The Lovely Side

The winner of this fabulous giveaway is Valerie! (I assigned each comment a number and she was randomly selected using a random number generator.) Congrats, Valerie! I'll be in touch. :) Here's what Valerie said she'd be using her gift card for:




* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * This giveaway is now closed. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Please stay tuned for future giveaways. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
Eeek! For some reason when I re-published this page to show the winner, it deleted all the other comments. :( I'll keep that in mind for next time.

When faced with the blank white walls of a dorm or apartment, it can be hard to see the potential. You linger on the "What If's" and how lovely your space could look if you were allowed even just to paint one wall. But hold it right there. White doesn't have to be boring. White walls a blank canvas upon which you can paint your style and personality. Even Rachel Ashwell agrees.
So in the spirit of all you lovely ladies moving into your white-walled dorms and apartments, I'll be featuring White Spaces that showcase a lot of different decorating styles, ideas, and ways of organizing. From the cluttered, creative, and chaotic to the modern, minimal, and tranquil... and everything in between.
To start off, I've rounded up ten rooms that are simple yet chic so that you can see how easy it really is to make your mark on the blank canvas that is your living space.
Get eclectic by forgoing a color scheme, mixing floral patterns with graphic prints, and embracing tax…

I've had some recent requests from some of you lovely readers to bring back more fashion content, specifically Polyvore sets and outfits that I actually wear. So to start, I'm kicking off this new Wednesday feature. I'll share what I wore and I'd love for you to create a Polyvore set and leave a link to it in the comments. Whether you're dressing for campus, your internship, a job, or brunch with the girls... now's your time to share. 
Today I wore a green, pleated hi-lo skirt from Target. I tucked a chambray shirt into it and rolled up the sleeves. I added a metallic gold belt, my snakeskin flats, and my favorite pair of big black-fading-to-clear glasses. Oh, and a little reddish coral lipstick. 
What's you wear?

Happy Monday, lovelies! This is just a quick note to announce that I'm FINALLY on Instagram. (Yes, I had been living in the Dark Ages of a non-smart phone up until now. I know, I know.) 
So head on over to Instagram and follow me (jessjhansen). 
The above photo is a sneak peek into what I've been up to in my bedroom! I can't wait to share, so stay tuned this week for the full post!

Elizabeth, a grad student at the University of Delaware, sent me these photos of her first apartment. She just moved in, but has been busy decorating the space to feel like home. The airy, light-filled bedroom with white walls and trim is furnished with white furniture that lends itself to a crisp, clean feel in the space. She incorporated shades of turquoise, robin's egg blue, gray, and sunshiny yellow into her color scheme.

Elizabeth's sleek white desk is kept clutter-free and overlooks beautiful greenery just outside the large windows. The clean desktop promotes organization and lets the view take center stage.

Elizabeth personalized the room with artwork and prints that represented her and her personality: inspiring quotes, monograms of her initials, and favorite places to travel to.

She also hung up fabric circles for a fun splash of color and pattern, as well as favorite photographs and art.

Her bed, with its billowy gray comforter is a relaxing place to curl up at the …

I recently scored a pair of bright orange skinny jeans. They were marked down so low and fit so perfectly that I just had to snatch them up, even though I wasn't sure how I would be styling them. The tangerine color just seems ideal for the end of the summer and the entirety of autumn. So I scavenged Pinterest and rounded up these great looks to inspire how I'll wear my orange skinnies. Like maybe with leopard print and a super soft sweater, like the chic young lady pictured above.

Or styled preppy with chambray, a navy blazer, leather bag, and gold bracelets.

A classic ivory and black stripe with black accessories is always classy. 

 Or maybe a sassier look with eye-catching heels and a feminine white blouse.

This rocker-chic look is simple and sexy, perfect for the last days of summer.

And paired with a cute jacket, this fall ensemble will easily go from work to happy hour.

Hippie-chic always makes me happy. Especially those beads.

But this is my favorite. Slouchy sweater. …

I'm attending a wedding tomorrow and got this lovely, light blue, lacy frock. However, I'm terribly indecisive about what shoes and belt to wear with it. I'm picking between brown t-strap, patent nude, or coral pumps and a sage green, golden yellow, hot pink, or metallic gold belt.
I'd also love your input on what type of jewelry and makeup to wear.
Fashion help needed. Ready... set... go!

