Easy DIY: Revamped Owl Bookends

I scored these kitchy owl bookends at a gift exchange over the holidays and loved them immediately. Yes, they are completely 70's and ugly, but I thought with some bright paint they could be really fun. I figured I'd have to wait until spring because it's been way too cold to spray paint. Well, I got lucky because it was almost 60 degrees today - in January! 

I gave the owls a good scrubbing to remove any dust and grime, followed by a coat of spray primer. My first instinct was to paint them red, but I had extra gold paint leftover from my end table project, so I tried that. I should have gone with my gut because the gold was just not working for me. It felt like they were supposed to be eagles or something. So I picked up a can of bright red spray paint (Banner Red from Krylon) which is perfect! These owls were just the pop of color I needed to finish off my bookshelves!

This post is inked up with 

the Winthrop Chronicles Link Party #98 :)

and Thursday S.T.Y.L.E #4

the Winthrop Chronicles Link Party #101

Remodelaholic Weekend Link Party 2.28.14

Palm Springs Style

It's dark, cold and dreary here in the Midwest, with at least two months until spring. *sigh*
In an effort to cheer myself up, I'm fantasizing about a little weekend trip to sunny Palm Springs. I'm picturing mornings spent touring mid-century architecture, afternoons by the pool, salt scrubs at the spa and romantic dinners with my husband (he can come too). Of course, the wardrobe will need to be casual yet fabulous, with a little vintage mixed in!
What helps you shake off the winter blues?

Palm Springs Style by rachel-baumann featuring a sun hat

A Peek at our Kitchen Progress

Hey there!
Here is a little peek at our kitchen progress. The chalkboard paint back splash was a super quick job, and crazy cheap (12 bucks!) but I haven't completely decided if I want to add a design. I also painted the trim around the window to test out the look for the cabinets, and I'm really digging it! The lower cabinets are getting white paint this weekend!

It's just a small thing but I picked up this little dish at Home Goods and it's kinda silly how happy it makes me! As a type A person, I love to corral things into boxes, jars, baskets, dishes, etc. Type A people can be hard to live with (so I hear), but we really can be easy to please! Sometimes...

Plans for the Kitchen

I have a few plans to give our kitchen an inexpensive face lift over the next few weeks and I'm so excited to get started!
But first, here's how the kitchen looked when we moved in five years ago.

We did some mini-renovations during our first few months of ownership. We painted the cabinets, replaced the linoleum floor, installed butcher block style counters and widened the door between the kitchen and living room. OK, so Jesse did most of that stuff...But I'm a good helper!

Some folks might think it's a shame I painted over the wood cabinets, but they were not in good shape and replacing them is not in the financial plan, so to speak. I painted them "molasses" brown, which isn't terrible but I'm aiming for particular aesthetic - so it's gotta go!

Speaking of financial plan, the  counter tops cost next to nothing. Jesse purchased old work benches from a local factory (they were downsizing operations) and re-finished them. He also built the little counter height seating area which added a lot of work and hang out space.

So that's how the kitchen looked then and how it looks now.

Here's my project plan:
 - paint back splash with chalkboard paint, maybe follow up with a nifty but simple design
      Confession: I've already started this ;)
 - remove scallop style trim pieces
 - paint cabinets white
 - replace cabinet hardware?
That's it! There are other things I'd like to do, but we are being careful about how much money we put into the house. We live in an nice middle class neighborhood, but when it comes time to sell, I don't think we'd get our money back for premium tile or granite counter tops; it would be out of place with the market. :)

A few of my inspiration pics are below and here -  wish me luck! Painting those cabinets is going to be tedious!

image: avotakka.fi

image: ?

image: louderspace.blogspot

Easy DIY: Faux Brass End Table

I found this galvanized bucket in the Clearance section at Home Goods for $15. It was missing a handle but I liked the size and the bumpy ridges so I snapped it up. After removing the remaining handle (thanks, Jesse!) I gave it a quick coat of Valspar gold spray paint. Wham! bam! Swanky faux brass end table!

PS - the faux sheepskin is from Home Goods, too.