{ The Fine House }

I Feel Pretty

2012-01-07T09:17:00.000-08:00

I have the best mom. The best. She's lived in her house for almost 15 years. Its a beautiful house, and for all of us it is home. But. Even the Prom Queen needs a new look after a decade flies by! We've all seen the brassy, goldeny-oaky goodness the late 90's gave us. So she's decided its time for some updates. Woo Hoo! I don't know anyone that deserves it more than she does.

We started with the main bathroom that everyone uses.

{Before}

My disclaimer here is that I'm super lame and lost the before pictures. So I took some of the master bath. It is the exact same size, and has the same layout and finishes that the main bath did. The only exceptions are that the bath in these befores has a small window and the door is on another wall.

It had your basic builder-grade huge frameless mirror, UGLY vanity lighting, faucet, cabinets, you name it. Also, these are pretty small bathrooms. .

So not that bad, just not that good. We decided about a week before Thanksgiving to do a complete cosmetic overhaul before the turkey was served. The goal was to update the look as much as possible while still keeping the flooring, vanity, counters and shower insert. We still have a few small touches and fluffs to add, but I'm so excited about the results that I had to share what we've got so far.

Drum roll, please...

{After}

My mom likes warm colors and has pretty traditional style. She was picturing painting the vanity darker and maybe putting a nice color on the walls. But I saw bright, light, shiny things because there is no window-this bathroom was dark and small. And I really wanted it to just be... pretty. You know, a pretty room for a pretty girl! I talked her into gray for the vanity (secretly getting a lighter shade than she approved) and painted the ceiling, walls, door and trim all bright white, which she questioned (questioned!).

Luckily now there is no question. Only love. I used pearlescent white on the main wall that houses the toilet, vanity and mirror with my favorite design and created awesome hand-painted wallpaper. I seriously love this design. I've used it here and here before. This version is gorgeous and subtle, but has some of my much-desired shine and adds a lot of depth to the overall look.

We used baseboard trim from the HD, a simple miter box, hand saw and Liquid Nails to frame the mirror. I had pictures of how ridiculously easy it was, but they are lost with the befores. Luckily, there are a million tutorials in the blog world. I used this one as a reference.

To keep with the warm tones and traditional feel of the rest of her house, we used Oil Rubbed Bronze fixtures and a Dark Walnut stain over the gray paint on the vanity and mirror frame.

We also changed out the shower curtain rod and rings and added this pretty shower curtain. I love that it's bright, but still has touches of warm gold and brown, and a dark rich shade of peacock blue.

When the door is open it blocks a good portion of this back wall-what you see is just about the only open space between the door and the shower- so I left if pretty plain. We changed out the towel bar, added yummy new towels, and hung a J that I snagged from the living room.

We just shopped her house for shiny accessories to fill the shelves. She actually had golden sparkle handmade soap sitting in a closet. Meant to be, I tell ya. They could maybe use a little more fluffing. We'll have to keep our eyes open in our travels. But pretty, no?

Can I just say that I love that apple? I've loved it since I was little. I kind of want to steal it.

Again, trying to keep it warm I painted the vanity gray with dark walnut stain and a clear coat for protection and shine. No distressing. My mom's not a distressed kind of lady. It still needs hardware, which will add much. I've gotta get on that.

Even the ceiling got a makeover. It hadn't been painted in years (like maybe 15) and there was no overhead lighting. Just the base to a sad broken boob light. We bought a cheap cheap globe and I sprayed the base Oil Rubbed. Crazy how something so insignificant could make such a difference.

I loved doing this room! If you could just walk in and feel how much brighter and bigger it feels. Its so hard to get a good picture of the entire space. As I mentioned, it still needs a few tweaks. The near future includes new flooring and cabinet hardware and more fluff, so check back for updates.

I love you mom!

Stools in the House

2011-12-01T13:05:00.000-08:00

First off, a big thanks to those of you who provided input about the crib in my last post. Although it could be absolutely beautiful if restored, I've decided to concede to safety and go with a re-purpose. After all, we have safety guidelines for a reason. I have an idea brewing that I hope will still be a wowzer.

Today I am adding this cute set of three bar stools to my shop. I wasn't with it enough to remember the before pic for these, but they started out as your average pine kitchen stools that were generously donated to my ever-growing ~~junk~~ project pile after a kitchen remodel. While they were still in great shape, these girls needed a serious wardrobe update.

The curve at the top of the back and the turned spindles made them seen a little dated and maybe a little too country. Now don't get me wrong, I love pretty country style. This just wasn't it. So I used a cream base with french blue accents to bring them out of bad country and into good country. They've each got some random stripes on the seats with a dark walnut stain, distressing, and polycrylic for protection and a bit of shine.

(1)

(2)

(3)

The shiny brass ring around the bottom of each stool was a necessary blemish for support reasons. So I changed them to oil rubbed bronze. It made a HUGE difference.

Each stool swivels and is standard counter height (not the taller bar height). The measurements are 36" from the floor to the top of the stool and 25" from the floor to the seat.

Grab the whole set for only $75!

Thanks for thinking of me Katie! I hope I did them justice.

What Would You Do? And, Full of Guts.

2011-11-07T12:38:00.000-08:00

As mentioned in my previous post, I'm currently recovering from a giant butt-kicker of a summer and fall and am trying to get back to work. I have a couple of projects brewing, but one of them poses a conundrum for me. It's this beauty here:

An awesome vintage solid wood crib with beautiful detail and inset panels on each end. I about hyperventilated and peed my pants when I found it. I swear, if Zoe wasn't halfway through her crib usage, it would be hers.

It is totally sturdy, with all metal parts. Tyler laughed that its probably in better shape than either of the plastic-part cribs our kids have slept in. I have amazing plans dancing through my head. So here is the question of the hour: If you felt that it was completely safe and sturdy, would you buy and use a vintage crib? What if it was all rebuilt? Or is it better used in a re-purposed way? I also have some ideas floating around for that, but I would love love love to refinish and sell it as a crib. I just think it's gorgeous. Please people! Give me some input!

And there's also this little girl with her guts hanging out. Hopefully I can remedy that. Stay tuned.

Thanks!

A Little White Desk

2011-11-07T12:11:00.000-08:00

I recently finished this sweet little desk for a client, my cute friend Brooke. I have a lot of cute friends :) It started out a dated golden oak but had pretty lines and was nice and solid.

She wanted bright white, with just a little distressing and some dark glaze to add a little balance to a 12 year-old girl's bedroom with brand new, glossy white furniture and a shabby chandy.

She'll add new hardware and a fun upholstered chair.

I also painted and glazed two of these shelves with stained pegs to hang above the desk. (Sorry for my lack of good pictures. This summer and fall seriously kicked my butt. I'm hopeful the butt-kicking is mostly over.)

Brooke has fabulous taste and is currently in the process of building up her design portfolio. I hope this helps a little! Thanks Brooke!

Can't Get Enough

2011-11-07T11:11:00.000-08:00

More pink! It seems when I did these tables, I may have created a very pink-very cute-monster. But that's ok, I really like pink monsters.

Another project for my ever-adorable friend, miss Lindsey. She had two matching twin beds from her childhood that she wanted to paint for her two equally-adorable little girls. Here is the before of one of them:

The perfect shape, just a little flowery and beat up. She wanted pink and cream with dark walnut stain and distressing again, to go with dresser that I recently refinished for her.

I may never get tired of this particular monster. It is so very sweet. Plus, keep in mind that when the bed is all made, with the box spring, mattress, duvet and pillows a lot of the pink on the headboard will be covered up. I think that'll keep it from being too much. You'll get just a hint, which is what we are going for.

The inside of the foot board, which again, will be mostly covered with bedding. But I wanted the consistency.

Lindsey is going to tackle the other bed herself. Last we talked the plan was gray where this bed is cream and cream where this bed is pink. Won't that be gorgeous?! I'm sure she'll do a fabulous job and I can't wait to see it! Please send me some pics of both rooms when you get them put together, Lindsey!

Thanks! It is always so much fun to work with you!

Prettier in Pink

2011-08-09T00:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, long time no blog. What can I say- sometimes life takes you by surprise and plans change. So I was so happy when my super cute cousin called. She is having her first baby girl! Yay! When Kellie asked if some of her boys' nursery furniture could be done to look like this dresser and the Molly tables, I was so excited! I'm loving how they turned out. Without further ado...

The crib:

You would never know that this crib used to be chocolate brown and live in big brother's room. White with pink accents and a dark walnut stain-nothing brother about it now!

With no dust ruffle, the under bed storage trundle will be getting the spotlight. I added a pretty little applique for another fun touch of pink.

After all the painting and staining was said and done, I distressed, distressed, distressed. But don't worry- all that chippy goodness is completely baby-proofed and sealed in with a clear polycrylic.

Just love.

Kellie also brought me this adorable bookshelf and hutch that was hers as a little girl. It was all white and in good condition, but I just had to add some fun to pink it up a little more.

I added my favorite pattern on the back panels, then stained and distressed the whole thing.

She plans on adding pink glass knobs like those I used on Lindsey's dresser.

In real life the pink is softer than in the pics. I amped it up just a little to make it easier to see on a screen.

Kellie, thank you so much! I hope that you and baby girl love it! And I wouldn't hate some pictures of it all put together sometime, either :)

6th Street Design School

2011-06-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

If you were here with me as a I run through my daily list of favorite blogs, you would know that 6th Street Design School by Kristen Krason is one that I never, ever miss. She is an adorable and hugely talented interior designer here in Utah. I'm always in love with everything she does. So you can imagine my extreme excitement when I opened her blog this morning and saw this:

Kirsetn Krason Interiors

Remember the Rock Star Ottoman? This is it!

Kirsten Krason Interiors

It's been recovered in the most perfect fabric for the room. Love it. And of course, I also still love the legs and apron with their chippy layers of paint. It's not often that I get to see how something looks when it goes home with someone, so I'm so excited to see it in this beautiful room! You can read the whole post about the rest of the room here. She did an awesome job!

Award!

