As a result, I have a folder full of ideas that we’re not going to use. But you might want to.

DIY Screen Rack by kootut murut

Scrabble Pillows (source unknown)

Big Art From Small Items (Originally from Blueprint Magazine, Found Via Little Green Notebook)

Photos of our basement coming soon. We’ve come a long way, baby.

Like this post? Maybe you'll like these, too:

1. Basement Before
2. Basement Update: 3 hours, 30 minutes + $0
3. Basement Update: 3 hours + $0

I hope you’ll stay here for a bit and have a look around.

Like this post? Maybe you'll like these, too:

1. What’s For Dinner: Taco Stuffed Shells
2. Learn with Me: Updating a Bathroom

…and fancy coffee drinks.

We’ll play Oscar Bingo while we watch the show.

And since we’re just pretending, I think I’ll wear this…

Will you be watching the Oscars? Tell me what you’ll be eating, drinking, wearing (for real or pretend).

Salted caramel lave cake via vegetarianirvana.
Latte Image Credit:  thepinkpeppercorn on flickr.
Oscar Bingo via How About Orange. Gold dress from Net-A-Porter.

Like this post? Maybe you'll like these, too:

1. Let’s Pretend: Hosting an Oscar Party (2011)
2. Loving These Links: Cake Making
3. Halloween Party?

Here are some ideas I’m mulling over:

1. Little Green Notebook makes $4 art with foam core and a large photo she had printed at FedEx Office.

2. Designer Gideon Mendelson  used the floral silhouettes seen below in a gorgeous living room. With the right frame this could be a pretty simple DIY.

3. Amy Meier offers a great tutorial for framing book pages with a special touch.

Have you come across any other great DIY art ideas? Let me know and I’ll post them to share with everyone.

Like this post? Maybe you'll like these, too:

1. Project to Try: Movable Water Fountain
2. Chai latte, $4.13. Ideas and inspiration, priceless.
3. Project to Try: Latch Hook Rug

Taco Stuffed Shells from Blog Chef

I strayed from the recipe just a bit and used a whole box of Barillla “large” pasta shells (instead of only 12) and a jar of Ortega taco sauce (rather than just a cup).

Yum. Jake approves. This one’s going in the rotation.

Photo via Blog Chef.

Like this post? Maybe you'll like these, too:

1. Grilled Chicken Enchiladas
2. Pizza and Queso Dip: The Details
3. One Fun Thing: Dress For Dinner Napkins

Like this post? Maybe you'll like these, too:

1. One Fun Thing: Easter Bunny Salad
2. Wallpaper Source
3. One Fun Thing: Mr. and Mrs. Muse

A – http://abc.go.com/watch/general-hospital/SH559056/VD55136253/general-hospital-725
I like to catch up on General Hospital sometimes.

B – http://www.ballarddesigns.com/

C – http://www.crateandbarrel.com/

D – http://www.dafont.com/

E – http://www.etsy.com/

F – http://www.facebook.com/

G – http://www.gmail.com/

H – https://www.huntington.com/

I – http://www.indeed.com/

J – http://sendables.jibjab.com/

K – http://twitter.com/#!/teenystweeting (Kirsten Storms, aka Maxi on General Hospital)

L – http://www.linkedin.com/

M - http://www.marthastewart.com/

N – http://www.netflix.com

O – http://www.overstock.com/

P – http://pinterest.com/

Q - http://www.amazon.com/Content-Rules-Podcasts-Webinars-Customers/dp/0470648287/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294583696&sr=1-1

R – http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/horrible_bosses/

S – http://www.savevid.com/  (You can download videos from YouTube here…didn’t know this existed until recently.)

T – http://thishomebelongsto.com/

U – http://www.wunderground.com/

V – http://www.google.com/reader/view

W – http://www.facebook.com/devoschildrens

X – http://www.etsy.com/listing/75851498/yorkshire-terrier-5x7-print-of-original

Y – http://www.younghouselove.com/

Z – http://www.zgallerie.com/

Have you ever tried this fun little game?

