My kitchen nook

I know I have gone missing for a while. I hope you missed me.

This project has been on my to-do for a long time now. I always wanted to have a command centre in my kitchen. I even shared my inspiration in an earlier post here.

I am happy to say I am finally done with it. The calendar is from the wall organizer section in pottery barn. It definitely help keep me on track.  The cork tiles are from target I thought it was a neat way to display my daughter's artwork.

There is lots more that I need to share.

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healthy school lunch ideas

Want simple ideas that can make lunch fun for your kids? check out Bento Fun.

Family Fun has some great sandwich ideas that I really loved.

The visual guide  has some easy to make and nutritious vegetarian lunch ideas. 

Veg Kitchen has a number of muffin recipes that are a great alternative to sandwiches and include veggies like carrot and zucchini.

Do join me on GFC/Facebook/Twitter.

Photo Credits: Bento Fun

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6 ways to utilize the space under the staircase

Ever wonder what to do with the awkward space under the stairs? Here are some great ideas to inspire you.  

 

A lot of houses have stairs that lead from the garage to the main floor. The space below the stairs would be perfect to create an organized mudroom. Add tall cabinet and cubbies to keep everyone organized.

  

 Add drawers or doors to create much needed storage space. 

Add open shelves for displaying your books or your favourite collections.

Create a cozy home office. Add shelves for more storage. 

 Create a cozy nook to read a book or take a nap!

A perfect cellar to store your favourite pinot noir!

Hope you feel inspired to reclaim the precious real estate underr the stairs. If yes, join me on GFC/Facebook/Twitter for more decor ideas.

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Target + Pottery barn = kitchen command center

I have been a little busy these days getting things ready for my daughters birthday party. I have come to realize I need a command center to keep track of activities, parties and things to buy all in one place. We also need a place for hanging Trisha's art. I bet there will be a tones once she starts kindergarten this fall. It would be nice to have someplace to organize the mail .

I think since we spend a lot of our time in the kitchen, The wall in the kitchen nook is suited best for this purpose.

Here is the inspiration. I love how ribbon trim has been added . What a nice finishing touch!

Here is the plan of attack. I already have the 12"x12" corkboard squares from target. I love the modular wall organizers from Pottery Barn.

Once I am done with the party. I am going to work on the project. Hope to upload the pictures soon.

If you like my post, do join me on GFC/Facebook/Twitter

You might also like these articles.

Clever storage solutions

Get Organized

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clever and unusual toy storage solutions

Storage solutions for toys can be expensive! Here are some creative storage ideas that I came across while browsing pinterest, that are not only efficient but also inexpensive. 

Wall mount hanging garden planters to hold small toys.

Tyres to store toy cars. stack them securely and add a base to make a storage bin.

Toy sand buckets connected by cable wires make great storage for small toys.

Behind the door shoe organizers are a great for sorting/organizing small toys.

Magnetic knife holder strips to hold a little boys car.

Hope you like all these ideas!  If you need an invite to pinterest send me a mail at radhikanavelkar@gmail.com

Join me on GFC/Facebook/Twitter for more home decor ideas!

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3 ways to personalize a bunk bed

Space can be a issue with many houses. Bunk beds is a great solution when 2 or more kids have to share a small room. Here are some solutions to personalize each kids space.

Solution 1: Use photographs. I like the use of clipboards that let you change the pictures easily.

Solution 2: Use curtains.They provide privacy and a fun hideout space.

Solution 3: Have a display board where each kid can display their own artwork, pictures, cards etc.

Join me on GFC/Facebook/Twitter for more home decor ideas.

Photo Credits: HGTV, google images

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Jonathan Adler morrow chair look alikes

I am in love with the jonathan Adler morrow slipper chairs. But with a price tag of more than $1200 per chair, I am not going to be able to purchase this in the near future. So what does a gal like me do? Find something with similar lines and maybe a third of the price.

  

I found a couple of knock offs for this chair.

Lila accent chair retails for $687, available in 100 assorted fabrics at ClubFurniture.

Jester chair available at csnstores and retails for $448

Malia leather wingback chair available at overstock.com for $283.99

I ended up getting the Skyline Furniture armless chairs. This chair retails for $249 at csnstores. This one does not have wings but comes in a variety of prints. A few which have been shown in the picture above.

I decided to be bold with the print I selected.  The fabric may not be of the highest quality but this is a room we seldom use and I wanted to decorate this room on a modest budget.