2011-06-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

A kind of long while ago the very sweet Caroline from cw frosting awarded me with the Kreative Blogger Award! How flattering is that?! I sincerely apologize that it has taken me so long to aknowledge this kind award. With summer here, things have been crazy.

Thank You Thank You Thank You Caroline!

In order to participate, the rules, I believe, are that I tell 10 things about myself, and bestow the award to 10 deserving blogs, who then do the same. Scroll down to visit the worthy recipients :)

For my version of 10 Things About Me (which is I'm sure way more boring info than you want to know) I'm going to fess up and tell you about my addictions. Serious addictions. I have a lot of them. Its a problem.

Pepsi, Pepsi, and more Pepsi. Ah Sweet Nectar. Sad but true: a Pepsi with a good burn is often what gets me through the day.

2. Flip flops and sandals. While I can (try to) totally rock a nice boot or heel, I have a super casual life and as a result have developed a major weakness for cute flip flops and/or sandals. If I didn't live in Utah, I would wear them every single day of the year, and have divided them all into two categories-"dressy" (non-rubber) and "regular" (rubber). Of he several pairs that I've recently purchased, these are my current favorites-Dressy bronze leather (faux, probably) with bronze flowers from Old Navy.

3. Sugar. Need to get a handle on this one. Anything sweet, especially baked. Especially chocolate. But really, anything with lots of sugar will do.

4. My IPhone. I used to be really, really annoyed that my husband's phone is permanently attached to his hand. Also, I swore I never wanted a smartphone. Why on earth would I need the Internet on my phone? For all my super important meetings? Cut to this past Christmas, when he talked me into one. Oh boy. LOVE. Pretty sure that I can never go back.

Am dying over the these personalized IPhone covers from Dani Notes Stationary

5. Bravo TV. The Real Housewives. Any of them. I know, its trashy. Its a total waste of time. I shouldn't. But that's what makes it soooo good.

6. The big wide world of design blogging. As we all know, be careful. If you get sucked in, you will never be the same again. Large chunks of time will disappear from your day. Its awesome and inspiring and awesome some more. So much pretty. So much talent.

7. Design magazines. I'm far from professional, but I could drink up just about anything to do with design. And as much as I love blogs, there's just something about being able to hold the magazine in your hand and flip the pages.

8. Country music. The good and the cheesy. I love pretty much any music, but I grew up on country and its still my fav. I might be partly hick. Oh well.

Yep, I'm totally down with Alabama:)

9. Old crappy furniture and paint. I know that seems like two addictions, but for me they go hand in hand, and have for years.

10. Going to the movies. Hands down one of my favorite things to do. I make it a point to go to a late show with my sister and sis-in-law on a regular basis. Those girls are fun. My sister has been known to sneak an entire box of eclairs in her purse. Not that we would eat an entire box. Ha! Guess you'll never know.

So now you know my weaknesses. Some of them.

And here are the 10 lovely bloggers who are more than award-worthy themselves:

Emily at Lovely Beasts

Lori at Wool Flax and Beeswax

Korrie at Red Hen Home

Sherry at Shanty Girl

Bonnie at The Finde

Natalie at Natty by Design

Jill at Peanut Butter Plaza

Cara and Ann Marie at Twice Lovely

Allison at Vintage Charm and Restoration

A Lived In Home

There are so many incredible blogs out there I wasn't sure how to choose. My biggest love in this arena is re-creating furniture, so I tried to seek out bloggers I admire who also refinish furniture.

Please go check them out-they're pretty amazing!

Thanks again, Caroline!

Off With My Hinges

2011-06-16T22:09:00.000-07:00

There it is. My newly door-less door frame!

Got right to the point that time, didn't I? I was a little excited. Now I'll back up a bit.

Remember when I posted this picture just a few posts ago?

I actually really like this area just off my kitchen. But as you can see in the picture, it contains a very lot of doors. The laundry door, the power room door, the garage door and a door in the mudroom right where I am standing to take the picture that closes the whole area off from the rest of the house. For four years we have almost never closed that last mudroom door. Mostly it just swings inward and conveniently bangs into the garage door every single time a person attempts to enter through it. Every. Single. Time. To the point that the door knobs like to catch on each other and occasionally try to rip each other out of their respective doors. So the other day, a light bulb dawned in my brain. We need to take that door away! Yes, it took four years for that bright idea. So after waiting for about two seconds for Tyler to get around to doing it, I just woke up one morning and took that door right off the hinges all by myself. And...I LOVE IT! Why the crap didn't I do this four years ago?

And as always happens when I have finished furniture for sale patiently waiting under sheets at my house, I can't resist playing around a little. This is the beautiful vintage dresser I finished last month. I am drooling over how awesome it looks in the mudroom. Not to mention the storage! But alas, it is still for sale in my shop.

I have a before picture of the mudroom with the door and the bench that usually lives there, but blogger insists on loading it sideways! Why?!?

Now I have some patching and painting to do. Blah. But worth it. And a tip learned through trial and error from a door-remover novice? If you are permanently removing the door from the frame, just leave the hinges attached to the door and unscrew the whole thing from the frame. That way you're not removing twice the number of screws. Unless that's not the correct way to go about it. Then that's not what I did at all.

Just a silly picture from the playing around. I love this picture of me and my dad when I was little. Yes the bow is whatever. And a tarnished butter dish from Tyler's grandma that I will probably never put butter in. But it makes a gorgeous little spot in which to put keys and such when coming in and out of the house.

So what lesson have we learned here? We have learned that just because the builder put it there, doesn't mean it belongs there. After about eight minutes with a drill, I have a lot more light and a lot less door in my life.

The Dresser That Goes

2011-06-12T22:58:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago my cute friend Lindsey took one of the Molly Tables home to live in the room shared by her two little girlies. She mentioned that they were also sharing a dresser that had belonged to her husband as a little boy, and that she'd like to it have refinished to match the table. Remember how the Molly Tables were all pink and cream and girly curves? Well, a few days later she dropped off this dresser:

Can you say Total Opposite of pink and cream and girly curves? And then she said something along the lines of, "Oh, just do whatever you think will make it look good with the table." Hmm. It took a few days of contemplation. Here is what I came up with:

I thought about white with pink drawers, pink with white drawers, white top, pink bottom you name it. None of it seemed right for this piece. Because the dresser has a completely different shape than the tables, I didn't want to do an exact replica of their paint job. I decided it would be best to keep a simple dresser simple and do something that would just "go". Besides, its not really chic for everything to be exactly matchy anyway. At least I'm pretty sure I've heard that around:)

So I painted the whole thing the same white as the tables, distressed it, stained it with the same Dark Walnut, and coated it in polycrylic.

To bring in the pink and a touch of girliness I played around with a bunch of appliques and ended up again keeping it pretty simple by adding just one, similar to those on the tables, painted that sweet Ballet Slipper Pink and stained.

For fun and just a tiny bit of curve I added feet, and painted just the balls of them pink as well.

And of course pink glass knobs, the perfect finishing touch. Larger roses on the top three drawers and smaller round knobs on the rest.

Can you picture them living in a room together? I hope so.

Thanks Lindsey! I hope you love it!

Linking up to Cassie's party :)

And

Even More Rug Love

2011-06-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

This morning I thought I'd put up the guest post that I did for Cassie at Primitive and Proper. It's a fun one, with some reminiscing of past projects as well as an awesome new one. Enjoy!

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Hi Primitive and Proper readers! I'm super excited and flattered to be here today, thanks to Cassie, whose work I so admire! She's awesome, right?

To begin, let me just start with a BIG disclaimer: I am in no way a professional designer, nor do I play one on the Internet. There are so many ladies here in blogland with an amazing talent for creating amazing interiors. Like, unreal talent. I am not in that league. But I do love furniture and paint. I've taught myself to refinish furniture through trial and lots of error over the past 10 or so years and that is what I really love to do. But that's not exactly what I'm posting about today. Today I thought I'd write a little bit about painting rugs.

Maybe we're just crazy messy, but pretty rugs never last under our table. I lamented the fact here. Just, you know, 4 kids=gross mess mushed into the rug. But I love the look of a rug under a table, plus- maybe its just us again-but I felt like we were scratching up our wood floor. I know, chair pads. Seriously, those never stick. So I took the crafty blogger's best friend, the Fabulous Canvas Drop Cloth, and made a rug that was easy to sweep and easy to mop. Basically painted on my design and coated with poly. Stick it to the floor with rug tape, and wha-lah. Easy to walk on, easy to clean, easy on the eyes.

Then I made this adorable flower rug for my even more adorable sister-in-law.

In the beginning of this year, my first canvas rug gave up. So I improved upon the design with more paint and way more poly to make it a little stronger and I think the quality is quite a bit better.

I think it gives this area just the right amount of color. You can read about my whole process for this rug here.

Now enter the real challenge: I have this green shag number in my seldom used, seldom decorated Front Room. Its in good shape, but I'm tired of the shag and over the dark color. And I didn't want a shiny, waterproof rug there. Although, around here anything wipe-able is usually best... Also, it needed to be a little beefier than a drop cloth.

I remembered I had the old stretched-out flat weave rug from, ironically enough, under the kitchen table, stashed in the basement. It's a basic brown indoor/outdoor from Pier One via Big Lots. I decided it would be my guinea pig. I didn't want to spend any money on this experiment because I didn't know how it would turn out. I used the back (pictured) because the weave was flatter than the top.

I coated it with some really old, gloopy paint I had left over that I could never use on anything else. It sucked it up like a thirsty sailor and asked for more. So I rolled on one more coat of $10/gallon white paint from Walmart. With the lighter-weight canvas rugs, after the base coat I've used drapery clips to hang the drop cloth from nails pounded into studs in my basement and use our projector to trace a pattern-'cause I'm no free-hander. I planned to use the same technique to create a subtle zebra print in taupe. But this was a huge, heavy rug to begin with and after it sucked up all that paint it was a monster. So scratch hanging it from the studs. So I decided to go with the crafty blogger's next best friend, Chevron. I got out my trusty measuring stick and went to town with a pencil. I measured the rug into thirds and then the added horizontal trace marks every 13 1/2 inches. Then I used the measuring stick again to trace a diagonal line from each intersecting point. Does that make sense? The pencil marks in the picture are faint, but they're there. Go ahead click to make bigger. Next I painted with the leftover paint from my new kitchen rug. Didn't want to spend any $, remember? I added some black to make it a little darker, although you can't see both rugs from the same spot anyway.

