Bathroom Remodel Complete and a New Blog

So the bathroom is complete! It looks spectacular and you will have to stop over to my new blog and website to see it here: https://brandeyehome.wordpress.com/2017/01/15/bathroom-remodel-complete/

Vintage Baluch Rugs in the Shop

Are you looking for that special rug to finish off your perfect space? Or perhaps you are looking for an inspiration to make your space something special. One of these rugs could be it. They are vintage Balusch rugs, which were hand crafted by Baluch nomads (in the Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan area) approximately 30-60 years ago using vegetable dyes.

This landscape scene rug has beautiful shades of orange, blue, red and purple. It would also look great as a wall hanging.

I love the edges of this one, which has earthy tones of brown, yellow and red.

I love the shades of blue and pink in this one. 

This last one has wonderful shades of blue and green, with just enough pops of yellow and pink to make it interesting.

Check them all out in the brand*eye home shop! 

brand*eye home will be at CLOVER MARKET

Hey everyone, I have some great news that I should have shared with you sooner. It's so hard to stay up to date on all of the various social media platforms. If you're not following me on facebook or instagram, then stop on over there to find me. I'm @brandeyehome on instagram and https://www.facebook.com/brandeyehome/.

So tomorrow from 10am - 5pm the first Clover Market of the fall season will happen in Chestnut Hill and I will be there. I am actually doing a trial run right now and seeing what will fit into my 10' space. Let's say that not as much as I expected. But I will pack it as full as I can and hope to see there!

I have some great furniture this time around.

This is a super cool chair that I just had reupholstered with some funky fabric.

I'll have lots of Milk Glass, as well as glassware and barware. 

I picked up these super beautiful baskets in Maine. They would look great hung on a wall.

And my favorite items are these two orange vintage chairs. They will be sold as is, or I can have them upholstered for you. I also made the pillows you see below. I designed the fabric on the left. It was made with photos that I took at Market East train station in Philadelphia (or as it is currently called, Jefferson station). You know the big, huge, beautiful tiled walls lining the train platforms? Well this is it! Made into fabric form, then made into pillows. 

If you can't make it, but see something that you like that is not already in my shop, just contact me. brandeyehome{at}gmail{dot}com

Stairwell Re-do

Improving our stairwell has been on my to-do list for years, and we have finally done it! Having a husband who has off all summer is great. 

I wish I had some before pics, but they are on our other computer, and I am too lazy to switch them over to show you. Anyway, imagine an always dirty cream carpet covering these stairs. And a handrail that was dark brown.

We (Dave) pulled off all of the carpet, uncovering the wooden stairs, which we painted black.

What was under the landing was a mystery, but it ended up being an ugly linoleum. So we (he) also ripped that out and we laid down some unfinished hardwood. Initially I was going to paint that black as well, but it looked too good to paint so we just poly-ed it. I actually can take credit for the poly and helping with the painting. 

The handrails and the coat rack was painted my favorite color, ORANGE. I love it!

  
 The best part was this whole project cost around $400. The flooring and supplies were around $300 and the paint and stain was another $100.

I plan to someday hang plants in the landing, which has a skylight. I bought pulleys about 2 years ago, but still haven't gotten that together. One day I will and I will be sure to share it with you.

brand*eye pop up shop

Hey friends! I am having a pop up shop, brand*eye home sale at my house July 31, 2016. Contact me at brandeyehome {at} gmail {dot} com to get the address.



There will also be pottery for sale from Marilyn McCauley and art for sale from Jason Koons.

We will also be grilling and the keg will be full, so stop by to chill and say hello.

Hope to see you there!

$500 Master Bedroom Makeover

It's unbelievable that this bedroom was completely transformed for $500. Click here to see the before.

There are two key points to keep in mind when decorating your home.

#1: Know where to spend the money
#2:  Don't underestimate yard sales/flea markets/estate sales/craigslist

We actually didn't have a strict budget in mind when we started. Our goal was to spend as little as possible. When we tallied up the costs, it came out to just under $500!

Here's what we bought:

• Bedding set from Wayfair for $120
• Fireplace from Craigslist for $120
• Curtains from Overstock for $68
• Ornate Mirror from an Estate Sale for $8
• Vertical Mirror from a Yard Sale for $10
• Art for over the fireplace at a Yard Sale for $5
• Nesting side table set from Ross for $38
• Lamp shades from Ross for $20
• Wall art that looks like a sea urchin from Target for $15 (it's now on sale for $11.99!)
• Gold Spray paint for the dresser pulls for $3
• Sherwin Williams wall paint for $90

Grand Total: $497

Here is the sea urchin wall art that Angi found at Target. It worked perfectly to fill the wall to the right of the window. It also brought in a more modern feel to the room. We wanted to make sure that the room wasn't too Grandma, so this added some edge.

The painting over the fireplace I picked up at a yard sale on the way to her house, for $5. You always have to be on the look out! Craigslist is a great source for finding yard sales in your area.

We initially were going to buy new gold pulls for the dresser, which were silver. But a $3 can of spray paint was much more affordable!

And the end result I think is stunning. 

My sister had some great pieces to start with.

• A bed with a dramatic headboard
• An Ethan Allen Dresser
• An Ethan Allen side table that we moved from another room
• A chair that we moved from another room
• And this super cute dog, Louie

Another tip is to not forget about items you may have in other rooms in your home. We moved the side table and zebra print chair from her formal living room. 

A Master Bedroom Makeover

For the past year I have been testing the waters of interior design by using my friends as guinea pigs. I've helped choose paint colors, given advice on space planning and what to buy, as well as taken lots of flea market trips with friends.

