Off With My Hinges

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.

Even More Rug Love

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

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

  

His & Hers: A Start

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.

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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!

A Thing of Beauty

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

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!

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!