Lamp, Finds & a Few Changes!.

Hey kids!  I'm having movie night with Brian and it's a sobering one..The Company Men on Netflix. Pretty good but it's a huge dose of reality.  I prefer to live in lala-land, personally!

I'm making some changes to my blog by adding new pages and getting a little more organized.  It's going to be slipshod for a while, so bear with me.

My sister and her family came to town this past weekend for a visit and we did some junking (woo-hoo).  Here's what I snagged:
 

Picked up another globe for my son's room from an antique shop.  I'm going to paint the stand red.  He really likes his collection!

Now this one, I love!  I found this fixture at Habitat..it was $8.00 and 50% off..yep, $4.00!  I have already spruced it up and I can't wait to show you how it turned out.  We're going to hang it in the hallway that I'm working on now.  I have the walls patched, sanded, trim off..basically, it's a flipping mess!  Now I have to put it all back together - the fun part.

Moving on...remember this?

I'm using it in the den for a little pop of color.

Here is what I did with it...

 I used spray glue and covered the shade with the silk floral print and trimmed the rough edges with a cream ribbon.  This lamp looked like this not too long ago, but I didn't think the blue was working in this space, so I changed it up. I think the orange is MUCH better!

 Another little shot of color. I'm tickled with how the den is turning out. We still have to put up crown molding.  I added my own special touch to the carpet by knocking over my paint tray.  Brian says it looks like a flower...it happened in slow motion and it totally sucked eggs to clean up.  I'll include a shot of it in the "big reveal".

Here are a few of the pillows I made with the other fabric.  (I didn't have the heart to knock Olive out of her comfy spot.)

And you'll never, ever guess what else I'm doing....can you tell what this is?

It's a family of kitties that showed up in my backyard a few days ago!  Apparently, they got the tweet with my address and headed on over.  It's a mommy with her 4 babies.   This picture is taken from far away because they are super skiddish.  I'm not sure if they're totally feral but it's going to take some time to win them over. We are making arrangements to get mommy fixed before she finds herself in a 'family way' again, then the babies.  After all of that, they are going to need to be relocated. 

I'm finding a lot of great resources as I take in all these little guys and I'm going to be sharing them from now on on my Pet Rescue page.  Some of the groups I'm working with have chapters all over, so hopefully it will be useful for others that are stray magnets, like myself.  Please check it for updates.

I was watching the movie while writing this, so if part of this post makes no sense, you know why.

Talk to ya later! Hugs-

How to age over night..and an armoire...

Intrigued on how to feel like you are 80 years old in the blink of an eye? Well, I won't leave you hanging in suspense...throw your back out. That'll do it! You can go from being an optimistic, active "go-getter" to being a flat out mess (not even a hot mess) unable to sit, stand or lay down without feeling like there's a hot axe in your back put there by the devil himself. That has been me off and on for the past week.

After carefully retracing my steps, I believe I figured out where I went wrong. It has something to do with this thing...

and thinking that I can move mountains (and monster furniture) by myself just because I own one. 

I am on the mend now and I've learned my lesson.  I've said this over and again, but I have to give Brian props for being the best husband.  I know, without a doubt, that he'll be there to wipe the drool off my chin when we're old and he won't even think I'm gross. *sigh*

Enough about my shenanigans, I finished the armoire that I mentioned in this post . 

Before:

 
Here it is newly painted and at home in the den.

I used some leftover chalk paint I had.  Since it dries out kinda fast, I  didn't want to waste any of that precious gold.  I used the ceiling paint color (a light gray) to add some details.

Ceramic knobs from Hobby Lobby.

This piece was simple but it also had a few very pretty little details.

 It tiered up on the top and I took advantage of all of those lines.

I don't rush trying to put together a vignette.  I kinda let it evolve; they just seem to turn out better for me that way.  The picture on the left was given to me by my Mom from her trip to Spain, she also gave me that fabulous old typewriter. It's the sentimental stuff I love most of all. I drew the flowers on the right myself.  

Here's a little closer look.  I drew this at work one day.  I doodle a lot and I guess it pays off sometimes.  Instant art!  Guess what my inspiration was?  My mousepad...it's a souvenir that my brother gave me with beautiful flowers on it.  I think I've stared at that mousepad for so long those flowers are burned in my psyche (I work some long hours at times).

