make your own parsons table diy

i am really excited about today's DIY and even more excited about part two coming next week!

james and i have been looking for a compact, sleek console for our entryway on and off for months. we live in a small apartment (900 sq ft) and needed something that would add interest, not bulk, but we couldn't find anything that would fit our space and price point.

and then it hit me: we can make one! what i love most about this DIY is that you can customize it to your space. our tabletop is long and narrow, but you can adjust the dimensions to suit your style. to get an idea of standard console dimensions, we checked out the options at places like West Elm, CB2 and IKEA. one rule of thumb, most consoles are 30-31" in height.

now, here is the real stunner: assuming you own or can borrow the tools listed below, the total cost of materials is $34.

this doesn't include the cost of materials to finish the wood, but there are inexpensive finishing options, so stay tuned for part two of this DIY for ideas!

a quick note: we decided to add "braces" for structural support and i actually like the look a bit better. for a more traditional parsons table, you can leave the braces off, but any bowing or arching in the lumber will cause the legs to taper and you might find that a brace evens things out.

DIMENSIONS
48x12x31.5"

MATERIALS 

- 8'x12" (cut into 48x12" for tabletop)

- 2 lengths of 2x2"x6' (cut into 4 pieces for legs, each 30" in length)

- 8 flathead #8 gauge 3" wood screws

TOOLS

- electric drill

- 1/8" drill bit

- level

- pencil

- sandpaper
- hand saw (if adding braces)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. write "TOP" in pencil on one side of tabletop.

2. with the "TOP" side up, place one of the legs on one of the corners. use level to ensure edges of leg are flush with edge of tabletop.

3. trace edges of the leg with pencil, to make a square.

4. next, remove leg and mark where to drill the screws. with a ruler, draw a diagonal line down the middle of the square and mark two evenly-spaced, centered dots (see photo for exact measurements).

5. repeat steps 2-4 with for remaining corners.

6. starting with one corner, drill through each of the dots marking where the screws will go.

 james used a makeshift drill guide to ensure screws drilled in straight. for instructions on creating your own drill guide, click here.

7. place tabletop perpendicular to floor and align a leg against one "BOTTOM" corner of tabletop, so that all sides are flush.

9. while holding leg firmly against tabletop, drill through screw holes from "TOP" side of tabletop, into leg.

10. drive wood screws through drill holes completely into leg, until screw is flush with with top of tabletop.

11. repeat steps 6-11 for remaining corners.

optional - adding braces
12. stand table upright and measure interior distance between legs. using leftover lumber, use hand saw to cut two pieces to match interior distance on each side of table.

13. set table on its side, with legs facing you. on the outer ends of each leg, use freshly cut brace to trace square and drill holes, as in steps 2-4.

14. drill through each of the dots marking where the screws will go.

15. align brace against interior of one leg, so that all sides are flush.

16. while holding leg firmly against leg, drill through screw holes from leg exterior, into brace. repeat with opposite leg, so that brace serves as a connector piece.

17. repeat for legs at opposite end of table.

et voila!

we're planning to upholster our table with faux animal skin fabric (details coming soon!), but i took a crack at styling it to get an idea of what it will look like all finished! what do you think?

TIPS

- we purchased and cut our lumber at home depot. we chose Select Pine because it has a more polished appearance. it is a little more expensive than stock lumber, but the pieces are less likely to have imperfections.

- if you choose to add braces, save extra 2x2 lumber during home depot trip.

- you can pick up an inexpensive bubble level and the wood screws while you're at home depot.

- use sand paper to smooth out any edges and even out connection point between legs and tabletop.

a stylish front door: brass exterior hardware

if you saw our most recent diy project (here) or follow me on instagram (here), you know i have a growing obsession with brass hardware.

there is something so modern and luxe about brass fixtures, especially when paired with a crisp white or black. i am already daydreaming about our first home and details like what the front door will look like. i love the idea of a black lacquered door with bright brass hardware. 

via

i've rounded up some of my favorite brass pieces to add glamour and elegance to your front door.

i'm loving the square door bell and the last door handle. which are your favorites?

knockers: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
doorbells: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
door handles: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 

ikea hack: billy bookcase and besta storage unit

i am so excited to finally share the ikea pieces that james and i have been working on. i posted a sneak peek a few weeks ago, but we finally finished all of the details this past weekend. 

