Green & White Striped Bench for Summer

June 25, 2018June 15, 2018Leave a comment

Good morning! It’s officially summer now! Are you enjoying some relaxing days or evenings! I like that it is light so late in the evening. It’s so much easier to get things done when it’s still light outside. I have a simple project for you today.

Our area has quite a few estate sales. A company comes into a house, pulls everything out of cupboards and closets, prices it and then runs the sale for 2 days. The items are usually higher priced than a normal sale, but if you go on the second day, everything is half off. That’s how I found this bench. There were actually three of them. I’m not sure what the owners did with three of them, but I only came home with one!

The top was easily removed by unscrewing the 4 screws. Then I painted it white.

I had this fabric for awhile. I think I made a pillow from it before, but had plenty left over. I plan to put this little bench in my laundry, so it could be a little bit of a bright and fun color.

I cut the fabric a little bit larger than the bench top. I folded over the edge twice to give it a clean line.

Next, came the stapling. I usually start in the middle of each side and then work toward the edges, pulling the fabric tight as I go.

For the corners, I fold the fabric in, kind of like wrapping a present.

Now that the fabric is on, I just reattached it to the base.

I took photos in my living room since my laundry room has no natural light. I love the bright green stripes!

It’s the perfect place to sit to take off shoes when you come in the door or to put down your packages.

It’s amazing how a little bit of paint and some pretty fabric can change the whole look of a piece of furniture! What projects have you worked on lately? I would love to hear about it!

Here are some items to create your own project!

Casual Blue and White Beach Tablescape

May 21, 2018May 16, 20185 Comments

Good morning! I haven’t been here for a few weeks, so it’s good to be back! The end of the year school stuff is wearing me out! But I have a few projects I’m working on so hopefully I can get them done and posted in the next few weeks!

I am really looking forward to summer and my dining room table reflects that. I love the beach look, so I decorated around that theme.

Blue and white are the perfect colors for summer! I use it along with the turquoise that I love so much. Of course, lanterns make an awesome centerpiece, especially filled with pieces of driftwood.

I picked up these little glass votive holders at a thrift store for just .25! I added some sand and glitter around the edge and then placed a candle in a little more sand placed in the bottom.

I love the glass floats and have started a little collection of them.

So many of my items have been picked up from Goodwill, but are Target items. The placemats, napkins and navy blue bags were all purchased at Goodwill. I love that I can get new items for a fraction of the price.

I added a few beach touches to my shelves too. I made the ombre’ starfish canvas a couple of years ago.

The little blue bags are great for gathering together the napkin and flatware.

Are you ready for summer? I am looking forward to having time to relax and time to get some of my long list of projects done! Have a great week!

Grey, White and Blue Master Bath Refresh

September 4, 2017September 3, 20174 Comments

Good morning! Well, I survived my first week back at school. Actually, it went pretty well! I have a rather small class this time and it sure helps with the noise level! Last year, they could hear my class all the way down the hall! Anyways, I think we are off to a good start.

I am back today with my Master Bath Refresh! I didn’t completely tear out the whole room and start over, but instead, tried to make it work with what was already there.

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Here are a couple of before pictures. The paint was very white and and there was a lot of paint scraped off on the cabinet. The mirror and cabinet were circa 1970.

The floor was part carpet (#gross) and part linoleum.

Now: the new and improved! Sorry the pictures aren’t the best. The room has no natural light. The walls and cabinets were painted Benjamin Moore Simply White. I kept the same silver knobs and handles. You can see I added one of my beachy bar stools, which is the perfect spot to set your towel or clothing. The hook above it holds my hanging clothes.

I finally found a shower curtain I thought would work with the blue tile. It’s really long so I had to hang it up high, but I love how it looks!

I was able to replace the dated light fixture and the mirror. I found the light fixture for only $20 on clearance at Lowes and the mirror I found at Hobby Lobby.

We added the 12 inch grey tile to the floor. What a difference! I love how all the grey, blue and white tie together.