Lastly, I added more of my accent color with old books. 

One more thing, I want to thank Stephanie Lynn at Under The Table & Dreaming for featuring my armoire!  She graciously hosts a fabulous linky party every Sunday.

Ok, well, since my glass of wine isn't going to drink itself on this rainy Friday night, I'm going to take off now. I hope you all enjoy the weekend and thank you so much for coming by. 

Hugs to you - 

 
I'm linking to: Funky Junk's SNS,  Miss Mustard Seed's FFF

Desk For An End Table

Two posts in two days...I know it's a shocker!

In my long journey to turn my dumpy den into a fabulous family room, I have moved around quite a bit of furniture.  I'm really big on storage...I need it - have to have it.  One recent change that has really helped was the addition of this desk between the chair & sofa.

(As you can tell by the trash bags, I run a professional operation here.)  It had been by the front door but when I added the armoire, I had to move it.  It looked good just like this but I thought it would be too dark in the den and wanted to lighten it up a bit.

I saw this on the Sundance website and fell in love with their whole line painted like it:

I like how it's painted but still plenty of the beautiful wood is showing

With that as inspiration, I did this:

I used latex paint that I already had.  Dover White & Ashley Gray (at 50% strength).  I drybrushed then sanded. 

I like how the paint really brings out the details like the planked sides.

I left the hardware alone.

The end result reminded me of chalk paint.  This was really old wood so it took the paint really well.

There's a lot of wood showing on the top.  Very lightly dry brushed.

It's so hard for me to get a good lighting shot in this den. I'm going to have to figure something out.

Maybe I'll take a page from Doo's book and use a bedspread and pot lid.

I'm linking to these parties: Type A's Anything Goes Party,  Met Monday @ BNOTP

Thanks for coming by!

Slipcover the house already

I seriously think I may need a slipcover intervention.  I finished another piece today.  It's the curvy number I bought last week and I'm pretty happy with how it looks cleaned up.
 
 Before:

  I actually prefer to buy older furniture; I think it's just made better.  We have new pieces and I really like them but you just can't beat dovetailed drawers, solid wood tops, unique hardware, upholstered pieces with hickory frames and cotton batting, the smell of old wood and the thrill of the hunt! LOVE it!

Back to my chair, here she is:

 I made a point to overstuff the seat cushion.  It's a very comfortable chair. I had been asked in an email if I ever double piped - I have now!  It was really out of necessity,  you could still see some of the old tapestry peeping out at the bottom and I needed to add a bit more length.  It worked and I like the look, so yay!

I did have to do a very minor repair job on the seat springs.

I needed to add strapping down the middle. There was a spring that had sprung!

Just followed the other two and stapled down. Easy enough.

Kinda messy job covering it all but it's on the bottom.

And a parting shot...

I made the curtains and hung them last week.  The table to the right was given to me by my mom and she's threatened my life if I paint it (I wouldn't even without the death threat).  It's a gorgeous piece.  That pillow won't stay but for now, I'm pretty pleased with it all.

I'm going to spend this evening tinkering with my blog and linking the 'furniture for sale' blog to it.  I need to figure out a better way to list the linky parties.  I've seen where some people list all the buttons at the bottom of the post and I like that.  Until then, just follow this link for the party buttons & Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage.   

 Halfway to the weekend - have a good one!

Chairs: A success, A FAIL & Finds!

I've been working on chairs..pretty much all chairs all week.  Some pieces I research to find out who made them, when and where. It's been pretty interesting with some furniture.  We're also adding on to our workshop and that's exciting. Just to have the space to really work and the equipment/tools right there when you need them and NOT be all over the living/dining rooms is pretty awesome! 

This seems to be an American Empire chair:

This is one scary before picture.  

Beautiful shape and nice sturdy mahogany wood frame. 

I had to cut out all the upholstery and basically gut it.  This part sucks eggs, that's for sure, but it's a work in progress.  Beer me patience! (Office joke)

I finished this beauty:

Love the lines, wide seat & back..mid-century modern Danish style.

Eww..yeah, this wasn't working.  It reminds me of a nurses uniform from the 50s - FAIL.  I stopped before attaching the seat - back to the drawing board!

