The Incredibly {neutral} Holiday Wish List

Looking for last minute ideas for the women in your life? Here are some of the items on my wish list this year! Due to the popularity ranking on these items this year (the amount of them flying off the shelves) - chances are lots of these items will be swooned over by most women. Okay so I might be following the trends this year - bite me. Who doesn't love a neutral collage of beautiful items? Hunter rain boots, north face (or other brand) puff coats, and low top sneakers are popular wish list items this year. I'd be surprised if you haven't seen one of these items on a list you've received. Throw in the timeless, versatile and incredibly comfortable PIKO top, a druzy necklace and you've got a list! I also have a fun storage box I plan to use in my kitchen, and a geometrical charcoal rug for the living room (75% off at rugsusa.com!). You should be able to order all of these items and still get them in by Christmas if you choose overnight or 2 - day shipping!! So send your last minute men on over and show them exactly what you want for Christmas! These also make great gifts for sisters and friends!

Tonnero Women's Jacket

Piko Tops

Seacoast Sneaker

Hunters

Storage Box

Druzy Necklace

Clipped Net Rug

Decorate your {Christmas Tree} on a BUDGET

Here it is..How to decorate your christmas tree on a budget.

Yes - this is a real thing.. being on a budget but still wanting to make the house feel like a winter wonderland. This is our first Christmas together in our house - so this is the first Christmas tree we've had. From what I can tell this demands some basic necessities that we just didn't have. A tree stand, some lights on a green cord, tree skirt, etc, etc. So I'm going to share with you how we did it - without having a tree that looks really bare.

I'm not really a fake tree kinda person. I love the experience of going to the Christmas Tree Farm and picking the 'perfect' tree so your husband can try to saw it down with a handsaw, while the rest of the family stands around complaining because they're so cold and out of hot chocolate. I want the smell pine throughout my house while I wrap presents and watch Christmas movies, and I want pine needles stuck in all my fuzzy sweaters. I want endless watering of a tree that is going to dry out anyway and turn into a giant fire hazard. This is what we always did growing up, and this is what I hope for my family!

So we began by going to a Tree Farm. The address led us to someones house.. in the middle of a neighborhood. The phone number was out. So we drove to another Christmas Tree Farm - one that we'd heard lots about. It was closed. The day after Thanksgiving at 3pm - a big giant "Sorry We're Closed" sign out front. Really?! So... we went to Lowe's. Yep.

We tried to pretend we were at a tree farm.. I even got a picture of my husband choosing the 'perfect tree'.

They had trees for as low as $28, but we chose the $35 one that looked a little healthier. While we were there we picked up a tree stand - since we've never had a tree we didn't have a tree stand hanging out in out storage room. Another $15. Well that was quick! We're already at $50.

We got the tree up and went to hobby lobby to pick up a couple things. Lights. I bought 3 packs of lights for $4.99 each and used a 40% off coupon. It wasn't enough to drown the tree in lights, but gives a similar effect. ;) I also bought some red berry sprigs to stick throughout the tree, they were 50% of $1.59. We're now at {$65.00}.

I glitter sprayed some branched from the back yard in gold glitter.. and also sprayed a giant 'K'. These added a little sparkle to the tree without breaking the budget.

As far as ornaments.. My Mom had bought us one each year growing up - several of which were broken by now - but she gave me what was left! Maybe 10-15 ornaments. I had several glass balls that I had decorated in college, so we used those as well. We got a few Christmas ornaments as wedding presents last year, which helped. And my Mom had a box of 12 small ornaments that were on my Grandma and Grandpa's Christmas Tree when my Dad grew up. That was cool! They are from the 50s, and fit in great with our house! They are super cute hand blown glass, multi colored ornaments. This is about all we had to put on our tree.

Until.. Christmas cards starting arriving! I found a great way to fill in the holes in the tree! It has been really fun having them on our tree because we get to see them all the time. We didn't have another great place to put them except maybe my office, where they wouldn't get seen as much. 

I also had 3 'berry wreaths' from last year. They are about 8in. in diameter. I wasn't using them anywhere else in the house so I threw them on the tree to fill up space and they look really cute! They added some color and consistency to the tree. This was one of those things my husband looked and me and thought "What they hell are you about to do with those" about. Once they were up he loved them! He has a lot of faith in me, but often doesn't see 'it' until it's done. ;)

As far as a tree skirt.. I had great intentions. I planned to do the whole large round antique watering tin thing. But I didn't find one in time! Plus that would have just been more cash. We actually didn't use a tree skirt. I got some presents wrapped pretty quick and we just filled up the bottom of the tree with the presents we were already going to be buying! This helped save some $ as well!

