Entry Way Ideas

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I am working on a few different projects ... well, I am in the process of creating and designing an entry way into our home! Right now the area is completely bare, which is nice to have a blank pallet, but I have so many ways I could go! I have found a lot of pictures through blogs and Pinterest, and I think I have come up with a good theme! Here are some of the ideas that I love:

I love the bright light from these lamps and piece of furniture. 

 Love the simple table, large mirror and sconces

Gallery wall of pictures? Yes please!

 Simple and chic

 Gorgeous mirror table with large lamps and pops of color with accessories

 Love the large mirror and accent chairs

 Again, beautiful table with large mirror and lamps

 Simple, yet so pretty with the accessories and pictures

Any ideas on which way I should go?! Any other pictures that might help in my decision making?

{Before and After} - Dresser

Hey friends! Do you remember the photo below I shared with you last week? This dresser belonged to my husband's grandmother. It is a great piece of furniture with 9 drawers (plenty of storage!) but, oh did it need some loving!  Not only was it beat up from just being plain old, but it also stuck out like a sore thumb in our bedroom, which is pretty much decorated with all white furniture!

I am so bad about taking before pictures - clearly I remembered to take one after we had already taken most of the drawers out!

Again, another "before" picture, right before I began sanding away!

Midway through the project - primed and stained!

For the hardware, I knew it needed to be spruced up a bit. In my last post I told you about my new fave obsession for projects now - Rub n' Buff! This was my first trial run, and it turned out great!

Hardware before ...

Close up of Rub n' Buff - I used Gold Leaf 

Easy peasy! All you have to do is rub it on with your finger, and it sticks! Very simple!

And finally ....

The after picture! 

I am so pleased with how it turned out! I think it looks great in our room and works with our color scheme.  And my husband is the sweetest - he said that his Grandmother would be so proud! 

{I heart} Rub n' Buff

Alright, how have I just discovered the amazing product called Rub n' Buff?! Am I behind the times, or have I made a discovery that you haven't heard of either? 

I was reading a blog one day and noticed that the blogger continued to use this product on all sorts of things - hardware, furniture, picture frames, light fixtures, etc. How neat is that? I knew I had to try it.

So far I have only purchased the colors"Antique Gold," "Gold Leaf" and "Silver", but I am so excited to know there are additional colors available! I found mine at Michael's for only $3.99!

My next post will be a furniture update showing how I used Rub n' Buff. Stay tuned! 

{Loving} Kitchen Ideas

Lately I have been keeping my eye out for new ideas to update our kitchen.  After pinning multiple pictures on Pinterest, I think I have found a common theme! Check out the photos below and see if you notice a pattern throughout ...

1. Pendant Light over sink ...

2.  Farmhouse sink ...

3. Subway Tile ...

4. White Cabinets ...

5. Dark Floors ... 

6. Open Shelves

Now all I need to do is implement these into our kitchen! 

Hopefully some day ... 

Upcoming Projects

I am usually not one to set new year's resolutions, but it sure does seem like I have set a lot of goals for myself as this new year has kicked off! I have so many project ideas lined up ... I am having to create a priority list so I don't get overwhelmed with doing too many at one time!

Here are a few before pictures of some projects I am working on:

This dresser belonged to my husband's grandmother. It is a great piece of furniture, but oh does it need to be refinished!  {I am so bad about taking before pictures - clearly I remembered to take one after we had already taken most of the drawers out!}

In addition to the dresser in our bedroom, I am going to revamp the entry way to our home! I am thankful it is a blank canvas to work with. Oh, and I also don't mind that the piece of furniture was free thanks to re-salvaging it from my Grandfather's old lake house! 

Any input or ideas of what I should do with the entry way? 

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)