MIA...

Not really!  One thing I don't often mention is that I have an actual job that I am required to be at Monday - Friday (and I really like my job, so this isn't a bad thing).  Between So I'm here in spirit during the week.

I got a lot done during the long holiday weekend two weeks ago, but I didn't get around to posting it.  My fireplace is finally looking put together.  I decided the mantel needed some further updating.  What I really need is my hubby builder to get hot on the media unit so I can get rid of all the junk on my mantel!  I really like the change from the hurricane lamp, which was finished in a brushed bronze, the etched glass vase.  I think the addition of the new accessories helps too.  What do you think so far?

My other project was the lanterns.  I did end up buying them because I seriously doubt I would have been able to make anything that was even as close to being as perfect.  And the price was right!!  I'm having a hard time getting them to photograph correctly.  They keep coming out a grey color, which couldn't be further from the color.  They're a pale aqua, with a hint of a gold undercoat.  And while gold isn't really a color that matches my living room, it's so light, you almost miss it, so I'm good with that.  I like how the soft color in them frames the artwork.  I've only got a few accessories on the now white shelf, so that still looks more than a little bare.  I love the owl!  I love unexpected accessories, and I think an owl next to a beach (what the print looks like to me) is unexpected, lol....


Inspiration Shade
Then there's the lamp.  This is a lamp that I got at a great clearance price at Wally-World last summer for my living room.  Am I the only person who feels the need to spruce up the place when the in-laws are scheduled for a visit?!  But I digress...At the time, it was a great fit to my formal living room.  Now, it's way too dark.  After seeing some of the great re-finishes from fellow bloggers and Pinterest, I knew that this lamp could be re-done to better match my new color palette.  I started with a basic grey primer, which is what I had on hand.I did two coats only because I needed it to be kid friendly, but one coat seemed like it would have worked.  Then it was time to make some paint choices.  Did I want color?  Did I want a shiny finish or a matte finish?  And what about the rather funky shape of the shade?  Should I used a patterned fabric or stick with solid?  I started with my inspiration piece, this lamp here:  Now the size is MUCH smaller, so this particular lamp never would have worked in my room.  But I love the lamp shade.  I decided a ruffle of some sort might be much easier to add rather than completely remaking the existing shade.  But since it's a shade, I knew I had to have a finished edge to avoid little pieces of string everywhere. This was a lot more work, but I think it was really worth it in the end.  I finally settled on a hammered metal finish, and I really like the base.  Now to finish that ridiculous shade....



I found this great shelf idea from Shanty 2 Chic, who is one of my favorite DIY blogger's!  I've been contemplating shelves like this in several of my rooms.  But the short ones, even on sale, tend to start at $20 and up. Not horrible, but in some rooms, I need a much longer shelf (and as it was pointed out, the actual shelf at Pottery Barn is $85!!). Now I can have my hubby builder customize them to the size I need! The plan's come from Anna White's web site (yep, same one that I got the amazing nightstand plans from - such a talented woman!!) so I knew they'd work well.  I bought my daughter a great canvas print for her room, and I knew I wanted to put it on a ledge shelf.  Looking at Anna's site, I see that some people even attached molding to give a more formal look as well (LOVE that idea!).

I was busy updating the picture frames as well.  My wooden frames just didn't work well with this lighter color palette, so they had to be updated.  I painted them all white the first go around, which was...OK.  But I wanted better than OK!  So these will be updated to aqua and silver very soon!

Stay tuned for more updates!

Weekend Updates

This weekend, I'm going to go out and start looking for some pieces to accessorize my living room.  I have some great inspirational ideas from the new Pier 1 catalog I got in the mail.  I really wish their prices were more family friendly, but since they're not, I'm going to re-create!  Here are some of the pieces I'm using for inspiration:

Ruffle Pillow

Turquoise & Green Ceramic Vases

Allover Leaves

Aqua Ceramic Vases
I think the best thing about these pieces, is that I already have pillows that I bought in the fall.  They're  VERY similar to the Allover Leaves pillow!  It looks like the inspiration pillow has some beaded detail my pillows don't have, but I think I could easily update that by hand stitching some on while I watch football this weekend (Go TEXANS!!!!).  I'm going to check out Pier 1 Saturday morning to get a better idea.  I like the ruffle pillow as well, but there are a plethora of instructions on the web to create one so the cost of this at $30 a pillow is a bit excessive.  I'm thinking dupioni would be really nice for the ruffle...

Then there's the Turquoise and Green vases. Love the colors.  LOVE THEM.  I think they might be too dark for my room though.  I'm trying to go with a lighter color palette to balance out the room, since my solid chocolate brown sofa is really too large for the overall scale (and getting rid of it is simply not an option).  I'm going to see if I can find some metallic papers in a lighter tone and maybe mod podge them on to a glass vase.  I'll probably pick up a plain glass one at the Dollar Tree this weekend if I can find the right paper to test it out, then I can search some discount and thrift stores for some ones if I like it.

Ah, that leaves us with the Aqua Ceramic Vases.  I'm not remotely interested in the egg shaped one.  But the tall one with what looks like a Dahlia?  Oh so pretty!!!  I could see it paired with a pretty frame and maybe a candle in mercury glass.  

