Steal of a deal!

Welp, I've done it.

Yes it!
(No, not that kind of it, get your head out of a gutter)
The "IT" I'm referring to is the fact I've order the Craft Room/Office/Studio space light fixture.
For a steal of a deal! 

I'm a fan and subscriber to a few "member" only decor websites. (Free to join! You think I'd pay? haha!)

Anyways my inbox today included an email from a company called Joss & Main. 

 Fabulous decor items for a fraction of the cost. Similar to The Foundary. So I scrolled through the email and saw fabulous items and one caught my eye. Varaluz..

Now if you don't know anything about Varaluz, let me tell you.... Their stuff is amazing!

"Energy efficiency certainly has an important place, but a larger impact can come from designing with responsible materials and designing out waste in the manufacturing and distribution process.

At Varaluz, we believe that lighting should not only be interesting, but sustainable. Most of our fixtures use steel that has 70% or greater recycled content and glass that is 100% recycled. We use many sustainable and reclaimed materials in our glass or shades. Whenever you see the "eco-luz" designation on our products, you can be confident that the item is made with recycled or reclaimed materials – and that we're committed to preserving the earth."

So I've had my eye on a piece from way back in the day when I used to work for a lighting store. (Okay, maybe not that far "back in the day"---like 2 years ago) Anyways, I AH'ed and OOH'ed over it.. Shopped around online and found best pricing through Amazon.com... Or so I thought. 

Today my email changed that! 

Amazon had it listed  for $570.16! "You Save" of 24% or $176.84.

Pricey? Sure, depends on who you ask.. But unless you want run of the mill light fixtures from big box stores or home improvement centers, be prepared to pay. My time being a lighting sales rep I saw people drop far more on lighting than this.Okay, back to my story....

So I added the fixture to my wish list and there it sat for months and months waiting for the price to go down. Instead, the price went up! Bummer man!  

But behold! There the same fixture was, listed on Joss & Main, for far less the price!

SCHWEET!!!! 

 Even sweeter is the price! Same fixture, same size as intended but $250.21 less! 

Of course I jumped on it, seeing as these deals normally have a deadline of 24hours or so that the deal is "on" Again, just like The Foundary, Woot.com, Groupon etc.. 

The kicker came down to shipping and handling. Via Amazon, I could've gotten free shipping and handling.. Due to the nature of the item and the fragility I paid about $130 for shipping, handling and I can only assume some tax was added in. STILL, I saved $110 on the purchase. I'll soon have a gorgeous light fixture to complete the room, and the best part, I don't feel remotely guilty in the purchase seeing as I received my tax refund today!

Thanks to everyone who initially cast votes via the blog and Facebook back in June regarding lighting for the craft room.  

These were my choices that were narrowed down: 

Other than another dozen or so odds and ends, the room is coming together handsomely beautifully! 

Hopefully this weekend I can finish tackling  the desk.. It should've been done over a week ago, but alas I've been sick with a double ear infection and a throat infection and not my 100% usual self. 

On the mend now thanks to antibiotics, tons of juice and loving friends that make sure I eat, drink tea and more importantly REST! 

So there's an update for you . Enjoy! 

Fabric found!

My search for roman shade fabric is over... but I can't reveal what I am going with, because.... well heck it'd spoil the surprise and the awe factor at reveal time! I can say out of all the fabric I've looked at this one I went ga ga over. I texted a picture over to a crafty friend of mine who's input it's valued, and she too loved it. Win win!

Now for the new challenge:

Making this these look fab. (There are two, the other one just didn't come shopping to the store with me). I found the shades at Lowes. Simple, basic, and just need to go from drab to fab... Just not sure how yet..

I don't want them to clash with the fabric selection, yet I don't want them matchy matchy. I have plans already for the lamp base, so that's settled. These lamps were a STEAL at the Bluffton South Carolina Habitat for Hummanity ReStore. Picked each one up for $3 a piece! 

The stock photo just shows how simple this shade is. What are your thoughts?  Anyone have experience decorating/designing a boring lamp shade? Anxious to hear ideas below!

Nearing the end of an era

By now  I'm sure blogland is sick and tired of me talking about the never-will-be-done craft room/studio/space/office whatever the heck you wanna call it.  Well I'm SORRY! I like talking about it.. Not because it's soon to be my little slice of heaven, or because I think it's cool or whatever.  


No, I like talking about it because it's been the biggest feat of this house to date. It started in February 2011 till May 2011 looking like this:


It's only 10x10 the smallest of 3 bedrooms.. and with two doors to enter didn't fit the "bill" as a bedroom. So it turned craft room.

By May other projects were wrapped up and I could begin to tackle this room.
Soon the walls came tumblin' down...

"When the walls come crumblin' crumblin'
When the walls come tumblin' tumblin' down"

Oh sorry.. Just a little John Mellencamp for you..
ANYWAYS....moving on.

New electrical was pulled. Insulation was installed.

New drywall was hung.

Everything was taped, mudded, sanded, primed and painted.Crown was hung, existing door frames, and window frames were painted and re-hung. Baseboards were installed.

