2012 May

Inspiration:: Stylish Beach Cottage

May 30, 2012 By Megan 1 Comment

I had an amazing long weekend at the beach. I got lots of sun {maybe a little too much} and had lots of fun with friends. I so wish I could have stayed a few more days, but it was back to reality yesterday.

One of the reasons I love the beach so much is because of the laid back attitude. There’s no agenda, no schedule and no time pressures. I also love when this attitude and style is translated into a home.

I came across this coastal cottage in Galveston, TX on Houzz recently. It has that simplistic beach vibe but with a touch of class and I thought this would be the perfect time to share since I still have the beach on my mind.

{contemporary living room design by houston interior designer Munger Interiors}

I love how this home feels like the beach {light, airy, sunny} without going too literal {i.e. sea shells, light houses, etc.}. And all the decor is very simplistic {true to the beach vibe}.

{contemporary kitchen design by houston interior designer Munger Interiors}

This vacation home is meant to feel lived in so all the fabrics and materials used are easy to clean and low maintenance, but they still feel elegant.

{contemporary bedroom design by houston interior designer Munger Interiors}

Love all the crisp white bedding. Makes all the rooms feel fresh and clean.

{contemporary bathroom design by houston interior designer Munger Interiors}

Isn’t the mirror gorgeous? It definitely feels beachy, with the driftwood finish.

{contemporary bedroom design by houston interior designer Munger Interiors}

The outdoor living space is also cozy.

{contemporary patio design by houston interior designer Munger Interiors}

Simple furniture pieces are livened up with pops of color from the pillows.

{contemporary patio design by houston interior designer Munger Interiors}

What do you think? Doesn’t this make you wish you had a beach house too? Maybe they will let me just come visit

Oh and before I forget, the winner of the Katie Forbes scarf giveaway is…

Comment #8

Linh, be on the lookout for an email from me

Happy Wednesday friends! Yay for a short work week!

Hello From The Beach

May 25, 2012 By Megan Leave a Comment

No new fun post today friends. Today we are enjoying our first full day on the beach.

This is currently our view.

{Source}

{well, not literally this view, but something along these lines}

Just wanted to pop in and say hello. Hope you have are having a wonderful Friday and have an awesome weekend! I’ll be back later next week!

Now back to my beach reads…

Inspiration:: Beach Bound

May 23, 2012 By Megan Leave a Comment

This weekend marks the start of summer with Memorial Day.

Since we have a few days off for the holiday, my friends and I are taking a little trip to the beach. Raise your hand if you love the beach as much as I do?? I’m so ready for some sun, sand and relaxation. It’s sooo needed!

So for today’s inspiration, I’ve rounded up some beach essentials {some of which I bought recently}.

1. mix & match bathing suit // 2. linen beach towel // 3. sandals // 4. sunglasses // 5. beach bag // 6. sunscreen // 7. cover up

Apparently I have a thing for stripes! Can you guess which ones I bought? {Hint: I bought the sunscreen, cover up and that exact bathing suit combo}

Only one more day until the official start of vacation. Wahoo!

What are your plans for the holiday weekend? Are any of you going out of town?

Giveaway From Katie Fobes Design

May 21, 2012 By Megan 13 Comments

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I thought it would be fun to give you a sampling of what my weekend entailed all through the lens of Instagram.

I was really productive and was able to get a lot of projects done that I’ve had on my to-do list including getting a grill for our backyard. It also involved lots of traffic and a WWE themed birthday party.

On a more important note, you guys are in for a real treat today! The lovely Katie of Katie Fobes Design is offering one lucky Megan Brooke Handmade reader a chance to win one of her adorable pom pom scarfs from her new shop.

Winner will receive one scarf in the color of their choice {shipping is included}. Here are all the color options she offers.

Aren’t they so cute??

To win, all you have to do is leave a comment letting me know which color scarf is your favorite.

For additional entries you can::

1. Become a follower of Katie’s blog At Home When I’m With You {and leave a comment letting me know you did}

2. ‘Like’ At Home When I’m With You on Facebook {and leave a comment letting me know you did}

3. ‘Like’ Megan Brooke Handmade on Facebook {and leave a comment letting me know you did}

4. Follow Megan Brooke Handmade on Twitter {and leave a comment letting me know you did}

You have until next Monday to enter. Winner will be announced on Wednesday, May 30th.

Katie also has amazing decorating taste. Her and her hubby recently purchased a condo in Boston and they have been trying to make it feel like home the last few years. Here are just a few pictures of what they’ve done with their new space::

{Master Bedroom}

{Living Room}

{Guest Bedroom}

Be sure to check out her blog to see some of the fun diy projects she’s worked on for their place as well.

Happy Monday and good luck!

set design:: pallet wall art

May 18, 2012 By Megan 1 Comment

By now you probably know my obsession with pallets. One of the main reasons I love them is that most of the time they are free. And who doesn’t like free, especially free decor?

For one of our sets/walls in our video room at work, we were needing to figure out what to put up on the wall. After seeing some pallets in our mailroom, I thought, why not try and make some sort of wall art from those? After all, we are on a tight budget.

So here’s what we came up with.

The first step in making this was to take one of the pallets apart. For this particular pallet, we weren’t able to use a hammer to ply the nails out. The wood would start to split every time we tried. So we 2 guys at work, used a recipricating saw to cut through all the nails.

We wanted the finished product to be as large as possible, so we didn’t end up trimming any of the main boards down. We A guy at work, just trimmed down three of the pieces a bit and drilled them to the back. {I promise I actually helped with this project. I just didn’t do much with the power tools this time around}.

We wanted the pallet to stand out against the wall so we started by painting it all white.

Then I found a bluish/grayish color that we brushed on top of the white. We made sure not to paint over all the white, but allowed some of the white to show through.

Then on top of the grayish/bluish color, we lightly painted on a gold/tan color.

It looked great with all the paint, but it was a little too ‘pretty.’

To rough it up a little more, we added a dark brown wax.

Looks yummy, huh?

We used a cloth to wipe it on. Be sure to wipe off the excess on a scrap piece of wood otherwise you’ll just end up with a dark blob {trust me}.

Here are some of the spots up close that we swiped with the wax. Gives it a nice aged look.

And here’s the finished product up on the wall again.

To hang it, we just used a picture wire and made sure to get one that would hold something heavy.

So far it’s done the trick!

We had a band come in last week and we used this set. It still needs some tweaking, but in the meantime, I hung a few of the wire baskets from the recent bird cage set I worked on to add a little something else visually.

What do you think? Any suggestions on what else we should add to the wall?

Hope everyone has a good weekend! I’ve got high hopes of getting a lot of projects done this weekend. I have some of my own pallet wood that’s calling my name. Here’s to having a productive weekend!

Linking this up to::