Browsing the archives for the Home Decor category

Master Closet Phase 3: The Finished Result

8 Comments
23 Aug, 2010
Meredith
Before and After, Home Decor, master closet

It’s been a long process, but our master closet is finally done!  Before we show you the organized result, let’s recap a few more details we took care of in the process.

1) We painted the woodwork and shelving supports glossy white to blend in with the walls.

2) We added reclaimed trim to the inside of the doorway and and new baseboards along the floor.

3) We caulked and painted the baseboards.

4) We took one more shot of the new light fixture and then … moved in!

Here’s a refresher of what the room used to look like.

BEFORE

Now here’s what the room looks like today!

AFTER

Stephen was sweet and let me take over a *little* more than my half of the closet. :)  We went monochromatic with the white walls, white shelving, and ALL white hangers, and I love how clean it looks!

Now I have room for my retro dresser (a gift from my in-laws), which I use as a jewelry and accessory stand.  We also have new bamboo shoe racks (also freebies from my MIL), which are great for keeping our footwear nice and neat.

Let’s not forget that new light fixture!  I love the purple, and I’ll let you in on a little secret – we actually pulled this color from some changes we’re making in our master bathroom.  I’d also eventually like to add some matching storage boxes along the top shelf in the closet to bring more pops of purple into the room.

Here’s a closeup of my little accessory stand.  I found that sweet little green Anchor Hocking chip and dip set at an antique store in Little Rock a few months ago, and it’s the perfect jewelry organizer. Earrings in the top and necklaces in the bottom!

Stephen’s what you would call a minimalist when it comes to his wardrobe, especially after his recent donation to the Goodwill!  Here is his side of the closet.

I don’t know about you guys, but it seems like I have a little shadow that shows up every time I try to take pictures.  I guess she knows she makes the pictures cuter. :)

Molly says “I hope you enjoyed my mama’s closet makeover!”

I’m linking to The DIY Showoff Project Parade

Frugal Friday at the Shabby Nest

Between Naps on the Porch’s Metamorphosis Monday

Link Party Wednesday at Tea Rose Home

Remodelaholic’s Anonymous

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A few inspiration photos…

3 Comments
19 Aug, 2010
Meredith
For Fun, Home Decor, art

These are a few photos I’ve come across recently that make me 1) want to keep my house really clean 2) want to paint something 3) want to be a better photographer!  Enjoy!

{HGTV’s Sarah’s House}

(If one of these photos is yours, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due!)

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A Home Decor Where’s Waldo

1 Comment
10 Jun, 2010
Meredith
Home Decor, master bedroom

How many of you have seen the new Sex and the City movie?  My gals and I finally got to see it Monday night, and I have to say I was disappointed.  Anything but stellar acting, a very shallow story line, and puns worse than Pam from The Office’s original hair style left me feeling like I’d wasted my money.

However, the one redeeming factor of the film (aside from the fact that it only cost $4 on weeknights – woot!) was the fashion – both the clothing and the interior decorating.  Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte wore some pretty wild outfits and got to chill in some FABULOUS spaces, but my absolute favorite room in the whole movie was Carrie and Big’s entry at their new apartment.  Can you guess why?

(Carrie stands in her entryway)

(A photo of our master bedroom)

Yup, you guessed it!  I have the same mirror hanging above my bed that Carrie and Big had in their over the top, lavishly decorated NYC pad.  I guess you could say, I’m on the cutting edge of interior decorating.  Just call me trend-settah! ;)

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Thrifty Tuesday: A Newfound Love

1 Comment
12 May, 2010
Meredith
Home Decor, Thrifty Deals

I have a newfound thrifting love.  I’m currently obsessed with the beautiful Reader’s Digest books from the 1970s and 80s.  The more of them I see, the more I appreciate the vibrant colors and the gorgeous retro-modern patterns used in their designs!

Don’t know what I’m talking about?  You may remember me mentioning this one I found for $1 a few weeks ago.

Ever since I found this little number, I’ve been seeing the cover pattern pop up all over the design world.  One of the most popular items I’ve seen with similar designs?  Modern-day wallpaper.

Here are a couple of examples.  Tone-on-tone:

(image found here)

Colorful accent paper:

(image found here)

Amy Butler’s beautiful design:

(image found here)

It’s amazing how these patterns are truly making a comeback.  Patterns on book bindings are still popular as well.  Take the new Penguin Classics everyone in blogland was lusting after when they made their debut.

(image found here)

One of the biggest draws to these books has to be their colorful covers, not to mention the writing they contain!  I must have had these in the back of my mind when I found my little RD version a few weeks ago, because now I’ve taken to looking for these little treasures everywhere I go.

