Being Featured On...

Primitive & Proper

If your visiting from P&P, hello! So glad you popped on over, now make yourself at home! 

<3,

Adri

Vinyl Lettering For The Laundry Room

We got up our new laundry room door {that J found on the side of the road-here} this week, and let me tell you- it looks so fun! Obviously needing some sanding, painting, etc. But we already made the glass all foggy, and now are in need of some vinyl lettering. I know most bloggers are in love with their Cricut, or at least some company that makes great vinyl letters, but I have no experience with it. GASP. Yes, a blogger that doesn't have a Cricut, or use vinyl at all actually. So I need your help!!! We are definitely going for simple and clean lettering {possibly saying something as simple as Laundry} and don't know where to get it from. Have you used any companies that blew you away in quality? Should I try to find a friend that has a Cricut that could do it- does it turn out nice?? Help!

Cant wait to show you how the whole door came together, because there definitely was a process to it:) Also- be sure to go and vote for our master bedroom in Vintage Revivals Giveaway {as of now, we are listed as #77 in the linky party, and our name is Dream Book Design needs help, clever right?!}  PELASE!! Voting starts Sunday at 1am..and I know y'all are still going to be up just waiting to vote for me, right?! I kid, I kid.

HAPPY FRIDAY!
<3,
Adri

Ugliest Post To Date On DreamBookDesign

So y'all know that the hubby and I take a lot of pride in our home.

Above photos Melissa Young Photgography

We love fixing it up, we love sharing it with family and friends, and we love KEEPING PEOPLE OUT OF THE MASTER BEDROOM. I know you may be thinking "Oh, well obviously Adri, thats a room just for you and J". No, no, friends, thats not the reason why..its because it looks like this:

Yep, there she is in all her beauty sickness. Yes, I could have taken shots during the day, or maybe even with a flash, but that wouldn't show the truth. The truth about this room is that the lighting is beyond terrible. To the point where if I want to read a book in there at night, I literally would have to use a flash light. No freaking joke friends. Yes, we have been living this way for almost two years, and I have no idea how. 

Here is another 'kicker' about the room, its dog-leg right {or for you non-golfers, its shaped like a big L. There is this random room attached to the bedroom, that we are at a loss as to what to do with it. 

I am honestly embarrassed/kinda feeling liberated about showing these photos. This is an un-edited, un-cleaned, un-designed {OBVIOUSLY} room. It is directly off our room, with an insanely sloped ceiling, and no real function. Im pretty sure the only time we ever spent time in it was during the kitchen makeover, because this was the only room without a foot of dust covering it.

You wanna see the best part of this room? Ready?

That is the door that leads to the backyard from our room. It is also the door that Honey still as a puppy would look out of all the time. You see, whenever she would think she heard something outside, she would run up to this door and claw her way through the crappy blinds so she could see outside. I am pretty sure there hasn't been one time ever that we had a friend over, they see this, and don't say something along the lines of "TAKE THOSE DOWN NOW..THEY ARE EMBARRASSING". That they are people, that they are!

Here are some more shots of that awkward room:

Apparently the rad Zenith radio has made itself my random storage place. And the gold couch? Oh that just holds clothes!

Back to the main bedroom, here are some more fantastic views:

yes, that really is how dark it is in there..depressing huh?

Here are my final thoughts in the form of photos:

Heres where we get to business. This incredible blogger {actually I kinda consider her a friend too, weird? Nope!} Mandi who writes the blog Vintage Revivals is doing a giveaway. The giveaway is for a free room makeover done by her. Yes, we do have a design taste of our own already, but we also like hers, and we REALLY like the fact that we would be able to make our bedroom over for FREE. If we won, she and her sister would fly out to AZ, become BFF's with me;) and make our bedroom over! How perfect, right?! 

If you as well want to become my BFF, go vote for me starting on Sunday. All you do is go here find my link, and give it a star. The voting goes for 3 days, So PLEASE do it!!! If we win, you better believe that I will be blogging about the whole journey, especially the part where Mandi and I might fight over items in thrift stores. 

<3,

Adri

Laundry Room Sink

O.M.G. this occasion calls for a big OMG guys! We won {yes, I like to pretend that when we get something on eBay, that we actually 'won' it- not bought it!} a ridiculously rad antique iron farmhouse sink!!!!!

