House Tour #1 with Brooke Biette

I'm thrilled to share the first of three house tours for the month of February! This is the lovely home of Brooke Biette, an anesthesia technician by day and a talented quilter, photographer, designer, and stylist by night. I first saw images of her home in her flickr feed as I was browsing through someone's favorites and contacted her about sharing it on my blog. I've asked her to share a little bit about her interior style below.

* How would you describe your interior style?
My interior style is a bit eclectic - I love both vintage and modern styles. Also, living with my boyfriend and THREE cats can be challenging at times, as far as decorating and keeping things clean. I'm lucky that my boyfriend pretty much lets me decorate however I want to, though! In the past year or so I have started a big de-clutter project around the home, so that has influenced our interior style greatly!

* When did you start having an opinion about your home decor and when did you get serious about curating your space? (high school, college, post college, etc.)
Even as a kiddo I loved rearranging my Barbie house's furniture, and as a teenage I constantly rearranged my bedroom. I didn't really get into it more seriously until college though, I always had the best decorated dorm rooms (or so said my friends ;)). My first apartment after college was a tiny one room efficiency space in the basement of an old building, but I definitely made it my own.

I am lucky that my boyfriend and I have been able to rent a few really great apartments over the years, which have given us great spaces to decorate! (The only thing about our current place that I dislike but cannot change is the gray trim around every doorway and window. I've tried to incorporate it into the decor best I can, though...) I would say I got the most serious into decorating sometime in 2004, and it hasn't stopped since.

* What has most influenced your style? People in your life, places you've been, online design blogs, money, etc.
I would say it has been a mix of all of those things. Constantly being given hand-me-downs in my poor-er days, some of those items have become well-loved treasures! I definitely decorate based on budget, though; its very rare for us to buy any elaborate and expensive pieces. I scour a huge list of design blogs (you can find my list of favorites on my blog!) weekly to get inspired.

* Which is your favorite room? Why?
My favorite room right now is the bedroom. I think its a perfect mix between new & old.

* Where is it all from?

Some of my favorite vintage pieces are in there, some of which came from antique shops instate, some from my parents' basement (the stand up radio!) and Etsy (cameras, etc)... alongside my more modern Ikea 'Expedit' shelf.

* What do you have your eye on that you hope to own someday?

I would love to get one of those white Eames rocker chairs. I'm dying to get on of those. For now it won't fit in our living room, but further on down the road if we own a house or condo, I'll definitely be incorporating one into our decor!

* Do you feel like your space is working for you or have you had to adjust your expectations of 'perfect'?
Our space works really well for us in this apartment. I'm lucky that the 'extra' room has been converted into my sewing room - I've definitely worked in much smaller spaces, but it is so nice to have the room to spread out and not feel guilty or like I'm taking away valuable space from another room. The rooms in this apartment are really the perfect size for us - not too small but not too spacious. Now that I've been de-cluttering, it's even better!

* Quick! People are coming over and the house is a mess! What do you tackle first to feel like things are presentable?
Definitely I sweep up the kitchen first! That's where the cats have their litter boxes and food dishes, and you can imagine with three of them it can get a little messy ;) But other than that I fluff the pillows and fold the throw blankets in the living room, do a quick straightening of the kitchen counters, and make sure there are no dirty dishes in the sink ;)

I think we've finally gotten to a point where almost everything we own has a home or a bin or a spot, so we've been working hard to keep it tidy as much as possible (without having to try too hard). Its nice to not have to scramble so much at the last minute if someone is coming over.

I love the mix of vintage and modern with a little DIY and handmade in the mix. Her red coffee table really makes the living room and I love all of the art on the walls. Brooke, thanks for the lovely house tour and for sharing how you've curated such a beautiful space!

Brooke is de-stashing this year which means some pretty fabric available in her Etsy shop here. You can read more about Brooke and see more images of her beautiful work and living space here. Look for another beautiful home tour next Thursday!

xoxo,
Rachel

Curtains on the Cheap

I've made a master list of all of the projects I can currently think of that I'd like to finish to make our home feel mostly set up. A few of them are a little more fun than others (make a handmade cover for the teepee in the kids' room) and are expendable if I run out of time (I will) but mainly it's things like hanging art on walls, finding a kitchen table for our little kitchen space, and organizing fabric in my studio so I can have more floor space.

One thing I've already been able to check off the list is curtains for the kids' room. They share a room and it's pretty important to me that most of the spaces in our home reflect who we are as a family while maintaining a certain aesthetic. Being a vintage lover (hoarder) lends itself well to putting together a space we all love while being thrifty most of the time and definitely in this case.

I found this vintage flat sheet (full size) in the back of a flea market near Joplin, MO and paid about $1.00 for it. It's free of holes and stains, has vibrant colors, and was the perfect neutral color for a boy-girl shared room. The only thing was it was ONE sheet for TWO windows.

