Do you all remember when Carly sent in a picture of her living room wall? Well, Carly has been hard at work putting together her living room and I have to say - it's totally worth all the effort! The space looks great, take a look for yourself! She took inspiration from a few of our suggestions and really scaled the compilation to fit the size of the sectional. I love the balance she achieved with the frames; similarly toned, but not too matchy matchy. It really looks collected and interesting. The flowers are a great pop of color and the family pictures are just the right amount of intimacy. My feeling is that in a public space, like a living room, there should be a good representation of the people who live there, but also a complete representation - not just the people but things they generally consider to be beautiful outside of themselves!
I am also so glad to see the pendant hanging in the corner. This height in the corner not only draws your eye up, but it also puts emphasis on the farthest space in the room, which makes the room feel bigger too. Great work Carly, thanks for sharing your space with us!
*Every other Friday we do a post called '2nd Opinion'. These posts are based on reader submissions on home dilemmas for which they would like a 2nd opinion. Here at 2nd and Strand we will give our opinions, and invite readers to do the same in the comments or by a poll. To see past 2nd Opinion posts, look on the right hand sidebar at '2nd Opinion' under categories. If you would like to make a submission, follow the link on the left hand side of our homepage! We'd love to hear from you!
Who is Tammy? She's my momma! Unfortunately my Mom lives far far away and I can't help her with the day to day tasks of her very busy and fulfilling life. But I want to. So for Mother's Day I asked her to let me post a picture of her command center in hopes that I could inspire her to something greater! This is where my Mom runs her household, she also helps run my Dad's campaign for State Senate, participates in so many charitable activities I can't keep them straight, and helps run my Dad's medical practices. Yep, she's an all-star who really needs a hard working home office. There are a few things I really like about this office space. The carpet is nice and neutral, the chair is graphic and interesting, and the drapes are beautiful. We've got lots of positives to work with. There are some things that aren't working; I don't like how the chair is shoved into a tiny space between the window and the pull-out, a general lack of workspace, and far too many cords. I have a few different directions she could go, why don't y'all tell me which one you like best? Don't worry Mom, all of them involve getting rid of the armoire! #1. Paint the back wall of the niche Sherwin Williams Argyle. #2 I thought it would be great to pull the desk out from against the back wall and replace it with storage in the niche. I would move the desk out about three feet from the storage unit and have the chair in between the desk and the bookcase. This way Tammy could see people as they walk in the door to the office, as opposed to having her back to the door. I really like this desk with this bookcase. #3This option is all custom baby! I saw this picture and thought that something like this on a more narrow scale would also work really well. There is a ton of height in this room that is not being used, and these book towers would really capitalize on that square footage. I would recommend not having any storage at the base however. I think my Mom's niche is too small for that. Just go up! Which is your favorite? I think I know which one Mom will pick!
For today's 2nd Opinion post, I'm going to try to tackle my own design dilemma. Here's a little back story - my recently turned two year old is moving to a toddler bed. He's been able to climb out of his crib since he was about 17 months old. He was obsessed with his binki, and since he only could have it when he was in his crib at bedtime, that alone was enough to typically keep him happy in his bed. But since we've taken his oh so loved binki away a few months ago, we've been having issues at bedtime with him climbing out of his crib like 20 million times. Okay, maybe thats an exaggeration... but that's sometimes how it feels : ). We've gone back and forth between just moving him to a toddler bed or trying out a crib tent, but ultimately we've decided to go with a toddler bed. My two little boys share a room. Our plan is to buy a matching toddler bed to the one we already have. When my older son moved into his toddler bed I didn't have a cute blanket for it, so just gave him the one that came with his crib bedding... which I've always hated (which was why it was never used before that time). I figured when I got around to it I'd figure out another option for him... and here we are two years later! Gotta love how that happens. So I'm excited for today's post. I feel like I'm taking steps in the right direction for getting my younger son to fall asleep easier (eventually), and finally figuring out a cute bedding option for my boys. Shopping for toddler bedding has been a little tough. On one end, most of what I find is way to cutesy or character based. I'm sure my boys would love Transformers bedding with Optimus Prime all over it (feel free to ask me any Transformer related questions... recently I've been forced to learn my stuff when I constantly get questions like, "What are the good Transformers called?" "Is Starscream a good or bad guy?" etc.), but I'd rather keep them in the dark about things like that existing as long as I can. On the other hand, there are cute options out there, but usually they are crazy expensive (in my opinion). Ferm Living has some cute options, but not at a price I will consider spending. I'm typically drawn to clean, simple lines like this quilt from Unisom, which is what inspired me to pick the following fabrics below. I like folding down my bedding to show the sheet on the bed... and I don't have cute sheets... they are just plain white. I just like it because I feel like it adds more dimension and interest to a made bed. So I'm going for the same look with my boy's toddler blanket. A two sided blanket with coordinating fabrics staying with the same color scheme thats already in their room which is green (sort of a mintyish color), navy blue, light blue and white.
