Classic Kitchens

I've been keeping my most recent project on the down low, but over the past few weeks/months I have been working with my parents on the design of their new home! They just recently moved from Houston to Dallas... aka... much closer to me!! The house is newer, but still needed a TON of updating. I have taken all of my "before" photos, so I cannot wait to show you everything once it's all finished!

There has been a lot of construction happening in their house, but the biggest project is by far the kitchen.  We are basically re-designing just about everything... Cabinets, hardware, fixtures, back splash, floors, layout - you name it! Literally EVERYTHING will be changed, which made my mom a little stressed to say the least. It also doesn't help that my mom isn't the most visual person you've ever met. She has a hard time seeing the end result, whereas I already see the entire room completely finished in my head!  I keep trying to console her of her worries and reassure her that it will all be beautiful in the end, but words would not relieve her of the stress.

Since I knew words weren't enough, I spent many weeks gathering examples of kitchens that had similar elements we would be using. This helped her actually see what some of the finishes would end up looking like. I began to see the excitement in her eyes which made me happy too:)

Below are a few inspiring kitchens that helped my mom visualize her soon to be finished kitchen. We wanted to keep things rather traditional, but still give the space an updated and fresh look.

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If you want to see more of my pins from this project, make sure to visit the Pinterest boards below or follow me if you'd like!

Front Porch Inspirations

A few challenges I've faced with our new house is the (lack of) space. The house is perfect, the location is ideal, but the square footage is about half of our old house. This is a MAJOR case of paying for the real estate, not the size of the home. BUT we have been so so happy with our decision and I have learned to design in smaller spaces. One example is our front porch... 

I firmly believe that your outdoor spaces should feel just as homey as your indoor spaces - even if its small! In Texas we have many seasons of the year that you are able to comfortably sit outside and enjoy a glass of wine or a sweet tea. So why not create a comfortable outdoor living space? Especially if you have a front porch - this is the first thing people see when they enter your home. Why not make it inviting? 

Over the past few weeks, the weather has been going back and forth between cool and warm. The 75 degree weather has been getting me so excited for spring! Which means yes, I just HAD to start shopping for our front porch makeover. We have already ordered some new rocking chairs for the front porch and got SUCH a great deal. More to come on that later:)

For now, check out some of my latest inspirations for some beautiful southern front porches. These are truly some magnificent spaces and really helped me gain a balance between indoor 
and outdoor accessories. Enjoy!

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Aren't these porches just amazing!? 

I cannot wait to share my porch makeover with you in the upcoming weeks. More to come!

Organization Station - Office Inspiration

With a new business comes a NEW office... Which means new ways to organize and new creative ways to decorate! Since I will be working from home, a beautiful office is a MAJOR priority. I will be in my home office 90% of the time and want to enjoy my space. I will also occasionally be sharing the space with my hubby which means organization is a MUST. Here are a few inspirations I have been drooling over lately.

We also received some AWESOME {novelty} toy soldier book ends for Christmas this year and I just had to share them with y'all. They are from Urban Outfitters and are seriously PERFECT for my husbands addiction to war related books. I loved them so much that I basically designed the entire office's color scheme around that beautiful kelly green. You will see them soon in my office room reveal! Below are the book ends and a few others that I found along the way...

{Urban Outfitters}

{PB Teen}

I will not be using my previous desk (as seen below in my old office). Since the hubby and I will be sharing an office part time, I needed a much larger desk.  

Here are some desks that will be similar to mine (not in shape) but in finish.

So there ya have it! My office inspiration is coming to life:) More to come soon!

Rugs on Carpet

Over the past two weeks I have been working on ideas for our new {old} house. We move in this weekend and we could not be more excited. One of the first challenges I have faced (amongst many) is the wall to wall carpet. It's brand new and actually has a texture that I really like, but it's still carpet. Most might question whether or not you should put rugs over carpet, but for me the answer is easy. YES, YES and YES! Of course you should! Rugs are usually what pulls a room together, so how can you go without one?

So now that we know rugs on carpet are allowed, lets take a deeper look into some of my guidelines. These aren't "official" rules, but they should help lead the way.

If you have a high pile carpet (or carpet with a shag type of texture) I recommend using a more flat woven rug. A tightly woven wool rug works best in this type of situation and helps contrast with the shag texture. A jute rug will also offer the same contrasting effect.

