When it come to my favorite colors, I usually stick to a base palette of whites, grey, navy, and green, but LOVE to add a pop with warm colors like PINK! Whether it's in our home or especially fashion, pink is near and dear to my girly girl heart. My fave find was this gorgeous color block dress!

pink and grey color block dress

So, after a pretty busy and downer of a week, I thought a "pink pick me up" post was just what I needed for a little dose of happy. :-)

Also, thank you for the love on my last Travel post about Hermitage Bay - it really is a dream destination!! I'm excited to share more of these travel posts in the future.

So, whether a home decor or fashion item has actual flamingos on it or is just some shades of beautiful flamingo pink - I'm in!

**Remember you can hover and click the pink square icon on any item in the photo below for further details. ;-)

FOR THE HOME

FOR CLOTHING

SHOES, HANDBAGS AND ACCESSORIES

While browsing around for you guys, if you're looking for a nice pair of pink linen beach pants, THESE ones by Lilly Pulitzer are pretty fab and come in a couple other colors. :-) And a few more mixed in below - I LOVE that #STRENGTH top!! #inmycart

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend with family and friends!

xo,

Anneke

***Looking to meet some goals?

Take the Make It Happen Challenge! It's FREE.

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Garden Stools for Spring and Summer

April 7, 2016Fave Picks, Home Blog Posts, SummerAnneke McConnell

When we began to downsize into our beach house, versatility became the name of the game, and garden stools have become one item I can't get enough of. Garden stools are not only a beautiful accent piece; they can go inside, outside, serve as a seat, side table, and a place to kick up your feet. We admittedly move ours around quite often!

When it comes to the largest variety of options at great prices, Amazon, Wayfair, and Joss & Main are my go-to sources, some top choices which are also sprinkled in below.

This larger garden stool from Horchow has been a favorite for awhile. It has the perfect flat top for use as a side table, a beautiful design all around, but feels a bit understated at the same time. It's the kind of garden stool that could float around and work in a variety of settings.

This garden stool, also from Horchow has the most beautiful variation in color. Navy blues and greens are my favorites colors to incorporate alongside neutral whites, creams, tans, and greys. Again, this is a great larger size that works in multiple settings.

Double Rings Garden Stool for Summer Patio or Indoor Home Decor

Probably my absolute FAVORITE to design with is this double rings garden stool. You can find variations of it on different websites, but I love the rustic texture and color in this one from Wisteria. It's definitely on my Wish List for our patio this Summer!!

Another place to find the one similar to above and double check pricing is HERE. And if you're looking for more of a gold shimmery metallic vibe, I'd recommend THIS garden stool.

Now we're off to enjoy some much needed Seattle sun this weekend! Today has been in the 70's and has us ready for playing on the beach, painting projects, and summer patio decorating!

xo,

Anneke

P.S. Don't forget to check out the Patio Picks HERE. There are a ton of great deals right now!

P.P.S. In my last post, I shared my FAVE Instagram Accounts - these are accounts that are beautiful, inspiring, and relatable. Check them out HERE.

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How To Whitewash Stone: DIY Fireplace Makeover

February 26, 2016Home Blog Posts, Living Room, Our HomeAnneke McConnell

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Hi friends! I'm can't WAIT to share today's before and after with you! It has actually been a few months since I finished this, but I'm finally able to share all of the details with you. And with Spring just around the corner, I think a lot of us have some house projects on the brain.

Thankfully this project was incredibly easy, not too messy, and took just a couple days to get done while the kids played and read books.

Ta-da! Haha! We're so happy with the results!

Ok so here's the before you guys. You ready for this???

And now to see them side by side!

Thank you in advance for pinning and sharing my little ol' blog ideas you guys! This is going to save people so much money and trouble!

Ok, so honestly over the years of sharing some home tours and whatnot, many people would say how much they LOVED our stone fireplace. Every time this would happen, I'd check my attitude at the door because I have wanted to rip that thing down and out for awhile now and add beautiful wide white horizontal planking and marble and ALL things white and bright and coastal. Did you know I love white? Lol

My husband and I go back in forth in our conversations about how much money we really want to invest in this home when we have different financial goals. The options have ranged from "just live with it as-is" to "tear the entire thing down and rebuild a new home" to less extreme tangible options in between. ;-)

So here are some further details.

The fireplace has a funky hearth that is raised and sticks out that we still have yet to deal with. This 18 inches or so will make a huge impact in our ability to place furniture in a more user friendly way in the long narrow space.

I've also personally never cared for the way the stone is recessed with sheetrock surrounding it, BUT without cutting into the sheetrock (which is an EXTREMELY messy endeavor) and giving the fireplace a more welcoming look that goes with the vibe of our style, whitewashing the stone was the perfect option.

