A Designer At Home

Designing Beautiful Spaces. Inspiring Authentic Living. Spreading Good Vibes.

$100 Room Makeover Challenge

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March-challenge-graphic

My update is coming at you kind of late because I keep running into road blocks and creative indecision with the space. I started with such a clear vision and now that we’re nearing the end I’m having decision remorse. I’ve never constrained myself to a budget before. I’m actually struggling.

Mirror was taken from another room, lumber is for a DIY console table to add weight and warmth to the end of the hallway.

Mirror was taken from another room, lumber is for a DIY console table to add weight and warmth to the end of the hallway.

Both ends are now lit but the lights don't match and I don't love them in this space.

Both ends are now lit but the lights don’t match and I don’t love them in this space.

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I’m wondering if using this planter basket as a lampshade will give me the feel I’m after.

What have I actually done?

I’ve patched the walls and touched up the white paint. I thought I’d be happy with this since I loved the way the refreshed white paint in the living room turned out. I was wrong. I don’t love it. But I’m not sure I have the time nor budget to do anything about it.

I stole the mirror from my bathroom. The bathroom has loads of good vibes already and I needed to steal a bit of that for this space.

I changed out the light fixture for the rattan one that was in my bedroom. But again, I’m not sure I love it.

Do I love anything yet?

No. I don’t know what is wrong with me ?

What am I going to do about it?

Keep my fingers crossed. I still need to paint the doors and I hope that brings a more polished and finished vibe to the space.

I also need to pick up an additional piece of lumber to get the console put together and then I’ll paint it. Having a piece of furniture in the space should help bring warmth.

Also, need to get the mirror hung but I want to wait until the console is up so I can make sure it’s hung at an aesthetically pleasing height.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed on my lighting situation for now. Maybe something will pop up last minute. A girl can hope!

Check out the updates for all the other spaces, too!
 

Bohemian Spring Mantel

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It’s doesn’t feel or look like we’re nearing the end of Winter and are transitioning into greeting Spring, but alas, it is that time of year! Spring decorating means a lot of things to a lot of people. For some that has an Easter flair to it, for others it’s all about the floral. Whatever spring decor looks like to you, there’s a lot to be inspired by and I’m going to show you today where I ended up in my own Spring mantel decorating. Bohemian vibes in an airy, colorful way.

Decorating for Spring: Bohemian Spring Mantel

Pretty and Airy Teal Bohemian Spring Mantel

The Amy Dowling of My Life From Home invited bloggers within the community to come together and collectively share our Spring specific decorated mantels. Of course I was on board for that! I love sharing my style of decorating, especially when it’s something as special as welcoming a new season. If you’re new here, hello! My name is Corinna and you’re at A Designer At Home where I share decorating tips and inspiration for the boho abode.

Spring Decorating: Bohemian Mantel

Spring Decorating: Bohemian Mantel

Spring Decorating: Bohemian Mantel

Spring Decorating: Bohemian Mantel

My fireplace mantel is not attached to a functioning fireplace. It’s vintage and necessary because there is no fireplace in my house and I crave architectural interest. Teal is my favorite color and I love to have a burst of it in every room. For the living room (and in the future, for whatever room it may move to) that’s the fireplace mantel.

Spring Decorating: Bohemian Mantel

I’m a maximalist decorator but I tend to tone down holiday or seasonal decor because I already change things around enough. The additional excuse that we’re headed to a new season is too much to add to this Decorating ADD train. But I do enjoy welcoming in new seasons by giving them a nod in subtle ways.

Spring Decorating: Bohemian Mantel

Spring Decorating: Bohemian Mantel

How To Decorate Spring Subtly:

Fresh Flowers

Switching Out Textiles

Bringing In More Light

Colored Candles

Spring Decorating: Bohemian Mantel

Spring Decorating: Bohemian Mantel

Because our son is quite young, we still do a lot of interactive play on the floor. To make that more enjoyable experience, I keep poufs, pillows and cushions handy for sitting on. And while I’m a textile junkie, especially fond of rugs and layering them, I do keep a bit of bare floor space because matchbox cars race especially fast on them.

Spring Decorating: Bohemian Mantel

Previously I had deep maroon colored tassels on either side of the mantel, But I wanted to brighten things up and add an element of airiness with the knotted garland. I actually salvaged this off of the hammock I had last summer after my foot when through the thing and rendered it useless. Le sigh. It was a beautiful hammock. But it’s beauty lives on by embellishing my mantel. Also, in the name of airiness, I replaced the hamsa with a thrifted mirror.

