I made the drive to Tulsa the other weekend to attend a fab wedding and also to make some progress on the Gilpin Sunroom. We had such a good time and were able to make some big changes without big $$$- a total win, I would say :)

The room is not 100% done... but what room ever is? She wants to still change out some of the art on the gallery wall, get a plant for the bare corner and update the fan--but so far it's looking great! Eclectic and airy- exactly what we wanted.

Alot of the change came from space planning. We moved the furniture around to create a nuch better use of space. You can see from the before pictures that most of the furniture was along one wall. Moving the couch/bench to the middle of the room created a better place for conversation and still leaves room to access the deck.

Jake likes it!

What space doesn't need a gallery wall? We created one by mixing and matching frames of all sizes and colors.



Can you believe my friend MADE the sunburst mirror? It really is striking in person. The mirror portion did end up falling off and shattering... but that's neither here nor there. She can get another one on there really easily.

We covered a plain lamp shade this great blue and white fabric and she is going to use the extra to make a pillow cover for the couch (in the pics above, I just laid the fabric over an existing pillow to get an idea of what it would look like with the cognac color.) I love how the fabric works with the rug.

Still super jealous of her fab coffee table.

The curtains make ALL the difference in the world from the previous, dark ones.

Here is the view of the room from the kitchen. I think it's a very pretty view!

 

What do you think? Would you hang out in here? If you would like any help coming up with inspiration for a room in your home, please contact me at mainstreetchicblog@gmail.com.

PS- I'm now a tweet-er! Follow me here if you'd like.

Pistachio Jewelry

One of my very best friends has a best friend who makes jewelry. And. I. love. it! Recently, I got the link to her Etsy shop and thought I would share the gorgeous-ness with you all.

Each piece is so unique and lovingly handmade... and the prices are incredible!

Confetti Confection Necklace

Shield-Sword Earrings

Flying Saucer Necklace

Trapeze Earrings

Gold Rutilated Quartz Necklace

Be sure to check out the rest of her shop here. I'm definitely going to keep these on my to give (and receive!) radar...

Happy Friday!

5 Things I Love- A Compete Waste of Makeup

For today's "5 Things I Love" series, we have Neely from A Complete Waste of Makeup. One thing I love about the blog world is making connections. I first met Neely when she asked me to do a guest post on her blog. As luck would have it, she went to high school with my best friend from college who blogs here. I just really love how small the blog world is :)

Hey Y'all! Im Neely and I blog over at A Complete Waste of Makeup

A little about me: I love Starbucks Latte's, a glass of Riesling or Blue Moon, Home Decor, Crafting, Working out, Pure Barre, Apple products, clothes, photography, Reality TV, Owls, reading, twitter, pinterest,  etsy finds and makeup.

When sweet Emily asked me to participate in her "5 things I love" series I was beyond thrilled! I adore her blog and her sense of style. Plus is she not the sweetest ever?

Without further adieu...here are 5 Things I love.... In no particular order

My Cashmere The Row edition TOMs. I adore these! They are so cute with leggings or skinny jeans and a tunic!

My Nook. I love the blogging/coffee sign, the comfy chair and a half, my nuddle, my laptop. The entire thing screams me. In fact I am writing this post from it now :)

Keep Calm and Blog On sign. I love to blog. I have been doing it over 2 years now and I have attended one blog conference with two on the books for this year. Blogging is a huge passion of mine. 

My scarf collecton. The 4 shown are from Nordstrom, Etsy, Anthropologie and Burberry. I am a scarf addict! I figure...my neck needs to be warm and I need to be stylish :)

My Tory Burch tote. Ummm does this need words? Its perfect, goes with everything, smells delightfully of leather and is timeless. I love.
 

Thank you Emily for letting me take over your blog today! I love this series and I am so happy to play along!

Hope you all come visit my little corner of the blogging world :) Its fun times. 

XOXO

Thanks so much, Neely! Loving all your choices--- especially that bag! Everyone be sure to check out A Complete Waste of Makeup and have a great day!

Skirted Table. Part 2.

Good morning! As an extension of yesterday, I'm continuing in the trim-themed posts today. In my original skirted table post, I mentioned that I might add some trim to it someday. Well 'someday' came to fruition last week, and I added some trim to it (RED, of course!)

Lovin it! After I saw this tutorial I knew I def. wanted to add trim. So I used it as a jumping off point, but in true-to-me fashion, I really just winged it!

Here's what I used:

Fabric glue, straight pins, and trim. Pretty simple.

All I did was start pinning. I hate to be like that, because I know its not really scientific... but I just played with what looked best and then pinned it in place.

I started with the first box of the Greek key detail on the right side...

Making sure I left enough room on the ends for the trim to extend down/across the skirt.

Then, I continued pinning, stepping back to make sure my lines were straight. As soon as I got done pinning the box on the left side (which I just eye-balled to make sure it was the same size as the right side), I realized my trim wasn't long enough to extend all the way down.

