It's Friday I'm in Love: Young House Love

SO thankful my sister-in-law introduced me to the wondrous world of Sherry and John Petersik aka the authors of fabulous DIY home reno blog, Young House Love. Not only are these two hilarious and very well-spoken (if I do say so myself) but they have my kind of taste in home decor and I can't stop creeping their lives I mean blog. They also came out with a great little book last fall that contains 243 cheap and creative DIY ideas/solutions for every room in your house. Their blog gets roughly 5 million hits a month and they both manage it full-time now... I'm sure advertising alone is bringing in a nice pay check ;) And it all happened by accident which I love.

They just moved into their third home in Virgina, having already completely renovated two homes prior and I thought I'd share a few of my favs. These are from house number 2 - the one they just sold. I particularly fancy their kitchen and use of colour - check out that yellow door - how fun! And that frame wall is phenomenal. Now remember, these two have no background in interior decorating or renovations and they've managed to do everything on a tight budget... it's amazing what a glue gun and a little imagination can do {just kidding, I'm sure they needed much more than a glue gun but that certainly has always been my tool of choice}.

 If you need some DIY inspiration, be sure to check out their blog!

All images by John & Sherry Petersik from Young House Love 

Jude's Nursery

Yipee! Jude's nursery is finally complete. Super excited to share these photos - I am very happy with the final product! The last piece to complete was the ginormous "Hey Jude" painting above his crib. My husband and I started the painting a few weeks before Jude was due to arrive but since he decided to show up early, it got put on the back burner. The lettering my husband did by using his trusty ruler, compass and wicked math skills. We are so happy with it. I also made the fabric garland hanging along the crib for my baby shower (you can see pics here) and the paint-chip mobile was made from the paint-chip garland I also made for my shower. I love that those pretty pieces of decor didn't go to waste.

Some other favourites of mine are the skateboard decks hanging above his shelf - I hunted down the Andy Warhol one on Ebay and got it for a great price. The other one was made by Jude's Uncle Tom, as a gift for my husband at Christmas. Since my husband skateboards, I definitely wanted to incorporate as much as possible without making it a "skateboard" themed nursery. The rocking chair is vintage, given to me by my Grandma who had purchased it when she was pregnant with her first baby - my Aunt. My Mom used is for me and my brother and it has been passed through our family for years. It was originally just wood so we decided to paint it the same mint colour we used for our painting.

Lots of things were pretty cost efficient! The shelf, dresser and curtains for the closet are from Ikea - I spruced up the dresser with knobs I found on sale from Anthropology. My husband made the change table tray using this tutorial from Lay Baby Lay. The globe I found at Good Will and also painted the base mint to match. The lamp, toy bin, window curtains and rod, and the "Happy is Big Enough to Share" print are all great finds from Homesense. And last but not least, the hilarious 'chihuahua on a skateboard' pillow cover is from Society 6 - just the perfect touch to the rocking chair!

all photos by Justine McKnight

The Nursery Inspiration

Decorating the nursery has been one of the most fun experiences of life. I could lie awake in bed for hours just putting pieces together in my head (I've done this a few times until I literally force myself to go to sleep). I've been collecting inspiration from various sources (mainly blogs) for months and months and I wanted to share a few. I knew I wanted mint to be the main colour used regardless if it was a boy or a girl. I wanted it to be modern with an eclectic edge with pieces that are personal to my husband and I. I'm a huge fan of quotes and inspiring messages so I also wanted to add little philosophies around his room - principles I hope he lives by. 

The room is nearly complete and I can't wait to share photos. For now, I thought I would share what got my creative juices flowing in the first place. Some of my favourite blogs that I used to search for inspiration are:

Lay Baby Lay

Spearmint Baby

On To Baby

The Nursery of ViVi Charles 

[Lay Baby Lay]

The Nursery of Baby G

[Spearmint Baby]

The Nursery of Lennon

[On To Baby]

The Nursery of Zoe

[On To Baby]