Beach Escapes...

It's monsooning  here, so naturally all I can think about is how much I want to be at the beach.

{images via Sugar Beach Interiors}

{images via Lexington; Tommy Bahama}

Other Odds and Ends...

Perfect for decorating on a budget!!

Don't these accessories remind you of the Tommy Bahama collection?

{images via The Lighthouse Boutique}

{images via Sea Shell Co.}

Wishing you better weather!!

Small Space, Big Imagination

(pictures via Elite Choice)

Daily Inspirations

Good morning readers!

I love my mac because of all the possibilities. This is a snapshot of my background. It always makes me happy to see pictures of my friends and family, my daily inspirations. I simply compiled pictures, patterns, and quotes i enjoyed, on a powerpoint and saved it as a jpeg file to upload it onto my desktop. 

Enjoy!

Decorative Accessories: {Necessary Luxuries}

When designing a small space, accessories are very important. Small details are very important, and paying attention to detail can create a wonderful warm and open space, without it looking empty. It is especially important to pay attention to the details in a small space, because smaller spaces can feel limiting. If you are living in college housing, dorms, or apartments, the often supply you with furniture that makes the already cramped room feel like even more like a prison cell. It is important to accent your room with unique designs and warm colors to set it apart from other rooms, and give it a unique feeling of warmth and individuality. Your room should be a place for you to relax, your home away from home. Small details can make a world of difference.

Candles are one of many wonderful accessories that can add a lot to a room with minimal effort. Not only are they beautiful, but they also smell good! For a small room, the small details add a lot, and it is always fun to be unique.

Lollia Life is a company that offers a wide variety of sented products from shampoos, conditioners and shower gels to perfumes, and dusting 

powders. The products are unique in their sent and their beautiful desings. They are perfect decorative accessories to give a unique look and warm feel to any room. The unique designs stand out from the ordinary, and the attention to detail is perfect for a small space. Mix and match the collections, for a fun and sophisticated look! 

Bedding is one of my favorite parts of designing a room. I love my bed, I love pillows, and I think that a beautifully made bed can change the feel of the room exponentially. Light colors can brighten you're bedroom, and if you are living in a small space, chances are people will see you're room often. Even more if you live in a dorm, or an apartment like mine with a small common room. 

If people will constantly be seeing you're room, a well made bed should instantly draw people's attention. However furthermore than the focus of the room, you're bed is where you spend a little less than half of the day. It should be a sacred and respected place. And therefore, it should be dressed in beautiful linens. 

I love Pine Cone Hill bedding because of all the bright designs, and the beautiful colors. Also, all the colors are very similar and different products can be easily mixed and matched. If you are like me, and enjoy bright colors and bold designs, accent them with some lighter, and solid color pillows so the bedding is not too loud. Pine Cone Hill is an Annie Selke company, started with a few patterned quilts. She now has a mini-design empire, that includes bedding, rugs, and furniture. 

Annie Selke started a rug company, named after her two dogs, Dash & Albert. The rugs stand out because of brightly colored patterned, and their quality, derived from the careful make of these hooked, hand-loomed, woven and braided rugs. The collection not only includes beautiful accent rugs but also include cotton throws, and totes, unparalleled in their distinct designs and colors. They are great accents to bring color and excitement to a dull room, creating a warm and cosy atmosphere.

College Bound

I realized that yesterday I skipped a step. I was so excited about my new apartment, that I disreguared those just beginning college.

When preparing for college, there are many different steps that need to be taken. Living on your own is a big step, no curfew, no parents to tell you to do homework. College is in many ways a right of passage, where you begin to learn how to live on your own and take care of yourself. My older sister and I are now watching as one of my younger sisters prepares herself for her freshman year. We have been helping her to compile a list of Dorm Essentials:

One of the most important things is to know what to expect from your dorm room. At one point after the numerous college visits, one campus blurs into the next, but if possible, try to get a feel for the dorm room you will be living in. It will be the place you will spend the majority of your day for the next year, so it is important to organize the small space in a way that will be comfortable and liveable.

So a few tips for looking at you're new room:

1. Space: Make sure you get a feel for how much room you will have, and closet space. The less space the more important storage becomes. Two words: CONTAINER STORE. Incredibly helpful when going to college, storage bins, hanging shoe racks, and drawer sets become you're best friends. It is imporatnt to find a way to organize your room so that everything is accessable, with little clutter.

2. Outlets & TV Cables: Surge Protectors become very important, in maximizing you're outlets, but remember to be green and always turn everything off! Also check for cable outlets, they're important in hooking up you're television. You dont want to find yourself with the perfect room layout, only to find you will have to strech a cable around your whole room to plug in you're television.

3. Furnishing for the Room: Usually the schools supply desks, beds, drawers, and a few chairs. Sometimes even a microfridge. All essentials. However when pulling those all nighters, studying for a midterm, or writing a 20-page research paper, those wooden desk chairs can begin to ache. I found it better to buy a desk chair, it makes a world of difference when you're sitting for hours on end. If you have a tighter budget, I would suggest a pillow for your chair).

4. Lighting: This year I found the lighting in the dorms to be too harsh. You need to remember that this is where you will be spending the majority of you're time, and harsh lighting can really take a toll on you. I ended up not using the dorm light, and instead just lining some christmas lights across one wall, and bringing a couple of lamps that were laying around the house.

Here are some other college essentials that I found made the year away from home easier: 

~First Aid Kit (Accidents always happen, and it's better to be prepared)

~Mini-Medicine Cabinet (Living in a dorm is always hard, because of all the germs. Everyone lives in close quarters, and diseases travel through the dorms FAST. Remember to always have some common cold medicines on hand. And personally, I always make sure to get my flu shot. Sometimes school infirmaries will offer them, too!)