I decided to bend the rules and cheat a bit as far as curtain measurements go and cut that sheet up into four even panels, lined them with another thrifted white muslin sheet, and hung them high. Had this been fabric yardage, and if the space under both windows were free of things pushed up against them, I would've doubled the width of each panel (at least) and had them hang to the ground to make the ceiling look taller. I did the best with what I had and I am really pleased with the end result. Also, this is counting as my Project ReStyle #2!

Apparently, Ruby is growing a chocolate moustache. This is a picture of her telling me I did a great job and that she loves how much cozier the curtains made their room feel. The horses concur.

Also, this is the new time out spot. You decide not to finish your oatmeal and you get three minutes on the wardrobe. No tolerance of bad behavior around here.

(No vintage globes or children were harmed in the taking of these pictures.)

I'm currently sitting in my cozy studio watching the snow fall outside and avoiding the aforementioned boxes of fabric that need stacking on the shelf. I hope you have a lovely, lovely weekend. The Modern Patchwork giveaway is open until Tuesday if you haven't entered yet!

Stay warm,
Rachel

p.s. We don't really put him up there when he gets in trouble. They were just having some fun. Brett is good at diffusing things when it's headed that way with S. Just in case some of you thought we left him up there by himself or something. ;)

Project ReStyle: Week Five

Check out Elsie's fun ReStyle this week! She remade a tacky 80's mannequin into something altogether different. See how she did it here and then check out some of my favorite home-themed restyles from our Flickr pool. They keep getting better and better!

Cookie Louise Pleaze


Miriam.Madmim


Skunkboy Creatures

I have a feeling I'll have quite a few ReStyles to post this month as we get closer to feeling settled in our new place and this group is keeping me motivated! Thanks for all of your fabulous submissions to the Flickr pool each week. Elsie and I love looking through them! If you didn't see last week's ReStyle it was brought to you by the fabulous Keiko Lynn.

xoxo,
Rachel

p.s. Modern Patchwork giveaway below!

Modern Patchwork Giveaway!

I'm giving away NOT ONE BUT THREE Modern Patchwork E-COURSES!

Modern Patchwork was designed with beginners in mind and includes NINE special projects that will not only build your confidence in your sewing skills, it will pretty much give you all the projects you need to give your favorite space a mini makeover!

Projects include:
Patchwork Chair Makeover
Stars in Your Eyes Pillow
Make a Statement Pillow
Striped Dino Plushie
Chevron Half Apron
Cross Your Heart Doll Quilt
Cutting Corners Lap Quilt
Hexagon Flower Block
Original Diamonds Are Forever Block
Make Your Own Binding Tutorial
An original bonus block!

Learn how to piece together strips to make a dino plushie and then move onto creating a simple star pillow! Take those techniques and your sewing confidence to tackle a simple quilt that is quite forgiving in the 'match up your corners' department! This e-course allows you to build from the most simple project until you're ready to tackle a patchwork chair makeover and your own statement pillow. I've taken the scary out of patchwork!

I not only give you step-by-step photos and directions, I share how you can customize your own projects to continue creating unique pieces for yourself and friends. You'll be able to search through resource links provided to continue to develop your style and help you learn what colors and patterns you are drawn to.

You'll learn how to make your own binding (as well as my super fast binding technique ) and discover the fun of paper piecing hexagons! You'll have access to two original patchwork block designs for quilting and links to some of my favorite online fabric retailers.

Tell your mama! Tell your friends!
You'll have a chance to enter to win ONE of THREE SPOTS in the following ways:

1. Leave a comment with your name.
2. Tweet about this giveaway and comment to let me know you have.
3. Blog about this giveaway and share the link in the comments section.
4. Share this giveaway on Facebook and link in the comments section.

Doing all four will give you FOUR times as many chances to win ONE of THREE SPOTS!

I'll be randomly selecting THREE lucky winners on Tuesday, February 8th so don't delay!

xoxo,
Rachel

Living Room Roundup

1)source, 2)source, 3)source, 4)source, 5)source
All originally found on Pinterest.

I'm totally attracted to pink in home decor but only as long as it's balanced with lots of white, some black, or pops of green and/or yellow. Lately I've been drawn towards softer muted tones and find myself wanting to repaint the pink lockers I've got sitting in my living room space. What once seemed perfectly bold feels a little obnoxious. I just have to wait for the temperatures to climb so I can take it outside and give it a makeover.

What colors are you drawn to when you're looking at interior design photos? Is it the same as the colors you notice in your closet or colors you choose for craft projects, etc?

xoxo,
Rachel

February is All About the Home

This month I'm excited to focus on the home over here at Smile and Wave. We're still settling in our new place and making it cozy and I'm planning on sharing a few works in progress and finished home projects as we go. My hope in all of this is to get things as finished as they can be by the end of the month in order to share a home tour!

I've also got two other home tours lined up, home decor inspiration, dream lists, a diy or two, and some personal posts on things I've learned as a renter. I'm looking forward to this month's content focus but will still be sharing regular features such as Vintage Here, Vintage There, Project ReStyle, Vintage Findings, and life at our house!