Which is your favorite print? Which one do you think I selected?

Join me on GFC/Facebook/Twitter to find out.

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Simple and Sweet pink bedroom

This is the first room that we started decorating when we moved in the house and I am finally done! The room is very Small, a 10' x 11', just enough to fit a full size bed and a desk and chair. In a small room every piece that you add to the room has to server a dual purpose - decor and function. I like a clean clutter free room and therefore kept the decor simple.

My daughter wanted a pink room and we decided that she can have it. After all I love pink too!  The design for this room  actually started with the bedding from Garnet Hill. She loves animals so we got the pony peracle bedding. She loves the ponies and  I love the colors in the bedding.

The furniture resembles the janie line from pottery barn ( Now discontinued) /Jenny lind bed sold at land of Nod but I paid much much less at an vintage store who specializes in kids furniture in Martinez. He even repaints them in any color that you like. It was maple colored wood and was painted and I asked it to be painted white. It definitely did not look like this before it was refinished.
The desk also doubles up as a dresser.

The growth chart is a decal that I got from Etsy.

I made the desk organizer myself with a few supplies from Home Depot and Ikea. You can get detailed instructions here. I also added the file holders from target that cost $2 each besides the organizer to hold her bed time books.

Adding the kid's name above the bed is a great way of personalizing their space. I also added a wall light
from Ikea which provides great lighting for reading.

2 photographs of my darling daughter and hooks fill up the empty wall on one side. A great place to hang her dress up stuff and backpack etc. I will explain in detail how to make these in my next post. These pics were clicked by me at home and not in a studio with a white background.

The finishing touch was the bunting that I made with textured scrapbook paper and some ribbon. It was a great way to spread out the colors from the bedding to the other side of the room. 

I am done with the tour of the small room. Hope you like it!

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Ikea goes glam

Ever been in a situation where you are at a friends house only to discover they have the exact same pieces in their house as you do. I have. I love ikea for it's prices and design. It works great for renters. You can take it a step ahead by customising your ikea furniture. Yes you can add some glam and pizazz to your ikea.

Here are some examples.

Me you and a wiener transformed what was once the plain old Mikael desk to something very glam. Guess what she used to add the gold edging and the criss cross lines? Curling ribbon and gold scrapbook paper.Girl , you are a genius!

I found this on The girl it project. A $2300 cabinet by Visconti from Bunglow 5 - A dream . Ikea's Besta kitchen cabinet + DIY = Reality.

This one is from Design Manifest. black paint, brass accessories and creativity transformed 2 plain jane Rast cabinets from Ikea to this beautiful ornate asian inspired console.

Do not forget to join me on GFC/Facebook/Twitter for great products that will help you inject some personality in your ikea furniture.

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Shout out: Guest blogging at Upscale Downhome

I want to say a big thank you to Sarah from upscale Downhome for letting me guest post on her blog.

Sarah has a beautiful house and loves collecting vintage items. She has a segment on her blog where she features collections from her readers. If you have a collection that you are proud of and would love to share, check out Sarah's blog.

Sarah also has an Etsy store where she sells Infinity Curtain Tie Backs which she designs from vintage jewelry, oil paintings and fabulous fabrics. You can also find unique vintage finds in her Etsy store.

She was featured on Etsy's blog for GET THE LOOK DECOR: http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/get-the-look-decor-upscale-downhome/

Do visit Sarah's blog and say Hi from me.

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Living room inspiration - pink, grey and beige

I have started working on my living room. I have  grey walls, a beige sofa and a lucite table. I love neutral colors for the upholstered pieces as it allows me to change the look easily.

I was looking for pillows on Etsy while I came across one with a bold graphic pink fuchsia flower. I had to buy it! There are some things that you fall in love instantly.

If you think pink is for little girls, think again. Pink paired with neutrals like beige, white,brown, black and  grey create very classic elegant elegrooms. Pink works great with other accent colors like apple green, blue and orange.

I love the use of metallic accents paired with pink. Think of pink flowers in a silver cup.  You cannot go wrong with that!

Here is a quote I found on the Pantone website for the color Honey suckle pink  which is hot this year -- Courageous. Confident. Vital. A brave new color, for a brave new world. Let the bold spirit of Honeysuckle infuse you, lift you and carry you through the year. It’s a color for every day – with nothing “everyday” about it.

Here are pictures that inspire me.

