Normally I share ideas, furniture pieces, home accessories, projects, etc. that HH and I love. Today I thought I would do the opposite and share five things around the house that we’re not too crazy about. Our house is far from perfect {um, still LOTS to do} and I really don’t want you guys thinking otherwise. Plus, maybe knowing the truth about our unfavorites might help you make a decision for your own home. So, here goes…five things we’re not in love with starting with the things that bother us least and ending with those that are most bothersome, the pros and cons of each and what we plan to do about them. {Keep in mind these are things we’ve bought or done already…there are plenty of other incomplete projects/rooms that we aren’t especially in love with right now but maybe someday?!}

First up, is our shower curtain rod. It’s a basic tension rod that HH picked up out of necessity right before we moved in last year. Since then, it has come crashing down probably 10 times – and always at the most inopportune times. Like when someone is taking a shower or when everyone is sleeping soundly in the middle of the night.

In the rod’s defense, it doesn’t help that we butt it up against slick, textured tile. The pros? It was cheap and when it stays put it’s great. The cons? It loses tension over time and slides off the bumpy tile. We’ve considered replacing it with a ceiling track when we finally get fed up with it but, for now, it’s something we’re living with because it’s not a big deal. Just inconvenient at times.

Next up on our “not over the moon about it” list is the kitchen faucet. While good reviews are posted on Overstock, I have a few issues with ours.

The included soap dispenser is awful. It must be rusted inside because when we pump soap out of it, it’s brown and smells like metal. Yuck! We’ve stopped using it all together. That’s why you see a bottle of hand soap next to it.

The online product features claim a “two function spray” but that’s not true. The extendable faucet only has one option: power stream. No spraying action. Not having a true sprayer is not the end of the world but it would be nice.

My third complaint is that the pull-out sprayer doesn’t retract all the way back to the faucet on its own.

I have to give it a little push to get it back in position. Again, it’s not a huge deal but it is something that irks me.

The pros? The faucet is solid stainless and has a good weight to it. It’s very high quality. The kitchen faucet in our previous house was chrome and plastic and I can definitely tell a difference. The single lever works great. We love the minimal look of the faucet. We haven’t had any problems with the faucet leaking, dripping or clogging. The cons? Pricey, no spraying action, the soap dispenser is rusted and unusable and the pull-out feature doesn’t retract all the way back to the faucet without a little help. I think we’ll probably remove the soap dispenser, plug the countertop hole and get a soap caddy of some sort to sit on top of the hole for bottled soap. The faucet stays. The negatives aren’t really that bad to warrant replacement and, for the most part, we really do like the way it functions/looks. For the price, though, we were expecting perfection.

Then there are the magnetic spice containers that I previously praised. Well, they worked great for about two months then things got a little hairy. {Several readers warned me these babies were too good to be true. They were right!} The containers that hold grainy or fine ingredients {salt, cinnamon, cumin, etc.} have become extremely difficult/impossible to open. So frustrating! The ones holding dried herbs {rosemary, oregano, red pepper flakes, etc.} are fine.

The finer spices are getting caught in the canisters’ thread and causing the lids to stick. The pros? They were cheap and work fine for dried herbs. The cons? Now we have a bunch of spices we can’t get to. I need to find a better way to store the spices. Ideas?

Now we’re getting to the things that are our most unfavorite. These ceiling fans are one two of them. We installed them on the ridge beam in the great room to circulate air. That, they do. But with an accompanying whirring sound. They are LOUD. We only run them as a last resort and have to turn them off to hear the TV. In their defense, technically they are commercial ceiling fans. In a busy restaurant or noisy warehouse, you probably wouldn’t notice the whirring over all the hustle and bustle.

It’s difficult to see from a distance but there is a gap between the ceiling canopies and the ridge beam. We haven’t been able to fix this. I think I remember HH mentioning something about the type of hardware the fans need to hang from. We tried mounting ceiling medallions to cover the holes but the gaps are too big/the medallions were too thin.

The pros? We do like the way they look. They are simple, industrial. We left the white protective tape on the gold ring around the motor for a more cohesive look. They do their job well. On extremely hot or extremely cold days, we can tell a difference temperature-wise when we run them. The cons? THAT NOISE. Ugh. The gaps too. HH dislikes them more than I do. I’m okay living with them for several years. HH wants to replace them ASAP. We’ll see.

Finally, the thing that has caused us the most problems is the inability of Behr to successfully color-match Benjamin Moore paint colors. Originally, we chose Benjamin Moore paint colors and had them color-matched in Behr paint at Home Depot. It worked okay for some colors but not so great for others. Lesson learned.

The pros? None really. The cons? We ended up with colors we didn’t truly love and have spent more money and time making it right. I’ve repainted several rooms – some twice! To be honest, I no longer have a lot of confidence in color-matching between paint brands. From now on, when I find a paint swatch I like I will get it mixed in that brand so I know I’m getting what I want. I repainted Mabrey’s room {seen above} in a dark moody blue/green/pewter. It’s Benjamin Moore Dark Pewter, mixed in Benjamin Moore paint. We love it.

