Home Office Reveal!

Dan and I have finished the home office!  Well, "finished" is a subjective term LOL!  There are a few things I'm still planning to add, a translucent acrylic desk chair, a few Expedit shelf accessories and wall art.  But those things will take some time; I'm hoping I will be able to thrift some of it :)  But, in the meantime, the room is looking pretty put together. 

I apologize - there are no "before" pictures except for this odd pic - which was actually a mistake - but at least it shows the colors it used to be:

and this one which was actually taken of the telephone table we thrifted a couple weeks ago:  It's now going to be relocated:

Please, come in and take a walk around the room with me :)

The glass door was one of the first things Dan and I installed when we moved in in October 2005.  Right inside the door is this picture:

I bought it from Target (this past March).  It reminded me of a used book store Dan and I used to frequent.  Once inside, and to the left, is the tufted love seat:

The love seat came from Overstock.  I have to say, it was a BEAST to assemble and at one point, we were ready to throw in the towel but I'm glad we hung in there.  The gorgeous pillows came from Etsy store LillieDDesigns --

These were the cornerstone of the color choices.  Oh they are beautiful and vibrant and it was specifically the peachy-melon colors that sealed the deal :)  The rug is from Ikea:

And the main focal point in the room came from Ikea too:

The Expedit shelves ---<3  Dan built a base out of 2 x 4s to raise it above the baseboard.  He then installed a wood strip at the top of the unit and installed these to the underside of the strip:

Once he secured the shelving unit to the wall; I began filling the cubbies :)  It's not exactly how it will be; a few Expedit accessories will be added to the bottom row of shelves.  The desk will hold a lap top and a printer:

A Lucite desk from CB2 was in the original plan but at $379, I went on search for a less expensive alternative.  These came from WalMart.  There were $50 each and shipped right to my door for FREE.  Next, the light.  I wanted a glitzy chandelier; Dan didn't.  This fixture bridged the gap:

Thank you Overstock!  I'm totally in love with it.

And last, but certainly not least, the paint colors.
  Glidden Dusty Miller and  Behr Natural Almond

So there it is!  We're on to the next (knuckle bump) LOL!  <3 Lisa

Entryway Monogram

I have been inspired by so many great images of monograms on Pinterest, that I decided I wanted to have one too :)  I decided to put ours in the foyer - sort of like signage for the establishment - ha!  Originally, this was going to be a total DIY using the ol' Cricut and craft vinyl but the size needed to fill the space turned out to be larger than the size I could cut.  So...I did the next best thing..headed directly to Etsy!  After looking at a few designs, I found the perfect one from Mulberry Creek.  Both our initials surrounding the J and the "established date" = year we were married.  Love it!  And, it was customized to the size needed (20" x 20") and in the colors I wanted - circle and letter J = beige, D and L  = chocolate, and date = black.   It turned out beautifully!  I was nervous about applying it but with Dan's help, it went pretty smoothly.  It came in 5 sections and the circle was the trickiest but once that was in place, the rest was a piece of cake.

Ok, since a makeover (even a mini one) is nothing without  Before pics - here they are :)

This is the wall right inside the staircase in the foyer.  It's the first thing you see when you walk in the front door.   Since we've moved in, this pedestal and flower arrangement has sat here and while I love it, I figured it was time for a change.

The rest of the foyer needs  to be painted and we are installing wainscoting around the outer walls too. 

...but since little space is so isolated, it got a coat of natural almond paint (Behr with primer).   The console is from Ikea (Hemnes) and it's a shoe cabinet!  How smart is that!?  The mirror is from TJ Maxx and the other accessories were pulled from other rooms in the house.  

So, here is the finished look:

I love it.  This is the "everyday look."  The hardware was switched out with these darling acrylic knobs I found at Michaels for $1.50 each:

And when I saw this tiny lamp at Pier one -- it has the same shape as the legs on my beloved dining room table --i.am.dying!!!!  Plus, ever since the teal velvet chairs entered my life, I'm a peacock kick  and the shade is rockin' that feather :)

The "32" is our house number.  Hobby Lobby had them for 50% off.  I had a ball decorating this little space for the holidays.  Here is Halloween:

and Christmas:

But, I'm loving the "everyday" look:

for now...Valentines Day is coming~ :)

Happy Crafting!

