable. Like featuring this all white kitchen with hammered copper pendant lighting. It warms up the space and offers a WOW factor all in one accessory. OMG.

via the blog post dunlin

side note: If my dad is reading this, I 100% guarantee he's already figured out how much the owners would get if they scrapped the metal.

Simply Grove
Kirsten is the jam. She is one of my biggest style crushes and I love seeing what she's found to post next. I wouldn't say she's trendy (which I like) but instead, she's very comfortable in her own styling shoes - knowing what she likes, doesn't like and is willing to try.

via blog post Inspiration{Vintage}

The Brick House
Yep, I'm going to continue summarizing these blogs like I've known these bloggers for years (or at all). Morgan's blog is one of my favorites because I think she's hilarious and writes in an extremely conversational way. It's almost as though she types up every single thing her mind comes across which I adore since I'm a firm believer the funniest things are ones often left unsaid. Case and point? Her play-by-play of dollhouse furniture making. BTW, I've been totally planning to make some of those chairs for mine and am also having the same dilemma of what to do with it when the challenge is complete.

via blog post mini furniture

Modern Jane
Jane's blog makes me happy because she seems to talk in colors. A fellow pinterest enthusiast, Jane's got an eye for composition and, of course, color! She's obsessed with her dog, gets her DIY on regularly and 9 times out of 10 I jot down the idea and make a "must try" note to myself immediately. Jane, let be friends.

Jane's adorable pup via blog post Happy Halloween!

Coco+Kelley
Cassandra is one of my other style crushes both from an interior and fashion perspective. She seems very thoughtful when choosing a post theme and very conscious of pulling the full idea together for her readers. I'm also sure she alphabetizes, color codes or does some other cute organizational and highly functional thing to keep it all together. I kind of love everything she posts, so it's hard to pick just one to feature... so I'm giving you two.

'

via blog post Color for Thanksgiving

via blog post The Perfectly Layered Rug

Bijou and Boheme
This is the blog I head to whenever I'm feeling super girly or secretly want to redecorate my apartment with everything pink. Her blog is filled with feminine inspiration and continues to keep me on the hunt for what I like to call "lady gloves". I mean, isn't her home the cutest?!

via blog post My House... Some Pictures and 20 Questions

Decor Hacks
If I'm every feeling crafty, like my to do list could be longer or I'm just flat out looking to update something I already have, I head here. The blog is a collection of craft ideas and projects from all over the world wide web that's so helpfully pulled together in one place. AND these projects are relatively inexpensive but still manage to look adorable! Thank you Decor Hacks, for keeping it real and keeping it simple.

via blog post Crate and Barrel Inspired Clock

Vintage Revivals
If you haven't heard of Miss Mandi before, do yourselves a favor: click on the link above, bookmark and visit regularly. Her room makeovers are ridiculous, her crafts unbelievable and her posts 100% completely her. Plus, a strong sense of complete thrift store envy overtakes me whenever she posts one of her latest, how-the-heck-did-you-even-find-this finds. I'll tell you what, this girl's got game.

via blog post Behind the Scenes at Hailees

and last but certainly not least...

Design for Mankind
I'm torn because I like both blogs that Erin's pulled together. While Design for Mankind is a daily post on art, Design for MyKind is a daily post on outfits and, lately, personal projects around the house. She compares art with shoes, offers ideas for creating looks and even just pics of artwork that makes you want to hunt down the artist and provide a proper high five for their awesomeness. Like this dude, Peter Combe. High five for making strips of paper look this amazing.

paper art via blog post Peter Combe

A dollhouse challenge for midget lovers.

Let's see, where shall I begin with this one.

I know - Emily Henderson started it. Not only do I love her, idolize her and very openly want to BE HER, I also happen to share her obsession with miniatures - especially when they come in the form of an art, craft or childhood dream.

So joining the I'm a Giant Blog Challenge I am hoping to indulge on some of that teeny, tiny fantastical goodness only a dollhouse could bring someone. My future will be ripe with baby ovens, midget couches and pea-sized accessories of which I will likely be making all of because I didn't exactly budget out taking on such a mighty challenge. 

Plus, what fun is it if you can't make it? And who wouldn't want to figure out how to make a little runt of a toilet that you can drop in your pocket when it's all said and done. NO ONE that's who.

