A few Christmases ago, I bought my husband a record player a Miles Davis record, we had just recently seen the movie Miles to Go, and we both loved it. I wanted to give him a thoughtful gift that would be fun to continue to add to and build a little record collection. We both love music and seeking out new artists and falling in love with old music. Since buying the record player, we often stop in record stores or seek out the vinyl section in most thrift stores hoping to come across a gem.

For a while we had the record player in our living room and then finally moved it into our bedroom, it looks perfect on the console table next to our french doors. Yesterday was a happy mail day, my new record player arrived! Yes, our small home now has two record players! I’ve been stalking a leopard record player for months, I just loved how it looked but had no one to put it until we shifted things around. Funny how that happens!

This record player is the first leopard decor I have in my house, and I love leopard prints! I’ll rock leopard flats, heels and belts all day long, but in decor, it wasn’t ‘my thing.’ But this sprinkling pattern in my living room is rocking my world. The leopard record player (I dare you to try and say it three times fast) feels right at home in on our bookcases.

Months later I’m still so happy we built these bookcases, read more about this DIY Project here. I plan to have Hasani drill a hole in the top of the cabinet, that way we can discreetly plug the outlet into the cabinet below. Yay, to hidden cords! One thing I love about modern record players is the Bluetooth compatibility, I can play music from my iPhone making or use the AUX Cord. Best of both worlds!

Shopping online for records, I’ve had good luck with eBay, Amazon and seen newer music on Urban Outfitters.

I love the vibe record players add to space, plus they’re so affordable, and most vinyl purists will state, music sounds better on vinyl. I totally agree playing Miles Davis or listening to Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall record on vinyl is incredible.

" My Record Collection probably tells the story of my life better than I could in words " - Colleen Murphy

I just love all the vibes adding a record player to your space brings in.

image via Ash of Details and Amber Interior Design

When I was a teenager, I had a little growing record collection, and no record player, they were so hard to find and typically too big and way too dated 80’s and 90’s for my taste. I'm glad record players are so easy to find these days and look so good! I’ve rounded up a stylish group of record players all at a great price point to add retro vibes into your space.

I'm so excited to slowly grow our record collection and in the process turn our kids onto to vinyl records. Are you a fan of vinyl records?

I’m so excited to share a few recent bedroom updates I recently completed in my master bedroom. For the longest time, our bedroom has been neglected. Don’t we all have that one room in our house that needs some love? When we moved back into our home after rebuilding, I didn’t put much effort into finding the right window coverings solution for my bedroom. We installed basic 2-inch faux wood blinds in our master bedroom, and our french doors remained bare. One day while shopping at a local big box store, I found some super-clearance cheap, fabric white roman shades for our french doors. The roman shades mostly served their purpose; they gave us a little privacy, but they felt flat and entirely wrong for my bedroom.

After installing new natural shades in my living room and dining room, I knew natural shades would be the perfect solution for giving my bedroom a fresh look. I’ve partnered with LEVOLOR® to share how I quickly updated the look and feel of my bedroom, giving it an inviting atmosphere.

SELECTING NATURAL SHADES

I love how amazing my LEVOLOR Natural Shades look in my living areas and decided to go with natural shades for my bedroom. I began my search on LEVOLOR.com; they have a huge selection of styles, colors, and textures of natural shades. I like how natural shades are inspired by nature and organic materials. I narrowed down my choice to four different natural shades options; I love that they offer free swatches giving you the opportunity to see the items up close and personal and help you visualize how their blinds will look in your space. After spending some time with the swatches and seeing how the natural shades looked throughout the day, I fell in love with the natural shade Spa Cove in Tan.

LEVOLOR offers many custom style features including coordinated fabric liner in light filtering or room darkening. There are also three different valance options and decorative edge binding to customize and enhance the look of the natural shade you select. Hands down, my favorite customization from LEVOLOR is the ability to choose your control options: cord loop, Top-Down/Bottom-Up and cordless.

MEASURING YOUR WINDOWS

When ordering custom blinds for your home, it's essential to correctly measure your windows to ensure a proper fit. Your window coverings should open and close with ease. LEVOLOR has created a helpful guide on demonstrating how to measure your windows; they even include a downloadable worksheet to make the process smooth! I found this useful when measuring our windows.

INSTALLATION PROCESS

The blinds arrived fast and well packaged with clear instructions on installation. For the installation of our blinds, we carefully followed the directions and used the following tools: power drill, level (on outside mount) and tape measure and ladder.

We removed our old fabric roman shades along with all the old hardware and then measured the place for our new brackets and installed them. I would guess it took about 10-15 mins to install the blinds on our french doors, and most of that was confirming our new brackets were level! Next, we installed our natural shade on our master bedroom window. Please reference this guide for more information on installation.

COMPLETING THE LOOK

The moment our new natural shades were installed, I couldn't believe my eyes. They looked incredible. They bring in so much texture. Precisely what my bedroom has been lacking! They create amazing warmth with all the natural variations. I love using natural elements when designing a room; it helps create a warm feeling in my home that’s inviting. I love how the warmth of the natural shades look paired with my drapery and hardware. This trio belongs together, and I couldn't be happier!

For our bedroom french doors and window, we opted for cordless blinds. Simply put, I’m obsessed with this feature. I love that it creates a streamlined look in my room, whereas our previous roman shades had cords that were a tangled mess and dangerous. Having a small child and Lab that’s still in puppy mode, I never felt safe with them in our bedroom alone. LEVOLOR cordless blinds are a safer option for homes with children and pets. Just look for the Best For Kids seal, granted by the Window Coverings Manufacturers Association (a third-party certification) You can find more information, here.

In addition to cordless natural shades, we also opted for room darkening fabric liner; I love this feature! Even though they were just installed, they already keep our room nice and dark which is helping us sleep better. Before, lots of early morning light would continuously stream through, and these shades help me squeeze in some extra sleep on weekends.

I’m thrilled with how our new natural shades enhance the look and window coverings in my bedroom. A reminder: never underestimate the power how the right window treatment can impact the look of your space in such a positive way. Here’s a quick before and after of how much better my windows and drapes look!