Entertainment Wall Before and After (Or, Cinderella Shelves)

(Note: I've recently updated this post by adding some brighter photos) 
One of the nice things about growing up is that I'm becoming more comfortable and confident with myself. For example, I'm not embarrassed to admit that I'm a little obsessive and type A. Therefore, when I dragged a pair of raggedy old shelves home and Jesse looked at me like I was nuts, I didn't feel hurt. I just said, "Wait and see! These are gonna be awesome!" and rambled on about paint, hardware and measurements.

As you can see below, the entertainment wall in our living room needed some love. Over the years, I've used various credenzas as TV stands but I never managed to snazz up the wall. A little paint, some modifications from my in-house carpenter *wink* and these raggedy shelves were going to be the ticket right outta boring town!

And they were! But it didn't happen over night. The project was relatively simple, but with full time jobs, a kiddo and other modern family stuff, the shelves took several weeks to finish. A big chunk of time was spent covering up the thick brown paint. It took four tedious hours for me to sand the bumpy / drippy spots to a somewhat smooth finish, followed by three coats of white semi-gloss paint and primer.

The shelves alone weren't big enough for the wall, and there was nowhere to set our TV. So Jesse added four shelves; one across the top, one in the lower middle and a box type shelf in the center. When he was finished making the shelves, guess who got to paint 'em?! Yep. me.

Ta-Da! There she is! The Cinderella of Craig's List book shelves!

Once the wall unit was in place, I spent some time styling up the shelves - my favorite part of the project! Back in my retail days I developed a knack for arranging displays, so it was fun to practice my little skill again. Everything on the shelves is from around our house except the two black canvas bins on the floor which I purchased from Garden Ridge - they're for B's toys :)

I'm so happy with how this turned out and I love having space to show off our treasures and tchotchkes!
Materials list and budget breakdown:
- Shelves, Craig's List - $65
- White semi-gloss paint and primer in one, Lowe's - $30
- Nickel and faux crystal drawer pulls, Lowe's - $30
- Pine lumber for modifications, Menard's - $80
- Large black canvas bins, Garden Ridge - $30
- Total project cost - $235

Have you ever transformed an old piece of furniture into something fabulous?  Leave me a comment, I'd love to hear about it!

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Dining Room Makeover Part 2

It's been a few weeks since we started revamping our dining area so I wanted to give a little progress update. Here's a reminder of where we started. 

The white Eiffel chairs arrived a few days after ordering and they have been great! They're sturdy, comfortable and easy to clean. Jesse assembled and hung the sliding barn door but it needs a few modifications and a coat of stain. I also completed an artsy/craftsy project for the long wall. 

The space already looks a lot better, but of course there is still a lot I want to do! I'm hoping that with the deck and shed finished up I can nag Jesse into building a trestle style dining table and installing this vintage milk-glass light fixture.

While Jesse is busy with electrical work and furniture building, my next project-within-a-project will be to paint stripes on the long wall. I saw this A-MAZING striped wall on pinterest via Design Sponge and I'm going to attempt to mimic it in subtler colors (khaki + white).

Toddler Bedroom Makeover

When Jesse and I learned we were expecting, I immediately started daydreaming of a perfect nursery for our baby. I pictured something like us - an eclectic blend of creative, cozy, modern & vintage-y. Back then, I was in retail management and teaching yoga on the side. Jesse was working 70+ hours a week and traveling a lot. Time flew by, and we just didn't have a chance to create our perfect nursery. Now, three years later, we are so blessed to both have new jobs and schedules that work better for our lifestyle. 

Last fall, I started a serious effort to revamp our 1950's ranch. I've been working my way from one end of the house to the other painting, sewing, crafting and commissioning work from Jesse. When I finally reached B's room a few weeks ago, I had so many ideas accumulated that I wasn't quite sure what direction to take! I thought a fresh coat of paint and maybe some book shelves would be a good starting point. Easy weekend project. Right?! But...when I started prepping the room for paint I noticed something was amiss. The paint around one window was peeling and there was a musty smell. Thinking it was just a little water damage (maybe the seal around the window was leaking?), I peeled a piece of the paint back and...YUCK! Half a dozen little white-ish bugs came running out! I called Jesse over to take a look and unfortunately, we determined the little bugs were termites. Several days later we were termite free, (thanks to a fantastic local exterminator) but we also had an entirely new wall on one side of B's room. Good thing Jesse is so handy, otherwise our repair costs would have been much higher! 

With the termites slayed and repairs finished, I set to work creating the nursery I'd always dreamed of for B. 

