One man's trash....is another's craft center!

Well, my resolution to blog more often fell flat on its face and is a little bruised and battered! Poor little guy. BUT, even if I haven't been blogging, I have been busy!

Last summer, my neighbor decided to get rid of a bunch of furniture and other stuff that she wasn't using. I was lucky enough to claim this little gem!

I know, it looks kind of rough but it was free and I thought I could slap some paint on it and use it in my 4 yr old's room. Once I measured, though, it was too big for his room so I just let this sit and sit in the garage.

We have been sick a lot so far this year and being cooped up at home so much has made me get antsy about a few organizing projects. The pantry, the half bath, the garage, my craft area... and several others...

I realized that by painting the dresser and using it in my dining room for craft storage it would set in motion The Great Shuffle of 2013, which would help me check off 3 areas in the home that have been driving me crazy.

Let the Shuffle begin! 

My dad built this for me last summer and I loved it in the dining room but I actually designed it to be a vanity in my half bath! So, out comes pedestal sink and in goes vanity. (Will have pictures soon!)

Arts and crafts that are in a rolling cart in the pantry AND the green box on the floor by table go in freshly painted and polyurethaned dresser!  Bins in the small drawers help divide markers, crayons, pencils, stamps and paints. The kids can find everything and, even more importantly, put it all away. 

It ALL fits! Plus, now I can walk into my pantry. AND, the dresser isn't taking up space in the garage anymore! Who knew one little dresser would be the catalyst for so many projects??

Now I just need to find hardware for the dresser and we'll be all set!

Long Overdue!

Finally. I painted my awful cabinets! 

I have wanted to paint my kitchen cabinets since the moment we owned the house. (I'm not going to tell you how long ago that was!) I have had a paint swatch tucked in a cabinet door for 2 years but I would forget all about it until someone would see it and ask, "Oh, are you going to paint your cabinets??" Yes, last year and the year before and the year before... 

The golden oak color has been out of date for years and made the kitchen seem dark, small and very ugly.

I found out about a Benjamin Moore product that goes on like a latex and cleans up like a latex paint but dries and is as durable as an oil paint. It is called Advance and I am SO pleased with how great it looks and how easy it was to use!

I love my kitchen now! I know it will never be on the cover of a magazine but it is wonderful nonetheless. It is bright. How bright, you ask? It is so much brighter I keep coming around the corner thinking I left the lights on and then realize it's all that elbow grease and white paint that brightened the place up.

I'm leaving the upper cabinet doors off for now because my life is so busy that I can't be opening and closing all kinds of doors! (Brian Regan reference). Actually, I do really like how open it feels but the long term plan to take out the center of the doors and add glass panels. Maybe I should put a time limit on that project!

I used to have big bulky blinds in the window but decided to take them down and go with something airy and bright. In steps ivory lace to the rescue! 

Now that my kitchen and I are on speaking terms, I'm pulling out my pretties that have been boxed up for years because they just didn't quite "go" with the kitchen before her makeover.

Now as I sit at the table drinking coffee while one child does artwork and the other drums for the entire Star Wars collection, I can enjoy looking at my lovely kitchen (and then get up and go find my ear plugs).

Boob lights, watch out. Your days are numbered.

Cabinets are Bejamin Moore Acadia white

Back wall is Benjamin Moore Woodlawn Blue

Walls are Clay Beige with green added to take out the pink so it is much closer to Nantucket beige.

Lampshade Makeover

It's a sad day when a gorgeous lamp like this gets ignored.

Most of the time, being cheap works well for me- not so much when I trim my own bangs- but that is the exception!  Years ago, I found a matching pair of green glass lamps at a garage sale and I was able to buy them both for $5 each.  I was sort of clueless, though, about what sort of lampshade to use.  

For a while I used this lampshade because it's one I already had and I figured I'd be inspired at some point.  I also knew the neck was way too long and I'd have to take the lamp apart and rewire it.  blech.   Unfortunately, I sort of stopped noticing the lamp and it stayed this way until my mom came for a visit and gently asked, "Would you like for me to buy a new lampshade???"  Uh, I guess it's time to do something different!

So, I went out and bought the most boring white lampshade on earth.  I also bought a cheap lamp at Goodwill and used a couple pieces as the new neck for the lamp.  And that's how it stayed for another year.

