BHG Shout-Out

Gotta give a shout out to one of my favs: Better Homes and Gardens.

Some great tips here on decorating with quirky, vintage items. My friend Aharon will appreciate these, I'm sure!

I need some more items for my bookshelves - I might head on out to Ebay and see what I can find! Any great Atlanta-area stores that anyone can recommend for vintage decorating finds? Come one, come all!

Stay tuned - I DID order my own personal wall decal for our basement from Dali Decals - it has been shipped - and I can't wait to get it and hang it up!

Practical Application

Better Homes and Gardens inspires me in new and fun ways ALL THE TIME.  We've repainted and rearranged the guest bedroom - I have a long wall that can be seen from the hallway that needs something dramatic.  THIS WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA - and I also have what seems like miles and miles of empty walls in our basement that could be a contender for this fabulous idea!

So cost effective and unique:

Painted Ceiling Rosettes as wall art!  PERFECT!

Furniture Makeover

For the second time in my tenure as Chief Designer of our home, I have given - let's nicely term it - mature furniture a makeover. My first endeavor was to turn my childhood bedroom furniture (white with blue trim and stenciled flowers) in to a sophisticated guest bedroom set. 

For any of you who can remember this far back - before we sold our old house, we put our old bedroom set in to storage in place of our Restoration Hardware investment! Since we settled in to our new house - it was time to resurrect our old bedroom set and give it a facelift as a cost effective furniture solution for our toddler who is in desperate need of a big-boy bedroom! I'll save the details of decorating his new room for another post - but I will give you a step-by-step guide to turning old, scratched and mildly beat up furniture in to virtually brand new furniture!

Step 1: Fill in any scratches or gouges with wood filler. Allow to harden for at least 24 hours.

Step 2: Lightly sand furniture surfaces of wood (my hubby used 220 grit sand paper). Pay attention to areas where wood filler was used - sand these carefully. You shouldn't feel any difference in the wood where you have used filler when you run your fingers over it - it should be smooth perfection!

Step 3: Depending on your wood tone/color of furniture - apply 1 to 2 coats of primer. We used a grey primer for darker colors - since we painted the furniture a navy blue color. Allow to dry for at least 24 hours.

Step 4: Apply two coats of semi-gloss paint. A semi-gloss finish should be used to ensure durability and easy cleaning/wiping. Allow 24 hours for drying in between coats.

Step 5: And this one is controversial - Home Depot (and other paint shops) will tell you that a clear, top-coat is not necessary when using semi-gloss paint. They will even go so far as to say that it will cause you more trouble applying it than anything else. My husband is convinced that they don't recommend it because they don't sell it. Coincidence? I think not! Anyway, I used a coat of Minwax Polycrylic on top of the first set of furniture I refinished - and it not only gives the paint a nice sheen, but has protected that furniture against all chips and scratches. The last thing you want is for your furniture to chip, making it look cheap and unfinished. Even if it seems to be overkill, I highly recommend at least one well-applied coat of Polycrylic clear-coat. It doesn't even take as long as one coat of paint to apply - and will be well worth it to prevent against chips/scratches that can occur due to daily use. Refer to directions on can - allow to dry for 24 hours.

If your furniture was like mine, it has old - and somewhat ugly - drawer pulls/knobs. I went to Target and got a set of 20 for $20! It was a deal - and they look great on the furniture. TIP: New drawer pulls/knobs can do wonders just about anywhere! They could also be used on kitchen/bath cabinets to give a quick and inexpensive lift to an out-dated room.

Big-Boy Furniture complete!

Before:

Note long dresser in the above pic.

After:

For more fun ways to makeover/enhance your home with paint, click here for Better Home & Garden's tips! I'm partial to their fabric makeover ideas and the chair back name cards! OH - and on page 13 - they DO recommend TWO coats of polyurethane be applied to painted furniture! Take that, Home Depot!