Option 1
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Navy blue and teal stripes on the showing side of the blanket. I'd like to pair it with the white and navy blue scalloped fabric below for the underside of the blanket.
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Option 2
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White with a blue trellis design for the top side of the blanket, with the minty green design on the bottom.
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Option 3
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For this option, the top side of the blanket has thick white and light gray stripes. The bottom side is navy blue with white circles.
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So what do you think? I like the idea of having a reversible blanket. That way they can be matching if they want, or each have a different side showing which will still coordinate. So wonderful readers, help me out by taking the poll below so I know which direction I should start heading in!
We have another 2nd Opinion reveal! We seriously get so happy here at 2nd and Strand when we see people taking inspiration from ideas we've shared. Emily wanted some help with a bathroom of a new apartment she recently moved into with new towels and art. We know Emily loves color, and when you have a small space to work in its great to try to bring in great texture and fun patterns to get a great impact. To see the original post, click here. Below are the two different options we gave and had everyone take a vote on (for resources click here). I don't know why, I love taking fun polls... like which towel/art combo do you prefer type of polls. So here is the finished results! Emily found these amazing Vintage orange towels... don't they remind you of the Anthropology one shown above? I also love the big black and white photography on the wall. It helps balance out all the rest of the color in the room but is still a focal point at the same time. Emily received the World Market Peacock towels as a gift from friends. And I'm sure you see that awesome big piece of art above the pretty towels? Emily did that herself! I seriously am so in awe of people that can create great things out of canvas and paint... and emily definitely did that and gave the room its main focal point. Great job, Emily! So here is our question to you: do you need a 2nd Opinion? In case you aren't sure what exactly I'm talking about, let me give you a little explanation. Every Friday we do a segment called '2nd Opinion'. This is based on readers sending in submissions about questions they have about a certain aspect of their home. Once we receive your submission we'll email you to get more information about what you need a 2nd opinion on, and put together something great for you that we will show on our website. Most other websites charge money for doing things like this, but since we are just so excited to be involved in doing something we are passionate about, we do it for free! Our 2nd Opinions have covered a lot of territory. Like the one above, we helped Emily out with specific aspects of her room: towels and art. Here are some other examples- 1. We helped Colleen with picking a paint color for her kitchen. 2. We helped Danielle with her living room. 3. We helped Natalie with her bathroom. 4. We helped David with some fireplace inspiration. 5. We helped Sarah add some finishing touches to her room with a great inspiration picture. And the list could go on and on (like drapery options, lamp options, toy storage solutions, wall hanging options, bedding, and help with tough living areas to work with, office space, bedrooms... like I said, we've covered a lot of territory!). To see all our past 2nd opinions, click the link on the right sidebar under categories! When we do full rooms we invite everyone to give their feedback in the comments. When we do smaller scale things (like drapery options, wall hanging options, fabric options, etc...) we give multiple choices and make a poll so you can cast your vote! Its fun all around. So do you have a problem in your home that you'd like help with? Here is what you do if you'd like to submit something for a 2nd Opinion...it's super simple - 1. Do you see the side bar on the left? The second one down says 'Get a 2nd Opinion'. Click that. 2. Follow the directions by filling in your name, email address, and briefly write what you'd like help with (we can get more details once we contact you!). 3. Wait for us to email you back... and thats it! Super easy. Thanks to all our awesome readers who have sent in submissions (and if you have any after shots send them in!), and to all you who give your own opinion!
Dani has a bit of a dilemma. She has a room that is well used, well organized, and well stuffed. There is not a lot of negative space, except above the bed. This of course is kind of anti-climatic as you want the bed to be the focal point of the BEDroom. So how do we draw the eye towards the bed and help give it the visual weight that it deserves? We go UP!
To balance all the weight around the room, you really have to crown the head of the bed. I have a few suggestions for you.
