Project Bedroom Bright: The Bed

The most substantial part of my bedroom makeover plan was replacing our 20 yr. old mattress. We got a great deal (thank you slickdeals.net) on a W Hotel bed and bought the oh-so-fluffy featherbed to go with it too.

I love it. The plush mattress is a bit firm for my taste (by itself- which I expected), but even still, it was so much nicer than the old mattress! And with the featherbed on, it's like sleeping on a cloud! So soft and dreamy! And it's changed the whole feel of the bed, seeing as the old mattress was 7" thick, and this one is 11" plus the featherbed!

We also updated the bedding for a crisp, clean, all-white look! A poofy white comforter from Marshall's, striped sheets from Target, a great duvet cover from Overstock, and some chic, bold pillows from Marshall's round out my new favorite place to be... and Jesse's (clearly). I look forward to some quality sleep time there this weekend! I know I haven't posted any 'full' room shots of the bed, but that's because the things surrounding it are still mid-transition. You'll see them all soon enough though! :)

Woodland Whisks

I might not be a great cook, but I like to think I do pretty well when it comes to baking. So of course I just fell in love with these Woodland Whisks from ModCloth.com!

They come in Bunny, Squirrel, and Birdie (when they're in stock)! Aren't they adorable?

Project Bedroom Bright: The Plan

Remember our master bedroom? Yeah, I like it, but my slick black, white, and grey palette was thwarted by the snowy greys of a real winter- something I didn't expect. It isn't all gloom & doom with a Pittsburgh winter, but it's enough to make me crave some color!!

Enter: Project Bedroom Bright

The Plan...

This is a very quick, rough mock up of what I intend to do. Time frame is several months- some of these projects can't be completed until warm weather. Furniture & arrangement all stays the same (this isn't a real re-design, more like a face-lift). And don't worry, the sheep and little bird stay. My plan includes....

• new mattress & bedding

• paint the grey walls white (black stays!)

• paint the window trim & closet doors white

• paint bed frame white

• refinish floor w/dark stain (consistent with downstairs)

• add touches of neon color to "Hard Day's Night" board

• paint chartreuse stripes behind said "HDN" board

• paint current night stands chartreuse

• refinish old desk with graphic chartreuse gradient

• spray paint desk stool electric blue

• switch out more colorful accessories/photos

• switch knobs on Hemnes & closet with these

Like I said, not a fast project by any means (or really, that big of a visual one), but it should help infuse a bit of hue into the room. The floor has to wait until it's in the 60's at least (and we're doing it ourselves), but I might tackle the other painting projects earlier, we'll just see. That being said, the new mattress and bedding are almost all here now, so look for more on those pretty soon!!

Sweet dreams!

Now Offering Prints!

I'm thrilled to share that I'm now offering archival quality prints of some of my most popular and favorite paintings! Be sure to check them out in the Prints section of the shop (and don't forget to check the for new listings pretty frequently this next week)!

Hope you all have a beautiful, happy weekend! We're spending it passed out on our new mattress- how about you?

I will never own this...

It's the Neon Cashmere Throw Blanket by Armand Diradourain sold over at the W Store.

Seriously. Delicious color in... cashmere. Even on "sale" it's prohibitively expensive, but I just love looking at it!

Dream Bright: "Paint the Bed" Inspiration

So as I mentioned in the last post, I'm very seriously considering painting the new bed some bright colors (with white trim). I'm not crazy about the current dark finish & it does need to be refinished- so ruining it or destroying value aren't my concerns for this piece.

Trim would certainly be white, and I'm thinking a grass green or bold yellow would be smashing for the panels! Jesse doesn't 'get it' when I describe my plans, so (without sketching) I thought I'd share some of my inspiration...

This has that wonderful bright green and the white trim (although in this case encasing red).

A definite 'look' I love.

I think this was from Apartment Therapy- apologies for no credit!

Talk about FUN!

Furniturea via Apartment Therapy

I think this was from Apartment Therapy?- apologies for no credit!

via Apartment Therapy

Above 3 via Design*Sponge

I LOVE these two (minus the graffiti), and they're my final push towards painting I think. I adore the vibrance and wit- but toned down a tad for my house.

Jimmie Karlsson via Apartment Therapy

Much more girly than I'd like- but you get the idea.

via Jackie Blue Home

Ok... this is just a perfect example- only paint instead of upholstery.

via Jordan Ferney's Blog

A New Bed!

Check out the new guest bed I snagged for ...get this... $50 on craigslist!!

Yes, it needs a little work, but overall, I thought it was a great deal!
We finally upgraded the 20 year old mattress we're sleeping on to a W Hotel bed (I'll let you know what we think of it when it gets here), so the old one moves to the guest room. I'm still undecided about what I'm going to do with it- definitely needs a refinishing job.

I might go the boring route and refinish it with the original stain color, but what I love about this piece is strictly the structure & shape- that curved footboard is awesome! Come spring, we're refinishing the floor in there & staining it darker- I'm a little worried it might be too much wood (there are also wood built-ins that I'm much more reluctant to paint). So plan B is to paint the trim all bright white and the panels a bold, bright color. It might be just the breath of life & energy this bed is begging for! We'll see though...

