May 1
One of the benefits of organizing my craft space, an ordeal chronicled in Hoarder to Order, was rediscovering a lot of prints and frames that I had been squirreling away. Once I realized how much art I had just lying around I decided it was time to finally tackle a project that had sort of intimidated me, a framed art collage.
Apr 29
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
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}
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.
I found this piano bench at my local consignment shop, Phantastic Phinds, for $15. It had been sitting there for a couple of months, which is hard to believe because there are so many nice details in the wood. I like this piece because it’s a multi-tasker – extra seating when we have people over, a foot stool when we don’t, and with a tray on top it makes a nice side table.
Reupholstering this bench was so simple. It took 15 minutes and $4.
So Pretty is as Pretty Does. 