Valentines Day Hutch & Wreath Tutorial

Hello friends!

True confession time.

This Valentine's Day inspired decor that I'm

sharing with you today is from last year!

I had all the photos loaded & ready to go.

I just never posted it!

I was so surprised when I saw the draft listed.

I don't have a lot of Valentine's Day decor.

Just a few things.

This year, (well last year) I decided to make a wreath.

I really love how it turned out.

And it was so easy to make too.

Here's my tutorial on the wreath.

It's almost silly how easy it is to make.

I traced some heart shapes onto a piece of lightweight cardboard.

I cut them out.

I then took yarn, taped the end in place and began wrapping 

it around the shape.

I wrapped all willy nilly,

nothing uniform about it.

My intention was to wrap the yarn completely around

the cardboard so there would be no cardboard showing.

However, once I got going, I decided I loved

the cardboard peeking out behind the yarn,

so I left it like that.

I glued the shapes onto a grapevine wreath

and there you have it!

Don't you love an easy craft that

turns out better than you expected?

Kitchen Reveal

Hello! 

Is is really September?

This Summer really flew by.

Two years ago,

we did a little kitchen refresh.

Because I tend to disappear

from the blog from time to time,

I never shared it here for you to see,

so today is the day it'll make its debut.

I painted my cabinets white

some 9 years ago.

They are old cabinets, original

to this house built in 1933.  

I never want to part with them because

they are huge and can house so many dishes.

There were a few things I knew for sure:

 I hated my blue tile backsplash,

       I hated my brown linoleum flooring,

I hated my wood look countertops,

I'm not a stainless steel appliance girl. 

I wanted fresh & clean & white.

But....

here's where I differ from the rest of the white kitchen groupies...

I really, really love color too.

Come take a peek:

Now let me give you a few less than flattering

before pictures so you can get some perspective here.

Here's that brown linoleum:

(please forgive the mess)

Here's that blue tile backsplash and those awful countertops:

(please forgive the pile of dishes drying in the sink)

And the same view now:

Much better, huh?

How I love my white subway tile and quartz countertops!

No more brown linoleum either!

I apologize for the reflection in the glass cabinet doors below.

They are so hard to photograph.

So that is my kitchen reveal.

Not a major reno, 

but enough to make a huge improvement

and most importantly,  

 enough to make me happy.

 Thanks for coming by today.

I'll be back soon  because hey, 

it's time for Fall décor!

Master Bedroom Refresh

Hello sweet friends!

Since I've taken many blog breaks over the past year or so,

I realized I have not shared a bunch of updates done around here.

(I may eventually need to do an updated home tour.)

So, today I'm going to start with the master bedroom.

Here is what the bedroom looked like before:

We had very dark mahogany furniture.

I somehow managed to convince my husband
that the furniture needed to go.
However, when we began shopping I realized
that the dressers nowadays seemed very small.
The drawers seemed very small as well.

You have to understand, we live in an old house.
Closet space is practically non existent in old houses,
so dressers need to store a lot.

After much thought, I decided to paint our furniture.
My husband was not crazy about this idea, but
I went ahead with it.

We painted the walls Cottonwood by Ralph Lauren.
Then the furniture got covered by
Annie Sloan's chalk paint in Pure White.
We bought an upholstered head board and
a chandelier and just like that,
a completely different look.

We were going to change out all the original brass handles 

on the drawers for new hardware, 

but decided to keep them instead.

And because I'm nothing if not real,

I'm showing you this picture...

I like a TV in the bedroom.

I'm am so happy with how it all turned out.
It feels so much lighter & brighter now.

Wishing you a wonderful day!

DIY Kitchen Nook Benches

Hi Friends!  

I trust everyone is enjoying Spring!

Today, I would like to share how my husband & I 

made benches for our kitchen nook.

There are a couple of things I need to say first...

We actually built these last February. 

As in 2015.  

I have no idea why I took so long to share them with you.  

Believe me, we really have no talent whatsoever in

home improvement/diy/carpentry, etc.  

We were literally just flying by the seats of our pants.  

Let me first show you the before picture.  

I realize the quality of this picture is not the best, 

and I apologize for that.

I was so over the wood wainscoting, the table, the chairs...

So I talked my husband into building benches.

Oh he was ever the skeptic!

I guess this is because

we have zero talent for this kind of stuff!