We didn't have a tree topper this year either. I really wanted one, but never found one I loved and didn't want to rush it! Maybe I'll find one in an after Christmas sale. For now we just have a big bow at the top of the tree. Since I didn't buy ribbon to wrap the whole tree in this brought in the plaid ribbon that I love!

So there ya go! Our $65 REAL Christmas tree. It's cozy and it's real and we love it. I am so happy we were able to do a tree this year! I plan to buy some things after Christmas this year in anticipation on next year! One day out tree will be too full, but for now, we've used what we've found and is cheap/free!

I'd love to see your Christmas tree and hear about any tricks you used this year! Please share them on our Facebook page!! :))

DIY Coffee Filter Wreath

As promised... a DIY christmas (+ other seasons) wreath! 

What you'll need: 

1 styrofoam wreath - I used a 12in. preferably white

3-400 small coffee filters

hot glue

1 large ribbon

pen or pencil

I had ribbon and hot glue, the other 2 items cost me under $7 total. The wreath I got at Hobby Lobby and used a (CLASSIC) 40% coupon on my phone. The coffee filters were $1.32 for 100 at Target, I got 3 of those. This is probably the cheapest wreath I've ever made! 

This is probably the easiest wreath ever! I promise any of you can do this and make it look great. You may have seen them on Pinterest before or even another tutorial.. but here is my self experienced version! 

Once your hot glue gun is warmed up you can begin! First thing's first. put a coffee filter over the pen and straighten it out like below. 

Put a dab of hot glue at the tip of the coffee filter 'cone' you just made and use the pen to stick it to the inside of the wreath. You're not going to want to use too much glue, the more you use the longer it takes to dry.. and you could end up spending a lot of time pressing the pen into the wreath form. 

It'll be easiest to start in the inside of the wreath, make a circle all the way around, and then start another layer. I first made the mistake of trying a cluster... not a good idea. Follow the flow of the circle and it will be a lot easier! Once you make it all the way around the top, flip it over and again work from the interior out. 

The beauty of this wreath is that it's not supposed to look perfect! Some of the filters will stick out further than others, and that's OKAY! Just continue working the layers until the whole wreath form is full! I suppose you could leave the back unfinished if you plan to hang it on a wall, but I was uncertain if I'd want mine hanging on on of my glass doors where you'd see both sides so I wanted to complete both sides. 

Tie a beautiful ribbon on it, find a place to hang it and Wah - la! You just made a gorgeous easy - peasy wreath! It is time consuming and may take a couple hours.. I encourage you not to rush it! Take a break and come back if you need to. The biggest mistake I made was leaning it against my baseboard heating while I ran to Marshall's.. I came home and some of the glue has melted, allowing the coffee filters to fall off. Whoops! and duh, who does that?! I easily glued them back on and all is well. :) 

If you need a cute puppy to take your 'complete' picture with let me know.. I know a few places you could find one! ;) 

I feel like I'm almost cheating choosing the easiest DIY wreath ever.. but this is a wreath I've been wanting to make myself for a long time! And who can beat $7?! I plan on leaving it just like this through the winter, when spring comes I'll probably tie a spring-y ribbon on it and call it a spring wreath! 

Happy Holidays!!

Brittney

Follow up!

I have some updates to follow up the last blog post! 

To follow up the 'glam bedroom' I've been doing for one of my youngest clients (17) I can finally share the final design board! We are in the process of ordering, and I will share more when the room is complete. So far the headboard and pillows are in.  We may still make some adjustments along the way, but I can't wait to see this room when it is done! This was a fun project because the client had a very good idea of what she wanted and helped me along the way. I would give her 3-4 options for most things and she chose what she liked the best. It was a lot of fun! 

Another project to follow up on was the photos I took for my Mom and Dad's home. They came in about ... 7 days later than they were supposed to and were a hassle to get ahold of. I ordered them from overnightprints.com and paid rush delivery (over $35!!) to get them in quickly. I was not satisfied when they didn't come in overnight! I think they turned out pretty neat though, and the quality was great. 

I am planning to get some updated photos of the progress in our home soon and can't wait to share it! Blogging time has been few and far between lately.. I was happy just to squeeze this quick post in.

