UPDATE: Live Creating Yourself has moved to alainak.com!

That's right...! After six beautiful long years stationed at livecreatingyourself.com, I've decided to make use of a url I bought years ago (ya know, just in case)... so I present alainak.com! New home to Live Creating Yourself, my styling portfolio, and all of my home tours! Not to mention it's got a shnazzy new design and everything. Worry not - all of my old posts and comments are there, too. Transferred over with the click of a button. Ch-ch-check it out! :)

Thanks LCY.com... it's been glooorious!

Dude's Room Update: Painting Before and After

Major progress to report on the teenytiny Dude Room! 

Namely, we painted. 

To tackle the project, I teamed up with Colorhouse - a new paint available at select Home Depot stores. Not only are they NO-VOCS, no reproductive toxins, no toxic fumes/HAPs-free, and no chemical solvents, but the color palette is amazing. They've curated a beautiful collection of shades, you can't really go wrong no matter what you choose.

See in-store display at Home Depot in Naperville! (Colorhouse will actually be available in the city Home Depots this Saturday!) Lovely, yes?

I knew we wanted a gray, so I narrowed it down to Metal .03 (center swatch) and Wool .02 (far right swatch). The dark swatch on the top is Nourish .06 which I plan on using on the door. That part of the project hasn't happened yet.

A requisite before to trigger your memory.

And here's an in progress shot to show you the drastic difference! The Colorhouse gray paint makes the walls look so much cleaner, brighter!

Furniture going back in...

THE AFTER (kind of)

So here is the room before and as it is now. I am hesitant to use the word after since it is not done... (new bedding is coming, and shelves are being hung in the corner).

We ended up getting a nightstand on clearance from World Market - I think it cost around $70 with the discount. The striped navy rug was an old one of mine I had loaned my mom a while back that barely got used. The black and brass CB2 corner hanging bar was hung above the nightstand for additional storage. The bedside lamp is West Elm which has actually been switched out because  1. even though I love the design, it barely gives off any light, and 2. we hung this wall sconce to clear up all the precious surface area on the nightstand for even more storage (see first photo at the top of the post).

The mini gallery wall is still a work in progress. I love love love the mirror, also a World Market find, and the wall clock and mini gray frame are cheapos from Ikea. The framed Chicago print was one of my first post-college purchases from good ole' Art.com. The buffalo check throw is from Schoolhouse and the Union Jack pillow was one I picked up in New Orleans a couple of years ago.

Crazy what a fresh coat of paint and some accessories can do, no!? Never underestimate the power of styling.

The dude and his roommate love the makeover so much, they now want to repaint the entire apartment. True story. So this "Dude Room" project just got a whole lot bigger! For what it's worth, I definitely plan on using Colorhouse Paint for the other rooms (they have a great selection of whites, which in my opinion is one of the trickiest colors to find)! There was also hardly any paint smell, which is worth its weight in gold, in my opinion. And it only required one coat, which a lot of paint companies promise and rarely deliver on.

I'll let you know as soon as I have more updates!

This post is sponsored by Colorhouse Paint but all of the opinions are my own.

Decorating A Dude Room

i have a new project. 

and it's not decorating my own home and it's not everygirl-related. this is VERY exciting people. i don't even know the last time i took on a styling or decorating job just for fun. and the best part is it's a GUY'S room! i've written a few columns on men's style (part 1, 2, 3 and 4) and have dogeared dozens of pages in magazines (virtual and real) that feature men's homes. i always hoped one day some guy would want my help in making his space look good, and finally that day has come.

it's a bit of a challenge because it's a SUPER teeny, tiny, shouldn't-have-been-advertised-as-a-bedroom bedroom. 7' x 8' and no closet. so really it fits a queen bed, a nightstand, and not much else.

i probably wouldn't have been inspired had i not found this terrific item from cb2 only days before...

here it is. the cornerstone of the room. pun intended.

a brass and black corner hanging rod with enough space for a week's worth of clean, pressed shirts. and it's only $40!

i saw the bedroom and thought i know JUST the thing this room needs! so we went online and ordered it. and picked up another goodie as well...

there's about a foot of "room" or dare i call it "walking space" at the foot of the bed with just enough space to throw one of these bad boys in it. the perfect storage for folded sweaters and shoes. vintage locker room meets kindergarten cubbies with the right amount of industrial edge.

now that those two items have made it past the checkout page, i am feeling good about this project. i mean really, there's not a whole lot more we can fit into the teeny room. it definitely needs new bedding, a new nightstand, lighting (perhaps a wall sconce to save precious surface area), and wall decor. and we'll be painting the walls gray, of course.

wait, what's that? you want to see said tiny room? 

fine. here it is. in all it's glory.

the ikea malm bed was the roommate's and has since been removed. the jersey, other frames, and "curtain" will be coming down, as well.

