This is Scout: 
Scout lives with his brother Olafur and his human parents, Rachael and Devin. While Rachael and Devin may pay the bills, the apartment they live in is definitely Scout's house. ("Who's house? Scout's house!!!!") Rachael contacted me because Scout's living room needed a little somthin' somthin'. After they moved in they just never really got around to decorating it and Scout couldn't be bothered. So that's where I came in. The bones of the room were fantastic. Most notably, they have a giant oriental rug (that Rachael got an uh-mazing deal on) and they built a custom TV/bookcase/media center that I'm super duper jealous of. Here's a before shot: 
On top of all that, the whole family has similar tastes, is super design-conscious, AND they had a giant tupperware bin full of artwork that they just needed hung. Did I mention that they live two blocks from me? Yeah, this was a nice project. But, at first I was a bit intimidated by it because of how design-minded Rachael and Devin (and Scout) are. But, the budget was $450 so I decided pretty early on that I would just spend a little more money to get really nice pieces since they were already covered in the furniture, artwork and rug departments. So what was left? Well, LIGHTING! ALWAYS LIGHTING!! Pillows, plants, and nubby cozy little blankets, you get the jist. I stuck very closely to the answers they gave on the surveys I give out to all my clients. Rachael wanted a space that "felt lived in" and "more plants that the cats and my black thumb don't destroy." (I FEEL YOU GIRL.) And Devin, well, he "finds most things that people would call decoration a waste." and he "[doesn't] like having things around that don't get used or don't serve a purpose." OH BOY. Now that's not necessarily something an interior decorator loves to hear, BUT it gave me a challenge, and those can be awesome sources of inspiration. As for Scout, he just wanted to see what I could do. So here's a before and after: 
Here's another one- just because I like you (and this room) so much. 
SO! The main things I spent money on in the room are the AWESOME floor lamp from Crate and Barrel ($135), and a coffee table book about Swiss graphic design. Which was SEVENTY DOLLARS. You see, Devin may not like decor, BUT he does like Swiss graphic design. (I FEEL YOU BRAH.) Sooooooooooo all of the sudden I killed so many birds with just one single $70 stone! It's FUNCTIONAL! ITS DECOR! ITS THE THIN LINE BETWEEN GOD AND MAN! 
Anywhoo. I went with that particular floor lamp because it can swing around and function as both a reading light and and an overhead light for eating or working at the table. Plus Scout liked it. 
The one peice of art I brought in was this awesome print by Inaluxe. I felt like it brought all of their art together while adding a little something new. 
The gallery wall was a no-brainer because there was a big friggin' wall and a literally (not literally) a TON of artwork. I finally listened to the experts and used the old butcher paper trick to hang them all and I'm really really really glad I did. If you ever plan on hanging a gallery wall, click this link or prepare yourself a world of hurt. Okay, what else? I used their navy and white throw pillow, the rug, and their matching "we love grey!" responses to determine the color scheme of the room. I bought a few more throw pillows, a stripey one, a denim one and a grey sweater-y one. To finish off the couch-scape (YES, I WENT THERE) I went with a nice, cream colored throw. 
(That my friends, is Olafur. Olafur sightings are extremely rare. He loves the throw, but in general, is not amused.) I got some great stone pots from IKEA for their plants and then spray painted them matte-grey for a faux-concrete look. 
I also got them the plant du jour, a fiddlehead fig tree. Which I'm told is pretty hard to kill and non-toxic to cats. And oh so pretty. I finished off that corner with a pendant lamp from IKEA for another source of non-ceiling fixture-misery-light (as I like to call it).
The last thing was this West Elm vase that I became obsessed with.
Mostly because even though it was on sale I was too cheap to buy it. Instead I obsessed about it until I figured out how to make one just like it myself. Vase from Goodwill + Spray Paint= pretty much as good as West Elm. 
The full DIY deets of this project go a little something like this: Spray the glass with one coat of white primer spray paint, then two coats of "Make It Stone!". Once the "Make It Stone!" was dry I hand painted over it with some navy craft paint, taping off the top where I wanted to keep it "Stone!" While the navy was drying I ever so gently sprayed another light coat of the "Make It Stone!" over it. DONE! So that was pretty much that. It all came together pretty easily and I LOVED how it came out. So did Rachael and Devin. But most importantly, so did Scout. 
