A Simple Kind of Life

30 January 2013

Look For Less: Anthropologie Bedding

A few weeks ago I stumbled across this picture on Pinterest and fell in love with the bedding. Jordan and I have been on the hunt for some new bedding for our master bedroom and this set from Anthropologie would be perfect. I'm really loving that shade of blue. We currently have gray/white bedding from Target which is great, but is starting to look dingy thanks to a certain 85 pound pup who sneaks into our bed at night. We're working on that issue, too.

Image via Pinterest

Upon closer inspection I quickly realized that the above is actually two separate bedding sets. Now let me start by saying that I love, love Anthropologie and if you know me you know my house is a testament to that, but the prices there can scare you a little. I mean with the Rivulet bedding alone you're paying $98 for a sham. ONE SHAM. Come on Anthro, calm yourself. That doesn't even factor sheets, duvet cover, quilt, etc. I was starting to get anxiety just looking on their website.

I did a little searching around online and found a much more inexpesive alternative to the gorgeous Anthropologie bedding.

duvet | sheets | floral sham | ruffle sham

The duvet cover is from Urban Outfitters and is a lightly brighter, less ruffled version of the Anthropologie Duvet (which appears to be discontinued anyway). The sheets are a simple jersey set from Target for $25.99. If you still crave a little ruffle, swap out the $98 shams for this Euro sham from Anthropologie for $68. You can get everything above for a total of $216.99. The two Anthro ruffled shams alone would cost you close to $200.

I haven't bit the bullet and bought these yet, but I will say I'm pretty tempted. I'm loving the idea of the darker sheet set, but I'm also wondering how I will feel in the summer when I'm craving light and bright. I could always swap them out for a lighter blue or gray.

What are your favorite bedding sets that don't cost and arm and a leg? Any suggestions?

28 January 2013

Lucy's Toddler Room

I have been wanting to take new photos to share how Lucy's room has evolved from a nusery into a toddler room. It's been a long work in progress since she turned a year old in July and I am just now starting to feel like I'm somewhat finished (for now).

In the beginning Lucy's nursery was primarily a pretty room where I changed her diapers and sometimes nursed her as she spent the first half of her life sleeping in our room (basinett and co-sleeping). Now that she has fully transitioned to a toddler and has been sleeping through the night in her own room since she turned one, I wanted her bedroom to be a place where she would want to spend time - reading, playing, relaxing. I used fabrics, paintings and small accents to add some color to the neutral pallet. I love keeping the walls and furniture fairly simple so I can continue to change her bedroom as she grows (and as I constantly change my own mind).

I adjusted her gallery wall slightly, swapping out one of the infant photos for a more recent one and adding some color with art. The top herringbone painting is from my Etsy shop, Lucy + James, the bottom painting was purchased from Jen Ramos' Cocoa and Hearts shop.

The quilt is the Lali Toddler Quilt from Rikshaw design. This was the first item I bought when I decided to start upgrading her nursery and determined the look and color scheme that I chose to plan the room around.

The corner by the window is where I keep most of Lucy's toys, books, and other things she likes to play with when she's upstairs. The chalkboard was a vintage find from Goodeals. I swapped out the matchy-matchy ottoman that came with her glider for a pretty teal pouf from Urban Outfitters.

The opposite side of her room hasn't changed much.

Pillow covers are both from Etsy. Hello Fifa Doll from Land of Nod. Glider is from Walmart, although I don't recommend it, unfortunately. I was hoping for a more inexpensive version of the famous Pottery Barn glider and all the reviews I read said that this one was the closest people could find to an alternative. Well, it looks more yellow in person and the chair moves back an inch every time you rock it. We now have a gash in our wall thanks to this chair. But I'm hoping we won't need it much longer and that corner will be open for a small table and chairs.

I call this the 'Lucy' corner and joke that if she ever forgets her name we've got her covered. The letters are from Anthropologie, the banner I made for her first birthday party, all of the Lucy frames on top of the bookcase are either DIY by me or a gift from friends and family. There are 8 Lucy's in that corner.

