First Draft Room Plan

On a budget, I can't afford all of this stuff, so I've added a few things I already have to the mix.

My current area rug is the rug in the bottom left corner. I also already have the colorful vases right above that.
My current sofa is similar in color to the one pictured, but it is older and getting frumpy and is NO where close to being as stylish. My birthday is coming up and I'm asking for a new sofa, but even if I do not get one, my room outcome should resemble this even with my sofa.

So now here's the tricky part... getting all the accessories on a budget.


The prints for the pillows that I have chosen are popular prints right now, so that might be my splurge for this project, but I'll never spend more than $20 on a pillow because I change stuff up so often. However, one solution I have to this problem is pillow sets some Etsy.com stores sell.
HERE I can get two 18x18 yellow pillow covers (exactly like I pictured) for $27. That is less that $15 a pillow, and covers are washable and easily changeable! It is a rule of mine to have a standard size pillow to recover over and over again.

The next challenge will be a cute side table. Right now, next to Alan's recliner, I have made a black bar stool his side table. I know, I know, it's kind of pathetic, but it has worked for the time being. My plan for this is to craigslist.com shop-til-I-drop. People are always always selling their furniture online, and a fresh coat of green paint can update anything! The side table I chose for the room plan is $130 here at West Elm. Sigh. Not in the budget, but I'll figure out something.

Art work for the wall will be the next task. Maybe a white canvas with a few spongebrush strokes on it will do the trick. Michael's always has 20% coupons online, and I can wait for the right week for canvas to go on sale.  OR something that I have been dying to do! MAP ART!

Seriously, this is beautiful. I obviously can't do an entire wall since I'm in an apartment, but stapling maps to canvas would be fantastic!

In the meantime, this is my very boring and plain living room in need of some style and personality.

It is really disappointing, I know. Soon though, it will have some style!

All things yellow

So yesterday and today I have been inspired by all things yellow, and I mean all things yellow. This isn't strange to me though since yellow IS my favorite color, but I've always been nervous about incorporating yellow into design since it is SUCH a statement-maker.

There are only a few ways yellow can go in design, in my opinion. There is country yellow, modern yellow, and children's yellow. I am interested in the modern yellow. This however does not mean that I have no respect for the other two yellow categories I've made, but modern yellow most fits my style. My interest is to use yellow as an accent color, but not the ONLY accent color.

Lately I've seen a lot of white, grey, black and yellow color palates. I love a lot of the designs with that palate BUT I require more color, more accent.

Now, once again, it isn't that this isn't beautiful, because it is, it's just that I love color. Lots of color! This is a modern style, so one might argue that is the problem here, so here are more examples.

In a traditional setting, in my opinion, I still left wanting more. I feel like this palate can be as sterile as just the greys and whites together.

This room adds some oranges and red tones, but still, too much yellow.

I love the idea of this color palate. Blues and greens and yellow in a modern setting.

So now onto color theory, because it plays a huge roll with the color yellow. Yellows and purples are complimentary colors, so they will play off of each other well and make each other stand out more. They will be attention rivals if you will.

I love this combination. I love the pop of color, but I want my place to feel a little cozier.

Yellow, blue and red are a triad color scheme on the color wheel, but this is the "childrens yellow" I was talking about before. I go back to my lego days. Very primary. Not me.

So, for my apartment, I am going to go analogous.

Analogous colors are those that are next to each other on the color wheel. To me, they make for really calming spaces. I love modern contrasts with white and black, but creating a cozy, comfy space is also really important for me. I want my space to be liveable. I want people to come in and think WOW! but I also want them to want to sit on the couch and cover up with a blanket, not be scared to get things messy. It is a house. It is where you live!! So for the final analysis of yellow, which colors do I choose? Will I go blue, green, yellow? Green, yellow, orange? Or yellow, orange, red?

I'm going to go.......

YAY FOR YELLOWS ORANGES AND GREENS!!

Aaahhhh... so relaxing! I would maybe do a different color on the walls; a grey actually. I think this would make the colors pop just a teeny bit more.

I love how soothing this space feels. I prefer a little more minimalist style, but I can't seem to find many examples of this color scheme online. Well, I guess it gives me more reason to get my space done and show it off! I'll post results in a few weeks.

Next challenge, making it do-able (affordable) for a working college students budget. More on that later.

Don't be afraid to be inspired by COLOR in your space!

Goodnight all!

My Latest Addiction??

