Wayfair Sofa Review: Out with the orange couch, in with the purple Andover Mills Dewitt Sectional

I tend to get sentimentally attached to furniture. (Weird, I know.) And my retro orange couch and me have been through a lot in four years. I bought the bright orange, That 70's Show-worthy sofa from a lovely couple on Craigslist, right before moving out of my college town and to a new city for my first "big girl" job. It sat in my grandma's garage while I crashed with G and hunted for my own place. But eventually, it ended up my first all-to-myself apartment.

Decor Board: Sassy Spring-Inspired Office

Despite the looming snow this weekend, I've got spring on the mind. (Maybe because of the thunderstorms and 70-degree afternoons we've experienced lately?) I've also got office decorating on the mind since we're about to start painting mine. Yay!

Anyway, I keep seeing this pink and blue (and every other color) rug pop up on Wayfair. It reminds me of my office's gray rug with a lot more pink. It's so bold, lovely, and unapologetically feminine. And it inspired this office decor board that mixes crisp, colorful furniture (like a teal desk chair, daffodil yellow desk, and sunshiny coat tree) with pieces featuring a more whitewashed, farmhouse finish (that lateral file cabinet and adorable little tiered bookcase). A girly armchair pairs with a sassy pillow. A bohemian ceiling pendant light with a sleek, shiny desk lamp. An eclectic mix of art and a quirky black giraffe statue. I could see this tiny office painted stark white or almost-black charcoal. What do you think? 

See something in the room that you just gotta have? 

Shop the space on Polyvore.

Kitchen Inspiration: Homey, Neutral, and Vintage

Our kitchen's mini makeover is nearly complete. Wallpaper down. Plaster repaired. Walls painted. This weekend, I'm putting some initial decorating touches on the space. (For me, spaces and decor are always evolving.) I can't wait to share the big reveal with you guys. This is the most neutral I've ever gone in a room, but you can bet that it's not all white and gray and brown. ;)

In the meantime, I wanted to share a few kitchens that I found on Pinterest that ended up serving as a source of inspiration—whether it be borrowing colors or brainstorming decor details. Together, ideas from these kitchens sum up what I want my kitchen to be: Homey. Functional. A nice nod to the vintage feel of turn-of-the-century kitchens. A little farmhouse action—since we're in rural Iowa, after all. And some bits of color brightening up an otherwise neutral space.  

Ideas for decorating with "Greenery," Pantone's Color of the Year

Hello, lovelies! Long time no blog, right? (So sorry about that.) Anyway, have you heard the news? I get excited when any design or paint company releases their "Color of the Year," but I'm especially stoked for Pantone's Greenery. It's bright and bold. It's lush. It reminds me of Wicked, the Emerald City, granny smith apples, and springtime. (Thinking of springtime is especially important as temps start to drop down to 10 degrees F in Iowa. Brrr.)

Color Inspiration: I'm looking for something in red

When I was little, I was obsessed with the song "I'm Looking for Something in Red" by Lorrie Morgan. My mom watched the country music station a lot and whenever this video came on, I came running. (I even named my Barbie doll Lorrie... partly in honor of this song, partly because of my other obsession with the musical Oklahoma!) 

Which of PPG's 2016-17 paint color trends is your fave?

Follow @VoiceofColor on Instagram

I get pretty excited every year when decor forecasters and paint companies announce their color trends for the year. Do I ever really follow the trends and incorporate them just because they're trendy? Nah, not really. I tend to decorate with the colors I love - regardless of "popularity" status. But boy do I love waiting to find out if one of my beloved colors ends up on a list! 

Inspiration for My Midnight Blue Bedroom

A Beautiful Mess

I change my mind a lot. I know. Recently, I painted my brown bathroom a great charcoal. And I love it. I also love the other gray room in my house. But now with two gray rooms, I'm not so much feeling the gray bedroom idea I had going on. I mean, I still like the look... but I don't want three gray rooms. 

So on to Plan B: Midnight blue walls. I love the way a deep, dark blue not only contrasts lovely with white, but also brings out the beauty of wood and copper or bronze. 

Pantone Color(s) of the Year: Rose Quartz and Serenity

Pantone just announced their color - errr, colors - of the year for 2016: Rose Quartz and Serenity... a gentle pink and airy sky blue. And the design world is all a flurry! I find it funny that people are upset that the colors remind them of gendered baby stuff. (Rolling my eyes.) For the me, the colors are reminiscent of the colors used in my grandma's wedding or (a bit less sentimental) Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, which is one of my most favorite movies ever.

To paint or not to paint (my mid-century modern dresser)?

What do you think of this dresser from West Elm? I love the clean lines and the combination of natural wood tones against crisp white. I'm not so much a fan of the hardware and drawer pulls - something metallic or eclectic would be more my style. But I'm contemplating making over my own mid-century modern dresser to look like this West Elm beauty.