And of course, Lucy's new play kitchen. 99.99% complete and I'm love love loving how it has turned out. I will share in another post more photos and details of how we revamped two ugly nightstands into this pretty little kitchen.

Our little girl is growing like crazy. At her 18 month appointment last week she was 22 pounds and 32 inches long. (Tall and skinny, don't we all wish!) She also is speaking so many words and phrases (we counted more than 50 that she regularly says or puts together) that the doctor said her vocabulary is close to what they expect of a three year old! She also can spell her name and count to 7. I plan to take some photos of our girl to share with you all more detail on how she's grown. I've been so busy lately that I've swapped my fancy Canon camera for my iPhone and Instagram and I'm missing our mini photoshoots we used to do each month.

Happy Monday!

24 January 2013

Updated DIY Page

In an effort to freshen up the blog for the new year, I have finally updated the DIY page to reflect some of my more recent projects. You now have your one stop shop for all things DIY. I'm also working up sprucing up the actual layout of the blog a bit so keep an eye out for a new look in the upcoming week or so. For now, enjoy this quick little upgrade and take a tour through the past three years of DIY-ing.

22 January 2013

Vintage Dresser Turned Bar

If you follow me on Instagram (@jessicademaio) or you've liked the Simple Kind of Life Facebook page (see link to the right) you may have seen a sneak peek at this piece of furniture. I've been on the hunt for some time for a vintage dresser that I could repurpose as a bar in our dining room. I wanted a dresser primarily for the storage space of having drawers, but also wanted to find a unique piece that I could either refinish or leave as is. I've been looking on and off at thrift stores but never had any luck finding a dresser for under $150.

Last Thursday I was dropping LJ off to my in-laws in preparation for a night out with my hubby. On my way home I decided to check out my favorite resale shop, Goodeals. I've praised this place before and I've had some really good luck sometimes while others have been hit or miss.

After a few minutes of walking around I came across this great dresser marked at only $25. The ticket on the dresser said 'As Is/Needs Work' so I was a little hesitant at first, but after checking the piece and seeing there was no structural damage, I was sold. My parents helped me bring it home this past weekend and I wasted no time dressing it up.

This was just a quick styling of the dresser and I will probably change it a bit to make it more practical. The gold rimmed glasses are actually knock offs to the Anthropologie version that I found for $1.00 each (sorry Anthro..). The mermaid bottle opener was on my holiday gift guide for men.

The whiskey jar in the above picture was a Christmas gift for Jordan. He's since filled it with a bottle of his whiskey of choice, Jefferson's Reserve. We are also patiently awaiting the arrival of Jordan's whiskey's stones to add to the bar.

I am seriously loving this dresser. The mix and match of wood tones and the carved details make my heart pitter patter everytime I look at it. There are wheels on the bottom, but they are a bit old so I'm toying with the idea of taking them off or replacing so they don't scratch our wood floor.

The top of the dresser is in near perfect condition.

The front of the bottom two drawers is where the dresser is damaged. Large chunks of the front of the drawers have worn or chipped off over the years. I'm still uncertain how I want or could fix this piece up. I'm considering sanding the drawer fronts down and restaining, but for now I'm loving it flaws and all. I'm really loving the wood tones too much to considering painting, it just needs a little TLC.

Our new bar is tucked in the corner of our dining room adjacent to the wall with my lyric painted canvas. I'll be on the hunt for some art and/or a mirror to hang on the wall above the dresser.

In case you're curious we of course still have the vintage bar cart I scored from Goodwill two years ago. I use that to hold the majority of our liquor and a few glasses. I'm still in love with this lucky thrift find.

Funny enough if you had seen this shot of our dining room a week ago you would have seen a corner filled with storage boxes, canvases, and all of my craft supplies. Our dining room is finally starting to look like a functioning room.