DIY TRIANGLE SHELVES

I'm so excited to share with you our DIY triangle shelves inspired by A Beautiful Mess! 

The triangles are hanging above our little one's crib and make the perfect statement as you walk in the room. The husband and I went back and forth as to what colors to paint or stain them - here are the final results and we couldn't be happier how they tie the room together! We chose white and a metallic gold and copper.

With these shelves done Project Shared Room is pretty much complete - except for a few finishing touches that probably won't happen until after our little guys arrival. Keep an eye out for a post on the whole room. I can't wait to share it all with you!

Supplies Needed:
Wood (see instructions for amount)
Miter Saw
Tool to measure angles
Hammer/Nails
Paint

Instructions:
1. Purchase wood - This varies depending on the size, amount and depth you want your triangles. We wanted three triangles measuring about 20inches per side - so we purchased 180 inches of 1x2inch boards.
2. Figure out angles to cut corners - Ours are 60 degree triangles so we had to make 30 degree cuts in the wood.
3. Using a miter saw cut the wood - for each piece of wood the angles on each end should be opposite. We used the wider of the two ends to measure the length of 19.5inches - when we put all the pieces together each side would measure 20 inches. Hold wood slats up to each other to make sure they are the same length.
4. Once all pieces are cut,  begin nailing pieces together.
5. Paint your triangles - ours needed 2-3 coats each
6. Hang on the wall and enjoy!

And to top things off, The Husband and I couldn't believe how cheap this project was. We only spent $5 on wood and $10 on paint - making our project cost a total of $15!

PROJECT SHARED ROOM {Half Way There}

We've made progress on project shared room, our side of the bedroom is finished! This past month I was finally able to find a few the perfect pieces I wanted for our room. 

1. Wall Art - The husband and I went back and forth about what to do with the empty walls surrounding our bed, do we building shelving or hang wall art? We ended up with wall art and I couldn't be happier with our little collage! The large matte wood frame and the funky gold frame are both from Target. The artwork in the large frame is from here. The white shadow box was an item we've had for a couple of years, originally from Marshalls. I like the option of having something we can easily post new pictures to. The combination of wood, white and gold on the grey wall really ties everything together.

2. THE DRESSER! - I searched for months on craigslist, at thrift stores and garage sales. I was ready to give up. I knew I wanted a mid-centruy modern dresser that was buffet style and needed to fit under our window. Finding something cheaper than $500-$1,000 was looking impossible. And then, I found this beauty on craigslist...all ready re-purposed. It was the perfect size, price and just so stinkin cute! 

3. The Light - After getting an very expensive estimate from an electrician, we ended up having the husband and his dad hang the light. It is so nice to have light coming from the ceiling. If you missed my last post on the room, the light is from here.

4. The Orange Bowl - I love little details. I've been searching for the perfect bowl to put little baby things in. This past weekend I found this at the thrift store. I love the burnt orange color and aztec detail. 

5. THE OTTOMAN! - This one deserves all caps and an !, too. Why are ottomans so expensive!?! Once again, I've been searching everywhere for the perfect ottoman for our chair. Just two days before I told the husband to be mentally prepared if I end up spending $100-$200 on an ottoman. I knew it was crazy, but I wasn't finding anything cheaper. AND THEN I struck gold. I found this little brown leather beauty at the thrift store for $2!!! I'm all about repurposing items, but sometimes it is so nice to find something that doesn't need any TLC.

6. The Pillows - I'm pretty sure the yellow pillow from Target and the black and white pillow from Ikea are the two most popular pillows in the U.S. I flipped the Target pillow over to the geometric side and moved it from the chair to the bed - it is like new. On our last trip to Ikea I was happy to find the black and white item wasn't out of stock. 

Things are coming along! Now for the really fun part. Baby's side of the room. Can't wait to put it all together and share it with you guys.

Happy Monday!