Floors were sanded, stained and sealed.

"Stuff" that belongs in that room was moved back in over the Christmas holiday, to free up the guest room and allow a place for my Mom to rest her head..

 Disaster area I know!

The room has since been cleared back out again to make room for the new cabinets that are being custom built.

In addition, the room will house my future workstation.

 Right now, as of last night, I have the beginnings in progress... You can read more about that here.

I heard from the carpenter today as well.. Cabinets should be complete tomorrow and then we will work out a time to deliver them. This weekend I'll be busy to paint the cabinets and hopefully the desk, begin finishing up a dozen or so other odds and ends and get 1 step closer to the room being complete! YAY!

The end is so near I can almost taste it!!  Tomorrow I record for the podcast/radio show I'll be on. Getting excited! You can read more about that mentioned here.

Craft workstation begun!

Last night I begun to take this pile of lumber  and begin to turn it into my workstation for the craft room..

I also picked up one of these boogers too.

It's the General Tools EZ Pro Deluxe PocketHole Jig Kit. Similar to the Kreg Jig, minus the price tag.

I did a few unsuccessful attempts.. Just to try it out. Note* it needs to be held at the very edge of your wood like so:

 Your wood needs to be fully seated in the jig to properly work.. Lesson learned.
 Before long I was ready to rock and roll assembling!

 I clamped things the best I could as I screwed them into place. I used a level to check my plumbness and make sure things were going straight. Some of my wood was bowed out and that made it a semi pain to work with.

 1 leg...... 2 leg ..........

 Within minutes (so it seemed) I had one side in progress.

About an hour total- I had both sides at a stopping point for the night. I was getting tired and didn't trust myself with sawing more wood... Which is on the to do list for tonight. 

 Stay tuned for progress! =)

Zee desk has begun!

Don't mind me... I haven't had my coffee today.. or maybe too much. Who knows.

Anyways, the desk for the craft room has begun. This weekend was a trip to the good ol' orange box store. Lumber was loaded...

 It took 3 guys to load, wrap and strap down all the wood.  I was a little nervous driving with it on the roof.. Thankfully I live about 5 minutes away.. I snail paced it home hazards flashing just in case.. better to be safe than sorry!

 I set up my work station outside on the deck. It was a glorious 70*.. It was while sorting the lumber into the various sizes I realized I was overcharged 3 pieces of wood.. So back to Home Depot I went to get my money back.. (I had 4 pieces of 1x10's and they charged me for 7) Who doesn't want an extra $30 back? Right?

By the time I was really able to start cutting, it had cooled down outsider considerably.. So I moved everything into the dining room... Which is now my make shift workroom.

A migraine and lower back pain which has turned into an angry sciatic nerve kept me from being as productive as I wanted to be this weekend.. But rest assured, the desk is underway with tweaks being made on the fly. Stay tuned for more progress as it becomes available. =)

You may now return to your regular web surfing.

Fabric update

After searching online this afternoon...  I found a few fabrics that peaked my interest...
What do you think?
I know it's hard to tell based on computer monitor colors etc but worth a short.  Leave thoughts below.
Have a good weekend everyone!

Fabric Searching

So I went to the fabric store last night.. and looked... and looked and looked for fabric to sew  and make my roman shades out of for the craft room.. Nothing quite fit the bill... Although I do kinda sorta like 3,4 and 7 listed below...

It's occurred to me that I'm pattern-fobic.. Sure sure it's not a word... but it is now.
That's the one thing my house is missing the most is visual texture/pattern. Walls are all solid colors, bedding, towels, etc are all solids.. I don't own any area rugs as of yet-- except for a few bath rugs which are... yep you guessed it; SOLID. If you know me "in person" I generally dress in solid colors and accessorize with jewelry...

It's not that I don't like pattern... it's just I have no idea how to use it and what's going to look the best. I think too it's too easy to constantly change my mind because knowing I can!
In college when I was going for my BFA in Interior Design, you'd work on a floorplan sketched out on trace paper again and again and again. It was generally right before a deadline I nailed down the best possible plan and go with it... I'd spend hours amongst the sample room scouring over material samples... and only once forced I'd make a concrete decision.

Am I indecisive? Well.. not entirely. I can make the big decisions... just when it comes down to the details I know what I want and I know the feel but to bring it all together is a different story. Guess it's part of the designer/creative person in me.. Who knows.

Anyways the search for fabric continues.. I'm limited to Joanns and Hancock fabrics locally here... but there's a vast world wide web out there to explore... My initial colors for the room were Robin Egg, Plum/Grape/Silver/White/ and a pop of lime green. Now maybe that'll all change.. Who knows.
I know I don't want a chevron pattern.. As it's popping up EVERYWHERE. Maybe I'll just create my own pattern..I have no idea.

 If you come across something you think may work, pass it along to me to check out.
I'll rest on this subject for a bit... afterall, I have a desk to build this weekend!

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The walls are a robin egg/bluish color for any people who are just joining the blog for the first time or need a refresher. I've begun to find some additional possible fabric options and have "pinned" them on Pinterest. You can check those out here.