Moving motivation!

So my house currently looks like a war zone.  Why is it that "organizing" everything in boxes someone results in a  huge mess?  We are nearing the finish line, thank goodness because we are both exhausted!

As if I didn't have enough going on I decided to finish another project.  Not wanting to move various parts of a semi-completed project I decided to hurry up and get it done.

I picked up this dresser from the same seller I bought the vanity from.

Ignore all the mess in this picture!

It was only $20 and I knew it had a lot of potential. Lately I have been doing a lot of whites and neutrals so I decided to go for a fun color this time.  I have been inspired by all the great green transformations I have been seeing around blogland.

I can't get enough of this dresser featured in Lonny Magazine!

I saw this dresser and love all the hardware.  I would never think to add drawer pulls to the side.  This is definitely on my must try list.  Found it here.

When I found the perfect green in the $1 oops section at Home Depot I knew it was meant to be.  I added a little gold paint to the existing hardware.

I love the rusty old casters on the feet.

My flash is making the color look more pastel green than it is.  It is more of a bright green like the inspiration pics.  I would have put some cute little accessories on it but everything is in boxes!

I love how it turned out.  I think it is a fun pop of color and another adventure out of my design comfort zone.

Vanity Redo

So the other day while hunting Craigslist I saw a cute vintage vanity for $20.  I had nowhere to put it and didn't know what I would do with it, but it was cute and I figured I could always sell it.

I usually play it pretty safe with my painted furniture.  I decided since I wasn't trying to match this to my home I would try to do something different.  Lately I have been really liking the distressed, worn, looks like it has been in a beach house for 50 years kind of paint treatment.  I had no idea what I was doing but figured I would just go for it and make it up as I went.  Halfway through I hated it and thought I had wasted a ton of my time and would need to paint over it.  I remembered reading a post by Miss Mustard Seed where she said a lot of her finishes look weird midway so I just kept going. I am glad I did because in the end I really liked the finish.  It is definitely outside my comfort zone but it was fun to try something new.

Have any of you tried anything outside your normal design style lately?

We're Moving!

My family and I currently rent a two bedroom townhouse.  We love the area we are in, ( 5 minutes from Mom, our favorite babysitter), but we have just outgrown our space.  Periodically while scanning Craigslist for fun furniture finds I check out the rentals.  Our criteria if we were to move was that it has to have a workshop space for me, yay!, a big fenced in yard for Pyper, and another bedroom for future baby #2.  My husband luckily is flexible and more or less lets me take the lead on these decisions.  Also we didn't want to spend much more than we were already spending because we want to be able to save as much as possible so we can buy our own house in the not so far off future.

I was scanning today and a listing popped out at me.  We went and took a look and liked what we saw.  It is an older rambler so it has a few aesthetic quirks, plus the bedrooms and closets are smaller than what we have now but the garage is HUGE, like built to house a boat and a car plus store tons of stuff huge.  I will be able to store all my goodies, i.e. my ever growing holiday decor, and have tons of space to store and work on my furniture projects.  He had me at the garage before I even stepped inside.  The outside was great too.  It has a nice big fenced in yard perfect for kids.  A big backyard is a rarity around here in the more urban areas so we feel so excited to score such a nice one.  Plus we are still only 10 minutes from our favorite babysitter.

So as I'm sure you have figured out...we went for it!

The great thing is I will have lots of things to blog about trying to redecorate and hide the quirky aspects of the new place.  The bad, very stressful thing, is we have about 2 weeks to pack and plan for a move that as of this morning we had no idea was about to happen!!  I will try to keep up my blogging and projects but I might be a little lighter the next couple of weeks.  Wish me luck that I can get us all organized in time!

Dresser Deja Vu and Ballard memo board knock off

A few weeks ago my parents called me and said their neighbor had put  a desk on the street with a free sign and wanted to know if I wanted it.  Of course I said yes, sight unseen.  I don't know if it is a good thing or not that people think of me when they see junk on the street but I love a makeover, and a free one even better.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the desk was well made and was the french style I like.

I forgot to take a before pic until after I had already got started, sorry, I always jump in and forget about the camera.

I had just finished my dresser redo and had all the materials on hand so I decided to use the same treatment on the desk.  I don't really have anywhere in my house for it so I knew I was planning on selling it when I was finished.

I distressed and lightly glazed the desk and like the finished product.  Definitely dresser deja vu.

On a thrifting trip this week I picked up this frame.

It was fairly large and solid wood and I had a plan for it.  I have been loving the memo boards in the Ballard Designs catalog.  The burlap and nail head are perfection.

$79.00

$199.00

I started by painting my frame a creamy white.  Then I went over it with a brown glaze and wiped it off right away so it would just leave a subtle accent on the details.

I couldn't find a cork board the size of my frame so I decided to make my own.  I attached a piece of foam poster board, ( I love this stuff and use it all the time!), to the frame of the old canvas that came with the frame.

Then I attached cork to the front.  I wrapped the frame in burlap I picked up for $2.99 for one yard at Joanne's.

I added a few nail heads and popped it back in the frame.

I love the result!  For about $12 I think it looks just as good as the Ballard board and it was well over $100 cheaper.  Score!

Here it is with the desk for now.

Wishing for Spring

It has been a little gloomy around Seattle lately so I thought it was time to add some Spring to my decor.  I decided to start at the front door.  My door has been decor free since the holidays so I thought it was time to add a little color.  I started with supplies I already had around the house.  I had a grapevine wreath and some moss left over from other projects.  I actually only had to purchase the letter "C"  and a little more moss so this whole project came in really cheap.

I started by hot gluing moss all over my letter.

 Then I just glued different kinds of moss all over my wreath.  This was one of those projects that half way through I thought it looked like a preschool craft and almost scraped it.  I kept going and after adding my fake moss rocks it was starting to look a little better.  Originally I had planned to keep the wreath all green but after the moss was all on it looked kind of blah.  I dug out my butterfly punch and some craft paper and book page.  I punched out a few butterflies and glued them down.  The little pop of lightness and whimsy make the wreath so much more fun.   My front porch is covered so rain is not an issue with the paper.

 I used some natural colored ribbon to hang it up, added a bow and I was done. 

The whole project took me 20 minutes start to finish.  I love the little touch of Spring it adds to our home.  Now I just need mother nature to catch on and bring the sunshine out!

Thrifty Key

So while out thrifting I picked up this key for $2.99.  It was plastic and a yucky gold color but I knew it had potential.

 Lately I have been wanting to update my photo wall in my living room.  Currently it is very symmetrical and all pictures.

 I would like to make it a little more mixed like some of these gallery walls I have seen around blogland.

via

via

I thought this key would be a great start.  A little spray paint I had already and it was good to go.

 I also really like it when the tv is hung and incorporated into the wall art so it is less of a focal point.  Right now my tv is just on a cabinet in the corner but I am thinking of trying something similar to these.

via

via

via

Now I am on the hunt for a few more pieces to fun up my wall a bit.

Does anyone have any other good ideas for making your tv a little less the center of attention?