The Art of Nesting - Creating your own Space

I am a nester - I love to create a feeling in a room through paint color, book shelves & books, fresh flowers, photographs and artwork. Last week while she was at school I painted my niece’s bedroom as a 16^th birthday surprise. I boxed up the clutter, bought some curtains, pillows, a quilt, bulletin board and a large picture frame for a stunning photo she had taken for a school project. Using a can of light purple paint her room was transformed. Once my niece saw the room, we decided to do a couple more things, paint her cupboard doors with purple chalkboard paint and purchase a clock. Ta-da she now has a brand new room - a fresh start to her day and cozy refuge to retreat to at the end of her day. 

On a roll, the next day my other niece and I decided to do the same thing to her room - new wall paint (teal), chalkboard paint (black), white enamel hooks for the wall to hang her scarves on, picture frame for a beautiful photo she took for her photography class.

These are simple and inexpensive things you can easily do yourself to give as a gift for someone you love or for yourself when your life needs freshening up. 

Simple inexpensive ways to decorate a room:
- create a chalkboard  - on the wall or repaint an existing one

- fresh flowers

- forced bulbs (paperwhites AKA narcissus)

- books

- your own artwork or photos (framed)

- interesting book ends

Here are the cost breakdowns for one room:

$22 - One can of Glidden paint (Martha Stewart color)

$10 - Two paint brushes

$10 - One paint roller & pan

$14 - One quart of chalkboard paint

$10 - Several white enamel wall hooks

$20 - One set of curtains

$17 - Large photo frame with mat

$15 - Print of original photo

$4  -  Box of colored chalk

$122  TOTAL

Afternoon Ritual

The elegance of a beautiful tea cup, the utility of a big mug, the sound of a whistling tea kettle - all a part of an afternoon ritual. I have in the last year made a point of making a pot of tea every afternoon around 3:00. It is as much about the process - putting the kettle on to boil, selecting the tea (Barnes & Noble brand of Earl Grey), steeping the tea in a pretty teapot, picking the perfect cup, pour, add honey and ready to sit for a few minutes. Unfortunately we seem less likely in this country (unlike our European counterparts) to take a moment, to embrace a comforting ritual.  I have recently bought kettles, teapots, tea cups for a couple of my older nieces - hopefully they will choose to incorporate into their lives a daily break to relax, reflect and just be thankful for all that we have in this life. .