The polkadot wall was a fun project, but I'm not sure. I think it might be a tad too much. The large "B" initial is from a twice yearly flea market. I can't wait to go back in October, I have so many things on my list! For the tool silhouettes, I cut shapes out of white craft paper and glued them to navy, then put them in cheapy 8.5 x 11 plastic frames.

My mom found this mod slipper chair at an estate sale and I recovered it in gray fabric. Side note: The saga of recovering this chair could be an entire blog in itself! I made inexpensive faux roman shades for the windows and then a little toss pillow from left over navy blue canvas. Conveniently, I already had the iron on "HELLO" letters from a t-shirt making project. I also made the orange pouf ottoman.

That's all I have to share for now. I still need to refinish the vintage school chair and I also have plans for a Jenny Lind style bed I picked up at the salvage yard. Once I get that finished, there'll be more pics. What do you think so far? 

Feelin inspired?! Here's the Budget Breakdown and Resources:
Wall and trim paint - 80
Blue paint is "Freshwater Blue" from Olympic @ Lowe's
vintage bookshelf - 24
fabric for mod slipper chair - 20
gray rug (Overstock.com) - 52
spray paint for lamp - 12
flea market "B" and tools - 60
pouf ottoman project - 65
this project would have been lower cost, but first one I made was too big and the wrong color
Faux Roman shades - 32
Vintage school desk and Paint - 30
Vintage school chair and refinishing supplies - 60
Jenny Lind style bed (not pictured) - 35

Project Total (so far) = 470

A few things aren't listed because we already owned them before the project, I figure they don't count towards the makeover budget. If you're curious about something, give me a shout!

"Master" Bedroom Makeover - Reveal

I recently updated our humble little bedroom with a gray, yellow and black color scheme. It's not a gigantic master suite but it's comfortable, cozy and reflects our tastes. I love the way it turned out and the best part is, the whole update was under $400!

I love this upholstered headboard because I can easily recover it when my tastes change (in a month or two, HAHA). For this project, Jesse cut a plywood board for me and then I stapled quilt batting to the headboard, followed by this gorgeous yellow and white damask. Jesse then mounted it on the wall using a French cleat (really need to do a tutorial on how to make this).

For this jewelry organizer I used leftover fabric from the headboard project and stapled it to cork board squares from the office supply store. Then I clipped simple binder clips  to the cork boards and screwed the clips to the wall. Finally, I added some push pins and voila! An inexpensive, cute and functional jewelry organizer!

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This little danish modern tray was  a Goodwill find. I usually put my watch, wedding ring and the day's earrings in it before bed. By the way, I love vintage costume earrings; they just make a girl feel fabulous. 

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I also wanted to share this thrifted wall frame turned post card hanger because it gave me a way to display my beautiful Ansel Adams post cards (another estate sale find - three bucks!). I started with a solid wood frame at a thrift store on my way home from work for $8. It originally had a dingy brown stain so I primed and spray painted it black. Jesse helped me wrap bailing wire around screws on the backside and I used binder clips from the jewlery organizer project to hang the post cards.

Feelin inspired?! Here's the budget break-down and resources:
paint, including doors and trim - 80
  gray paint is "Stormy Weather" from Olympic @ Lowe's
2 faux roman shades (fabric from JoAnn) - 32
white duvet cover (Target) - 40
yellow and white chevron blanket (Tuesday Morning) - 15
headboard project (fabric from Hancock) - 50
jewelry organizer (cork board from Staples) - 10

postcard display project - 18
2 bedside lamps (NFM.com) - 80
2 frames above bed (Hobby Lobby)- 40
    I purchased the prints in Paris several years ago
Pedestal makeup mirror (Homegoods) - 15
A few things aren't listed because we already owned them before the project, I figure they don't count towards the makeover budget. If you're curious about something, give me a shout!
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This post is linked up with Remodelaholics Anonymous Link Party and Features, Jan 31st 2014

Small Bathroom Makeover

I really wish I had "Before" pictures to share of our tiny bathroom. When we moved in several years ago, the bathroom was the epitome of post-war ranch decor, with pepto pink tile half way up the walls. The small space was lit by a dreary fluorescent light above the sink and there was also a full sized window in the middle of the shower wall. 

My parents had this neat vintage shaving ad that I wanted to frame but a custom job would have been pretty expensive. So I picked up an cheapy black frame and a sheet of turquoise crafting paper, which worked OK. Combined with the shaving mug and stand, the vintage print gives the bathroom a slight shaving theme. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for more vintage shaving ads or do-dads!
My favorite part of the bathroom is the white subway tile with gray grout. The dark grout is great because it hides dirt and soap scum. The Vanity mirror is from Home Goods, I think is was less than 30 bucks.

We removed the closet door and added thick butcher block shelves. I think this made the tiny space feel a little larger and also gave us some make shift counter space.