Good Read: InStyle Magazine's Natural Wonders

If we're friends on Facebook, then there's a good chance that you saw my status update last night about having just read the BEST article on NATURAL HAIR ever in InStyle's Special Hair Issue.

I'm mean, I was excited to see an article on natural African American hair in this particular magazine, but an article of this caliber just blew me away. Actually, the 126 page glossy provided a plethora of info on African American hair...especially, considering the fact that we aren't necessarily their target audience. From note-worthy products to use, like the best detangling comb for curls (pg. 50) to steps on how to dry your curls with a diffuser (86).

In the article, "NATURAL WONDERS", interviewer, Kahlana Barfield had a chance to talk to three of my natural haired inspirations, Yaya Dacosta, Solange Knowles and Corinne Bailey Rae. Each had the opportunity to tell the story of their natural hair journeys and then gave a little insight to their own personal hair routines.

By the time you read this post, I'll, probably, be headed to a couple stores to pick up some new products, like coconut oil and L'Oreal's Ever Creme line (the Deep Nourishing Masque and Leave-In Conditioner were mentioned all up and throughout the mag). I'm already two clicks away from ordering Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla Shampoo and Hair Smoothie (also mentioned more than once in the mag). So, you guys should definitely head out and pick up this special InStyle issue to read all the deets. It's definitely worth the couple bucks it'll cost.

Here's to good hair days,
Coco : )

Dresser Update

Happy Monday everbody! I finally got hardware added to our dressers and it was one of the easiest DIY projects I've ever tackled. I promise, the one step that took a little time was the measuring for perfect placement. This is only because 1. I don't have a template that's actually made to help with projects like these, and 2. I didn't want to drill a hole in the fronts of my dressers only to realize that I was off a little to the left. So measure, measure, measure, measure, measure! Or go and buy an actual drill template! I can't wait to show you the finished look, but first, let me break down the hardware selection process.

To begin this process, we had to take into consideration the pieces that the new hardware would be going on. Upon moving in together, Mr. Marcus and I had NO storage for our clothes whatsoever. So with that emergency necessity, we drove to Dallas and bought a couple of inexpensive dressers from the Malm collection at IKEA.

 

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No, they're not my fantasy bedroom furniture, but I love their clean lines, loads of storage space and of course, the great prices! I've would've gone a tad lighter on the finish, but since it was our first furniture purchase together, Mr. Marcus had to have a little input and this is what he went with. Such a typical male. But anyway, as much as I could appreciate them for what they were, I still felt that they needed a small update for them to fit in with what I was wanting for our bedroom. I knew I wanted to soften all of the hard edges of these dressers by adding hardware that had a little curve to it: thus, being the basis of my search.

Now there are hundreds of sites online that sell cabinetry and furniture hardware, but once I got my search narrowed, I was down to three sites: CoolKnobsandPulls.com, Amazon.com & HomeDepot.com. Each had a perk of a huge selection, super low prices or free shipping, or even a combination of all three, so I highly recommend either of them if you're searching for hardware to update your dressers or cabinets.

I set out on my search on all three sites (and more) in hopes of finding something 1. with curves, 2. that was a pull, but not a bar, 3. that has a brushed nickel or something similar, 4. that was easy to install and 5. less than $5 each, since I would be needing 12 of them. And after a couple days, I had corralled these options:

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Can you tell which one was my favorite? No? Well, I'll just show you...

I chose these lovelies because the rings kinda reminded me a little of the "links" on the fabric I used on our headboard.

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I actually ordered 6 from Home Depot and 6 from Amazon.com. The ones from the Amazon site were less expensive, coming in at only $3.97 each, but there were only 6 in stock. The ones at Home Depot were a little bit more expensive ($4.75 each), but they offered free shipping, which kinda made everything even. Both packages arrived on the same day and I had them installed in about an hour and a half. (remember: measure, measure, measure!!!). Its funny how something so simple can change the feel of an entire piece of furniture.

Now, this may not be the final change for these dressers. I'm kinda getting the feeling that some paint may be introduced to the picture some day. We'll see!

So what do you guys think? Which hardware would you have chosen?  It's OK to share...it won't hurt my feelings. (too much, anyway)

Xoxo,

Coco