Safe Haven

So, I took yet another online quiz at Better Homes & Gardens on what style bedroom is best for me. I've recently made a mistake in painting our bedroom - I was going for a khaki/coco color - and ended up with a color that was much too golden-tan. A perfectly fine color - but was not the shade I was aiming for. We have an upholstered, natural/cream colored bed - I was looking for a little drama of a darker coco color. So, I've settled on another color (that I love) called 'Hopsack' from Duron...we just haven't had the chance to repaint (my wonderful hubby has pledged to do so - he is eager for me to be happy with the bedroom - and to finally hang up our pics/wall art!) Hopsack is actually the same color that I painted on the back of our bookshelves in the living room....



But now that I've taken this quiz - I'm wondering if I shouldn't shoot for a restful, organic green color? Apparently the style bedroom for me is 'Safe Haven.' Which is no surprise - my bedroom needs to be a restful retreat for me and my husband to escape. I think I'll stick with the not-too-dark cocoa shade I've chosen to repaint...but read below for the results of my quiz!


Safe Haven

At the end of the day, you like to escape from the world (including the rest of the family!) to relax and recharge, and it sounds like your bedroom is your retreat of choice. With the hectic pace of life today, you're smart to carve out an area of serenity. To make the most of your getaway space, put in carpet that feels good on your feet, splurge on luxurious high thread count sheets, and invest in window treatments that will allow you to block out the light and noise of the world outside your window. When it comes to color, choose restful greens or blues for a peaceful feel. If space allows, add a comfy chair where you can sit to flip through the mail or read a good book. Treat yourself to a fabulous cashmere throw that you can curl up with when the weather turns cold. Surround yourself with other items you love, like favorite family photos, softly scented candles, and artwork you adore. Finally, hang a "Do Not Disturb" sign on your door and let the relaxation begin.

Color Personality

So, I took an online quiz today at Better Homes & Garden's website. Turns out my personality color is yellow! And I used to have our master bedroom a yellow color - but now, a yellow-gold is an accent color in our house....BUT, I am getting ready to paint our guest bedroom a golden yellow color - so it makes sense! Yellow goes with many of the earthy colors - so it is quite versatile!

What is your color personality??

Weekend Projects

I opened my email this morning to find a wonderfully helpful email from Better Homes & Gardens that included 20 Winter Weekend Fix-Ups.  SUCH helpful ideas - I cannot even explain.  I plan to deploy some of these projects in my own home.  The first one I plan to undertake is:

#5 - Update Your Bookshelves

I have posted pics of my family room - with built-in bookshelves - before.  And I have been struggling with how to decorate them - not wanting to overclutter - but also not wanting to have a sparse feel to them.  Below are pics of their current state:

 

  

Can't wait to have a cabinet built to hide that TV equipment (in the next two weeks)!  Somehow I don't think BHG would be pleased!  There cannot be an easy way to make a cable box look chic!

Some of BHG's helpful hints for updating your bookshelves include:

- Alternate stacking books vertically and horizontally

- Use framed pictures as bookends

- Place figurines on horizontal books, and layer books behind

- Remove book jackets to tone down the various colors and patterns

- Less is more!  Arrange books here and there with pics and accessories in between.  

- When stacking books, arrange from tallest to shortest

- Vary heights by stacking books as base for accessories

- Paint your shelves a bold color so that they become the focal point as opposed to the disparate color and pattern of your books

Some great examples of these techniques are below:

                                                                

We are having work done in our family room in the next two weeks - that will end in these bookshelves and the mantle being painted a creamy white color. (as well as a large, cased opening to be created in an adjacent wall to open up the front family room to the back living room - so excited)  As soon as this work is completed, I plan to get to work arranging the shelves.  And, have no fear, the pics will be posted here first!

The other weekend fixer-ups that I'd like to undertake are:

#10 - Redo Your Mantle (in tandem with the bookshelves overhaul)

#18 - Big Impact with a Little Fabric (lampshades never looked this good!)

#20 - Create a Family Gallery

I will create one post for each project over the next few weeks/months.  

Some other projects that are not on my short-list - but are making me think twice are:

#16 - Put Your Scraps to Use

#14 - Make a New Headboard

#11 - Add or Upgrade Your Molding

Now you have a great way to spend these long, cold weekends we seem to be having lately! 

:)  Get creative!