New Curtains

My Wilmington Multi fabric came last week and I LOVE it! When it arrived I instantly got started on my curtains. Here is my kitchen window before the new light fixture and window treatments:

And here it is now:

I love the simple changes.

New Bedding!

My wonderful husband suprised me with a Pottery Barn gift card for Christmas. This was my reaction:

Totally surprised!
Then, I found out the other day that the gift card is not only good at Pottery Barn but can also be used at West Elm! Sweet! So, I was going back and forth over getting this Striped Duvet Cover in Feather Gray,

Love it! And all of their bedding is 20% off right now, but to get matching euro shams, plus shipping it was still going to be over my budget. I also wasn't quite sold on the shams. I felt like they were going to give the bedding too much of a modern feel. But then, on Monday, because of the holiday, West Elm had free shipping!! So I started putting my options together. As I was searching through their clearance bedding I found the Parachute Euro Shams in Feather Gray for only $12.

It seemed like it was meant to be! So I got it! The striped duvet, seen again here:

And the Parachute shams. I am hoping they are the same Feather Gray as in the striped duvet. I think the shams will add more texture to the bedding and give it less of a modern look. That's my exciting news for the week. I have also been busy working on a few projects the past couple weeks. Can't wait to show you the boards!

My Little Future Interior Designer

I didn't even show her how to do this. She just started doing it on her own. I'm so proud!

Happy Weekend!!

Great Giveaway

My friend and fellow designer, Caley, over at Design by Caley is giving away a FREE Blog Redesign! Besides being a great interior designer, she is fabulous at blog designing. Here are a couple of my favorites that she has done:

Head over to her blog to check out her other designs and enter to win this fun giveaway!

Progress in the Kitchen

My kitchen projects are still in the works. A few weeks ago Calvin hung my light and ,of course, it wasn't easy. The electrical in our home has been updated, but the electrical box of the previous light fixture was an "older model," I guess you could say, than what current light fixtures use. So, my genius husband had to come up with a way to install the new fixture without having to replace the whole box.   

I love the light! It could be a little bit bigger in proportion to the window, but anything larger that I could find was too big and would have hit the window.  I think it will look better when I get some curtains up. I decided not to do a roman shade, like I originally planned, but to window length panels on either side. That way it won't shorten the large window. When it came to fabric for the curtains I looked everywhere in town and couldn't find anything similar to what I was picturing in my mind. Then I was on 6th Street Design School and saw this pic:

 I instantly knew that the drapery fabric in this picture was what I had been looking for. I figured out what it was, Wilmington Covington Multi,

and I found it at a great price, here, for $11.98 a yard plus free shipping! Everywhere else I saw it was at least $17 a yard. I was also able to order a quarter yard size! I hope I am as happy about it when it gets here as I am now. I have definitely made quite a few fabric mistakes. :)  I liked how the fabric had light blue in it. I'm hoping it will go well with my countertops.

My other kitchen project that is almost completed is my chalkboard. This is the state it is currently in:

The board is primed and painted and ready to be attached to the frame. I can't wait to put it together and hang it!

Feature

The master bedroom from the home I designed for the Parade of Homes was featured today on Favorite Paint Colors.

Great Barstool Options

I was on Overstock.com the other day looking for some barstools for a client and I was pleasantly surprised with some of the options they have on there. Here are some of my favorite finds:
Tabouret Metal Barstool

A set if 2 for only $98.99!! And they also come in white, black, and this fabulous red.

How fun are those?!!

Also in metal, I liked these:

And with a great price of $88.99 for two, you can't beat that!

In upholstered barstools I found these beauties:

Estonia Parson Stool in Sky Blue - $234.99 for set of two. What a fun way to add some color to a kitchen. (These also come in a Chartreuse)

I really liked the simplicity of the Uptown Cream Linen Barstool-$135.99

Overstock also has some modern options too.
This Walnut Bent Wood Modern Barstool ($123.99) would look awesome in a modern kitchen. I love how it reflects the look of the classic Eames Lounge Chair.

These Throroughbred Barstools ($100.98) are amazing!

They have a great mid-century modern look to them, and are a different take on a saddle seat barstool.

Renderings

I was able to do a few renderings this month. Here are a couple that I did.

Merry Christmas!!

Holiday Decor

Christmas is almost here so I thought I would share my holiday decor with you. I didn't purchase anything new this year. I just used what I already had and tried to make it look nice.  I did make a new wreath this year though. The plain wreath was given to me last year. So to decorate it this year, I purchased some small red balls at Walmart for $3. I used some silver ornaments I already had and the little beads are from a garland I already had but wasn't using for anything. The "H" was also something I had on hand. I painted it white and hung it on the wreath with some ribbon. All I spent on this wreath was $3.

I have a hard time with Christmas decorations because I like too many "Christmas styles." I love the traditional red and green style, but I also love the more elegant silver and gold combination. This year I kind of split my room and did two different styles. The perfectionist in me was fighting it and I kept going back and forth, but then I just said to myself, "You know what?! Who is really going to care?!!" This is how I decorated my entry table using stuff I had:

During our Thanksgiving vacation in WA we made darling little gingerbread houses, all red and green,  and my talented sister in-law made me that fabulous tulle wreath

And in my apothecary jars I used some small ornaments mixed with pine cones.

Now, the other side of my room I used my decor that I purchased a couple years ago. It's in grays, silvers, and golds.  I hung small wreaths from my curtain rods using ribbon. Very simple and inexpensive.

I bought my Christmas decorations a couple years ago and am proud to say I only spent $50. I gave myself a budget and stuck to it, and I have to admit I think it looks pretty great for $50.

