Alfie’s Nursery

So I’ve wanted to show you Alfie’s nursery ever since he was born but it was never “perfect” and the truth is, it never is. It’s a kid’s room for crying out loud. So a year later, here it is! Ha! Imperfect. Not styled (ok maybe a wee bit) but real.

The inspiration for this room was simple, neutral and modern with a touch of color. A new baby means a lot of stuff and I’m allergic to clutter. Hence, Indid not want a lot of shelves to fill up, or too many surfaces for decor items that would only be destroyed as soon as the kid started reaching for stuff. Practical.

I’m breaking down every area below. Check it out! (All sources linked below as well. You’re welcome!)

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We bought a wide dresser from Ikea that would (1) function as a diaper changing area (2) would provide much needed (and concealed) storage and (3) give us about another foot of surface space to play with. As for wall decor, I knew I wanted something with at a large scale. I love photography and knew that this blown up photograph of a Nawa tree would do the trick. I took this picture during our honeymoon in Oahu, HI in 2011. It’s meaningful to us and thought it would be fitting in his room. Continue reading “Alfie’s Nursery”

We Bought a House!

I’m sure you’ve heard that buying a home can be very stressful. We just went through the arduous process of buying a home on a short sale which made this process even more difficult. We waited 7 months for this house and finally closed on February 2015. We couldn’t be happier. We have yet to move in, but at least we can call ourselves homeowners. That’s one dream I can check off my list!

We had been researching the market for about 1.5 years and when we were finally ready to start looking, we already had a very good idea of what we wanted and what we could afford. This made the actual home search much easier. If you’ve never bought a home before but you’re looking into it, I have some tips below. If you are not looking for a home now, but want to read a bit more about our experience then you are welcome to read on. Continue reading “We Bought a House!”

How to Make an Envelope Pillow With Glue

Hello there!

I have great news! This post right here marks Zania.net’s 100th blog post!! Woo hoo!! And to celebrate, I’m sharing with you one of my favorite DIY projects EVER!!! This is how to make an envelope pillow with glue!

I love changing things around my house all the time and one small item in any home that can immediately alter its style are the decorative pillows. Would you agree? Using these pillows in your home is a very simple way to update a room or change it’s mood. However, some of these covers and pillows can be ridiculously expensive. Being a DIYer at heart, I wanted to take on this challenge. However, since I don’t know how to sew, I wanted to find a tutorial where I didn’t need to use any needles, threads or sewing machine. So… I set out on a mission. Finally, after some digging, I found this wonderful post on LiveLoveDIY that changed my life!  I knew there was a way to do this! Now I share this with you because it’s too good not to share!

Materials

  • Fabric
  • Scissors
  • Measuring tape/ruler whatever you want to use
  • Liquid Stitch glue or Unique Stitch glue

Envelope_Pillow_1 Continue reading “How to Make an Envelope Pillow With Glue”

All White Kitchens

Hi amigos!

While some might think that all white kitchens are boring, I find them to be absolutely beautiful. I think it’s because they seem to make the cooking less of a hassle and more of a light and airy process. They are just so clean and bright! Would I have my dream kitchen all white? I don’t know. But I’m surely loving these!

All white works with all types of styles including; modern, rustic, midcentury, classic, traditional, you name it. By ‘all white’ I mean, white cabinetry, white backsplash and white countertops. That’s what you’ll see here. Floors, ceilings, appliances, hardware and accent pieces may vary. Here I’ve gathered 10 of my favorite white kitchens from the blogosphere. Enjoy!

Dwell.com
Dwell.com

Continue reading “All White Kitchens”

Before & After: TV Tray Tables

TV_Tray_Tables_1Hi amigos!

How ’bout those TV tray tables you have at home? Do they look like my ‘Before’ picture? Well… These handy dandy tables are not necessarily the best lookin’ ones right off the shelf but like every other piece of furniture at home, they are not to be neglected! They get a lot of abuse here in my household and after several years of wear and tear it was time to beautify them and give them some serious TLC.

I used several tribal rug prints as well as geometric wall tiles as inspiration. I wanted to use the black and white color palette because it is classic and it was the paint I had available. I also didn’t want to spend a dime doing this so therefore I used what I already had at home. In the end, they turned out fabulously glam! Don’t you think? Here’s how it all went down!

Continue reading “Before & After: TV Tray Tables”

Gaby’s Fearless Chic Dining Room

Hi everyone!

Here’s my latest E-Decorating project! This inspiration board belongs to a dear friend, Gaby, who has fabulous style but runs a very busy life. Enter, Zania… Gaby is full of life and there’s not a day that goes by that she’s not dressed to the nines. While she has her regular 9-to-5 job at a well-known media company, she is also an entrepreneur in the fashion industry. (Check out her online clothing site AlmaMei. I also borrowed a necklace from her line for my music video). Not only is she following her dreams, but she is also contributing to a greater cause through her passion. Who doesn’t love that?! Bravo! Needless to say, when she asked for my help in decorating her dining room, I knew exactly how to reflect her personality through decor. I call it: Fearless Chic! Continue reading “Gaby’s Fearless Chic Dining Room”

Behind the Scenes “No te necesito” Video Shoot Part 2

Styling_BarHi!

