Showing posts with label decor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label decor. Show all posts

Friday, August 28, 2015

Sunroom Makeover

The sunroom in my mom's "new" house was the room we'd planned on painting first. Ironically, it's the room we ended up doing last. After move in day, we realized just how much work actually needed done and it was a bit overwhelming. We decided to start with her bedroom so that at least she'd have a real place to sleep. 
We then moved in the most logical order we could think of, with the living room, guest bedroom, and office. Thankfully, the kitchen was freshly painted and the bathrooms just needed the walls washed for now. 
Then there was the sunroom. Without this room, my mom wouldn't have bought the house. It adds a lot of square footage to the house, as well as a place for a dining room table (there is no other place for one in the home), and beyond that peach door is her large, walk-in pantry. 
 Needless to say, this room (much like the rest of the house) needed a lot of help. I finally remembered to take a "before" photo, which I wish I'd have remembered to do for the rest of the house. In the photos above and below, you'll see that this room was half peach/half dark wood paneling.
 I'll be honest, by the time we got to this room we were so over painting. 
Like, done painting. 
We did the next logical thing: hire a painter. 
The large white wall had to be completely re textured because of the poor original drywall job.

 I love a good comparison photo...

 We picked a snowy white for the walls because I just knew this room should be light, bright, and airy. The metal ceiling got a pale blue for contrast. It is not terribly noticeable, which is what we were going for. We were aiming for a breezy, beachy sunroom without having to actually buy a bunch of decor that says "beach" and making it obvious. 
 The daybed is perfect for this space! It's the Indonesian daybed from World Market and it's fabulous. My mom already had the large Euro pillows, and we bought the covers for them at Ikea. The quilt covering the mattress is also from World Market. 
 Since this room is also her dining room and an extension of her kitchen, the microwave had to go in here. We searched high and low and everywhere in between for something to put it on. I'm happy with what we finally found. It looks clean and sleek in this little corner by the pantry door. The light fixture was hideous, so we chose a new one at Lowe's and it's PERFECT! 
Michael's had these crates on clearance, and it was the perfect touch.
 You can see the light fixture that was over the table in the before picture. The lights in this room were both plug in lights, so we had yet another challenge to meet. This distressed gray light from World Market was perfect, AND on sale. We are using some of her existing furniture that she brought with her. The pie safe and table came from her old home. Behind that door is her huge walk in pantry.
 I bought these wicker chairs on a Facebook buying/selling group and spray painted them gray. We found the ivory cushions on clearance at World Market, and the pillows on clearance at Lowe's. The ottoman I snagged at an estate sale, and the side table is actually a stool from Ikea. 
 I bought my mom this large, gray distressed wood tray from decorsteals.com and it's perfect above the daybed. That blue bead board table was from an antique store.
 The ocean photo is actually a picture my mom and dad took together in Morro Bay on one of their trips to visit me, so she wanted to be sure to use it. It's perfect in this room.



 This GREAT cart came from Ikea! One thing I knew we'd need to be heavy on in this room is greenery. I could picture this room from the very first time we looked at the house with the real estate agent. The bottom level of the cart holds my mom's shell collection.
 We bought this wood plaque at a thrift store and I painted it blue, and then sanded it a bit to distress it. It is mounted above the window air conditioner to bring a little color to that white corner. This room was an add on, so it isn't a part of the central AC with the rest of the house.
 The other light is also from World Market, and it is also a plug in light. In this spot, the old owners had a terribly ugly track lighting. Trust me, it was bad. We'd already removed it prior to taking the "before" photos.
I seriously want to go to my mom's every morning to drink my coffee. She told me that she tried to take a nap in here today, but couldn't because she didn't want to close her eyes. It was too pretty. Mission accomplished. 
Also, dear World Market, you're welcome.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Decorating with Crates

I redecorated one of my "top shelf" areas today. I'm ignoring the fact that our A/C return vent is here. Big eyesore, but it's actually better blended-in now. It could almost pass for a shutter now, I just noticed that! What USED to be here were a set of two giant, dark wicker hamper baskets. I've had them since we got married (almost 9 years ago!) and they are completely faded on the back sides because the "top shelf" in our last house had lighting behind it. I've been gathering wooden crates, and I had no idea what I'd end up with today when I started pulling all of this together, but I. AM. IN. LOVE. with how it turned out!
Yesterday was my second trip to one of my best friend's mother in law's house. She is a antique dealer and has oooooodles of treasures. They might not LOOK like treasures when you're digging through dirty piles of cobwebs and spiders, but they are like gold to me. ;) This big frame is the larger of the two I bought for $5 total. All I did was wash it off, I left the crazy paint the way it was. I actually like it that way. The bottom drawer I bought for $2 and added a metal knob from the BAG of knobs, pulls, and metal pieces I bought from her collection! After we treasure hunted there, my sister in law and I went to Rocky Hill Antiques in Exeter and I found the top greenish/tealish crate. It was actually from my friend Luci's section in the store!

