The Minimalist - Fall Decor

This past weekend Scott and I escaped to Asheville to celebrate our anniversary and relax.  The weather was AMAZING.  It was still warm, but there was a very early crisp fall breeze in the air and the leaves were just starting to show hints of yellow and orange.  The cool air was all it took to give me that extra push into total fall mode.  If you follow Delightfully Chic on Instagram you know I have been sitting on the edge of fall for a few weeks now so I didn't need much of a push. 

We are having hardwoods installed throughout our entire downstairs at the end of the month so Scott keeps reminding me not to go too crazy with fall decor until after the floors are down.  This is seriously asking a lot of a girl who lives for seasonal decor changes. 

To keep things minimal to start I am planning to incorporate plaid and striped throw blankets in our family room on the DIY Blanket Ladder I made a while back.  (See the tutorial here)

As before starting any project or decor change up, I always turn to a magazine (new or old) the smell and feel of the glossy pages still gets me and of course our modern day faux glossy pages of Pinterest for inspiration.

Images via Pinterest

Here is a round up of a few super cozy fall throws that I have my eye on!

Shop Them All Now 
 
1. Neutral Throw - Lands' End
2. Blush and Bashful - Target
3. Multi Anthropologie
4. Blue Plaid - Way Fair
5. Dark Tones - World Market

DIY Ladder for Under $20

Since moving into our forever home and having Fiona I've tried really hard to be more aware of my "frivolous" spending.  When I see something I want, I ask myself a couple of questions...
 1) Is this a need or a want? 2) Can I turn this into a DIY and cut the cost?

I truly love a good project.  Scott just the other day said "I don't think our house will ever be completely finished".  I said, "Of course not, that's the fun in it all"!  When it comes to the style of home I like, it varies.  I love traditional, I love hunting unique antique pieces to add character and a story to tell.  I also love modern.  If I could white wash our entire home and have minimal pieces in our home that would totally work for me.  Then there's that side of me that longs for what I knew growing up in the country.  I love a good farmhouse, but I love to see a farmhouse mixed with modern touches.  So you see I'm all over the place and with that being said, this is why I try not to invest too much money in the pieces I buy.  Chances are in a month or so I will be mixing things up again.

The first time I saw a ladder placed in a bedroom or family room I knew I wanted to add this touch to our home.  However, this is another one of those pieces I'm not totally sure will hang around for years to come.  So, I told Scott, let's just make one ourselves, and that's exactly what we did and for UNDER $20! Seriously, how great is that?!

So here's all the details!

What you'll need...

Two 6 foot thin pieces (1x2x6′ Pine) 
 Two dowels (7/8 x 48in) 
Minwax Stain (I went with Provincial)   

(You can adjust the size depending on how large or small you would like your ladder)

For this next step I had Scott jump in to help.  This is something I love about home projects because we get to do them together and that always seems to make things more special.

You will want to decide how wide you want your ladder and how many rungs you will want.  We decided to have four.

After the rungs are cut, I simply measured out where I wanted them.  Again totally up to you on where you will want yours.  Next I nailed each rung in to one side of the long slat and then nailed them on to the second piece.

After you have your ladder together you will want to apply 1-2 coats of stain depending on how dark you want your stain.  I just cut up an old t-shirt to wipe the stain on with.

And there you have it! Super easy and inexpensive!

Happy Sunday and Happy DIY'ing!

DIY: The Perfect {Inexpensive} Bookshelf

A few months back I was on the hunt for a simple gold bookshelf.  I found that so many I loved were around $250 and up!  This just seemed a little crazy to me.  So I decided this gold bookshelf I was on the hunt for was now going to turn into a DIY.

After removing the gold element from my search I started to find several reasonably priced shelves that a can of gold spray paint would do wonders with.  I ended up purchasing the Vittsjo Shelf from Ikea in white for just $49.  

Next to dress this plain Jane up to her full potential.

A trip to Lowes for a few supplies and we were ready.

Shelf * Contact Paper * Pretty Scissors * Gold Spray Paint * Primer

Now that we have all the items, it's time to make this doll come to life.

I think it's totally up to you if you want to assemble before or after you paint.  I decided to assemble first, then spray.  Once I had the shelf together I started with the primer.  Even though the shelf was white, I still like to prime as it helps your paint adhere better.  Once the primer was dry, it was time to paint this beauty gold.  In the end I used almost 2 cans of paint.  It never ceases to amaze me what a can of paint can do for a lifeless piece.

The three middle shelves are glass, but the top and bottom are solid, some type of faux wood.

I decided to dress this piece up just a touch more by wrapping the top and bottom shelves in marble contact paper.  Seriously, this made the entire look of the bookshelf!

And...there you have it!  

I couldn't be happier with the end result.  Sometimes I find it's the DIY pieces in our home I adore the most.  They just feel a little bit more special to me.

Easter Decor

At the very moment that March 1^st arrives the Easter decorations are coming out!  During the last couple of weeks before Baby G is due to arrive I want to make sure the house is all taken care of and all I have to do is bring this sweet little baby into the world! (That should be super simple righttt...EEK)  So, the wheels are turning on how I will decorate The Gaither household.  One thing for sure that will make its reprise  will be my DIY Easter Eggs from last year.

