DIY Moroccan Backsplash

I am in love with Moroccan tile and I know I'm not alone! Unfortunately, it's some of the most expensive tile out there. So with a small budget and big dreams I came up with this about a year ago and I'm just as in love with it now as I was then. :) It's pretty simple. To make your own DIY Moroccan backsplash you need a stencil, at least 2 Sharpie paint pens (lots of colors available), and maybe some wine to keep you motivated.

First, paint your wall whatever color you want the background to be. Ours is Sherwin Williams White Duck (gloss). The whole kitchen is painted in that color. I used silver Sharpie paint pens and a craft stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils on Etsy.

Then get to tracing and tracing and tracing! It took about 4 hours with a couple breaks just to rest my back and hand. It's kind of awkward getting in there. :) Don't worry about little mistakes, no one will ever notice them.

Corners are the hardest part, but you can do it! When you get to an outlet, remove the cover and trace in as far as possible so that it looks fluid.

The last part is optional but I would highly recommend it. We painted this clear finish over it and it makes cleaning so easy, otherwise you can risk wiping or smearing the marker. In fact I used my Shaklee Basic H organic cleaner to quickly remove some spaghetti sauce off of it before I took the following pictures. haha. Of course the finish also makes it very shiny, which you will see in the next pictures!

Ah I love it so much! We've had so many compliments on it and most don't realize I just drew it on till I tell them. No, it won't look like tile but it still looks very nice. I'd love to see it in a fun color so please let me know if you try it!!! (Sidenotes: Crockpot on the counter brought to my kitchen by hubby's chili. lol And if you like the painting above, keep on the lookout for when I finally get my Etsy shop open- yes, I painted it to blend the colors I wanted in the room.) :) Happy tracing!

 

Coastal Living 2013 Showhouse- Pre-teen/Teen Bedrooms

Did the wait almost kill you? Wait no more! We're on the second to last post of the Coastal Living 2013 Showhouse and this one's sure to give you tons of ideas for your kids' rooms! The 2 spare bedrooms were designed for what I would consider a pre-teen girl look and a teen boy look.

We'll start with the girl's room- it's right across the hall from the master bedroom and also has access to the balcony. And of course, princess needs her own full bathroom, complete with a shower curtain to match the wallpaper. :) (No picture, but it really did make the bathroom nice)

Lianne especially liked this room since she has a little girl. I was more in love with the boy room, which was down the hall, next to the laundry room...

Although I'm not a fan of that headboard, all of the other details were perfection. I literally just sat and stared at the dresser with the photograph and all for a minute. Something about it just made me want to be Mary Poppins and stow it all in my purse.

And I love that painting. LOVE that painting. ah it makes me smile just looking at the picture of the painting. Yes, I'm that kind of art lover. :)

So which room speaks to you more? Have you noticed that they use simple sizzle rugs in each room? I love that the floors are so understated. Trying to find "the perfect" rug can be such a waste of time when we should be focusing on the more important and larger pieces, like chairs and great art.

Pillows and Cushions- Sunbrella /  Outdoor Lighting- Bevolo /  Outdoor Seating- Lloyd Flanders

Faucet and Sink- Moen / Furniture- Laura Ashley / Lighting- Circa Lighting

See you tomorrow for the final post of the tour- the Studio Apartment above the garage.

Part One- Outside / Part Two- Office + Den + Mudroom / Part Three- Living room  

Part Four- Kitchen + Dining / Part Five- Master Bedroom

Coastal Living 2013 Showhouse- Master Bedroom + Laundry Room

The Master Bedroom is a very tricky room (in my opinion). On one hand you may want it to have it's own style, very different from the rest of the house, but on the other hand it still needs to be able to flow together all right. The Coastal Living 2013 Showhouse has a master bedroom that I would definitely love to call home! Complete with a giant bathroom and a back deck escape.

What would your husband have to say about those pink chairs in the bedroom? :) I love them, but I'm pretty sure they would get an eyebrow raise or two out of Kent. lol Oh well, he could always just relax in this bathtub and get over it...

Check out my Instagram feed for a video of the bathroom. My photography skills aren't quite good enough to capture the enormous closetS, but wow were they awesome!

On the opposite side is the entrance exit to the back porch. Swoon with me.

The porch goes across the back of the house with doors leading in/out from the hallway and one of the other bedrooms.  I'm saving the other bedrooms for tomorrow, but here is the stunning hallway... Can you imagine reading a book here while the breeze blows over you?

The pink benches are quite genius really. The hallway was a perfect place for a blank canvas, to start all over with colors and get away from the ones that overtook downstairs (blue, green, yellow, coral). By placing these stunning benches in the hallway, the bright pink seating in the master bedroom seemed less shocking when walking through.