Talk soon.

Brittney

This Week at Kassel Home

What a busy week! My apologies for such a long stretch in between blog posts. Whoops!

I wish I had a complete project to share with the blogging world, but I just don't. This week consisted of working on the 'meat' of several projects I'm currently in the middle of, and resulted in no completed results. So as it is the end of the week I'm going to give you an over view of some of the more FUN things that have happened throughout the week. Hope these projects are inspiring!

One : CHRISTMAS DECORATING

Yes! Some designers really hate this time of year, Christmas decorations can be tedious and time consuming. Not to mention they are hardly a permanent display of talent. I, on the other hand, really enjoy it. Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and although decor installation jobs are usually temp jobs, I love the creativity it allows. This week I spent time with Designer Anne Tuckley, placing the many Christmas displays around The Broadway Hotel. This meant lots of lights, fishing line, magnets,snowflakes, trees, fishing HOOKS - the shark grade ones, and tons and tons of glitter! I wish I had taken some pictures.. but guess what - I didn't. Just know when you drive by The Broadway Hotel (on Broadway) some of my blood, sweat and tears went into hanging those beautiful flashing lights :P.

Two : DESIGN WORK

This is fun! I've been working on a local project, which has happened before.. the fun part of this one is that it is a teenage bedroom! Teenage rooms are fun because they allow for a creativity and fun aspect that you can't always pull into the rest of the house. Such as the colors magenta and violet. However this room is going to be nothing like that, her inspiration comes from those glam rooms you see on Pinterest. Mirrored furniture, neutral colors, GOLD, classy lighting - you know the just. I can't show you the design board for this room yet, since I have yet to present it to the client. However as soon as it is 'public' you'll be the first to see! I will however share a couple of my favorite pieces with you... these will both be in the initial design. A fun mirrored bedside table, and a large gold deer mount, I wonder if your mind can imagine a complete design with these items in it!?

Three : PHOTOS

So I've been working on a project for my Momma. We did a large sideboard in her living room, and she wanted some photos of the family above it. But not traditional pictures, she wanted pictures that looked 'candid', and contained some of the family pets, but also some of the people. Pictures that looked as if they were taken by mistake and weren't always recognizable. The inspiration photos she showed me were fuzzy pictures of children and animals playing. Anyway.. we did a couple photo shoots, and also did some cropping on a couple of wedding photos to get a combination of pictures we thought would look good together. We took the saturation levels down quite a bit so they were touching the edge of black and white, but still had color to them.

I think they turned out to be quite unique and will look neat once installed! Once again, these are on order so I can't show you the finished product until next week sometime! This is how a lot of my job happens, little pieces at a time. Lots of anxiously awaiting pieces to come in, or to find the perfect item you've been searching for. Try to be patient with me, I know it's not easy!  :) 

Four : GUEST BEDROOM 

So our guest bedroom is something I've been working on for a while. It seems like every piece of furniture that gets kicked out of the rest of the house gets sent to the guest bedroom. So it's become a compilation of things we don't know what to do with! To make matters worse, we both have our second closets in the guest bedroom, which means it is often treated like a dressing room for us. We lay things out on the bed when we're getting ready, and often don't put them away immediately.

 I want our guest bedroom to be just as cozy as the rest of the house, and be a place that our guests can come and feel at home in. The last thing I want is for them to feel like I shoved them in a closet, or like they are staying in a compilation of what didn't look good in the rest of the house. To me it's a room that I have put a lot of thought into making a comfortable oasis for people coming to visit us, or just stopping through as they travel. With the holidays coming up I have felt extra in tuned to making this room a cozy get away, so that if we do have holiday guests (which is quite likely with our large families!) they find themselves in a place they want to come back to! 

I'll try to get some better pictures of it as it comes together more! But this is the progress I've made in the past couple of weeks. 

Coming up soon I am planning a couple of Christmas blogs! (Yay!) I'm not sure if I will have enough time to get a thanksgiving post done, unfortunately. But I'm doing a DIY Christmas Project to share, and also show you some of the stuff I've done in my house / decorating on a budget. Something like that. :P 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

Cherish this wonderful time with your loved ones. 

XOXO , 

Brittney

Every house I've been in has some kind of open shelving. Built ins, dining room hutches,  or free standing book shelves. The reason every house has them is because they are convenient, beautiful, and are a great focal point for the room that brings your eyes to the height of ceiling.

