Guest Post: Flights of Whimsy!!!

And continuing with our theme of pure AWESOMENESS this week, we have Brandi from Flights of Whimsy! I'm so glad to have her here, this girl is super busy! Busy with amazing projects and making her house just freakin' fantastic...(c:

Hey there all you Bright and Beautiful readers! It's Brandi from Flights of Whimsy here. I was quite giddy when Aubrey emailed me as a new reader to my blog to ask me to participate in her series.

A home truly is such a lovely thing. A place where you hold all your memories, a place where you rest, a place where your family is. I feel that a home should reflect what is most meaningful to you. Now don't get me wrong, I can look at pretty decor pictures all day long, but it's purely for inspiration. Sometimes I think, "Who actually lives here?" when I see some spaces. Infusing your personal aesthetic into a space is so important. Here are just a few ways I've made my house a home.

Can't wait to find frames for these babies!

See how to make your own drippy painting here.

The best place to start for me is by making art with my own two hands. I remember complaining to a friend a mere few years ago about how expensive art was and she told me to make my own. Are you kidding?! I'm not that awesome! Turns out anyone can do it! I would have laughed at you a few years ago if you had told me the kinds of things I would be churning out.

Another must for our home is vintage furniture and accessories. They just add so much unique character that no other piece can come close to. I've had so much fun scouring the flea markets for things I need.

Lastly, I love all the color, print and pattern I've been able to use around my home. I could go crazy and end up having a house closely resembling a fiesta but luckily I'm able to restrain myself. I painted the gray stripes and blue frames to liven up a dark hallway leading to the bedrooms. My mom and I sewed our dining rooms curtains and the chairs are refurbs from good ole craig.

This is the first house my husband and I are turning into a home and it makes me so proud to work on it and see it evolve. There are many rooms and projects laying around to be finished but the fun is in the journey right?

Thanks so much Aubrey for having me! It's been a blast!

I am seriously coveting those gun sillouette DIYs...jealousy doesn't even cover it!!! Does anyone else think those things are just bad-A??? I just love all the little touches in her home and all the things she has done with just some creativity and her own two hands (c: Drop by and check out all the other fantastic projects on her fun blog...you will come back with brimming with ideas for great projects (like awesome gun sillouettes...I'm not obsessed.)

Thanks again for being here, Brandi!!!

And up tomorrow:

Irene from Design Stiles!

Guest Post: Wallpaper!!!

You know how there are just some people who have "the eye"??? No, not like your mother when you are doing something she hates (c:  Y'know, *the eye* for DESIGN...that is my guest Liz today from her wonderful blog Wallpaper...she has got the gift! Her home is so amazing and I am so very impressed at how she has utilized every inch (and every penny) to it's absolute best!

Hi there everyone! I'm Liz from Wallpaper blog and I am so thrilled to be apart of this great series today.

I have been in my home for three years now and I live with my single parent mother and my sister. The home was in bad shape when we first got it. The place needed a lot of TLC but I feel we’ve finally been able to make it into a home that we all love. Of course there are always a few things that need fixing and updating but for the most part we are very happy with all of our hard work and the outcome so far.

We didn't have a lot of money to throw into décor and design after all of the major reno’s like brand new electrical, heating, central air, floors, plumbing and landscaping. So we scoured local vintage and antique shops, craigslist and sometimes even our street to see what people were tossing. Our dining room sideboard is a perfect example of this, it was a secondhand find on Kijiji that I refinished myself. Everyone who ever comes over comments on how great it is, and I love that it is such a statement piece!

A lot of the décor in my home is DIY, or from big box stores that I’ve modified. But it makes me appreciate it all even more because I’ve had a hand in creating it!

Our bamboo dining chairs are actually from craigslist and I refinished and reupholstered them. The taupe parsons dining chairs are from Costco and I added nail head trim to them to make them unique and add some glam! even the zebra print table runners are homemade!

This wall unit is actually from Ikea, my sister and I just played around with separate book shelf pieces and found a configuration we liked and screwed the entire thing together and of course anchored it all to the wall. We love that it hides all the TV components and our DVD collection, but yet the two taller bookshelves with glass fronts display some of our favourite things! Another bonus, the shelving is super shallow and doesn't take up what little space we already have, so we get the look of a custom built in when it's really not.

The painting on the right side is actually a custom piece done by my sister.My sister paints abstract artwork and I also always use her beautiful creations instead of buying art because not only is it free but it’s custom made to match the rest of the space.

I tend to lean towards neutral spaces with hints of colour in accessories and accents. Everyone is different but for my family and me we feel it is easier for us to switch up throw pillows, and accessories from season to season if we have a neutral base to work with.

one of my favourite spaces is my room. I love the calming and neutral palette and all the glam elements!

In my room the closet on the left had doors all the way to the ceiling, I took the top doors off and used the space as a bookshelf. I have a lot of books and not much space! I also utilized empty nooks to put a small desk, which is actually a console table that I use as my desk. I live in a small bungalow with tiny rooms, but despite this I still fit a double bed with side table, desk with chair, dresser and reading nook with larger chair into my room

 love my inspiration boards that I made myself, they make me smile!

all of the chairs in my room were refinished and reupholstered by me as well as the dresser and desk

inexpensive frames that I used to create a gallery wall

Another thing I love to do is to decorate with things I love to see, surround yourself with pretty and beautiful things and trust me you will always feel great in your home!

for my sister's room we took an Ikea dresser and changed out the hardware. We spray painted the mirror's frame silver and refinished and reupholstered the zebra print chair. 

