~ Cabinet Love ~

Wow... It's been so long since I have posted a makeover.... This one was in the works for so long and it's been done for quite some time, too.... just never got around 'til now to post it! =)
And so I decided to just post and join in at Miss Mustard Seed's "Copy Me Challenge"...!

The before:

The finish on top was in sad shape...

The after:

The stained top was directly inspired by her as I've never stained anything before, but I loved that look whenever she did anything like it!

LOVE it now!
(I still might distress it up a bit, but I just haven't gotten around to doing that yet! =) ...and may or may not!)

Thanks for stopping by and looking! Hope you enjoyed it!

~ The Living Room ~

Hey again! (If you are just arriving, I'm giving a home tour this week- a room everyday! Check out my other posts if you want to see what you've missed! =)

Here are 5 before pics and 5 after pics....

We have wanted to paint for a LONG time and just got it done about a month ago and now we are planning to move! ...sniffle... BUT we have SO enjoyed spending time in there since it has been done!!!!!!

....dark...

....dark...

....dark...

....dark...

....dark!...And now......................


LIGHT!!!!!!

(to see what's behind the couch, click here!)

BRIGHT!!!!!

CLEAN!!!!!!!!

WHITE!!!!!! (the paint color is called 'Cream in my Coffee' by Valspar, which I thought fitting since my hubby loves coffee with cream! =)

DELIGHT!!!!!!!!

(Have been planning on painting that little table with the Battenburg lace cloth on it... when life slows down and the outside is warm and I feel like it.....! It will be white! Someday... =)

Also, if you want, you can step out through our slider door onto the patio here! (Right now the plants are taken in for the winter and the pillows are put away, so I didn't take new pics for the tour! =)

See you tomorrow for the 'hallway' and bathroom!

Linked up with The Shabby Chic Cottage for Transformation Thursday! Check out all the other great DIY projects over there!

~ Please, won't you come in? ~

Welcome! Thanks for stopping by!

Below is the before picture of my front porch makeover the other day - I'm loving the 'after' that is above! =) (Joining in over at Susan's for Met Monday, be sure to check it out!)

I am going to take you on a tour of my house - so..... we hope to see you come inside tomorrow!!

~ Oh, I did do this! ~

I forgot! While I was not my 100% self last week, I took most of 5 of J's nap times (yes FIVE, precious nap times = about 7-8 hours worth!) and finished the last thing to make the living room updating complete.

Yeah!!!!!!!

I know... it doesn't look like much, but it was time consuming (2 coats of paint on each side and then scraping away paint from 30 glass panes!!!) It looks much better - just imagine reddish brown before...

The teaser reveal coming Monday! =)

~ Cleverly Covered ~

See this cute chair?

She once looked like this!!!!!! A little grimy and dated....
(but for $8.50 at GW, who with a little imagination could pass her up!)

Just needed a little love to help her look her best!



Ha! Had you fooled.... it's actually a slipcover - not a reupholster job!!
(from a roll of upholstery found at GW {where else, right!?!} for $4.50... and some cording from Hancock's for $2.00)

Makes that $15 for the whole project!!!!


Great reading spot!

Ah...... a quiet, getaway corner - just for me!

Joining in with Reinvented, A Soft Place to Land and The Dalomba Days (sorry I'm a little late!) and on Thursday The Shabby Chic Cottage and Thrifty Thursday

Joining in in Feb 2011 to the Copy Me Challenge!

~ Someone Elses Trash to my Son's Treasure (Box) ~

Doesn't this look just lovely!!?? Would you put your son's toys in this and let him play in it??

Probably not - I wouldn't either - perfectionist, neat-nick that I am!

Smelling of tools and dirty stuff stored for years........ Phew! But I wanted a place to hide his toys, so I wouldn't have to see them all the time since they were just in a basket. So when I stumbled across this at GW for only $6.50 - I said "unhuh!" With a little bit of paint, paintbrush and imagination -

My son's clean, neat, new treasure chest!

Stored behind the couch for a little play area.....

Take a look at all those toys that I can hide now!

He even climbed right in. =)

*Sigh* Perfect solution. End of unsightliness.

Joining in on Monday at Between Naps on the Porch, Southern Hospitality and Twice Remembered, on Tuesday Trash to Treasure and on Thursday, A Soft Place to Land and The Shabby Chic Cottage!

~ Sad to Shabby, just how I like it ~

My old hope chest (which we use as a coffee table).... was dark, boring and beat up (and something I spent more than I should have on when I was young and wanting a hope chest SO BAD! =) It really needed a make over and so one day I finally just - did it!!

Sanding went fast... (the sides are just thin... uh... boards with veneer, the top and trim pieces are solid wood)

Filling in a lot of the deep grains that were somehow deep and just - missing! (not sure why and can't really explain what it really looked like, because I've never seen any wood look like what this did! Not eaten or rotten but that's the impression I always got - sounds kind of gross though...) I also filled in the design on the front as I never was very fond of it.

Gluing on the new 'design' - just grab what's nearest and go! =)

The first rolls of paint!
......And...... the reveal!

The finished masterpiece! =)

Distressed it up a bit....

Love the 'bones' of this piece!

A little love on the hinges, too, for accent!

I love it now! Wish I would have done it a lot sooner!


Joining in for Met Monday, and on Thursday, A Soft Place to Land and the Shabby Chic Cottage!

Joining in in Feb 2011 to the Copy Me Challenge!

~ Patio Party ~

Here is the boring before......

And with some plants and accessories added......

.....it can truly beautify a place!

I did want to paint the patio floor and the railings earlier this year, but we live in a rental and so I didn't want to put money in where we could be leaving it soon (we've been looking for a place of our very own!) Our landlords are tight with money right now, too, so..... it stays the same for now. I may still do it, but I kind of lost the ambition - this year anyway! (it's starting to feel like fall!!!)
So to still make it a nice place to relax, I found a couple of thrifted cushions... I took them apart and covered the batting with a vinyl tablecloth I already had to water-proof them a little bit more. Put zippers in the covers so I could take them off to wash them easily... I used a large tub I found in the back shed, overturned it and topped it with a footrest cushion I made from a shower curtain! (did the same to the batting as the others)

I also found a couple of neat, old folding chairs in the shed and gave them a make over - you can see it here! They have a place on the patio so others can join us!

A view from the double seat.... =) (I love my Angel Wing plant!)

Hope you enjoyed your comfy stop by my place!

Joined in with The Shabby Chic Cottage and A Soft Place to Land! Go see what everyone else has been up to lately!