It was a little shiny and rough, so I hand sanded it randomly. Also, I stand by the fact

that sanding and distressing in all things hides a multitude of sins:)

And here it is! A long way from perfect, but good enough :) I feel like it really lightens up the room. And makes me hate the ugly sofas just a little less. As a side note I will say that this rug is a little rough, but not bad. This area is super low traffic. I wouldn't put in our family room where we relax and spend a lot of time on the floor. Also as a side note, remember I am no designer. But imagine an awesome coffee table, badly needed reupholstered/slip covered sofas, lamps, sides tables, the works. Its coming.

Thank you again so much Cassie! Its been so fun!

Emily

Powder Your Nose, Just a Snippet

2011-06-02T23:50:00.000-07:00

We have a little powder bath just off our kitchen and garage entrance. It's actually a pass-through to the laundry room and it sees a lot of, um, action.

Just to give you an idea.

Sometime after I painted my new kitchen rug, I got a wild hair and decided that I needed more pattern in my life. Also, I had a lot of left over paint. And why let a perfectly good, only-used-once poster board pattern go to waste? So I broke it out and went a little wild on a wall of the bathroom. The same pattern in the same color might be overkill for some people. Luckily, not so for me. It possibly might not even be enough for me. Take that.

Ta-Da!

I kept it kind of reminiscent of wall paper and went floor to ceiling, wall to wall, even under the mirror and behind the toilet-which was no small feat, let me tell you. I really like how it accentuates the ceiling height. I kept it to just one wall because a) I wasn't sure this tiny space could handle it on every wall-maybe if I was hipper, and b) I'm just a little lazy. Again, I swear the pictures don't do it justice.

As a side note, the glaring light drives me nuts, but even with the laundry window there is absolutely no natural light here. This is what I got when I tried to take pics with the lights off:

My editing skills can't hack that.

Just the same snippet of wall in several angles. There's no real way to stand back and take a good picture in here, although now I'm realizing I probably could have branched out my photos to show a little more. Oh well. Maybe I'll do that again later. Probably on the same day that I accessorize the rest of it. Ha.

I may be the only person who will ever really notice or appreciate it, but I don't care. I love it. Its just what this little hallway/pass-through powder needed. It makes me happy every time I change a load of laundry. And that's not just a few times.

Linking up

Molly Tables

2011-05-21T19:44:00.000-07:00

These tables are so Pretty in Pink I named them the Molly tables.

A matching set finished in gorgeous ballet slipper pink with cream tops, then distressed and rubbed all over with Dark Walnut stain; which completely and totally made the tables what they are today. Thank you, Dark Walnut. I am not a photographer and I never really think my pictures do the furniture justice. The colors here are rich rich rich. And of course they're topped off with polycrylic to ensure protection and no yellowing.

Beautiful curvy lines and details.

The before. When I picked these up, I believe that they had been refinished already in a seafoam green with blue peeking through. Cute enough, but the paint job was, in my humble opinion, sub-par and I don't think they were sanded or primed first, although I guess I'll never really know. I immediately had visions

of rich pink and cream.

If Zoe's room wasn't tiny and shared with a certain boy, they would definitely be living there. Just in case you didn't catch it in my last post, I would go all out, over the top girly if I could while she is little and sweet and has no opinion on pretty rooms and such matters. Alas, I can't do that to poor Ash, making my loss your gain.

The matching set of Molly tables is now for sell in my shop. Check it out for all the details.

Linking up:

Thanks for stopping by!

His & Hers: A Start

2011-05-20T00:33:00.000-07:00

Our house has six potential bedrooms. And three actual bedrooms. Chalk another one up to someday when the basement is finished... So for now we (happily) make our actual-in-reality bedrooms work, two of which can accurately be described with words such as small and/or tiny. After doing the math, you may have come to the conclusion that the four children split the two smallest rooms. And after perhaps a little more math, you conclude that one of the three boys- the smallest- shares with the one and only girl. Whew. That's a lot of math.

When my little Zoe was born, I had visions of over-the-top girly with pink, ruffles, dripping chandeliers, the works. Hmm, how to make that work with Asher and his Batman obsession. I decided to keep things reaaallly neutral and try to work with stuff I already had. Keep in mind that this is, as everything, a work in progress that has just begun.

Zozo's zone. Not much, but again, this room is pretty small. There's space for either a bed and dresser, or two beds and a dresser in the closet, which is the configuration we're going with at the moment.

I found this frame at a flea market a few years ago and had the mirror installed. I'm constantly hemming and hawing about painting it a brighter color. But I also really like the original vintage chippy paint. For now its sealed with poly. And a muslin wreath inspired by this linen wreath from Emily at Jone's Design Company-hers is way better. That's ok. Of course sporting the flat-ironed ribbon.

After looking around and not finding anything like I was picturing in my brain, I decided to recover the crib set that all three of my boys used. Alert! I am not a seamstress. I can sort of sew, and I'm not that much of a perfectionist when I'm doing stuff for myself. Considering those high expectations, I'm pretty happy with the results.

I sewed flat ruffles, or really just flaps of fabric (drop cloth-what else is there?) right over the old crib skirt.

I like the flat flaps because I think they give a layered, slightly flouncy look without being too poufy for this shared room.

Then I sewed more of my handy-dandy canvas drop cloth right over the old bumper, after covering the piping with a gorgeous floral scrap. I'm in love with that floral. I ran out of it when I was making the ties, so some are flowery and some are an awesome neutral leopard from another scrap piece. The pink afghan was made by Tyler's mom and is the perfect piece of pink. It is.

One more touch of pink for the girl. The corsage blanket chest from here. Love it. Have always loved it. I love a lot of things. That's also ok. Centered at the end of the crib to store blankies.

Now whatever to do for Mr. Ash that will sort of work with all that.

Here's what. Paint one half of the bunk beds black to tie in with the crib. Flip over the old bedspread from navy plaid and use the more neutral stripy side. Stick with the red under-bed bins we've had forever.

Add some navy ticking stripe pillow cases and sacrifice my beloved seed sack pillows, made from this estate auction steal.

Create a super-sophisticated wall of preschool art-of which Asher is SO proud- and throw in the white board where its easy for 4-year-olds to reach. 'Cuz we really like the white board.

I also hung some curtains that I made for the kitchen in our last house. Linen-esque (cheaper) tie tops with a white cotton band on the bottom.

There you have it. His and Hers. It's a little plain, could totally use some more color, and there is a lot of blank wall to fill, but I'm hoping its a respectable start :)

Thanks!

Exciting Times

2011-05-14T17:55:00.000-07:00

My super exciting news for today is that the beautiful and talented (and so very, very nice) Cassie of Primitive and Proper asked me to guest post! I'll be there on Monday, May 16 and I'm so excited, so please head over and check it out! And while you're there, take a sec to look around at some of Cassie's awesome work, she's great!

And now, a beauty:

A pretty little vintage four drawer dresser with details that almost make me want to lay down and die. Finished in my new favorite soft, subtle gray with slight distressing and no glaze or stain. I wanted to keep this piece really light and I love how this gray is just a nice take on a typical white or cream. Still so versatile. Topped off with paste wax for protection and beautiful luster. All new glass hardware. Killer in an entry, as a buffet in a dining room, extra storage in a bath, or beautiful in a bedroom.

Of course there must always be a shocking before. I had to admit to my husband that yes, I did pay actual money for this. And not really just a little, either But look at that top! Those legs! Those adorable, fantastic keyholes! It took at lot of sanding, repairing and sanding some more. But the after made all the effort so completely worth it.

The keyholes had me at hello.

And the gorgeous moulding on the top.

Beautiful turned legs.

This beauty is now in my shop! Check it out for all the details.

And I just couldn't resist a little sneak peak at my Primitive and Proper guest post! Its a fun one!

Sharing my furniture:

And by the way, as I was perusing some linky party participants at the Feathered Nest Friday party, I came across The Shanty Girl. Do any of you wear aprons? I am sooo an apron girl and she makes absolutely gorgeous ones! Like, as in pretty sure I couldn't bring myself to wear to to do housework or cook dinner. She's having a givaway here. You should check it out!

Thanks for stopping by!

Another Essential Tool

2011-05-09T08:24:00.000-07:00

Oh how I love my flatiron. For many of us it is, indeed, an essential tool for pretty, smooth hair. Or in my case, it is essential to at least look as though I made an attempt at pretty, smooth hair, whether that's the actual outcome or not.

Now here's my secret confession: Sometimes I use it to iron things other than my hair. Really. My mom is an awesome ironer. She taught us all well. You should see my brother in ironing action. Me, I'm lazier about it. I only do the deed when completely necessary, and not always then. Plus, ironing wrinkles with my flatiron saves me some steps. I believe it's called multi-tasking, people. When standing in front of the mirror doing my hair, I have been known to use my flatiron to straighten bunched up ruffles on a shirt that is already on my body or de-curl the neck of Tyler's polo as he is wearing it. See? Timesaver. It's pretty awesome. I'm sure I'm not the first and only person to do this, but I may be the first person to ever blog about it. Plus, I feel pretty smart for figuring it out for myself.

Why am I blabbing about this ridiculous topic, you ask? Because it slightly pertains here. A couple days ago as I was working on a project I realized I was again flaunting my lazy. A recycled ribbon that I already had attached to the wall was crinkled and creased. It looked yucky. Obviously, I didn't want to take it down it AND iron it AND re-hang it. Way too many steps. Enter the fabulous flatiron.

See that? A beautiful, crisp ribbon in no time flat.

And we all know that a pretty, wrinkle-free ribbon is way better than a creased one. Our moms said so.

Stay tuned in the next few to see the rest of the project. I hope it lives up.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

2011-05-06T16:08:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, this desk is the bottom half of the duo from my last post. I think there may have been a little Frankenstein match-up going on, because when I got the desk and hutch home I realized there was no way they were originally supposed to live together. The angles were way off. And it looked really top-heavy and leggy. Which might be a good thing for a girl, but not so much for furniture. So off with the hutch. It is patiently waiting for just the right project.

The pretty desk part got a complete overhaul: I filled cracks, sturdied the legs, and sanded, sanded, sanded. The top was refinished in a Dark Walnut stain and the apron and legs got the most amazing gray paint I've ever found. Spartacus by True Value. Its just barely, barely gray, almost a white but with nice cool undertones. I love it with the Dark Walnut. I know, my walls make it a hard to see the gray. But its awesome. Promise. Then I rubbed the whole thing with the same stain and distressed just a little.

The top got coated with polyurethane and the body got polycrylic so there will be no yellowing.

I'm excited that this will be for sale in my shop! Check it out for all the details of the piece. I've had a break in client projects and am finally getting time to fill it back up. I've got a few other things in the works, the first of which should arrive in the shop by Tuesday, fingers crossed.

Linking Up!

Thanks for stopping by!

Just because it seems like garbage to you...

2011-04-28T09:14:00.000-07:00

Forward: I'm going to go ahead and assume you are poiletly ignoring my awesome garage. Just like you've been doing for the last few posts. Thanks.

My nice grandpa noticed that his neighbors were getting ready to throw this away and rescued it for me. People! Please NEVER EVER put something like this in the actual trash. Even if you think it seems like actual trash. I promise that there will always be someone like me around who will be more than happy to take it off your hands in 2 seconds flat or faster. It's a little cracked and its a little rickety, but I can fix that. Just wait. I've got plans. Its going to be a beaut. People, you're going to want it back.

I got started on it yesterday and I can't wait to put it in my shop.

Thanks Grandpa! I love you!

2011-04-23T11:37:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I don't know what I'm talking about. When Kristen first contacted me about refinishing her desk, I told her I don't strip and re-stain pieces. Its really time consuming and hard to get it right. I tried to talk her into staining just the top and painting the apron and legs. But this desk is special to her and she knew what she wanted. She stuck to her guns and I'm so glad she did! I think it turned out beautifully.

Before

She wanted it re-stained either the color it originally was- a light cherry- or darker. I took it a few steps darker but stayed in the cherry family. The stain I used was called Black Cherry.

I highlighted the details with some black glaze and added poly for protection as always.

Thanks for the challenge Kristen! I hope you love it!

Birthday Suit

2011-04-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

Remember the client project from my last post? Well, thanks to my new sander love and my best friend The Stripper, its nekked. I usually love paint, but all this bare wood is so pretty it might be hard to be a little hard to cover up.

Stay tuned!

Holy Spring Break

2011-04-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

A new client project arrived this morning. I need to get going on it and I'm so very excited to break out my lovely new sander again. I obviously knew this project was scheduled to start today. I am, after all, my secretary and handle all my important scheduling.

I had hoped to have a list of accomplished tasks before the desk got here. Tasks including but not limited to some of this:

And some of this

Turning into two of this

But its Spring Break this week. For the ENTIRE week. Need I say more? Pretty sure I didn't get a whole week off for Spring Break way back when. Dumb budget crisis. And lest you think that I don't like my kids, rest assured, I do (most of the time). Its just hard to get anything accomplished other than this:

that is delicious chocolate chunk cookie dough, if you can't tell

and this

Oh well. Pretty sure life could be worse.

Here's hoping you all have a wonderful Spring Break without getting too much accomplished either!

Where Have You Been All My Life?

2011-04-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

RIP, Crappy, Crappy Sanders

My "good" sander has been slowly dying on me for a while now. My old backup sander has always been highly annoying but reliable. Last week they both decided to give up the ghost. Literally within hours of each other, sort of like an old married couple. Except I wasn't sad like I would be if they actually were an old married couple- I was just ticked off. While I've been anxiously awaiting an excuse to get a new one, and have had my eye on a few fancy-schmancys at Home Depot, the day the Crappies dies I needed to be sanding right. now. So I thought I would settle for something at Walmart until I had time to make an informed decision on a more expensive model. Plus around here, Walmart is way closer than Home Depot. I came home with this little beauty. And lo and behold, its AWESOME! Smooth as butta, I tell ya. Maybe its just been a long time since I had a new sander (it has) but I'm in love! Its a random orbit model and I swear it purrs.

I'm pretty sure this makes me a sander nerd. Do I look like I care? (I don't.)

Come to Mama.

And Part Two

2011-04-03T22:35:00.000-07:00

The rest of the Nicest Client stuff

As I communicated with Vanessa about what she had in mind for her furniture she expressed very clear ideas about her wants for everything but this little garage sale bookcase. She just didn't want it exactly the same as everything else. When I suggested the idea of grassy/Kelly green I was picturing glossy and clean with no distressing. Ha. This is a great example of how furniture sometimes has something else in mind. It's solid wood and very cute, but not in great shape. The glossy, clean paint really highlighted the imperfections. So, I went vintage with it, but with a little bit of an updated feel. And I'm loving how it turned out.

The before thumbnail

Took off the pieced-together, rusty-nailed back- and replaced it with something a little cuter by making myself a pattern, tracing it onto the backing, and painting it in by hand. (Kind of like this at Jones Design Company) I also worked on a side table for her family room which was done to match a piece that she recently purchased, as well as a nightstand done to match the bedroom set I just finished. And last but of course not least, a coffe table also finished to match the new piece.

Coffee table before. She's trying to phase out the red/warm tones in her family room.

Again, thank you so much! I'm so very glad to hear that you are happy with everything!

Can't wait to see some pictures of everything put together :)

On Deck

2011-03-31T16:09:00.001-07:00

I'm just putting the finishing touches on part two of The Nicest Client project. Up next, big plans for these two beauts. And in other news, I'm also working on freshening things up around here on The Fine House. Still currently in the construction phase. All the changes will be finished in a very timely fashion. Promise.

Part One

2011-03-26T16:01:00.000-07:00

This is Part One of a big project that I've been working on for possibly the nicest client ever. Really. She actually contacted me a while ago about refinishing some furniture but I was pregnant and had to turn her down. Fast forward a whole year and here we are. She called me again! How great is that?! She had a whole list of pieces that she wanted done, starting with her bedroom furniture.

This is the before of the dresser that she sent me. It was quite a pretty dresser in great shape, she just didn't like the stain.

And after.

Please excuse the not great pictures. They were sort of a quick afterthought this time.

She expressed an affinity for distressed black furniture and wanted everything in her bedroom to match, so that's what I did. Black with a lot of distressing, a khaki glaze, and poly for shine and protection.

A thumbnail of the bed before. She had actually painted it herself in a flat black finish and was unhappy with the outcome.

So I redid it.

Also there's a Sad Headboard Story-right before she came to pick it up it tipped over and SPLIT. Crap! I might have said a swear word. But just a little one. I hate it when things like that happen-swear words and splits. I felt so terrible and she was so very gracious about it.

Foot board

Working on pieces that belong to someone else is both highly fun and highly stressful. After spending so much time and energy on something I'm always afraid that it won't be what the client is expecting, or that some part of it won't meet their expectations. I love doing this, but I often doubt myself. I want so much for clients to be happy with my work. So thank you so much, Vanessa, for being so awesome to work with! I'm beyond thrilled that you and your husband were excited with the end result.

Now on to part two, after which I hope you will be equally happy:)

Thank you!

A Thing of Beauty

2011-03-17T10:36:00.000-07:00

Is it not?

Exactly how many bookpage wreaths would be overkill in one house?

And it's in french! I mean come on.

Made with love using Emily's tutorial at Jones Design Company.

Thanks for Stopping By!

Ring A Ding

2011-03-12T08:17:00.000-08:00

Remember the sad woodshop project? Well you will because I have about 898 pictures of it.

Did I or did I not say the finished product would ring your bell? I feel confident that in all its golden goodness and glory, the newly renamed Chevron Chest did not disappoint. So much so that I, uh-um, might keep it. Or not might. I'm keeping it. It just works so great in so many places! Now where to put it... The straight lines and flat planes were begging for some special attention. So special they received. In the form of metallic gold chevron stripes that continue around the entire piece and run seamlessly from one stacked chest to the other.

And you know its hard for me to resist some distressing.

What I really loved about this when I first saw it was the genius of two pieces, which makes it so versatile. Stacked up, with six wide shallow drawers, it is beautiful in a entry. Although, as previously posted, I actually have an entry I'm liking right now. Total perfection in an office or craft room. I wish. I can just see papers and supplies neatly stored in all those drawers. I wish some more. It would even work as a small buffet in a tight dining area. The drawers would be perfect for extra silverware and table linens. And the piece I am currently using as a buffet has no storage. Hmmm.

But. Amazing as a tall nightstand. I feel like it gives my room a little edge. And yes. I totally read the leather bound copy of Shakespeare's works at night and not ever the mad stack of magazines in the basket in the corner.

And then, as I was taking these pictures I was watching Nate Berkus and a guest mentioned pushing two chests back to back to form a coffee table. Crap. That might work too.

Uh, yeah. Do you even know for how long I have been searching for the perfect coffee table for this room? This works! Totally lightens up the big brown kid-proof furniture. It was the one configuration I wasn't thinking about when I painted, so the stripes don't match up, but ha! I don't even care! I like it, Mikey!

And also yes, just as in the bedroom pic, we always have a picture of lemonade and delicious cookies displayed in the family room. All the time, as a matter of fact.

So, now you see why I have to keep Mr. Chevron Chest. He may never live in the same spot for more than a week. He's just too cool. That's why.

Also, see these books ^ ? They're in French. I took french in 8th and 9th grades. I'm pretty fluent. I read these at night too. Ok, really I found them at the DI (I guess you are forgiven for now) and they are going to be part of something fun coming soon.

Now I'm off to work on a huge project for a client. Reveal coming. Sometime.

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm linking up to The Shabby Nest and Miss Mustard Seed Interiors

Check out their Friday linky parties for some awesome inspiration!

Also linked to Designer Garden VIP Party-Thanks for the invite Sommer!

Piece of Work Wednesday at Primitive & Proper

Anything Goes at Type A Decorating-Thanks for the invite Tammy!

Look What I Found Friday at Vintage Revivals

Sommer featured me-my first! Thanks!

Dear DI- You have Got to Be Kidding Me

2011-03-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

While I was perusing the DI a few weeks ago I came across this:

Ok. Maybe a little low, but still, it could be cool. I could see the potential. Then I saw this:

What the? I think I actually laughed out loud. What a CROCK.

That's all I have to say about that.

2011-03-01T14:34:00.000-08:00

My front door entry. Its a little spot in my house that makes me happy today. Its good, sometimes, to focus on the places that you like and not always on what's not perfect, what needs to be fixed, changed, or project-ed. Right?

Ahh. A little brighter. Which I feel is more true to life.

One of my weirdly favorite things in the whole house: the "G" knob. Its so pretty.

The globe's a little of center. But then so am I.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

The Hateful Chair, Turned Thankful

2011-02-22T14:41:00.000-08:00

Remember this chair from my last post? Well, let me tell you something about this chair. It HATED me. HATED me. A lot. It should have been an easy, super cute transformation. It did turn out super cute. But it was not easy. It threw a tantrum about every single little thing. It made me fit to me tied. I swore some. At one point I just needed to step away. So I took a little trial separation from this hateful chair. After a few days and a few deep breaths, I came back. And then I changed this chair's mind.

Today it looks like this. In all the skirted, pleated, Houndstooth-ed glory it has decided that I probably knew best all along. Yes, I do own an iron. The skirt is a little wrinkled. I'll get that taken care of. Promise. As I mentioned before, it's now got killer little black and white Houndstooth print, with glossy black trim, double piping and a new skirt. It is super solid and totally comfy. I was going to list the Hateful-Turned-Thankful chair for sale, but instead it now lives at my mom's, happily married to her favorite desk. Maybe someday soon I'll get some pictures of the cute couple to post.

Now on to this:

I'm pretty sure this bad boy is somebody's old wood shop project. But I love it anyway. It's actually two pieces and it's really sturdy. I'm pretty positive that when the inspiration comes to fruition it will totally ring. your. bell.

Thanks for stopping by!

2011-02-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

So I may or may not be obsessed with rugs right now. I think it has something to do with looking at every single one on the internet while trying to decide what do with my kitchen rug. In the throws of my search I came across this:

Camila from Effortless Style created this awesome DIY rug for her house using regular old fabric, a canvas dropcloth, and a rug gripper. When I saw it for the first time, I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it! Well, ok, I actually can believe it never occured to me. It is pure genious, after all. Granted, it might not stand up too well to kids or super high traffic, but I happen to have one, seriously-just one, low traffic area where this idea would be perfect! I already have some fabric I think would work well and the spot where I envision it actually already has a rug, I'm just sort of over it. I wish I could think of a way to just cover what's already there, the trouble is that the current rug is shag. So now I've got to put on my thinking cap and see if I can figure something out. I know. That sounds dangerous. Sort of like, "Hey, there's smoke coming from your thinking cap!" Wish me luck and stay tuned!

Also coming up, this ugly duckling ugly no more!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

A Silly Little Project

2011-02-04T09:04:00.001-08:00

So see this basket of crap? Its my attempt at keeping the gazillion school papers, phone lists, and that kind of often-used random stuff under control in an easy-to-access place. It doesn't work very well. It just collects more and more and more CRAP and always looks junky. The sad thing about the picture is I had just cleaned it out. A long time ago at Walmart I spied some cute magazine files for just $6 each. I thought to myself, "Self, those would be cute and work really well in place of my crap basket." Never did get them. I don't know why. Last week I decided I really needed some. Around 5 of them. $30 is still really good. But at the time I was feeling crafty and I decided that I wanted to spend more like $0 on them.I rounded up these.

"Modge Podge," I thought. But I was all out. And the thought of going all the way to Walmart for one thing made me crazy. So I went to the Family Dollar, which is closer and a much faster in and out.

Did you know white school glue mixed with a little water does the same thing as Modge Podge practically?

I used some scrap fabric leftover from my laundry room window shade because that's what I had. And its super cute. I glued the spines on first, overlapping onto the sides a bit.

Then I cut a piece for the side a little larger than the box. I folded the edges under next to the spine for a finished look.

And this is what happens when you use way too much glue and the poor cereal box can't handle the stress. It dried all wonky like that. Whoops. So after that I got out the good old glue gun and just sort of 'upholstered' the boxes instead, using just a little bit of the white glue to help hold things in place as I situated fabric. That actually worked really well.

Way too much glue vs. the glue gun. I could have made the insides prettier, but I didn't.

I used plain manila folders in each file to organize the papers, plus that way it looks clean and neat. Its very deceiving. I used leftover folders to make tags for each file. They may change. Not so sure I love them.

Sorry about the yucky night time pictures.

This is where they live.

The cute flower pots hold pencils and pens for now. I just need to keep my eyes peeled for a good cereal sale so I can make a couple more. (The biggest size box worked the best with the manila folders.) I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. I'm sure they'll collect their fair share of crap, but at least it will be easier to ignore :)

In the end I didn't spend $0. I spent about $2.75 for the manila folders, glue and paintbrush.

Not too shabby.

Didn't Love It, Then I Did

2011-01-31T15:00:00.000-08:00

The new rug is finally finished! No, this is not it. This is the old rug. After about two years of daily abuse, it officially gave up the ghost. In its defense, I completely quit cleaning it when I decided to make a new one. The first week of December. Don't judge me. I mean, I did still sweep under the table, but whatever. It actually lasted quite well for a cheap canvas drop cloth in a very high traffic area. And it totally fulfilled its purpose of protecting the wood floor while looking cute and remaining easy to clean. The biggest problem was that the edges started to roll a few months ago when the rug tape began to loose its stickiness. And then somehow one of the edges ripped. I think it had to do with a boy child that lives here.

Man, did I love that rug.

The portion of the new-rug-creating-process that took the longest was simply my complete indecisiveness as to what design I wanted. I get it from my mom, I'm telling you. As I said a few posts back, there are so many fun patterns and ideas to choose from. The one thing I knew for sure was that this time around I wanted a brighter color. After hemming and hawing and lots of going back and forth I just kept coming back to not-too fat, not-too-thin diagonal stripes. I had a vision in my head. It was beautiful. So I started with a $10-ish painter's canvas drop cloth from Walmart. I laid it on a piece of plastic in the hideous basement and rolled on a good layer of white paint until it really covered and soaked in. I suppose you could iron out the wrinkles but I'm weird and I like the texture they give the rug. Plus the paint smooths it out some.

Then I changed from my original idea of wider stripes to tape-sized stripes. It just seemed way easier. And sometimes when I'm making something for myself, I'm just plain lazy.
Painted over the tape. And...Disaster. And ugliness. Even if it hadn't bled like crazy I still would have hated it. Like really, really hated it. Laziness never really seems to pay off. Luckily, after the tantrum has been thrown, paint can always be fixed with more paint.

So back to the drawing board. I came across this wall paper from Ballard. I wanted this to be my rug exactly. It would be awesome, right? But I already had a totally (by this point) blue rug and again with the laziness. I know, I know.

So instead, I made a pattern and traced the shape randomly instead of in an entire trellis pattern. I also got some inspiration from this room by Kristen F. Davis Designs

Just scroll through her home tour until you see her bedroom. I loved it!

I painted in the pattern and topped it off with two good coats of polycrylic. I can already tell the difference between my first attempt at a canvas rug and this one. The current rug has about three times as much paint and twice the poly. It seems a lot heavier duty and is easier to wipe.
So laziness, it would seem, turned out to be quite fortuitous and not all that lazy after all those coats of paint:)

I'm sure you could attach a rug pad to this, but I just lay it down as is with some rug tape (again from Walmart) to keep it in place and keep the edges from rolling.

I kind of think its pretty fantastic.

Plus, remember, its super easy to sweep and mop!

And maybe sometime soon I'll get the table put back and looking cute for some pictures of how the rug was actually meant to be used. But for now I have a sick baby who just woke up and wants her momma to hold her.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

That's a Rock Star Right There

2011-01-18T15:01:00.000-08:00

-Edited April 29, 2011-

I might for reals in real life cry when this baby sells. The Rock Star Ottoman (so named because it completely rocks my world) is now officially my favorite thing. Ever.

It started out like this, remember?So much awesomer than a regular old coffee table. I had big plans to paint the legs either a high gloss black or possibly even a matte gold. But as I started to sand and get ready for paint, I couldn't do it. I thought the layers of black and white (my fav) and wood were beautiful. I put some poly on for protection and shine and just let them be. I know its not everyone's cup of tea. My husband kept asking when I was going to paint. Sometimes imperfection is perfection, ya know?It has been upholstered and covered in a fabulous and graphic black and cream stripe. A heavyweight indoor/outdoor fabric that can stand up to some abuse. Plus I Scotch Guarded the crap out of it. It probably couldn't live in the Family Room/hangout spot with my kids, but in the Fancy Schmancy Living Room sometimes a mom gets to have something a little special. To add to the glam factor I also tufted it. Rock Stars have to be glam. The Facts: 24" x 48" x 18" $175

Sold to a loving home! Thanks Hollie

p.s. See that couch ^ that's not so much a rock star anymore? Big changes are a comin'.

Linking up!

And a thanks to Brooke at All Things Thrifty for inpiring me to try some tufting! If you want to try it yourself, she has some great tutorials here.

Silhouettes

2011-01-14T11:57:00.000-08:00

This is the family room. Where we hang pretty much all day every day. As our basement remains in the "someday we'll finish it real nice" category, this room is IT.

It takes three boys, a Great Dane, a husband and all the tv watching, video game playing, and wrestling. Sometimes it even houses an 8' tee pee that Santa brought. Thanks a lot, Santa. I want pretty and fancy schmancy, but I've decided to save that for another room and go for comfortable and non-destructible in here. I needed to fill the space on either side of the fireplace until the built-ins budget kicks in.

I've been luh-ving silhouettes. Do you notice that when you really like something it seems to turn up everywhere? I'm sure that has nothing to do with trendiness. But whatever. Doesn't change the fact that I really wanted some.

They actually turned out pretty easy to make. There are a lot of tutorials out there. I read a few and then kind of improvised. I got the canvases at Hobby Lobby (can I get a woo hoo now there's finally, I mean finally, a Hobby Lobby around here?!) and took approximately 373 profile pics of the kids. I included hats and fauxhawks and bows. Hooked the projector up to the computer and traced the shadows onto the canvases, trying to keep everything centered and around the same size. Then I just filled in the tracing with acrylic paint.

And, I continue to love.

I'm linking to The Shabby Nest. Enjoy!

Rug Love and Other Stuff

2011-01-05T15:45:00.000-08:00

Remember my drop cloth canvas rugs from this post and this post? Still very much love them. But its been a few years and really, its high time we switch it up. So, without further ado, I bid farewell to the ever-faithful Big Stripe Rug. You served us well, friend.

But wait. There's a problem. I suffer from a severe genetic inability to make decisions. Its true. You should meet my mom. And her sister. I've given my new rug a good base coat. Its all prepped and ready for the fun part, which is the design. Only I can't decide what design to commit to. A few options I've been mulling over-

1. Stripes again, but more like this: From Ikea. I have, however, seen similar rugs all over the place, so I'm sure there's a more high-end version too.

2. Chevron stripesAlso all over the place. But for a good reason. Love. From West Elm. But in a pretty french blue.

3. Zebra Stripes:

Soft subtle ones like the Jazzy Buffet.

4. Some sort of a quatrefoil-ish pattern:

Emily at Jones Design Company actually hand-painted this wallpaper in her office. It's just about to die for. I think it would also make a beautiful rug.

5. Some kind of big, statement-making pattern like Jaci's Rug:

Whatever design I end up with will be in a frenchy blue. (I think.) Maybe a blue that's just leaning into turquoise. Ha. I'm going for a little more color in that space this time around. What version do you like?

In other exciting news, this sad, sad table is about to become fabulous. Just you wait, Henry Higgins. I'm so, so excited!

And last but not least, I'm thinking about turning the mirror above Zoe's crib into an Anthropologie knock off knock out using Mandi's tutorial over on Vintage Revival. (The original Anthropologie mirror is awesome. Of course they're no longer available so sorry, no pic.) Again with the indecisiveness. Hmmm...

More to come on Baby Z's room.

So like always stay tuned for some project transformation awesomeness!

A Super Cute Chair, A Super Cute Table

2010-11-16T14:29:00.000-08:00

This Super Cute Chair with pillow in Gray makes me want to start over and re-do my entire house. I love it that much. I mentioned this to my husband. Got the husband eye roll. But seriously, what's not to love? Refinished in super chic gray with a little distressing.
Seat and coordinating 17" x 17" pillow. Gorg.

$50

The Super Cute Table in pink. Awesomely super cute. It is distressed and glazed in mocha and would definitely leave its mark in any room. Obviously a little girl's room. But what an unexpected pop in the living or family room! (Which is where I had it set up. Again. Super Cute.) Measures 22" h x 21" w

$30

-Make it a Combo Meal for ~~$70~~

$50!!!!

Hello! Thats like getting the table for free!

Sold!

Thanks for stopping by and have a Great Day!

Back Again. Seriously This Time

2010-11-16T14:00:00.000-08:00

So I realize that last post in which I blatantly claimed to be Back was nearly one year ago. Geesh. Shortly after said post I began the Year of The Very Long Pregancy. It started with me being sick sick sick so I thought I would die and ended with a little more sickness and a two-months-early beautiful baby girl who lived in the NICU for a little while. Fast forward a little and we are now both healthy and happy. So I am really truly back with a long list of projects and a long list of excitement!

My sweetest Baby Z who made every little second of the past 10 or so months completely worth it:)

2010-01-26T18:07:00.000-08:00

Hey! After a much needed break, I'm Back in Black! Well, today I'm wearing red, but whatever. Isn't there just something about putting away the Holiday decorations that makes you want to start fresh in your house? It seems to highlight all the places that bug me because they just need 'something'. And then the juices start to flow and I get all antsy and projecty. Love it. Especially those few times when the reality even slightly matches the vision. I have a few things left that didn't sell over the holidays, one being the vintgage door-turned entry station. Quite a few people expressed interest and commented that they really liked the look, but were worried a big heavy door would possibly fall and squash their little ones. Well, yes , I think we would all agree squashing would be bad. But the door is so great. So I hightailed myself down to the hardware store and asked the very nice man the best way to attach a super heavy solid wood door to the wall. And bless his heart, he answered me without even blinking.He gave us several options and we chose the easiet- simply being to drill right through the door into the studs in the wall. We (meaning Tyler) found the studs, predrilled four holes in the door-two near the top and two near the bottom, and used some black wood screws to hang the door on the studs. I didn't mind going right through the door because a) the screws were black and you really can't see them if you don't know where to look, and b) it's a distressed, chippy door and you really can't hurt it. So just for future reference, this door is offically hung on my wall and isn't going anywhere. I could hang just about anything on it. And believe me, if the Geldmachers can safely hang this, then anyone can:) Although I change things around so much the idea of something never going anywhere makes me slightly nervous... For now, it's helping me take up some space on a huge blank wall. Until something different tickles my fancy. Don't tell Tyler. Holes in the wall can always be fixed, right?

As for that stuff that hasn't yet sold? Take a peek and give me a call! I'd love to wheel and deal and make room for more great stuff!

Posh Poppy Update

2009-11-13T16:56:00.000-08:00

-Edited April 27, 2011-
This buffet is still one of my favorite projects, and I wanted to share it. I wish wish wish that I had taken mulitple and better and pictures of it. What was I thinking? Oh well, lesson learned:) I painted it as part of a boutique that I participated in a while ago. Please disregard the boutique info. The buffett now lives in the super cute salon of my even cuter friend. Maybe I'll go take a better picture there. But for now I'm linking it to the Primitive and Proper Piece of Work Wednesday party.

-Original Post-
The Posh Poppy boutique is happening right now! Ok, so its not happening right now anymore. But, thanks to the lovely snow last weekend, I've still got some great stuff available with-this is the best part-reduced prices! Here's a little taste of the inventory from The Fine House Please don't mind the unstaged pictures. Sometimes life (read: my kids) has to take priority:):

The Jazzy buffet with hutch is probably the most fun thing I've done so far! Her subtle zebra stripes bring to mind the phase "Be still, my heart". She's a smaller buffet with modern lines, three functioning drawers, and two cupboards. She even has grooves for plates to stand. I can see her working in almost every room of the house: awesomely in a kitchen where a bigger piece of furniture wouldn't fit; as the cutest bookcase ever in a living room; as an entry piece with bonus places to put keys, mail and gloves; as freestanding storage in a bathroom (oooo!); or so adorable in a little kid's room I can't even stand it!
Edited again: Back then I didn't have my sweet baby girl. I would completely DIE to have it for her room now :)
Sold!

Thanks Lindsey! I love your salon!

The Corsage blanket chest also makes my heart skip a little beat. It's a smaller Lane Cedar Chest (I forgot to take the measurements of stuff before I dripped it all off...) with a natural-colored light canvas upholstered seat featuring three fabric flowers. It's been refinished in delicate pink with dark green peeking through.
Reduced!!! $100

Sold

Gotta love a good chalkboard. Super cute as well as functional. A fancy frame finished in antique white with mocha glaze. (The dresser and best lamp ever are unfortunately not for sale. The belong in the model home where Posh Poppy is taking place.)

I have to admit, a pretty chair with an upholstered seat just does something for me. So many places it can go! This is a pair of matching chairs with cane backs finished in black and heavily distressed . Natural-colored canvas makes the cushy seat ready any scrumptious pillow.
$45 each or $80 gets you two:)

Both Chairs Sold!

Gertie is living her second life as the girl whom no one can take their eyes from! A large mirror refinished in bright green with a mocha glaze to tone it down a little and some distressing makes her the perfect addition as a fun bathroom mirror, in an entry over a table, in a bedroom, over a desk, you name it and she'll send it over the top!

Reduced to $50!!!

Sold!

And you might remember the vintage door Entry Station from this post. Still super cute! And to answer a few questions, yes. This can be safely hung in the studs of a wall to make a sleek, shabfabulas entry station!

You haven't missed the event yet! The Posh Poppy will be going strong through tomorrow, Saturday Nov. 14 until 6pm. Click here for directions and more info.

Click here to see what I've been up to lately!

Thanks for stopping by!

Posh Poppy

2009-10-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

Exciting news alert! My two fabulous friends, Jessica and Candice, are starting a new boutique/art show called Posh Poppy. Woohoo! A cute new boutique! Thats what I said. Because my secret dream for when I grow up is to have my own shop someday, I decided to be brave and ask if I could put some furniture in their first show to get my feet wet. They graciously allowed me to be a vendor. I don't think I've ever been a vendor before! The Fine House, Vendor. Has a nice ring to it, no? The first show will be held Friday and Saturday November 13th & 14th from 10am to 6pm in a beautiful model home in Salem. Over the next little while I'll be previewing some of the stuff I'm getting ready to take, such as this little sweetie pie:I've affectionately named her Frenchy. She's got storage, she's got style and she makes a statement!I've got lots of stuff in store (if I can get it all ready...) Big stuff, little stuff and inbetween stuff. So mark the weekend of Nov. 13-14 on your calendar and come check out the The Fine House at Posh Poppy!

Sold!

Thanks Aunt Paige:)

A Cute Girl's Dresser :)

2009-10-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

My adorable friend asked me to redo her dresser and night stand. Here is a before of the awesome, solid wood pieces. Notice the used-to-be awesome flowers:
She wanted an antique white finish with glaze and distressing. This is what she got:

As aways, I feel like the pictures don't do the furniture justice. The glaze and distressing don't show up a ton in them, but I really thought they turned out beautifully. I used a gloss poly to give them some sparkle, which I like a lot with a distressed piece. She wanted to pick out some new hardware and I can't wait to see a picture with it, hint hint!