First: I love this option because of the drama! The contrast is fierce, and the details would be really easy to scale to fit the space; totally customizable and mostly just paint.
Second: This option is sweet and serene, always nice descriptions of a restful bedroom. I think this option would work equally well with either paper or fabric.
Third: This headboard seems more masculine, but maybe that means you can get some really great feminine bedding to balance it all out. I love that it would hide wiring for a lamp or two. Lucky for Dani she has a very handy husband who I think could rig something similar.
Fourth: I love the height on this headboard. It would work well in Dani's space because the headboard ifself is narrow, and their wall is not very wide; I think the proportions could be just right.
Which one of these images is your favorite? Vote below to tell us. Happy weekend everybody :)
-Andrea *Every Friday we do a post called '2nd Opinion'. These posts are based on reader submissions on home dilemmas they would like a 2nd opinion on. Here at 2nd and Strand we will give our opinions, and invite readers to do the same in the comments or by a poll. To see past 2nd Opinion posts, look on the right hand sidebar at '2nd Opinion' under categories. If you would like to make a submission, follow the link on the left hand side of our homepage! We'd love to hear from you!
Shannon is my little sister. She is living at my parents house and is lucky enough to have a spare bedroom right next to her own. My parents and sister had plans to make this extra room into a study space for my sister (she really is quite the studious one) but haven't gotten around to it yet, so I'm stepping in to give them a little nudge forward in the process : ). Below is a picture of her bedroom. She doesn't want the two rooms to be too matchy-matchy, but they need to flow well together. To make that happen I'll keep the colors and style in her room in mind when picking out a few items for her study. Below is how I would layout the room. Usually if there is enough space, I prefer the desk to face the door. But, if I did that in this room, Shannon's back would be to the natural light. So to get the best of both worlds, I have the desk turned to the side so she can still see the door and have the natural light hit her workspace. I would also put low bookcases along the left wall for storage, and to make it an additional focal point in the room (because sitting at a desk looking at a blank white wall is definitely not inspiring!). I'd recommend finding a great art piece (or collage) on one wall, and a fun, big mirror for the opposite side wall (behind the desk and behind the bookcase). Here are the items I picked out for Shannon's study room, with links and explanations below - Rug - To anchor the room and add the same energy to this room as Shannon's bedroom. Usually I wouldn't recommend doing stamped rugs, because in a high traffic area they can lose their color pretty quickly. But since this is in a secluded room I'm not worried about that being a problem, and I think the money saved is worth it (especially when the print is so cute). Chair - I like the idea of the juxtaposition between the desk and this chair. Bookcase - I'd line three against the wall on the right. I'd also recommend putting some great art above it! Lamp - This room needs a little something in the blue color spectrum, and some shine on the base never hurts either. Drapes - Since her bedroom has drapes, I decided to add them to this room as well to make it feel balanced. White board - Call me a nerd, but I still secretly love white boards. If I ever have an office type room, I'd definitely have a white board in it. I'm already day dreaming about my lists I could make... Vase - Accessories like this can (should!) be added to give more interest and personality to the space. I'd also like these to help bring in the warmer tones from the bedroom into this office space, and would keep the desk as clear as possible and put accessories on the bookshelves. Picture frame - Another accessory. Hour Glass - Accessory. Wall Clock - Accessory.
*Every Friday we do a post called '2nd Opinion'. These posts are based on reader submissions on home dilemmas they would like a 2nd opinion on. Here at 2nd and Strand we will give our opinions, and invite readers to do the same in the comments or by a poll. To see past 2nd Opinion posts, look on the right hand sidebar at '2nd Opinion' under categories. If you would like to make a submission, follow the link on the left hand side of our homepage! We'd love to hear from you!
My friend Elizabeth is requesting some design help. She is not loving her two windows below. To be fair, they're wonderful windows; but they need to be dressed up a bit don't they? First let's take the window on the left. Things to love: great shape, great scale, nice wood work. Things that aren't working; no contrast between the roller blind and the molding, being dwarfed by a brick wall, appear haphazard. What I'd like to do is add some presence to this big lovely window by toping it with a pelmet box. What's a pelmet box you say? In the image above the pelmet box is only the piece up above the window, it is not the drapes. I like this idea as it will really highlight the window and draw your eye up and away from the brick. This room runs unimpeded into the kitchen which is a very warm and inviting room. To connect the two rooms I would use something like the fabric below and wrap it around a pelmet box. (There are a few DIYs for making your own inexpensive pelmet boxes). I'm not convinced that there is room for an entire pelmet box, but you could certainly make the front piece and mount it to look like a pelmet. Clearly this would be a very tailored look, so I think it would be best to replace the flowy panels currently being used with roller blinds.
