i have learned one thing about myself and my housekeeping:  if its pretty, i’m more likely to keep it clean.

a couple weeks ago i cleaned my kitchen so it sparkled.  and we’ve kept it pretty clean since!

when i make my bed all pretty in the morning, i am so much less likely to leave my clothes on the floor.

this are is our drop zone.  we walk in the back door and all the extra stuff that doesn’t have a home takes up residence here.  i’ve found that if i change it up a bit over here on this buffet, i’ll keep it clean, at least for a little while.

i even tried adding more things to the counter – i figured the more space taken up with pretty things, the less space there’d be for our homeless junk.

but i grew tired of these things and the piles grew and took over.

 and here’s the latest set up – a picture of compromise.   yes, compromise.

 you see, orchids are sean’s favorite flower.  i actually really like them… when they are in bloom.  but not in bloom, not my favorite.  actually, kind of my least favorite.  its because of those wormy root things.  they are gross looking.  and you only see them and a few wimpy leaves for months and months until the orchids might happen to bloom again.  but at least they bloom for a long time, so they have that going for them!

 oh yes, back to the compromise.  i was about to chuck these guys, these half plants that have been sitting on my window sill, taunting me with their flowerlessness for months.  then i had an idea.  maybe taking these plants and focusing more on their mismatched containers was the key.  so i grabbed a handful of my milk glass pieces, popped the ugly wormy leafy plants out of their mismatched pots and made them beautiful with coordinating vessels.

 and look!  one of the plants is about to flower and i won’t even see the worm roots anymore!

like many people, our master bedroom is the last to get decorated (or cleaned, for that matter!).  i’ve done some simple updates before, but nothing has really felt right.  more like just good enough.  ok.  i like it, but…

so, armed with a world market gift card, i was on a mission to update my bedroom!  my focus was mainly on pillows, since they are the easiest way to quickly update a room.

to give you an idea of where i started, here’s our master bedroom when i first updated it.  we got the pretty white comforter from target (a gift from my mom) and i made most of the pillows.  i always make most of my pillows.  and you know what i’ve realized: when i make something i have a really hard time switching out to something else because i spent my time on it and feel like it was wasted if i change it.  even if i got a few good years of use out of those pillows!  so silly.

 i like what was there before, but it was feeling kind of blah.  i needed more color!

and i got it!  i am so glad we had the base of white to start with because just switching out the pillows gave the room a fresh look for spring!

 i also added this super soft throw at the end of my bed, not only for a pop of my favorite color, but its practical, too.  i do a lot of computer work from my bed and like to cozy up, so this blanket is perfect.  can you see the little metallic threads running through it?!

along with wanting color, i wanted texture and pattern as well.  the 2 large euro pillows and the lime green one are soft and velvety (and the damask one that i made a long time ago), and the grey has a burlap-y linen feel, and the bright ikat lumbar pillow has shiny silky threads.  the victorian isles collection had some really pretty floral pillows, but girly flowers are veto’d by my husband.  other than that, he lets me do pretty much whatever i want!

you may have noticed that we have a desk on sean’s side of the bed now.  while an office in the master bedroom is not ideal, having sean work part-time from home is, so we made a compromise!

to make the bed feel ready for warmer weather, we fold back the comforter to reveal the pretty white coverlet we got for our wedding.

(btw, wall color is flax by restoration hardware)

 if my budget were bigger (or limitless!) i would love to add this rug to my side of the bed.  a white rug can be pretty impractical with kids, but since this is my room, i can do what i want!  and to replace our thrifted chair in the corner of our room, this bright coral chair would be so fun.  actually, they have a ton of chairs i’d love.  of course, this zinc-looking table would sit next to it, topped by a couple of these terrariums filled with moss and teeny ferns.  of course.

 if we hadn’t just built a new coffee table, this one would have been just right.  and i am seriously considering that love seat for the playroom.  our full size couches are just a bit too big, but i’d love to have something to snuggle up on.  and slipcovers are a must in our house.

 i could easily fill all my kitchen shelves with the turquoise dishes!

 i wish my front porch couch looked like this!

 wait.  maybe i want the teal chair for my room instead?  the nail head trim is so fancy!

 i know some of these instagram pics made some of you mad if there’s not a world market near you, but they are online!  i always do a little online window shopping before i head to the store so i can be a little more focused about what i’m looking for.  they have so much there to offer, its easy to get distracted and off course, which can be fun, too!

while totally off course, i fell in love with all their new kitchen goodies.  its like a rainbow exploded all over it!

and the chairs.  the chairs!  out ikea stools are just about to break to pieces and i’d love to replace them with something industrial.  that orange-y red is just so fun!  sean and i have always loved the industrial look of the metal arm chairs, and we do always need more chairs…  the ella dining chairs are so pretty, too.  and at just $59 each, how can you pass that up?!  i kept checking to see if they were mismarked.

world market has another great giveaway for you:

the oz “the great and powerful” sweepstakes