Theeeen, my friend, Kristie the Decorologist, posted this shabby chic lampshade tutorial and I figured, Why not do something about this boring lampshade?  What do I have to lose?  If I mess up I can always go out and buy another completely boring lampshade at any number of stores.

I watched a tutorial on youtube, got out some fabric I already had that I love and got to work.  

 I was really drawn to yellow for the trim color but it just didn't feel quite right.  My brilliant mother suggested trimming off the yellow balls off the bottom and voila.  The finished product.  

I absolutely LOVE my lampshade now!  I notice it every time I walk past and I think it has so much more personality.  I don't think I'll ever be happy with a boring white lampshade again.  

I even did another lampshade but I'll save that for another day!  

My Green Door

I posted a while back about trying to decide on a color for my shutters and front door.  You can see that post Here.  I really wanted to use green but the color green I was drawn to just didn't seem right for the shutters.  SO, I painted the shutters black (paint I already had in the garage) and painted the door green.  This way, I can change the door color as the mood strikes me and the shutters stay their crisp, practical black.  
Here is a quick reminder of the Before-

Faded burgundy shutters and door, dirty gutters and windows.  The place was depressing!

I used the color Grassland from Lowe's.  Once we got up on the ladder to take the shutters down we washed the windows and gutters so the house looks squeaky clean now, which definitely needed to happen!

Now to finish off the landscaping on the left side of the house and it'll be my perfect little cottage.... until I decide to change something else!  Total cost for this makeover was $15.  

Need to make some changes but don't have much budget?  I absolutely love those kinds of projects!  Let the creativity begin.... 

A bookshelf makeover

This isn't going to be a jaw-dropping before and after but I always like to see and share pictures of makeovers -however small they may be!

My friends gave me a couple bookshelves when I created a design plan for their office/gear room.  The bookshelves are handmade and although very sturdy, they weren't very cute.  I always imagined I would paint them fun colors but didn't get around to it....until I noticed that their daughter might benefit from a bookshelf in her room!  I was very open and honest that I was going to re-gift the bookshelf, hoping that that would make it less tacky.  (remember that next time you get a hideous sweater at Christmas....tactfully re-gift it as coasters!  ha ha!)   I painted the bookshelf for their daughter and it is perfectly adorable in her bedroom.

 Not much of a looker, bless its heart.  I sanded down the interior and exterior of the bookshelf to break down some of the glossy poly that covered the shelf so the paint would adhere better. 

 Next, I primed the interior of the bookshelf and then painted with semi-gloss Great Green (sherwin williams).  Since there is a lip around the front of the bookshelf it was easier to keep the line between the two colors nice and tidy.  Creating a line between two paint colors can be tricky so I lucked out!

For the exterior I used Silky White in the Behr paint and primer in one. Two coats of poly and we are ready to go! 

Some books and accessories and it is ready for use.  Now that my original vision has been realized for one of the bookshelves I need to apply some elbow grease and get the other one done for my son's room.  I just love how a little paint can give furniture a new lease on life!  

Think outside the box

I heard the phrase "migratory furniture" recently and laughed so hard because, I must admit, my furniture migrates pretty regularly and it soothes my soul.  Sometimes it is simply the realization that the couch would look much better on the other side of the room and sometimes it is the need to shake things up a bit.  This is my first winter cooped up with 2 young and very active boys so as the cold drags on I've been unable to ignore the need to lighten and brighten my surroundings.  AND, not spend money.

Yesterday as I was sitting at the table in the dining room I looked out onto the deck and felt sorry for the table out there.  Stuck in the cold with no one to enjoy its style.  I looked at the big black table in front of me and realized I could make a huge impact with very little effort and NO money!

The glass-top table takes up so much less room, it reflects a ton of light and the room feels so much livelier without the big black table dominating the room.  (plus, I get to sit closer to my family at meal times)  

Side note: my buffet used to look like THIS but I decided to change it up a bit.  I used a strip of grass-cloth wallpaper that I bought for about $5 and taped it to the doors.  Much better!  I like modern lines but love natural textures so this solution marries the two preferences perfectly.  And, yes, those are cheap Ikea chairs with washable cushions for my kids.  Sometimes practicality has to win over style.  Maybe when they move out I'll bring in my other 2 animal print chairs!

Now my old table is in the garage with no one to enjoy its style but, well, life is rough sometimes.  Feeling the need for change?  Don't bother rushing to the store; Just try rearranging a few things and thinking outside the box! Happy migration!