I worked with my sister Angela to design and re-decorate her master bedroom and I finally have a fully furnished room to show you! We have been exchanging pins on pinterest, using etsy favorites, texting photos and using all available resources that we could find. And all of the ideas we had and decisions we made turned into one seriously amazing bedroom.

She already had the headboard, dresser, lamps, chandelier, and side table. The chair we stole from her formal living room.

We used Sherwin Williams Black Fox on the main focal point wall behind the bed. It's a perfect dark grey color, with some warm undertones to keep it from being too cold. The other three walls are Sherwin Williams Anonymous. This is a great neutral color which works with so many different colors. You can also see a peak into the master bath that we are working on, where we used Sherwin Williams sensuous grey.

During the planning process we thought about wall papering the main wall where the bed is placed.  But to stay in budget we decided against it and just painted the wall instead. The zebra patterned chair we moved was actually inspired by the wallpaper we were going to use.

It's actually crazy seeing this picture now, because it was the first time I started planning this room and it actually turned out to be so similar! I took this picture in Sherwin Williams in Flourtown. I ended up there, because I had a flat tire. And I had a flat tire, because I dropped my phone (which was acting as my gps). I was making a turn and nailed a curb. Lucky for me the store was right across from the tire place, so I spent the time looking at Wallpaper books and paint. York Wallcoverings is my favorite, because it's from my hometown, York, PA.

Above is an art piece that I picked up that morning at a Ft. Washington yard sale for $5. And below is my sister's dog Louie. I think she approves.

 

Just to give you an idea of what we spent, that mirror was $8 at an estate sale. Yes, you read that correctly... eight dollars!

It helped that she already had some key pieces,  but the total cost (including a fire place!) was only $500! It doesn't look like this bedroom had a budget, but it did. There are some additional updates that will be made when the time and budget permits. For example, we found the perfect light fixture for the room, but it cost as much as the whole damn room, so that will have to wait. 

And here's the before. 

What a difference! Stay tuned for a break down of all the costs. 

Silk Dyed Easter Eggs

If you're looking for a very easy, but impressive easter egg project, this is it! I have to give credit to the infamous Martha Stewart Show, which is where I learned this technique.

Materials:

• Patterned Silk. I used silk scarves, but you could use any silk fabric (ties, scarves, shirts)
• Raw eggs (they will cook while they are being dyed)
• White cotton
• Twist ties or rubber bands or string
• Non reactive (glass or enamel pot) although I don't have either of these so used metal and it works
• White vinegar and water

Directions:

Cut your silk into squares that will fit around the eggs. Also cut the white cloth to the same size. You can eyeball all of this, it does not need to be exact.

Wrap each egg in the silk and tie with a twist tie, rubber band or anything that will tie it tight (I used baking twine). The tighter you tie it, the more pattern you will have.

Wrap each silk covered egg in white cotton. I used an old t-shirt that had seen better days. The layer of cotton helps to keep the dye in place.

Place the eggs in your pot and fill with water so that they are covered. Add approximately 3 tablespoons of white vinegar to the water and bring to a boil.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the eggs from the water and let them cool. Unwrap each egg and see your work of art.

Each one will be unique. An optional step is to add a little bit of vegetable oil to a paper towel to wipe each egg to make it shine.

You can also paint or use markers on the eggs after they are dry. I added some green marker to the one on the bottom to add some extra interest. I should also add that you can save the used silk to use again. The purple pieces were previously used a few years ago for the same project and still came out great!

What's your favorite way to dye eggs?

let's celebrate!

Celebrations are one of the most wonderful experiences of life. You can celebrate anything, babies, marriage, graduation, a new job, a birthday, an anniversary, or insert-your-own-celebration-here! I think it's really important to be able to throw together a celebratory party at any time, under any situation. It's almost easier (actually definitely easier) to invest a minimum amount of time in planning and executing it. You just have to think outside of the box and take advantage of what's already there and available.

In the age of pinterest, it's easy to get overwhelmed with the millions of ideas that you find all around you. I speak from experience of getting caught in the black hole of infinite ideas and trying to plan an event. You could go crazy with the amount of food ideas, decoration ideas, invite ideas, game ideas, etc... But you know what? Most likely people are just going to remember the event and not pick apart the minuscule details. Sometimes you just gotta set a date, invite a few friends, and order a goddamn pizza!

We did a teeny bit more for this party, but actually not much. We picked a date (which was actually was the hardest part), then ordered food (Indian), bought desert (Termini, of course, the best dessert in probably the whole universe) and set the scene. It helps that I have a collection of candles and planters. But all I actually bought for the party decorations was a banner and letter kits from Target and plants from my local grocer. But these ingredients for our "BABY" party can be used and re-used for any number of parties.

Here's the breakdown:

Decorations: Usually I would DIY the banner, but I was seriously running out of time and found these in the dollar (or $3) bins in the front of Target. I took the banners and letters, spelled baby, sewed them on with some  yard I had laying around and then strung it all with the same yarn. Voila. Then I centered a bunch of candles on the table with some plants that I picked up at the grocery store. I decided on pansies, but a close second was house plants. The plants served two purposes, to decorate the table, and to be the favors so that everyone could take one home.


Food: Order it! DIY is also awesome and my number one choice, but if time is of the essence, just order it. If it's between spending hours in the kitchen that you do no have, or just ordering your favorite foods from your favorite joint; order it. No one will judge you. And if they do, screw them and their ideals.




Then it's time to sit back and enjoy the company of hanging out with friends, because that's what it's really all about.