DIY Wardrobe Planning Center ~ Fashion Rack

Yesterday, I shared the story with you on how my new watch inspired a time saving DIY project that has made my weekends so much easier.  I've named this project the "Wardrobe Planning Center"...

You may remember I started this project a while back. I took a long blank wall in my bedroom and added brackets, a long shelf and four pretty hooks to the board and batten trim (you can catch the step by step tutorial for that process here). After the idea of creating a Wardrobe Planning Center was born, I decided this was the perfect spot for it. 

My busy weekends are now a little easier and more enjoyable thanks to this cute DIY project. I'm able to plan out and prepare everything I need to wear (including jackets, accessories, jewelry, handbags and shoes) for the entire weekend so it's ready for me. 

(JORD Frankie Zebrawood Navy Watch)

I'm sure many of you can relate to busy weekends chasing the kids around with back to back events. I find myself running from one place to another without a lot of time for primping, but still wanting to look nice. Early morning softball tournaments with my daughter had me dressing in the dark, grabbing whatever was on the top of the stack in my dresser while trying not to wake the entire family.  Meanwhile, the cute clothes I just bought are somewhere, folded up, lonely, waiting to be reached for someday.

In between events, I could usually be found tearing through my closet changing outfits, leaving a pile of clothes in my wake. For instance, after a chilly early morning softball game,  it's time to shed a few layers to transition into a sunny, warm, afternoon football game. From there, it's a dinner date with the hubs and some friends. It's time to change again, all while trying to look nice and pulled together in a hurry.  

Without any planning and prepping this was leading me to frustration. Now, I look forward to my Friday night dates with my Wardrobe Planning Center. This is when I get to have a little fun while preparing for a busy weekend. I've really enjoyed taking a little bit of time to put together outfits and experiment with new looks for the weekend ahead. I've noticed by doing this, I'm able to wear a lot of the same staple pieces and just change a piece or two to transition my clothes between events. 

You can see here in the photos how this particular weekend I prepared several mix and match outfits. Everything I needed to get me through four softball games, two football games, a dinner date, church and shopping was planned out and ready to go. Including my accessories, purse, boots and blanket for the late night game. 

Above the shelf, I framed a little motivational quote for those moments when I feel stressed. My goal in this project was mainly to make my busy weekends a little easier so I can enjoy every moment. I love this time with my family, this set up has made helped me keep up with it all without feeling like I look like a hot mess. However, something else happened...it also has turned into an attractive design element in my bedroom. I really enjoy looking at my favorite fashions and accessories. 

I love how projects like these remind me of how our homes can work for us and still look pretty. This organizational area was meant to be functional and make my life easier, and at the same time it added to the aesthetics of my bedroom. Real life is beautiful! 

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget about the JORD Wood Watch Giveaway we have going on right now. Click here for the details and a link to enter!

Online Design Services are now available. Please click here for details.

*This post sponsored by JORD Wood Watches

How a New Watch Inspired a DIY Project ~ Giveaway

This post sponsored by JORD Wood Watches.

Giveaway at the end of this post!

Recently, I was asked by JORD to review one of their wooden watches. I fell in love immediately with their entire line, so I agreed and received the most unique watch. The reason I fell in love with their wooden watches? I was drawn to the way they add warmth, texture and natural wood grain to my outfits the same way wood tones add to an interior design. While I was planning the review post for my new watch, something magical happened...an amazing DIY project was conceived! A project that made my life a whole lot easier (and my bedroom cuter)! 

It's quite ironic that the project was inspired by a watch because it happens to be one of the most time-saving projects I've created in my home.  Here is how it came about...as I was planning an outfit to wear with my new watch for the review, I was also planning for a busy weekend with my family. I was preparing for a dinner out with the hubby, an early morning softball tournament, an afternoon football game, church and shopping on Sunday.

All of these events were to take place back to back (with a little sleep in-between). I knew I had to do some prepping to pull all of this off. Especially if I wanted to look nice. So, while I was planning my outfit for the watch post, I also began to put together some other pieces to create a weekend worth of mix and match outfits that were ready to go. I noticed that this process made it very easy for me to transition my wardrobe between all of these events by changing one or two pieces, as opposed to changing my entire outfit. I was very excited to wear my new watch, so it was nice that all my weekend outfits were curated around it. 