That's his "I LOVE IT!" face, I swear. The Budget: Floor lamp: $135 (on sale) 100 Years of Swiss Graphic Design book: $70 Grey & White & Grey Sweater Pillow: $36 (Target) Coat Rack: $12 (not pictured) Spray Paint & Supplies: $30 Artwork: $44 3 Plant pots: $11 Small Jade Plant: $5 Pot for Fiddlehead: $15 Pendant Lamp: $13 Cord Kit: $8 Throw Pillow (Cover + cushion): $10 Fiddlehead Fig: $13 Frame for Artwork: $10 Throw Blanket: $13 TOTAL WITH TAX: $452 Okay, I love you all. It's been an amazing 2 years! Thank you so so much for reading!!!!!!!! *******ALSO TODAY IS HAUSWITCH'S 2ND BIRTHDAY! You can help me celebrate by donating to KIVA as part of Team Hauswitch! I made a loan so Alma can buy building materials for her house! If you donate in the next 36 hours your donation will be matched 100% by KIVA!!! JUST SAYIN'!!!!!!! The moon is in Cancer and the witches say, "Enjoy Folly"
Scout lives with his brother Olafur and his human parents, Rachael and Devin. While Rachael and Devin may pay the bills, the apartment they live in is definitely Scout's house. ("Who's house? Scout's house!!!!") Rachael contacted me because Scout's living room needed a little somthin' somthin'. After they moved in they just never really got around to decorating it and Scout couldn't be bothered. So that's where I came in. The bones of the room were fantastic. Most notably, they have a giant oriental rug (that Rachael got an uh-mazing deal on) and they built a custom TV/bookcase/media center that I'm super duper jealous of. Here's a before shot: 
On top of all that, the whole family has similar tastes, is super design-conscious, AND they had a giant tupperware bin full of artwork that they just needed hung. Did I mention that they live two blocks from me? Yeah, this was a nice project. But, at first I was a bit intimidated by it because of how design-minded Rachael and Devin (and Scout) are. But, the budget was $450 so I decided pretty early on that I would just spend a little more money to get really nice pieces since they were already covered in the furniture, artwork and rug departments. So what was left? Well, LIGHTING! ALWAYS LIGHTING!! Pillows, plants, and nubby cozy little blankets, you get the jist. I stuck very closely to the answers they gave on the surveys I give out to all my clients. Rachael wanted a space that "felt lived in" and "more plants that the cats and my black thumb don't destroy." (I FEEL YOU GIRL.) And Devin, well, he "finds most things that people would call decoration a waste." and he "[doesn't] like having things around that don't get used or don't serve a purpose." OH BOY. Now that's not necessarily something an interior decorator loves to hear, BUT it gave me a challenge, and those can be awesome sources of inspiration. As for Scout, he just wanted to see what I could do. So here's a before and after: 
Here's another one- just because I like you (and this room) so much. 
SO! The main things I spent money on in the room are the AWESOME floor lamp from Crate and Barrel ($135), and a coffee table book about Swiss graphic design. Which was SEVENTY DOLLARS. You see, Devin may not like decor, BUT he does like Swiss graphic design. (I FEEL YOU BRAH.) Sooooooooooo all of the sudden I killed so many birds with just one single $70 stone! It's FUNCTIONAL! ITS DECOR! ITS THE THIN LINE BETWEEN GOD AND MAN! 
Anywhoo. I went with that particular floor lamp because it can swing around and function as both a reading light and and an overhead light for eating or working at the table. Plus Scout liked it. 
The one peice of art I brought in was this awesome print by Inaluxe. I felt like it brought all of their art together while adding a little something new. 
The gallery wall was a no-brainer because there was a big friggin' wall and a literally (not literally) a TON of artwork. I finally listened to the experts and used the old butcher paper trick to hang them all and I'm really really really glad I did. If you ever plan on hanging a gallery wall, click this link or prepare yourself a world of hurt. Okay, what else? I used their navy and white throw pillow, the rug, and their matching "we love grey!" responses to determine the color scheme of the room. I bought a few more throw pillows, a stripey one, a denim one and a grey sweater-y one. To finish off the couch-scape (YES, I WENT THERE) I went with a nice, cream colored throw. 
(That my friends, is Olafur. Olafur sightings are extremely rare. He loves the throw, but in general, is not amused.) I got some great stone pots from IKEA for their plants and then spray painted them matte-grey for a faux-concrete look. 
I also got them the plant du jour, a fiddlehead fig tree. Which I'm told is pretty hard to kill and non-toxic to cats. And oh so pretty. I finished off that corner with a pendant lamp from IKEA for another source of non-ceiling fixture-misery-light (as I like to call it).
The last thing was this West Elm vase that I became obsessed with. Mostly because even though it was on sale I was too cheap to buy it. Instead I obsessed about it until I figured out how to make one just like it myself. Vase from Goodwill + Spray Paint= pretty much as good as West Elm. 
The full DIY deets of this project go a little something like this: Spray the glass with one coat of white primer spray paint, then two coats of "Make It Stone!". Once the "Make It Stone!" was dry I hand painted over it with some navy craft paint, taping off the top where I wanted to keep it "Stone!" While the navy was drying I ever so gently sprayed another light coat of the "Make It Stone!" over it. DONE! So that was pretty much that. It all came together pretty easily and I LOVED how it came out. So did Rachael and Devin. But most importantly, so did Scout. 
That's his "I LOVE IT!" face, I swear. The Budget: Floor lamp: $135 (on sale) 100 Years of Swiss Graphic Design book: $70 Grey & White & Grey Sweater Pillow: $36 (Target) Coat Rack: $12 (not pictured) Spray Paint & Supplies: $30 Artwork: $44 3 Plant pots: $11 Small Jade Plant: $5 Pot for Fiddlehead: $15 Pendant Lamp: $13 Cord Kit: $8 Throw Pillow (Cover + cushion): $10 Fiddlehead Fig: $13 Frame for Artwork: $10 Throw Blanket: $13 TOTAL WITH TAX: $452 Okay, I love you all. It's been an amazing 2 years! Thank you so so much for reading!!!!!!!! *******ALSO TODAY IS HAUSWITCH'S 2ND BIRTHDAY! You can help me celebrate by donating to KIVA as part of Team Hauswitch! I made a loan so Alma can buy building materials for her house! If you donate in the next 36 hours your donation will be matched 100% by KIVA!!! JUST SAYIN'!!!!!!! The moon is in Cancer and the witches say, "Enjoy Folly"
