interior-design

New Year’s Office Refresh

~ cowboybootsandhighheels ~ Leave a comment

Every year after taking all of my Christmas decorations down, my house feels empty and depressing, which is the perfect time to do a little “house refresh!” Usually I just change a few little things, like this year I added some new throw pillows to my couch and some new greenery here and there…

But I decided to do a little extra in my home office this year because that’s the only room in the house that I can make “girly” since I’m the only one that uses it.

When my daughter moved out after she finished college, I turned her bedroom into my home office, but honestly I’ve been just using it for storage lately, so I wanted to cozy it up so I would actually want to spend time in there. I’m a home health nurse, which means I do a TON of computer charting at home, which was why I originally wanted a home office. But I usually just end up doing my computer work in the kitchen while simultaneously doing all the things we wives and mothers have to get done like laundry, cooking, washing dishes, cleaning house, etc.

The main area I wanted to focus on was the wall facing my desk, it just felt so empty…

I never used the tv so it was just collecting dust, and the wall was just plain boring to look at while I sat at the desk facing it. I’ve always loved the eclectic interiors of homes in New Orleans, and that was the vibe I wanted to go for, but I was also on a tight budget from buying Christmas presents.

I looked around on Amazon and found some beautiful peel-and-stick wallpaper that was only $9 a roll, and the black background on it would match the black futon I have in there to use if anyone ever spends the night. I wanted a chair rail to separate the wallpaper above from the painted walls below, and I happened to find a peel-and-stick one of those as well on Amazon, which was perfect because I wouldn’t have to enlist any help cutting one to fit.

I also had a few gold accessories and picture frames stored away that I wasn’t using anywhere, and decided to use them to make a gallery wall over the wallpaper. I came up with this “vision board” to make my office wall go from boring to exciting:

I started by measuring off where I wanted the chair rail to go, then hung the peel-and-stick wallpaper down to that spot. However, it was not sticking to my wall like I hoped it would. Our walls have a slight texture to them, and it looked like that was the problem.

I wanted to give up already, but then I found some adhesive spray online that had really good reviews to help this type of wallpaper stick to textured walls…

This stuff worked great, and then I was on a roll! Before long, I had the wallpaper and chair rail up!

I realize that I did not line up the edges of the wallpaper to match, but first of all I’m not a professional, and second of all I really didn’t care to go to that much trouble when I was going to hang the gold accents on top of it, so please don’t judge me!

And after all the trouble of getting the wallpaper to actually stick, the last thing I was concerned about at that point was matching the edges up.

After getting the wallpaper and chair rail up, it was time to accessorize! I got the battery operated wall sconces and the little gold table lamp from Amazon, but everything else I either had lying around the house or was already in my office somewhere.

The opposite wall that my desk backs up to is where I store my books, computer printer, and a bunch of little trinkets and pictures, and I did not change that wall at all.

The view from the window up here is nothing more than the roof of our carport, but the view I have now from my desk actually makes me want to stay in my little home office a lot more!

I only spent about $100 total on this office “refresh,” including the table lamp, wall sconces, wallpaper and chair rail, and the adhesive spray, but the difference it made is priceless to me!

Thanks y’all!

-Nikki

Allyson’s New House

~ cowboybootsandhighheels ~ Leave a comment

My daughter Allyson graduated from Louisiana Tech over a year ago, and has been living in her same college apartment since then. Recently she decided it was time for new place, and found the cutest house to rent in town. As a bonus, the owners are someone we know, which made the decision even easier. And since I absolutely love decorating, this blank canvas was a dream for me!

Since this is a rent house, most things cannot be changed, but the owners picked an awesome neutral paint color for the walls and beautiful flooring, so it was a perfect starting point! Let’s start with the living room…

The living area has lots of natural light from two large windows, a built-in gas fireplace, and a tv mount already installed above fireplace, so all it needed was some furniture and cozy touches! Allyson wanted to start fresh in this new place, so she sold most of her furniture and area rugs before moving, but she did keep the area rug we used in here from her old apartment. Allyson bought herself a new sectional from Ashley Furniture, and I bought the coffee table and end table from Amazon.

There was a large wall leading into the hallway that needed something big, and I happened to find a painting at Kirkland’s on major sale that matched her throw pillows exactly…

And now that you can see a sneak peak of her dining area in this picture, let’s move on to that room!

In her old apartment there was no separate dining area, only some barstools at the counter, so we had fun decorating this little nook! Again, there was already lots of natural light from the big window behind the sitting area, so all she needed was somewhere to actually sit…

This little area is right off the kitchen, and close to the front and side doors leading outside, so we didn’t want to make it feel too cluttered or block the natural pathways to the kitchen and living room. I found the perfect smaller-sized table and chair set on Amazon, and while I was adding that to my cart, I figured I needed to go ahead and add a cute round rug to go underneath it and an adorable little hutch for the back wall! (Can you tell I love Amazon?!?)