Can't wait to see how the rooms will look when it is done!

Do check out my idea gallery and I hope to see you on GFC/Facebook and Twitter.

Photo credits: House and home, Decorpad, 86073.com , Google images.

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Rickshaw design - kids block print bedding

It's nice to be back from a week's vacation! We went for a vacation to Whistler in Canada. What a beautiful place! Will share some pictures soon!

okay, back to blogging! I came across this wonderful site with crib/ kid's bedding that is a little different from the standard. I have expressed my  love for block print bedding  in one of my earlier post. I  love this block print bedding for kids from Richshaw design.

The hand block printing technique dates back hundreds of years. Each piece is hand printed by an artisan in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, with a hand carved teak wooden block. This block is pressed over and over again depending on how many colors and designs are in the print. 

You can select from any of their 5 collections Bombay, Goa, Taj, Udaipur and Lali. I love the elephant , monkey and Giraffe motifs used in the Taj and Udaipur collections. 

If you are looking for a nursery which has  animal prints but want to stay away from the standard barnyard or jungle themed bedding, this is a great option!

If you like my blog, do join me on GFC/Facebook and Twitter.

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Featured artist: Rachana Saurab

Today I want to introduce to you Rachana Saurabh, bloggy friend and an artist. Rachana means "Creation" and I think the name is so befitting!

Her blog is called Creations theEssence of Arts, a place where she shares her beautiful art with everyone. She is from a small town in India called Anand in Gujrat but now lives in Baltimore, Maryland with her Husband.

Here is a small sample of Rachana's art.

This painting is called Maa Prithvi - 'Maa' means mother and 'Prithvi' means Earth. What a beautiful depiction of mother nature. 

Here is a picture of Radha and Krishna and one of my favorites!

This is a picture of a woman playing Holi, the Indian festival of colors.


Good news for everybody! You can now buy these colorful paintings from her Etsy store which is called CreationsArt. CreationsArt was recently featured on the front page of Etsy.

I am sure you will enjoy her art as much as I do!

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Beautiful DIY headboards

I love searching for creative home decor ideas and every time I see something unique I bookmark it! Here are some of the headboards that I came across while surfing the word wide web.

This one is made from tin that I guess is used for roofing cut in a beautiful silhouette. Such a statement piece.

This one is made Styrofoam balls cut into half and stuck on the wall with some tape. Miki used the Braille script to write a secret message on the headboard!

Use  book covers to create a headboard! I would never have thougth of that! You can learn how to make this headboard here.

Create a headboard with moulding! simple moulding and a beautiful mirror can add a lot of impact !

Do checkout the sharpie headboard too!

Join me for more amazing home decor ideas on GFC/Facebook/Twitter!

Photo Credits: YHL, Curbly, Instructables, Google images

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Winner of the personalized Beach bag giveaway from Maurice Monograms

I am sorry about the delay in announcing the winner. My computer was down for the last 2 days. I am so glad that reinstalling the OS has resolved the problem!

The winner is..... Tamiv. Congratulations!

Winning comment: " I followed Maurice Monograms on Facebook(Tami Vollenweider0 & I like the Pink Bag!
geauxtami@yahoo.com"

Note: Winner was selected using Random.org

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The best 4th of July party printables all in one place

The 4th of July is approaching soon! I wanted to share a few free 4th of July party decor printables with you! All you need is cardstock and a printer to make your party fabulous! Could it get easier than that?

You can download this 5x7 printable from Laura Winslow photography.

Lets start with the invite. I love this invite from the sweetest occasion. Perfect for your barbecue party. The set also includes straw flags and buffet labels.

Get everything you need for your party with this printable from Tweedle Dee Designs. This 8 piece collection includes an invite, cake toppers, start spangled banner, stars and stripes straw flags, party labels, mini notecards, bag toppers and bottle tables. All this for free!

 Look at these fun printables from Skip to my Lou. It includes a tags for the straws and thistle and the bag to hold your favors or a cookie. They have detailed instruction on where you can get the bags and how to print on them. Love this design!

Learn how to make these napkin rings at merriment Designs. Think these would pair perfectly with the printables from skip to my Lou.

Love these cake toppers from The long thread. Instructions are also included along with printable!

Thanks to all the creative ladies in blogosphere for sharing these lovely printables with us!

Do check out the idea gallery and join me on GFC/Facebook/Twitter for more decor ideas!

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