It's a combination of stuff from Michaels, Target, and Walmart.

Schoolhouse Pendant

Wow! I have been major slacking on posting lately. This last week went by super fast for me!
Anyway, my kitchen projects are finally getting started. Thanks to a very helpful reader, a couple days ago I purchased this little beauty for over my sink:

The best part is that it was only $39.95 from Destination Lighting. They have free shipping if you spend $50, so to get the free shipping I bought a couple CFL's (something that will always come in handy to have around the house). I thought it was a great deal, AND I just checked the tracking number and it should be here today! I hope I am still this happy about my purchase when I see it.

Personal Home Renderings

I am now offering personal home renderings as a new service. For only $80 I will draw and render an 8x10 portrait of your home. These make great Christmas gifts! Email me if you are interested: amber.horch@hotmail.com

I'm Back

So, if you didn't notice, I took a nice little break from blogging. We just got back from visiting my husband's family in Western Washington for the holiday. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know we did. It was very relaxing and so fun to see our family. Now that Thanksgiving is over I am ready for the Christmas season! I turned on Christmas music this morning for the first time, and I can't wait to start getting some decorations out.  I have a lot of unpacking and laundry to do before that happens though, so I better get off the computer.  :)

But, before I go here is a little something to ooooo and awww over. :) While I was on vacation, I got my Baby and Child Restoration Hardware catalog in the mail and swooned when I saw this adorable boys room:

source

I LOVE that blue striped duvet!

Pottery Barn Finds

I am always excited when I get a new Pottery Barn catalog in the mail. I never can afford anything, but I always find so much inspiration there. Here are a few of the things I am loving.

Sorry this pic is a little grainy because I had to scan it in, but check out the numbered baskets! What a fun way to liven up some functional yet boring storage baskets.

Just use some house numbers. These one from Lowes are only $4.98 ea.

I also like PB's upholstered chairs. Like the Napa Chair with this Peacock Bhotah slipcover.

I am also really loving Pottery Barn's lighting collection lately. I'm a big fan of this Exposed Bulb Pendant track lighting

The Holiday catalog also got me really excited to start decorating for Christmas. I am trying to hold off, but is is very tempting. I have been seeing a lot of silver and gold holiday decorations and I love the combo. My tree decorations are silver and gray but this year I might have to add some gold to them.

I thought these Magnolia Lights from Pottery Barn were super cute and easily DIY-able. Christmas lights and paper....anyone want to try?

One of my favorite decorations I saw in the PB catalog was this antler art.

It's rustic, yet a little modern, and so fun! Antlers also could be great to hang stockings from.

Living Room Design Board

I recently did a design board for a neighbor of mine who is putting her house on the market. She wanted to make it look more presentable. It is a gorgeous 1930's brick home with tons of character. In her living room there are two gorgeous stained glass windows on either side of the fireplace. I decided to work with the warm colors in the glass.

Rendering

This is what I have been working on the past few days:

I frequently do renderings of exteriors for my cousin who is a builder. I love how this one turned out. I really like the blue siding. I love to draw and render. My drawing classes were definitely one of my favorite courses in design school.

The Pendant Search

I am still working on sprucing up my kitchen. There have just been a few things holding me up. My daughter's party was one of them, and then this last weekend my handyman (also known as husband) shot an elk, so every night this week he has been, literally, up to his elbows in meat. Disgusting, I know. Anyway, I have been trying to find some options for a new light above my sink. Here are some lights from Lowes that I have been thinking about.

But then, on Pinterest last night I saw this:

I LOVE that light! It has a classic look to it that I think would be perfect in our 1940's home. The price isn't perfect though. I found a similar one here, but it is more than I wanted to spend, so I am going to keep looking for a less expensive one. Wish me luck!

1st Birthday Bash

My daughter's first birthday was this week, so of course I wanted to throw her a party. Let me just begin by saying that the day didn't go exactly as planned. There was quite a few ups and downs. It started with me puking my guts out the night before and thinking, "We are definitely postponing the party." I had some stomach flu thing, but luckily by morning I felt great, despite the fact that I didn't get much sleep, so the party was back on. But then, my daughter started acting a little cranky. So of course a million worries are running through my head, "Oh no, is she sick now? Maybe she is just tired because I woke her up a few times last night. Maybe she is teething." I don't know if I should cancel the party or not. The whole morning I am going back and forth trying to figure out what to do. I finally decide that we are just going to do the party, and pray that the baby doesn't get sick in the middle of it. So, with all of that going on I was pretty stressed trying to get everything done that I wanted to do, and the party decorations weren't as perfect as I pictured in my head. But with all of the drama, my baby girl had a wonderful time at her first birthday party, and that is all that matters.

I had fun making the invitations. (I edited out my daughter's name. It didn't just say "E" :) )

 
The birthday girl all ready for her guests to arrive!

I, of course, had to make a cute little birthday banner. I made it with cardstock and used crepe paper for the ruffles. And I apologize for the crummy pictures. The party was in the evening, and I had planned to take good pictures before it got dark outside... but that didn't happen.

I set up a few pictures on our entry table and then the guests placed their presents there as they came in.

I took a cake decorating class in college, so I like to make cakes. For E's I decided to do an ombre look.

And decoration with the most effect was the pom pom chandelier. I made the pom poms myself and then hung them and the paper lanterns to the light chain. I loved the way it turned out!

The party was a huge success! E loved her cake, that she insisted on eating with a spoon.

She was having the time her life...

until, right after the guests had left, she fell and cut her eyebrow open. Luckily, she is fine. We took her to the doctor, and it was just a minor cut, but I told you the day had it's ups and downs.