Looks I Love: Wallflowers

Oh, how I love flowery walls. This decor trend probably isn't something I'd do right now. 1) I have enough floral patterns on my rugs, bedding, artwork, and accessories. And 2) we've spent enough time the last few months peeling wallpaper. But the look of floral patterns and murals on the walls is something that certainly makes me swoon. It reminds me of the garden frescoes found on the walls of houses in Pompeii—especially the ones with birds perched on branches. 

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.

The Decorating Evolution of my Home Office (It's finally finished!)

I'm so behind on sharing house progress with you! It's been over a month since I posted about my office makeover being underway—and it's been finished for several weeks now. I absolutely love how it turned out. 

It's dark, but colorful. Vintage-y and eclectic. Filled with my favorite art, books, and writing inspiration. A cozy place to work my day job 8-to-5, read in the evenings, and spend the weekends blogging and writing. Out of everywhere in this house, this is where I spend most of my time.

8 Grownup Ways to Style The Little Artist Shelf from Minted

You guys, I'm so excited to share this post today because this shelf is aaahhhh-mazing. I've been eyeing picture ledge shelves for a while now, but I couldn't find something "just right." Until Minted debuted their new collection of art shelves and photo ledges.

Yes, that Minted. The online marketplace that sells oh-so-lovely stationary, wedding invitations, and artwork—all created by independent artists and designers. Lately, they've expanded into home products, too. Pillows, curtains, table linens, holiday decor—you can shop it all. But these shelves are exactly what I was looking for.

Bookish Decor Board: Three Dark Crowns

Three dark sisters, all fair to be seen, 

two to devour, and one to be queen. 

I bought Kendare Blake's Three Dark Crowns way back at my birthday in February (boyfriends who gift B&N gift cards are the best—I may be biased), but didn't get around to reading it until this week. Thanks to a few days of being sick, I spent my evenings curled up with tea, tissues, and this book. I devoured it. It's so, so good and I can't wait for the sequel this September. (And—rumor has it—a movie!) 

Dream Come True: My New, Big, Lush Plant—No Green Thumb or Upkeep Required

What's one thing that your house or decor is missing?  For me, the answer is plants. You see, I lack a green thumb.

Last year, I tried to grow herbs on my kitchen window sill. Apparently, I over-watered. A couple years before that, a co-worker gifted me with her pretty desk plant when she landed a new job but couldn't take the plant home since it was not safe for cats. I had no cats at the time, but the plant didn't live very long in my apartment. There was also that time I had a fuzzy little succulent. I don't remember what happened to it. The only plant I ever managed to keep alive for a good length of time was a lovely orchid, but it succumbed to the cold when I made the move from apartment to our house last spring.

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.

Downton-Meets-Farmhouse Kitchen Wall (feat. decor from Gordmans!)

You guys, I'm about to share the most neutral I've ever gone with a room. Ever. So over our Christmas/NYE break, we removed wallpaper, repaired plaster walls, and painted our kitchen. 

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.)

Butler's Pantry Project | Part II: Priming, Painting, and Decorating

Hello again! Recently, I posted about peeling wallpaper and picking paint colors for our butler's pantry. Two weeks later... all the wallpaper is gone, the plaster walls repaired, the room primed and painted, and the little space pretty much decorated. :)

Operation: Reupholster the Dining Room Chairs (AKA: Overcoming DIY Fears)

The Lovely Side partnered with DecoratorsBest for this project post.

All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

The blog hasn't been super busy lately—and for that, my lovelies, I apologize. But we have been busy here in our old house. Peeling wallpaper. Repairing plaster walls. And taking on first-time DIY projects, like this one. I reupholstered my dining room chairs!

It's Fall, Y'all! | Autumn Haul from Gordmans

So I just got back from a lovely friend's wedding in Georgia. The bf and I made a road-trip of it—stopping half-way in for an overnight stay in Kentucky on the way there, then making the whole fourteen hour drive (we stopped several times, including for an hour long supper in Tennessee) in one shot on the way back. So excuse me while I hang on to saying "y'all" just a while longer. It's fall, y'all!

Decorating with CORT: 1 Room, 3 Ways

This post brought to you by CORT. The content and opinions expressed below are that of The Lovely Side.

Once in a while, I hear from you lovely readers about how you'd love to decorate your space, but you're only living there temporarily. Or how you've just relocated, and making your place feel like home is proving difficult. Something I wish I'd considered back in my moving-from-apartment-to-apartment days is furniture rental. (Especially during that stint where I didn't actually have a couch... or place to put my television...) 

House Progress: Dining Room Decor Plan

Our dining room has definitely caused me the most design obstacles so far. It's a formal dining room—something I haven't really had before. It's a big, spacious room. The radiators and built-in cabinet are gorgeous—and also pose furniture arrangement challenges. Oh, and it's the only place we can fit and plug in our must-have keezer—fresh homebrewed beer on tap is such a luxury!

Dorm Decor Week: Rose Gold & White Marble Inspiration Board

This dorm decorating inspiration board is inspired by two hot trends: rose gold and white marble. I love how the pinkish gold metallic pairs with classic white marble. It's ultra feminine, but with a sleek, modern edge.

Dorm Decor Week: Schoolhouse Sweet Inspiration Board

This dorm decor inspiration board is inspired by old schoolhouses, vintage botanical prints, and sugary sweet retro colors. It's a little preppy, a little girly, and a little industrial—all at once. Balance preppy pastels with candy brights, vintage metals with retro woods, and bold typography with pretty illustrations.

Dorm Decor Week: Luxury Style on a Budget

With college starting back up, The Lovely Side is going back to its roots for a full week of dorm and college decorating ideas. Kicking it off, I want to share an inspiration board and sources for creating a dorm like this one recently featured on BuzzFeed:

Get the look of stained glass—affordable and temporary!

In my office, my desk sits in front of a nice bay window that faces east and looks out over the neighborhood. For six hours of the workday, I love it. But from 8 AM to around 10 AM, the sun is in a position high enough to peek over the trees, but not so high that it's over the house. So it's a really bright, sunny spot to sit in the morning—sometimes it's hard to even see my computer screen. (Now I know why the previous dwellers had a strange window blind that only went halfway down. I took that down a long time ago.)

So I've been brainstorming ideas to tame the morning sunlight a bit—without blocking up my window with blinds. I found myself inspired by the real, original-to-the-house stained glass window in our living room. It looks like this:

How should I decorate the dining room with this table?

Our dining room is huge. Our dining table set was little. So I've been on the hunt for a nice, big dining table that will not only look more proportionate in our dining room, but also provide better seating for occasional dinner guests. (Let's be honest: G and I eat most of our meals on the couch.)

I found the above table on Craigslist for just $100! It's currently flipped over as we're re-gluing the legs for stability (the half hour truck ride jostled them loose). So it's hard to see that the top is stained a nice dark wood tone—like our trim! The rest is painted a crisp, bright white. And don't those unique legs make a statement?! I can't wait to get this thing flipped over!