Now there are a couple of pieces I may invest in.  New sconces are the top of my list. I have a beautiful set that I spent too much on from Party Lite that I got several years ago, with a matching hurricane lamp.  But my changing to a lighter color palette, they don't coordinate well with my pillows.  However, I think I'll be able to move them into my master bedroom and make them work, so I don't mind buying new pieces for the family room.  While I'm open to re-doing something that may be a bargain, I'm leaning strongly towards just purchasing these pieces:

Jeweled Lantern

Blue Crackle MOP Mirror

Blue Sea Glass Lamp
The Blue Sea Glass lamp is on sale right now.  $40 for what I think is the perfect lamp is a great deal (I say think because I need to check the size in person - picture can be misleading!).  I like clean and simple lines in a lamp and the color is perfect for me.  The Jeweled lanterns have more of the aqua tones in them in the catalog, so I want to look at these too. The 13" lanterns are only $15 each, and I don't think I could find anything that I would like better for less, so I may need to purchase two of them.  Also, I've got a coupon for $10 off a $50 purchase, so I could get all three pieces for $60.  That's cost effective in my book!

The mirror.  Ahh the mirror.  It is NOT cost effective.  $130 on sale.  For a mirror.  Ugh.  I have a couple of options here though.  I could have my husband cut me a mirror to the size I want (how much do I love having a Glazier for a husband who can get his hands on mirror for free!?!!).  Then I can either buy a frame and finish it myself (lots of options for finishing it!) or find a mirror at a thrift store and update to what will work for my room.  So that will be part of  my weekend shopping as well!

Master Bedroom Take 2

Here are some more quick updates.  I'm not 100% happy with the chest of drawers yet.  It looks very...bare.  And while I tend to think less is more, in this case, it just isn't.  I added my favorite vase back in, and my 3-wick candle, but it's not right.  I do really like how the artwork looks.  Anyone who knows me knows I have a thing with "E"s.  The floral print represents me, the guitar is my husband.  He really loved these pieces when I brought them home.  I've never put up guitar artwork in our master bedroom before.  I'd never really thought about it before, but when I found this one, it matched the color scheme in our bedroom so well, I knew I had to make it work.  But that chest of drawers. UGH!  I need to give that some more thought.
Our master bath.  I wasn't sure what direction to take with the master bath.  There is no door separating the bedroom from the bathroom, and the colors carry through.  I like that.  However my bedroom furniture is all black, and as you can see, the vanity's are white.  I wanted to put a little more continuity between the two rooms.  I found these tiles at Garden Ridge.  The E was clearance!!  $1.99 for the E.  The other tiles were $3.99 each.  I debated back and forth about putting them a little lower on the wall.  However, that's my jewelry box in the center, and I didn't want the lid, which flips up, hitting the tiles constantly.  So I opted to place them just above where it opens to.  I picked an "M" out for my husband, and again, he really liked it.   While I have always had a thing about E's (we have them scattered about the house like the hidden Mickey's at Disneyland!!) the M has never been a big deal to him.  But he really like this, so I'm happy that he's happy!
Can you stand one more picture of my beautiful nightstands?!  Just for humor's sake, I took photo's of what the sides of our bed looked like while he was finishing up the nightstands last weekend.  The photo to the far left is my side of the bed (yep, I sleep on the right, but just realized I put the photo on the left...sorry).  Notice my leaning box, very evident with the lamp that looks like it's about to fall off.  And where I charge my iPad at night (the phone rests on the box at night to be charge too).  The inside of my box is where I store my magazines.  I'm going to pick up some baskets soon, so they'll be stored on that bottom shelf of the nightstand, easily accessible!   The other picture is my husband's side of the bed.  Yikes!!!  There is quite the assortment of miscellaneous junk.  Now I won't lie:  the box that you see is now tucked next to my TV (which you'll notice I'm not posting any photo's of - that wall is completely undecorated and has 'stuff' that shouldn't be there, taking up space...like Christmas wrapping paper, ugh!) so there's still a little more to do in here.  But my amazing hubby is now going to build a console table for our TV, which will allow me to house my small collection of DVD's (currently stacked on our makeshift TV stand) and our TV components neatly and more importantly, out of sight!!  But the console and that wall with be another post altogether!

The Reveal!

My master bedroom.  I'm SO pleased with how it's turning out!!  These were quite a bit of work, and not a project for beginners, but I love how the nightstands turned out.  Of course, it didn't actually start out that way.  Do you see the photo of the sad, weathered looking nightstand?  That's what the ebony stain looked like.  Old weathered wood.  That's great if you have a rustic themed bedroom.  But I don't. And I didn't want that look. I knew I wanted the wood grain to show, but I wanted it to match my dresser, which is black.  With the wood grain showing.  So closed my eyes, bought some black spray paint, and hoped for the best.  And it worked!  You can see the step by step process in these photo's.  My husband is AMAZING and worked all weekend to help me get these finished up.  I say we.  He measured, cut, and built.  I sanded.  And I found the pattern.  So that should count, right?!
Now here are some shots from start to finish:

  • The wood and the tools
  • The unfinished product
  • The wrong finish
  • Perfection!