Bye Bye Sibling Townhouse

Dear Chicago House,

The sale of our lovely St Louis townhouse, which we called "The Sibling" (you are our main house after all) went through today. It was on the market for only 30 days and bought by the first people who looked at it ...it really was a lovely house and so much fun to decorate. I won't bore you with why we sold it.

I used a mood board to put together the look for the living room

created a serene beachy feel family room

 Gave the master bedroom a more personal touch

Chicago teen wanted a day-glo orange bedroom so seeing as you are only 15 once I obliged. Put your sunglasses on for this

It only had a weeny kitchen but take a look at those goreous wood floors.

We are going to miss you sibling!

Anyone else give their house a name or am I a nutter?

Love

Creative in Chicago

XX

Categories: decorating, Town House

String Art for a Beachy Room

Dear Chicago House,

Mission accomplished, I have completed  the Pinterest Winter Challenge(read about the progress here) and I have succeed!

Here is my SEA & SAND stringtabulous creation

I used crochet and regular sewing thread in blues and greens and purples and wrapped in a very random fashion but created a color gradient going from green/blue to purple /blue. The wrapping took about 3 hours.

Although I have decided that the art work is destined for the beachy living room in the St Louis town house I couldn't resist putting up in your sunny entrance way...but lets face it it is a pretty weird message to greet people when they come in ... so it is destined not to stay there.

I really like the looked though so maybe I need to come up with another more appropriate message ... not "welcome" , that is too obvious...anyone have any ideas? ( help me out..I have a poll on what to do next HERE)

What a fun challenge!

Love from

Creative in Chicago

XX

Categories: Beachy, Craft Projects, DIY, How to, On the Wall, String, Town House, Tutorials

Beach inspired family room makeover: before and after

Dear St Louis House,

Are you ready for a before and after of your family room? You are a bit of an odd shape, built directly over a garage, long and thin with just one window.

Here you are in your before state, a bit bland with a carpet color almost the same as your walls.

After a wonderful holiday in Florida, a plan was mulled over, formed and you were destined to become a beachy room even though you are about as far away from the sea as you can get in the jolly good old USA.

You are not quite finished yet ...needing a little wall art, but the bones of the room are in place.

 

 

You have a very sea scape palette, Aqua breeze walls, a sink in luxury sofa the color of drift wood and a glorious loop carpet the hue of sand. Nautical and beach inspired accent pieces  ( decorating with shells, Monkey Fist rope balls, fish net coin jar) are dotted throughout.

The curtains and pillows both come from Ikea ...I have been desperate to find the right room to use these curtains for ages and they fit here perfectly.

I hope you like it!

Love from

Creative in Chicago

XXX

Linking to

theshabbycreekcottage | gingersnap | bunnyjeansdecor | addicted2decorating | homestoriesa2z | liveloveandcraft | handymancraftywoman | lilluna |

Categories: Beachy, Before and After Magic, Paint it baby, Town House

Fishing net decorated jar

Dear Chicago House,

Continuing my theme of all things beachy and my weird new interest in rope and string, here is a nautical jar, destined to be a keeper of  change. I knocked (or should that be knotted) it up after reading a wonderful post HERE by Craftberry Bush ...great tutorial with lots of pictures.

I am so looking forward to assembling the beachy room in your St Louis sibling house.

Love from

Creative in Chicago

XXX

Categories: Beachy, Craft Projects, decorative accents, Rope, String, Town House

Town House Living Room Update

Dear St Louis House,

Well remember that mood board I posted here , well I didn't quite manage to execute all I had planned.

The custom bird art work is up ( you can still comment on it here for a chance to win a digital set), the IKEA tables are constructed and the sofa is most definitely livened up with a pop of red. I still have a way to go but the mood board will keep me on track.

Love from

Creative in Chicago

XXX

Categories: Town House

Town House Master Bedroom: Before and After

Dear St Louis House,

I spent a week with you last week and in that time I managed to paint both of your bedrooms, install curtain rods, hang and hem curtains, construct 6 pieces of Ikea furniture, hang 11 pictures and even managed to stain your deck. Whew I am a little tired this week.

So lets do a little sharing. Here is your master bedroom before, brown walls and a very sad disheveled bed.

And with the flick of my paint brush and a wave of my magic Ikea wand.

and in case you are interested here is a breakdown.

• Wall color: Behr: Aqua Breeze (I selected the paint /primer option and the room still needed two coats)
• Night Stands: Ikea Hemnes
• Bedding: A duvet cover I already had, with the heat and humidity in St Louis it doesn't have a duvet in in yet!
• Pillows: Covers from Ikea: Henny
• Curtains: Ikea: Merete
• Curtain Rods: Kmart
• Art Work: A set of vintage British seaside posters

I have a bit more work to do on the side of the room I haven't photographed but I think you are coming along very nicely. I'll be back soon to finish you off!

Love from

Creative in Chicago

xx

Home Stories A 2 Z

Categories: Before and After Magic, Town House

Town house living room mood board

Dear St Louis Town House,

This is the first letter I have written to you, I hope I am not making The Chicago house jealous!

So the last couple of weeks I have been shopping for you and my main retailer of choice has been Ikea (St Louis it's about time you got yourself an Ikea) as I want you decorated but I don't want to blow the bank.

Here is your living room devoid of any decor touches, however it offers a great canvas.

And here is what I am planning

The sofa is a Drupella from Ashley furniture and the curtains are already there. The lamps are from Target, the pillows, table, basket and lucky bamboo are all Ikea borns. In a fit of creative madness I produced the three bird prints and shared those with you here (if you comment of them by the end of June you are entered into a drawing to win a digital set of them!)

Can't wait to get back to St Louis to get this little lot set up!


Love From

Creative in Chicago

XXX

Categories: Town House

Decorating a town house

Dear Chicago House,

How do I break this to you ... you have a new sibling, a town house in St Louis. I am not abandoning you, it is just another space in which I can flex my creative muscles every now and again.

I have to tell you this though ...it is not as ugly as you were on day one. It is not full of brown walls and shag pile floors. It is already light and airy with beautiful maple floors and sparking white trim. But it does need a little paint here and there, and some furniture.

Would you like to see it?

Here we go, a few snap shots.

What do you think? It's rooms are very sparse at the moment but I have plans to fix that.

Don't worry Chicago house I will still have time for you but I will be writing the odd letter to the St Louis house.

Love from

Creative in Chicago

XXX

Categories: decorating, Town House