 The watch I selected from JORD was the Frankie Zebrawood and Navy. I'm obsessed with the deep wood grain finish and navy blue face highlighted with silver details. You guys know I love to add wood tones to my interior designs and I often say every room needs a little bling. The zebra wood band and silver details featured in this watch add these elements to my wardrobe. 

(source)

Tomorrow, I will be back to reveal the DIY project that this watch inspired. I can't wait to share it with you! I know some of you can relate to busy weekends. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this DIY project has been a weekend lifesaver. It has saved me so much time and on top to that, it allows me to show off some of my favorite fashion accessories, like my new watch!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway by CLICKING HERE!

Contest winner will receive a $75 e-gift code and will be automatically selected and emailed. ALL other entrants receive a $20 e-gift code automatically emailed to them just for entering! Contest ends 10/09/2016 at 11:59pm. Both the $75 and $20 codes will expire on 1/31/2017.

Online Design Services are now available. Please click here for details.

*I received a watch in order to facilitate this post. 

You can connect with JORD on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. 

Wooden Wristwatch

An Unused Dining Room Becomes A Chic Family Planning Center

We currently have openings for new online design projects! Please click here for details.
Today's featured design plan is a project we just wrapped up for our client, Laura. I couldn't wait to share this one because Laura's situation my sound familiar to many of you. She came to us for a design plan for her Formal Dining Room and Living Room. She explained that these two adjoining spaces are rarely used for formal entertaining. She wanted to make better use of the space while making sure these areas still look extra special, they are the first rooms you see upon entering the foyer. 

I got to know Laura's family through the design process. I learned that they love to entertain large crowds, but they tend to do it very casually and not at the formal dining table. When they are having a party, their guests tend to mingle in the kitchen, eat while sitting on the sofa's or at their Grandmother's heirloom drop leaf table. Laura's Formal Dining Room was hardly ever used for dining. However, it was being used daily by Laura and kids for Lego building, matchbox races, homework, sorting mail, working on the computer and for Laura's evening work (she is a teacher). The adjoining Formal Living Room was being used for reading, and for playing on the floor with the kids. 

Our solution for making these spaces more functional for their daily life, and beautiful enough to be the first impression of the home was to transform the Formal Dining Room into a super chic "Family Planning Center" and the The Living Room into a "Reading Room".

Above you can see the inspiration boards we created that illustrate the overall style of the new design. You can also see the true-to-scale floor plan that we provided to show Laura where all of the elements in her design plan should be placed. Since these two spaces are basically one large area divided by two columns we repeated some of the design elements for flow. For instance, we recommended the same paint colors, wall treatment (wainscoting) and drapery for both areas.

In The Family Planning Center we combined discreet storage, lots of work space and loads of style...

 

We removed her dining set and replaced it with this desk system by Ballard Designs. It includes a large two sided desk and twin cabinets with illuminated glass door hutches for display. This piece allows this space to function as a hard working home office/homework area while offering plenty of discreet storage to keep it looking neat and very attractive. The display cabinets give us an opportunity for some fun styling to keep the room looking less like an office and more like a room worthy of being the "first impression" room. 

To cozy up the space, we suggested a beautiful, wool area rug to be placed under the desk. 

To contrast with the black furniture and to provide softness, we selected a pair of upholstered desk chairs from Ballard Designs (in a performance fabric for stain resistance). 

We recommend this light fixture to replace her Dining Room chandelier...

We placed two of these fantastic storage cabinets across from the desk to offer even more storage. We suggested one cabinet could be used for Laura's school supplies and the other for the kids homework supplies. 

We gave Laura a fun DIY project, to turn a unique thrift store frame turned into a chalkboard.

To finish off the Family Planning Center, we recommended an attractive framed cork board for the space in between the hutches. 

In the new Reading Room, we created a cozy space for Laura and the kids to cuddle up and read. Although you wouldn't know it at first glance, we also designed the room for play time! 

The tables we placed in the space feature beautiful woven storage baskets to house the kids Lego's and matchbox cars. These tables were selected for Laura because they offer a nice flat, lipped surface for the kids to create their lego masterpieces. They are also light weight and easy for her to move should they decide to have a match box race on the floor. 

Speaking of playing on the floor, this area rug gives the floor added softness, in addition to personality. The animal print design is a little sassy while the color palette of gray and black tones it down and keeps it sophisticated. 

Laura already had a nice, neutral, off-white slipcovered sofa in the space so we kept it in the design. To contrast with the white sofa, we selected a reading chair covered in a mid-toned gray fabric. 