Believe it or not, most of the bookshelves I encounter are in major need of some HELP! 

There are 3 kinds of book shelvers ... The 'book shelves are for books' person, who has every square centimeter or the shelving stuffed with books. It looks something like this..

Photo from http://www.friscoquiltguild.org

The 'over decorator', who is pretty sure they need to put lots and lots of things on their bookshelf so that it looks full. and eclectic. and cluttered. See below for more detail.

Photo by Brittney Kassel of Kassel Home

And the 'practical shelvers', whom take it upon themselves to keep practical items on their shelving, books, eyeglasses, diapers.. computers, cell phone chargers, dog treats... I could go on and on. You can probably imagine what this looks like.. 

The truth is, your shelving units should be a true balance of books, shelving and 'less is more'. Bookshelves will look great when there is a true color scheme throughout. Yes to books, yes to accessories. Maybe no to practical items... sorry practical shelvers! If for spacial reasons you need to store practical things on your shelving, baskets are a great option.

Here are some shelves I have done for clients. This built in office shelving was my favorite! We painted the room Peppercorn by Sherwin Williams, we did new lighting from Restoration Hardware, and redid the bookshelves. The books are from flea markets! They are gorgeous antique books and we wanted a warm color scheme to go well with the walls. The hurricanes are a steal from Ashley Furniture, tray is from Target, picture frame, book ends, and moss balls were current items.

Photo by Brittney Kassel of Kassel Home

Photo by Brittney Kassel of Kassel Home

Photo by Brittney Kassel of Kassel Home

These shelves are a great balance of decorated but still clean. There is a clear color scheme and aesthetically pleasing spacial planning. 

Here is another shelf I did for a client. This built in was overstuffed with books and TONS of accessories. The plan for this house was to declutter. We took well over half of the items off of this book shelf and bought NOTHING new to add. Using items a client has can be great but also challenging. It works because it usually keeps with the flow of the home, but can also be hard because you have to work with what you have and sometimes you don't have what you need. This shelving unit is amazing and it would be hard for it not to look beautiful! 

Photo by Brittney Kassel of Kassel Home

Here are some great items to have when you get ready to redo your shelves are :

1) Books, lots of books.. but pretty books. You will usually need more than you think.

2) Book ends

3) Picture frames. Not too many, but enough. sets are great too.

4) Initial blocks - in our family we use 'K'

5) Candle sticks or holders with or without candles, guess what - you're not going to light them.

6) Accessories! These can be seasonal or items you'd use all year, just be sure you follow a scheme.


If you have any questions or would like help with you shelving contact me today and we will get you on the calendar! Email me at brittneykassel@gmail.com .

XO and Happy Halloween!

Brittney 

White - Washed Cottage Design

Interestingly enough this project blog seems to go hand in hand with the content of the previous blog!  How fun. :)

I am in the process of being a consultant for a living room re - design. One of the hardest decisions for the client and myself has been over a piece of beautiful furniture she has, that she wanted to use but just didn't work in the room I designed for her. We did so much of the room before redoing the piece, seeing if we could bring it into the design and make it work. We came to the conclusion that if it were going to stay in the room, the color was going to have to be changed. She loved the original design I did for her and I knew that to get the look she really wanted, we needed to stick to it. Thank goodness she is thrilled with the final decision ( or I might be fired ;) ) 

Here is the BEFORE

Clearly a beautiful piece, but didn't fit into the white - washed cottage we are trying to create. Now you see what it 'hurt' a little to paint it.

Here is the AFTER

 I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. I havent't been redoing as much furniture lately. I have really been focusing on the design side of things. So this was a really fun project for me to get my hands dirty on! It turned out exactly as we both hoped and is not really a center point for the whole room! 

What I did was 2 coats of Benjamin Moore Dove Wing, and then did some gentle distressing. I didn't was it to look torn and worn, just old. My client wanted to see this piece done before the completion of ordering. Now that the piece is done and is everything she hoped for, we will begin ordering the wall art and accessories for this beautiful console. Can't wait to show you guys the finished room! 

Happy Monday, 

Brittney

To Paint, or Not to Paint?

Have you ever had a piece of furniture that you just COULDN'T decide what to do with? There's sort of a stigma that if a piece of wooden furniture is in good condition that you will 'ruin' it by painting it.