I'm not sure how much use the benches would get, but this area was a favorite for visitors. Everyone wanted to stop and have a seat to admire the rooms from the hall. And that plank siding- EXACTLY what I've been dreaming of doing to one wall in our bedroom.

Since tomorrow's post is going to be jam packed with two bedrooms, I'm going to share the laundry room here. If you're standing on the porch, looking straight into this hallway/sitting area, the stairs to the third floor and door to the laundry room are right in front of you...

Hello beautiful storage! EVERYone was opening the cabinets in the stairs. Some were drawers and some were just big, open spaces. A certain other blogger (ahem, Lianne) may have stepped inside one of them. :)

Whew! Are you on picture overload yet? I hope not! We still have 2 more posts to go- Bedrooms and the Studio Apartment are up next Friday and Saturday!

Pillows and Cushions- Sunbrella /  Outdoor Lighting- Bevolo /  Outdoor Seating- Lloyd Flanders

Faucet and Sink- Moen / Furniture- Laura Ashley / Lighting- Circa Lighting

As always, I'd love to know what your favorite part was! I think I'm going with the porch this time- it had the most amazing breeze up there, even in the dead of summer. 

Part One- Outside / Part Two- Office + Den + Mudroom / Part Three- Living room  

Part Four- Kitchen + Dining

Coastal Living 2013 Showhouse- Kitchen + Dining

No long waits this time! I'm back with the kitchen and dining areas of the Coastal Living 2013 Showhouse! With all of the bold colors that we saw in Parts 2 and 3, the design team took a more subtle approach to the kitchen, allowing the small accents to be the color highlights.

The tile is a lot like the quatrefoil I love! It was an inspiration for our DIY backsplash which I will be sharing next week! :)

Music throughout the house? Woohoo! Party time.

So what do you think? I like that they let the blue ceiling from the outside flow to the dining area. And I also like that there's just one, nice, big table instead of this and a larger one in a formal dining area (which is where the office is). Beautiful, subtle touches in this part of the house- exactly what was needed!

Faucet and Sink- Moen / Furniture- Laura Ashley / Lighting- Circa Lighting

The tour is far from over! Tomorrow we'll head upstairs to the Master Bedroom. ah, luxury.

Part One- Outside / Part Two- Office + Den + Mudroom / Part Three- Living room

Coastal Living 2013 Showhouse- Living room

It's back! You've been so patient waiting for the rest of the Coastal Living 2013 Showhouse tour! All eyes are on the living room today. It was gorgeous! I want you to keep in mind two things: 1. Besides the bold colors, what stands out as the most different to you about this living room? 2. Does this make you think of any designer in particular? (thinking a well-known HGTV one) And yes, I deeply wish that "living room" was just one word! gah that's so annoying.

I love that there is bronze, silver, and gold in the room. As someone who frequently mixes metals just because I feel like it, I appreciate the affirmation. :)

Anyone else considering painting their living room completely white now? Oh so gorgeous! And those kids' seats under each window- Adorable!!!

I'm in love with a couch. This fits perfectly with my plan to decorate my house like Good Luck Charlie.

Furniture- Laura Ashley / Eco Furniture- Lee Industries / Lighting- Circa Lighting

I LOVED those framed maps! So simple and yet the simplicity is what draws the eye to them amongst all those bright colors. I've been thinking of adding maps somewhere in our home and now it's a definite!

Okay, I turned into chatty cathy for this post. :) I just love every bit of this room so much! This last picture brings me to- Did you notice what's so different? The fun part is that it's the lack of noticing that made me notice the difference. lol Go with me here...

Notice that there is a fireplace? Yet, no big mantel, huge mantel decorations, extravagant things around the fireplace. In fact, they placed 2 giant poufs right in front, as if to say the fireplace isn't even there! Yes, that painting on the mantel is beautiful and surely caught your eye, but did you really even notice the fireplace? I feel like most homes place such importance on the hearth as the center of the decor. Many even flag the fireplace with a giant flatscreen (oh the horror!- I'm not judging, I just can't stomach it in my own home). I love that they placed the importance on seating- and lots of it.

Okay, so what was your favorite part from today??? Mine is a toss up between that amazing couch and those maps. Tomorrow we move into the kitchen and dining area!

Oh yeah! And that second question- Remind you of any designer? I couldn't stop thinking about Emily Henderson! In a totally platonic, I love your designs skilz, can I be your BFF way.

 Part One- Outside / Part Two- Office + Den + Mudroom