Joanna

DIY COASTERS

We finally found the perfect dresser for our shared room! And for the first time I felt a sense of responsibility to keep the surface of my furniture protected. So, I decided I need to make a set of coasters. If you DIY a lot, you probably have a stash of left over fabrics waiting to be used like me. I decided to use the scrap fabric from my moccasin revamp since the aztec vibe goes with our room decor.

Supplies Needed:

Scrap Fabric (I chose a scrap fabric that was a bit thicker/sturdier)

Scissors

Measuring Tape

Marker (I need help cutting straight lines)

Instructions - Probably the easiest project you'll ever do...

1. Depending on your fabric you may choose to cut a specific part, I chose to keep the pattern centered. Once you've decided on that, use your marker and measuring tape to draw out a square of 4.25in x 4.25 in. 

2. Cut along the line

3. Pour yourself a refreshing beverage and enjoy your new coasters!

If you try this simple DIY post a link to it in the comments, I'd love to see it!

Happy Friday!

Joanna

MEAL PLANNING

Once upon a time, I was at the grocery store everyday just to buy one or two items. My food budget was hardly ever achieved and cooking was becoming stressful.

Then I discovered meal planning. Now I go to the grocery store once a week, I never have to frantically decided what to have for dinner and my food budget actually is achievable!

There area lots of different methods you can use to do meal planning. I won't go into detail on those. 
But I do think you should give meal planning a try if you sound like my once upon a time scenario. And to help you get started you can download my meal planning template. I don't know about you, but if something is cute and functional I will use it.

What are your thoughts on meal planning?

Click here to download the free template

Thanks for stopping by!

Joanna

NURSERY STYLE

The husband and I found out last weekend that Baby Meyer is a boy! We are so excited! 

The condo only has one bedroom so we will all be shacking up together for the next couple of years. So, my new task and latest obsession is designing our shared bedroom. So far these are a few of the things I've picked out for our little one. The grey arrows, grey chevron and black triangles are our fabric choices for Baby Meyer's crib bedding, changing pad cover and boppy pillow. I found the cutest baby bedding designer on Etsy, her shop is called Iviebaby. The orange aztec pattern is the area rug I've picked for the room. The rug and the two prints are from Urban Outfitters. I can't wait to actually purchase these items and see it the room come together! Can't wait to share with you the room development along the way!

Happy Monday!

Joanna

CLOTH CHANDELIER

I was inspired by one of my favorite blogs to attempt this cloth chandelier. And I must say, it is my favorite DIY project I've ever done, so thanks Elise + Emma from A Beautiful Mess for this idea! You can find their tutorial here. A few things I did differently...

1. Instead of a cookie rack, I used this decoration hanging up in my friend's (Michelle, aka twinner) kitchen. I liked that it was big and oval...and free!

2. One trick about fabric is you don't have to cut all those strips by hand! If you just put a small cut at one end, you can tear it all the way down, saving you lots of jagged edged cuts and hours of frustration.

3. I'm not the biggest fan of sewing, so I decided to just tie the fabric in knots around the bars and it worked! 

4. I used the cheapest white fabric I could for the bulk of it, with a coupon I think it was 75 cents a yard. I bought some nice creamy fabric and a few yards of chunky lace for the outer edges to keep it soft. I wanted the chenille they used but I couldn't find it in any fabric stores! Sad day.

5. I cut all my strips the same length and waited until they were all on to add or remove strips. Most importantly, I waited till the end to shape it to look like a chandelier.

Lessons learned: 

1. DO NOT buy LED lights, this beautiful chandelier went from elegant to a scary halloween decoration in a second, haha.

2. Don't hang this yourself if you are not 100% confident. We have cement ceilings, so I asked my handy father-in-law and the husband to take care of that part of the project. 

Let me know if you attempt this project. I highly recommend it if you need something to take your space up to the next level but don't want to spend a lot of money. I also think this would be cute if you dyed the fabric giving it an ombre effect. 

Joanna

*I was asked about the lighting situation...It is lit up by white Christmas lights strung throughout the cloth. Also, I tested the lights for multiple hours and they never got hot, so no fire hazard :)