Paint It Black (The Bedroom, That Is)

When I first moved into my Victorian duplex apartment (about a year ago), one of the first rooms to get painted was the yellow room. I painted the office a vibrant chartreuse called Pollination from PPG. It's a gorgeous color that worked great with accents of gray, turquoise, white, and black. However, due to some re-arranging in my place... I swapped the bedroom and office. The bedroom got moved into the Pollination room and the office moved into the gray room. This arrangement really works best, so I won't be swapping back.

(Though, that picture above is almost enough to make me consider moving my office back into the front room. But it just doesn't work best for the flow of the apartment.)

Inspired by Color: Chartreuse

Please. Give me more color, pattern, and depth!

source

Sometimes as I'm scrolling through Instagram or Pinterest, I feel like my feed is flooded by rooms and decor that all look the same. The trending spaces look something like this: White on white on white. Accents of gold. Splashes of hot pink. And maybe (if things get crazy) some black and white stripes. 

I read somewhere that an Instagram photo with a lot of white is likely to get more hearts. That as users scroll through their feed, the white background will be a visual break for the eyes and they'll feel more inclined to double-tap that.

5 Under $50: Opulent Teal Items for Your Apartment

If you see what I wear on a daily basis or step foot into my apartment, it doesn't take long to figure out that my favorite color is turquoise. Not that light Caribbean turquoise, but a bold rich medium teal. My love affair with turquoise goes way back and I wholeheartedly believe that every room needs a little splash of it. For me, this color isn't a trend. It's a classic.

Living Room Progress: Walls Painted "Pale Plum"

This past weekend, I went to work on another room in my lovely new apartment. The office is Pollination green, the bedroom is Antique Silver gray. And the living room is now Pale Plum purple. Before, some living room walls were painted pale green while the others were white. And the space was full of moving boxes. After fueling up on Mexican food Sunday, the bf and I popped open a couple cans of Schlafly and popped open my gallon can of Pittsburgh Paints Pale Plum.

5 'Colors of the Year' for 2015: Marsala, Copper Orange, Guilford Green, Blue Paisley, & Coral Reef

Yes, I'm one of those people who gets overly excited each year when all the big design and paint companies announce their "colors of the year." I dig color trends. That being said, there are colors that will always be my "colors of a lifetime" - I'll simply never get sick of rich turquoise, deep purple, warm orange, and a bold coral. I do get psyched when one of my beloved hues shows up as a trendy winner... that means I'll get to admire one of my favorite colors all over Pinterest and the glossy pages of decorating magazines.

Rather than focus on just one color of the year, I've rounded up five from major trendsetters/trendcasters. Let's begin, shall we?

Bedroom Progress: Walls Painted "Antique Silver" Gray

After a lovely holiday back in my hometown (spent eating good food, browsing antique stores, and binge watching HGTV), I returned home to my lovely little new home - with two days to spare in solitude. Don't get me wrong: I loved being surrounded by my wonderful family for a couple days, but I really savored some work-free, people-free time to myself. I stayed up late watching Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, slept in, wore my paint-spattered DIY leggings, ordered Domino's pizza, and got to work on painting my bedroom because I could not stand staring at those giant lavender diamonds for one more day.

Office / Writing Room Progress: Walls Painted "Pollination" Green!

What a weekend! Now that I'm all moved into my new place, I'm eager to get it unpacked, settled in, and decorated up. The bf and I set aside Saturday as our project day. While he worked on preparing my living room walls for future painting, I got to work in the small second bedroom that will serve as my office / writing room / library.

And the winning PPG paint colors for my apartment are...

Voting has ended; paint colors have been picked out and purchased! First off, thanks so much to those of you who voted. The paint color poll got an overwhelming response and it was fun to check in throughout the weekend to see what colors were in the lead.

Let's take a look at the poll results and what paint colors I ultimately went with, shall we?

Vote for your favorite paint colors for my new apartment!

Hello, lovelies! I move into my new place this weekend, which means... time to commit to some paint colors! The kitchen and bathroom will be staying as-is for now, but I will be painting the bedroom, office, and living room right away. (I've already chosen a color for the front room, which has yet to be assigned a purpose.)

What PPG paint color collection is right for you?

I love mulling over paint colors. There was a brief period in my childhood that my dream was to grow up and become the person that gets to name paint colors. I would create my own paint swatches in Microsoft Paint. Not even joking. Nowadays, not much has changed. (I'd still really love to be the person that names colors.) I love when decorating sites or paint companies create fun, personality-based activities to pinpoint your perfect paint colors. I stumbled across this one by Pittsburgh Paints: