The Home Front

Ok Lisa, here is a picture of the front door and most of the house.  As you can see our house sits way up on a hill so taking a good picture of the front is almost impossible, not to mention anything I put on the front door has to have some impact or you will never see it from the street.  I chose the dark red flowers to pull in the color from the cushion on my front porch bench.  It is starting to get a bit faded.  I imagine one more season and it will have to go but I think the front looks nice for now.  Hopefully in spring I can plant some red flowers out front as well.  

Front Door Project

Today I took a little break from the dining room and did a little project for the front door.  A friend had given me this metal basket 2 years ago but it was white and very shabby chic which is not quite my style.  Don't get me wrong I love the look it just doesn't go with anything in my house and is terribly hard to pull off when living in a house full of men.  So what did I do you ask?  Well I painted it of course with some leftover house paint.  Used some more of the copper metallic rub on stuff to highlight the raised design and then headed to Hobby Lobby for some flowers.  This is what I came up with.  It makes the front door look a little less bare and a bit more inviting.  

While I was out I stopped by TJ Maxx and found these on clearance for $3 each.  

I love the little wooden stars and figure I can take a can of spray paint to most of the elements since they are all pretty good sized.  Has anyone painted this stuff before?  Any suggestions?  There are several wicker balls and then some big round ball thingies.  Those should be easy to paint but I am not sure about the rest.  Hum.  Well I figure if it doesn't work then I will be ready for Christmas next year with my red bowl filler.  

Here it is...

Well here it is....

my new dining room.  I still have a bit to do but you can get the general idea.  It started out looking like this.

Although it is hard to tell from the picture, the walls and ceiling got a nice new coat of paint in Sherwin Williams' Stonebrier.  Some pretty gold silk drapes on sale at Pottery Barn to adorn the window and a rug.  I painted the china cabinet and side table.  I plan to paint the table and chairs black as well then change out the chair fabric to

 a pretty gold with black flecks.  I am still painting the knobs for the china cabinet.  With 11 knobs at $5 each, well I chose to spend the money on drapes instead so I only used 2 decorative knobs on the glass doors.  The other 9 are the original wooden knobs painted black.  I still need a picture or two in the wall but for now it just makes me smile when I go in there. It is amazing how some paint and a rug can really pull a room together. 

(below are close ups of the knobs and my china.  I love those dragonflies.)

So my new challenge, what to do with the cute white pedestal I found yesterday at that consignment shop.  Any ideas?

Consignment Shop Vase and little flower pots

So it has been a few days.  The weekend went by fast but was very productive.  In between driving S (my youngest) back and forth to church all weekend  and reading a ton of new blogs, with some great decorating ideas, I managed to finish painting my china cabinet.  I put the last bit of clear coat on this afternoon and  will post pictures  once I get the room back together.  I still have to paint the table and 8 chairs, not to mention recover the chairs but that will have to be for another day.  In the mean time here are some mismatched flower pots that I collected from around the house.  I gave them a nice coat of black paint. I did a little distressing with either sand paper or metallic rub on stuff.  The metallic rub on I picked up about 10 years ago at a little rubber stamp shop.  I used them on a couple of birthday cards then they got tossed in the drawer.  I came across them again about a year ago and have been using them on all sorts of projects.  You just rub some on your finger then lightly go over the area you want highlighted.  I used silver on the pot on the left and copper on the pot on the right.  What a difference.  It really brings out the detail. I finished them all off with  some clear coat and there you have it, flower pots that all go together.  I just love what a little black paint will do for things.   
I also stopped by a little consignment shop on my way home from prayer group today and picked up this vase for a steal.  I had been drooling over this little beauty in the Southern Living at Home catalog for months now but couldn't quite bring myself to spend that much so when I walked into the consignment shop today and there it was, well I knew it would be going home with me.  Then I saw the price...Oh Happy Day!  

