Pepper Design Blog - Page 195 of 358 - A Little of This & That... Renovating, Decorating, DIY Projects & Family

July 4th Celebration Inspiration

June 29, 2011

There’s nothing like a holiday designed just for fun in the sun. Whether you’ll be spending it on the sand, by a pool or bbqing in the backyard, I hope that this adorable party (featured over at hwtm.com) provides a little Independence Day celebration inspiration.

And don’t forget to check out the Entertaining button there on the left sidebar to find even more ideas for the 4th of July (including delicious recipes).

July 4 Inspiration 1

This “vintage Americana” tractor party was designed by Aubrey of Sweet Cheeks Tasty Treats for her son’s birthday – but how perfect is it for the 4th of July? Invite the neighbors over for strawberry shortcake and potato sack races, and plan an afternoon of relaxing on this beautiful July day.

July 4 Inspiration 2

Handmade pinwheels, bunting and delicious cake pops (see how the pinwheels are the cake pop sticks? so clever) add a DIY touch.

Adorable labels by Printable Parties.

Be sure to check out the full post (and all of the fun details) over at Hostess with the Mostess.

And if you have a few extra minutes today, check out the July/August issue of High Gloss Magazine. I love all of the virtual lookbooks that are being published these days and I thought this particular issue was one of the best I’ve read by High Gloss. SO much inspiration! I was adding every other page to my inspiration folder on my computer.

San Diego Magazine: June, The Good Eats Issue

June 28, 2011

Wow, I can’t believe that June is almost over! The latest issue of San Diego Magazine is all about food and delicious places to find it locally. Jump out to page 76 in the digital edition to check out my contributions this month.

I still can’t believe it’s nearing the middle of summer {sweet July} and that the weather is really crankin’ up the heat around here. Our summer vacation will be spent, in part, biking across Iowa with our family in an event called RAGBRAI. I’m not really a biker nor do I particularly enjoy humidity in late July, but the entire family (in-laws, my parents and all of the brothers) are game so we’re making a go of it. If you’ll be sipping fruity drinks on a beach somewhere I’m not sure I want to hear about it.

We’ve been training a bit so that I don’t flat pass out after 20 miles, but yesterday was the first day that it really felt like the summer heat wave had arrived. The weather has been just beautiful.

But back to the magazine. This month’s issue features chicken hideaways (we have some of those), best San Diego restaurants and a feature on a gorgeous, sustainably built La Jolla home that I had the chance to tour before writing an article about it (for the full article, here’s the digital edition).

The June issue was all about good eats and so I assembled a collage of favorite kitchen renovation finds for a variety of styles. The spread was supposed to run parallel to a great full page kitchen but an ad snuck its way in instead.

I’m loving those stools and the mix of runners – nevermind the great pendants (especially that Glabraith & Paul one) and the tile.

Back to RAGBRAI training I go! Hope you have a few exciting adventures planned this summer, too!

Office Makeover: Inspiration for a DIY Desk

June 27, 2011

Now that the office makeover is back in full swing, it’s time to get serious about what great projects and finds we can fill the space with.

You might remember my layout dilemma and how the room has to serve as a guest bedroom + home office (+ craft room of sorts) without any closet space (boo – but impossible to fit in) and therefore storage and functionality are tops on the design list. To make it even tighter, we nixed the daybed idea and have opted to crowd the back of the room with a full-sized bed that will comfortably sleep two without any extra assembly required.

Despite the lack of space, my office desk needs to be big + mighty to fit the projects that I’m always juggling (I’m not the type of person who can neatly stow away a days work each and every evening – I’d love a desk big enough to hold organized chaos :)) so I’ve settled on making my own. Not from scratch but hopefully from materials I find through Craigslist.

You might remember the original inspiration for the space from here, and shopping round-ups of favorite bookshelves and desks under $300. I’ve purchased the bookcases (more on that soon) and can’t wait to get started on the perfect desk!

But what would this desk look like? What materials should I make it out of? What about storage? A Google search ensued for diy desk inspiration, here’s what I found:

Manhattan Nest designed a diy desk out of mdf and an old nightstand (love those industrial looking legs). A bit of fabric inspiration from Southern Living below left.

Above, Aubrey & Lindsay built a desk with a wooden top that I envy. Below is an idea that I haven’t thought of – Alicia of Thrifty and Chic cut apart a huge dresser to create the perfect desk and set of drawers!

A reader mentioned using an old door as a desk top too – I love that. So many great ideas out there!

We’ll see what creative materials I find to work with but I’m imagining that my new desk will be part warm wood tones/part industrial dark metal – maybe?

Here’s to a week of productive hunting!

For more Office Makeover posts, check out: desking hunting for under $300, bookcases under $300, inspirational rooms, room layout options, demo part 1 & demo part 2.