Thanks for stopping by! I'd like to welcome my new sponsors for the month of February and invite you to take a look at what they're all about. We're still snowed in in Springfield but it's looking beautiful outside today! Clear skies and tons of snow covering our neighborhood.

xoxo,
Rachel

The Only Time I Like Goodwill

I stopped in at Goodwill Sunday night to get out of the house with Ruby and almost tripped over this 5' x 7' rug from Target that was rolled up in the linen section. I had looked at the same rug at Target the month before when I was price checking every place in town and decided I'd better really know what I wanted before shelling out the dough.

Goodwill feels overpriced on their used, vintage stuff but their half-priced, new items from Target feel like a great deal.

Apparently, this rug has been claimed. Ruby and Sebastian have been lounging on the floor all day on this shaggy thing. It's made their room so much brighter and I love having something soft to sit on.

We came up with a new house rule, though. No eating, drinking, peeing, throwing up, sneezing, or wiping boogars on our new rug.

I resisted the idea of rugs for awhile after our Flor tiles got pretty dingy. I think a whole tile had a coffee stain on it. I know wool rugs have stain-repellent qualities but they just remind me of the eighties.

Whether you have kids or pets it's hard to keep the house pristine but you don't want to sacrifice some creature comforts right? How do you deal?

xoxo,
Rachel

Project ReStyle: Week Three Presents Stephen and Shauna of Something's Hiding In Here

This next project is the handiwork of the talented couple Stephen and Shauna of Something's Hiding In Here.

candle sticks made from salvaged spindles
inspired by our new years resolution to do more entertaining, we wanted to make our own candle sticks for a cozy dinner party. to get started we rummaged our studio and found some old architectural spindles. we hand cut them to length with a small japanese pull saw. then, drilled a hole into the top with a forstner bit to fit a small taper candle. that's it - so simple!
~Stephen and Shauna

I love the way they've not only given new life to old architectural pieces but styled them so well. They are truly a talented pair and always thinking up brilliant ideas. Thank you, Stephen and Shauna, for joining in on Project ReStyle! I'm off to look for a Forstner bit.

Here are a few of my favorite wardrobe ReStyles from the Flickr group.

Amorby.


The Velvet Bird


Heidi-And-Seek

It's been fantastic seeing how many members have joined up in the Project ReStyle Flickr Group! We're close to 1,000 people already! If you love turning something old into something new we'd love to see your projects. Ya'll are getting fancy over there!

xoxo,
Rachel

Modern Patchwork Is Coming Soon!

I'm so happy to finally be able to share my very first e-course, Modern Patchwork, with you! I've been cutting, stitching, and writing for weeks and it's finally available for purchase this Tuesday! Modern Patchwork includes nine patchwork projects with step-by-step tutorials that build on each other so that even beginning sewers can feel confident in their ability to stitch together a colorful lap quilt and then recover an ugly chair!

I cover all the tools you'll need, how to select and care for your fabrics, and a sweet story about my great-grandfather's star quilt in two videos, as well as my favorite binding technique and the simple steps involved in paper piecing. This class is designed for beginning sewers but even seasoned seamstresses will enjoy original templates for quilt blocks and one of my favorite projects, the Make A Statement Pillow.

It's been refreshing to be able to spend time working on these projects. I now have about fifteen quilt ideas floating in my head since I've been back in my studio! If you've been looking for something to help you with that desire to sew your first quilt or the structure that keeps you on track to finishing something crafty you may want to check back on Tuesday!

xoxo,Rachel

Holiday Instax Wreath

I brought my Instax Wide with me on our road trip to OKC and Dallas to see the entire side of my family. I'm hoping to be able to take a photo of each of them (as well as Brett's side) and then make a flip book for Ruby and Sebastian since they don't see everyone as often as any of us would like. Expect a little DIY in the future!

These are mostly photos I've taken since we've moved into our new home. I wanted a way to document this first Christmas that captured the random memories such as the sick kid dance party we had in our living room the morning before our road trip and the many things Ruby found her way into while we were unpacking. This green wreath was probably made to be a Christmas card holder but I found it at a thrift store and spray painted it green last year and decided to go with photos instead.

I've been keeping it up on the wall (no, we don't have all wood paneling. ha!) but couldn't get a picture without strange reflections on the photos. It's been fun to add a picture every few days and I'll date the backs and maybe start over for the new year. I love my Instax 210 and will never get over the feeling of instant photos in my hand. Thanks, Joe! (If anyone has this on their Christmas list, you're going to love it!)

We are currently enjoying perfect weather in OKC at my parent's house. Brett and Sebastian are outside playing ball and my mom is soaking in some grandbaby time with Ruby! Can I just say...I'm totally enjoying this little break in mama duty. Couldn't have come at a better time! Check back this evening for our Vintage Here, Vintage There post featuring outerwear!

xoxo,
Rachel