Decisions, Decisions.

This dresser belonged to Bill's grandmother...it's now located in our living room.  The drawers are huge...it's a great place to store the things that aren't on display any given season. But it's showing some age....it needs some tender loving care.  Especially the top of the dresser.  I

 just can't decide what that care will be. 

Do I paint it?  Maybe decoupage it?  Maybe just give it a good cleaning and some fresh stain?  Whatever I do...should I do it to the whole piece?  Maybe just the top? 

Maybe just the drawer fronts?  Hmmmm......

 

It will take me a while to make up my mind about what I want to do....it'll take me even longer to actually do it!  In the meantime, I'll just keep the top of it camouflaged with all kinds of treasures!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a couple looks that I'm considering.

Pinterest to the rescue you know!!

 

I'm linking up with Be Inspired @ Elizabeth & Co.

So many ideas...so little time!!

 



Bathroom #2 Makeover - After

We just got back from a trip...I was especially excited to return because the

bathroom remodel took place while I was away.  Remember the Before Post? 

Well, this is what I found when I got home Saturday night!

 

 

I LOVE it! 

We just need to decide on a mirror and shower curtain, and then all the finishing touches will take place.  That painting on the toilet is the inspiration for this room....it will hang above the toilet.

 

I couldn't wait to share photos of the new room...but I'm still going to be taking a little break.  I need to recover from my vacation, upload the 2300 plus photos I took, and get this bathroom back in order.  If you'd like a peek at what I've been up to you can click on the photos of Katie, Mandy and Christine on the sidebar.  That will take you to their Instagram photos.

 

 

Bathroom #2 Makeover - Before

Back in August I shared the makeover of the bathroom Bill uses...I never did share photos of it all decorated though.  That's because we still haven't settled on a shower curtain! 

On Monday the makeover will begin on the main bathroom.  We'll be replacing the old tub/shower surround and the floor with ceramic tile. I'm super excited about that!

 

 

Here it is....the wall art has been removed. Everything else will come out
this weekend.  I think the change is going to wonderful!

 

 

The next three photos are my inspiration rooms. You can find links to them on my

Bathroom Pinterest board.  I really like the blue & white color combination...especially

with the black & white mosaic floor tile.

 

 

The tub/shower area will look like this...I love the three shelves in the
corner.  I debated on whether or not I wanted the wall tile to go all the way
up to the ceiling or not.  I went back and forth a dozen times. The final
decision was made yesterday.  'All the way up' won.

 

I knew I didn't want a white vanity...but trying to decide between black and
dark brown took some time.  I went with dark brown.

Oh, a bathroom this size would be awesome.  I love everything about
this space.  It's not quite the look that I'll end up with, but it confirmed my
floor tile choice.  This tile is what I was going to get.  But I opted for a tile
with a little less black in it.

 

 

It's been fun browsing through websites and then 'pinning' the things

that appeal to me onto Pinterest.  Puts it all in one

spot...and that's way easier than remembering!

 

 

Here's my tile...I LOVE it!  I also love the vanity we decided on...hopefully I won't
miss the drawers too much!  The shower curtain is an issue in this bathroom too. 
I kind of like this one...but I'm also thinking about making one out of an old white
chenille bedspead.  So many decisions!

 

The new bathtub is a tiny bit wider than the old one...it's also a few inches deeper.  We're using
6x6 inch tiles in the tub/shower area.  Mandy has them in her bathroom and I really like
how they look.  I'd really like to find an old mirror, but if I can't this might be the back up.

 

 

Once this is all done I'll start the decorating.  That's going to be fun. 

I have an old 16x20 oil painting that I hope to use over the toilet. 

The painting is my decorating inspiration.

That's a whole other post though!

 

Happy weekend!!

 

 

 

Shadow Boxes

Two more of my recent creations...the first one was inspired by a recent Pinterest discovery. 

Thank you to Dru Ann of A Fine Farmhouse for the 'pinspiration'!!

 

 

Wouldn't these look great in a laundry room or a sewing room! The background paper is part of an old letter (dated 1902), and the little bits of ruler in the lower left corner are the leftovers from my Christmas tree stems.   I wish I could site the source for the cute graphics...but they've been in a folder on my laptop for ages.