Ever on the lookout, last weekend I hit the jackpot!  One store we went into had probably 40 of these babies on clearance, so I picked my favorite 8 and rang them up. =)

Here are 3 of them, chillin’ in the nook of our china cabinet with some azalea clippings from the backyard.

And here are the other 5.  Still had the tags on them when I took these pictures, I was so excited to show them off!

The best part about these books was the price.  I know they’re marked $1 each, but these were actually on the Bargain Shelf for 75% off – that’s $0.25 each!  So, for 2 bucks, I came home with 8 super-fly vintage books, perfect for adding some color and pattern to many a neglected corner.

Lesson learned?  Take a minute next time you find yourself digging through “dated junk.”  You may just be surprised to find a fun, colorful diamond in the rough!

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Let's Take a Vote: Dining Room Curtains

26 Comments
29 Apr, 2010
Meredith
Crafts, Home Decor, Vote, dining room

It seems I can’t stick with one project long enough to finish it lately, and last night was no exception!   I completely ignored the photo-less white picture frames waiting for a home, and the half-written post on our trip to Eureka Springs and moved on to… DINING ROOM CURTAINS!

This photo was from our DIY faux beam project, but shows very clearly our lack of dining room window treatments.  I’ve actually been looking for fabric to make dining room curtains for awhile – my only issue was that I didn’t want to pay an arm and a leg for it.

Fast forward to last night, when I found myself with this dilemma.

You will have to use your imagination a bit, but check out our two new curtain options!

The curtain on the left is a green and white floral print – actually a flat sheet I found at a bargain store last night – that cost a whopping $10 for the set.  The one on the right is a natural colored painter’s drop cloth that cost $10 at Lowe’s (so $20 for a pair).

If I went with these, I’d probably add some coordinating thick ribbon along the inside edge and bottom to liven them up a bit.  Something like this …

I’m a visual person, so of course I had to tack these babies up and then take a million pictures to analyze!

Needless to say I’m a little bit torn – bright and floral vs neutral and textured (with a bit of colored ribbon edging)?… I think there are pros and cons of each, but I’d love to hear which one you’d choose!

For your info, here’s a look at the prints I have on one wall of the dining room.

The other side is open to our kitchen, which is currently very neutral with white cabinets, tan counters, and mostly stainless appliances (and it’s a mess!).  I’d like to use the same fabric I choose for the dining room curtains to make a roman shade for our kitchen window.

(In case you were wondering, our dining room walls *are* a different color than our kitchen walls.  They are a shade darker brown, which I think keeps the kitchen light and bright and makes the dining room a bit more moody and intimate.)

So, I need your help.  Which would you choose?  If we can make a decision on these babies soon, I may have before and afters for you by the weekend!  (oooh what did I just promise myself into….)

I’m linking up to:

Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest

Remodelaholic’s Anonymous Meeting

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

The DIY Project Parade

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What's the deal, Big Lots?

6 Comments
28 Apr, 2010
Meredith
For Fun, Home Decor

 Dear Big Lots,

You have disappointed me.  I have long been impressed by your prices, and lately you’ve become my secret back-up place to find trendy things on the cheap.  I’ve come to you for fun yellow bowls and flowery candleholders, for cute white vases and $19 area rugs. 

But yesterday was a different story.  Yesterday I saw this:

You threw me for a loop, Big Lots.  One look at this adorable modern ottoman and I was hooked.  I was so excited, picturing this at the foot of our bed in our master bedroom, that I even texted a picture to Stephen and said “I’m in love!” 

Then I saw the price tag.  $199.  One hundred and 99 dollars?!  I was expecting $50 or $80.  You know, like the prices on everything else in your store.  Heck, you sell cute chairs for $99, but an ottoman goes for twice that much? 

What’s the deal, Big Lots?  You built me up with your low, low prices and then you let me down.  My ottoman-loving heart is officially broken.

Sincerely,

Girl on a Budget

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Sneak Peek: The Frame Project

4 Comments
27 Apr, 2010
Meredith
Before and After, Home Decor, Paint

I haven’t dropped off the face of the planet completely, I promise!  You all are probably sick of seeing me spray paint things, but that’s mostly what I’ve been up to lately, between the thunderstorms at least :)

Here’s a little peek at what’s going on with those frames I snagged at the thrift store the other day.  They are looking almost brand new.  I can’t wait to see this project complete!

Those little round candleholders?  Here’s what they looked like before the paint job.

