Little Things

While we may be in the midst of a major bathroom renovation, there hasn't been a shortage of little projects around the house. Just teeny tweaks here or a refresh there. For me, winter is the perfect time to make little changes around the house; if I'm going to be stuck inside all day, I might as well be stuck inside with pretty things around me.

So today, while you wait with bated breath over the onslaught of bathroom-reno posts to come, why not check out some of the little updates, projects and additions I've been making around the house for the past couple of months?

First of all, we got new bedding for the guest room! I'd been wanting something a little less busy than our previous bedding, and I've always loved a plain white, big, cozy comforter, so I wanted to incorporate that in the room. I brought down the quilt that previously lived in the master bedroom to add a pop of color, and grabbed some toss pillows for some interest up top. I'm still on the lookout for the perfect shams for this thing, and maybe another bright pillow, but it's on the way to looking how I'd like it to.

 

The guestroom also got dressed up with a new desk and rug! I wanted a sleek, simple desk to work on, and I found the one above at Target marked down about to something like $80. It's pretty and sturdy and just what I was looking for. 

 

In that same trip to Target, I found this black and white rug from the (impeccable) Nate Berkus line. The flip-side of this rug is more white with black arrowheads, so I think it would work as a reversible rug, if desired. But even though I'm a color lover myself, I'm totally digging the black. Still can't wait to get rid of that rickety old chair, though...just holding out to find a great one.

While we're on the subject of the new desk, I've been having a blast styling it different ways pretty much once a week. Right now it's got antique blue mason jars, my Instax camera, some colorful pens, a framed photo of the mister and me, and, of course, this gold wire basket filled with washi tape. Because why wouldn't I have a basket filled with pretty patterned tape displayed on my desk?

Colors!

While on a recent pilgrimage to Anthropologie, I spotted this woven coral rug and, because it was in the clearance section for $24, I bought it. The color isn't coming through right in the photo, but it's pretty much a dead-ringer for the color on our bathroom walls. I'm hoping that once the renovation's complete in there, it will make for a perfect bath mat. If not, I'm sure I'll find another place to use it eventually. Which is exactly what I said to Eric after I brought it home with no place to live. "Rachel," he pleaded, "You can't just buy a bunch of rugs just because they're on sale..." But I'll show him. I'll show you all. I will find a space for this thing!

On that same Anthropologie trip, I picked up these pretty knobs for something like $2.49 a piece. Again, the coral matches our bathroom perfectly, so I thought it might be fun to swap out the hardware on the vanity in there with either one (or both!) or these. Little did I know a few weeks later we would have no vanity and no bathroom to put them in. However, they will be used somewhere down the line. Maybe as part of a mismatched coat-hook display, or maybe on a refurbished dresser or just as pretty decoration somewhere. Believe it or not, this is not the first time I've purchased interested knobs with no place in particular to use them...

Nothing like a few new trinkets to brighten up the middle of a dreary winter. Now, onto the big stuff!