<3 Lisa

Another Craiglist SCORE - Teal Chairs!

Hello Everyone!  While Dan has been working on putting the trim around the mantel and hearth, I have been focusing on furnishings and decorating.  Since the walls are painted teal (Behr paint with primer in "Harbor"), I wanted to go with mostly neutral furniture but with teal accent chairs.

Here are my first inspiration pics.  But both of these were from the UK and sported a hefty price tag, even before shipping costs.

York Sherlock Tub Chair - $240

and

Medan Velvet Accent Chair - $305

So, I kept searching and found these in the US but still pretty pricey:

Inspiration #1

 Home Decorators.com - Hammond Armchair, $259 

and Inspiration #2:

Pier One - Isaac Swivel Chair, $399.95

It was looking like teal chairs were not possible in my budget...And then...lookie what I found last week on Craigslist:

SQEEEEE!!!   TWO!  TEAL!  ACCENT CHAIRS!  *Plus*  They are also VELVET - swoon!  And the deal-seal...100 bucks each!  Needless to say, I scooped these up and here they are in their rightful place...on either side of  my mantel:

They look like what you would get if my first inspiration chair married my second inspiration chair and then they had  babies - *giggle*.   Oh and you can see I have been playing around with other furniture I have.  I brought the brown ottoman down from the guest bedroom and think it looks great in here.  Lily agrees as this is where she likes to sprawl out on in what she is now convinced is HER room.  

Doesn't she look miffed!?  Or maybe it's indignation for interrupting her umpteenth nap of the day with camera flashes?  Oh she's such a diva :)  ha!

So, now wall decor and curtain panels top the list for things left to figure out for this room.  It will probably take a little time to get that completed because I'm shifting gears a bit because I have a wedding to help plan (for my bestie Rhonda!) and my parents' 50th wedding anniversary.  I'm also hosting a bridal shower and am really excited about sharing my plans for that!   

Happy Crafting! <3 Lisa

So Long 2011... Well Hello 2012!

Happy New Year Friends!   I am excited for the "new" 2012 has the promise to bring!  2011 was not a banner year here at the Jackson house.  But, since focusing on the negatives is way too easy and totally unproductive, I'm going to snub my nose at them and focus solely on the positives I can take away from 2011!  I hereby declare this blog a "positives only" zone. ( Do you think the negatives feeling snubbed yet?)  Okay - sooo positives ---ah, here's one -- to deal with stress I have been painting every room in the house!  It started with the sun room (see it HERE) and, to date, I have painted the family room (and we re-did the fireplace, see it HERE), kitchen, powder room, dining room and all the ceilings too. ( I started the living room in 2011 but 2012 will claim its completion).  It's a welcomed change of scenery, freshens up the house beautifully and it was much needed.  win/win ;)   Dan has been right beside me with a paint sponge in hand ready to edge at a moment's notice (Thanks honey!)  If the cutting in is covered, I can load up the paint roller and roll, roll, roll!  My new year's resolution is just to keep painting...things are bound to get better and once they do, the house is going to be fabulous ;)

Another positive has been redecorating.  That should be fun, right!?  Not so much :(  Furniture shopping (*with the exception of my dining room table; that was kismet - and another positive!) has not been what I expected.  What with the high-pressure sell, the following --yes, actually tailing us-- around the showroom, coupled with sticker shock and ridiculous "finance package" offers; GAHHH, not fun at all.  I knew there had to be a better way.  Enter another positive = CRAIGSLIST!  I cannot believe I hadn't checked it out before.   I *love* curling up with my laptop and a cup of coffee to browse hundreds of items (at prices that don't require eating cup-of-noodles for the next year and a half) and envisioning all the possibilities!   Of course, I have stumbled upon the off item that was NOT as pictured; you know, it looks all sparkly and perfect, only to find out the pic was taken 10 years ago, two seconds after being delivered from the furniture store - LOL!  No biggie - I have no problem declining the offer under those circumstances :)  But so far, the instances of great finds far outweigh the crummy ones.   I understand that what makes a "great find" depends solely on what you're looking for so just for fun, here are my "top finds" and the inspiration behind them! (Prepare for positives overload!)