We built a gallery wall with pictures of things she loved. I just went online and found a lot of the pictures and printed them on photo paper.

We also displayed things she loved on a double shelf from Ikea

this little baby was also a vintage find that I reupholstered

I love to shop at HomeSense (known as HomeGoods in the states) because well, who doesn't love to save money! Plus they always have some trendy pieces that can update your space instantly.

In the bathroom... everything in here is brand new, it was all in such bad shape it all had to go.

apothecary jars filled with bath goodies

DIY artwork on the walls

glam elements yet again!

adding texture with rugs

and last but not least, the backyard...

spray painted this old wicker love seat

I love our little deck, it's great for entertaining and having friends over for BBQ!

got this whole set from Walmart and added my own accessories, the garden stool I spray painted to match my pillows

this baby we built for extra storage, the backyard was actually a complete overhaul, we started with just a dirt ground and added plants, grass and everything else!

Holy that was a long post, sorry! but I hope you all enjoyed taking a peak inside my home and all the elements that make it unique to me :)

Thanks so much, Liz! I'm pretty sure that I have a serious case of the wants for that wallpaper in her sister's room...I am a blue fiend! (c: Can you believe what they have done with the place?

Amazing, A-mazing, *AMAZING*!

Did I mention I thought it was great? (c:

Up tomorrow:

Brandi from Flights of Whimsy!

Guest Post: Beau Lifestyle!!!

Beau Lifestyle

Life is beau, style is beau but decorating is formidable!

First off, I have to appologise to Chantal...because of my technology handicap, this was the best I could do getting her banner over here. Whoops!

But I am ready to start this series off with a BANG! and Chantal from Beau Lifestyle is just the gal to do it. As soon as I laid eyes on images of her beautiful pad, I knew I would like her (c: She is super duper sweet and crazy talented at making her home absolutely fabulous...

Hi there, I am Beau lifestyle and Aubrey from All Things Bright and Beautiful asked me to write my first guest post, I feel very honored to be her guest and happy to have made a new friend.

I have always loved decorating, painting, DIY (even before i knew it was called diy) and waking up early to go to antique markets.
I thought I was an odd duck untill I discovered the world of blogging, which changed my life.
I feel among friends, who understand me that I can get all excited about an old table I found at the road side, we share the same potential to see the beauty in things.

 I try to go to antique markets, shops whenever I am travelling, especially going to English carboothsales, is a wonderfull experience. It´s a well organized event of people selling antiques, vintage stuff and junk from their booth of their car.


I got most of these antique decanters from England, the antler bottle opener I bought on ebay and the ice cooler and coasters was a gift from my beau boyfriend. I call him beau boyfriend because he is very handsome looking, he was my biggest DIY project as his mother bought him ugly clothes before, I helped him find his style.  (Aubrey: I am *DYING* laughing right now...hilarity at it's finest!)

These two foodogs make me happy when I see them, almost a year ago I stared blogging and this was the first inspired buy that I got from blogging. Now they hold some books and they add a pop of colour to our livingroom.

Our bedroom is a little bit more neutral with warm tones as beige, offwhite, gold and silver tones. I need it to be comfortable and cozy. The sunburst mirror I bought in a vintage store during travelling, the small cushion is a Nate Berkus cushion bought on ebay, the fabric of our headboard is from Calicocorners.

Love having fresh herbs in the kitchen, it adds such more flavour to a home made dish.

The herbgarden was a gift from my mother.

 My mother was the biggest influence for me liking design and decoration.

Another love is having fresh flowers in the house, especially hyacints for their smell. I like using other objects as vases. Here I used a vintage glass ice bucket.

The tray I got from Zara home, wich is a great shop, you never leave empty handed.

The two faux bamboo chairs were one of my latest projects that I got upholstered.

The faux coral vase was one of my first things I have bought for our apartment many years ago, now I see it quite often in decorating magazines.

The odd but pretty chandelier is from Moooi design and the plate from Fornasetti was my chrismas present from beau boyfriend. The fornasetti plate winks everytime I see her, such a positive start of the day.

We did invested in a good renovation, a new kitched, wooden floors and designer lamps, but the almost the rest of our home is second hand, bought on sale, thrifted, ebay bought, vintage or DIY.

I am happy that beau boyfriend told me that i could style our apartment the way I wanted. Now we have a home that we both feel comfortable and happy in.

Thank you Aubrey, for this oportunity to share a bit more of our home.

I'm still kind of giggling from the comments about her Beau boyfriend and his ugly-mom-chosen wardrobe!

If you haven't already checked out her fantastic blog, you will definitely not regret it...I will warn you now, you're going to love it! (c:

And up tomorrow:

Liz from Wallpaper!!!

And on a completely unrelated note:

How cute are my earrings from IHOD? They are so stinkin' cute, love them! Thanks Anna!