Those are five things that have us not singing their praises. Is there anything in your home that hasn’t lived up to your expectations?

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking 

I’ve been itching to repaint the master bathroom. We painted it Benjamin Moore’s Tapestry Beige before we moved in. Don’t get me wrong. I love Tapestry Beige. It’s in our living room, kitchen and hallway. But in our naturally dark {boo} bedroom and bathroom it looks dingy. It’s not that noticeable on the blog because I’m able to lighten the pictures. In fact, you might not even be able to tell that I repainted.

I wanted there to be less of a contrast between the walls, trim and ceiling so I repainted the walls to match the trim and ceiling – Benjamin Moore’s White Dove color matched in Behr paint. I’ve never painted an entire room – walls, ceiling, trim, doors – one color before but I like it in our teeny master bath. With many of the small details painted the same color, the room feels less busy. I don’t know if I would like this effect in a different, larger room but in a really small bathroom it works.

The wall color helps camouflage the small cabinet {also painted White Dove} that we added last winter to house HH’s electric razor and toothbrush.

This picture better shows how the walls, cabinet and door sort of all fade together into a warm white abyss.

Because our bathroom is prone to splatters and drips {currently we’re sharing the bathroom with our three kids}, I chose a satin finish for easy cleaning.

With the master bathroom repainted, next on my list is the master bedroom. It will happen this week. I have no choice. My older kids’ last day of school is Friday and I’m banking on getting nothing done once they’re home for the summer. Our bedroom is naturally dark {it’s the room that gets the least amount of natural light in our house} so I’m going to play up that effect and go for something cozy. I’m tweaking my original plans just a bit. Here’s a peek.

More progress to come!

For those of you keeping track, the bathroom makes four rooms {the bedroom will be the fifth and last!} I’ve repainted since moving in not even a year ago. I shouldn’t be allowed to pick paint colors when I’m pregnant.

Click here to see who won last week’s Teal & Lime giveaway!

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

*THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.*

Congrats to Ashley – the first entry! – whose favorite kid-friendly item in her home is the living room pouf she recently made for her nephew to lay on.

I was first introduced to Alexandra Grenham’s amazing style via an Apartment Therapy house tour.

Her Boston home is full of kid-friendly furnishings and playful accessories but is far from childish. It’s a stylish space suitable for both kids and adults. Perfect for a young family of four. Alexandra is the creative director and buyer for Erie Drive, an online boutique featuring a blended collection of fun, practical and eclectic gifts. So when Alexandra contacted me a few weeks ago about a possible giveaway and linked to her AT tour, I had two immediate thoughts. First “Hey, I know that house!” and second “Yes! I would love to feature Erie Drive for a giveaway.”

Which brings me to this week’s giveaway. I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite items available through Erie Drive. I would be happy to have any of these pieces in my home.

Sources: wooden alarm dock for iPod or iPhone // “You Undress” giclee print by Christopher Gray // Magno portable radio // flour sack towel set // Critical Cycles bicycle in cream

Would you like the chance to win one of these items? See below for entry details.

PRIZE: one item of choice from the curated collection shown above {Of note – The wooden alarm dock is not compatible with the iPhone 5 but Erie Drive does offer another version for the iPhone 5. The flour sack towel set includes both towels shown.}

RULES: You must be at least 18 years old and have a shipping address {no P.O. boxes please} within the U.S. to enter. One entry per email address.

TO ENTER: “Like” Erie Drive on facebook then leave a comment on this post proclaiming “DRIVE ME!”

DEADLINE: Enter before Friday, April 19th at noon EST. One random winner will be announced later that same day.

WHILE YOU’RE AT IT: Since we’re talking family-friendly style today…what is your favorite kid-friendly item in your house? A soft ottoman that does double duty as a coffee table? A bench that opens to reveal toy storage? I’ll go first. A few months back I bought a pair of floor poufs from West Elm. I’d been eyeing them for nearly a year but couldn’t pull the trigger…until they went on sale. I’m so glad I did! My kids drag the poufs all around the house and they look great in every room. In the boys’ bedroom, they are wrestled and jumped on. In the living room, they are the perfect lounge spot for reading or watching TV. Mabrey loves pulling to stand and climbing on top of them. HH and I like to prop our feet up on them at night after the kids are in bed. I love them!

BUT, WAIT!, THERE’S MORE: House*Tweaking readers can score 20% off one Erie Drive purchase now through May 15th by entering the discount code “TWEAKING20″ at checkout.

Thanks Alexandra!