Lonnymag.com
That is the only phrase I can use to describe it, it's own website.
It is a magazine/website that is FULL of beautiful designs and awesome designers and their perspectives. I love the eclecticism mixed with both modern and traditional and worldly designs and pieces. I bookmarked like 8,000 things on that site!
Anyway, here are a few finds.

I love a white sofa, but the color palate in the room also gives me the jitters! The mirror on the back wall of the room is awesome and I would love to diy it with some trim! Oh and the contrast of the vases on the table is awesome!

Now, I love a pretty upholstered headboard, and this one is just that! This bed just looks huge and comfy and the art work above it makes the room a little modern. I love some abstract art!

There isn't a thing about this dining room that I don't love! Not only is it the HUGE canvas art on the wall that draws my attention, but the awesome awesome tree-trunk chair at the head of the table is to DIE FOR!, but that's not to mention the awesome dining table it is sitting at! LOVE those table legs!

Now this room.... I love its eclectic feel. I feel like the art works on the wall have been collected or passed down or something! I can't put my emotions about this one into words, I just think it is different, worldly and beautiful!

Goodnight all!

Welcome!

Yay! I am finally giving away my blogging virginity!

I know, I know, this is a huge deal and should not be taken lightly, so I haven't!
To tell you all a little about myself, I have decided to share a few things that I have created lately.
I love love design and I love crafty things.

So, without further ado, here I am!

^^ is a self-mapping mirror I made for studio class.

^^ was how I designed my boring dorm room living room!

^^ is an old school bicycle I designed and had my grandpa make out of rod iron scraps I found from a fallen building in Atlanta.

^^ is a zebra I painted in resemblance to every other zebra painting out there that I can't afford.

^^is a drawing of my Nana. <3

^^ was phase one of my very first apartment.

^^ is my crafty side.

^^ is my new bedroom!

Now, my next step is to get a good camera that can show off my new apartment!
I hope that I have given you a nice visual representation of the things that make me smile, but now I will tell you about myself through words.

I am a college student.
>>ie. I am broke and working hard to pay rent and bills.
I was raised in a small town by the most loving parents and family that I could ever have dreamed of and I've always had them as a team behind me, pushing me to do my best and to be successful.

These ten people are my backbone. Time can never change the memories we have made and the growth we have experienced together. My mom and my dad made their lives with the support of my grandparents, and I am making mine with the support of them all. We have this crazy close bond. EVERY holiday and EVERY birthday is an excuse to get together, but that's not to say that I don't see them a few times between events. We are a family, and it is a concept that I have deeply embedded in my bones.
Well before I get emotional, I'll move on.

I am a designer! I change my apartment up like once a month. I am always looking for cheap ways to spruce things up and make a statement.
>> Remember, I am a poor college student.
So because I am a poor college student/design lover, I am a bargain shopper. I am constantly on craigslist finding great things that people deem junk and giving them a fresh coat of paint, or placing them with the right items to make them look happier and newer.
My goal: to take old things and new things and things from all over the world and of all shapes and sizes and put them together with color and bring them to life!

I love how the designer took a traditional country white cabinet and made them ultra-awesome and modern with the teal color backsplash and a CONCRETE countertop! This mixture is what I love! (Concrete countertops steal my heart.)

Designers like Kathryn Ireland, David Bromstad, and  warm my heart! They all three have elements of things I love! I wouldn't necessarily do things exactly like either one of them, but they all create moments that I could live in!

Seriously Kathryn Ireland?? How can this not just warm you up? I love the eclectic-ness and old worm charm mixed with modern finishes. And that table!!! I'd loveee to pair it with some modern industrial shaped chairs! Oh, I could go on and on!

So, about my dreams...
I day dream about being on HGTV's DesignStar!!

insert Taylor ^^ here!!!

 It is seriously a goal of mine to make it on that show.
Those designers get soooo many opportunities with that kind of exposure and I thrive of of competition!
The things I could do with the right tools and challenges and allowance! Oh, I would win! ;)
I'm probably exaggerating (I hope not.)
But, oh, I'm sure I'll go on and on about that a few times, so I'll spare you the details for now.

So, about my boy??
Well, his name is Alan and he sure is handsome! Like every couple, we have had our issues but after everything, he is my best friend and together we can be ourselves and be weird. It never gets old.
He is my sunshine!

^^ my nephew's birthday party.

:)

Well, for now, that is me in a tiny little nutshell. I hope that I will get to know yall better!

-Taylor