After much debate, and the help from you fine folks here, we decided we wanted to do a laundry sink, and stack the new washer/dryer. The original desire of my heart was to have an old wall mounted farmhouse sink with legs. Those happen to be anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000, and give us no enclosed storage space underneath it.

image via Plumbing Store

Since we need to hide stuff under the sink it was time to re-think my desires! But we really did not want a basic laundry sink, we wanted something that had character and storage space.  So we had to figure out something that would give us storage, but would still maintain the wall mount farmhouse style.


We  Jeremy has been scouring eBay and Craigslist for a sink like what I had in mind, and finally came across one that was in great condition..and at a great price!  Now keep in mind this picture was most likely taken by a  2 million year old man who can no longer see, and owns a fuji film camera from the 90's {in other words, it is a terrible photo}, but it will do:

What do you think? It is a wall-mounted drop in sink from the 20's.  I love we will be able to either build storage, or buy a cool dresser for it. Storage plus a rad sink=happy wife. And we all know that for a husband a happy wife=a happy life!

<3,
Adri

How To Paint Stripes

The office painting is finished, and we couldn't be happier with the outcome. It is so nice walking by the room now and not seeing this:

Melissa Young Photo

But instead seeing this:

obviously not a Melissa Young Photo:)

The whole atmosphere and feel of the room has changed drastically. Its like all of a sudden I can feel calm and have peace in my office, instead of feeling like I am in a circus {or as my friend Kylie says, in Blue Clues}

Here is how we accomplished the stripes with only a few glitches:

• First things first, putty any holes:

• Then if you are like us and are painting over stripes that are vertical, and are going to paint horizontal, we highly suggest you lightly sand down the previous lines of stripes, since there is an edge between the colors. This way you don't have to worry about seeing lines in the opposite direction on your new paint:

• Skip above step if simply painting over a sold color. Next up, paint the trim edges a fresh coat of white. This will guarantee you to not have any remaining old paint on your new wall:

• This step was my favorite guys, ready? Laugh until you cry at what you find in your old house. I guess J had seen this before because he painted the office all alone last time, but this was my first glimpse at true wallpapering pink painted beauty:

• Prime the walls

• Next, start painting your main wall shade, we chose Powdered Snow by Behr Ultra. I'm pretty sure y'all don't need directions on how to paint a solid color, right?

• Once the main color completely dries, start the insane taping process. We got smart this time and used a laser level from Home Depot for our lines. Last time we did stripes we used a large level and penciled in the line, this was much easier. Also, by not having to actually mark anything-it eliminates the chance that pencil shows through. Almost all laser levels automatically stick to walls so just one person can do the job, unless you have insanely textured walls {like we do} then it doesn't stick and requires two people. Boo. We would mark the line with a pencil, use the level, and apply the tape directly to wall matching it up to the level line.

See what I mean by textured?!

We paid $20 for our level, and it is/was worth every penny! We spaced our stripes

12 1/2 inches apart, which in our room equaled pretty thick stripes. We arrived at this length by first measuring the wall between the base board and crown. Next we figured out how many lines of each color we wanted, we chose to have 4 white and 3 tan, so 7 total, then just divide the wall length by the number of line 88/7 = roughly 12.5 {the bottom section is actually 13", but no one has notice..yet}

When you are taping the lines be sure you are allowing the section you are painting to have the full measure uncovered, so alternate which side of the line you tape. For example, on the very top of the top line we tape on the top of the level line, then go down 12.5" and tape on the bottom level line. Alternate between the top and bottom for each line. Do this for each line.

• Once tape is up, then seal the tape down by painting your main color paint over the tape sections that the stripe color will go in. This makes sure that you get that super crisp line, even with ugly textured walls. Here is an example:

See how the tape is above and below the line.....this is very important!!!!

• Once that sealing swipe of paint is dried, time to paint the stripes in. J marked all the areas that I was not supposed to paint, just so I couldn't screw it up, he Adrianne proofed it. I think we can all manage that, especially since the prep is the hardest part! For the color of the stripes we choose Natural Choice by Sherwin Williams {see our process for choosing this color here}.

• Then comes the fun part, pulling off the tape, while simultaneously praying that the lines are perfect. Unfortunately for us, with the walls being disgustingly textured, we weren't able to get a perfect corner paint on every corner. So there was a little touch-up involved. I was ok with it though, because it took me a total of 10 minutes to touch it up and leave it perfect!