DIY Fireplace Makeover - How To Whitewash Stone

Now our kitchen is open to the living and dining rooms, to to tie the spaces together I decided to paint the mantle the same color as the cabinets, Simply White by Benjamin Moore (we used Advance semi-gloss). You can see our Kitchen Makeover series we did last fall here >>>>> kitchen makeover.

How to whitewash stone - DIY fireplace makeover

Ok so the process of whitewashing the stone is SO easy you guys.

*some of the following are affilaite links.

Here's a breakdown of supplies and the steps:

SUPPLIES:

Staining Pads >>> (this is THE SECRET to epic results. They are super absorbent, little to no drips, but great transfer of whitewash mixture)

Paint Brush >>> I use my trusted Purdy brushes. ;-) You want to make sure it is angle and medium to stiff bristles.

Plastice tupperware container

Chalk style Paint you can choose whatever color you'd like for your project (I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in French Linen for the first layer, and then Vintage Market and Design Chalk Paint in Dove for the final layer)

***Two alternative white colors I recommend are Rustoleum's Chalked Paint in Linen White OR Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White.

Water: to mix with the chalk paint

Work Towels >>> to clean any drips that may happen

Work Glasses and Rubber Gloves >>> YES, you should wear these!

DIRECTIONS:

1. Clean your stone with warm soapy water.

If your stone or brick is super glossy and slick or pretty dirty (unlike ours which was very porous and relatively dirt/soot free), you may need to use a product like TSP to get the job done.

2. Take your paint, water and tupperware and create your whitewash mixture.

It doesn't matter what your ratio is, but you DO need to mix the same ration every time you make more mixture. I personally created a ratio of about 1:1 Too much water with create drips and lighter color. Too much paint will not look translucent on the stone, but rather "painted on" and coated over the top of the surface. If you're concerned about the paint not adhering, add a little more paint and always do a test spot first to see if you like the color and the way it looks when applied.

3. Apply the whitewash mixture one small section at a time.

Don't be afraid to really push your brush into the stone and brush with X-like motions to evenly cover the surface. Working in a small section either one stone at a time like I did with our stone, or if you have brick working with a small area (for example 2 feet by 2 feet) is about right to brush on the mixture.

4. Use your staining pad to wipe any excess whitewash mixture.

Once you brush the whitewash mixture onto your small section, use your staining pad to wipe away the excess and even out the color. This process moves along at an even pace, so you don't have to wipe the excess away quickly and you don't have to wait a bajillion hours either.

Just brush on, wipe off. Brush on. Wipe off.

******An alternative is to simply use your staining pad to apply the whitewash mixture if your stone is not too rough. You can always test an area, but a rough stone will simply rip the material of the staining pad. A bristle brush really gets into the cracks and crevices of the stone more easily.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 section by section until complete.

6. If you are layering colors, wait for the first layer of your whitewash to completely dry.

I personally waited a day in between doing a base gray-wash layer, and a top white-wash layer. Meaning I finished the first coat late at night, went to bed and woke up to start the second layer. You likely don't have to wait that long, especially the more porous your stone is.

That's it! Easy peasy. Thanks in advance for pinning and sharing this post and supporting this blog. I appreciate you taking the time to stop by and hope this helps give you the confidence to give it a try!

Our Living Room

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to enjoy the view!

xo,

Anneke

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The Best Rope Baskets for Your Home + Weekend Picks

February 19, 2016Spring, Interiors, Home Blog Posts, Fashion, Fave PicksAnneke McConnell

Thank you so much for your awesome response to my last post on the new Bookshelf Styling Class by my friend Heather! You are in for a treat because she is a trained teacher AND designer. If you haven't signed up yet, do it now before the price goes up March 1st! See the details HERE.

Onto today's topic of baskets!

Beautiful rope baskets (well, baskets in general) are one thing that are a versatile MUST in any home. They corral toys, blankets, and can act as a container for plants like one of my fave, the fiddle fig leaf.

Transitional Living Room by Vancouver Interior Designers & Decorators Enviable Designs Inc.

Now, if there are two things I really love to do, it's research things to death (nerd alert!) and bring it all together in one place. When it comes to finding the most unique rope baskets, my first suggestion would be to go to ETSY and search "rope baskets". You will find beautiful handmade pieces and be supporting a small business owner, often for a more affordable price to you! Win win!

Here are a few of my favorites I found:

As for other rope baskets around the internet, there are many, but below are my favorites for a coastal casual style. I found Joss and Main to have the same items as other retailers but generally for about $20 less. It's a free membership site, but I've heard many say they don't want to join sites like this. Trust me, they are worth it and have tremendous savings on their flash sales!

Other sites that I found to be the best were Wayfair, Amazon, Nordstrom, and Target.

By FAR, I think my favorite rope basket is this one by Colonial Mills. You can find it in a variety of places, but Wayfair has it available in 10 different color combinations!