~Sewing Kit 

~Closet Organizers (I have a number of organizers, trying to maximize the use of such small closet space. Drawers, closet hanging organizers, and baskets can all make a small space fit more, and still be organized)

Drawers & Baskets (one of the top college essentials. Over the year, you will accumulate alot of things, and need places to put everything. Everything is easier when things are accessible, but organized and put away when you don't need them rather than laying around.

~TV (Best idea is to split the cost with a roommate, or have one of you buy the DVD player and the other buy the TV)

~Surge Protectors (Maximization of limited resources)

~Desk Lamp (Lighting is SO important. The more light the better!)

~Shower Tote & Shower Shoes (Sharing a shower with your dormmates is a unique college experience. Sanitation is not always at it's best, so it's good to wear shoes, and keep all your shower items with you in your room, and just carry them to the shower with you.

~2 Sets of Bedding (Lets face it, you're not going to do laundry as often as you think, it's always good to have an extra set on hand when you're swamped but can't sleep another day on those dirty sheets. Also remember to check the size of bedding! Often school beds will be twin XL. You dont want to go to school with Twin bedding and find it's a few inches too short to fit over the mattress. PBTeen has a great selection of bedding for Twin and Twin XL, perfect for your college dorm.)

~Good Pillows & Pillow Mattress or Featherbeds: Getting a good nights sleep is important. If you've ever seen a mattress commercial, or the sleep number commercials, you'll see people swear by a good nights sleep. And when you're in college, with little sleep, it's important to get the most of that limited night's sleep. Good bedding is a GREAT investment. Anyway, what's better after an exhausting and long day of studying than a comfy bed?) Check out the Company Store for some great bedding 

~Hamper

~Wall Art (Through the summer, I'll keep you updated on fun and easy ways to make low-budget wall art. Keep checking for creative new ideas that will keep you're wallets thick and you're walls covered!)

~Vanity Organizer (You probably will not have much mirror space, or any place to store cosmetics. It's important to get yourself an organizer to store you're cosmetics)

~Clock (A good alarm clock can be the different between a good grade and a bad one, attendance is key, and after all those late nights, you need something you'll be sure not to sleep through. Even ifyou go to class in sweats, the attendance is still key.)

~IPod Speaker or Stereo System (Friday nights it's always good to have some music for those pregames with you and thirty of you're closest friends.)

~Drying Rack (at most schools, the washers and dryers can be very harsh on clothing. Its best to handwash delicates, and lay them on a drying rack) 

Building You're New Home! {Apartment Essentials}

Dear Readers, 

There are many steps to preparing for a new home. When starting college, I found myself frantically writing down everything I used on a day-to-day basis, trying to ensure I would not leave home without something I needed. 

 

Now moving into an apartment, I'm facing even larger problems. What are the essentials for living on my own? Finding all the proper tools to cook, clean, and maintain a livable apartment, with such small space, is my newest obstacle. 

My roommates and I first decided to tackle the kitchen, equally splitting the costs of all the things we will need. 

I have enclosed a list of things I have compiled, with my roommates, to start our new kitchen. There are six of us, so we usually buying things in two sets, as place settings usually come in four. It's always good to have some extras for company, but you also don't want to have more than you can store!

~Silverware

~Plates, Cups, and Bowls

~Place Mats & Tablecloth 

~Cups: Tumblers, Mugs, and Wine Glasses

~Knives and Cooking Utensils (Stirring Spoon, Slotted Spoon, Spatula, Tongs, Whisk)

~Cutting Board

~Pots and Pans (This can range from everything from a saute pan and a small sauce pan  to Dutch Ovens, Griddles, and multi-piece sets.)

~Measuring Bowls and Spoons

~Mixing Bowls

~Handheld Mixer

~George Forman (Not exactly an essential, but very worthwhile for hungry college students with limited cooking skills!)

~Coffee Maker

~Kettle

~Strainer

~Can Opener

In addition to place settings and kitchen utensils, there are also a number of items that are necessary for maintaing your new kitchen:

~Zip-locks and Tupperware 

~Aluminum Foil and Freezer Wrap

~Trash Bags (You NEVER want to find yourself without a liner in your trash can... trust me)

~Napkins, Paper Towels, and Dishtowels

~Small Items such as plastic pitchers or cereal containers

~Cleaning Supplies: Lysol Wipes, Fantastic and Windex are a few household brands. 

~Dish Soap and Sponges (If you are living in your first apartment, you may not have a dishwasher, and may also want to get a drying rack for dishes.)

The earlier you prepare yourself, the better, for a number of reasons:

1. You will probably forget things when drawing up a list, the more time to brainstorm the better.

2. SALES! All summer different items will go on sale. If you know what you need, you can spend less by getting items for discounted prices.

3. Being prepared in advanced will reduce the stress of moving in!

There will always be things you will forget, and you will be constantly building you're collection as the year goes on. 

I hope this is helpful to all those who may be starting a new home or moving into an apartment!

Sincerely,

N

Remodeling...

After much though, I have decided to change the angle of my blog. Rather than focusing solely on fashion, I decided there were many more fields of creativity I would like to explore. I want to make this blog a reflection of all aspects of my life.

I am now approaching my Junior year in college. Six friends and I are going to be living in an apartment together, and the summer has been spend trying to make sure we have all the necessities for living without a meal plan. 

We began by making a list of necessities. As struggling college students in a poor economy, our goal has been to spend minimally, only getting the essentials. However we also want to have an apartment that is well designed to make it a nice place to live. So through the rest of the summer, I'll keep everyone updated on new creative ideas to use cheap low-budget materials to design any living space!