You can check out more of Alexandra’s inspiring home tour right here. Follow Erie Drive on twitter and pinterest.

images: 1) Tara Bellucci for Apartment Therapy  2) polyvore collage by Dana Miller linked within

Some of my favorite bloggers have a case of the kitchen blues.

John and Sherry of Young House Love recently painted their kitchen walls a happy blue. The blue-gray walls play nicely with the white cabinets, warm wood tones, gray accents and bursts of cheerful color.

Lauren Liess of Pure Style Home is using blue bead board in a client’s kitchen. I think it gives the farmhouse style kitchen a youthful feel.

Chris and Julia are in the midst of a complete kitchen overhaul. They updated their existing cabinetry with new paint – white on the upper cabinets and sophisticated navy on the base cabinets. I’ll be checking in on them tomorrow to sneak a peek at their new walnut countertops which are sure to look rich and handsome next to the navy.

What do you think of using blue paint in the kitchen? Would you try it? Where? Walls, backsplash or cabinets?

images:  1) Young House Love  2) Pure Style Home  3) Chris loves Julia

You first got a glimpse of the new wall planter in the kitchen here. Today I’m sharing how I filled and hung the planter. The gist? It was really easy! I installed the planter by myself. HH was away on business and the kids were tucked in bed for the night.

I ordered my wall planter from Wayfair but I’ve since seen it available via other online retailers. If you’re interested, my suggestion would be to google “BrightGreen” or “GroVert” to compare pricing and styles. As shown above, the living art frame holds ten 4″ plants. There are ten separate cell planters so you can customize the potting soil to each plant if desired. At first, I was leery of plants falling out of a vertical planter but the cell planters actually tip back to hold their contents.

The directions that came with the planter said to fill the planter before hanging it. Since I was working alone, I decided to hang the planter empty first {it’s really easy to remove from the wall} to make sure I had everything level and secure. It ended up working really well. The planter comes with a mounting bracket but no hardware. The instructions said the planter weighs ~35lbs when full. So I grabbed some drywall anchors from the {very messy!} garage. They can support up to 90lbs vertically.

Without an extra set of hands, I kind of had to guess where I wanted the frame then measure accordingly by making a bunch of pencil marks on the wall. Once I settled on the placement, I held the mounting bracket in its proper place with a small level resting on top of it to make sure it was level. {As you can imagine, this step took two hands leaving no hands for taking pictures – sorry!} I marked the two screw holes with a pencil on the wall – see above – and then double checked that they were level.

I screwed the drywall anchors into the wall with a manual screwdriver. Luckily, I didn’t have any problems hitting a stud but if I did I could have just screwed directly into it. I held the mounting bracket in place and used the accompanying screws to secure the bracket to the wall.

There’s the bracket in place.

I hung my empty planter on the bracket to check the placement. Perfect!

Knowing the placement of the mounting bracket was where I wanted it, I lifted the planter off the bracket and proceeded to fill the planter. I like Miracle Gro’s organic potting mix.

You’ve already seen the finished product but here are the plants I used. To be honest, I didn’t have the time or patience to think too much about which plants to buy. I had all three kids with me at Home Depot and I was going on day five of single-mommin’ it. To make things less easy, my local Home Depot had a very small selection of 4″ plants to choose from. At first, I was thinking of doing all succulents but there weren’t even ten 4″ succulents available so I ended up grabbing a mish mash of 4″ers. The composition was nice but I worried that the various plants wouldn’t survive under the same watering schedule.

I played around with the arrangement until I finally decided on this one. I planted each cell individually adding potting soil first, then a plant, then more soil if needed. It’s nice that the cells allow for individual soil customization. My succulents are happy in the rockier soil they came with.

After all the plants were potted, I gave them a good watering. The directions say to water the newly planted planter on a horizontal surface then let settle for 2-3 days before hanging. I couldn’t wait.

Needless to say, I had some dirt spillage. But it was easily cleaned up and the plants seemed to be snug in their cells so I left it on the wall. But you should follow the directions – just not that part about hanging the planter full right off the bat. Test it out empty first.

The planter sticks out ~5″ from the wall.

When figuring out the exact placement of the wall planter, I made sure the upper corner cabinet could be opened with no problems. I can still reach my fancy heirloom wine glasses. Whew.

As for watering the wall planter, it has a pretty innovative built-in irrigation system. You simply pour water into the top water chamber {see the sponge?} and it slowly disperses across a moisture mat all on its own.

There’s a small tray at the bottom of the planter to catch any runoff and there’s no worry of any water running down the wall. I’ve seen a bunch of DIY outdoor wall planters but the design of this planter’s watering system makes it ideal for indoor use.

All in all, it took me about an hour to completely install the living art frame. And it took me about 5 seconds to fall completely in love with it.

Now for the big question: How are the various plants holding up? I took the following unedited picture of the planter early this morning just for your viewing pleasure.