So, all I did to fix that problem was cut off the excess that was hanging down, and just end the box behind the horizontal stripe. Then, I cut another piece long enough to extend all the way, and placed the end behind the horizontal line so it would appear to be one piece.

 All pinned and ready for glue!

Next- glue! I left the pins in, and glued the space around them. Then, I let that dry for about 20 min. before I went back to take the pins out and do the rest of the gluing.

No judgement on the outfit, plz.

Originally, I was going to do the Greek key on the top and bottom, but I decided I liked the verticality that was created with the straight lines/vases. Also, the reds don't match perfectly, but I kind of like that.

This was one of those photo sessions that Daisy WANTED to be in the pictures for. Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

All in all, I think it's a great addition to the Chouse dining room!

OMM: Black Trim

I pinned this pic a while back and have been thinking about it ever since...

Here.

I thought about the pic so much that I finally drove myself crazy and just decided to add some black trim to the lumbar cushions on our couch!

Will share pics as soon as I get them back- I sent them to a professional bc I don't trust my sewing skills that much yet! BUT- I can't wait! I love when I finally make a house-related decision.

5 Things I love- the Steen Style

Today, we have Laura from The Steen Style sharing her "5 Things I Love." The Steen Style is such an inspiring blog- so full of great DIY ideas and updates on her own super cute home. Not only is Laura a fellow design and DIY enthusiast, she is a fellow OSU alum, Oklahoma-lover and puppy momma as well! We are definitely kindred spirits :)

Hey everyone, Laura from The Steen Style here. I am excited to do my first official guest post! Thanks so much to Emily for asking me to do this, I had a hard time narrowing down my five most favorite things that didn't include my husband, our dogs, family or friends! Of course, that is what everyone (hopefully) says are their five most favorite so lets get a little more superficial and I'll show you the five things in my home that I love the most, right now.

No. 1 - the updated fireplace. This was a huge eyesore when we first moved in and was changed within the first two weeks we lived here! I love looking at this spot now and enjoy changing up the decor on the mantel and in the bookshelves. To get a recap of what we have done, check out the before and after post here.

No. 2 - the entryway buffet. This was the first piece of furniture I made over and then made over again. I love how it turned out and it definitely is a perfect pop of color when you first walk in to the house! This is another spot that I have a blast changing up as I get bored and need an update. To get a recap of how this piece transformed from when we picked it up at Goodwill, check out the before and after post here.

No. 3 - the John Derian plates. This series, the English Seaweed series, is my new favorite and I'm excited to collect them all and then hang above the buffet in our dining room! I've met Mr. Derian in person and I think he is a doll. He was so sweet and personable, I would love to visit his store in New York! Here is my plan for these plates.

No. 4 - the wine cork mirror. I did this project on a cold weekend last January and still love looking at it in our kitchen! We keep all corks after we finish a bottle of wine (some months we collect more corks than others!) and when our jar was full, I decided to make something out of them. This was a very fun and easy project to do. You can see the transformation here.

No. 5 - my orange velvet blazer from J. Crew. Emily and I are both Oklahoma State alums so when I spot something that is the perfect OSU orange, I go crazy! I literally stalked this jacket from the time they started selling it late last summer so when it finally went on sale and then there was an extra discount offered, I jumped on it and saved $100! I can't wait to sport this to a football game this fall.

Thanks again, Laura! You KNOW I am loving that orange blazer :) Everyone be sure to check out The Steen Style!

OMM- The wall above the couch.

We are back for another On My Mind session. Remember, I never said these posts wouldn't be random! Today- the wall above the couch (WATC)!

Decorating the wall above the couch can be a toughy. Many people just have a large blank wall to work with... which can be a daunting task. I would like to throw it out there that I am SO jealous of you all who can 'float' your couch. Obsessed with that look.

But for the rest of us, here are some ideas of what to do.

Ashley Stark's living room was recently featured in Elle Decor. This room is a perfect example of using large artwork to make a statement on the WATC. This technique is one of the most popular ways to decorate this wall.

Here.

Another great example of this.


Here.

Or instead of one large piece, you could opt for multiple pieces.

Here.

Another great way to bring some interest to this space is to use a 3-D art piece/sculpture.

Here.

I also love the look of a series of frames over the couch. But as you all know, I am a sucker for a good gallery wall.

Here.

Some more examples of this.

Here.

Here.

Symmetry is always great.

Here.

Another option is to make the wall a focal point by using wallpaper on only that wall. This way, you can use a smaller frame/art piece and it won't look out of scale.

Here.

Using a mirror on the WATC is a great choice as well.

Here.

Here.

The Chouse has one of the most interesting (read: difficult) layouts I have ever seen and it is really challenging my space planning abilities. The WATC is not excluded from this issue. But currently, this is what my WATC looks like.

(Dogs!!)

PS- I have GOT to start taking better pics... sorry for the iphone-ness!

Of course, I am never satisfied, so this will definitely evolve over time.

Anyway! How do you all have your WATC decorated? Any great ideas that I missed? Dish.