When designing our living room I always envisioned creating a cozy, relaxing sitting area; a place I could see myself curling up next to the fireplace reading a book or watching a movie with my kiddos. Can you visualize it?? Now fast forward to my reality……

I tried a few different chairs but they either lacked the cozy factor or were comfortable but not stylish. This was a lot harder then I thought it would be, maybe because I had been creating this little corner in my head for so long and I had some serious wish list items! This was when I decided I needed to go custom. This way I could pick the comfort level and style so it would match my other living room furniture.

That’s when I found this gorgeous Amelia Chair from Sixpenny! It’s an oversized chair big enough for cuddling with my kids and bringing my vision of the perfect sitting area to a reality- exactly what I was looking for! The first step was picking the fabric. I ordered a bunch of their samples so I could get a good look at how they would work with the other furniture in my living room. I decided to go with the Cotton Linen in the Pacific Pearl and it’s simply beautiful. For the chair fill I wanted something ultra cozy so I picked the feather down fill and it didn’t disappoint!

Next I added a throw blanket and a few pillows with some fun patterns and great texture to give it that cozy welcoming feel. Then I completed the look with some faux greenery and a few of my favorite pieces of decor! 

This little corner has become the best seat in the house, literally!! I thought I would spend a lot of time here but truth be told, I have to fight my kids for a turn in our new sitting area….haha!! Needless to say we are thoroughly enjoying it and because this chair has a slipcover I don’t have to worry about spills and sticky fingers.

-Grey Birch Designs-

How many hours a week do you think you spend in your laundry room? When I sat down and really thought about it I was shocked!! With this being such a highly used room I decided to give it a little Spring/Easter update like the rest of my home. I’m convinced it makes doing the laundry that much more enjoyable!!

I added a Spring wreath on the door, a set of cute ceramic bunnies on the floating shelves above my washer and dryer, and a fun letter board on the wall to change out the quotes during the year! It was fun to dress up this space with some seasonal decor but the stars of the room are my Samsung FlexWash Washer and Samsung FlexDry Dryer #sponsored I can honestly say after updating my washer and dryer to these beauties from Samsung I actually enjoy doing the laundry. Say what?! I know I’m as shocked as you!! Although there are so many things I love about these machines I have to say by far my favorite is being able to was 2 loads at once – one regular load and one delicate or small load in the top. Talk about a game changer!

Now if that doesn’t make you feel like a super mom or super dad I don’t know what does! You can find out more about these awesome machines here: FlexWash Washer and Electric FlexDry Dryer Now I’m off to do about 100 more loads of laundry in my newly decorated Spring laundry room!!

Last year when I updated my daughter’s room the one thing I didn’t change was her bed. I knew what I wanted but just couldn’t find the perfect bed, that is until I came across Charles P. Rogers They have an amazing selection of metal frame beds, exactly what I was looking for!

I’ve always loved metal beds but it’s hard to find a high quality one that doesn’t wiggle and squeak. Charles P. Rogers is known for their high quality beds so I felt confident going with a trusted name! When I came across this  Cottage Bed it was love at first sight! The style and lines of this bed are perfect. It’s soft with round corners, perfect for a girl’s room but can be easily dressed to fit a boy’s room!

This month we tackled a big home project, one that I have wanted to do for some time now. We ripped out the carpet upstairs and installed new laminate flooring! I was a little nervous this was going to be more than we could handle, but this product from Creative Surfaces made the installation super easy!

We chose the Riverside Oak Laminate Plank and the color is perfect! It’s a beautiful medium brown with a subtle grey undertone. There are beautiful variations in the planks, giving them the look and feel of real wood but with the benefit of being extremely durable.

One thing that makes this flooring so easy to install is the underlayment is already attached to the planks. If you have ever installed laminate flooring before and fought with a big roll of underlayment then you know what a huge time saver this is. The planks also have SurfaceLoc system making it easy to snap and lock the boards together to form a solid surface floor. 