Next up, Elizabeth's 2nd window! Elizabeth told me that she likes the shears that are currently hanging, and they do a great job of diffusing light and adding privacy. I think this one will be a relatively easy fix, it could be inexpensive too! Like this inspiration image below? ! This DIY can be found here. Thick curtain rods, especially one that could span Elizabeth's huge window, can cost a lot. I would recommend that the rod should be hung so that demi panels could hang on either end of the rod, not blocking any light coming into the room. You would only need a pair of panels as they wouldn't be used to actually cover the window, just flank it on either side. I really enjoyed working on Elizabeth's space, thanks for sharing your home with us!
A couple weeks ago we featured Erin's wall alcoves for our 2nd Opinion segment. We gave three different options for what could be done in the alcoves, but the option that received the most votes was to apply a wall stencil and add shelves to make a built-in bookshelf feel (to see the other options, and if you'd like to vote (its not too late!) click here). Erin would like a 2nd opinion on the rest of room as well. She is renting this amazing home in Los Angeles with some friends and loves the huge window, exposed ceiling beams, and the fire place in her living room. This room already has some great items, but I think a few more things need to be added to make it feel finished. We'll keep the color scheme as is: whites, creams, browns and will add some shine and texture to the space. What you don't see in this picture is on the right wall there are additional windows with a door that opens to the outside. I think the couch should be moved towards that wall more, leaving enough space for the door to open without hitting the couch, and still maintaining a walkway behind the couch. This is a large room thats primary purpose is to relax while watching TV, reading, or talking. I would like to add additional lighting and seating to really emphasize the middle section of the room with the couch and to help fill in some space. Here are some additional things I would add - Rug - This light colored rug will help break up the couch/floor/coffee table browns and it's style reflects the style of home as well. This will anchor and add interest the middle of the room. Chair - The deep seat cushion and high back offer comfort, and the absence of arm rests doesn't make it seem like it visually takes up as much space in the room. This chair will sit between the left side of the fire place and the couch facing the coffee table. This will make the space in a large room seem more intimate, will add an additional space to sit, and wont block the view of the TV or fireplace. Side table - I'm totally in love with this piece. The hard, more masculine iron base goes beautifully with the feminine natural bone top. The base also helps to tie in the bookcase (will show below). I'd place this next to the angled side chair. Table lamp - To go on the bone side table shown above. I wanted to provide the chair with some lighting, but didn't want it to block the room at all, so I went with a shorter, clear style. Coffee table - With added storage opportunity below (you could use baskets for blankets, magazines, books, movies, etc) this coffee table adds function, mimics the wood ceiling beams with its color and simple lines, yet still has some visual interest. A large tray on the top for remotes and other display items would look great. Brass side table - In a space this big and when the people that live here are as social as they are, each seating spot should have a place to set down a drink, etc. I love this piece because it adds some shine to the room. This will go on the far end of the couch. Table lamp - This beauty will rest on the side table shown above (at the far end of the couch).
Here is the other side of the room (with the room's entrance to the left).
Bookcase - I think this would look great underneath the two large pieces of art against the wall. You could stack some books, add some fun display items, or add cute bins for movies in this space. This would add character to this side of the room, but this bookcase doesn't take up too much visual space so it wouldn't seem too impeding. Table lamp - I love this lamp because depending on the light it's a great mix of gold and silver. This would look great on the left side of the low bookcase.
So there you have it! There are some items that I believe would help make this great room feel more complete.
*Every Friday we do a post called '2nd Opinion'. These posts are based on reader submissions on home dilemmas they would like a 2nd opinion on. Here at 2nd and Strand we will give our opinions, and invite readers to do the same in the comments or by a poll. To see past 2nd Opinion posts, look on the right hand sidebar at '2nd Opinion' under categories. If you would like to make a submission, follow the link on the left hand side of our homepage! We'd love to hear from you!
