DIY and Home Decor Blog. Fly Your Freak Flag.
This chair was a monumental find for me.
It was my first roadside find. I found it even before I found my metal cabinet that I turned into craft storage.
I was just, ummmm, slow, very slow about getting around to fixing it.
I think the wait was worth it though – I love how this chair makeover turned out.
When it comes to wood staining, there are a few differences between staining regular wood and staining pressure treated wood. You can typically stain regular wood immediately. With pressure treated lumber, you might be able to stain it immediately or you might have to wait a bit. Read on to see how I was able to stain my new deck without waiting!
You guys know I love me some quick and easy crafts and projects with Duct Tape – particularly gold duck tape*.
I have used it to embellish curtains, make DIY art, and to dress up a bookcase.
Ya’ll, that’s just the tip of the iceberg, though.
You aren’t going to believe some of these awesome Duct Tape Crafts and Projects that I’ve found.
My in-laws have totally been holding out on me. A few weeks ago, my mother-in-law and I were wondering through the garage gathering items for a yard sale and what did we stumble across? My father-in-law’s old army locker. Just sitting there. Waiting to be made into something awesome. Disclosure: I am a Brand Ambassador…
There have been a lot of changes around here lately.
Like a lot.
A guest bedroom and office makeover, a mini-master bedroom makeover, and lots of little projects in between all that.
Needless to say, this gal is exhausted and a vacation can’t come soon enough.
I was asked to be a part of the Spring Parade of Homes and thought that this would be the perfect time to update my full home tour, seeing as how so many things have changed. The last full home tour I did was last summer. You can see it here.
If you are popping over from May Richer Fuller Be, or another blog in the parade, welcome! And if its your first time here, prepare yourself for snarky comments, witty jokes that may not seem so witty to you, and many references to cheap beer and possibly 80’s hair bands.
Just wanted to give you the full disclosure before you begin the tour.
Our home is a 1969 Ranch Style House and we love it.
I hope you just started singing Guns ‘N Roses Welcome to the Jungle after reading that title.
You’re welcome.
As I told you when I revealed the guest bedroom and office makeover on Monday, this space is a 100% selfish act.
When I started plotting this makeover, yes, I wanted guests to enjoy the room, but it was going to contain my workspace as well. And I would be the one spending the most time in here. So, come Hades or high water, this space would be whatever my little heart desired.
And it is.
When I showed you the guest bedding a few weeks back, I hinted that the back wall would be getting a serious treatment, so the bedding didn’t need to be too patterned.
That back wall did get a serious treatment – a serious leopard skin accent wall treatment.
Sometimes, I must think I’m Wonder Woman.
At the beginning of every week, I create a list of what I need / want to get accomplished.
The list is usually one full page of my large planner long and somehow I think I will be able to do all this stuff within the week.
The only time I get to work on my projects and the blog is a few hours each day before the kid wakes up and after she goes to sleep, and for 4 1/2 hours two days a week while she is at preschool.
I must be crazy.
Not every item on that list ever gets checked off.
Needless to say, I had planned on showing this completed guest bedroom and office space to you months ago.
Yea, right.
Whatever voice in my head telling me that was insane.
You have seen some projects from it already, but you haven’t seen the whole enchilada.
Guys, this may be one of my favorite Fifteen on Friday projects ever.
Ok well, its right up there with the electrical tape lampshade, duck tape curtains, and lucite trays anyway.
As you know, I am a huge fan of making my own DIY wall decor. I made my own prints with PicMonkey for my master bedroom, used the sassy printables on the sequined coat hangers, and made my own silhouette art.
This DIY modern art was by far one of the easiest home decor items I have ever created and I think it looks fab.
And did I mention I made it with a gift bag?
Remember back in November when I made a confession?
I told you that I kinda, sorta, maybe, sometimes ignore the outside of my house.
Well, a couple weeks ago it seemed as if spring was finally arriving here (it was a trick though!). It was sunny, it was nearly 70 degrees and the kid was at preschool (thank heaven).
I certainly did not want to coop myself up in front of this computer all day. I thought it was a good time to spruce-up the porch a bit – seeing as how I have not touched it since its makeover nearly three years ago. And when I did do the makeover, I got pregnant half-way through and failed to touch the lattice on account of being tired all the time.
At least that’s the excuse I’m giving.
So, on that beautiful day a couple weeks ago, I figured out how to stain wood the easy way and gave my lattice a much needed refresh.
So, remember a few weeks back when I created this whole master bedroom inspiration board?
Remember how we were looking at building on a new master suite?
Exactly one day after that post published, we met with a contractor. We walked him around the house, showed him what we wanted to do, and then he gave us a heartfelt smile and said, “It won’t work. I’ve never seen a house more stuck than yours.”
Seriously?
Yes. I kid you not.
Now, we really don’t need a new master suite. We really don’t need anymore space at all, though it would be nice. And honestly, we could live in less than we have and we are are truly blessed to have what we do have.
And that was a lot of “haves” in the last sentence.
But, I figured if I’m not going to get a new master suite, I’m at least going to give the current one a mini-makeover. And what better time to show you that master bedroom makeover and share with you my master bedroom ideas than on the last round of What’s Your Style.
When I showed you the guest bedroom’s new bedding a couple weeks back, some of you guys asked about the upholstered box spring. I hadn’t really planned on posting about it because I’ve seen a few other tutorials out there on how to do it.
But, since you asked, here is how I made my upholstered box spring. And of course, it’s no-sew. If I don’t have to sew – I don’t!
After a little hiatus, the Trash to Treasure gals are back!
I hope you are ready for some great projects and inspiration! Today, I’m very excited to show you how I salvaged the curtains in my guest room / office instead of having to buy new ones.
You guys, Spring is finally starting to show up around these parts! I can hardly contain my excitement! I hope its warming up wherever you are as well. I thought I would share this nightstand makeover with you because its cheerful colors just beg Spring to come!
Y’all, I never thought in a million years I would ever show you my living room.
Seriously.
I don’t know why, but for me, decorating the living room has always been a struggle. I’m not even quite sure what it is. But I have a few theories: I can’t mix patterns well, the ugly television has to go somewhere, and there is usually a piece of furniture in there that I despise and can’t really be changed at the moment.
My kitchen. No problem. Maybe it’s because there are so many “fixed” items in there that could easily be changed like painting the cabinets. And updating the barstools was easy. And I knew I wanted stainless steel appliances, since we had to buy appliances considering there were no appliances at all in the foreclosure.
The same was true for my bathroom. I knew I wanted white marble floors – it was a classic that went with everything and I easily found a new vanity for cheap.
Anyway, the living room always stumps me. I have finally shown it to you here and most recently here. I’m still not 100% in love with it. However, its growing on me and decorating is a process for those of us that don’t have hundreds of dollars to drop in one shopping trip.
So, to continue inspiring me in my living room endeavors and to hopefully inspire you, I’ve gathered 20+ living room ideas that will hopefully help us all out. Unless you are a living room decorating genius. In that case, I bow down in your genius presence.
Welcome to another Fifteen on Friday! I hope you all are gearing up for a fun weekend!
Here’s a quick little project that adds a little pop to your furniture.
You may have noticed in the red buffet makeover, that the feet of said buffet were sporting a little touch of metal.
You see, I have this thing for metal feet on furniture. Once I saw brass feet on the vintage chair for Grunt Labor that now sits in our living room, it was a done deal.
I’m takin’ it home.
I’m sure you could buy these brass caps, also known as ferrules and sabots (look at me breaking out the big words – crazy what you learn as a blogger!), but I don’t know where and I did a version of it myself anyway.
Here’s how I made my faux brass capped feet.
Hi, my name is Jenna and I’m an over-analyzer.
The last time I over-analyzed something was just yesterday this morning.
I am easy going on many things. Most of the time, I’m just a “It is what it is” kind of girl.