Spring Decorating: Bohemian Mantel

Spring Decorating: Bohemian Mantel

I hope this post gave you some interesting ideas for decorating space of your own. Remember to tag those Instagram posts with #showmeyourboho so I can peek and feature you!

Boho-ifying A Hand Me Down Sofa

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Last weekend I was gifted a small sofa. It’s one of those loveseat style fold out sofas that turn into a bed. It’s a light denim fabric and a style of sofa I wouldn’t ever buy for myself but a free sofa when you’ve got a spot begging for one is a given. Take it! But light denim wash doesn’t jive with the rest of the space. I couldn’t spend any money to make it fit into the space so I took to looking at my hoard stash of things to boho-ify it. I found 3 different combinations that turn this hand-me-down sofa into a bohemian sofa, perfect for lounging on.

before

generic hand me down ugly sofa boho-ified with items around the house

reveal

I took a colorful elephant tapestry, a turquoise dyed coverlet and a fuchsia boho bed sheet as the base for each of the boho sofas I put together. I also pulled in throw pillows I’ve got about the house, an indigo mudcloth and a chevron throw. Which one do you dig most?

pink boho sheet to couch cover- hand me down sofa bohemian style

old sofa covered in turquoise hand dyed bed coverlet with indigo mudcloth and mongolian fur pillow- hand me down sofa done bohemian

colorful boho elephant tapestry covered light denim wash of old hand me down sofa made cozy with a chevron cotton throw and a DIY handira inspired pillow

I’m not afraid to pick favorites here. I really like the way the tapestry one looks. I’ve left it for now even though I don’t like using orange in my home. There’s just something about it here that I’m digging.

Shop

Indigo Mudcloth

Indigo Mudcloth

 

Hallway Update Inspiration

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So I told you guys a while back that I had been working on some updates to the hallway I’d made over for the New Year New Room Refresh Challenge last year and everything kept getting put aside and half done. Now, today, the $100 Room Makeover Challenge starts and I’m pumped. This is the perfect kick in the butt to get the space finished.

Firstly, the white walls have to go. They are constantly getting scuffed and dinged and, let’s be real, colored on because my 4.5 year old is relentless. I love the look of crisp white walls but I hate dirty looking walls more. I’d like to find a muted, sophisticated pastel color. I’m leaning towards coral and aqua for the color scheme because the runner rug is copper and green. And the reason I mention two colors is because I want to paint the doors, too. And Maybeee I’ll do two tone. Or maybe I’ll do monotone. I’m not committed either way yet.

Then I’ve got to seriously address the unbalanced distribution of light. One end is fairly well lit and the other is dark. I won’t be running new electrical or anything like that but there is an outlet right where I need a second light so I think a plugin light will do perfectly.

I’ll be reusing artwork. There’s really no need to spend any money there.

The door knobs are up in the air. If there’s budget to replace them, I’ll do that. Last year I spray painted the original brass with oil rubbed bronze spray paint and it’s gone horribly wrong. The paint is dinged up and completely come off of large areas of frequently used doors.

Here are some spaces I’ve pinned to my entrances and hallways Pinterest board that are majorly inspiring me with this makeover.

First and foremost, these doors, the embellishment and the color have me like-yes yes yes! I do think the budget prohibits adding any medallions to the doors (especially since there’s a whopping 7 of them!) but I’m going to keep the idea tucked away and hope I can make it happen.

There’s hardly a space with a juju hat that I don’t adore, but beyond that I love the rug as a focus, the interesting light fixture and a console table to display decor and make the space feel less sterile and more part of the home.

And one more pin that’s triggering some ideas for me is this one. It’s definitely not the style I’m after but I’m wondering if I can find something similar in a moroccan style shape. That would be very cool for the beginning of the hallway to separate it from the living room.

COPPER MINT AND GREEN GLOBAL ETHNIC INSPIRED HALLWAY MAKEOVER

To stretch the budget, I’m going to buy a second of the same inexpensive light that’s in the hallway. I’m comfortable enough in my rewiring skills and I have professionals to consult about turning it into a plugin.

I have a lot of craft and DIY supplies and I think I’m going to attempt a DIY that will have the same feel as the bone inlay table in my moodboard.

I already own the runner featured and will continue to use it because I love it! If you love it, too, it’s actually crazy inexpensive 🙂

The paint colors I will begin with checking out are Leisure Green and Peach Blossom by Benjamin Moore.

The framed art print is from Minted.