So far, so good! Even after 10+ days of being unattended while we were on vacation last week. I simply watered the planter very thoroughly right as we were leaving for vacation and the plants managed to stay alive while we were away. I can’t say what might happen over the next six months with my black thumb tendencies. The good thing is if one {or all ten!} of the plants starts looking weak/dead, it would be very easy to remove an individual plant and replant something else. I don’t think I paid more than $4 for any of the plants you see, so if some of them die it’s not a huge deal.

Still, if you’re thinking of trying this particular wall planter it might be a good idea to choose your plants more wisely than I did!

Would you ever try a wall planter indoors?

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

Some of you noticed the black and white horizontal wall stripes in the boys’ bedroom. Good eye! Would you believe the striped accent wall is the result of peel-and-stick wallpaper? Well, it is.

The boys’ room it set up to keep the middle of the room open for floor play – a big necessity when the room doubles as the playroom. Originally, we were thinking of DIYing a desk along the wall opposite the bunk beds. But over the last several months, I’ve discovered that it’s much easier to help the kids with homework and crafts out in the main living areas. {Typically, we use the kitchen island or dining table for homework and crafting.} So we nixed the desk idea and opted for bookcases along the wall to hold toys, costumes, books and more. More on those later…

With the bunk and small dresser on one wall and two tall bookcases on the opposite wall, the room was starting to feel a bit galley-ish. I’m sure you’ve heard of a galley kitchen. Is there such a thing as a galley bedroom? I started thinking about adding something to the far window wall to make the room feel wider. That’s when I discovered the peel and stick wallpaper by Chasing Paper. At the time, the company hadn’t rolled out the new product and was looking for DIYers to try it and give them feedback. You know how I like DIY and feedback. One thing led to another. I chose a simple stripe in black and white hoping a horizontal application would give the optical illusion of a wider room. Here’s how it all went down.

To prep, we removed furniture, outlet covers and one of the boys’ book ledges – all of which were on the wall to be wallpapered.

I wiped the wall down with a damp microfiber cloth and let it dry completely. This step ensures good wall-to-wallpaper contact.

The wallpaper comes in 2′ x 4′ precut sections. Essentially, it’s one huge sticker. You just remove the backing and press the wallpaper onto the wall. I’ve worked with traditional wallpaper before and this peel-and-stick stuff is SO MUCH EASIER. No long and winding rolls of paper to get tangled up in, no dripping adhesive. Still, I found it helpful to have a second set of hands. HH – and the three kiddos! – was/were at my disposal.

We started in the upper left-hand corner of the wall. I used a tape measure, level and pencil to draw a horizontal pencil line to line up the bottom of the first section. HH mentioned something about leveling each and every section but that sounded too engineer-ish to my impatient self. I figured if the first section was level and we based all of the other sections off of it, then everything would be fine. Maybe not perfect but good enough. {Yes, Everett is wearing a Batman t-shirt tucked into underwear. He has the personality to pull off the look.}

One row of wallpaper in and we were on a roll!

Three sections got us ~6″ short of the entire width of the wall. We used a sharp utility knife {a razor blade would work too} to cut a small piece to get us just past the corner. We decided to leave a bit of overhang at the end of each row in this corner and trim them all together at the end for a nice, straight edge.

At the window, I wallpapered up to the window then HH carefully cut the wallpaper while I held the wallpaper taut.

Three rows in and we had a good technique down.

I would peel one side of the wallpaper away from the backing, get it all lined up then HH would slowly pull the backing away from the rest of the section while I smoothed out the wallpaper. We took it maybe 8″ at a time. If we got too ahead ourselves, we found that resulted in lots of air bubbles under the wallpaper. If we did get a bubble, all we had to do was peel back the paper to the bubble, release the air, and re-smooth. Super easy but even more so if you avoid getting too many bubbles in the first place.

One thing I noticed while we were working…too little overlap of neighboring sections caused a small line of the painted wall to show through and too much overlap resulted in a slightly visible seam. I’m guessing the wallpaper works best on white walls. {Ours was a taupe-y gray.} Now you know.

Once the wall was covered, there was trimming to do – at the baseboard and at the right-hand corner.

HH simply cut along the baseboard edge and corner with the utility knife then pulled the trimmed wallpaper away.

Super clean edges and super easy!

When we were done, only a small section of wallpaper remained. Thank goodness for measuring twice! Oh, and for fun HH checked the rest of the stripes with his level when we completed the wall. Such an engineer! Guess what? They were spot on.

Somehow in the chaos that is DIY + three kids, I managed to not take a picture of the finished product right after. I think we were all hungry. I’ll get you an after but until then here’s a little sneak peek of the aforementioned bookcases. {There’s still a lot of little things to do in the room.} We – the boys included – are crazy over the results. The horizontal stripes really do make their room feel wider and larger. I’ve yet to meet a stripe I didn’t like.