I am currently working on the Dining Room/Living Room and this buffet from Thrifty Decor Chick has been pinned on my "Dining Room" Pinterest (AH HA - PINTEREST, another 2011 positive!) board for quite some time.  I love the curvy lines and crystal hardware:

Inspiration Buffet from Thrifty Decor Chick

And here is my gorgeous buffet found on Craigslist for $125!  The hardware is different but those beautiful curvaceous lines are mine, all mine ;)  And... the possibility is there that I could refinish the piece and add crystal hardware (once I learn how to re-finish furniture *giggle*)

Here is the Inspiration Sofa I pinned from Yahoo photo search.  When I retrieved the pin, I was taken to Overstock.com and the price on this baby is $1900:

Inspiration Sofa from Overstock.com

And here is my Craigslist find - a darling Storehouse Velvet Sofa for $75.  I love that the feet on the sofa match the wood of  my dining chairs and table:

Here is the inspiration for arm chairs for the dining room.  I bought side chairs from Overstock but wanted different styled chairs for the head of the table.  I loved the wood frame but wasn't crazy about the fabric.  Plus this baby runs about $250 and I need two!

Inspiration Chairs - Overstock.com

And lo and behold,  I spied these arm chairs on Craiglist.  INCREDIBLE, beautiful all-wood frames and the fabric couldn't be more perfect  - $15 each for a whopping $30 total for both :)

This is my table & side chairs:

The dining room is technically finished but since it's combined with the living room, it is a little cramped right now since I moved the sofa in while we work on the mantel.  Which brings me to my most favorite find on Craigslist so far!  First, the inspiration ...

Dramatic fireplace inspiration from HGTV.com

Oh, that double mantel with the sky-high ceiling and the lovely, celtic knotted-looking mirror --so dramatic and beautiful!  Now, I don't have that kind of ceiling in my living room but luckily, the ceilings are high SO when I saw this amazing, 7 foot antique Victorian double mantel with mirror --and for $125 --well, it was definitely made for me :)  

Dan and I have been working steadily and the hearth is completed and it's mounted to the wall.  Here's a progress pic:

  

I am excited about the transformation and can't wait to show you but I have a bit more work before the reveal.  We're down to just finishing the trim work and painting the walls (which are only primed in the pic).

So there, negatives, you have been officially snubbed.  Friends, I wish you the best of everything in the New Year -- love, health, and happiness -- and may you find the treasures you seek (and don't forget to check Craigslist - Ha!).  Happy Crafting, <3 Lisa

Our Fireplace Makeover!

Hello Everyone!  I have been promising photos of the house projects Dan and I have been working steadily on over the last few months but it has been so busy and the house has been in utter disarray that I have neglected my blog a bit.  This is so not intentional, I'm just not organized and I get easily overwhelmed amid the chaos!  But, I think I'm getting the hang of  it so it's time to share some Before/Afters. Woohoo!

We moved into our home in October 2005; but while it was being built, we were living in a rental (for a year and almost a half!).  The rental home didn't have many windows and those it had were obscured with lots of bushes and overhanging trees.  This made the interior always dark and dreary.  Plus, the walls were painted an unpleasant and sickly peachy-terracotta-y color--which, by the by, earned the house the moniker "the peach pit"!  The paint color didn't lend a hand in lightening up the space at all and by the time we finally moved out, I had grown more than sick of peach.  As a matter of fact, the experience has soured me on the color peach (probably forevermore) *giggle*.

 I love, wait, check that --I NEED-- light, lots and lots of it and the more of it the better.  When we moved into the new house with it's many windows and builder beige walls the space was so light and airy, it was a breath of fresh air!  It was such an improvement over the peach pit, I didn't even consider painting anything that first year.  By the time I started thinking about adding some color, the kids had just started college.  The expenses associated with that --tuition, living, housing, cars, insurance, books, etc. --were so overwhelming, I took a few shorts cuts with painting; hence the unfortunate "oops" paint for the sunroom!  As for college students - My stepson graduated 2 years ago; my daughter took a break last year (much to my disappointment - this is a whole 'nother post!); and my stepdaughter graduates in two weeks.  Yippee!  Now it's time for Dan and I do the things we want.  So without further adieu, here is the fireplace BEFORE:

And here is the AFTER:

Isn't that amazing!?  I am in love :)  The design idea came from this inspiration (I saw the pic on Pinterest and then followed the link to the website).  Dan created the grid using 1 1/2" wood trim and he glue and tacked them in place.  Then he caulked all the edges.  Once everything dried, I painted...and painted...and painted.  I am actually going to apply one more coat but this time, I am adding something called "Floetrol" in with paint so that the finish is super-smooth and there will be no brush marks. The hurricanes on either side are from Crate & Barrel (here).    I cannot wait to decorate it for Christmas!  We are finishing up this space now -it's our family room- and I'll post a pic of the entire room when it is presentable for photos!

