January 05, 2011

Virtual Home Design iPhone App

I've always wished there was a way to "try on" items for your home before you buy them, just like you can try on clothes or shoes at the store.  Well, the iPhone commercial was right- "there's an app for that!"  I just came across this absolutely amazing iPhone app called SnapShop Showroom.  It lets you virtually visualize how certain products will look in your home using the camera feature of your iPhone (you can check out the item's dimensions and price too).

They don't have a wide selection of stores built in, but they have a pretty decent amount of products from Pier 1 Imports, CSN stores, and a few other places.  At the least, it's cool to visualize how a certain product will look in your home, even if you don't buy that exact one.

First you select the room you're trying to visualize:


Then you can dive into the type of product you want to virtually "try on."


Check out the awesome way I was able to visualize something to put on an empty wall:




I got my iPhone just a couple of months ago and am still on the search for cool new apps, but this app takes the cake so far.  If you're on the iPhone bandwagon, what apps do you love?

Thanks to Curbly for tipping me off about this awesome app.  By the way, I wasn't compensated in anyway or asked to review this app- I just thought it was really cool and wanted to share!

January 04, 2011

Fessing Up: 2010's Resolutions

This time last year, I put together a list of what I like to call New DIYear Resolutions – household projects I wanted to accomplish in 2010.  Now that it’s a year later, it’s time to take a look back at how we did.  I’ll be sharing updated photos on each of these goals soon,  but for now here’s the scoop on how the year went.

Get Organized:  My first resolution was to get organized.  This wasn’t to be an overnight job, but something I did throughout the year to get organized and stay that way.  I’m happy to say that I made some great progress on this resolution and cleaned out some closets, drawers, and came up with a better system to organized my household paperwork (you can check out some of my home organization projects here).

However, there are definitely still areas of the house that could use organizing.  I think this is one of those goals where there’s always room for improvement and better solutions will always come about as we live and learn, so this resolution is staying on my list for 2011.  I’ll be sharing some more of the organizing techniques I came up with in 2010 soon, but this goal isn't going anywhere in 2011.




Finish Updating Our Kitchen:  Check!  We installed a new backsplash, granite countertops, sink, and painted.  There’s still the eternal debate of if we should paint, stain, or leave our cabinets alone, but other than that the kitchen is in pretty good shape.  It’s about time I shared some new photos though!


New Fireplace Mantle:  Another check!  We installed a wider fireplace mantle shelf to add some style and function to our builder’s grade mantle.  I really enjoyed styling the new mantle for Christmas this year.  I still want to paint over the brass accents and tiling the black surround still sounds appealing, but for now we’ve definitely taken a step in the right direction with the fireplace.


Front Yard Landscaping: Just a few months ago we tackled our front entrance by adding a stone paver walkway and removing some boring looking shrubs (check out part 1 and part 2 of this project).  I still owe everyone updated photos of this endeavor, but in the meanwhile check out the sneak peak below of our new walkway.  However by the time we finished installing the walkway, it was too late in the season to plant new shrubs and flowers so that is definitely on our to-do list for the Spring.


Home Office Update:  Another check!  I’ve been a little mysterious about this goal, but I’ve been secertly revamping my home office space which I’ll be sharing soon.  For now, I'll just say that it involves an old desk, white paint, and very cute new accessories!

Basement Improvement:  Fail!  This is the one goal we didn’t do much with last year.  My goal was to come up with some creative solutions to make the space look more finished without actually finishing it (with paint, fabrics, etc) but I have yet to come up with a good solution.  However we did add some shelving units which gave us more functional storage, but I’d still like to do something to add some style to the basement.  This one is going back on the list for 2011.

How did you do with your 2010 resolutions?  Are you making new resolutions for this year?  Stay tuned, I'll be sharing my 2011 New DIYear resolutions soon.

January 03, 2011

Happy New Year 2011!



Happy New Year!  Wishing you a wonderful 2011!  I hope you also had a very fun New Year’s Eve, but didn’t party too hard like this guy:




I’m excited to jump into 2011 and in the words of Barney Stintson it’s going to be legendary!  I have a lot of great projects and other fun planned for this year and am excited to share it with all of you.


But I always love the inspiration and awesome project ideas I see online, so if you have any projects you’d like to share, please email me and I’d love to feature them here.

Thank you to everyone for reading and following my blog in the past year and I hope you stick around for the fun we’re about to have in 2011.  Happy New Year!