Take the Plunge?



Distressed Pine Dresser - Grey Patina

 

Danish Industrial - Salvage Wood Coffee Table

  

Grey Washed Wood

  

Living Room/Coffee Table Current





Lots of Crevices and Bad Knobs

 

Coffee Rings Everywhere - Thanks Daughter!

I have been contemplating this coffee table project for months. It involves taking the plunge which might literally have me also taking a dive....off a bridge, into some icy waters where I would be saved from stripping/sanding. 

The good: 

• solidly constructed
• giant and utilitarian
• drawers to hold games, knick knacks
• perfect size for our living room
• we own it

The bad and the ugly:

• the color
• the knobs
• the coffee rings

The inspiration:

I have been obsessed with the grey washed patinas seen in recent months in catalogs (restoration, room and board) and shown in above photographs.  This is a classic wash that can looked weathered yet clean. Light but not white.

The problem:

Stripping and sanding. Need I say more. Once I start, I have to finish. There are details, crevices and mouldings all over this piece. It won't be easy.

Shall I take the plunge?  Any thoughts on this distressed grey washed patina?

Mini Guest Room

Mini Guest Room

Notice "Lola Van Gogh" by Grammy Brookes

Office Area in Mini Guest Room

White Faux Leather Chair - $130 at Marshalls



White Faux Leather Chair - $249 ZGallerie

The Mini Guest Room (twin bed only):  good for teenage sleep overs, nights when your husband is coughing too much, and for Zoe, the cat, to lounge in the sunny window.  We do have another regular guest room downstairs that can be used while son is away at college. 

A little background on this room that used to be my daughters':  picture 500 tiny tack and nail holes everywhere, tape, stickers and nail polish on the windows and window sills as well as dinged and damaged baseboards.  (There are no before pictures because it was too hideous).  She has since moved to her brothers old room, which is now undergoing similar treatment.  For the new mini guest room, my husband and I cleared out, patched, repainted and installed new trim.

We used the twin bed we already had although it would be more practical to have a full.  On the opposite side of this long, narrow room is the computer desk/chair.  I have tried to keep this room very clean, streamlined and simple, in furniture and color choices.

What do you think? Any thoughts on the "accent" wall. (Not my favorite but I had the paint).

Display Hard Earned Effort

With active cross country and track athletes like these:

We were bound to amass a lot of these:

Using an existing frame that had a thin shelf insert:



 A piece of foam core board cut to size:

Ironed on white cotton twill using steam seaming:



 Cut down a few black headed straight pins:

Trimmed off ribbons, played with arrangement of medals, tacked down with pins, voila!:



A look at the framed medals hung:

As I looked at the pile of medals on closet hooks, in boxes, etc.  I was inspired by the my dad's Naval career medals and the professional display case he has them in.  This was a great hour long project.  Now our college student has his medals framed instead of hanging all over his closet.

Awesome Etching

Ever since Wendy posted about numbering stemware at SimplyBrookes, I've had this project in mind. And while wine charms are well, charming, I like the simplicity of numbered stemware.

Step-by-step directions:
Basic stemware from CostPlus, 12 glasses for 24.99. (I am constantly breaking wine glasses,thus, I keep to the basic inexpensive finds).
Carefully mark off a square, I used a 2in.square. This can be tricky as the glass is not flat, bend the tape to keep outline square. Press it down firmly to prevent uneven lines.
Center number sticker. Stickers can be found in the scrapbook section of craft store.
Using gloves, apply a thick layer of etching cream. This cream is highly caustic, use care and be sure to read the directions before applying.
After 5 min., rinse off etching cream, removing tape and sticker(keep your gloves on). I used a large bucket of water outside for rinsing.
Repeat steps to number all your stemware. Once the stemware has dried, the etching appeared darker, looks perfect.
Love how they turned out!

This was a simple project requiring an hour of time and resulting in unique, classic stemware. For a recap, to etch your own glasses, you will need the following items:

• Stemware or glassware
• Etching Cream
• Painters tape, I like Frogtape
• Number stickers
• Gloves
• Inexpensive paint brush
• Heavy paper for square stencil
• Water for rinsing

If you decide to etch your own glasses or other items, please send me photo(s). I would love to see the results.

