Madeline Osigian

     It's been a while since I've written about anything crafty I've done. I suppose that throughout the last year, my most artistic endeavors have consisted of the arrangement of RedBubble stickers on my laptop.      Yet here I am with a little bit of DIY inspiration for your next piece of art! A Super Complicated, Super Expensive *5 Minute & 3 Dollar* Tutorial 1. Buy a postcard. Any {cute} postcard. I found this set of 8 in a local shop for $16, which broke down to $2 per card. They're silhouettes with famous authors' quotes, including Maya Angelou, E. B. White, Jane Austen, and Laura Ingalls Wilder. Classy, non? 2. Buy a frame , preferably from your local garage sale (and probably 5" x 7"). Garage sales really pick up in the fall and spring seasons because of the cooler weather, and I snagged this frame for $1. If you can't find a local garage sale, look at Goodwill or another resale place.      There isn't a s...

     The moment you've all been waiting for (or let's be real, the moment I've been waiting for for years ). I'm in a dorm room! So now I have two beautiful little spaces to decorate and love.      A whole new aesthetic to explore, and a whole new canvas to paint on.      Everything in the bedroom should revolve around sleep and comfort, so of course , my roommate and I began with these three throw pillows and built the room around grey, dark blue, and light blue.

Image      It's been two and a half years since I posted Styling Stunning Surfaces {Vignette Inspiration} , and it's time for another post on what to put on those tables! (And it's been too long since I've done a post on decorating--ha! silly little decorator me!)      Without further ado,      How to Style Tables      First, I have to say that I love simple tables more than anything in the world. What sets the professionals from the newbies in the decorating world is this: professionals use one or two large focus pieces while newbies have tons of little "decorative" items cluttering up their surfaces       You'll see this theme throughout my Pinterest board d é cor below.   Follow Madeline's board d é c o r on Pinterest.        My favorite things to put on dinner tables: A vase of flowers Tea light candles (without scent) ...

Image      No one wants to have to tread lightly around their décor. No delicate pillows or wispy curtains here. We need to be practical and embrace décor that works for us, especially in the durability department.      There's nothing cozy about worrying your glass of iced tea will leave a ring on your host's (or mom's!) coffee table. There's nothing cozy about having to "be careful" not to track a speck of mud into the house.      All we want to do is be cozy and have conversation and food with loved ones, right? So let's make our stuff work for us once again by making sure everything is durable, replaceable, or both.      Because something will get broken. Someone will forget to use a coaster. Someone will knock their drink onto the carpet. Books will get ripped *gasp*, and walls will get scratched.      It's ok. It's real life and real people. Image   ...

Image       Have you ever seen Pride & Prejudice ? I love the BBC one, but at the moment, I'm actually talking about the Kiera Knightley version.      You know how the camera pans in and around their house a few times, showing what their typical days look like? There's this lovely piano music in the background. (If you're reading in email, you will need to click over to the blog or click here to see the video .)     I wish a soundtrack like that would play in the background of my life automatically, but it won't unless I make it happen.      It's time to brush up on your fourth-grade level skills on the piano like I did (if they're second-grade level, that's ok too.) :) It's time to break out the dusty ukulele and learn to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb." It's time to turn on Pandora, Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, the radio, or whatever you use for music.      Musi...

Image      Curtains have power. They can close off the light or let it in. They can make your ceiling look higher or lower. (Make sure you hang them high and wide like The Nester says to do.)      I like how, in the picture above, the curtains aren't even on a window. They are curtaining off the sleeping area from the vanity in a bedroom.      Curtains are a fabulous décor piece to be sure, but what makes them cozy? Well, they add some flowy fabric to your otherwise blank or stark walls. It softens the room and makes it feel homey.      I'm not going to ask you to hang curtains for the action point. But I would like you to consider what this piece can do for your home.      Action point: If you have curtains, make sure they're hung properly. If you've been considering buying curtains from Joss & Main , maybe hit "Submit my order" today. If you never thought you'd have cu...

Image        Sunshine. I miss it already. Fall was here for .2 seconds, and then it started raining (and raining and raining and raining...and look!...wait...still raining.) What a great way to end a drought. *sarcastic eye roll*        The rain is fine, but I really crave sunshine, and fresh (not humid) air. If your weather can still be described as "sunshine and fresh air," what are you doing? Open a window before it's all gone! You saw the title of this post. It's fairly straight-forward.        Maybe the coming winter won't be the best time to do this, but it's fall. Open your windows for as long as you can, especially if you're cooped up indoors most of the day.        I love open windows! They have an old-timey, let's-call-out-to-our-neighbors-to-stay-away-from-our-cranberry-bread feel to them. Cranberry Thanksgiving , anyone? Image    ...