The green crate standing on it's end was $2 from my friend's house. The bottom crate on the right was one of the crates I made and stained for the wedding I did last year. I needed to give height to the smaller turquoise crate that I got for my birthday last year. I believe it was from Marshall's or Home Goods. I love how you can marry old and new when you are buying distressed pieces. You can't tell the difference. The tall piece in the back I got from my first trip to the antique dealer's property. It was also $2.
Here is what it looked like with only crates. I toyed with the idea of only doing an arrangement of empty crates, but once I started adding things from other areas of the house, I liked it better. The tall piece on the right is a chippy, architectural-type of candlestick.


Keeping it REAL... here's what the other side now looks like because I pulled so much stuff to finish it the way I wanted. And LOOK at that pile of dust! Ahh! Now I've got some work to do to make the other side equally satisfying. I may have to buy some more stuff from her when I go pick up my new big furniture piece I'm buying for the dining room! I'm SO excited, I can't wait to get it!

One last look... I'm in love!!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Fall Shelf

I just realized tonight that I hadn't posted my fall shelf on my blog! I started off with my DIY Rustic Shelf, since I don't have a mantel. I kept the old window frame from my summer decor. I love it too much to ever take it down. (Won't it look great with a holiday wreath hanging from the top of it at Christmas?) I made these bead board candy corns last year and I still love them! I used a scrap block of wood and stained it, then cut words out with my Silhouette and tied it with jute. My hubby cut up a small log for me with the chainsaw. The ceramic pumpkins have a big hole in the base, so I was able to put one on my candlestick. (because of the sharp stick that holds the candle in place). I added my fall branches, and last year's acorn garland, cut a bit shorter.

The garland is actually light and dark wood grain peel and stick flooring strips that are sold individually at home improvement stores. They cut great with scissors! They are held up on the garland by using a hole punch.



I'm loving my fall shelf! ;)


The Lettered Cottage

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Monogram Block

Yesterday I played around with my new miter saw and cut some wood for various projects. I had a piece this size leftover and I knew just what I wanted to do with it!



First off, I ran my sander around the rough edges. Next up, I gave it a coat of Heirloom White spray paint. Then I roughed up the sides with my 3m sanding block. The picture below shows what it looks like after I added Valspar Antiquing Glaze. Just apply lightly and wipe off with a paper towel until you get the desired look. It will cling to the sanded areas more, making those parts darker.



Edge view...



After I let it dry for the afternoon, I cut a large B out of gray vinyl with my Silhouette. Then I cut Baeza out of black vinyl. Whenever I am using vinyl for wording, I use transfer tape. It is so much easier! The letters don't get bunched up or uneven.



I LOVE the way it turned out!!! It looks perfect on my new rustic shelf I made today!




Rustic Shelf

I could not be more thrilled!!! It is not very often that something comes together even better than you planned! Today it did!





I bought this old worn down window -without glass- for $8 at Paris Flea Market a week ago. I had this old piece of wood in the garage for awhile now too. I thought, wouldn't it be cool if I made my own rustic shelf?





I went to Home Depot and bought two solid wood corbels for $11 each. I spray painted them Rustoleum's Heirloom White. After they were dry I roughed them up with my 3m sanding block. Next up I used Valspar Antiquing Glaze to weather them a bit. I applied it with a foam brush and then wiped off immediately with a paper towel. Want it darker? Add more. Want it lighter? Use a lighter coat. I love this stuff!





This is what they looked like when I was done. Now I have the base to my shelf. They come with screws and there is a groove for it on the back so they sit flush with the wall.











After cutting my wood board, I had raw edges that didn't match the worn look of the rest of the board. I just added some glaze to these too, just lightly, and wiped off. The glaze grabs to the raw parts of wood a lot more, so you have to be careful with that.





I used my stud finder to locate the wood in the walls. Then I installed the corbels, making sure they were level. Next I laid my board across it, leaving just a tiny lip on each side of the board. It just so happened that's where it ended up with where the studs were in the wall and I like it that way! Then I screwed in a screw from the top of the board on each end of the shelf, drilling it into the corbel. Voila! Done!





I could not POSSIBLY love it more!!! I realize I am showing you a picture and I haven't bought a candle yet for the candle holder, but I was too excited!

















I love the contrast of the corbel with the heirloom white showing underneath the antiquing and the dark weathered wood.





I'm going to show you how to make this bad boy soon! I love it!





Notice the old lock hanging on the nail. I had that laying around the house.











What a score for $8 huh? I LOVE the frame!


Decor Rundown:


Corbels $22 Home Depot


Shelf FREE


Frame $8 Paris Flea Market


Bike $10 Hobby Lobby (50% off)


Key Frame $7.00 Hobby Lobby (50% off)


Candle Holder $7.50 Hobby Lobby (50% off)


Baeza block FREE