And here’s the after, with a coat of white paint and (SURPRISE!) a couple of 3″ mirrors from Hobby Lobby glued in the centers.  Yep, that’s right, I’m jumping on the sunburst mirror bandwagon, people!

Okay, okay, enough peeking for now.  Come back soon to see more progress!

I’m linking up to:

Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest

Remodelaholic’s Anonymous Meeting

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The Power of Paint

7 Comments
22 Apr, 2010
Meredith
Before and After, Home Decor, Thrifty Deals, living room

I got a comment yesterday about the little white owl on our living room desk and I wanted to share a little secret with you…

This little white guy originally looked like this!

We picked him up on our recent trip to Eureka Springs.  At only $1, I figured I could turn him into something cute.

After a few coats of white Rustoleum spray paint…

… he turned into this snowy boy!

Much better, don’t you agree?

And that tray he’s sitting on?  Remember when I bought this brassy beauty?

Yep, that’s the power of white spray paint, folks!

Want to hear more about what we saw and did on our trip to Eureka?  Stay tuned!

I’m linking to:

Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest

Remodelaholic’s Anonymous Meeting

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Thrifty Tuesday

3 Comments
20 Apr, 2010
Meredith
Home Decor, Thrifty Deals

Happy Tuesday everybody!  I am pumped about some amazing bargains I got today, and I wanted to share them with you.  Check out the loot:

Front to back we have 3 8×10 photo frames, 3 5×7 frames, 3 double photo mats for 5x7s, a blue swan, a teal & navy vintage Reader’s Digest book, a mod white vase, and 2 wooden candleholders.  You want to know the best part?  The price.  Guess how much I paid for ALL that you see here?

$20.  TWENTY DOLLARS!  According to the price stickers still on the back of those candleholders, they were originally $9.99 each.  So basically I could have bought the 2 candleholders retail or all of this at my favorite thrift store for the same 20 bucks.  Not bad, eh?

Now to some of you it might not look like much, but let’s take a closer look shall we?

First we have the cute little white vase that looks very much like something you’d see in a modern furniture store.

Cute on its own, but even cuter on top of Stephen’s dresser.  It fits in perfectly with our new master bedroom vibe.

Next up, that Reader’s Digest book.

I loved the pattern on this hardcover cutie the minute I saw it, and at $1 I knew I’d find the perfect home for it.

I love the combination of the pattern on that graphic tray and the pattern on our new book!  By the way, do you recognize that tray?  Maybe this post will refresh your memory as to it’s former brassy glory.  Gotta love spray paint!

Our new blue swan happens to be one of my favorite colors.  I can see it finding a home somewhere in our living room or our bedroom, or even our bathroom – which I happen to know was where it was originally intended to live…

Hand towel anyone?

image via Ebay

Now the rest of my collection from thrifting today might not look like much, but just wait till you see the plans I have for these frames and candleholders.  It will be enough to make you say “Aww!”  But that is a post for another time!

By the way, we’ve been out of town a lot lately, but we’re slowly making progress on our Craigslist Challenge.  We’ve sold 2 of the items we listed (Stephen’s music gear) and I recently added a painting that I just can’t find a spot for in the house.  Anybody interested?

I’m linking to:

Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest

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Shady Sisters

1 Comment
9 Apr, 2010
Meredith
Before and After, Crafts, Home Decor

Happy Friday everybody!  It is absolutely beautiful in NW Arkansas today, and I am so looking forward to a gorgeous relaxing weekend.

One more post on our little lamp re-do from last weekend (I promise!) – I prettied up the shades and am very happy with the final results.

As a reminder, here’s how the lamps looked before the spray paint and fabric treatment:

Covering the shades with fabric was a breeze.  I just rolled out the drum shades on the white pin-stripe fabric I chose and cut a long rectangle with about an inch to spare on the top and bottom and about 2 inches extra in length.

I hot glued one end of the fabric to the shade, right on top of the old seam in the shade.

Then I rolled the fabric around the shade, making sure to keep the same amount of fabric overlapping the top and bottom edges.

When I got to the end, I folded the edge of the fabric under to get a clean seam, and hot glued it down right on top of the first edge.

I don’t have pictures of the next part, but it consisted of folding the top and bottom edges inside the shade and hot gluing them down.  When I got to the metal rods that supported the shade, I cut a little slit in the fabric and kept right on gluing.

Here is a close up of the inside of the shade.  Can you see the little slit I cut?

I love how they turned out!

I hope you all have a fun weekend and enjoy the pretty weather!  I’m planning on being outside as much as possible, going to the Farmer’s Market, and maybe catching a movie or two.  Hooray for spring!

I’m linking to Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest and the Remodelaholic’s Anonymous Meeting.

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