Style with me “dining room edition”

Hey guys welcome back! Today I’m really excited to share a step by step of me styling our dining room, hopefully this will be a little more insight on my process. Along the way, you will see that once the room is almost pulled together I often make minor adjustments to fully perfect the room.

One thing that is true no matter the space, I always have a general idea of the look I’m going for, or one piece of furniture I want to highlight. In this case I just score this awesome white lacquer dining table from the Salvation Army and wanted to style it, in my own way. I also knew I wanted to use this baby quilt (also thrifted, actually almost everything shown is thrifted) as a table-cloth, the boho pattern really spoke to me and the rest played off of the pattern.

I first started off with the shelving, I wanted to give the feel of open cabinets like you would see in a kitchen. I wanted to show off my recent obsession with pottery and chose very neutral tones that would compliment dark woods.

I went back and forth quite a bit,  especially with the bottom shelf since it’s round I’m always very limited as far as what I can use. I finally settled on a plant, it filled the bottom shelf very well and the green brought a little life to everything.

I then decided to add these starburst mirrors, they look very similar to the embroidered flowers on the quilt. Plus the black is a nice contrast to the gold shelf, and the style adds that mid-century modern feel.

I then moved on to the table scape, I knew I wanted to introduce dark woods and a few plants. I opted for this rather large cactus, which ended up being way to tall it was blocking a large portion of the shelf from a straight on view. I was pretty happy with everything else, I really like the pop of gold that the flatware brings to this whole look, It ties back to the shelf, and although you can’t see the top of the salt and peppers shakers they also have gold.

Since I was at an ok, spot for the table I decided to tackle the shelf again, this time I rolled a handful of kitchen towels which I really liked but later found a better use for them. I also ditched the small copper bowl and filled a crisp white bowl with succulents to brighten the shelf.

I really love the pattern one the dish towels and wanted to show case them more, so I decided to hang them off an accordion style rack. I LOVE this, not only did it fill the space without being too over powering but the blonde wood from the rack ties in nicely with the legs from the table.

Since the cactus was too tall and interrupting the styling from the shelf, I switched it out for a smaller plant. I also brought it some limes, and a small cactus to re-enforce the green color story. I layered a faux fur throw to add texture as well as brighten the over all look, laying it across both chair creates a seemless looks and gives the appearance of a bench.

Once I was happy with the table scape I revisited the shelf once again, sometimes I end up moving things 30 times before I get it right. I decided to bring another wood element to the shelf with this stacking keepsake box, and added a few extra touches to the second shelf, like these gold measuring cups and a bit of quirkiness with this Russian stacking doll. I then removed both for the final look lol.

The wall also needed a little bit more so I flanked two additional wall pieces that were similar in scale. I typically fan outward, with the largest items towards the center but I actually really like the smaller mirrors toward the center. The two lighter pieces really balances out the wall.

Here is completed look, I hope you guys enjoyed following me along my styling process. In the comments below let me know what you guys think, also if you aren’t already following me on Instragam please show me some love, I post twice a day! @lifeinmauve

Small space, big style

I’m REALLY excited to finally be sharing our bedroom/ nursery tour, it’s my favorite space in our home. It meets all of our needs while still feeling stylish and to be honest, I’m pretty impressed of what we accomplish with only 180 sq ft. We had three goals, while designing this space; 1) we needed to create designated area for baby (that could act as the nursery portion). 2) we needed to fit a crib, rocker, queen size bed, and a dresser. 3) It needed to still feel grown up, yet playful all at the same time. Oh and lets not forget, 3 of us (baby, my fiance and I) share this room! PHEW!

 

 

The first task was choosing a color palette, and while I could have lived perfectly content with a very neutral, soft color palette ( all white and blush for me please!) I had to add a touch of masculinity. So the bones to our palette are a rich navy and crisp white with pops of orange and green throughout the space to create a playful vibe. As for a “theme” we really don’t have one, our taste tends to be a little bit all over the place. (but it all somehow works together). I guess you can say we tend to lean towards bohemian design eclectic if you will.

 

The star of the show is our bed, (my favorite) it’s the first thing that catches your eye when you enter the room. The headboard (DIY) a navy suede, paired with exaggerated tufting add an element of richness and sophistication to the room. The neutral linens add juxtaposition, with a tonal south-western inspired print, layered along side a multitude of tassels on the throw blanket and pillow. Keeping everything tonal allowed me to add several texture and patterned layers, with out feel overwhelming.

The next step in our process, was space planing we had several new pieces we wanted bring in, to make life with a new baby a little more “comfortable”. We added a rocker that I’m absolutely in love with, and a C style side table. Opting for a not so traditional rocker,  kept the room from feeling to nurseryish yet still served its intended fuction. Especially during the first sleepless nights, it was a life saver having a comfortable place to sit with baby until he fell asleep.

The dresser was something we already had, it’s a chest style 6 drawer dresser which baby and I share ( well more like he has four drawers and I have two #mommylife). The scale and the color are perfect for the space bringing in  warmth from the  wood, while the hardware ties in our love for modern.

Our C table came as a later addition, at first we wanted to go with out a night stand but we quickly realized we needed something. It was a lucky find from Ross and only costed $29.00, the shape is perfect as this area is snug it fits perfectly over the arm off the rocker.

Tucked behind the table is a gold leaning floor mirror, from Ikea (no longer available) that I’ve had since my very first apartment (so obviously it’s not going anywhere!). It brings in a lot of light, and makes the room feel much larger that it actually is plus baby loves to look at himself in it. The gold frame, is everything it has an almost vintage quality to it.

For babies area, we kept it playful yet not overly themed the focal point is a gallery wall filled with little critters (mostly painted by me) and geometric mountain scapes. Items like a vintage inspired wall sconce, large navy pot, and geometric pillow give it a grown up feel. A simple light-grey crib frame, is not invasive or over powering, marrying nicely with the rest of the room. We utilized every inch of the room and store clear totes underneath his crib for  fold-able clothes. I whipped up a simple caddy to house all of babies necessities (e.g whips, diapers, lotion etc. ) this freed up a ton of counter space, and minimized the clutter in the room (plus it keeps us organized).

While we do have a busy walls, it all works since we try to keep it in the same color family. Over the bed we have a DIY woven wall hanging and two vintage hats anchoring it.Minimal yet full of texture for plenty of visual interest.

This round wire shelf, is styled in our color palette with special objects for baby like gifts brought back from trips to Mexico, and a baseball from his first game. I’ve added in faux succulents to add a touch of greenery,  and liven things up. Anchoring the shelf, we have some of our favorite pictures of Levi in these modern gold floating frames, that hang by a simple leather strap.

On the dresser more plants (#urban jungle) and a few thrift-ed treasures like this 1970’s oil lamp for added interest. I also love picture frames (this was my mother’s day gift) they make a space feel cozy, and are an easy way to introduce color.

The biggest key to making a small space work, and not feel overly crowed is to keep it clean and organized. We store things like books, toys, shoes and sleepwear, in totes making them “appear” neat and organized. I also try my best to pick up daily, although that’s not always the case… we declutter and donate often, as soon as we stop using something, it gets taken out of the room and pass on. 

Hope you all enjoyed this post as much as I did, I truly believe that no make the size of a space it can be functional and stylish.

For more decor inspiration follow me on I.G @lifeinmauve

Thanks for stopping by.

xoxo Nayeli