Deck the Halls!

Hello Friends! I wanted to share with you our Christmas Tree for this year! I am pleased with how it turned out, and the colors work with the color scheme in our den!

I will continue to post more pictures of decorations (as the house gets decorated!).

{Dining Room} Pictures

Like many of you, I am constantly coming up with new ideas of things that I would like to add or change in our home! I am definitely happy with how things are evolving, but it seems like there is always a list of things I want to do! For example, our dining room. We don't have much wall space to work with since three of the four walls have doors, but the one wall that is available is basically a blank canvas. As seen below, I mainly take pictures from a certain angle to hide my blank wall.

Here is a picture taken earlier this summer: 

And here is the room again, taken from a slightly different angle, but you can see the blank wall to the left:

So, I thought it would look good to hang some pictures! I picked up some frames from IKEA the last time I was in Atlanta. 

I took an idea from some fellow bloggers and hung some blank paper the same size at the frames to get the exact placement we wanted on the walls. This definitely helped and made the process much easier!

Here is the finished product! I am so happy with how they turned out. The pictures are from places we have been throughout our first years of marriage, which is so special!

This picture is from Jackson Hole, WY (taken in March 2011 on a ski trip with our friends)

This picture is from Highlands, NC (taken in September 2011 on a family vacation)

This is a picture from the beach on St. Simons Island (taken during the summer of 2010)

{I Heart Spray Paint} - Guest Bedroom Chairs

This pair of chairs came from Goodwill for about $10 a piece. Not bad, right? But also not very pretty! Not to worry, my spray paint bottle was ready to tackle these bad boys! 

First and foremost - cleaning the chairs. It is very important to give your piece a good wipe down before painting or staining. My go to product is Krud Kutter. This stuff works really well!

Proven by the disgusting paper towels after cleaning - who knows where the chairs had been!

Here are the chairs after two coats of spray paint. They look brand new!

I don't have any pictures from recovering the seat cushions, but I used a burlap type fabric in a natural color that would work well in our guest bedroom.

Here are the after pictures! Now we have two cute chairs for our guests, and they also work well for extra desk space! 

Fall Tablescape

Hello friends! I must say that I am pretty excited tomorrow is the first day of October, which means cooler weather is on the way, and it is time to decorate for fall! 

This past weekend I picked up some pumpkins and bittersweet vine at a produce stand to decorate our dining room table. 

I got the idea about putting the pumpkins in the lanterns from pinterest.

The runner was a gift my Mom got me in Cabo San Lucas ~ I love the colors, it really is perfect for Fall! 

The center vase is from Michael's, and I filled it with some green moss and an array of nuts and pine cones to help hold the bittersweet in place!

Have you started decorating for Fall yet? 

{Loving} - Pinterest DIY Ideas

Here are some DIY ideas that I have found on Pinterest that I am loving! 

(1) Block letters on blank canvas - such a great idea!

(2,3) Ribbon Holders - how easy would it be to do either of these?!

(4,5) I love the idea of taking old window frames and making them into picture frames 

(6,7) My necklaces could be neatly organized if I did one of these ideas! Either take a piece of wood and use knobs as the hangers, or a towel rod with shower curtain rings! Love it! 

 References - (1) Word Canvas; (2) Ribbon Holder; (3) Ribbon Hanger; (4) Picture Frame 1; (5) Picture Frame 2; (6) necklace hanger; (7) necklace hanger 2

Inspiration ...

I love finding inspirational pictures online from fellow bloggers and design websites! This picture below has been floating around Pinterest and I absolutely love how bright and airy the room feels! The wall color choice is Rainwashed by SW, but I decided to go with Opaline by SW (slightly lighter and and more in the green family). How do you think our bedroom compares to my inspirational picture?

Inspiration ...

Our bedroom ... 

I would love to add dark hardwood floors like the picture above!

And maybe another color? Dark blue? Coral? 

And here's a picture of my bathroom inspiration. I love the small chandelier and the dark wood mirror contrast with the light blue walls and white cabinets.

I'll post pictures of our master bathroom once the updates are complete!

What do you think about using the same paint color in a master bedroom and bathroom?

{Painted Furniture} - Buffet

Hello everyone! I want to share with you my latest project. It has definitely been a long process to finish this buffet, but I learned some new techniques along the way!

Here is the buffet when I bought it. It definitely looks good in this picture, but up close it had a lot of imperfections!

I didn't take too many pictures throughout the process, but here it is midway through when I had stripped the top of the piece down to the bare wood. I already had my first coat of paint, too! 

Here is a picture of the first coat of stain (Minwax Dark Walnut) - I love this deep tone compared to the original red tone that the piece used to be. 

 And here is the finished product! 

 I ended up doing two coats of stain, then two coats of fast drying polyurethane. 

The color is Old White Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan - this was my first experience with Chalk Paint, and I love it! No priming before hand, and the distressing at the end is very easy!

I also used the original hardware which really pops now against the light color. 

 Look how shiny and pretty the top is! I am so proud :)

 This piece is on display and for sale at 1610 Antiques. Stop by and check it out!

I am linking up to these parties!

{SOLD!} - Vanity

I am excited to say that the white vanity has already sold from the antique shop! I put it there for sale last Thursday, and it already sold on Monday. Whoo hoo! Now off to my next project!

{Painted Furniture} - Vanity

A few weeks ago I got a call from my mom letting me know she had found an antique vanity at a little antique shop. She said that it had good bones, but that it would definitely need some work! But the best part is that it was only $30! Well, you all know I like a challenge and a good deal! Here is a before picture:

The piece definitely had good bones, but oh my - was it dirty! I think it had been sitting in someone's back shed for about 30+ years because it was covered in spider webs and dirt. Oh wait - not only spider webs, but some live spiders too - that was not a pleasant experience to discover!

So I gave it a good scrub down and a light sanding. I had a hard time determining what color to paint this piece - black with gold accents, blue with some light distressing ... but ultimately I decided on good ole' white! I decided this because of the pretty lines and curves on the front. When the vanity was dark wood, the lines and curves didn't pop, but with some light distressing, they really show up!

After two coats of primer and two coats of white satin paint, here is the final result! I am really pleased with how it turned out.

 The lines and curves are slightly distressed - enough to make out the design, but not overly done. 

 And with some new hardware, this piece has a new life! I hope that someone will enjoy this in their home!

{Before & After} Bathroom Stool

The upstairs bathroom in our home has a little nook which is a perfect place for a chair or a stool. I was constantly on the lookout for something simple that I could fix up to match the colors and design of the bathroom. When I saw this cute little stool at a thrift store for $10, I knew I could spruce it up! I used materials that I already had on hand - Gripper primer and sealer, plus a coat of white satin paint, and the foam padding and fabric came from my favorite fabric shop - Fabric World (only $3.99 a yard)!

Here is a before picture:

And here she is after! I think the colors in the fabric work so well with the wall color.

Now guests (or myself!) will have a comfortable place to sit while getting ready!