Thanks for visiting!

Sink Situation

While at my parents house a couple of years ago, I was helping out with some tidying in the bathroom. When I went to grab cleaning products under the sink, I noticed that way in the back, their sink lines had been leaking for some time. The cupboard was somewhat warped and the drywall was water stained. Not that my parents are cluttery, but with the usual amount of items stored below in the sink cupboard, they had not been able to see that the lines had been leaking.

Ever since then, I have been pretty diligent about keeping the area under the kitchen and bathroom sinks clean and clear. This allows for visual leak checks and also limits bumping into PVC piping that can easily loosen or dislodge.

I recently repurposed this wine basket into a slim, simple cleaning caddy for under the kitchen sink. Window cleaner,squeegee, counter top spray, baking soda (for cleaning) and compost bags fit perfectly.

The next time you do dishes, take a look under your kitchen sink:

• Can you streamline the items stored?
• Can excess or bulk cleaning supplies be moved to the laundry room or garage?
• Grab a flashlight, run the water and check for leaks
• Clear out all items, wipe down the cupboard and restock only necessary items
• Repeat above steps in each bathroom

While not the funnest chore, it may save you water damage headaches down the road.

A Side of Yellow

Etsy PoppySeedLiving
Ikea Trollsta
Etsy Oh Clementine Pi Nightstand
Etsy ModPieces
1stDibs
A month ago,I discussed redoing our guest room:

Guest Room Color Story
I am almost done with the room with the exception of the bedside table. After spending lots of time sanding off coats of paint on an existing wood table, I am ready to paint. Because it's time consuming and labor intensive to sand, prime, sand and then paint furniture, I want to be sure of the final color.

My original plan was to paint the table a high gloss yellow that would coordinate with the pillows and linens in the room. As the only piece of wood furniture in the room, I envisioned that this color would add punch and pizazz to the quiet, calm, color palette. Just to be sure, I spent some time looking for yellow side tables online. Research confirms that I can't go wrong by making the bedside table the standout piece in the guest room.

Can you see it?:

Grammys' "Jarmoire"

To say I love storage solutions is an understatement. I like to have a place for everything and everything in its place, behind closed doors is even better. My incredibly creative mom just sent me photos of her completed garden shed to house all of her garden tools. She decided to "Brangelina" the name of a garden (jardin) closet (armoire) and deem it a "jarmoire". A storage shed this cool deserves to be named.

Using rescued doors and windows, she etched glass with a stencil design to obscure the contents of the shed. It is seven feet wide, two feet deep and eight feet high in the back. It is truly just a closet and took about four days to build!

Her inspiration was this under the eaves storage shed from Sunset Magazine:

What a great use of space, unique design and clever touches to make it her own. Great job mom!

"Furr - eliminator"

Like most homes with pets, there is fur around. Although our Havanese, Lola, doesn't shed, the cats, Pearl and Zoe do. Their favorite lounging spots are covered with their long black and white hair.

You can purchase many items for pet hair removal, special sponges, tape or vacuuming tools. Or you can try my inexpensive and foolproof tool: everyday latex gloves. Rub the glove over fur covered area and it will clump together making it easy to remove with a final step of vacuuming.

Little Touches

Bejeweled Stirring Spoons and Agave Nectar for Coffee

Butter in Butterfly Dish

French Glassware


Primroses and Floating Candles

Desserts on Stacked Pedestals

Perfect Baby Boy


Last Saturday a friend hosted a Grandmother Celebration brunch in her home. I had my camera with me to photograph the first grandbaby of our group of friends. The baby made a wonderful photography subject but also, the hosts' beautiful touches had me snapping away. We all oohed and aahed over the gorgeous baby, (who slept peacefully even while being passed from one person to another), and over the elegant "Therese" touches. Great friends, beautiful flowers, delicious food and thoughtful displays lent to the celebration. I am so glad I took photographs to remind me of how little touches can add so much to the atmosphere of a celebration. Thanks Therese for a wonderful afternoon.