Just for fun, I'm linking to Metamorphosis Monday presented by Between Naps on the Porch!

Happy Crafting <3 Lisa

Beach House...in a Room

***For my blog candy, click HERE***

Hello Everyone!  I hope your weekend has been wonderful :)   I have been away from my craft room for a couple of weeks but not because I haven't been creating - I have been working on our sunroom.   To be able to show you the dramatic new look, I wanted to share what the room looked like "before," but after looking and looking through pictures I have of the house, I didn't have any of the way it looked once we moved in.  All I could find were these pics I took last October of these funny Halloween decorations I made for my porch where the focus isn't even on the room!

So - I apologize for such crappy pics but honestly, the yellow paint in there was so bright, it's a good thing I don't have more detailed pics - Ha!
The yellow paint was my idea and a bad one. I didn't get the shade I envisioned and went with an "oops" paint (paint that's been returned and marked down to $5/gal because someone else picked it and decided against it).  I thought I could make it work but I couldn't!  Then, we had problems with our doors leaking so the room was gutted and the floor redone - ah the perfect opportunity for a re-do - but I had lost confidence in my paint-picking abilities *giggle*.

Sunroom AFTER

I was also intimidated by the fact that the sunroom, kitchen, and family room are all pretty much one big great room, and needed a color scheme that would work for each room individually and together.

And here is what I have come up with!  I am using shades of brown - beige, chocolate, ginger - along with the color shown here which was inspired by my BG-10, cool shadow, copic marker.  I actually took the marker to Home Depot and matched the paint (Behr with primer, "Timeless Tale").  I re-painted the trim and the ceiling too.  The ceiling hadn't been painted before other than the contractor paint the builder used so it needed a couple coats.  UGH, my neck and shoulders are still crabby about that :)

I haven't put the blinds back up yet and I still have a couple of paint touch ups (evidenced by the painters tape marking a spot on the wall in pic 1!).  But after working so hard, I really wanted to see it all together.

The love seat/chaise lounge combo came from Ikea.  It has a machine washable cover - AWESOME - and it is super comfy.  Lily was lounging on it this morning so clearly I have her seal of approval ;)  The table and rug came from Ikea as well.  The rug is insanely luxurious!  It's fun to put your bare feet into - just like sand :)  The lamp and small white table came from Pier One and the small blue table & accessories came from TJ Maxx.

So the next project is a glass tile backsplash in the kitchen!  The colors in the tile are all part of my color scheme and I can't wait until it's finished!

Have a great week!  <3 Lisa

Front Porch Decorations

I was perusing my copy of  the Better Homes and Gardens special interest publication HALLOWEEN 2010 magazine and came across a 4-page spread of really neat Halloween displays by Debbie Dusenberg (I found her blog!!! Curious Sofa Diaries). One of the displays she created for Halloween uses a pair of bendable mannequin legs, clad in orange and black striped tights with witch shoes, and planted in an urn.  It looked so freaky and cool;  I knew I had the decoration for my front porch!  As it turns out, bendable mannequin legs are unbelievably expensive so I had to go with the more realistic price and little

less realistic-looking legs.  So, I went with inflatable legs ($15/pr), tights (child size - $2.50/pr), witch shoe covers ($5/pr and I had one pair) over black socks, and the "dress" is a  black trash bag.  I had the witch hats but they were from the Target $1 bins.  I added the polka dot ribbon (Hobby Lobby -40% off).  My door sign came from WalMart ($10) but it was a must - those polka dots!  And the hanger - so stinkin' cute!  I will add our carved pumpkins to the porch and a life-size talking witch for the bay window on Halloween night.  I am going to fill "BOo" bags now and watch the Rocky Horror GLEE episode - it just doesn't get any better than this :)  Have I mentioned I love Halloween?  ;)