I used the top section of a bed headboard ( I think!) to make the towel rack. I cleaned it up, painted it and added some black hooks. I hung a weathered seahorse above it.

I hung two floating shelves above the toilet and added a few decor pieces-a candle, a plant, a silver dish. I also found a Sand Dollar sign to hang above the shelves.

I found these great little baskets at Target to help organize all my bathroom essentials.

Some pretty baubles in a turquoise bowl!!

I picked some pretty roses and placed them on a silver tray to add some extra beauty to the room.

I hope you enjoyed the little tour! I’m sure glad I finally finished the master bathroom. It’s so much nicer now! See you next week!

Rustic Crate with Starfish

July 31, 2017July 24, 20171 Comment

Good morning! Are you ready for another week? Are your kids in school yet or do they still have a couple of weeks off? I don’t start until August 28, so I still have a little bit of time to get some projects done. I have a pretty easy one today.

I have had this wallpaper border for longer than I can remember. I keep coming across it in my stash and think I should do something with it. Well, I finally came up with an easy project. I didn’t use too much of it, but at least it’s a start. A few weeks ago, I bid on a couple of crates from an online auction nearby and ended up winning these 2 crates, plus a few other things. I painted both of them white, giving one to Lauren, which is the one I forgot to take after pictures of. I did better this time. 🙂

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I left it rough so it would still have a rustic look to it.

I cut a piece of the wallpaper to fit across the center of the bottom of the crate. I cut it a little longer and then I will trim it after it’s applied. Because this is old wallpaper, I had to get it wet first, so I dipped it into a sink full of water.

I had a spatula handy, so I used it to smooth down the paper and make sure all the bubbles were out and the edges were down. Once the paper had dried, I used a blade to cut off the excess.

I’m thinking of using this in my bathroom, if I ever get it done, but for now, I placed it on my bar cart with a few other summer items.

A lantern and some seashells bring it all together.

I made the seashell garland a few years ago.

I hope you are enjoying your last few weeks of summer! See you next week!

Here are a few other seashell DIY’s you might enjoy.

My Vintage Chair Makeover

June 23, 2017June 22, 201714 Comments

This is a re-post from last year. Hope you enjoy!

I’m back today with another makeover! I have so many projects and I am trying to get them done before summer will be over and I will be back in school!! It’s much harder during the school year.

This chair belonged to my Grandpa, my dad’s dad. He was born in 1898 . He sailed here from Holland and met his wife on the ship. They were married after they arrived in the United States. We have even found their names on the registry at Ellis Island. So much history! My dad received this chair after my grandpa passed away many years ago and it was in my parents room for a long time. My mom was ready for something different and asked if I wanted it. Of course! It has sat in Lauren’s room for a couple of years and I finally decided it was time to renew it.

First I had to take off all the old material and batting. Do you see all the little nailhead tacks? Yep, I had to remove all of those, plus staples.

I used a small screwdriver and pliers to help me pull them all out.

This isn’t very pretty :(. I will have to figure out something to cover it up.

Here is what was underneath everything. I pulled out all these nails too. The ‘stuffing’ is just a pillow inserted into the middle.

Here it is, all naked. I tightened up the straps with a few more staples underneath and gave the wood a good cleaning. Then I used some antiquing wax on the brown wood to freshen it up a bit.

I used the material from the old cover as a pattern to cut out a new one. I had some painters cloth and decided to use that for my cover. I laid the old one on top of the cloth and cut around it. I had to do some trimming afterwards.

It didn’t quite come out straight! After trimming, I sewed the two sides together, leaving the back open to insert new padding. Notice, I purposely left the hem on the back so I wouldn’t have to sew it! 🙂 #justLOVEsewing!! #NOT!

The padding that was in it was in pretty good shape, so I used it again.

I found this pretty twisted trim at Hobby Lobby and thought it would look relly good with the chair, plus it would cover up all the ugly holes. I used the tacks again, but no as many this time.

I did freshen up the paint a bit too, but just with the same color. It’s done and ready to live out more days in our home. It’s perfect with the beach theme right now!