Mendon + Belle - Design, Vintage and DIY

What’s Trending: Patterned Bathroom Floor Tile

I’ve been dreaming of redoing our bathroom since we moved in to the house file years ago. I’ve got Pinterest boards dedicated to it. Currently our bathroom is what I’d call a glorified attic, meaning it has no walls, no ceiling, no floors, no electrical and some random plumbing thrown in. As time continues to pass as we save up to conquer our bathroom remodel, I’m always picking up on different bathroom ideas and trends. I’m on the hunt to figure out what I want out of the bathroom, the style I’d like, and what would be cool to incorporate into the space. Recently, I’ve noticed an influx of the use of decorative patterned tile, which I’m totally loving. Check out below for some of my favorite patterned bathroom floor tile designs.

May 3, 2016 0 comment

Tips & Advice

The Best Tips for Buying Jadeite On eBay

written by Robin Budd

Having purchased a lot of Jadeite glass online, I'm sharing my best tips for buying Jadeite on eBay, including what to look for and how to get a good price.

As I mentioned in a previous post What I Found: Shell Jadeite Saucers, I have acquired quite a collection of Jadeite glass over the last 2-3 years. My collecting all started with a knock-off bowl I snagged at Home Goods. Inspired by it’s beautiful color, I had the grand idea of using it as a showpiece for my wedding dessert table. Unfortunately this glassware does not come cheap. So, to amass enough Jadeite glass for my wedding use, I quickly discovered that eBay was my best friend. Through trial and error I purchased some excellent and some not so excellent pieces of Jadeite to add to my collection. Today I’m sharing my best advice and tips for buying Jadeite on eBay, including what to look for and how to get a good price.

April 28, 2016 0 comment

Decor What I Found

What I Found: Brass Owl Figurine Container

written by Robin Budd

I have a huge love of brass figurines and I've been collecting them over the last 6-8 years. Today I found a 2-piece brass owl figurine container for $14.

I have a huge love of brass figurines and I’ve been collecting them over the last 6-8 years. It started with a little brass pig found at an antique mall that we lovingly named “Mr. Pig”. Now it has spiraled to a large brass menagerie of 30 or more animals ranging from lions, deer, owls and even a griffin (Tim’s favorite). I fell in love the weight of the metal and their vintage and distinct nature. Plus, I think the animals are just plain cute. The collection really started getting into full gear when I was wedding planning. I wanted to bring a piece of something I loved to the table, literally. On each of the reception tables we featured 1 or 2 brass animals to tie in with our woodland themed wedding. I had acquired so many animals leading up to the wedding, I had put a stop on the brass collection, that is, until I came across the cutest brass owl figurine that I’m sharing with you today.

April 26, 2016 0 comment

Before & After DIY Projects What I Found

Living Room Lighting Update

written by Robin Budd

I finally replaced my boob lights in our living room with the perfect Mission fixtures. Check out the before and after of our living room lighting update.

This post is a bit of a blast from the past, but totally worth sharing. About a year ago I was shopping at the ReBuilding Center, which is one of my favorite stores for finding salvaged materials. On this trip I was looking for old cabinet doors I could convert to chalkboards, but I also came across a matched set of vintage/reproduction lighting that I couldn’t pass up. Lighting is one of my true weaknesses (along with cabinets with tiny drawers). I’d been looking to replace my unfortunate “boob lights” that lived on my living room ceiling and these were a perfect upgrade. Today I’m sharing a few before and after photos of our living room lighting update with my salvaged lighting find.

April 21, 2016 0 comment

Decor Projects

Our Bedroom Makeover: The Current Room

written by Robin Budd

I'm sharing our current bedroom design and layout. Check out where we are starting, what we're working with and get ready to follow along as we launch into our bedroom makeover. @robinbudd via www.mendonandbelle.com

In a previous post: Grey Tufted Headboard Roundup for under $500, I mentioned that before Tim and I got married, we promised ourselves that after our wedding our first priority would be updating our master bedroom. As a newly married couple we wanted our master bedroom to be a reflection of our current style and have a look that felt more put together then what we were currently living with. After the wedding and honeymoon were over, I set out to develop a direction for the bedroom. Today I’ll be sharing the current bedroom design and layout. Check out where we are starting, what we’re working with and get ready to follow along as we launch into our bedroom makeover.