The table is small and only seats four, but it’s the perfect size for this dining area, and I was surprised at the quality since I ordered it from Amazon! It’s very sturdy, solid wood, and easy to clean! You would never guess it came from Amazon! The rug has blues and tans in it to tie into the living room colors, and the cute little arched hutch has cabinets at the bottom for extra storage.

Moving into the kitchen, it looked very small at first since it’s a galley kitchen, but once we started filling up the cabinets it is actually larger than it looks!

There is a pocket door that slides closed at the end of the kitchen to hide the laundry area, and the kitchen came with all appliances and under-cabinet lighting. Again, since this is a rent house, we couldn’t change out countertops, cabinet color, etc… But with some personal touches it turned out very cute in here!

The scalloped trim above the sink is so cute, and we hung a couple of prints she had in her old apartment above the sink to break up all the white. A few things on the counters with woods and metals also broke up all the white and gave a little more character to the room. We used trays and caddies in some spots to keep the counters uncluttered and organized, so she would have plenty of counter space still open.

Another thing I love about this house is how you can see down the hall into her bedroom…

Looking from the cozy living room down the hall, you can peep a warm and inviting place to sleep!

This room was larger than I expected it to be, and again, lots of natural light come in from two windows and a door leading onto a cute little back patio…

This was another blank canvas, and since it was a new place, Allyson decided to ditch her bed she’d had since high school, and bought herself a new bed with headboard attached and two large nightstands from guess where… Amazon!

These nightstands are so much prettier in person too! What we thought were a rattan front to the drawers in the online picture is actually a gold overlay! Allyson found the area rug at Lowe’s and also got all new bedding from Amazon, including the brown velvet throw pillow covers.

The dresser is an antique that I found years ago at a local antique store, and we added the mirror on top from WalMart…

The bathrooms are both the same size, and again, since it’s a rent house, not much we could change. Just some new shower curtains made a huge difference though.

Also peep the bathroom print that ChatGPT made me of her two cats, ha ha!

There is another bathroom and two extra bedrooms, but I’ll end it on maybe my favorite room of the house. We call it her “glam room” since it’s the room she gets ready in. With smaller closets and smaller bathrooms, it helped to have an extra room devoted to just clothes, hair, and makeup. A vanity with built-in plugs for hair appliances and plenty of storage for all of her makeup, a comfy oversized chair to get ready in, a full length mirror, and a fun rug that came from her old apartment bedroom…

The little cabinet under the window is actually the cat’s litter box! It literally amazed me when I saw it, because growing up we kept our litter box on the floor in the laundry room with some old newspapers underneath it. With this cabinet, the cat walks into the opening on the right, then goes through a little door into the litter box behind the cabinet doors. You just open the cabinet doors to empty it, and it looks like a piece of furniture instead of a litter box! Keeps everything hidden, including any smells!

I hope you enjoyed this little tour as much as we enjoyed decorating the place. Allyson said she always wants to stay at home now after work and on weekends since it’s so cozy in there! And Allyson, I am SO proud of you and your accomplishments! It is so great to be your mom!

Thanks y’all!

– Nikki

ChatGPT redecorated my bedroom

~ cowboybootsandhighheels ~ Leave a comment

We’ve all used ChatGPT to roast our family pictures or word things so that we sound smarter than we really are, but have y’all ever tried uploading pictures of your home to see what it would look like in another style? Well that’s just what I did with our master bedroom, and as soon as I saw what the app came up with, I was in love!

So this is the “before” picture that I uploaded to the ChatGPT app. Not bad, but I was just curious what a different style would look like. The app then came up with this…

First of all, I was blown away by the green walls! I’ve always liked neutral walls, but this green looked so beautiful! Also, my husband is always complaining that our bedroom looks “too girly” and this green looked a little more masculine to me!

Second of all, we’ve never had a headboard on our bed, and I was surprised at how big of a difference a headboard made in the new picture! I immediately got to work on trying to recreate this look!

The first thing I did was order a headboard from Amazon, and I also found this print at Hobby Lobby that I fell in love with to hang above the bed. The AI-generated picture showed two prints above the bed, but I liked the look of one larger print better.

Next I got to work on picking out a wall color. I was torn between these two colors, so I got samples of each to try out on the walls.

My husband and I decided we liked the darker green better, which is “Rock Garden” by Sherwin Williams.

And how beautiful it is finished! It’s a very moody green, and contrasts so well with the lighter headboard! I kept all of my original bedding because it’s super soft and comfy, but I did get new curtains that actually touched the floor since the old ones were a little short.

I kept the rug the same as well since it already had some greens in it, so the only thing I changed out were the curtains, the paint color, and then added the headboard and print above the bed.

The green walls look beautiful in any lighting – here they are at night with lamp light…

So when you compare my finished product with ChatGPT’s original suggestion, I’d say they are pretty close to the same!

If my arms weren’t so sore from all the painting, I’d be considering painting every room in my house this color! Now on to the next project!

Thanks y’all!

– Nikki