we have been slowly working on zhushing up our little home (it's an apartment, really, but it feels like home) and the time came to buy some new furniture. the main priority was hidden storage; in such a small space, even a little bit of clutter can make the entire place look messy and unkempt. 

we looked online, in local shops, and resale stores for nice furniture for months, but we realized the hardwood furniture we liked was out of our budget. complicating matters, i wanted a bookcase with doors to keep things tidy and dust-free.

we settled on the billy bookcase with paneled glass doors. i liked the idea of showing some of our books and decorative pieces, but still having plenty of room to hide, so the half-glass paneling was perfect.

taking a cue from kate's amazing ikea hack i painted the back panel a dark charcoal - behr's stealth jet - and filled in the peg holes with white nail hole filler. unless you're up close, you can't see the holes, which is usually a tell-tale sign of an ikea piece. 

we also wanted a streamlined media center with storage and the besta storage unit fit the bill. we paired it with glossy white doors and topped it with white glass.

we chose the standard square legs, but spray painted them with rustoleum's metallic spray paint in gold.

speaking of hardware, i've had jen's home tour posts bookmarked for ages because i love the brushed brass pulls and knobs that she has used.

we did consider other legs for the besta unit, but couldn't find anything that we loved for a decent price. although the spray paint is gold and the rest of the hardware is brass, it matches really well. after seeing how great the legs looked, we disassembled the bookcase doors to spray paint the hinges and screws. it was a bit of a hassle to do so after the fact, but it's one of my favorite details.

so, friends, what do you think? have you hacked any ikea pieces? if so, i'd love to see them!

all images: james roy photography

chandeliers and statement lighting

kishani perera interior design via

statement lighting can serve as a focal point in a room and pieces like a fabulous chandelier can add drama and interest. i wouldn't mind putting a crystal chandelier in every room, but modern pieces like these black enamel chandeliers and gold fixtures would be just as amazing!

a tip for the gal on a budget: overstock is a great source for affordable chandeliers! they are priced lower because they come disassembled, so that does mean you'll spend a couple of hours assembling all of the pieces. assuming you don't mind, it's a great way to add some glamour on a budget. two of my girlfriends gave me this beauty for my bridal shower and it is absolutely gorgeous!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

glamorous crate & barrel living room

man, crate & barrel has been knocking it out of the park lately! c&b has been a longtime favorite of mine for affordable, stylish home goods, especially for dining and entertaining. the mr. and i received lots of beautiful pieces from c&b and especially love our drinkwear and flatware.

but i have to admit, i viewed c&b as a store for basics and staples and didn't consider it a go-to for chic furniture or on-trend decor. and then this month's catalog came in the mail. i have to say, i am impressed. from beautiful wooden casegoods to nail head details, the product offering is chic, fresh,  and more sophisticated!

i was planning on posting a round-up of some of my favorite pieces, but i had so many products on one page, i realized i could create an entire room! now picture this space with dark hardwood and benjamin moore's lancaster whitewash on the walls.

what about you? are you impressed with c&b's new look?

*all items pictured available at crate & barrel. this is not a sponsored post, but feel free to e-mail me if you have specific questions or can't locate a product!

design love: grey + pink

i have been loving the mix of moody greys and blush pinks lately! the juxtaposition of light and dark strikes the perfect balance - the look is sophisticated and glamorous and impossibly chic!

are you a fan of this color combo?

  

photos via

mini home tour

 i've been documenting bits and pieces of our apartment since making little updates like these DIY abstract paintings. the result is the mini home tour below and upon reflection, i have a problem - i seem to have forgotten that i live with an adult male.

 i love our place now, but i want to build in masculine elements to our home, so our space is interesting and appealing to the mr. (and actually looks like a man lives there). luckily, i have time to figure it out because james indulges my predisposition for all things girly.

living room 

bathroom

bedroom

kitchen drawer liners

linen closet inspiration

if you've followed ANC for a while, it's probably no surprise that i'm getting more and more into home design and decor. the mr. and i are slowly updating and redoing our little apartment by doing things like refinishing hand-me-down furniture and spicing up the living room with DIY abstract paintings. and of course, many of the beautiful wedding presents we have received have helped!

