Our Living Room - Before & After

We purchased our home in 2005.  Hard to believe we've been here 6 years.  Our home has gone through some major changes.

This is the living room before we purchased it.  I saw so much potential here.

Here is what it looked like at Christmas the year be bought it.










Here are the changes it has gone through. 


Removed Carpet and installed hardwood floors.

Here it is with new couch... we tried it a few different ways in this small space, the couch was much larger that we anticipated for this room.

We even tried separating the sectional and came up with this....(I loved it at the time)

Here is our living room after my makeover this past fall.  So in love!!!!

*Walls were painted
*Bought some Ralph Lauren Black pillows (TJ Maxx)
*Added some shelving
*Added some photos & prints (Marshalls)
*New black tables were from Craigslist
*Added lamps (TJ Maxx)
*Added rug (Marshalls)

*Replaced Curtains from Bed, Bath & Beyond.

(See shelf make over tutorial on this blog too)

This antique cain chair my husband bought me for my 40th birthday.  I can't wait to give it a make over this summer.  I'm thinking a soft gray or beige color and a new paris motiff cushion.

Powder Room Makeover

So I spent most of the weekend remodeling our downstairs powder room.  I have never been happy with the colors I chose, but I just didn't really know what I wanted.

After reading on Under the Table and Dreaming about her powder room makeover, I knew what I had to do...choose a neutral color and then decorate with accents.  Well I LOVED hers so much that I was on a mission to find some gray paint - never would have been my first choice, but after seeing hers...

I went to Walmart (because I was getting other things) and I decided I would just "look" at colors to get an idea, well by browsing the return paint I came across the perfect color and it was 50% off ($10.98) for a gallon!! SCORE!

Here are the before photos, sorry I took down all the decorations (I was too excited to get started and forgot)

 

















So I took Stephanie's advice and went looking for some fabric, I too wanted to make some cute DIY art pieces as she called them.  I would have never of thought to do something like this.  Some people are so creative!!!

 I found these canvas boards at Walmart (3 pack for like $5.00) and then I got the fabric for $2.95 per yard. 

I hot glued it onto the board.  Then I added black trim and made some fabric flowers with accenting fabric.  I made one by braiding the 3 fabrics together.  The large yellow one is made from trim.

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I had a magazine basket that had a liner in it (again too excited and forgot the before photo), but I took some of the yellow trim (got it on clearance at Walmart) and hot glued it around the top, then on the wooden handles I ripped some 2" fabric and wrapped the handles and hot glued it down.

 Then I set to work on the shelves.  My step mom Diane gave me 3 white shelves and so I distressed them and gave them a little stain. 

 I found the yellow and black Gerber at Target for $5.99.  The shelf under the mirror is a thrift store find that I painted white (it was yellow) and then I distressed it.  The yellow and black "kitchen" towels were $2.99 ea.

 These three washcloths were from a set of 6 (the other 3 are on the back of the toilet) they were $4.99.  The yellow perfume bottle was a thrift find.  The jar on the left was hand carved for my husband and I while we were in Mexico a few years back.  Another close up of my shelf.  So glad I found a home for it.

I had this Gerber print in the bathroom in the same location but on the dark brown.  So much nicer here on the gray.  I got the bird on clearance for $4.99 at Display and Costume in Seattle, then the Dream was a TJ Maxx find and I tied some of the yellow fabric on it, and the little black wire basket was a thrift find that I got for .25 cents.  The black and white "shelf liner" ties in the colors.  We store our toilet paper in a old candle holder (another thrift find)

Two of the shelves Diane gave me (Thanks Mom)  The thingy on the left holds a Party Lite candle - but it had a blue candle so I'm going to find a yellow one to replace it, in the mean time I got the little yellow box for a $1.00 at Target and took the plant from another room.  The black "kitchen" rug was $9.99 at Target.

 The candle holder on the left you can't see, but it was a thrift store find for $1.00 and I spray painted it a high gloss black and found a yellow candle at Target for $4.99.

My two DYI pieces of art, my clearance mirror and my little thrift store duck that I found for a $1.00

Well there you have it.  Sorry for so many photos...I just love them! 

Happy Day - Heather

I'm sharing with...

Show & Tell Blue Cricket Design

My first attempt at Antiquing Glaze....

So I had this ugly "thing" that I got at goodwill not even sure exactly what it was supposed to be, all I knew is it had potential.

I first started with priming it and then painted it with white gloss spray paint.  But it still didn't do it for me.

So when I read on


about her Glazing 101, I thought how fun (I should try this).
Ok so this stuff is really cool....Valspar Antiquing Glaze - Asphaltum 98278. It was about $9.00 for the bottle at Lowe's, but as I've read on The Speckled Dog Tutorial, a little goes a LONG way. I didn't even put a dent into my bottle, just used what was inside the cap...

 

After I was done - 3 coats of Glaze.  I was still missing something...but didn't know what.

So then I remembered the two little bunnies I got for $1.00 at Goodwill.  So I antiqued them too....He's got one coat, waiting for the 2nd.

Here is the final with it all put together...

 

 

I know you just love my twine eggs and moss eggs, stay tuned for how I made those....so much fun!

 

There you go...so happy!  Happy Day...Heather

I'm joining up with....

Laundry Room Makeover

Ok the Spring Bug has hit me HARD, in the past week I have now painted 3 rooms...and I'm not done. We've lived in our house for 6 years and the rooms/areas I've painted had never been touched...why do you ask? Because I never thought to paint them or fix them up - a closet? a laundry room? Who does that? a bathroom (OK I get this one) EVERYONE in blog land...that's WHO!!! LOL.

So I got on the band wagon and found a great color that was on the "mixed wrong table" at Lowe's - $5.00 for the Gallon. It was the exact color I was looking for a goldish brown. I have no clue of the color, just that it's what I wanted and for $5.00 - SCORE!!!

BEFORE....

AFTER...

I sure wish these baskets were a few inches taller so you couldn't see my supplies...Lowe's $12.50 ea.

These two jars with the Oil Rubbed Bronze lids I got at DI for $7.00 for both of them!  I have my Oxy Clean in the larger one and Clothespins in the smaller one.

o I am not sure about the lamp shade.  I want to paint the base of this lamp ORB (Oil Rubbed Bronze), but not sure about the burlap?  Thoughts anyone?  Is it too small?  Too ugly?  Or just right?

The black basket hanging there towards the right is where I store "Missing In Action Socks".

The black basket with fabric liner in the upper left corner (was Burgundy) I spray painted a high gloss black, it's lovely.  I also got this at DI for $4.00 plus $.99 for the spray paint. - Looks brand new, don't ya think?

I put it on the Burgundy so you could see it.  It's about 2 ft in length and about 1 ft in width.  I am storing our TP in it now. 

Yah I k now....looks like it's time to break out the Iron ( I hate to Iron).  It's been about 3 years since I took the bi-folding doors off.  They were such a pain.  I used a shower curtain rod (I know I use them everywhere) and two curtain panels.  The carpet I got at Fred Meyer a few years ago and I love that the paint matches.  There you go....Happy Day - Heather