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Plaid has been all around lately, everywhere I look!  I love the traditional and casual cozy feel of it, plaid just seems to warm up whatever space it’s used in.

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When we first decided to move to Nicaragua, I had a vision of what our home would be like. That vision was filled with dark wood, open courtyards, hammocks gently waving in the breeze. I.e. a Gringo house, not a Nica house.

Shortly before we moved we received an email from our program director. He described a couple (Nicaraguan) who needed roommates. The monthly charge was only $200 including utilities, and they were happy for us to have our dog live with them. We happily agreed to a three month term, feeling relieved that we didn’t have to immediately start searching for a home.

I knew I was in trouble the minute I walked into the house. The lights were fluorescent. Geckos were on the walls. And oh the paint. It can only be described as sickly green. I was immediately homesick. I won’t go any further, to do so would be insulting to our roommates.

We spent the next week pondering reasons to move (prettier digs), but realized that nice cushy budget wouldn’t exist anymore if we did move. We decided to stay, but started making plans to paint and update the house just slightly. Not enough to lose money, but enough to be comfortable. I’ve lost the before pictures, so you’ll have to make do with the after.

First up, the living room. The HUGE living room. We have two front doors, double sized. Two huge windows and so much space it’s hard to fill up. Our life of dodging furniture is over. I can’t get over the space. These pictures only cover half of the space, it’s that huge.

We only painted and hung curtains in this room. Our roommates have been living in the house for seven months, and I don’t feel comfortable rearranging or buying furniture that we won’t bring back to the States.

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As I head towards the halfway mark of my pregnancy (at 18.5 weeks, if you want to be all technical about it), I’m starting to pull together the nursery and thought it would be nice to share. I fully intend on this being a long, drawn-out project full of extensive research, bargains, and excitement. So far so good! :)

My inspiration all started with these images from the wonderful Jennyology’s blog:

I am obsessed with the bright apple green walls, the vivid curtains, and the fact that she avoided all pastels. I am on a mission….NO PASTELS in this nursery. I want all bright and bold colors which proves to be a challenge in the sea of pale pinks and blues in nursery world. But I have faith that I can do it!

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Let me preface this by saying that we don’t have kids, and we don’t even know if we want kids.  That said, I have been thinking about decorating a nursery… basically just for fun.  One idea I’ve toyed with is a fairy tale themed room.  I’d love this chandelier and castle wall decal for either a boy or girl:

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Not only can Etsy dress a baby like none other, but it can also decorate a nursery like a pro. Of course, you’ll need to be the one to pull it all together but nothing like handmade goods to inspire a room for the baby.

Pillows for the rocker:

by seller ManicMuffin Totes:

from seller ginia18:

Then come the wall prints. Don’t even get me started.

by seller Ferntree Studio:

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As I’ve lamented before on EADL, Evs and I have quite the blank space looming large right above one of our living room sofas. Finding a piece that’s affordable, fills the space, and is aesthetically pleasing to the both of us has been quite the challenge.

Then there’s my love of gallery walls.  However, The Cottage has neither a staircase nor a deep enough hallway to boast the collection of images I’ve dreamed up in my head.

Enter the “Shelf Gallery!”

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One of the nice things about having a house is the fact that we have the space and are able to have friends and family come and stay with us.  But as of late, and especially after the wedding,  our guest bedroom had really become a no-man’s land full of things that didn’t really have a home.  It certainly didn’t reflect a welcoming feeling.  With 3 sets of visitors coming to visit and stay with us this fall, I decided that it was high time to do something about it.

But here’s the thing:  with budget being a huge issue, I needed to re-use and re-purpose what I already had and make it work.

Armed with 2 gallons of paint (that I got on sale over Labor Day!), I got to work.

Here’s an embarrassing view of what it looked like before:

It wasn’t pretty!

I decided on a wall color, thanks in part to Mrs. Limestone and her own guest bedroom, and also decided to paint all the furniture an antique/off white so that it would look less mis-matched.

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WANT!!!  Check out this gorgeous bedding from Natori at The Home Decorating Company:

Asian not your taste?  Keep shopping - The Home Decorating Company seems to have something wonderful for just about anyone’s taste.

This was the response I got a couple of weeks ago while shopping in New Orleans with one of my friends.  We had stumbled into a vintage furniture store, and they had a pair of  Brno chairs by Mies van der Rohe.  I, having studied him and them in some of my college design classes, was excited.  It’s always so cool to see things like this in “real life”.  My friend, however, was taken aback by the price tag - over $2500 for the pair!  To me that wasn’t a surprise, knowing what true liscensed furniture like this is worth.  And so a dialogue was started.

Most people who buy pieces like this consider them like functional art.  They are beautiful in form, and are timeless in design.  These pieces will never go out of style.  Not to mention that the true licensed pieces are so well built that they will last you a lifetime.

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Week #3 of my series on Etsy favorites was all about accessorizing your wardrobe… Week #4 is all about accessorizing your home!

Hijirik

I’ve sung the praises of Hirijik before but I’ll say it again: the “Live What You Love” letterpress post series is my favorite non-cheesy, gender-neutral art piece I’ve found!  We have the red in our living room and my computer background boasts the lime green at work!

Geninne

After seeing Geninne’s vibrant watercolor prints, I fell instantly in love.  An artist living in Mexico City, Geninne’s creations have both a vintage vibe with a bit of funk!  I’ve already determined that 4 of these little birdies are coming to roost in Dallas - I think they’ll look lovely framed in a foursome-square somewhere in our little cottage!

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