Fabulous Frenchie Finds - French Bulldog Inspired Decor and More

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Hello, friends!  I don't think I've officially introduced you to my dog, Gordon.  Before I laid eyes on this guy nine almost nine years ago (wow, time flies when you're constantly cleaning up pee!), I had never even heard of a French Bulldog.  Now, my favorite part of the morning is catching up on my blog reading (I'd never heard of a blog nine years ago, either) with my buddy curled up beside me.  I'm not sure if it's my heightened sense of awareness, or if the breed is gaining popularity, but Frenchies seem to be everywhere now.  In order to avoid looking like a crazy cat lady, or crazy canine lady, in this case, I have to restrain myself when I see all the adorable Frenchie items popping up in all of my favorite stores.  Here's a sampling of some of my favorites.

PBTeen

 

Ballard Designs

 

 

PBTeen

 

 

 

 I spotted this print at my local Home Emporium (read about HE here).  If I recall correctly, it was around $50.  You can also get it at Overstock.com for $179.99 (WHAT?!?!).

 

 

I recently saw this guy at my local Target store.  Sorry, but I couldn't find an online link.

 

ChickDesignBoutique on Etsy can make custom designs/logos with your dog.  Guess which one is my favorite.

I'm not sure I would know what to do with a weather vane, but Overstock.com has this cool looking one with a French bulldog theme.

 

 

I'm so bummed that this little guy is no longer available.  I would totally risk looking like a crazy canine lady for him.

 

 

I think I need one of these darling iPhone cases from Miss Piggy on Etsy.

 

If you're brave enough to profess your love of Frenchies to the world, Gap has the perfect sweater for you.

 

Now that you know the Frenchie is my dog of choice, tell me what type of pet you prefer.  Whether it's a specific breed of dog or cat, or a certain type of fish or bird, I'm sure that somewhere out there you can find great looking décor and apparel featuring your favorite.

 

Linking To:

 

 http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2013/05/wow-us-wednesdays-117.html?utm_source=feedburner





Adding Nail Head Trim to Storage Ottomans

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Happy Mothers' Day!  I spent the day doing what I love - hanging out with the family, eating lots of fattening food, and, of course, finishing up a DIY project.  This weekend's project was adding nail head trim to some very basic, but very functional storage ottomans.

I found these ottomans at Home Goods about a month ago. 

 

The fabric has a great texture, much more luxurious than one would expect for $59.99, and the raised seam on the seat is the kind of detail not usually seen at this price point.  The seat of the ottoman can be lifted off to reveal not only a tray, but also a second mini-ottoman.

I think the tray feature is genius.  I'm not really sure how I feel about the baby ottoman.  If I store it inside the mommy ottoman, there's no room left to store blankets and games and magazines as I had originally planned.  The baby ottomans may be destined for Goodwill.

 

Even with the great fabric, seat details, and functional tray feature, these little ottomans needed a little something extra to fit into my formal living room.  I thought nailhead trim would be the perfect way to add a little bling without going overboard.  When I saw these rolls of nailhead trim, I thought the job would be easy.   This trim has the nailheads on a continuous roll, and you only have to pound in every fifth nail.

If only things went as smoothly as I had envisioned...

 

My original plan was to add the trim to the sides of the ottomans, about one inch below the top.  Keeping trim straight was a huge challenge, and about 75% of my nails broke.  The other 25% didn't go in straight, making the nailheads look very much like a DIY project gone wrong.

Truth be told, it looks a lot better in this photo than it did in my living room.  It was much wonkier in person.

 

So, I decided to remove the trim from the sides and try it out on top of the ottoman base.  I'm so glad I did.  If I had continued nailing it to the sides, I'd probably still be working on it.  The nails went into the top so much more easily.  I simply held the nail with a pair of needle nosed pliers while pounding it in with a tack hammer. 

 

When I came to a corner, I carefully bent the trim to follow the angle, and then continued nailing.

 

 

Adding the trim to the top of each ottoman base probably took about fifteen minutes.  Not bad considering how much the trim adds to the formal feel of the room.

 

Do you like my fake wine?  Can you believe I didn't have any wine in the house when I styled this photo?!  That's just not right on Mothers' Day.

 

Like so many of my DIY projects, it's not exactly what I had envisioned when I started, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. 

  

If you're interested in embellishing a storage ottoman of your own, I found a few options that might work for the project on Overstock.com.  Let me know how it turns out!

 

 

 

 

Linking To:

 

 http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2013/05/wow-us-wednesdays-117.html?utm_source=feedburner