Happy first day of Spring! Although it hardly feels like spring today…Chicago is cold! There were even little snow flurries this evening. I am so over winter. Is it ever going to end?
I'm definitely feeling a bit stir crazy, especially after spending a few days here, so I bought a bouquet of my favorite flowers to help get rid of these wintertime blues. Aren't they pretty? They add a lovely bit of springtime happiness to the apartment.
The great photo wall is no more. After all that planning and inspiration gathering I decided I wanted something else. Surprise, surprise! Thank goodness I have a patient husband who is willing to let me change things up as often as I like. We replaced the photo wall with this vintage school map that I found on etsy. I absolutely love it...at least for now!
One great thing about this map is that it covers all the holes in the wall. The other great thing is that we're brushing up on our US geography. In no time at all we'll be able to list ALL the state capitals! We thought we knew them but once Ebert and I started quizzing each other we realized that our 5th grade knowledge has escaped us.
I love the color that it adds to the room. Now, I just need to find some awesome kitchen chairs. I'd love a mix and match look like this or just white chairs like this. Also, it's a great conversation piece. We had a Groundhog Day party (which I'll blog about soon) and everyone kept standing in front of the map, pointing things out and talking about it. I love a piece of art that is also educational!
I've been looking for a nightstand for Ebert's side of the bed for quite some time. I wanted one with a drawer like this but couldn't find one small enough for a Chicago-sized bedroom. Then I saw this project on lark & linen. These wine crates have been waiting to be turned into something awesome and this was the perfect project for them.
What do you think?
I would have liked the wall to look more like one of these designs but I didn't have enough variety of frames and by the time I got around to hanging the frames I could no longer return them so I just went with what I had instead of buying new ones. I'll be honest it's a somewhat daunting (and expensive) task deciding what pictures to put in what frames and how to hang them. There are still some pictures I want to change out and I'm also going to change a couple frames so it's not so matchy matchy, but all-in-all I think it's a good first attempt at a photo wall.
Next time I will only buy wall hanging frames and not the frames with the easel backs that can hang on the wall or stand up- that was one of my mistakes with this project which made the task of hanging the frames in a straight line very frustrating. I will also insist that Ebert use a level when hanging pictures. He swore he didn't need one, but he did! You might have noticed that some of the frames are a bit crooked that's because this wall is by our back door so every time we open and close the door the frames shift. Annoying! We have to put something sticky behind the frames to keep them from moving, so next time I will not be hanging this many pictures by a door.
Even though this project took forever and there were some major frustrations along the way, it's nice to finally cross this off of my list. Now...on to the next project!