When I paint, for a client or myself, I am usually painting pieces that are worn wood, or already have a layer of paint over them. Some I could strip down and re-stain, but oftentimes we choose paint because it's a) cheaper b) easier c) currently trending.

But when you have a beautiful piece of furniture is it a sin to paint it? The answer is - no. The truth is painted furniture has been trending for years, and it will likely be in style for a long time. Look at some of your popular big brands like PotteryBarn, Ballard Designs, Crate and Barrel and West Elm. They have loads of painted furniture. The only real dilemma is 'what's going to look better in my room?'. As long as you pick a neutral tone (white, tans, grays, black) it is going to stand the test of time. Not to mention, in 10 years if the trend sways from white to black, you can paint it again! Just be sure you pick a lasting color, no pink, lime green, blue... well, you get the picture people. If you're going for a 'cottage' style color you can do greens, blues, etc., but you'll want to do a more mild hue.

Here's a few ways you can be sure you pick a great color for your room. These tests work for painting anything!

1. The Sheet Test

Not sure if you like a black or white console in your room? No problem! Run upstairs to your linen closet, grab a couple big sheets. No, the color of the sheet will not patch your paint color exactly, but it will give you an idea of what will look best in your room. Lay your sheet over the piece of furniture. Leave it there for a few hours while you work around the house and glance in when you walk by the room. Does the white look to light? Does the black make a statement in the room?

2. Fake yourself out

So you like white, but need to see it another way. Grab a white piece of furniture from another room in your house. A bench, a coffee table, doesn't matter what it is. Put it in your spot and make sure you still like the color. 

3. Paint the Back

Okay so you chose white. Or maybe you didn't, maybe you chose white and tan and you can't decide what color will look best. One of the best wants to see what it will look like is test it on the back of the furniture. Go through the whole process. Try one coat, and then two, try a white wash, or maybe sanding on the edges. Figure out what you really like on the piece before you put it in a noticeable spot! 

4. Don't think about it too much

After all, it's just a piece of furniture. In hindsight you'll either paint it or you won't. You might paint it again, or wish you'd never painted it. But you might love it and feel accomplished about overcoming your fear and taking the jump! In comparison to life, it's not that big of a deal. So I say.. 

PAINT IT! 

Oh! As promised... we have an announcement to make! The winner of our virtual design drawing is...

MEAGAN KIERSEY!

Congratulations! I will be contacting you soon to arrange your consultation. :)

GiVeAwAy !

Oh my goodness! 

Since launching the new website yesterday we have had close to 1000 page visitors! Like, I'm pretty sure we'll hit 1000 by the end of the day - close. 

I am shocked and so very thankful that so many people are interested in seeing what we are up to! 

In response to all of positive energy I am going to do a GiVeAwAy!! 

This is a big deal. I am giving away 1 FULL Virtual Style design! You can find the details under 'Styling and Design Services'. It will be good for 1 full room. The best part about this giveaway is you don't have to be local to win! This is the first time I've offered a full package giveaway and it could be a while before it happens again, so don't miss it! 

For any friends who like our Facebook Page, and SHARE a link to the giveaway post from our Facebook page, your name will be entered. The drawing will happen Friday, October 9th at 4:30pm so get entered soon! 

In the spirit of virtual design boards, I'm sharing this one I did for a nursery recently ( no, not for my house ) ! The soft colors of this nursery with small pops of pink will make a perfect, calming place for Momma and baby girl to bond. I am so excited to be a part of creating such an beautiful, intimate place in a home! 

Also, who noticed the girl's name in the merchandise picture is 'Ripley'? Cute? I think it is. 

If you are looking to do a nursery in the next, eh, 9 months, let me know and I would be happy to help you, or let you know where I got any of the items in this design board! 

We will announce our winner via Facebook and also in our next blog post..

GOOD LUCK! 

Welcome.

Welcome to Kassel Home Blog!! 

Some unexpected issues with our prior website turned out to be a great thing, because it brought us here. 

Are you ready to see all of my projects for clients, and on our own home?! 

I will be posting several of my design and styling projects on here, as well as other useful home information/ DIY ideas etc. 

Be sure to 'follow' this blog by email. Keep up with my projects on Pinterest and Instagram, and share on whatever social media outlets you prefer! Oh, and I promise you won't get e-mails every day (I'll be lucky if I get a new post up once a week). 

So grab a cup of coffee, relax, and come back often.