 

 

See the step by step how to here

 Another MUST will be tulips! One thing I absolutely adore is fresh flowers in our home.

image via

 image via

I also really want to dress up the mantel with an Easter and early spring vibe!

The final look I am still debating.

What are your go to items for Easter Decor??

Comment below and spill the beans!

Quote of the Week {Weekend Wrap Up}

Let me just start off with these few words...

From hitting the snooze button a gazillion times this morning, to wishing we had another day added to the weekend line up on a permanent basis, to just bottom line not being ready to start the work week just yet, I am asking for a weekend do over.

This weekend was truly a blast!  We celebrated Baby G's very first party with the most gorgeous shower hosted by my two best friends, and our three Mama's! 

(Meet Aunt Katie and Aunt Becs) 

We felt so showered with so much love and so grateful for our dear friends and family! Here is a peek into the shower, but I will be sharing a full post later with all the pretty details!

Sunday, Scott and I took the day to tackle a few DIY's and we tried to soak up every second we could outside.  It was a gorgeous day with temps close to 70°!

Remember these two lovely's?  

The bookcase from Ikea that is getting a total face lift? 

Well, the face lift is complete! So expect "reveal" pics very soon!

And these gorgeous vintage lamps I picked up last MAY! After the longest search in America, my Sweet Mama scored us two custom (and perfect) lamp shades! We put the final touches on these darlings this weekend so again...stay tuned for the finished look pics!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend even though I'm sure it wasn't long enough!  Wishing you all a gorgeous week!

Quote of the Week {Weekend Wrap Up}

Well we survived our first winter storm of the season and escaped with a total of about 5 inches of snow and ice.  As pretty as the snow was I had to enjoy from indoors! I took a second tumble this pregnancy on a patch of ice last Wednesday (after an hour of monitoring it was decided that Baby G is a “Show Off” (yep that’s my child) and is super healthy) so I made sure to play it extra safe and trapped myself indoors.  In the end my to do list became shorter and lots of projects and DIY’s were tackled around the house.

My view from our front door! 

On Friday I decided to make Oreo Cheesecake Cookies.  

Stay tuned for the complete recipe on the blog.

Freshly painted frames and new wall art I have been pulling together.
I will be posting this final look as soon as I hang these darlings!

I'm super excited about this piece.  I have transformed the shelves and as soon as the temps warm up I will be giving this bookcase a fresh coat of paint.  Stay tuned for the finished look!

On Saturday Scott made the BEST taco soup!  I am horrible about not finishing my meals, but not this time!  I finished the entire bowl and on Sunday we finished off the leftovers while watching the Panthers claim their spot in the Super Bowl!

I hope you stayed safe and warm throughout the winter storm!
Personally, I'm pretty excited about the expected 60° temps this weekend!

Quote of the Week {Weekend Wrap Up}

Happy super chilly Tuesday! I think Old Man Winter has officially arrived!  This past weekend we woke up to snow flurries on Saturday and today we started the day with temps in the low teens! Time to break out the parkas!  

Over the weekend Scott and I made our way back to Charlotte to catch up with our friends and knock out a few to do's for Baby G's Nursery!  I am determined to finish up this sweet little room within the next two weeks.  

One project on the list was the "box" that will go on the changing table and around the changing pad.  I thought it was beyond special that Scott wanted to take this on and build himself.  

I might have also got a litte sidetracked when we stopped by Ikea, but this bookcase has been calling my name for quite sometime now and while we were there it was just a must.

Make sure to stay tuned on this little gems transformation.  I have big plans for this piece! 

Yesterday, I took the entire day to take on tasks around the house.  Sweet Mama and I even got in a little fabric shopping time! Another project I have up my sleeve that I will be sharing later!

And for fun, I thought I would share one of my more simple DIY moments for Baby G's nursery that I completed a few weeks back. 

 I really wanted to spray the animals gold, but Scott quickly put the breaks on my over the top gold obsession, and in the end, I think he was totally right in making this call! 

I hope you all enjoyed your nice long (and I'm sure much deserved) weekend. Wrap up warm today and remember bring all our little furry friends inside until it warms up!

The Juju Hat

For a little over 5 years now I have wanted an 

African JuJu hat to hang in my home. 

There is something about the feathers and the 

simplicity of it that actually makes a powerful statement piece.

 

I first discovered the Juju hat via Louise Bell, Austrialian Blogger and

shop owner of Table Tonic.  She has sold these beauties for years now.

 

  

As much as I just want to hit that "add to cart" button, I still can't bring myself

to spend that much money on one of these babes!  

Louise actually has them very resonably priced, but of course I want the big granddaddy

of them all and $650 just won't fly in The Gaither house.

So, I got to thinking, why not attempt to DIY this gem?

Sure, it won't be perfect and it won't be that easy buy, but it will

be fun and have a story behind it AND I will have a little cha-ching

leftover to pick up a few more decor pieces for the house. 

I found this SUPER easy tutorial over on Vintage Farm and I really think

I'm going to give it a go.  

In the meantime, while I work on purchasing the perfect feathers for my 

next DIY, feast your eyes on these masterpieces!

 

Are you a fan of the Juju hat like me?