it'll be a clean slate. a small slate, at that. but clean, small slate.

the cubby will go at the foot of the bed against the wall. a bed frame or headboard isn't really an option since it just takes up precious space. so what we need now is a new nightstand. 

my first stop for nightstand shopping is always west elm. i fell in love with these four styles, particularly the first. west elm has been killing it lately, bringing in one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted pieces made from reclaimed wood, all still for very reasonable price points: $250-400 range.

stria nightstand | lund nightstand | alexa reclaimed wood | mid-century

i researched some budget-friendlier options, as well, sourced from ikea and target.

malm | malm gray | mid-century | dark gray oak

i know he doesn't want to spend $400 on the favorite pick so we'll see... might have to dig out my dusty headlamp and delve deep into the digital caverns of craigslist for a suitable option.

then there's bedding.

while i toyed with the idea of plaid or hunter green, it looked a bit too collegiate when i put together my photoshop mock-up. i love the look but this guy's 28 and looking for something a bit more grown-up. the two styles above from crane and canopy are great - charcoal and black and white.

also like these urban outfitters options - gray arrow motif and double stripe. but maybe too young.

i'm a little worried the gray options will be too much gray with the light gray walls.

and this crane and canopy style is also available in a steel blue. so we'll add it to the list.

so here's what we're working with in terms of the room layout.
gray gray gray

steeeel blue. 

i like it.

as you can see from the before photos, the carpet has seen better days, so i think we'll cover it up. love this triangle patterned rug from my go-to resource, rugsusa.

in summation...

cubby | bedding | rug | nightstand | light | clock | pennant | floating shelves | hanging bar

but we shall see! all in good time. this will be fun watching it come along... i'll be updating on instagram also so follow there @alainakaz. and stay tuned for updates!

OTHER MEN'S STYLE POSTS:

Men's Style Part 1: Always Dress Like You're Going to Run Into Your Ex
Men's Style Part Deux: The Tie Clip
Men's Style Part 3: I have many leatherbound books.

Thoughts on Men's Fashion: Cuffed Jeans

 

See here: one proud owner of Mauviel copper pots!

If you dig deep into the archives of good ole' LCY, you'll find that in month 8 of blogging (that would be January 2010), I named French Mauviel copper pots as a dream wishlist item of mine.

Today, almost five years later, I began my collection.

Thanks once again to the wonderful offerings of Joss and Main, and no, they didn't pay me to say this, I was able to get three pieces for a fraction of the price of what Mauviel pots usually go for! I picked up a large saucepan, a medium sized stock pot (oh so pretty w/ it's gold handles!), and a small frying pan perfect for my morning eggs (only $69 down from $210).

Check out their Go Gourmet sale currently going on for the next four days. But hurry - stuff is selling out rather quickly! Above you'll see a few other favorites of mine, but I of course had to stop at the copper beauties (used up all of my credit in one oh-so-easy fell swoop). But the sale also has Staub and a number of amazing knife brands. Definitely worth checking out!

Visit the Joss and Main Go Gourmet sale here!

Bar Cart Sale on Joss and Main!

Hey all! Signing on to share the good news that Joss and Main has a terrific bar cart sale going on right now–it's under the "Toast to Festive Style" sale. If I didn't already have one I loved from Society Social, I'd definitely be snatching up one of these beauties just in time for holiday entertaining and buckets of spiked cider.

I'd probably choose the top right brass style for $178. Which one is your favorite?

25% Off Paris-Inspired Fall Essentials

My recent trip to Paris confirmed one thing... everything I packed last fall worked again this year. With the exception of two new fall trends, slouchy pants and fancy sneakers (preferably Nike), Parisians are still rocking the black and white, classic silhouettes. I actually also noticed the men seem a bit more put together and accessorized while the women look extremely casual. More of a thrown-together look complete with messy hair and little make-up.

Fortunately for all of us, J.Crew does a pretty great job of designing these basics worth investing in and right now everything is 25% off with code #TGIFALL. So here's a list of my Paris-inspired 2014 Fall Fashion Essentials. And I'll be sharing photos from my trip this week and next! Stay tuned!

the accessories:
a great hat
a simple catch-all tote
barrette to pull your hair back
chunky jewelry to jazz up your simple clothes like this necklace and bracelet

hints of leopard like a belt and a scarf 

the clothes:
a collarless coat
sexy silk blouse to go with everything
classic white button-down
the perfect sweater
white vneck tee
black skinny pants
black slouchy pants

and the shoes are everything:
oxfords and sneakers are on trend this season
booties and tall leather boots are investments that never go out of style

GET 25% OFF EVERYTHING AT J.CREW USING CODE #TGIFALL
AND AN EXTRA 30% OFF FINAL SALE!