September 2017 - KREATING HOMES

Home Tour: Bath

September 26, 2017 30 Comments

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Its been over a year since Q and I celebrated our 10th anniversary in the Dominican Republic. That said, not a day goes by I don’t think of at least some part of that trip. It was just one of those amazing once in a lifetime experiences. Part of the magic there was the morning we spent at the spa. The building, decor, and general vibe was amazing and incredibly calming. So its no surprise its been one of my biggest inspirations while decorating the loft bath!

When I started collecting items to pull together this look I wanted to focus on a couple specific elements and feelings. Yes, I said feelings. You know that sense of calm that washes over you when you step into a spa. Its the one that says “its time to relax”, “you deserve a touch of luxury”, and “this is a peaceful space” all in one…. ya, you know what Im talking about! I also wanted to pull tropical elements without crossing the line into “beachy”. Not that beach is a terrible theme but I had a grandma with a beach bathroom complete with those seashell soaps no body was allowed to use. You know the kind! Nothing about that side of beach decor says resort spa to me(sorry grandma!).

Home Tour: Bath

One of the elements I saw repeated throughout the spa that I just couldn’t get enough of: oversized foliage. They used leaves to line tall lanterns, under piles of crisp white towels, and as coasters for your cucumber water. Obviously I don’t have an endless supply of fresh banana leaves here in San Jose so I turned to faux stems. Luckily there are so many awesome products out there for “life like” foliage! I picked up this oversized Split Leaf Philodendron at Michaels but Palms or a Monstera would be lovely as well.

Home Tour: Bath

With the cabinets, tiles, and sink already fulfilling the crisp white quota for that spa feel I only needed to add a few touches of color. I pulled the blues and neutrals from the prints below which were hand-me-downs I’ve had for years. The color pallet in these prints could not have been more perfect for this resort spa vibe! I just picked up a set of distressed frames and used them sans glass.

Home Tour: Bath

Another element I saw repeated heavily was natural textures. They had giant stone planters, raw wood shelving, teak shower decks and several other fabulous natural materials throughout the spa. I rummaged through the items I had on hand and found a fairly good mix! You’ve got to love shopping your own stash! #winning

Home Tour: Bath

After the straw/palm, rope, and leather pieces were added to the mix I was picking up momentum on the project. But there was stiiiiiiill just something missing… I couldnt put my finger on it. Until I saw the teak tissue cover! Ha! It seems like a silly little thing but I knew it was the last natural “element” I was missing in my mix. I ordered the matching tub caddy the same day and I’ve been obsessed since. No spa is complete without legit aqua-therapy!

The last couple items are classics: salts and candles. We are all about that detox salt soak and I buy the salt in bulk. Having a pretty jar means I can store them out on the countertop which is great when you are short on vanity storage space. The candles are a mix of scents and sizes I pick up whenever I find something I like. Im pretty picky about scents but a little aromatherapy can totally change a space. Plus, a softer light (like a few well placed candles) can really set a sense of calm.

So are you feeling that resort spa calmness yet? I know I am! Have you used any of these elements to create your own spa vibe? Have any other spa tips to share? You know I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!

before & after, home tour, loft life, plant lady

Home Tour: Front Door

September 20, 2017 17 Comments

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Our loft has rows and rows of the same door/light/number entries and while they’re clean and fairly new they’re also fairly boring! I know we aren’t the only renters with this dilemma. When you live in an apartment your entryway is most likely going to look like eeeeeevery body else’s. But that doesn’t mean it needs to stay that way! You can absolutely personalize your front door and entryway to make your rental space unique.

Home Tour: Front door Doormats:

This is probably one of the first things we add to any new space. Its functional since it cuts down on the dirt tracked into our place as well as decorative. If you’re feeling crafty your can DIY a design on a solid mat. Or you can shop any of the billion designs online(seriously theres bound to be a design perfect for your space!). We grabbed this one at Target. Home Tour: Front Door Plants:

Its no secret I hope to become a #plantlady and let our space be taken over by fabulous green lovelies. And our entry way is no exception! I knew I wanted something green to liven up the space but sunlight was an issue. We basically enter by hallway(even though its outdoors) which means there is very little sun. This limited our choices a bit and I’m pretty positive you wont find bright flowers gracing our front door but I’m ok with that. Luckily succulents and other non-fussy plants are popular and finding something for this nook was easy. I rarely have to water this Dragon Tree and its thriving even without great sun exposure. Home Tour: Front Door Wreaths:

With the help of removable hooks even us renters can add wreaths to our front doors! You can find them in nearly any color so they are no longer just for the holidays. Yay! I loved this mushroom wreath the second I saw it and I know I can add decorative bits to dress it up throughout the year. Its made of dried and dyed mushrooms and it adds a ton of texture. If our front door got a lot of exposure to the elements I’d look for something less fragile. In this case, Im using that hallway to our advantage. Home Tour: Front Door Its only a couple simple items but it changes the look of our entryway and livens up our space. So what are your favorite ways to decorate the front door and entryway? You know Id love to hear all about it in the comments!

before & after, DIY, office, studio, upcycle

The DIY Desk: Part 2

September 13, 2017 22 Comments

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Last week I shared Part 1 of the DIY Desk project. Part 1 was mostly about the desk top and basics but if you saw the post and/or pictures you know we altered part of our design to incorporate a few pieces we already had. Which brings us to Part 2! We used a couple of the same tricks to upcycle our old storage into a pair of fab modern farmhouse pieces.

DIY Desk Part 2

We’ve had this cube storage system for many many years. I bought them back in my scrapbooking heyday and they have served me well. (They’ve since been retired but you can find similar ones here, here, and here) They store a good chunk of my art and craft supplies as well as a handful of office supplies and files. Its been great having a “modular” system that we can rearrange and reconfigure as we move from place to place. For this reason, I really wanted to make them work in the loft. But they clearly needed a face lift! Ha!

It should also be said that you can still do this without these exact storage cubes. Ive seen great options at places like HomeGoods, Target, and Ikea. You cold also thrift a solid side table or use a small dresser you have on hand. The point is: this “technique” is easy to apply to nearly any piece of furniture you want to upcycle.

DIY Desk Part 2

After working with the peel and stick vinyl planks I knew I could use them to update the cubes. I emptied the drawers and cleaned them with a rag and some tabletop spray. I also removed all the hardware. Once the drawers were prepped I sat them face down on one of the planks with the backing still intact and marked the dimensions. I used a t-square to extend my lines and then scored with a box cutter. Its important you use a metal ruler for this as your box cutter can actually cut right into a wood or plastic version. The metal ones will give you a straight(and sturdy!) edge every time. After the planks are scored you can snap off the excess. This is waaaaay easier than I originally imagined!

DIY Desk Part 2

As I was getting my first drawer set up I also made a template for my hardware. Once the planks were attached they would be covering the preexisting holes and again Im not the type that is going to try measuring that out after the fact. So save yourself the headache (and time!) and do this before setting your planks! I just used a sheet of scrap card stock to measure where the holes would be when the top and side edges were lined up.

DIY Desk Part 2

Because these planks were going to live vertical(on the face of the cubes) I wanted to really make sure they were permanently attached. The adhesive that is applied to the back is pretty strong but if you really wanted to you could peel it up. I wanted to avoid any chance of that happening(even accidentally) so I hit the back with a small amount of Gorilla Glue. If you’ve never used GG you should know it needs to be under pressure/weight for an hour after applying it. Great way to get some more use out of those heavy art history books! #artschoolgrad

DIY Desk Part 2

While waiting for the GG to cure up I painted my hardware with 2 coats of chalk paint. I haven’t used it on something that gets this much handling but being that the part of the pull which is touched most is “under” the face I feel like it will hold up well. Yes, I have high hopes for chalk paint on this(big surprise right?) but I’ll be back after a few months with and update on this. Promise!

DIY Desk Part 2

After an hour under a stack of books I attached the hardware using my template and filled the drawers up! Again, these 2 middle desks are an altered version of the original I posted in Part 1 but the change is pretty simple. Basically we’re using the cubes as the legs on one side of the desks. This makes the tops sit a bit higher than your average desk but I like being able to stand part time while working too.

DIY Desk Part 2

The desks being this height also meant we couldn’t use traditional office chairs. At their most extended height we were still sitting too low. We opted for these drafting chairs and we are loving them! They do have a foot rest(the metal ring at the bottom) but we added mini ottomans for anther option. And as a bonus they give us a bit of extra storage! Win win!