Thanks Rachelle and Cody! I hope you love it!

And A Cherry on Top

2009-10-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

Sold!

The red and white Cherry Table is all fun and smiles. It positively oozes happiness! The pedestal table is finished in white with a shabby black rub through and lots of distressing. It measures 42" in diameter and is 30" tall. It comes with four solid wood chairs refinished in cherry red, also with a black rub through. The true funness of this set makes an appearance on every chair seat, where the numbers 1-4 are hand painted, just for a little somethin' extra.

The size of the Cherry Table makes it perfect for a breakfast nook, but I also think it would make the best ever game table! In fact people, had I a finished basement with a family room and/or playroom Cherry would not be for sale. When I look at her I have warm fuzzy visions of Monopoly and craft projects and maybe even a little homework...so I am officially passing the vision on to you in the form of an awesome deal!

$150

makes her your very own happy:)

The Thrill of the Hunt

2009-09-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I had just a little taste, and now I'm forever addicted. I attended my very first Estate Auction and I'll never be the same again. I love thrift store furniture, and a good garage sale find that can be fixed up is pretty fun. But there was just something about

nonchalantly waving my number in the air and winning that little gem on which I had my eye...

This was just one of my Auction Beauties. Is there even a word to describe how much I adore this canvas seed sack? I don't know. I just know it was love at first sight. You probably all think I'm as nutty as the nice elderly lady sitting next to me did when I bid on it. (Incredulously, I was the only bidder. No. That is not a sign. There was something wrong with everyone else there.) Do I know or care if this is a vaulable vintgage find? Nope. Although that would be cool. I don't even care if its still mass-produced by the thousands somewhere in Clover Land. It just comes back to the love. I love the colors, I love the print, I love the texture of the canvas.
I also love the back.

I might perhaps be crazy, but I don't care. My heart was actually racing when the auctioneer assistant put it in my hot little hand. I have big plans of cuteness for this bag - just you wait.

Mable, Mable, Set the Table...

2009-08-22T16:29:00.000-07:00

Sold!

Thanks Kat!

Ok. The After.

She may be an old country girl but with an updated color combination to play up her modern side, she's no Plain Jane. For the Fantabulous Mable Table, its all in the details:

Turned Legs

Carving

Lots of Dimension

You've heard me say before that I love Black and White. Well now I'm only falling deeper. Measuring 66 1/2" long x 41 1/2" wide by 30" high the Mable Table is solid wood refinished in black with a khaki glaze that brings out all her gorgeous curves. To keep Mable really family friendly, I left the table top deliciously distressed and highlighted with glaze. Now little hands that leave their mark- sometimes permanently-will just add to her awesome character and uniqueness. Of course I gave her generous amounts of poly for protection and a little sparkle.

Mable is sans a leaf.

The Mable Table comes with six solid wood chairs-three Carved-Back and three Windsor. All six chairs were refinished in cream paint with a mocha glaze that totally compliments their color without being too harsh. They have a little extra distressing, revealing one or two secret layers.

The Mable Table has a great sense of playfulness because there is no set way to put it together. Alternate the chairs. Put one kind on one side and the other across. Mix it up however. It always looks great! And the best part? Its a one of a kind-no one else has this table.

Just Reduced!

$400

*Post Script*

Like the Big Stripe Rug? Durable, wipe-able, super cute painted canvas. $75

Sneak Preview...

2009-08-21T15:42:00.001-07:00

Before :
Stay tuned tomorrow for the amazing after . Tomorrow. I promise.

Show and Tell (Not Show and Sell ) :)

2009-08-05T20:10:00.000-07:00

For today's show and tell I brought this scrumptious, Chunky Chalkboard to share:

As black and white (or cream, actually) is fast becoming my favorite color combination, a chalkboard like this seems like pure, yummy eye candy. Plus, it embodies all my other favorites. A little chipped, a little distressed, a little glazed. Isn't it just perfect in all it's gorgeous imperfection?

Unfortunately, this one isn't for sale, exactly. Tyler's company is having a charity auction and he thought it would be a great idea for "us" to contribute something from {The Fine House}. Situations like this always cause me great stress and produce lots of self-second-guessing, though I'm sure that's not the correct way to express it. So, after much hemming and hawing the Chunky Chalkboard is the lucky pick. I sincerely hope that it tickles someone's fancy and can contribute a small part to someone in need.

*As for more lovely merchandise, I have some great stuff up my sleeve, preparing for a big reveal. The next few days may hold a sneak peek...

Refinished Dining Set

2009-07-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's been quite a long while since I had any super-fabulous thing to post (or anything at all to post) but I have been working like a busy little bee this summer. I Just finished a dining set for a client who wanted a new look for her old (not so old) table. It started like this:A pretty, solid wood table in really good condition. Just not the look she wanted anymore. She was envisioning light legs with a darker stained top and chairs. So after much, much help from my new best friend, Citristrip, and my old best friend, The Sander,everything looked more like this:

Then came some creamy Country Buttermilk paint (still love that name), a little slight distressing, a rub of Tobacco glaze, and lots of Dark Walnut stain. The happy result:I think maybe the glare of the sun makes the stain look a little lighter than when inside, but you get the idea.

I LOVE how the glaze brought out the detail on the legs.

Another look at the stain inside-just ignore my pretty garage:)

Thanks so much Leah! I really hope you love your table's new look as much as I did. And, hint hint, I would love to see a picture after you have the seats recovered! Thanks again!

Coming Up: The summer may be slowing me down a little, but I have some great stuff coming both this week and in those to follow so check back often! And thanks a ton to everyone who has left a kind comment or sent an email-they keep me going!

Just For You

2009-06-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

Sold!

Thanks Jessica:)

This little cutie patootie is the perfect twin bed. Its a touch vintage, but the color brings it right up to date. Painted black, it would really work well with a fun, tailored boy spread; or it could be the perfect balance to a fluffy, frilly girly spread. You've gotta love versatility:) And the best part is I'm offering the option of customization! (If that wasn't a word before, it is now) The lucky buyer will get to pick the perfect finishing touches. Like it clean and classic? I'll just add some polyurethane for depth and protection. A glaze like this will really bring out the detail. Some distressing will give it that awesome shabby chicness we've all come to love. You decide!

Another option for a custom touch is this great raised panel:

It's practically begging for an initial or a maybe a shiny metal number. A number may sound strange, but I've seen some awesome stuff accessorized with things like pewter house numbers. For instance, if this was going to be for my little Mr. Three, a pewter 3 would be such a cute, modern touch to this bed.

The Details:

The bed is solid wood and includes a headboard, foot board (exactly the same as the headboard) and side rails. It fits a twin mattress and box springs and measures 31 1/2" high.

$125 OBO and you pick the final look

Last Star Bed Reduced!

2009-05-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

Sold!

Thank you! Hope you love it!

Remember the great Star Beds? Well, today is your lucky day, because I only have one left and its on sale! The original price was $125, now reduced to

$75 OBO

This is a twin size, solid wood navy bed with an exaggerated red rub through featuring an iron star on the headboard.

Hurry and make this adorable bed yours-I promise it won't stay homeless for long :)

Jaci's Rug

2009-05-12T17:39:00.001-07:00

My super cute sister-in-law Jaci knows a good thing when she sees it and wanted a canvas rug :) Just kidding. She agreed to become my guinea pig so I could try something new. Silly, brave girl! Her gorgeous black table is square, so a rectangular rug wasn't ideal. Plus in order to get the width to fit the table and chairs the length was too big for the space. This conundrum was actually a blessing in disguise because it forced us to to get a bigger canvas which we cut and hemmed to exactly fit the dining set in the room. Hello, can you say custom? Just kidding again:) And it created leftover canvas to make smaller coordinating rugs!! Jaci's kitchen has adorable red accents, so she wanted something that would compliment that. I wanted it to be a big, bold graphic that would be unique. So this flower is what we came up with. I can't take credit for the pattern, I took it from a piece of wrapping paper I've been saving that I just knew would come in handy someday...
I love it under the table, so Jaci, I hope you do too! And the best part, don't forget, it can be swept and mopped! Hallelujah! This would be awesome in other colors and it really got my mind spinning with possibilities for other patterns and graphics-what about one huge number or letter? Or a huge piece of damask? Or...

PS-Someone also hinted to me the other day that canvas rugs would also work really well on a deck or patio. What a great idea!

PPS-When shopping for a rug pad to attach to the bottom of this, I came across the coolest stuff-rug tape. It's tacky on both side and sticks your rug to any floor surface without damage. Its a very cool trick. Just so you know.

Lattice Desk

2009-04-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

Sold!

Thank You Sunnie!

This sweet desk is such a fun, one of a kind find! When I saw it, I knew the lattice panels on the drawer fronts were destined for stardom.And how, you ask, can this little desk become even more fabulous and fun? With a secret shot of turquoise inside every newly painted drawer. Because who doesn't love a good secret?The Lattice Desk is finished in cream with an umber glaze and has just a little bit of distressing sealed in with poly. It has six perfectly working drawers (the bottom two handles on each side are one large drawer). It measures 50"wide x 24"deep x 30" tall.

$135

(It also just happens to perfectly match the finish of the ever-fabulous Numbered Chairs! Love them? They were posted at $100/pair, but for you, I'd be willing to make a deal-call me and lets talk:)

Frugal Friday

2009-04-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, so for the past few months I've become addicted to the cutest blog-The Shabby Nest. It has been one of my favorite sources of eye candy and inspiration-including inspiring my own version of numbered chairs...so thanks Wendy! Today The Shabby Nest is hosting Frugal Friday and showcasing lots of cute-and most importantly-frugal decorating ideas. Check it out! But remember to come back to the Fine House soon- I'll be posting some new stuff that will make you drool :)

If I Had a Little Girl...

2009-04-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

Sold!

