Blog Archives
Our House: These Chalkboard Labels Aren’t What You Think They Are
We just finished the wet bar in the family room at ‘Our House’, and I’ve had a lot of fun with the accessories. I already showed you how I installed the shelf with a vintage candy box and soda pop collection above the counter. (if you missed that, click here)
So for on the counter, I wanted just a few cute things, that I didn’t have to spend a bunch of money or time on. When I saw these retro jars at Target the other day, I thought, ‘perfect!’
This is what they looked like before the labels: click here to read the rest of the story…
Someone Else’s House: Drastically Change a Vintage Fireplace with Paint and a Little Bit of Fabric
Can you believe it? The same fireplace in in both these pictures, and no structural changes were made… just a little bit of paint and fabric… and elbow grease.
Yes, this is what they started out with: click here to read the rest of the story…
Our House: Lower Level Hallway Walls Get a DIY Faux Leather Treatment
In the hallway of our lower level, I wanted to create some interest on the walls without adding pattern.
My answer was this:
This shows the wall where the DIY vintage looking sign hangs. See how the wall is a wrinkled leather finish? Well, it’s not leather, it’s click here to read the rest of the story…
Someone Else’s House: Vintage Bungalow… Turning the Kitchen into a Masterpiece and All on a Budget
We’re back to visit the antique craftsman style home we’ve been touring. Little bit by little bit, we’ve seen some really clever and super cute transformations in this young couple’s first home, and the subject of today’s post is no exception to that.
When they bought this antique house, the kitchen, unfortunately had been re-done in the 1980’s. In which, the previous owners had completely stripped down and removed every original surface… appliances, floor, trim and window from the original home gone, and replaced with that famous, generic looking 80’s style. click here to read the rest of the story…
DIY: E-A-S-T-E-R Baskets
Last week I share a really fun little craft project I made for part of the dining room Easter centerpiece at ‘Our House’. (if you missed that post, click here to see it)
I had so much fun making those transformed peat pots, and wanted to be able to use a few more of the wonderful Easter graphics from Graphics Fairy that I came up with a similar craft, but with a little bit of a creative twist.
So I embellished them a little bit more and spelled out E-A-S-T-E-R on each little peat pot.
Here’s how I did it: click here to read the rest of the story…
Ugly Frame and Canvas Painting Transformed into Vintage Bike Advertising
I had this ugly painting hanging in my storage room not because I thought it looked good there, but because I’ve been holding onto it to make something of it… sometime… well I’m glad to say that after, oh about 5 or 6 years, that time has come!
I have been working on transforming the family room in the lower level of ‘Our House’ lately, and needed some art, so I took that framed canvas and re-made it into something.
Isn’t the painting in the ‘before’ so ugly? It looks like a big tree in the background crossed with a mushroom cloud and exploded on the canvas… I have no idea where the artist was going with that, but as you can see on the right, I drastically changed the way it looked.
Here’s how I did it: click here to read the rest of the story…
Someone Else’s House: Bungalow Bathroom, Almost Anthropologie Style?
Continuing the tour of the refreshed and somewhat renovated c. 1916 bungalow, (or there abouts,) our young couple has purchased, the bathroom is the room to see today. (If you missed it, click here to see their bedroom/projects)
This room started in pretty good condition:
The walls, however, were a shocking yellow. I think the previous homeowner was trying to coordinate with the floor tile, but instead the result was quite harsh.
Although the mechanics of the room was fairly solid, our young couple really didn’t care for some things in the bathroom.
First, as what so frequently happens in older homes over the years, the bathrooms and kitchens during the ‘updating process’ lose their original trim and character. Which is exactly what happened to this room, it had, at some time in the past, been updated, and in that process, the original trim was removed and replaced with ranch molding.
Another thing our couple just wasn’t sure about, was the floor tile. Although it was in excellent condition, it just seemed to scream a little too loud.
After considering ripping out the tile, but given the budget, and encouragement from others to keep it because it had an ‘Anthropologie’ look to it, the new homeowners instead decided to add back in some of the missing character and see if then the tiles would feel more at home in the new setting.
And here are the results of their hard work and creativity: click here to read the rest of the story
Someone Else’s House: Bungalow Master Bedroom
The other day I introduced you to a very sweet, young couple that has bought their first home in a vintage neighborhood full of charming bungalows. I showed you the pair of unmatched dressers and how she cleverly painted and papered them into a coordinated set. (If you missed that dresser re-do post, click here to see it)
So let’s take a look at the whole bedroom today, with before, during and after pics…
Well to start with, when they bought this house just a couple months ago, the bedroom looked like this: (minus the previous owner’s furniture)
It doesn’t look too bad, that is if you like lots of green stripes… they were a bit overwhelming, so off came the paper… be prepared it gets worse: click here to read the rest of the story…
DIY a Faux Zinc, Lettered Sign, Named for the Historical Setting of Our House
Oh boy, I’ve been working… I’ve been meaning to do some fun updating to the lower level of ‘Our House’ and I started in the hallway.
If you follow me on Facebook, then you saw this basket of goodies…
These are just a samplings of stuff I’m using to update and re-do the family room and hallway with. See that cardboard ‘T’ in there? I was at Joann Fabrics the other week and saw the cardboard letters on sale and had the sudden inspiration to make a sign for my hallway landing. But I wanted the sign to look like it was a hundred year old wooden board sign with old zinc letters mounted on it. click here to read the rest of the story…
Monday’s Simple Cleverness… Secret to Caulking the Edge of Beadboard
I’ve installed or had installed for me in several rooms/houses beadboard. I love the simple farmhouse style of beadboard. I have it in my kitchen at ‘Our House’ for the back splash, I have it in several rooms at the ‘Little Brick Cottage’, and I just recently had some installed in the bathroom of the 2 bedroom duplex.
Here’s the deal though, although I love the look of beadboard, it’s kind of a pain to paint, especially caulk. In the past, before I tried this simple clever tip to caulking, I’ve caulked then gone back and tried to poke out the excess caulk from the grooves… yuck it’s a mess.
Read on to see the simple trick I’ve discovered that makes that job oh so much easier… Read On