We are so happy with how they turned out. Here is an after shot, but the office is clearly not even put back together here, much less truly 'made-over'....that is to come:):)

Hope this tutorial helps all the amazing readers that said they were going to be doing stripes soon! Its a process, but it is beyond worth it!

<3,
Adri

Being Featured On...

The Inspired Room

The Inspired Room added our kitchen to their already awesome line-up of kitchen makeovers. Check it out if you have a second, because that site is amazing. If you're here from TIR, hello! Make yourself at home:)

<3,

Adri

Design Inspiration Monday

I obviously had to start out this weeks inspiration with this photo! Is that not jaw-dropping cool. I wish polaroid cameras {mainly the film actaully} was easier to come by, and not cost a fortune.

image via Dreamy House

image via Martha Stewart

image via Daisy Pies

image via Spoiled Brat

These coming images are all from the amazing blogger Me oh My's home. I love when I get tons of inspiration from someones real life home, and not some rad loft thats simply staged amazing. If you haven't ever stopped by her site, be sure to do so. You just might get addicted like I did:)

above images via Made By Girl via Me oh My

Hope everyone had a blessed Easter yesterday. Happy Monday!

<3,

Adri

Earth Day Tips

With today being Earth Day and all, I thought I would share some earth friendly design tid-bits that we implement in our home.

image via Racket

First and foremost, ALWAYS try to find something used before going straight for the new stuff. Most of our most beloved pieces in our home are used, whether it be by only a few years, or almost 100 years.

Turning old junk to beauty: Card Catalog style

Knobs, knobs, and more knobs

Kitchen Makeover: Part 482, THE END

Craigslist Find: Post Office Box

For some reason a lot of people believe that you either have to spend the big bucks, or always buy brand new, for a piece to be great. I can honestly say that 95+% of our home is from Craigslist, estate sale/garage sales, side of the road, or hand-me-downs, and we LOVE it. Recycle items and you will have an even greater appreciation for them.

Second, at all times possible, use supplies that are earth friendly. For paints, here is a list that I grabbed from AT that are all low-VOC &/or natural ingredients:

Benjamin Moore Pristine EcoSpec Paint: contains less than 10 grams of VOC's per liter. Low odor, low VOC, 100% acrylic latex paint that comes in flat, egg-shell and semi gloss. You buy Eco-Spec as a base white and then get it mixed to color, which includes off-whites and neutrals, but does not include the darker and brighter colors.

Bioshield Clay and Casein paints: natural raw ingredient paints; just add water to ready-to-mix powder. Be sure to check out their closeouts section (we like the Mandarin Milk Paint).

Yolo Colorhouse: water-based, Green Seal certified, and zero-VOC paint created by Portland, Oregon-based artists, Janie Young and Virginia Lowe. Available in a palette of 40 hues are specifically designed for interiors and categorized by nature's spectrum of air, grain, leaf, water, stone, clay and the bright hued petal range. Love their packaging!

Harmony Interior Latex: A Good Housekeeping choice, the Harmony line uses sustainable raw materials, like soy and sunflower oil in their formulation to keep solvent content low and VOCs in the zero-VOC range. Advertised as mildew and bacteria resistant.

Green Planet Paints: Soy-based resins with clay formulations and mineral pigments keep this line of paint as organic as your farmer's market produce. We like that disclose all ingredients in their paint formulas right there on the can.

Homestead House Paint Company: a 100% acrylic paint formulated to perform well ontop of existing previous applications and has the appearance of milkpaint.

Dunn-Edwards EcoShield: an MPI Green Performance Standard rated product, the low odor EcoShield line was created initially for use in schools, hospitals, hotels, homes and other closed-ventilation buildings, and is ethylene glycol free.

Devoe Wonder Pure Interior Latex Odor-Free Paints: available in flat, eggshell and semi-gloss, the Devoe Wonder-Pure line is advertised as odour free and can be applied without sanding.

Olympic Premium: A Green Seal Certification "Class A" paint also awarded the Home Safety Council's Commendation Awards for Product Innovation for Consumer Safety.

Anna Sova Latex Wall Paint: the eco-branded Healthy Wall Finish contains 99% food grade ingredients, making this non-VOC paint a good choice for interior with children and pregnant women.

Source: AT

And heres another list that puts a BIG smile on my face {hint hint- Behr PPU hit #1 in all three categories, which is the only brand we use, HOORAAYY!}

Here's the Consumer Reports rated top 5 for each finish type:

Low-Luster (Satin & Eggshell)
1. Behr Premium Plus Ultra (Home Depot), $33/gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
2. Kilz Casual Colors (Walmart), $22/gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
3. Valspar Signature Colors (Lowe's) $32/gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
4. Glidden Premium (Home Depot), $20/gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
5. Behr Premium Plus Enamel (Home Depot), $23/gallon, 150 VOC grams/liter

Flat & Matte
1. Behr Premium Plus Ultra, $31/gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
2. Behr Premium Plus Enamel, $17/gallon, 100 VOC grams/liter
3. Valspar Signature Colors, $28/gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
4. Benjamin Moore Natura, $50/gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
5. Olympic Premium (Lowe's), $16/gallon, 0 VOC grams/liter

Semigloss
1. Behr Premium Plus Ultra, $31/gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
2. Benjamin Moore Natura, $50/gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
3. Valspar Ultra Premium (Lowe's), $23/gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
4. Valspar Signature Colors, $32/gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
5. Benjamin Moore Regal, $45/gallon, 150 VOC grams/liter

Source: AT

Along with using earth friendly {and people friendly} paints, also always try to wash and re-use supplies. Whether that be paint brushes, tarps, paint pans, rollers, etc. You would be surprised at how many uses you can get from something. We personally use our brushes until there is NO possible way we could use it again.

Hope some of these paint tips, and reminders of buying used help refresh you today! Lets go out and do something, anything, that will be good for the earth and others today.

<3,
Adri

Choosing A Shade Of Tan

Guess what guys..remember when I said I would have a full tutorial on painting stripes this week, and now its Thursday and there still hasn't been one? Ya, me too. Its because for the life of me I cannot chose a tan {ish} color. We initally went to HD knowing what colors we wanted, because we loved the look of Lettered Cottages old reading room. 

via Lettered Cottage

Home Depot is usually amazing at being able to produce other brands {other than their own Behr, Glidden, etc.} from their computer database. The night we went in to get the two colors LC used, the guy said he couldn't find them on the computer. I had never worked with this guy before, which is totally weird because I think i've worked with every Home Depot paint guy there is! I didn't think that he was using the same search method as the other guys usually do {because I always tend to be a pain and not want the normal brands} AND I even told J that I thought he was doing it wrong. J thinks i'm HD crazy, so he ignored my plea to ask again!

Well now its been a week, a different shade of white, and 3 sample shades of tan later. You want to know the best part? I went back yesterday again because I didn't end up liking the sample I bought {crazy how different a color can look on walls depending on if its daytime or night. For this color, day=I LOVE IT, night= IT LOOKS LIKE BABY CRAP}. When I went back in yesterday one of my normal buddies was there so I just asked him if he could look it up for me, since I had a weird feeling that the other guy was an idiot not informed how to do it properly:) Sure enough, there was Natural Choice by Sherwin Williams. Clear as day, I might add. So now, I am just waiting on Js final say, because I despise picking a paint color without his input as well. Hopefully he will come home and say he's madly in love with it, and I will get these freaking stripes finished and have a tutorial for y'all ASAP. Here is the current state of the office:

What do you guys think? Is the Sherwin Williams Natural Choice a winner based on these photos? Would love your feedback.

<3,
Adri

Easter Project Options

Over here at the Dream Book were not too big on the typical cheesy decorations for holidays. Maybe, just maybe, once we have kids we will be  a little more in to it, but for now-NOT AT ALL. With Easter being this weekend I realized I have done absolutely nothing for DIY decorations, but thought I would share some ideas that I would have done if I remembered:)

All above images via Martha Stewart

Above images via BHG

via AT

via AT

And of course I saved the best for last...

via Country Living

Haha, I just had to share that one! I definitely won't ever be making something like it!

Did y'all do any great decorations or table settings for Easter? If so- leave a link so I can see, and maybe it will motivate me to really make it happen for next year:) Oh and by the way- yesterday I had the pleasure of painting two different paint samples for the stripes, and guess what? I hate both. Isn't choosing a color just oh so fun!

<3,

Adri