 These chunky knit floor poufs are a fun addition for the kids. They also lend texture to the design. 

Below is a page from the design plan that explains our selections for toss pillows. Like myself, Laura is from Michigan. She requested that we incorporate some local goodies in the space to show our home state some love...

Another nod we added to the Great Lakes State is this cute plaque from Etsy. 

To finish off the Reading Room we made suggestions for a mini art gallery, photo collage, lighting, drapery hardware and decorative accessories. The design elements featured in this post are just some of the recommendations we made for Laura's Family Planning Center and Reading Room. 

For more information on our affordable online design plan service, please click here. We currently have openings for new projects and would love to work with you! Thanks for stopping by. 

Online Design Service openings are available. Please click here for details.

What Was In This Month's Stitch Fix Box

A few weeks ago, I told you all about my new obsession with Stitch Fix (if you missed it, click here) I shared one of my recent "fixes" and you guys responded that you wanted to see more. Well today, I received another Stitch Fix box in the mail! I took some pictures to show you what my personal stylist chose for me this time!

Each month this little box shows up at my door. Inside are a total five articles that consist of clothing, outwear, accessories, shoes/boots, jewelry, etc. Each item is selected specifically for me by my personal Stitch Fix Stylist. The first thing I see when I open the box is an envelope that contains a personal note to me along with style cards for each item in the box. The style cards provide outfit inspiration and ideas for styling the new items with other pieces (things that I already may have in my wardrobe). 

 Here are the style cards for the items I received today...

I peeked at the style cards before tearing into the tissue. Just by looking at the cards, I could tell that my stylist nailed this fix. This month, I asked her to select pieces to help transition my wardrobe into fall. I created a pin board and went a little nuts pinning outfits that appealed to me (click here if you want to see my Fashion Pin Board.) This helped her get a good sense of my fall fashion crushes.

The first item out of the box was this incredible knit poncho (The Jana Poncho).  It's a soft, chunky, gray, knit pullover sweater that's perfect for layering. It has a really cute fitted sleeve with high slits on each side that give it a little more shape and style than your average sweater poncho. This will be my weekend "Football Mom" staple piece. 

The next item was a little more on the dressy side (The Gareta Lace Back Blouse). I'll be honest, when I first saw it, I was a little indifferent to it. Once I tried it on, I was floored at how much I loved this top. The fit is flattering, the light color looks amazing with dark denim pants and the lace detail on the back is so romantic. I never would have chosen this top for myself, I'm so glad my Stylist selected it for me. 

The Elyse Printed Slim Straight Leg Pants were next. These black dressy leggings are on the "business casual" side making them a great choice for weekdays. They feature a very subtle herringbone pattern that gives them a little more interest than your average black dress pants and the slim fit is very flattering. They are kind of like a combination of yoga pants and suit pants!

I may have squealed when I pulled out The Callie Denim Jacket. This light-washed, deconstructed jacket is just what I need to give my beloved summer tank tops and sundresses a new fall/winter life. I've already thought of a thousand things in my wardrobe that I can layer under this jacket.  I can't say that I wouldn't choose a jean jacket for myself, but I can say I may not have chosen one that was this heavily distressed. Again, I am so glad my stylist chose it for me, because I love how the distressing makes my outfits look a little more youthful. 

The last item in my box is my favorite item in this month's fix. The Barb Perforated Peep Toe Bootie is the cutest thing I've ever seen. 

I ended up keeping 3 of the 5 items in this fix. There were two things I decided to send back, though it wasn't because I didn't love them. The pants were so cute, but they were too long for me. I also (very reluctantly) sent back the booties due to the open toe. I LOVED the look of the open toe, but for a Michigan Girl,  I would not be able to wear them very long without risking frostbite. 

This month's Fall Fix was my favorite fix so far. Even though I only kept three pieces, I will be taking my stylists direction and finding a pair of similar booties (with a closed toe) and some patterned black dress leggings to add to my wardrobe. 

So far, Stitch Fix has been a fun experience. My stylist has selected some pieces for me that I would never have picked for myself. These pieces quickly became my favorites. Aside from the convenience of not having to shop for myself, I really enjoy having the fresh perspective of a Professional Fashion Stylist.

Stay tuned for more! I've requested to receive one fix per month. 

Online Design Services are now available. Please click here for details.

*This is NOT a sponsored post. I do however recieve a merchandise credit for anyone who signs up for Stitch Fix using my link (here).