I just don't remember where I found them, but I sure do appreciate having them!

Thrift Store Find Re-Purposed

I found this "door" at the thrift store last week.  In it's previous life it was a flower pot holder....now it's a necklace holder.  Transformation was super-easy and very quick!

 

 

First I removed the pot holder, black key, and wire wreath. 

I removed a couple screws and snipped a few pieces of wire and I was done!

 

Then I added 14 brass colored cup hooks...found them in my junk drawer. 

But brass was not the look I was going for.

 

 So I got out a thick black Sharpie and colored the cup hooks. 

Ta Da!  Definitely like the black hooks better!

 

Then I added some of my necklaces....I think it's looks great!

 

I thought about adding some chicken wire to an old empty frame and hanging my necklaces on that...but I knew this would be quicker.  Plus I like the look of this much better!

I also added several little nails to the top...they're perfect to hook some of my fun pins on!

 

See!!

You know what else happened really quickly?  Filling up the hooks....yep, everyone of them!

A Lacey Lamp for the Nightstand

My Supplies

 

 

 

 

My Inspiration

 

source

source

source

 

The Finished Lamp

 

 

UPDATE: I used four doilies. Two large and two small. First I sewed on the large ones and then used the smaller ones to fill in a couple tiny holes and to add a bit of interest. Someday I'll remember to take photos of "the process"!

 

I love it!  I'm going to add "something" to the empty oval space.  An applique, some buttons, something.....what do you think I should add?

 

 



Thursday Night Thrift

On Thursdays my very favorite thrift store offers 25% off...so I try to go as often as I can.  I got off work a little earlier than usual yesterday, so I headed to Value Village before I went home.  I am so excited because I found some really great stuff.  Most of it I'll share another time.

But, for now, I can't resist showing off this cute little lamp.  When I was checking out the cashier took one look at this and said, "That's a very interesting looking lamp".   That's what Bill said too when I got home with it.

I love it!

It needs a little help.  It's pretty dirty.  The pom-poms & the daisies are...well, let's just say this didn't come from a smoke-free home.   But it definitely has potential...and it only cost $3.75!

It's not a big lamp.  Maybe about 16 inches.  I think it will be the "perfect touch" for somewhere.  Now I have to decide where.  Probably my bedroom.  I have to decide what color to paint it...'cause it does need some painting.  Maybe I'll repaint it yellow...or red...green....maybe blue.  Makes you kind of wonder what kind of decorating is going on in my bedroom, doesn't it.  It's my current work in progress....along with the guest room that's not quite finished.

So anyway, it needs some new paint, and something special to replace the daisies and then there's that shade.

Obviously with a basket for a shade it isn't going to give off much light.

Plus, the whole time I've been writing this post this scripture has been running through my head.

No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket.

Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.

Matthew 5:15 NLT

I'm leaning towards making something like this "scrappy lampshade" to replace the basket.  But I'm also thinking about how cute that basket shade is.  Any opinions on what I should do with this cute little lamp? 

Kitchen Make Over

Since the surgery I have spent a lot of time at home.  I've been looking around and making plans for all the make overs that I'd like to see happen in my house.  Bill loves when I start to make plans!

One of the things I wanted to do was change the color of the kitchen and dining room. There isn't a lot of natural light in these two rooms and the green paint on the walls wasn't brightening things up at all. 

So far Bill has painted the kitchen ~ and I love the results. 

He'll be putting the same color (Behr - Raffia Cream) on the walls in the dining room soon.

BEFORE

AFTER

We'll be taking down the ceiling fans and getting new light fixtures.  A new tile back splash might be in our future too.  Someday I'd like to get new counter top ~ I think something dark would look wonderful.  But I'm just really happy to have the new paint color.  Once the dining room has it's new wall color I get to start deciding what kind of goodies I'll be displaying. That's the fun part! 

I'll show more photos as the work progresses.

? QUESTION ?

In the first AFTER photo you can see my dining room furniture.  I'm thinking about painting it.  Any opinions?  Maybe black, maybe off-white OR maybe I'll just refinish the table.  This is a tough decision for me.  I don't dislike the wood finish ~ but the table is so worn and marked up.  How would it look if I just painted the table or the table and chairs and left the hutch as it is?