April 19, 2016 0 comment

Pinterest Tips & Advice

How to Add Rich Pins to Pinterest with Yoast SEO

written by Robin Budd

I am on Pinterest constantly. Because of this, I’ve noticed that some thumbnail pins that show up in my Pinterest feed have bonus descriptive info under the image. This bonus info generally appears as a favicon/logo for a brand/company, a link to the company’s website, as well as a bold article title that the image is linked from. I discovered this bonus info is actually what Pinterest calls a Rich Pin. According to the Pinterest for Developers site, Rich Pins show metadata right on the Pin itself, giving Pinners a richer experience and increasing engagement. Information in a Rich Pin is independent of the Pin description, ensuring that important information is always tied to the pin. As a now blog writer and a VERY long time Pinterest lover, I wanted to ensure my website’s pins are standing out on Pinterest and staying connected to my content. Today I’m sharing how I added Rich Pins to Pinterest with Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress.

April 14, 2016 0 comment

DIY Estate Sale Vintage Wedding

DIY Succulent Centerpieces

written by Robin Budd

When we first jumped into planning our wedding, I quickly learned that weddings are inherently expensive. From catering, to venues, entertainment and alcohol, things just add up. And every amazing detail you want to create only serves to add to your bottom line. To save on some costs, as well as add personal touches to our own wedding, a lot of our decor was thrifted and DIY’ed. I started planning early (12+ months) and spent A LOT of time creating one-of-a-kind pieces for our vintage & woodland themed event. Just one of the many DIY’ed pieces were our succulent centerpieces. These cute little plants were used on our reception tables to create the vintage and natural atmosphere we were after. The centerpieces were a mixture of items found at thrift stores and estate sales, plus a little hands-on DIY effort. Today I’m sharing all the details that went into planning my DIY succulent centerpieces, the materials I used and how I created these cuties for cheap.

April 12, 2016 0 comment

DIY Projects

Build a Cabinet from Reclaimed Materials Step 2

written by Robin Budd

Building a Cabinet from Reclaimed Materials by Robin Budd via www.mendonandbelle.com @robinbudd

As you may recall from my previous post: Build a Cabinet from Reclaimed Materials: Step 1, I had uncovered a set of drawers and doors from a local salvage store that had inspired me to build my first-ever piece of furniture, a vintage inspired cabinet. I was way excited when I took those drawers and doors home. So excited in fact, that I actually didn’t even go straight home. I went over to my mom’s house to show her and my dad what I had purchased. My dad is an extremely handy guy and my mom has always had a strong appreciation for tools. I knew he would know what to do next and she would have what I needed to do it.

April 7, 2016 0 comment

Projects

My Spring Yard Maintenance

written by Robin Budd

I can always tell Spring is upon us when the grass starts growing out of control. I love all the green, but I can’t tell you how much I dread mowing the lawn. This year (insert gasp here), we hired a yard service. I’ve been mowing our lawn for all 9 of the years that Tim and I have been living together (He’s not much of a yard guy) and I can’t tell you how over it I am. Last year our grass was terrible and our house was probably the embarrassment of the neighborhood. I was spending so much time wedding planning and Cooper training that the lawn fell the to wayside. I was so happy when the grass died last summer and I didn’t have to worry about mowing it any longer. And now it’s that time of year again when it’s all coming back. Today I’m sharing my Spring yard maintenance and the progress I’ve made so far this year on getting my yard back in shape.

April 5, 2016 0 comment

Pinterest Tips & Advice

Create Pinterest Images that People Love to Pin

written by Robin Budd

As a lot of people do, I love having my blog posts pinned or repinned on Pinterest. Not only does it make me feel great that someone is loving my work, but it also helps to promote my brand and work across a whole new platform. As a blog writer and a Pinterest lover, I’ve learned that the key to getting my work pinned is making sure my images are optimized for Pinterest. An optimized image can draw a user in, entice them to pin my content and, if I’m super lucky, even read my post. Now, what’s the trick to creating the most pin-worthy, optimized images? Today I’m sharing my 7 Pinteresting Tips on how to create Pinterest images that people love to pin.

March 31, 2016 1 comment