Best part of this makeover? There’s a whole bunch of people making over spaces with just $100. Browse the spaces below and make sure to come back and tell me which ones you’ll be following along with.


How I Organize My Bathroom

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Renovating a bathroom is a lot of fun. But when the process is over and you’re actually living in it, that’s when you truly discover what kinds of things make your bathroom work for you. For me, discovering our best storage and organizational needs took some time. I teetered back and forth on some solutions I’d thought up. But, for quite a while now things have been unchanged. Now that our bathroom functions well for us, I thought I’d share just how I organize my bathroom to give you some ideas to try for yours.

 

If you’ve got any good bathroom storage tips, be sure to leave them in the comments below. I’m always looking for new things to try to make living life as enjoyable as possible.

13 Vintage Must Haves For Your Boho Bathroom

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white painted wicker cabinet with baskets, thrifted containers to hide all of the bathroom essentials

global bohemian bathroom decorated

So far you guys have seen bits and pieces of my bathroom. I haven’t shared the whole space yet because there’s still a few final touches I’m dragging my feet on but the bathroom is functioning and all our things are organized. As I put away my toothbrush and deodorant away each day, I have a small spark of joy because even the small things in the space are beautiful. It may seem shallow or you may totally get it, but being surrounded by beautiful things makes me happy. In case your bathroom could use some beautifying in it’s storage, I’ve got you covered with my favorite ways of storing all the bathroom things.

Bohemian Style Bathroom Accessories

  1. Lidded Woven Basket Hamper

Opt for lidded woven baskets instead of plastic or dinky metal frame with linen bag hampers for tossing your laundry into. If you keep a laundry basket in your bathroom, use something cozy and fitting with the decor. It’s a space you see frequently and shouldn’t be reserved for “utilitarian” visual clutter.

lidded rattan basket etsy hamper

 

2. Matchbox Storage

Do you utilize the whole light a match for number 2s? Kick boring match boxes to the curb and put the matches out loud and proud in a match holder. They come in a variety of materials and designs. A perfect whimsical touch that’ll match your decor.

Matchbox Holder

 

3. Vintage Bathroom Accessories

Speaking on whimsy, I love using “bathroom” specific items in their vintage form as decor. Like vintage perfume bottles. I figure some farmhouse style bathrooms manage to use vintage laundry boards and old buckets for hand towel storage. And it looks cool and enhances the decor. I think the same can be done for a boho bathroom, too.
perfume bottle

4. Hang Your Towels

Hang your towels in style. Enough said.

towel rack1

towel rack2

5. Beautiful Vintage Mirrors

I shared an array of rustic boho mirror options the other day, but here are some beautiful vintage ones to consider as well! Tiles, carvings, and ornate details are the key to a fabulous bohemian bathroom.

boho mirror1
boho mirror2
6. Chic Magazine and Book Storage

Try instituting a “no phone in the bathroom rule” and encourage book or magazine reading instead. I know my house with it’s one bathroom could benefit from speeding up the amount of facebook scrolling that happens and maybe yours could, too 😉

magazine rack

7. Soap Dish

I love to use bar soap. They’re so easy to change out and there’s a billion ones to choose from. I love that it’s super easy to find really great handmade bars of soap, too. So a unique soap dish is necessary for my bathroom design.
soap dish

8. Hanging Planters

And while we’re at it. Plants are necessary to any space I design. But since bathrooms are generally notorious for little surface and floor space, use brass wall mounted planters for some plant babies.
hanging planter

9. Stylish Tissue Boxes

Can’t forget to make our tissue boxes blend in with the space as well. We’re all advertised enough to already, wouldn’t you say? I don’t need my bathroom to be a *insert name of tissue brand here* ad.
tissue box1
tissue box2

10. Deck Out The Space Above The Toilet

If you’re lucky like myself, a linen closet, large vanity and free standing storage cabinet is enough storage for your bathroom. Go decorative above the toilet with pretty shelves and cabinets instead of the bulky cabinet.

shelf1
shelf2

11. Display Life’s Daily Necessities

Display life’s necessities on vintage trays.
tray

12. Trinket Boxes

And we always need a place to put little things like jewelry, incense, lip balm and the like. I personally love using small brass “cricket cages” to burn incense cones in!

trinket1
trinket2

13. Bath Rugs

Oh, and whatever you do, avoid cheap bath rugs at all costs. Really, there are so many other options and they’re beautiful, have history, are interesting and have lasted for longer than a bath rug from the department store will last.

bath rug

Let me know what your favorite bathroom accessory is in the comments below!