 Black distressed paint is much better and I tied in the fabric from the drapes. Yep..this will work!

One more..I picked this up Wednesday and I'm making the slipcover now:

It's a solid frame and super comfortable.  And it reminds me of armchairs I was admiring at Williams-Sonoma.  It has that 30s-40s sitting room style and it's perfect in the den.  So my little den is really shaping up and everyone in my house is diggin' it!

I  celebrated my wedding anniversary yesterday and my sweet, sweet husband gave me a beautiful locket with a picture of him and my son in it.  I just love it!  We're also going on a little trip to celebrate and I am taking plenty of pictures of the cool shops I'm planning on visiting.  Alot of fun stuff to look forward to!  

I'm linking to these parties and Feathered Nest Fridays & Inspiration Friday!

Have a fun Friday! 

Making Progress!

I didn't finish any major projects but I did make some headway...

Mom and I set off for IKEA yesterday morning to start her kitchen remodel.  She picked out gorgeous cabinets.  Here is a model of the kitchen she's chosen:

 It's the STAT model with beadboard fronts.  She's getting granite countertops & her appliances are black/stainless steel.

Now the fun part of tearing down the kitchen and putting it all back together begins...this is where Brian comes in, bless his heart.  We have to switch around some electrical, vents and do some demo first.  I'm going to drag all willing to come through this process with us.  I have some experience hanging sheetrock, but I want to really learn how to frame a wall, minor electrical, plumbing, the artful use of shims, etc.


And while I was at Ikea, I bought another piece for our entertainment center.

I will have this loaded down with my beautiful crap in no time!

 Also, if you are anywhere near Atlanta, then you must go to Fabric & Fringe Warehouse in Marietta.  A guy in town who does upholstery tipped us off to it a couple of years ago.  They have a HUGE selection of gorgeous fabrics, trim, and even custom made jewelry.  Really good prices too, some of the fabric is $5 a yard and it's not cheap stuff.  We had a blast in there..although, after awhile it can start to feel like too many choices - a problem I will gladly work through.

So here is what I picked for den curtains:

  Love, love, LOVE it!!!  The background looks like a paler shade of the wall paint and the black has a distressed look. Perfect!

I'm getting some furniture ready to sell today - it's painting weather here!   I hope you all enjoy your Sunday & I'll talk to ya soon!

Jennifer

Windows + A Book = Just What I Wanted

I've been yammering on for a LONG time about remodeling my den.  It's a pretty big project because it needs everything ..big bookcase desperately needed updating (almost finished), paint (almost finished), new floors (haven't EVEN started), furniture that I like (almost finished) and art (DONE)!

My sweet mother gave me this a few years ago.

The Birds of America by John James Audubon. I have picked this book apart using the beautiful pictures in so many projects.  

And here's the latest:

 I think framing bird study pictures in these old windows does their beauty justice.

A few close-ups:

For you owl lovers.

I loooove the details of the windows & all the gorgeous birds.

An old book and old windows..seriously, decorating doesn't have to cost alot of money!

I had fun putting it together AND it means something to me.  Little birds always remind me of my mom because she enjoys them so much, so I think this is a perfect ode to Mom!!

I'm finishing the walls today (second time painting it because I didn't like the color the first go round).  Now, I'm painting it Ashley Gray by Benjamin Moore and LOVE IT!

The lighting is tricky in this room and this color is the perfect warm neutral.

Also, you can still enter my giveaway here! I'm announcing the winner tomorrow - super excited about it!

I link to these parties:
The DIY Showoff , Between Naps On The Porch, Making The World Cuter, DIY Home Sweet Home Project, Domestically Speaking, TipJunkie, Saturday Mornings, A Diamond In The Stuff, Faded Charm Cottage, Primitive & Proper, Blue Cricket Design, Type A Decorating, The Shabby Chic Cottage, House Of Hepworths, Beyond The Picket Fence, Chic On A Shoestring, Miss Mustard Seed, Tatertots & Jello, Stuff and Nonsense, Remodelaholic, Funky Junk Interiors and Under The Table And Dreaming all the links are here.

I'll talk to you guys tomorrow!!