If you have a low pile rug, a textured shag rug will be what you're looking for. You can also use a low pile rug but you still want to make sure the texture is different than your carpet. Basically you just want a rug that offers the opposite texture as the type of carpet you have in your living space. I would also suggest choosing a color that doesn't blend in with the carpet too much. If your rug has the same texture and color as your carpet, then whats the point? You want to pick something that will compliment the space and not blend in too much.

Here are a few examples I found of some great layering. Enjoy!

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Don't these rugs accent their spaces so well?? Try to imagine these rooms without the rugs... they just aren't the same, are they!? The reason why rugs are so important is because they offer another layer of dimension and texture. They truly bring a space together and complete the look of a room. Hope you all enjoyed my post today and I cannot wait to share my new adventures with you all in our new home.

A Dreamy Moodboard that Inspires!

Since there STILL has been NO fix to my blogger issues over the past 2 weeks {hint hint google blogger - fix the problem!!}, I'm going to attempt to write a post anyway. It's going to be short, and with minimal images, but I'm going to at least try!! Here we go...

As we all know, I have been working on transforming my formal living and dining room over the past few months, and I just bought my most recent addition to the room. Heres a sneak peak:

Arent they just FABULOUS?? I am just giddy about them and can't wait to get them in! Where am I using them you might ask?? Where did I find them you might wonder?? And since I'm always looking for a great deal, how much did I pay?? 

Believe it or not, I found them at... drumroll please.... WAL-MART! Ok well they aren't exactly from Wal-mart, but technically I did order them from their website. They are actually Wayfair, but are sold via Wal-mart's website. Crazy, I know. Now you might be wondering how much they cost. ONLY $183 for a PAIR. Seriously still getting over how cheep these guys are. If you'd like to check em out, click HERE.

Next on my list for you guys today is a little mood board that explains my vision for the entire room. Might help you all better understand the reason why I've ended up changing so much of the room. You can also see where my future chairs are going to be!

As you can see, change one thing and the snowball effect begins. Most of this will take time to develop, but this is my dream for the room - my vision:) Hopefully one day it will come true!

Designer Brands vs. The Blissful Bee Bargains! Who will win??

Over the past few months I have been putting my formal living room through an intense step-by-step makeover. It's been one of those things where I thought it was going to be an easy "move some furniture around" gig, but it evolved into much  much more than just that! I realized I would never truly be satisfied with the room if I was just re-arranging, because when it came down to it, I just wasn't happy with a lot of the furniture. And I'm pretty sure if you don't like the furniture, you're NOT going to like the room! That's when I knew there needed to be some big changes - I wanted the designer look, but on a "Blissful Bee" budget;) And here is how I did it...

This post will show you a few comparables I have found that are similar to the pieces that are in our living room. I have listed the designer for each comp, and their prices - their STEEP prices might I add. Then I have listed my version and where I found it. Enjoy!

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:: FYI ::

The settee of mine is an antique that I refinished and re-upholstered and you can

find that post {HERE},but the coffee table and chairs are newly bought:) 

Who do YOU think wins the

{designer} vs. {blissful bee bargains} battle??

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Natural Linen Settee - Wisteria, $1,399

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Sofia Settee - Ballard Designs, $1,249

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Talina Settee - Horchow, $3,899

 

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The Blissful Bee Version!

Antique Cane Back Settee - Antique Store, $100

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Edda Coffee Table - Horchow, $1,799

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Uttermost Stratford - Carolina Rustica, $932

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Currey & Co. - Layla Grace, $872

 

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The Blissful Bee Version! 

Stein World Bridgeport Coffee Table - Hayneedle.com, $220

I found this table not only on sale for $234 (originally $281), but ALSO $2.99 shipping, NO TAX, and 10% off my entire purchase!!! You can't even find that good of a deal at Home Goods! My total came out to be only $220. Man, I'm am a happy girl:) And let's be honest, even if it wasn't on sale, even if I did have to pay tax, and even if I did have to pay for shipping - it would have been a GREAT deal.

A. MA. ZING.

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Gramercy Chair - Ballard Designs, $319-$547 (ea.)

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Amanda Linen Chair - Horchow, $572 (ea.)

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The Blissful Bee Version! 

Beige Linen Swoop Chair - Home Goods, $199 (ea.)
 

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Linen European Chair - Wisteria, $800

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Marseilles Chair - Restoration Hardware, $790

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The Blissful Bee Version! 

Antique Chair - Craigslist, $40

I found this on craigslist for only $40 and reupholstered it myself! With the cost of fabric and everything, it probably ended up costing about $80:)

Hope you all enjoyed my comparisons!! Who do you think wins???