Thanks Jill :)

This twin headboard is adorable! It's finished bright white with my favorite moss green peeking through the distressing. Just enough color yet still neutral enough to go with anything. It has to be said again: adorable! It measures 50" tall x 45.5" at its widest point.

$75

How cute would this headboard be with that 6 red table as a nightstand? I'm just saying...

Numbered Chairs and End Table

2009-04-04T14:28:00.000-07:00

Sold!

Thanks to Mitsy, who got a steal of a deal on all three pieces!

The tomato-red table is adorable. It's solid wood with turned legs and two levels. It has an umber glaze and measures 24" h x 23" in diameter. Provides the perfect pop of color in any room. You've got to see this one in person!

$60

These lovely ladies are fabulous with a capital F! They're finished in a creamy white called High Country Milk (don't you love that name?) with an umber glaze and moderate distressing. The seats are covered in simple tan cotton and feature numerals 1 and 2-my favorite part.

In her previous life, Lovely Lady #2 sustained some trauma and was fixed. While she is very stable, she still bears the scars. I think they just add to her loveliness and charm. However, because of said trauma and scarring, I am asking just $100 for the pair! rather than $120:)

Love all three pieces together? Me too! They create the prefect conversation area in your living room, office, bedroom, or family room. $145 for the whole group

Entry Station

2009-04-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

I heart this door! It is seriously makes the cutest entry station ever! It has six iron coat hooks and is distressed perfectly shabby chic.

It is solid wood and measures 6'8" x 3' and is $80

Two rows of hooks accommodate everyone in the fam-

kids down low

And important grown-up stuff up high

Because its so slim, it would be a great piece to help carve out an entry station in a spot with little floor area.

Add a cute basket for shoes and something to sit on, and you've got yourself the perfect pit stop on the way in and out the door.

coming soon: Right now I'm working on a dining set that will knock your socks off, as well as few others things including a couple chairs and an adorable end table. Remember to always stay tuned for great finds!

Canvas Rugs

2009-03-23T08:33:00.000-07:00

Woo Hoo! A rug that can be swept and mopped! Seriously. I love rugs in general, especially the way a cute rug looks under a table. It defines the space and is a chance to add some more color, pattern and texture. However, after many years of living with a cute rug under the table where we do most of our eating, I have developed some issues. Such as my family tends to spill. A lot. The last rug I had was chocolate brown sisal. Very cute. But it had to be vacuumed to get the crumbs (yes, I am that lazy-I hate to pull out all of the chairs and vacuum everyday) and things like mashed potatoes were really good at getting ground in permanently. Plus it completely stretched out of shape. So I made a canvas rug for cheap cheap cheap. This turned out so great! I used a $10 9'x6' canvas drop cloth from Walmart and painted and sealed it with stuff I already had. It can be swept with a broom and spills can be wiped up with a damp cloth. And because I used a drop cloth it was even hemmed already! I really like the light colored stripes for spring and summer. The great thing about a rug like this is the possibilities are endless. Any color, any pattern would work. I've already been thinking about zebra stripes, diamonds, big graphic florals, random typography, damask, monograms...anything I could either tape off or trace:) And I definitely want to make a couple smaller, coordinating monogrammed ones for my kitchen sink area and maybe my laundry. This would also be a great solution for tables that must live on carpeted areas-I've had a house like that before -not really that fun.

Like it? Are you loving all the possibilities like me?

Bedroom Set

2009-03-12T11:08:00.000-07:00

I got the chance to refinish a beautiful bedroom set for a client. It was a little bit of a mess when I got it, but it turned out gorgeous. Here are a few of the befores:

It was originally a stained wood finish, then it had all been painted black. The headboard and part of the dresser had stripper applied but never scraped off.

The client wanted creamy white with lots of dark glaze and distressing.

The results:

Headboard

Footboard

Dresser (yes, I know some hardware is missing, they had it at home)

Two nightstands

The project also included the side rails for the bed.

I am not a photographer and I wish I knew how to get all the detail to show up in the picture. The glaze on these was rubbed in and really created some beautiful dimension and gave them a nice time-worn look. The client is in the process of moving, but promised to send some pictures when she is settled and has everything all set up and put together. I can't wait!

Thanks Ashley! I hope you loved the result as much as I did:)

End Table and Arm Chair

2009-02-25T19:04:00.000-08:00

Gotta love black and white. They're classic and they go with everything. This table is solid wood, black with slight distressing. It measures 30"l x 23"w x 22"h and is $65.

Sold!

Thanks Katee:)

The armchair is vintage and refinished in ivory with tobacco glaze and lots of distressing. It has some cracked paint sealed with poly and the seat is covered in a small black and white houndstooth check. It's a steal at $50!

Sold!

Thank you to the cutest customer ever-I'm so happy you loved the chair:)

Interested??? Leave a comment or give me a call!

This will be it for a few weeks while I work on a big project for a client, but remember to stay tuned and check back often-there's always more good stuff to come!

Stripey Dresser

2009-02-25T17:01:00.000-08:00

Sold!

Thanks Stacy:)

$75

I say it every time, but I love this! It's a sturdy little dresser in creamy white with a subtle, beige cabana stripe, which I really like lately. The stripe is hard to see in the picture, especially against my wall color, but trust me-it's very cute and not hard to see in person:) The whole thing is distressed and is very beachy and light-a perfect addition this time of year. It would be darling in a hallway or entry to hold keys and mail, or I've seen a lot of smaller dressers like this used as unique nightstands. It measures 30" wide x 18" deep x 31" tall. The drawers measure 13 1/2 " deep x 23" wide.

Just a Random Thought...

2009-02-25T16:28:00.000-08:00

So, the March issue of House Beautiful, which just arrived in my mailbox today (yay!) says, and I quote, "A distressed finish" and "The 'aged' look makes a comeback". Hurray! I do like, and own, contemporary stuff, but I think that my favorite will always be things with a distressed finish. In that article they have some gorgeous stuff like this

and this

I love them! Then I get sticker shock. Its pretty, but it costs and arm and a leg (or two). Try $8,800 for the bookcase and $1695 for the chair. Dollars. No joking. Although that is actually laughable. We have a car that cost less than the bookcase:) But its beautiful inspriation. I just think I like pretty stuff.

Twin Beds

2009-02-17T15:15:00.000-08:00

One bed SOLD, Just one left!

Thanks Michelle:) Hope you love it.

I just finished two adorable twin beds (which I feel should be seen in person to fully appreciate their cuteness). They're navy with an exaggerated red rub through and the headboard of each has a blue iron star. Box springs or bed slats are not included. I'll have a picture of them side-by-side tomorrow. $125 each or $200 takes them both-which I think would be SO CUTE in a boys' room with a night stand in between. I'm willing to deliver in the Provo area. Interested? Leave a comment, email or give me a call.

Ta-Da!

2009-02-17T14:15:00.000-08:00

Remember the 1976 beauties? I said they would be gorgeous, and well, I think they turned out pretty much that. They're back to live happily ever after in JoEll's living room. She wanted them black with a light glaze, no rub-through or extra distressing. I left most of the dings and dents for the glaze to pick up and finished them off with some poly. They just need some new hardware, which we will be shopping for this weekend. Now she has beautiful, unique new end tables and she can save the big bucks for something else.

2009-02-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

I love picture frames. Particularly old, beat up ones. They're beautiful, unique, and besides just holding pictures they have a million uses:

Upholstered the interior of this one to use as a headboard

Of course they make great mirrors...

Both empty vintage frames. I left the chipped wood and cracked paint as is and just brushed them with some poly for protection and ease of cleaning.

This one became a beautiful chalkboard. And it's for sale! I love love love it. Like everything else, I feel like the camera didn't do it justice. Its a vintage frame with the original paint and measures
42" wide x 29 1/2" tall.
$50

(Buyer pays shipping if necessary)
Super cute for a kitchen, office, or even a little girl's room.
Sold!

Right now I also have an unassembled frame that would be a great made-to-order upholstered head board. It measures 5.5' x 2.5 ' (that's feet, not inches)-long and narrow, and, as I said perfect for a lower profile head board. The frame itself can keep its original finish or be redone to match any decor and you pick the fabric for the interior. Interested call or email.

Stay Tuned...

2009-02-06T18:09:00.000-08:00

Yes, folks these beauties straight from 1976-seriously-are my next project. My mom and dad got these tables for their first Christmas together. Awww:) And they have lived in my mom's living room ever since. As you can see, they have had a long, well-loved life and are now ready for their face lift! They are HEAVY, SOLID wood and still function perfectly so we are going to make them as pretty as they are strong. Skeptical? Well stay tuned, because I promise you they are going to be gorgeous!

I'm also working on a few more projects that will be finished and posted for sale hopefully within the next week: A fun chalkboard made from a beautiful vintage frame, some adorable twin boys beds, and a few other odd and ends. I'm working on building up my inventory, so check back often and let me know what you think!

PS I'm also working on getting some more photos and references of things I've done in the past, such as cabinets and bigger furniture projects. Unfortunately, I don't have access to a lot of it anymore and I wasn't smart enough to take pictures for a long time.

2009-02-06T16:31:00.001-08:00

Cute second-hand chairs with a new finish and recovered seats. I like the skirt on one for something different. They look great flanking a table in an entry:

2009-01-20T22:58:00.000-08:00

Another great piece from my husband's Grandma. A beautiful blanket chest with awesome detail. I happen to LoVE green and a distressed finish-and this chest just seemed to scream for it, so that's the way I went :) It also has a tobacco-colored glaze rubbed on and polyurethane for durability. This item has a shabby-chic look, but I can also produce a more traditional or modern finish.

2009-01-20T22:47:00.000-08:00

This is an old Victrola record player that belonged to my husband's Grandmother. He had some fond memories of it and wanted to keep it, so I refinished it to fit in our house as a hall table. He wanted to keep the record playing components in tact, but if you had one that didn't work or have value the front speaker panel could be replaced and the inside turned into storage.

After. As I said above, we chose to keep the speaker panel in tact. It has a beautiful turquoise rub-through and is finished with several coats of polyurethane for durability.