Day 6 of Style Cure is all about color! Check out the post over at Apartment Therapy to learn about warm colors, cool colors, black and white, neutrals, the 80/20 rule, and putting colors to use. 
I'm not sticking to a super strict color scheme, but rather drawing inspiration from the things that I already own and will be using in my bedroom decor. My main inspiration comes from my bedding quilt, which is a floral pattern full of bold red, fresh green, and cream... mixed with some yellows and oranges. I'm focusing in on that cherry red and yellow green since I love pairing the two together in a non-Christmasy way. Plus, all of my furniture and walls are cream, so I'll be using a lot of ivory whites as well. For good measure, I have to throw my favorite color in there: turquoise. Since the colors of my quilt are predominately warm (even the green has a golden warmth to it!) I'll be adding splashes of cool teal. 
If you struggle with choosing colors for your space, give …

So I know that I'm usually the one dishing out apartment decorating tips around here, but I need to flip things around for once. You see, I'm stumped. And I need your creative ideas.
The photo above shows a corner of my bedroom where my bed and nightstand are. Hung high up on the wall (too high to easily reach) is this closet-like shelf and rack. It was put there by my landlord. I'm a renter, so I can't just take it down. Plus, I'm pretty sure it's not only screwed into the walls... but also GLUED! Asking him to take it down is a last resort, since he's pretty reluctant to change things he's done to the place. 

I'm really not sure what to do with it. Hide it? Seems impossible. Utilize it? But how? 
So here's where you come in. Hit me with your inspiring ideas and creative suggestions.
Leave a comment here. Comment on The Lovely Side's Facebook page. Tweet at @TheLovelySide. Or even shoot an email to [email protected]. 
Happy brainst…

For Day 5 of the Style Cure, Apartment Therapy assigned participants to create a floor plan of the space they'll be decorating. (I didn't skip Day 4. It just consisted of setting up a one-room outbox, so it doesn't require a blog post.) 
Above is my bedroom floor plan. I'll admit that I didn't take the time to take exact measurements, but the floor plan pretty much matches up spatially and furniture-wise. The door along the top wall leads to the hallway. That's a radiator in the bottom right corner. My desk and chair are in the bottom left corner, right next to the closet that has a window (and will become a book nook). In the top left corner I have a dresser, hutch, and tall lingerie chest. Obviously, you can see my bed and nightstands along the right wall.
The bed will definitely stay where it is, but I'm undecided about the dressers, hutch, and desk. Those may end up moved around a bit. We'll just have to see.
If you made a floor plan of your space …

You know I love my spray paint. I spray paint whatever I can get my crafty little hands on. From fat little birdies to Grecian busts to leather boots (yes, really!)... nothing is safe or sacred. Like a good milkshake, spray paint can even bring boys to the yard. This time, I found myself in the yard with my favorite boy. I'd been itching for a nice day to spray paint a couple things, so on Saturday the bf and I went out into the backyard armed with Rustoleum red and Krylon sunshine. 
I used the Rustoleum red (my all-time favorite spray paint!) on the base of my bedside lamp. It's always been an antiqued sorta gold, but I heard it begging for a bold splash of color on multiple evenings. "The gold is getting old," the lamp communicated in Morse code flickers. Okay, not really. But I swear, the thing was begging for a makeover. And it turned out lovely:

The other item was a small white cart, which the bf spray painted Krylon's sunshiny yellow.  I was mainly inspire…

For Day 3 of Apartment Therapy's Style Cure, I was assigned to choose which room to decorate and take some "Before" photos of it. I knew right away that I'd be decorating my bedroom. It's where I spend most of my time. Since moving in, I've made some progress as you can see from some of these photos. 
For me, this Style Cure is going do a lot with editing while decorating. I have a ton of knick knacks, books, and objects. I really want to edit them down and cut out some of the clutter. (Note the cluttered dresser tops and bookcase above.)

Above, the photo shows my desk area and the nearby closet. I like my desk here because I can see out the window to the right and out the window to the left (not pictured). I really want this space to become a headquarters for blogging and creative writing. I need a comfier chair, for one. The closet is still full of some moving boxes. I'll be clearing it out and turning it into a book nook for reading.

The weekend assignment for Day 2 of Apartment Therapy's Style Cure was to snap photos of things and spaces that I find inspiring and aesthetically pleasing. The bf and I spent Saturday morning and afternoon in Cedar Rapids' Czech Village and New Bohemian District. And I found lots of inspiration there.
The photo above depicts a huge mural on the side of a building in the Czech Village. It sums up a lot of the style I want my bedroom to incorporate. First of all, it's got all the right colors. Red and green paired together in a non-Christmasy way, incorporating beige, white, and splashes of turquoise blue, too. I adore the artsy bohemian style of the illustration and lettering, since Alphonse Mucha is one of my favorite artists.

This is a very old firehouse in the New Bohemian District. I believe it now houses art. What I find inspiring about this is the historic architecture, the colors, the brick texture, and seeing something antique being re-purposed for modern living. …