But then, I start thinking about fabric and paint swatches and should I place this brass golf ball here or maybe here or maybe it needs to be on top of a vintage book…
Sheesh…. it never ends.
Case in point: The new rich navy accent wall in my entryway.
This Fifteen on Friday, I wanted to give you a gift. Something that still takes less than 15 minutes, but is absolutely free to you.
With the exception of printer ink and paper. Sorry.
Its not much, some of you won’t even like it, but its the best I can do.
If I could, I would buy each of you a cheap beer. But, for now, these free printable quotes will have to suffice.
Are you tired of my kitchen yet?
If I were you, I may be tired of my kitchen.
But, here’s hoping you aren’t tired of my kitchen.
Because, its the second round of the What’s Your Style series, which means we are talking kitchens.
So today, I’m sharing a little bit more about my Vintage Modern Rustic Kitchen.
There are a few changes since the last time you saw it.
When I walked through the back door, I knew he would either be in his recliner or at the kitchen table.
If he was in his recliner, there was a 50 / 50 chance he had fallen asleep with a cigarette in hand and either Bonanza or In the Heat of the Night blaring from the television.
If he was expecting me and it was morning, he would most likely be at the kitchen table, facing me when I walked through the door, flipping through a magazine he had pulled from the stack that was a foot tall and rising.
This kitchen table is more than a table to me.
I sat on this table and ate my first birthday cake and drank from a mustard bottle.
I sat at this table and watched my grannie make me milkshakes.
I sat at this table and watched my pap try to make those same milkshakes.
I sat at this table and said my first curse word as I stuck a fork into a potato.
I sat at this table as he told me he would work on the tractor and I would mow the grass. I may hurt myself on the tractor.
I sat at this table with every cookbook of my grannie’s open, looking for that one chicken spaghetti recipe that my pap wanted so much to make.
I sit at this table now and write this post.
This table has been around as long as I can remember. Its solid, its sturdy, and if there is one piece of furniture that I want to work at every day, its this one. Its got a good history.
And we all know a piece of furniture with a good history is the best.
DIY blogger confession time:
Until a couple weeks ago, I had only attempted to wax two pieces of furniture.
One turned out so-so.
The other was a complete failure.
In the end, the failure, the french country chest ended up with a light sanding and a coat of Polycrylic.
I would now like to announce that I am a waxing furniture pro.
Yes, after only one successful piece of furniture waxed two weeks ago, I am declaring myself a pro.
I don’t have an ego at all.
However, my pro-ness in the waxing furniture department depends on one thing.
**Don’t forget to enter the FrogTape giveaway here and the Country Chic Paint giveaway here!**
Last week when I showed you the faux wall moldings, many of you mentioned the sequined coat hangers.
Who knew a coat hanger could be so fabulous?
When I was trying to figure out how I could make frugal wall decor for the guest bedroom, I knew I wanted to have lots of inspiring and fun life quotes. I also wanted them to be fabulously displayed. And what better to display them with than sequined coat hangers.
Let’s be honest.
The blue-lilac color on the buffet in my living room…..
it wasn’t working.
It went with nothing in my living room. When we first moved in the beloved foreclosure a few years ago, I loved that color. And it is still a really pretty color. But it does not work well with navy blue or gray or kelly green.
So it got booted.
And now I’m seeing red, also known as Devotion from the Country Chic line of chalk paints. Here’s how this Country Chic Buffet Makeover went.
I love a great cowhide rug, but not the price tag that comes with them. I found a solution though with this faux cowhide rug I made for only $15. All you’ll need is some faux cowhide fabric and a few other things to make your own!
Sometimes…
Rarely…
But it happens every once in a while…
Totally out of the blue…
I have a stroke of genius…
Or genius for me anyway… I’m sure most of you guys are way above my level.
As I was working on my guest bedroom / office makeover, I decided I needed a lamp for one of the nightstands.
And if you’re gonna have a lamp, you’re gonna need a lampshade.
So, I made over a lamp and picked up a basic white lampshade at Target* for $8 on clearance.
We all knew that basic white lampshade wasn’t going to stay basic and white.