HH asked what was the benefit of wallpapering the stripes versus painting them. Obviously, removable wallpaper {did I mention you can remove this stuff without damaging the wall underneath?!} is geared towards renters, dorm residents or even those of you in military housing. When you move, pull it up and take it with you if you want. Just save the backing papers! But I have to say, the quality of the wallpaper gives a depth and crispness to the stripes that wouldn’t be exactly the same with paint. The company also offers plenty of other patterns that would be much harder to duplicate with paint.

If you’re thinking of trying this new peel-and-stick wallpaper, here are my thoughts:

*Make it a two person job.

*Start with a clean, smooth, white wall. I don’t think this wallpaper would be a good option for bumpy or rough walls.

*Level your first section of wallpaper and go from there.

*Work in small sections, removing the backing paper and smoothing slowly.

*Don’t overstretch the wallpaper. The paper does have some stretch to it.

*For the cleanest cuts, use a sharp utility knife or razor blade.

*Wallpaper is not only for walls! Try framing it, covering an unsightly outdated appliance, lining a basic tray or adding life to vinyl rollup shades.

Hop on over to Chasing Paper to view the entire product line. UPDATE: Initially, I thought the wallpaper was constructed of vinyl but after clarifying with Chasing Paper, the wallpaper is actually constructed of PVC free fabric {!} NOT vinyl and printed with latex ink. So sorry for the confusion! Still, I did allow the paper to off gas in the garage for several weeks before installation and aired out the room after installation by cracking the windows for a day or so. When we recently returned home from vacation, there was no odor in the boys’ room even after being closed up for 10+ days. Hope that clears up any concerns!

Would you ever try removable, peel-and-stick wallpaper?

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

My boys’ spring break began at 2:27 p.m. today. At which point, they promptly put on shorts and t-shirts. BECAUSE IT’S SPRING BREAK, MOM! I reminded them that it was 45 degrees outside but it didn’t make any difference to them.

We are leaving early Friday morning to visit family in Florida for a week. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to this trip. I’m so over Ohio weather right now. My grandparents live in Florida and we haven’t visited their house since Everett {my middle lil’} was a baby. We are driving with three kids so wish us luck!

I’ll be taking a leave of absence from the blog world. I hope you understand. HH has been working 12-hour days for months without hardly any time off – even weekends. He just arrived home this evening from a business trip. We both need some time to unwind, regroup, play with our kids and just be. We’ll be celebrating two birthdays while we are away too. Mabrey turns one {!} this Saturday and Everett turns five next weekend. You guys, my kids are growing up way too fast. Mama no likey.

If you want, you can keep up with our vacation adventures on instagram @housetweaking.

My absolute favorite thing about road trips is READING. {Thank goodness I usually don’t get car sick while reading in the car.} I love to read but haven’t been able to set aside time for it much lately. I spent a small fortune on reading material for me and the kids {HH isn’t much of a reader} just for this trip. We are saving money by driving and staying with family so it’s justified, right?

For Everett – much to my delight, he’s finally starting to show an interest in reading…

For Layne – he’s my bookworm and will probably have all three of these books finished by the time we cross the Florida line – not joking!…

For Mama – that would be me…

I was trying to pick some fun, happy reads – nothing too heavy or that would require a ton of thought. And I couldn’t help but pick up a few glossies as well…

I’ll be back after our vacation with a bunch of new posts about the stripes in the boys’ room, the wall planter in the kitchen, plans for an outdoor dining area, a detailed look at the laundry nook, perhaps a vacation recap and Mabrey‘s birth story – among other things.

What do you have planned for spring break? Discovered any good books lately?

Florida or bust.

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

I bought a new coffee table. Technically, it’s a bench but the proportions were right. Our previous coffee table was almost five years old. It was West Elm and I found it at a Pottery Barn outlet for $40. It was originally red but, for the price, I primed and painted it white. It worked really well in our previous living room but it was too high, too round and too chunky for our current living room. I envisioned something longer, lower and narrower. I bought the bench/coffee table from Overstock although it looks like it’s currently out of stock and they’ve raised the price. I used a coupon and paid $171.58 total for it two weeks ago. The dimensions are working out perfectly and I’ve been having fun styling it.

With the help of Target and their new Threshold collection, I’ve put together three different coffee table looks for you. I took Mabrey shopping while the boys were in school one morning in search of tabletop accessories and, boy, did I find them. Candles, vases, figurines, bowls, hurricanes…you name it. You guys, Target is killing it right now. And that’s why I agreed to work with them. Everything I’m about to show you are things that would be on my personal wish list even if I wasn’t partnering with them.

Without further ado, look #1. POPPY & GRAPHIC

This is probably the “springiest” look. It’s a combination of graphic patterns, red-orange pops of color, gold and wood.

At one end of the table is a stack of colorful books, a pair of single stem vases, a gold dipped bowl and a small matte white bowl painted chartreuse on the inside.