There are a few things that are important to remember when switching out your flooring from carpet to laminate. First you will need to remove your baseboards. This is important because the thickness of carpet is much less than laminate, so you will not be able to slide your laminate under the baseboards. A tip to save a little money is to reuse your old baseboards instead of replacing them. If you use a hammer and a pry bar you can carefully pull the baseboards off the wall without damaging them. If you choose not to remove your baseboards you have the option of using quarter round moulding to hide the gaps for a clean finished look.

When you lay the floor you want to make sure you stagger the boards. If any of your seams meet up then your joints won’t be as strong and could shift over time. Install your floor like a typewriter by starting at one end and working your way left to right. When you get to the end, cut your board to length and use the left over pieces as the start of the next row.

I wish I had done this project sooner because it completely transformed our upstairs! Now my flooring is not only beautiful but is also super easy to clean, which is awesome with 5 kids and 2 dogs!!

Most people keep their coffee maker out on their countertop, but it’s not the prettiest thing to look at! I wanted to create a countertop coffee station that was compact, functional, and appealing to the eye. I challenged myself to come up with a different kind of DIY. I didn’t want to have to build anything, buy a bunch of stuff, or spend a lot of money, so upscaling items was the perfect solution!!

I made a list of the must have items in my coffee station:

I went out hunting for things that would meet these needs but were as budget friendly as possible. I knew the colors of the items didn’t really matter because I could change them. The main focus was the right size and functionality. 

 

Wallpaper is one of my favorite things to use to bring a pop of color or pattern to a space. After recently painting my bathroom I knew it needed a splash of pattern to bring the space alive! I also knew I didn’t want to introduce a new color. I found the most gorgeous wallpaper from Milton & King and I knew if would be the perfect fit!

There are a few different types of wallpaper on the market, This kind is called paste-the-wall wallpaper, meaning the wallpaper itself is un-pasted and not sticky. To apply this kind of wallpaper all you need is some wallpaper paste. I picked this  kind up from Home Depot and it worked great!

You simply apply the paste on the wall with a roller, just like you would if you were painting, and then apply the wallpaper. After you smooth it out, trim the excess and continue!

I have been super pleased with the quality of Milton & King wallpaper. One of my favorite features of this wallpaper is it’s cleanable!! It’s protected with two coats of a specially formulated glaze, making the non-woven base and paper top layer very durable and easy to clean. Dirt, dust, and other marks can be simply cleaned using a damp cloth with soapy water.

This was a fun project with a big statement!! It only took a couple hours to do and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. It’s the perfect pop of pattern I was looking for in my master bathroom refresh!

Check out my YouTube video below of this project!!

Adding Wallpaper to our Bathroom

-Grey Birch Designs-

One of the big projects on my list this year was fully organizing my pantry and refrigerator. I’m happy to say that with the help of Bed Bath and Beyond I have completed this project one month into the new year!!

I was eager to find some large clear food storage bins that were easy for my kids to use. Bed Bath & Beyond had a great selection of these. After browsing through their website I chose these containers!!

Never in my life have I been able to open my refrigerator and have it so well organized. It’s truly life changing and I don’t know why it took me so long to complete this organization project!!

                

Before               After

I feel so accomplished having this long awaited project finished and I couldn’t be happier with how my new organized pantry and refrigerator look now! Check out my fun video I put together on this project to see how it all came to life and make sure to checkout all the amazing storage solutions available from Bed Bath & Beyond!

Kitchen Organization with Bed Bath & Beyond

-Grey Birch Designs-

Thank you First Alert for sponsoring this post. Help ensure your home and family is protected with CO alarms!

Like a smoke detector, this CO alarm will sound if it detects dangerous levels of of CO in your home. That’s why I love this portable CO detector that doesn’t require hard wiring or installation. It can easily be placed anywhere in your home and has a battery that lasts for 10 years!!! That’s the best piece of mind.

   

-Grey Birch Designs-