Like this post? Maybe you'll like these, too:

1. Confetti!
2. One More From Home Goods
3. Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Next, I want to share the elevation drawings I completed during the six week interior design class I’m so glad I was able to take.

What is an elevation drawing? Basically, an elevation is a one dimensional (flat) drawing of the three dimensional space. It is seen ‘head on’ or as if you were facing the particular wall from the front.

The elevation takes the floor plan one step further. You use the same elements in a room, but this time you’re able to get an even better idea of what the final product will look like.

So here is each wall of our living room. For each wall I’ll show you how the wall looked the last time you saw it, the elevation drawing and what the room looks like with the drawing at least partially implemented.

North Wall

Before

Elevation Drawing

Elevation Drawing Partially Implemented

East Wall

Before

Right side of this photo:

Elevation Drawing

Elevation Drawing Partially Implemented

South and West Walls

Before

Elevation Drawings

(This drawing differs slightly from the floor plan in that I opted to use an existing table rather than purchase a new bench.)

Elevation Drawings Partially Implemented

As you can see, drawing elevations helps you see the possibilities for your room without having to make any commitments before you’re ready.

Like this post? Maybe you'll like these, too:

1. Floor Plan Creating Resources
2. When In Doubt, Draw It Out
3. Big, Beautiful Art for the Living Room

Pencil and Paper Method

wikiHow – A great step-by-step guide to drawing a floor plan the same way I do it.

Apartment Therapy – Here is a slightly different method. This is a written tutorial with fewer pictures than the one above, but still good.

eHow – The tips at the end of this article are worth a read.

Books Can Help

The Space Planner: A Home Decorating Design Workbook (I have this workbook, it’s awesome.)

Quick Planner: Reusable, Peel & Stick Furniture & Architectural Symbols

Online Fun

floorplanner.com – The basic program is free and probably enough to get what you need. You can also upgrade to more, increasingly sophisticated options.You can also add color, texture and furniture to your design.

American Drew – It’s a simple tool, one where you can enter the size of the room then place simple pieces of furniture.

homestyler.com – Free “drag and drop” floor plan creating options.

Smart Draw – You can start with ready-made templates on this site. It’s free to try. If you like it you’ll have to purchase a subscription.

Like this post? Maybe you'll like these, too:

1. When In Doubt, Draw It Out
2. One Fun Thing: Knock-Off Wood
3. Design Fundamental: Contrast

Here’s where we left off…

As I said yesterday, progress had been made. But a finished room this was not.

And then I learned how to draw a floor plan. You probably don’t know this, but in January of this year I took at 6 week design class at Kendall College of Art and Design and it changed the was a look at designing a room. This class was one of the highlights of my year and I learned so many great things that I’ve been applying to our home since. I just haven’t blogged about it yet!

So, as a homework assignment for class, I measured every corner of the living room and all of the furniture we had in the room.

With the help of my instructor and class mates (including Megan and Laura), this is the floor plan we came up with.

Drawing a floor plan is easy. And even if it wasn’t, it would be worth it. I’m not expert (yet) so I won’t give you a tutorial. But I will post some resources later this week. Essentially what you need is a pencil and graph paper. Once you’ve measured your room you just draw it out to scale on the graph paper. Then, cut out furniture using sticky notes. In my floor plan, green represents existing furniture and purple represents furniture I would need to purchase.

What I like about this floor plan is that there is a good flow and it’s easy to walk through the room. Watching TV is comfortable, but the TV (inside the media cabinet/armoire) is not the focal point of the room.

Once the floor plan was just right on paper, it was time to actually move the furniture I had into place to make sure this layout would work before we made any more big purchases to fill in the missing pieces. The floor plan ended up looking just as good in real life as it did on paper. So it was time to take the next step…drawing elevations. More on that soon.

Like this post? Maybe you'll like these, too:

1. Let’s Soften Things Up {Living Room Update}
2. Design Fundamental: Contrast
3. Living Room Recap