Some Puppy Lovin

Who would have thought this little face would steal my heart.  This is Dawson.  She is an Australian Shepherd puppy we adopted last May.  When we first met she was much more interested in her tennis ball than she was in us.  We fell in love.  She was so quiet and kept very close to us that first day. Here we are 9 months later and  now she looks like this...

45 pounds of pure puppy fun.  Her favorite game is still ball, any kind of ball.  She doesn't care as long as you will throw it and she can retrieve it.  This will keep her busy for hours.  

A Little Bling

It was overcast and rainy here today so I could not work on my dining room furniture. I did this instead.  Something fun for spring.  

China Hutch Overhaul

No, I haven't forgotten about all of you.  This is currently getting a major overhaul.  I will be back in a couple of days with more pics.   Until then, try to stay warm.  It was 31 here this morning.  Welcome to the south!

My Chalkboard Project

The other day Lisa over at Living My Life, Outside The Box posted some cute chalk boards made from old frames.  I had to share.  Here is my chalkboard. I had spotted one in a decorating magazine and called my dad, "Can we make one of these?"  On his next visit we headed off to the home supply store.  In a couple of hours this is what we had.  I have the best dad.  It is not made from an old frame but a piece of masonite sprayed with chalkboard spray. The molding was glued directly onto the top.  I originally painted it red to hang in my kitchen but when we moved to ATL it got a good ol dose of black paint and a little distressing.  I love the way the old red paint peaks out in spots.  As you can see it is very loved.  We made it over 10 years ago.  It is still one of my favorite pieces.  

Guest Bath

Here is another project I worked on last year.  The guest bath.  I always seem to do my project backwards so I started with the paint.  A very bold choice for me.  I love that is is red without being in your face.  It has a softness to it which I like.  I made the shower curtain and valance from some fabric I purchased at a fabric outlet.  The tie backs have some mother of pearl buttons that I found in my button jar.  The hand towels I monogrammed in coordinating colors and wa la  Guest bath for less than $150.  I just love little makeovers that are inexpensive and have major impact.  

I am currently working on my OPAM for February, my dining room.  It is slow going and will not come in under $150 but it is long awaited and I am ready for a change in there.  I will post pictures soon.  

Spring is on the Way

Just a little something to let you know spring is just around the corner.  

Giving Blogging Another Try and OPAM

A couple of people have suggested I give this blogging thing another try.  I figure after reading so many blogs and what a great way it is to journal all of the things you do during a year, well I thought why not.  Sorry if I bore anyone.  I am not a writer but I do love pictures and project around the house.  

I love to see everyone's OPAM (one project a month) before and after photos.  They are so inspiring so I thought I would give it a try this year.  One project a month.  Anyone want to join me?

This first project is actually an old project I did several years ago but it is something to post while I work on this month's project.  

I am on a decorating kick.  I get this way every year.  You put all of the holiday decorations away and the house looks so bare.  It just needs some sprucing up and I need a good project to keep the winter dull drums at bay.  Here are some pics of my laundry room.  It is not a new project but one I did the first winter we were in this house as I couldn't take the beige paint on every wall anymore.  I need color.  It cost me less than $150 to do the whole thing and I love it.  It makes me smile which is good since I spend a fair amount of time in there every day.  

Here is the lowdown - 

• The pics on the wall I took one summer while visiting my inlaws.   
  
•  The curtain, laundry sorter, laundry basket liner and placemat (to keep the washer from getting scratched) are all made from some decorator fabric I picked up at JoAnn's for $3 a yard.  Can't beat that plus I love the colors. 
• The laundry basket and frames were a TJMaxx find.  
  
• A little paint on the frames as well as a curtain rod from our old house and they were good to go.  
  
• Dad put up the hooks on a piece of molding which  are great for hanging laundry or backpack when the kids get home.  
• I added some tile around the laundry sink which really finished the room off. 

So there you  have it.  My laundry room done on a budget.