At the other end of the table I put down the marble pastry board I introduced to you here. I topped it with a third single stem vase, a brass hurricane, a black and white canister and a chevron wood box.

I tossed a white pillow with gold embossed edges on the chair and added a punchy patterned pillow with sequins and now they are planning their wedding.

I stole a graphic black and white pillow from the boys’ room for the leather couch.

Cheerful?

A bright red-orange candle brings color to the marble slab vignette. And it smells uh-maaaaaazing. Melon-y.

I can’t get enough of the brass hurricane/lantern and wood box.

Shop the look: dipped bowl / lattice canister / chevron box / brass hurricane / embossed pillow / dot stripe pillow

For look #2 I kept a few of my favorites {the lantern and wood box} on the table and brought in other items. WORLDLY & ECLECTIC {a.k.a. PUT ME IN THE ZOO}

This look is more masculine with ethnic-inspired patterns, animal figurines, brass, wood tones and a little quirk.

I grouped a yarn wrapped gazelle figurine, the same brass lantern {this time with a neutral, less aromatic candle} and a pierced tin hurricane.

Near the middle of the table is a hand painted wood bowl and a thrifted wood sculpture. To achieve a “lived in” look I threw in an open magazine, fresh greenery, a small bowl of cashews and cloth napkins.

The other end of the table holds books, gold animal figurines and another snack bowl filled with cashews.

There is a diamond patterned pillow and sheepskin on the chair.

I threw down a chevron runner under the table. The same embroidered pillow from look #1 is on the sofa along with a Nate Berkus gold mesh & tweed pillow. Of all the pillows shown today, the gold + tweed is my favorite. I love you Nate.

Can you see how the seat of the leather sofa is starting to patina and wrinkle? I love it. Good leather only gets better with age.

The painted detailing on the wood bowl is an art form. Of all the non-pillow pieces I selected, this bowl is my absolute favorite.

The gold rhino and elephant are pure fun. Everett asked me if rhinos and elephants eat cashews. It does look like I’m feeding them cashews out of a fancy trough, no?

Shop the look: yarn wrapped gazelle / brass hurricane / silver lattice hurricane / wood bowl / snack bowls / brass animals / diamond pillow / gold & tweed pillow

Finally, for look #3, I decided to go au naturel. NEUTRAL & LOVELY

This look is casual and effortless. It’s all about matte whites, warm wood tones, piles of books & magazines and glowing candles.

On one end of the table I brought in a white serving platter and topped it with a natural wood vase, two curvy white vases and a silver tea light holder. I cut a few crape myrtle branches {from the store…still no sign of spring!} and stuck them in the vases.

In the middle of the table is a stack of my favorite home design books. The gold & wood box makes another appearance in this look alongside a ceramic tea light holder.

I brought back the marble board and used it as a casual serving tray. I filled a chip and dip server with salsa and tortilla chips. A squatty candle and stemless wine glasses round out the tray. Chips and salsa go with wine, right? I consume them together all the time. YUM.

Our new coffee table has a large open space under it. Here, I slid in a woven basket and a stack of glossies for my reading pleasure. I could get used to having stuff under the table.

On the couch is a simple striped pillow and sheepskin.

When I was trimming the crape myrtle, I thought the fallen leaves looked pretty on the white tray. So I left them.

The tea light holder has a super functional design. The silver top and suspended candle holder are all one piece that lifts up and out of the glass surround. It’s easy to set a tea light in, light it and then drop it into the glass surround. So cool. I think it looks like the tea light is sitting on a swing.

The cutouts on the ceramic vase make for a spectacular light show.

I have to fuss over the squatty candle for a minute. I’ve been around the candle block a few times over the years, ifyaknowwhatImean. I’m a bit of a candle whore. If it smells good, I’ll give it a go. But this candle? It has three wood wicks. Say what? Wood wicks. And, get this, they CRACKLE when they burn. It’s like a mini wood burning fireplace right on top of the coffee table. A mini-crackling-wood-burning-fireplace-that-smells-like-vanilla-dolce heaven. You guys. I could live off of this salsa/chips/server/wine/crackling candle vignette for the rest of my life and be very happy.

HH is out of town on business. I do some of my best work when he’s away. HH is half joking when he tells people that he’s afraid of what he’ll find when he returns home from a work trip. He’ll be happy to discover that I’ve only made little tweaks this trip. I blame the kids.

For this month’s Wayfair in the House post, I jumped at the chance to add some stylish and practical accessories to the kitchen. The kitchen is finished from a reno standpoint but I’m just now getting to the good part – tweaking ’til my heart’s content. Which, realistically, could take years.

I’ve been dying to add something to the left of the kitchen window. I was holding out for the perfect piece. A living art frame ended up being that piece. It probably has something to do with the fact that I’m aching for spring. We got another 6″ of snow yesterday. Spring? A friend described it best, “Ohio is drunk.”

