Cool And Cheap Way to Fill the Blank Wall

We had a large empty space between the top of my daughter's dresser and the bottom of her flat screen TV.  I thought it would look cool to put up a few pictures of her face when she was little. My first inclination was to take some old pictures and use the COSTCO photo center to create some square canvases. But I wanted 3 and at $35 a pop that was going to add up to over $100.
 
I decided it was time to use the Mod Podge that I had bought. So I had COSTCO print three 12x 12 photos at $2.99 a piece. I then took some foam board I had and cut pieces to the size of the pictures.  I used the Mod Podge to decoupage the pictures to the foam board.

And the end result was a very cheap and cool way to fill an empty space.

And here is a pic showing the a very quick way of decoupaging the pictures with a bottle of Mod Podge.

One Awesome Light Can Make the Difference

I don't think I was really aware of what a huge impact one light fixture can have on a room until I saw the awesomeness  added to Alison's room. Here are some pictures where you can really get the idea of that WOW impact.

These photos were obtained from http://vtinteriors.blogspot.com/  - a blog with beautiful pictures out of Australia. Enjoy.

A Little Bling and ASP Results in Pizazz

Pictures are worth a thousand words.

And this was the original. 

Moved Back into the Bedroom

Things always drag out longer than what we think they are going to but it is nice to see progress.  It is great to have the furniture out of the hallway and back into Alison's room. And  yup just love the light hanging on the ceiling.

We have a lot to accessorize but here is a corner of her room with the restyled jewelry case along with a couple of her favorite things she brought back from Thailand hanging on the wall. 

And here is her desk in the opposite of the room. Missing is her TV that will hang above it. 

Piece by piece we hope to see this room come together soon. So let's hope in another couple of weeks we have some final pictures of this project. Although we all know there is no final. There is always more to do.  Peace and good night. 

Just Have to Love Community Garage Sales

I found an awesome retro style picture that goes perfectly in our basement bathroom. This was from our high school band sale. I got it for $5 and I am so proud.

Thank you Newtown High School Band for the great find.

AND LET THERE BE LIGHT

Oh yeah!  The light is ordered. I am a little disappointed that the light is ordered because I really wanted to find a used one that we could use.  But time is running out. We are tired of the furniture in the hallway so what the heck we went to Home Depot online because Alison had seen a light she wanted there.  So this is the cool French chic light that we ordered.

So where are we?   The floor will be done in about 30 minutes.  The base moldings go up tomorrow. And maybe the wallpaper will be started.  

And if anyone forgot what this room looked like. 

All I can say is Ugh!!!!

Awesome Floor - What do you Think

The floor is almost in. This is the time where my DIY husband has taken over on our room rehab. Always run into a few unexpected things along the way.

Didn't quite realize we had such a hard bamboo. So hard our nail guns wouldn't work on it. But being the man that he is my husband is just doing all the nailing by hand.

It is all looking gorgeous. OK so here is a sneak peak.

You can also see some architectural items I have collected. Just wondering if any of them will fit in the final redo.  I think the vintage gate is my favorite.

So hopefully the floor will be finished this weekend. Although we lose Saturday because it is devoted to college football.  

Can't wait for the final product. Have a great weekend guys!

Cool Blog

http://simpleeverydayglamour.blogspot.com

This blog has some pretty cool stuff!

Sweet & Pink, Small & Adorable, Child's Desk

Just loved this small cute rolltop desk when I saw it in a consignment shop. I knew it had potential. This dark wood desk and chair became awesome with ASP Antoinette and Old White Paint. 

With rolltop closed. 

Even has a pullout writing ledge. 

And here is the Before Picture. 

My Soul is the Sky: White Bedrooms

My Soul is the Sky: White Bedrooms: Hi all! I’m Jennifer and I write for Arcadian Lighting . I've been writing about home decor since graduating university and have loved it ev...

Update on Transformation of Messy Teenage Room

We really are transforming this room into a cool Parisian
room. We are getting some help from wallpaper. Look at what Alison and I picked out to go on two of the walls.

We said the walls were going to be all white before but we change our minds as we continue to work.  So what do you think? Does this help give us the look we want?

Another day filled with painting.  This is the Before and After of the Bed. Remember we are trying to go from a messy teenage room to a sophisticated French style room.

 I am trying to finish all the furniture tomorrow then it is only the walls, ceiling, floor and lighting.  But I have my eyes set on a finish line. Only one year for my daughter to  enjoy before she leaves for college.

Progress on the Messy Teenage Room

With Annie Sloan pure white and graphite paint I am moving right along.  Here is some of the progress so far on the transformation of the old dark 40's furniture.

A Messy Teenage Bedroom Transformed into a Chic French Inspired Room

The challenge here is to take a bedroom with heavy mahogany furniture from the 1940's and try to transform it into a chic and sophisticated French inspired room.
Here are a few of the before pictures.

And this is a peak of what is coming. Remember that dark mahogany chair with an ugly purple velvet seat covering.
I used  Annie Sloan pure white and graphite to create this new look. I  added the French toile pattern cloth to the seat. Very easy to do  - just stapled it to the bottom of the seat. Oh what a DIY I have become.

Vanceville House: Antique Grey Dresser: Before & After

I just love the way this old dresser turned out.

Vanceville House: Antique Grey Dresser: Before & After: You never know where or when you will find something. On the 4th of July my husband and I were visiting with friends. My husband was han...

Jewelry Cabinet Redone to Delight my Daughter

 Back from 2 weeks in Iowa. Had an amazing time finding incredible pieces of junk. But more on that later.  I wanted to share a project for my daughter that I finished right before I left town.  Picked up an old dark wood jewelry cabinet in a consignment shop with the inside being fairly gross.  Below are the before pictures. 

I used Annie Sloan paint and painted the outside of the cabinet in Louie Blue. Outlined the front and painted the drawers in Paris Gray. Also for fun, I added a whimsical pattern at the bottom of the cabinet. The hardest part of this project was ripping out the inside cloth and replacing it. Fortunately for me my husband did much of that work. I built an earring area in the top by rolling foam and cloth around a stick and gluing it down. Felt pretty good about the end result since I am a newbie on these type projects.

The Before pictures of the First Piece

For those that are interested here are a couple of before pictures of my cottage cute piece.

Getting Started

 When I started following a college friend's blog, TLC Vintage Collection, last fall I was really intrigued. It was all about Annie Sloan paint, finding furniture in less than stellar condition and then recreating the furniture into something really cool. The more I read the more I thought it would be a really fun hobby. I took another step and went to an Annie Sloan workshop in Boston at the end of March.  Annie, a charming English lady, was there in person. She invented her paint over 20 years ago. So I have been having a blast gathering some pieces from garage sales, flea markets and auctions.
Here is my first completed piece.

I took a vintage French Provincial style of furniture and recreated it so it is cottage cute.  I used Annie's old white paint and then a mixture of old white and graphite on this table. I then washed the top with a mixture of old white and water so it is a milky look.
Here is a few close-ups of the slightly distressed piece.