We are so excited to have our first 2nd opinion reveal here at 2nd and Strand! Do you remember Emily's amazing piano we showed? If you didn't get a chance to see or need a reminder, here is the tiffany blue beauty- Emily wanted to paint the bench to match the piano, and wanted a 2nd opinion on a new fabric to cover the seat. 25 of you amazing readers gave your opinion and there was a tie for first place (to see the fabric options, click here... you can also see the results of the poll by clicking the link at the bottom of poll). It's always great to get a 2nd opinion, but ultimately it was up to Emily to decide on which fabric most appealed to her and would look the best in her space. She decided on one of the first place fabrics and here is the after picture she kindly sent us - How great does the updated bench look? The black and white stripe looks great. Great job Emily! So here is our question to you: do you need a 2nd Opinion? In case you aren't sure what exactly I'm talking about, let me give you a little explanation. Every Friday we do a segment called '2nd Opinion'. This is based on readers sending in submissions about questions they have about a certain aspect of their home. Once we receive your submission we'll email you to get more information about what you need a 2nd opinion on, and put together something great for you that we will show on our website. Most other websites charge money for doing things like this, but since we are just so excited to be involved in doing something we are passionate about, we do it for free! Our 2nd Opinions have covered a lot of territory. Like the one above, we helped Emily out with fabric options. Here are some other examples- 1. We helped Colleen with picking a paint color for her kitchen. 2. We helped Danielle with her living room. 3. We helped Natalie with her bathroom. 4. We helped David with some fireplace inspiration. 5. We helped Sarah add some finishing touches to her room with a great inspiration picture. And the list could go on and on (like drapery options, lamp options, toy storage solutions, wall hanging options, bedding, and help with tough living areas to work with, office space, bedrooms... like I said, we've covered a lot of territory!). To see all our past 2nd opinions, click the link on the right sidebar under categories! When we do full rooms we invite everyone to give their feedback in the comments. When we do smaller scale things (like drapery options, wall hanging options, alcove options, etc...) we give multiple choices and make a poll so you can cast your vote! Its fun all around. So do you have a problem in your home that you'd like help with? Here is what you do if you'd like to submit something for a 2nd Opinion...it's super simple - 1. Do you see the side bar on the left? The second one down says 'Get a 2nd Opinion'. Click that. 2. Follow the directions by filling in your name, email address, and briefly write what you'd like help with (we can get more details once we contact you!). 3. Wait for us to email you back... and thats it! Super easy. Thanks to all our awesome readers who have sent in submissions (and if you have any after shots send them in!), and to all you who give your own opinion!
Erin is renting a home in the Los Angeles area. It's a beautiful Spanish style home, with two great wall alcoves in the living room that Erin would like a 2nd opinion on! This size of alcoves can be a little tricky at first to know what to put in them, because most people would probably automatically think to get a tall, narrow piece of art, or a huge vase to put on each side. But, we can be much more creative with these two spaces that lends additional character to this already awesome room shown below. Erin's favorite parts of the room are the exposed beams and the huge window (that lets you see that beautiful big tree right outside) and I agree. Definitely awesome features to this room! So here's my thing with the alcoves: they should be interesting and lend a hand at adding more character to this space, but shouldn't be so distracting that they are the new focal point in the room. The window is one of Erin's favorite things, and if the alcoves were too dominate it would keep your eyes inside the room instead of letting them travel outside to the tree, and then up to the ceiling beams. So that is the theme I'm going with: interesting but not dominating.
Here are three different options. Once you take a look, take the poll below to share what you think would look best in Erin's living room!
Option One: Detailed stenciled wall.
With this detailed of a wall stencil it acts as art on its own without needed anything else in the space to make it feel filled. This is a great example of adding some great visual interest in keeping with the them of the house, but the colors don't make it too dominating.
Option 2: Simple wall stencil with wall shelves
Using wall shelves in the alcoves will make it look like built-in bookshelves. I picked the color of the shelf to blend in more with the wall color so they wouldn't stand out so much, which will let the simple wall stencil and the contents displayed on the shelves shine.
Option 3: Wall stencil with ornate mirror
I like the contrasting lines of the wall stencil with the mirror. Mirrors always help bounce light around a room, and mirrors like the one shown are also like art because of the design of it. With this option you'd stencil the alcove, hang a mirror in each one, and still have room on the bottom shelf to display some cute accessories.
Wall stencils are used in each option, all with the same color scheme just different designs. Since Erin is renting, she can always measure out the area of the alcove and do the stencil on a thin piece of wood/foam board/thick poster board if she doesn't want to paint the wall. But, I wouldn't do that option if you plan to hang anything!
What do you think readers? Which option would you choose for the space?
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