SICK

Still sick. I got over my sore throat, but now I'm stuck in the very runny-nose & awful headache stage. Instead of an interesting post, here's a precious Pickle dog picture instead:

A Yummy New Look!

Mmmmmm!

Wacha think?? It might be this snowpocalypse, but I'm loving the color! Hopefully I won't keep tweaking it... I've been sick all through this though, so if you find any problems, quirks, etc- please let me know what browser you're using & what you're seeing!! Feel free to email me or comment here.

Thanks so much!

image via Asta

To Brighten Your Day...

The new look is on it's way, but is being stalled by a nasty, unfortunate sore throat and sickness. Ick. It's been a rough couple of days, but Jesse tried to cheer me up today by taking me to Ikea. I wasn't planning on buying anything, but look what I spied from across the room:

Isn't it CUTE? How did I never see this before?? It's called a Barbar tray- Super cheap and just the right amount of bright color and whimsy to brighten a gloomy, sickly day!

A New Look: It's ok... change is good!

So while you may have noticed, our Cozy Little Cave isn't just for four anymore! The addition of the little PickleDog makes it five, and signals the time for a new blog design! Please be a little patient while I work out the kinks of finding our "new look!" Hope to be back soon!!

image via LauraLemon

Bright little vases...

Check out these sweet little pops of color I picked up at Crate & Barrel (here & here) when I was in Houston (we don't have any here in Pittsburgh). They're only $9.99 each and come in a yummy, popsicle array of colors! They've been moving around the house day to day- perfect for brightening the next 6-10" of snow we're supposed to get today!

On Dish Towels...

I have issues with dish towels.

See, the cute ones rarely seem to be functional. And so, I have a stockpile of mediocre but cute-ish towels. Check out these little gems on the bottom though...

They're from Target for like $6 for 2 (I think). They look so cute with the fox tea towel Jesse got me for Christmas (from Anthropologie)! They're for Valentine's Day, but the colors work well enough, that I think I'll be stocking up & using them year round. I bought some uber-Valentine's ones from Target last year that are VERY absorbent- but I always feel silly using them year round. These might not look as chic as higher-end towels, but IMHO they're perfect because they actually dry dishes but don't look nasty hanging in plain sight!

I know I'm not the only one plagued by this. Does anyone else have any suggestions for cute and functional dish towels??

Nell's Nifty New Knobs...

I visited family in Houston recently, and kept gushing about what an improvement new knobs make to the ikea Hemnes dressers (since both sisters have them too). I convinced my mom to trek over to Anthropologie with me, and we scored these sweet little knobs on clearance for $2.95 each! We gave them to Nell to spruce up her little 'loft' apartment- and they look so cute!!!

I am of the opinion that anyone with a Hemnes should invest in some swanky new knobs for it. Even something super-cheap can make such a statement. I have designs on these for our upstairs bedroom dresser...

SNOWPOCALYPSE

Well, we're all snowed in here! The day was spent marveling at the 4th greatest snowfall for the region & then shoveling ourselves out.

God's mercies are great! We didn't lose power, but we're pretty much stuck. Our church is only going to be open for people who can walk there- what with there being absolutely nowhere to park in town. We're warm, bundled up, and have plenty of food, but please keep the thousands without power, stranded on roads, etc in your prayers!!

On Packaging...

Now that I'm back from Houston, I have several little things to share, but I need a quick break to get my thoughts (and pictures) together. In the mean time, I thought I'd do a post on packaging- particularly that of my paintings. Having a good product is only one part of the equation as most people know- no one wants to receive something beautiful in a crummy, ill-wrapped manner! Here's a peek at what you'll get when you order a CozyLittleCave painting:

All my paintings come with my logo and contact information on the back of the frame, as well as an extra signature, date, and title.

Paintings are always protected with a layer of parchment paper, and then wrapped in simple, brown craft paper.

You'll get several business cards to keep handy if your friends ask!

Packages are tied in twine & get a big CozyLittleCave thank you sticker!

Depending on the size and number of paintings, they're then wrapped in bubble wrap and supported with extra cardboard & any other support or cushion necessary.

I ship US Priority mail service (2-3 days) to ensure a safe, speedy delivery, and once they're shipped off, customers receive an email letting them know & giving them a copy of their invoice.

That's about it for my packing and shipping! At this point, if I'm not packing another one, I'm off to work on some more paintings! :D

More Ridiculous Dachshunds...

Just added some new designs over in my Envelop Shop! Check them out! In honor of Nell's birthday yesterday, they're all wiener-dog themed. More to come soon of a different nature, but for now, here's a taste of what's new!

Happy Groundhog Birthday Nell!

Happy Groundhog Day to everyone, and Happy Birthday to my little sister Nell, who is 20 today! Here's a pic of her in her younger days, hanging out with a pack of "groundhogs." :)