So I wanted to show you a little more of the “behind the scenes” from the music video for one of my songs, “No te necesito”, that we recorded some time ago. The video is in the final stages of post production and I should be getting the final copy soon. Yay! In the meantime, I wanted to share with you the good and the bad of the transformation of the space. I will always be honest here and part of that is accepting your mistakes and showing you that I’m human too.

Like I mention in the first blog post about this music video, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on it, since the purpose of this video is just to have fun and promote my music using visuals. That said, the space used to be a green room where artists would hang out while they waited to perform their music in the CD store below. (Yes, there is still a store selling CDs in Miami. It’s called “El Museo del Disco”).

Here are the Before pictures of the bar and stage (respectively);

Before_Bar Before_StageI mean… seriously… neglected. But it was free and we were able to pretty much do whatever we wanted, for however long we needed, for FREE. Free sounds good to me.

I was inspired to create an “underground” lounge/bar scene where an audience would go to watch a multitude of amateur talent on open mic nights. I think I did an ok job given the tight budget and the resources, but looking back, there are several things I would change.

First, I spent a lot of time planning. Lists and lists of things to do, as well as what to take to the set. The list was enormous. Get ottomans from friend… spray paint wooden frames… clean wine bottles… melt wax on them to give them an old world looky look… spray adhesive to each and every book page… (I had Oprah’s Masterclass playing for audio entertainment. Multitasking)… It was a lot, but it got done with time to spare. These are the pics I posted on Instagram.

Glueing_Pages Spray_Painting_FramesThen it was time to set up. Princess Prius (my car) was completely filled with furniture and stuff, to the point that the guard from my building asked me if I had scheduled a moving-out date on the calendar… LOL! No, sir. But BTW, I’m doing this again in a week to get everything back home. See ya!

Then it was time to set up. Like the Tr3s Top 20 set I previously designed, decorating a set is very different than a residential room. I wrote about those differences HERE. I was confident with my design idea because it was clear and precise, but I couldn’t help but doubt myself every now and then.

Process_Bar After_StageNow that I see the set, I think the bar area was better designed than the stage. I love the paper walls and the natural fiber rug, but the chair and the ottomans were too modern/bright for the space. The purpose of the chair was to add color, but it didn’t quite go with the design. I do like the vintage suitcase and the open guitar case. Those white boxes on the side needed to be covered in black or something, because they are very ugly. But hey, you live and you learn. Overall I think I did an ok job. Next time it’ll be better.

This was taken during the recording of the video.

Shoot Tearing_Down_the_SetThen after all that work… it gets torn down in a second. Oh well. You’ll get to see the final product once the video is released. Stay tuned! I will be posting the video on YouTube and on all social media sites as well as here.

Thanks for reading!
Signature_Zania

 

E-Decorating Services

E-DecoratingHi everyone!

Today I want to let you in on a little secret… I’m now offering E-Decorating services! I’ve been working on these packages for some time now and it’s time to share them with you. What is E-Decorating, you may ask? Well, E-decorating is a way in which you and I can work together on a space in your house without me having to actually be there. I know… Jetsons style! I do all consultations and decorating by phone and online. It’s not the easiest way to decorate but if there’s any way that I can help you improve your space for an affordable price then I’m all for it. Yes, you do have to put in a little more effort on your end than you normally would when hiring a designer but hey, in the end, I think it’s worth it. Unless… if you want to fly me to your beach house in the Seychelles, I’m not going to complain… :-)

You can see a list of all of my services and pricing by clicking on the SERVICES tab above. If you have any questions at all, you can email me through the CONTACT page above.

Thanks for reading! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

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Before & After: Tr3s Top 20 Set Design

Top20_38It’s finally done peeps!

Two weeks ago I posted a “Before/Process” blog post about the design for the set of MTV’s Top 20 show on Tr3s. (You can read it HERE). Well, it’s finally done!! Here are a few of the Before and After shots. As you can see, it is modern yet cozy and comfortable. It also has various different sets (5 to be exact). So versatile! Enjoy!

This is how the room looked like before the Zania magic happened.

Top20_44 Top20_34 Top20_42 Top20_33 Top20_43 Top20_31Top20_10 Top20_36Here are a few of the Latin artists that have appeared on the sets! They look so happy to be there! LOL! BTW, you can follow Top 20 on Instagram @Tr3s_Top20.

Fidel Rueda
Fidel Rueda
Carlos Baute
Carlos Baute
A.B. Quintanilla
A.B. Quintanilla

This is how it looks like behind the cameras. This was a hard place to design since it needed to be multi-functional and there is always chaos in some corner; cables, lights, filters, boxes, more lights… You get the point. Overall this was a great experience. Now on to more projects!!!

Top20_35

Top20_37That’s a wrap!!!!

Want me to design your space? I can cater to your style and needs. I have some packages that you can view and decide which one fits for you! Click on the Services tab above for more info.

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Before & After: Alexander’s Nursery

Hi everyone!

Say hello to Julie, our second featured reader presenting her very own project for her son Alexander. This is one of those wall transformations that require a lot of measuring, leveling and patience! But in the end, the final product is so much fun. Julie says, “What’s my inspiration? Simply to impress my adorable husband and 2 year old baby boy.  I just adore that loving smile from ear to ear & that approving facial expression worth more than a thousand words every time they see a homemade project.” That’s why DIY projects are so worth it! Good job Julie!!!

B&A_Alexander_1_Before Continue reading “Before & After: Alexander’s Nursery”