DIY Desk Part 2

So what DIYs have you added to your workspace? Are you working on a desk upcycle as well? You know I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!

DIY, office, studio, upcycle

The DIY Desk: Part 1

September 6, 2017 18 Comments

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Ok. This project is way overdue. But in my defense, its a biggie. It literally spans the whole length of our studio space and Im breaking it down into 2 posts! So Im cutting myself a bit of slack. Ha! When we moved into the loft we almost immediately decided the space downstairs “designated” as the bedroom just wasn’t going to work. After checking out the floorplan a bit more we decided it would actually be a great place for a workspace. That also meant finding a new desk solution since the space wasn’t going to look great with our old desks. And being our difficult selves we decided a DIY desk would be most ideal!

Modern Farmhouse Desk DIY

When we unpacked we threw together this makeshift workspace(yes, posting this makes me cringe! #reallife) to get a few things done while we were still scheming. But I think feeling out a space and living in it before committing has saved us a lot of time shuffling furniture. We’ve used these desktops in one variation or another for over 8 years.

I love the flexibility of most ikea pieces and obviously the price tag! These tops included. But after moving into the loft we wanted to bring in a bit more of that industrial feel. These tops do NOT read that way. After searching a few online vendors it was pretty clear we favored the modern farmhouse styles as well. A few hours of Pinterest later we figured we could replicate the look with a few tricks and still use our ikea tops.

Modern Farmhouse Desk DIY

We already had 2 white tops and snagged this faux pine one out of the as-is pile. $7 for a table top? Yes please! Knowing we were going to change the look I didn’t care what the finish was. It just needed to be the right size and still in good condition. Check!

Modern Farmhouse Desk DIY

Once we collected our tops we hit Lowes for some peel & stick vinyl planks. They are much lighter than covering the tops in actual wood, come in a crazy amount of colors, and are easy to cut to size(no power tools needed!). The boxes of planks repeat the same 3-4 prints so we laid them out in the isle to make sure we got a good mix. When it came time to stick these down we made sure to stager the planks and kept the patterns as random as possible. No repeats!

Modern Farmhouse Desk DIY

As for the legs, we just made simple rectangle “frames”. We planned on making these desks a bit taller(more on that in part 2!) so custom legs were the only way to go. The frames are made from 2×2 pine and we had them cut right in the store. Again, we were trying to keep the power tool usage in the loft to a minimum. Once we got the frames together I slapped on a coat of black chalk paint and a coat of clear wax. After it dried for 24 hours I very lightly buffed them. I basically just ran a cloth over the frames once. I wasn’t concerned with trying to buff them into a high shine. The finish on these is actually more of a semi-matte. When people have seen the finished desks they assume the frames are actually powder coated metal.

Modern Farmhouse Desk DIY

Being that we are renting this place Im completely obsessed with protecting the floors. I’ve heard too many horror stories about loosing deposits over a couple scratches… uhmmm no thanks! So we pulled out the felt pads and added them to the corners of the frames. Modern Farmhouse Desk DIY

When we added the frames to the tops we made sure they were completely flush to the edges. This was for both esthetic and functional reasons. A while ago we tore one of these tops apart(cant for the life of me remember why!) and the innards were unexpected. The border is wood and the middle is actually just full of cardboard! Obviously this isnt a sturdy place to attach anything. So keeping that in mind we made sure all our screws stayed within a couple inches of the edge. Using the predrilled holes(where you could attach ikea legs) you can visualize the “safe zone”.

Modern Farmhouse Desk DIY

After the legs and tops were situated I hit the edges with more chalk paint and wax. Again, I did minimal buffing as I was after that semi-matte finish.

Modern Farmhouse Desk DIY

These desks are super light and you can customize them to fit any space. We actually customized our own design to use stacking drawers(again, more on that in part 2!). Essentially we made 3 of these desks and when connected they make a huge L shape that spans the the entire studio space. Its giant but we spend a crazy amount of time in here and its so nice having room to spread out mid project!

Modern Farmhouse Desk DIY

So what DIYs have you used in your workspace? Have you tackled any furniture upcycles? You know I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!