So I, Kate, am taking advantage of the opportunity Emily so graciously served up to all us bloggers that have a fetish for dwarfed objects and a vivid imagination (and detailed plan) for their dream home. Other bloggers taking this challenge by the horns include:

Emily Henderson (duh)
Morgan from The Brick House
Erin from Design for Mankind
Orlando from Hommemaker
Corbett from Girl Domestic
Jenny from Little Green Notebook
Nicole from Making it Lovely
Kirsten from Simply Grove
and Emily from Go Haus Go


So let's get started.

First, since I will be making my dream home doll house from scratch, I need to get together a floor plan. Luckily, I've never had a strong desire to live in a mansion - no, not even while playing Life - so I can keep things modest and cute and... well... little. I'm thinking about making the whole thing out of cardboard but my backup plan is splurging on some balsa wood depending on my eventual needs for durability and strength. But for now, I'm just going to plan for cardboard since I am seriously that cheap about this whole thing.

Thanks to floorplanner.com (again) I was able to quickly mock something up to see with it would look like. On the first floor, I've always wanted an open plan. Something that's airy, highly functional and allows for easy TV viewing from any angle. Of course I'm going to add my flair to the design and decor but you get the general idea from the sketch below.

For the second floor, I want to keep it all about sleeping and working. A master bedroom complete with on-suite bath, guest bedroom and work space. I think it'd be cool to have a jack-and-jill bathroom connecting the two other rooms for easy... umm... access. (geez, what is WITH me and bathrooms these days?!?!) Again, there's a lot of furniture planning and stuff left to do but, aside from the obvious lack of closet space, I think the floor organization is practical and chock full of functionality and flexibility. 

The biggest issue I've been having is where to put the stairs. An open floorplan makes it a little tough to blend them into the rest of the space and a dollhouse leaves you with a missing entire-back-of-the-house so you can't exactly tack one on somewhere.

Anyway, the plan is to post about the progress every other Thursday until the December 15th deadline, showing you how it all (hopefully) comes together. In the meantime, feel free to follow my collection of inspirational photos, ideas and random thoughts on pinterest.

Yay dollhouses!

C'mon, just let me paint.

In the midst of redecorating, I am really getting the bug to paint my walls. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to (according to my landlord) so instead, I thought I'd daydream about it. 

Painting is one of the easiest ways to revamp a room. And, if you purchase accessories in multiple colors, all you need to do is change up the wall color for an instant shift in moods without the added stress of finding new accessories to match. 

If you are lucky enough to be able to paint your walls, here are some ideas along with reasons why they work. As for me, I'll just stick to daydreaming and hanging up tons of pictures.

To me, kitchens have always been the room that gives me the creeps and I'm pretty sure that being a lousy cook is the reason for it. Painting the kitchen  a bright color however, makes the room seem less scary and more approachable. Choose artwork and colors that are a little more unexpected (steer clear of the typical fruit ensembles and yellow hues) to modernize the space and take off some of the pressure.

Wallpaper companies have made huge strides in their patterning, making wallpaper a great choice for adding some texture to any room. If you take a look around and notice that all of your furniture and/or accessories look sort of plain (neutrals, patternless, etc.), wallpaper may be your best bet to add some visual interest. Focus on a neutral pattern or one with a few different colors to make the look more versatile.

I had this one bathroom in my first apartment after college that I painted two different shades of thick green stripes and absolutely loved the look. Paired with a claw foot tub, the bathroom ended up looking regal and luxurious and you almost didn't notice the gold laced linoleum floor (yuck). Striping can also let you paint a room with a brighter color (as seen above) without looking overpowering. Try a bright pastel or a monochromatic combination to keep the room looking fresh. Mix the paint finishes to add just a tad more drama.

Not exactly a room, the decoupage idea in this window display can translate really well on a feature wall or in a small powder room. Staying with newspaper can keep the walls neutral enough to stay versatile but if you're feeling up to it, magazine ads and feature articles would really add some quirk and humor.

I absolutely love the idea of painting an area dedicated for featured artwork. This painting frames the bed in a way that makes it more inviting while filling a corner that would have otherwise looked bare.

FAKE IT: Not good at painting? Check out etsy for some wall graphics to get the same effect without the mess.


top to bottom: design sponge, simply grove, decor pad, re-nest, paulhina