My original thought was to fill the planter with herbs. But I wasn’t willing to drag three kids around town in search of them. So I went to Home Depot and bought a bunch of small houseplants: succulents, African violets, fern.

I love the mix but am a little worried about how the fern will do alongside drought-loving succulents. There is a watering chamber at the top of the unit. I have a tutorial coming on how I filled and hung the planter. It’s unique and deserves a post all its own.

HH better watch out. If spring doesn’t get here soon, our kitchen may become overrun with plants! All joking aside, I’m loving all the greenery in the kitchen. It makes dishwashing tolerable.

Speaking of dishwashing…the dish towel is new too.

It has a subtle geometric pattern and contrasting ribbon trim. Again, dishwashing is becoming slightly more tolerable.

I get emails all the time asking how our walnut-topped island is holding up. {Read more about how we finished and installed the wood countertop.} My best answer is to tell those who are curious to check out the bar top at a restaurant the next time they’re in one. It’s pretty much spot on for how our island top looks. There are some scratches in the Waterlox topcoat but nothing deep enough that penetrates into the wood. In essence, the scratches could be sanded out if they were bothersome but they don’t bother me at all. You can only see them at certain angles and they’re just signs of life. We don’t cut directly on the walnut but we don’t baby it either. Homework and drawing is done at island. Dishes are slid around on the island. Casual meals are eaten at the island daily. Lunch boxes are packed at the island. It’s the busiest surface in our house and we love it. It still looks rich and is a cinch to clean. I use a wet washcloth to wipe it down and a towel to dry. That’s it.

One thing I’ve been looking to invest in is a marble pastry board. But not for pastries. {I don’t do pastries.} I thought it would be nice for meal prep or to use as a serving tray when knives are involved. And, let’s be honest, I like the layered marble-over-walnut look.

This marble board is substantial. It’s 20″x16″ and weighs a good 25-30 lbs! It’s not an accessory that is easily moved around the kitchen but, due to its size and weight, it stays in place when in use. I like it so much I think I may just leave it out all the time.

Can you spy the new accessory on this side of the kitchen? You may recognize it from my Joss & Main event.

Yep, it’s the pizza peel. I was in dire need of one. Currently, I count 4 scars on my forearms from reaching into the oven for a baking pizza. I’m a bit of klutz in the kitchen. Last week, I singed my arm hairs.

I put it on display instead of shoving it into a cabinet. I wish I could turn it so the handle was up but then it would be too large to fit under the shelf.  It ties in to the wood shelves and walnut island top well.

What do you think of the new kitchen accessories? Layne and Everett especially like the living art frame.

I planted and hung the wall planter at night while the kids were asleep. In the morning, the boys noticed it right away and made a point to tell me how much they loved it. If hanging plants on walls makes you a cool mom, I’m in.

Thanks to Wayfair for supporting my habit.

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

Last summer I mentioned that I would like to start creating mood boards for clients – for a fee. I asked you guys to help me out with pricing. After that post, I worked behind the scenes to nail down a tiered pricing sheet for design services. Then I emailed all the people who had asked for my help over the years {I have a special folder devoted to ‘Help me!’ emails} letting them know I was open for business with my pricing sheet attached. I’ve been booked ever since.

I didn’t announce my design services publicly here on the blog because I didn’t want to schedule myself too far out {that feels really overwhelming to me, knowing that “x” number of people are awaiting a mood board} and I wanted to see how things went since it was my first paying go-around with mood boards. Since then, I’ve learned a lot about my approach to seeing and decorating other people’s spaces.

I prefer quality over quantity. I’d rather give my attention to a few clients at a time than be pulled in different directions with a bunch of clients. On that same note, I like to take my time getting to know the client and their space. Which means I’ll look at pictures of their room and go over their wants/needs then let it all sit with me a while until I get a good feel for their style and how to inject that into their space. I like to carefully curate items for mood boards. I refuse to churn out a mood board within a week’s time if I can’t find just the right lamp or pillow or rug or whatever it may be. It’s really a thoughtful process to me and I like to pretend I’m “in” the space.

As you may have guessed, I’m not a one-weeker start-to-finish mood board creator. From beginning {which requires the client to provide room pictures, dimensions, inspiration images and answers to a brief questionnaire} to end, it usually takes me 2-4 weeks depending on the scope of the project. And sometimes longer if I’m not happy with a particular item or concept. This also has to do with the fact that I don’t have childcare {not that I couldn’t use some!} and I have three children. Mood boards are created late at night after everyone else is in bed. I can only survive so many 4-hour nights of sleep per week.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that even though a client may ask for only the most basic of services {i.e., overhead lighting, fixtures, color scheme, flooring, etc.}, I end up providing more. Either the client directly asks for it because they need help visualizing the rest of the room or I throw it in because I think the client needs to see the bigger picture to understand the basics I’ve suggested.