Image      You're probably not going to believe what I am about to tell you. You probably don't equate clean with cozy, but clean floors are a necessity for a comfortable and snuggly home. ("Comfortable and snuggly" is a pretty thorough breakdown of the word "cozy.")      If I go over to anyone's house, get comfortable, take off my shoes, but then step on a crumb, I am not going to be completely comfortable taking my shoes off in their house again. Or at least, I'll check to see if the floors are clean first. The gunk that builds up on any type of floor is just gross.      Ok. So you can't help one little crumb. But again, if someone can see how dirty your floors are without bending over, it's time to break out the vacuum.      It's crazy how this one thing really isn't that hard. Vacuuming is an amazing 2-in-1 cleaning/workout combo (with free French fries...off the floor...ew!)  ...

Image        What's cozy? It's not always sharp lines and bright whites.        More often, cozy means balancing those clean lines with natural elements. The shapes and colors that something like a simple plant introduce are incredible! The greens in a leaf or the subtle pinks in a bouquet add a loveliness nothing can touch.   Image        Action point: Bring in a plant, a branch, a rock, flowers ~ anything that is from outside.        Happy Monday! ~Madeline This post is part of my 31 Ways to Cozy Up Your Space series . 

Image      This post may seem closely related to staying organized .      But simplifying is more specific. It's eliminating excess and keeping things fresh and purposeful.      Maybe you don't need a clunky chest of drawers since you've gotten a little more organized and want a cozy reading chair now.      Simplifying means we'll have more room for the things and people that really matter. Simplifying means that our eyes can rest in our spaces instead of being overstimulated by tchotchkes and figurines and "decorations."      Let the "decorations" take a break and focus on the bare bones of your home ~ the lines of the couch, the shape of your mug on a book, or the sight of your kids making a blanket fort.      Action point: Don't do anything. Just be all there in your space today. ~Madeline This post is part of my 31 Ways to Cozy Up Your Space...

Image        Today, we're just discussing a single, simple, cozy-concept.        Everything is décor.        This means that if I can see it, it is part of your house decorations. This means that that coffee mug by the sink with a thin film of coffee in it is decorating your house whether you planned on it or not.        To solve the problem of ugly things becoming your décor, streamline your things. For example, paint the walls if you hate the color. Try to buy toys that aren't bright colors or minions or something that will mess up your living room décor. Close your laptop when you aren't using it.       Action point: What in your house is messing up your cozy vibes? Fix it. ~Madeline This post is part of my 31 Ways to Cozy Up Your Space series . 

Image        Some things that make your home cozy might not originally seem like they are cozy. Things like staying organized, ~ ok. Let's just stop there. It's enough to work with.      What do you think of when you hear the word organized? Spotless, streamlined shelves? Shoeboxes and matching hangers?      Well, I'm going to have to ask you to scratch any ideas you have about The-Container-Store-perfect "organization."      Putting your stuff in boxes does not make you organized. To stay organized means to make your stuff work for you. When your stuff has a designated home, your tidying routine will become a million times easier. With less stuff, your house will feel like it's breathing.      With this newfound freedom and intentionality, your house will have purpose and beauty.      "That's all fine and good, Madeline, but h...

Image      Tell me which is cozier: a high-backed, imposing armchair or a beanbag?      You're clever enough to figure it out. Poufs, benches, floor pillows, beanbags, and even low armchairs and hammocks are what we're talking about today. Image      In big groups, people almost always prefer the floor to even a comfy couch. Why is this? It's hard to say. But it's a fact: People (especially teenagers) love sprawling out on the floor. We can make the floor even cozier with all those things I mentioned above. My personal favorite is the pouf.      It's just such a perfect height for tying shoes, reading, chatting with a friend who is on the floor, or playing Monopoly on a coffee table. I got mine here .      Action point: Introduce some low seating into your décor today, even if it's just a pillow thrown on the cold hardwoods. ~Madeline This post is part ...

