diy | So Pretty is as Pretty Does.

Apr 29

From Inspiration to Inexpensive: Headboard Edition

As I’ve mentioned before, I live in an old house. With this in mind, it can be assumed that my home has the same challenges as other older homes. In this instance, it’s a smaller floor plan where the size of my bedroom dictates that my bed be placed directly in front of a window. This can be a tricky situation, but after a little online shopping I found some beautiful headboards that could go in front of a window without blocking the light. Problem solved, right? Absolutely, if I wanted to spend $400 on a headboard, but I did not. So, I turned this inspiration into an inexpensive design solution.

Apr 25

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From Hoarder to Order

A perfect storm occurred in my rarely used front porch. A craft room in complete upheaval from a semi-recent move, debris from designing, creating and storing favors, invitations, menus etc. from our wedding last year, and unofficially designating this space as a storage unit, since our front door is ~~rarely~~ never used. These three factors along with dozens of projects requiring more immediate attention around our nearly 100 year old bungalow created the perfect storm, the creation of a 20′ x 8′ space that could easily earn me a spot on Hoarders: Buried Alive.

Though it pains me to show any space in this much disarray, in efforts to learn something from this pile of wreckage, it’s a necessary evil. Plus, who doesn’t like a nice, dare a say, dramatic before and after?

{before}

Apr 22

A brighter bookcase

I love having books in my living room. I love decorating with them and I enjoy the practicality of having my favorite novels and reference material on hand. One of my bookcases on the other hand, is sort of dreary and boring – not something I love having on hand. But, it’s a hand-me-down so I’m not complaining.

Here’s how I brightened it up.

Apr 17

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Past + Present = Easy Art

In so many aspects of life, it’s important to find a way to balance past and present – whether in your relationships, your wardrobe (still waiting for the right moment to break out my scardigan), or your home.

Our house is a few months shy of being a centurion, so I try to respect its age while maintaining a semi-modern style. This very easy $15/15 minute DIY art piece is a great example of how past and present can be a perfect pair.

Here’s what I did…

Apr 16

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elevated agriculture {raised bed gardening}

Well, both my garden and I went on a bit of a hiatus these past several months (we abhor winter). So, this post serves to announce that So, pretty is as pretty does, as well as my vegetable garden are back up and running.

For the past two years, my husband and I have been using a 22′ x 15′ garden located toward the end of our property. Aside from four walls (made from free fencing found curbside!), this space has been sort of an unwieldy blank canvass. This season I started my research early and found some great resources making a strong case for using raised beds, so we decided to go for it. The whole project set us back around $350…wood and dirt are surprisingly expensive.