one thing that i'm dreaming about for the future is a full-size, beautifully organized linen closet. i have a serious obsession with linens - i love bright white soft sheets, cozy down comforters, and plush towels, and i love having a stockpile of clean ones on hand so i can change them as often as i like. if you haven't read annie's post on the importance of clean linens, you should!

we don't have space for a closet dedicated solely to linens yet, but when we do, i'll be drawing my inspiration from these images.

 via

summer DIY bucket list

inspired by bloggers who have shared their summer bucket lists, i'm sharing my summer (DIY) bucket list. don't worry, my summer is full of concerts, date nights, girls' nights, and weekends at the lake, but i'm also really excited to add some style to our apartment.
we started the beautification project last year by refinishing our hand-me-down wood furniture and painting it white. it was a labor of love, but we had so much fun doing it and it gave us such a sense of pride and accomplishment. we're not ones to buy super expensive pieces right off the shelf (nor do we have the budget), so DIY projects are a perfect way to update/transform a space without breaking the bank.






this weekend, i finished #1 on my list (with the mr.'s help) and i am SO excited to share the results with you. check back tomorrow for photos and video of my DIY paintings that now hang above our couch.

decorating with aqua

i have to say that before getting more into interior design, i might never have considered decorating with a bold color like aqua. but this happy, bright color can provide such a fabulous pop of color, don't you think?

chairs|rug|pillow|bowl|lamp

future girl cave

if you follow me on pinterest, you might have seen one of my boards called future girl cave. it's the board where i'm stowing away ideas for a room of my own in our future home. we keep daydreaming about buying a beautiful space that we can make our own and i'd love to have a room just to myself - somewhere where i can work, blog, write, draw, and most importantly, be as girly as i want to be. i've borrowed the cute term "girl cave" from rhi over at hey, gorgeous, who created the cutest office space in her old apartment (inspiration for us city dwellers)!

i tried my hand at e-designing the space and for my first try, i'm pretty happy!

i gravitate toward neutrals, so i decided to keep the hardwood light and the grey paint warm. i built the room around the white statement furniture (love this desk!), adding in metallics for some glamour. it may be unusual to mix gold and silver, but i quite like it. i also like that the artwork isn't thematic, but the black framing pulls it all together. and the black and white rug grounds the space and the colors are echoed, without being matchy-matchy in the throw pillow.

i'm happy to share my sources if you're interested!

designer spotlight: ana antunes

you might have seen the guest post by ana antunes last thursday and if you didn't, check it out because this lady has amazing taste! ana is a veteran executive tv producer and a designer on a home design show in portugal. she is a brilliant designer and has become one of my blogger favorites. she is my dream designer for our future home and if i can swing it, i will fly this lady in to do the job!

ana writes a fabulous blog, home-styling, where you can stay up to date on her design projects and check out her amazing portfolio. be sure to check out her gorgeous home and the most glamorous IKEA hacks i've ever seen too!

images via

home-styling guest post

For Mr and Mrs Smith New Home

Hello, I'm Ana from Home-Styling and I'm thrilled to be the guest post for Ashley today. I was very happy about this challenge because in my very busy life as a, decorator, executive producer for a home makeover Tv show, creative director for an Interior Design Store, CEO for my producing company, mother and blogger, I thought I was going to have a hard time to have an idea for a special post for Ashley in such a special time of her life...

Too much stuff to think about and what to do!? I was very happy when I asked Ashley what would she like me to post about and she answered: "I'd be really interested to hear your advice on blending feminine and masculine elements in a room. It's something I'm trying to find balance with right now - i love light and airy looks - lots of white with silver
and pink, but I don't want the whole apartment to look girly and want J to love our place too."

That is a wonderful great challenge for everyone so I had a lot of fun putting it together and this is what I came up with.

So Ashley likes white, airy, stylish, feminine rooms like these with lots of

white, silver and pink.

I do not know about Mr. J's tastes, but he must be a very cool stylish man

judging by the gorgeous Pink Tie!

I think this would be a perfect mix of white, gray, black and lots of white 

and some feminine pink details.

The black and white stripes definitely make a masculine strong enough statement to add a romantic chandelier, a venetian mirror or pink chaise.

Don't you think?

Enjoy your new home Mr. and Mrs Smith!

Ana Antunes

and

* Thank you for sharing my passion for beautiful homes *

Photos via: Veranda, Living Etc, Pinterest