So with me being the brains & him the brawn,

and a couple of tutorials to guide us along from:

 Remodelaholic and

In My Own Style 

we began our project....

Woohoo!  

1 down, 1 to go!

 I have to be honest here,

it took us 9 hours to build that bench.  

Stop that snickering, I can hear you!

Again, bear in mind, we have no talent.  None.

The second bench only took 2 hours to build.

See?  The learning curve is over.

We have experience now!  lol

Might I also add that you can see in the pictures 

that the plaster walls behind the wainscoting 

were not exactly fit for paint.

Luckily, I was able to find a solution for now...

paintable wallpaper. 

Are you ready for the pretty part?

The after picture:

 

So much better!

We can literally fit 6 people here now.

Who knew?

I did have to replace the fabric on the cushions

since the above pictures were taken.

Not because it wore out, 

but because I picked too lightweight a fabric and it was wrinkling, 

which drove me nuts!

The only heavy weight fabric I could find in red is

the one below. 

I will eventually replace that one too,

once I find something I like better.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed our little diy.

There are some other changes

in store for this kitchen in the next couple of months and

I promise not to wait a year before sharing them with you!

Thanks for stopping by today.  

 

Revealing the Upstairs Bathroom Remodel

Hello friends!

 I have been meaning to share our upstairs bathroom remodel 

with you for a few months now.

 There are quite a few pics, so you might want to grab some coffee, 

or maybe something cold to drink as you browse along.

Let's start with the before pictures, shall we?

Can I just say how much I despised this bathroom?

This bathroom is upstairs

and primarily used by my kids...who are now teenagers.

Before:

I loathe those blue fixtures!

I can't get over my tendency to want to shield my eyes!

Cringe worthy!

During:

The contractors came and gutted the place.

Oh what a mess!

Why such a mess you ask?

This bathroom was obviously added on years after the house

was built in 1933.

The walls were sheet rock...or so we all thought. 

When they got to tearing down the shower wall.....

it was plaster!  

(Just like in the rest of the house.)

Even though this bathroom is upstairs,

that plaster dust covered every single surface of my

house both upstairs & downstairs!

I really could have cried.

Thankfully, things starting looking up quickly.

After:

What an improvement, huh?

I fell in love with this gray wood look tile.

I loved it so much I wanted it used on both the floors...

...and the shower walls.

So much better!

I just need to add a few little accents to 

the walls yet, but other than that, she's all done!

If you're digging this whole before & after thing,

you can see the reveal of my downstairs bathroom

from a few years back by clicking right here.  

Thanks for stopping by today!

Linking to:

Tuesdays @ Our Home at Our Home Away from Home

A Table Rescue

Don't you think it's amazing how quickly this summer is flying by?

I can't believe it's the last week of July already!

Last year, after my new living room furniture was delivered, 

I found I needed a little side table...one that would fit between the couch 

and the radiator.  I knew this would not be an easy find

because the space between is so narrow.

One day, I dragged my poor husband out into the middle of nowhere for

an estate sale.  And there, I found it!  The perfect table!

I know you're probably thinking, 

"This was the perfect table?"

I know, I know, my husband was skeptical as well.

He was also not happy that I paid $20.00.

He thought it too much for something so beat up.

I brought it home, got right to work using

 a little "miracle elixir" which I know

you all know about.  :)

Annie Sloan's Old White chalk paint.

See now?  She's looking pretty good, huh?

I stenciled the top for a little added something.

Exactly what I was looking for!

She really was the perfect table!

Don't you just love it when you rescue something

and transform it from ugly duckling

to beautiful swan?

Have a wonderful day, friends!

 

Honored & Excited

Hi friends! 

I'm not sure how to write this post or even if I should be writing it.

I hope you don't all think me shameless. 

 I can't help it really. 

 I'm excited!

A few months ago, 

I was contacted by the Home Editor of Redbook magazine. 

 She asked if they could potentially feature my umbrella wreath

in their April edition.

" Are you talking to lil' old me?" 

 Why yes!  

Yes, of course you can feature it!  

I tried not to get excited just in case

the whole thing didn't work out.  

However...

I was pleasantly surprised to find myself on page 142.

Many thanks to Redbook Magazine.

I am both honored & excited to be featured in their publication.

Many thanks to you, my friends,  

for visiting me often, 

leaving me wonderful comments, 

and allowing me to blow my own horn.  :)

I'll be back to share some Spring decor soon.