Image      It's your first time to be at their house. It's big on the outside and even bigger on the inside. You walk in slowly. The people are friendly. You start to feel at ease.      But when dinner starts, you're led into a formal dining room. There are a trillion forks and glasses on the table. The upholstered chairs are stiff, and the wallpaper is fancy. It's lovely...and terrifying. You realize you're going to have a hard time getting comfortable.      You're think about joking, "Cue Downton Abbey music!" or looking over your shoulder to see if Carson is measuring the distance between place settings. He'll probably hyperventilate over your terrible American etiquette.      After the evening is over, you rush into your house and throw the pillows around, make the chairs around the table crooked, and rumple your blankets.      That stiffness in the dining ...

     I love bowls so much! Not just for my oatmeal, soup, or (who am I kidding???) ice cream.      I love them for decorating and cozying up. In much the same way as you use a tray, bowls are used today for gathering practical items and then making them pretty. (Or a little bowl of candy is always cozy; it's that time of year.)      When I say "practical items", I mean whatever little items you have lying around. Take a bathroom for instance. You could use a bowl for hair ties, lip balms/sticks, bobby pins, or small makeup containers. I say "or" because that's what I mean.      Here's where the differences between bowls and trays come into play. You can arrange a variety of medium-sized things on a tray: hair brush, comb, toothbrush, tissue, etc., in keeping with our bathroom theme.      But don't throw the hair ties and all those other little things in the same bow...

Image      Gathering items in trays is not only a way to look more organized. It's also a way to add some cozy texture to your space. Having things corralled on a tray makes them look like friends, and that is always a good thing!      When your things are friends, they look better together no matter how disparate their styles are. The tray is the mediator that brings them together.      Do you have trays doing the mediating work so you don't have to?      You can also think of trays as homes for your little knick-knacks. Try one at your desk, on your bedside table, on your kitchen counter, coffee table, or dresser. Trays are super versatile!      Action point: Pull some things together on a tray for a new look. This could be elaborate or it could simply be a 9" x 13" glass pan with coasters and a magazine in it. Try the look for one day, and then you can put it away. But p...

       "She who is brave is free." Remember when I said that quotes with meaning are important ? Well, it's time to brave up and put some nails in your wall! Whether it's a quote, a drawing your kid made, or a Picasso, it's time to get it on the wall.      Why is this cozy? Because when you are able to enjoy that drawing your kid made, your space will feel a lot more like home.       Action point: Take some time this weekend to hang a piece of art. I bet you can find at least one languishing on the floor. If you only have the time or means to tape the art to the wall, that's ok too. :) ~Madeline This post is part of my 31 Ways to Cozy Up Your Space series . 

     This is my all-time favorite decorating book, The Perfectly Imperfect Home . It even made my "Top 10 Books I Cannot Live Without" post in 2014! ( Read that post here .)      It's not so much about decorating as it is about making your home livable. It introduced me to "cozifiers" and "quirk" and so many other things. I read this almost every time I am in bed sick. It's just a little tradition I accidentally started.      I own this book and love it so much. It will be coming with me to college and all the other places I live. It introduces you to some decorating basics but really embraces casual and comfortable.      The author, Deborah Needleman, is the editor of Domino magazine, so she knows her stuff.      Action point: Read this book. Borrow it, buy it, beg it, but then read it! ~Madeline This post is part of my 31 Ways to Cozy Up Your Space series . ...

Image      Layering textures and various shapes like in the room above is another wonderful way to cozy up your space.      Using blankets, pillows, rugs, plants, wood, books, curtains, tassels, lights, ladders, etc. in quick succession or in a small space feels very bohemian.      Personally, I love this look. Even though I am an advocate of white walls and clean lines, this jamboree of colors, textures, and patterns holds a wonder for me. It almost inspires wanderlust. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the textiles that make me think of exotic places. Maybe it's the mattress on the floor or the mounds of books.      Maybe one day I'll have a space with this very different kind of cozy.      Action point: Mix up your décor and layer up! ~Madeline This post is part of my 31 Ways to Cozy Up Your Space series . 

       Food. Because what better way to bring people together? Shopping for food brings people together. Preparing food brings people together. Eating food brings people together.        It just makes sense. In Louisiana, where my dad's family is, food is the coziest thing. It's what welcomes you after a nine-hour drive. It's what you wake up to smell in the morning. It's what we celebrate with.       It's no secret that food can be comforting. But I'm not necessarily talking about comfort food here. I'm talking about everything. Home-cooked meals or fresh produce. Jambalaya or strawberries. Leftover chocolate cake the day after a party. Popcorn at 2 am for a bunch of giggly girls watching another movie.      Food is not bad for us. Fat is not bad for us. Calories are not bad for us.      The key is enjoying God's gift of food without abusing it and by look...