Finally, as much as I hate to admit it, I think I’m undervaluing my services. I have been charging $175 for the most detailed tier. Over the past eight months, I’ve had two clients come to me by word of mouth – not via House*Tweaking. I provided them with design services then asked them to pay me what they thought my help was worth. Both paid me more than what I would have charged according to my pricing sheet.

So to answer the most frequently asked question that pops up in my inbox: Yes, I do provide design services. However, I’m currently booked until late summer. You can always email me and I will keep your email on file and contact you when my schedule opens up. Also, I’m no longer going to provide tiered services for the reasons mentioned above. I will provide a comprehensive mood board that encompasses everything from furniture arrangement to finishes to accessories. Most likely, pricing will increase although clients already on the schedule won’t be affected.

To keep you in the know, I like sharing the mood boards I create – with the client’s permission, of course. Here’s one of my recent projects.

Ali wanted help with her living room and dining room. In the living room, Ali was hoping for a more functional furniture arrangement conducive to adult conversation, a little telly action and guitar playing {her husband plays} but also kid-friendly enough for her six-year-old twins. {Ali’s house has a separate family room for primarily watching TV and relaxing as a family.} When Ali contacted me, the room was being used only as a quick dropzone upon entering the house.

In the dining room, Ali asked to keep the existing dining table and chairs. She hosts meals for family and friends often. She wanted both of the rooms to be comfortable for entertaining. Ali admitted she was confused by her style. She loves simple open spaces, industrial elements, natural wood and exposed brick but is also drawn to the colors and textures found in Indian textiles. And, of course, she was on a budget.

For the living room, I suggested a new furniture arrangement {see the very rough sketch above}. Here’s the mood board:

1 – I suggested painting the walls a warm creamy white {i.e., Benjamin Moore’s swiss coffee} and hanging simple white curtains floor to ceiling at both windows.

2 – To accomodate guitar playing, I chose an armless sofa {in the brushed heather cotton gray haze option} for the main seating. HH plays a little himself and I know how he likes to sit forward with his guitar resting on his thigh when he plays. A sofa sans arms also helps to make the smallish room feel more roomy. I suggested placing the sofa on the window wall. I chose a few non-matching throw pillows found here, here and here. A leggy floor lamp placed next to the sofa provides light for evening gatherings. Instead of hanging a mirror or artwork above the sofa {so predictable}, I suggested that Ali display her husband’s guitar. He can easily remove it to play. Hanging the guitar on the wall also frees up precious real estate.

3 – To round out the seating area, I found a masculine leather chair with a small footprint. Like the sofa, the chair is armless to accommodate guitar playing. I decided to forgo a coffee table and chose a drum stool instead. The stool can be moved around the room and used as extra seating when necessary. A patterned dhurrie rug grounds the seating area and adds interest to the space.

4 – I suggested placing the TV on the same wall as the front door. This way, the screen isn’t the first thing you see when you walk in the door. A rustic media console supports the TV and its components. The console can also handle mail, a few toys and sheet music. I recommended creating a gallery wall around the TV screen and incorporating the frames in the dining room. To light this side of the room, I found a glass table lamp. A vintage brass bowl catches keys and sunglasses.

For Ali’s dining room, I suggested pulling the dining table out from the window a bit {see another very rough sketch above}. As is, it was looking a little cramped. Here’s the mood board:

1 – I suggested painting the walls the same warm, creamy white as the living room and hanging the same white curtains high and wide around the dining window. To bring in more natural light and fool the eye into thinking the room was larger, I suggested hanging/leaning a large floor mirror on the wall furthest from the living room. After the dining table is in its new, less crowded position, I’d love to see this wire globe light centered above it – possibly swagged from the lightbox. It would reflect into the mirror when lit, doubling the ambiance.

2 – Ali needs to keep the current dining set so I suggested breaking up all the dark wood by removing the two chairs closest to the staircase wall and replacing them with an upholstered bench. The backless bench keeps the flow of traffic to the kitchen/living room open. I would top the dining table with a simple greenery arrangement to keep the focus on the pendant light.

3 – For interest, I suggested laying down a kilim runner in the pathway from the living room to the kitchen. In place of the open bookshelf in the original pictures, I’d use a sleeker closed cabinet and flank it with the two dining chairs that were replaced by the bench. A pair of gourd table lamps tops the cabinet for added lighting. I recommended relocating the large framed art piece in the living room to the wall above the cabinet so that the lamps overlap the artwork a bit for a layered look.

And that’s it! What do you think of Ali’s mood boards? Any favorite pieces? Personally, I adore the gourd lamps {only $35 each!}, the armless sofa and the rustic media console.

FYI – Learn to create mood boards for free here, here, here and here.

Click here to see who won last week’s giveaway!

images: 1 & 2} Ali  3 & 4} polyvore collages created by Dana Miller, linked within