Maddie's Room

Maddie's room seems to be one big, evolving project (and I love that).  I try REEEEEEALLY hard to live without ANY clutter, but sometimes that doesn't jive with a six year old that is practically one step away from a Hoarders episode.

When she was at VBS one day, I tackled her room.  I didn't throw out anything (well, maybe a little.  Ha!) but I did clean out drawers, move furniture in and out, deep cleaned, and made it feel WAY more functional.

Grayson thought he was so tricky, hiding in her bed.  :)

Her bed, by the way, is a Jenny Lind bed and was MINE when I was little!  Mike just spruced it up with some white paint.

This Ikea dresser had never found a good home but it has now!  It's perfect for Maddie.

Also, check out the Pottery Barn chandelier that our friends found for us.  It was on the side of the road and in PERFECT condition!  Mike removed the ceiling fan (which I immediately sold on Craigslist) and hung this instead.  Love.

No more dresser inside her closet.  Now we have room to hang clothes!  What a novel idea, right?  :)

These are Ikea plant pots that I had stuck some chalkboard labels on.  They work great!

Her garage sale vanity got cleaned out, organized, and moved to another wall.  She loves sitting here and playing with jewelry or doing her hair.

Isn't this a cute system?  My friend suggested it and it's perfect.  It's just a $2 rod from Ikea, paired with a metal bucket (also Ikea; comes in white, too).  She LOVES sleeping with books (??) and this is way better than rolling over on books all night.

Chalkboard paint was used on her closet doors.

Grayson had to test out her new Barbie set while she was away.  :)

She loved it and was SO excited by the changes.  She probably won't be so excited by me doing these things in, oh, ten more years so I'll just enjoy it now.  :)

Home Staging!

I'm almost five months pregnant now and I thought it'd be a good time to start out another business venture.  Ha!

I actually did not seek this one out, but rather am going along with the flow and enjoying every moment!

Mike and I refinish furniture (as seen on my other BLOG, which has been neglected lately) and then I list on Craigslist.  Long story, but a property manager found me, went through my album of completed projects, and hired me on to stage two children's rooms in a new home!  Apparently, "big stagers" don't do a lot of kiddie rooms so... Enter me!

I was so nervous but Mike assured me I could do it, which I actually could NOT have without him.  The boy has an EYE!  He's the best teammate I could ever ask for.

Anyway, here are some BEFORE shots:

A room designated as a "little boy's" space:

And a nursery:

One of the first things I asked was if I could ditch the Looney Toons bedding.  Ha!  No offense if you're a Looney Toons fan but I couldn't wrap my mind around it.  :)

And now, for the AFTER pictures!

We rearranged the room and brought in some new items (and lots from my own home!).

I dressed the crib in Maddie's old black and white damask bedding (loved seeing it after all these years, too!).

A sweet baby girl's nursery!

And the boy's room:

The rooms are tiny but I wanted to show how much functionality we could pack in there.  There's plenty of space for a functional art and toy table.

One of Blessed Nest's refinished pieces:

And it's ready to go!

I'm so in love with these two rooms.  I told Mike that if we had a spare $435,000 hanging around, we should totally buy the house.  Ha!

Our Room

Every time we have a yard sale (which, if left up to Rachel and me, it'd be about every other month!), I put some of the money in savings and take the rest to Ikea.  :)

With this past chunk of yard sale change, I decided to give the master bedroom a little facelift.

Check out the before picture (could I have made it any messier?!  Ha!):

And, here's the after:

 New duvet, new lamps, new bedside prints, and new white curtains (all from Ikea) freshened it up.

I'd love different nightstands so I'm always keeping my eyes on Craigslist for the perfect ones.  :)

The "Always Kiss Me Goodnight" sign was one of the first things we bought for Maddie's nursery, but now it resides with us.   

And, our free-to-us Craigslist dresser that Mike lovingly (and painstakingly!) redid:

It's definitely fresher and cleaner (and I do make the bed.  Most of the time!).  :)

Saved from the DUMPSTER!

I have a feeling that my sisters might stop driving with me.

Every time we're driving, and I see a pile of junk stuff by the curb, I have to stop.  And dig through.  And usually, put the best stuff in my car.  :)

Last night was no exception.

Annie and I had driven up to the store and on the way back, found a heap of wood and old kitchen cabinets.  BUT, in the midst of it all was this table:

I knew I had to have it (even though it meant that Annie had to ride the remaining way home in Maddie's carseat because the table only fit up in the passenger seat; she's such a good sport!).  

After cleaning, sanding, primer, and spraying this morning...

She's a beautiful piece of furniture!

This pretty lady is solid wood and quite hefty!  I tried to carry her into our living room for pictures, but my back was screaming and I had to settle on the family room.

I'll list her on Craigslist and hope that she sells!

I get such a rush finding free furniture!  I also have two nightstands that need a lot a love, but I'll need my sweet hubby's help for those.

Linked up at: Between Naps on the Porch, Mod Vintage Life, c.r.a.f.t., Skip to My Lou

New Family Room!

What a busy weekend we've had!  We kicked it off with a 6 family yard sale at our house on Saturday morning.  So much fun.  Made money, hung out with friends, and sat in the sun.  :)

Late Saturday morning, we had new carpet installed in our back room!  My dad set it all up for us and it was such a gift.  Our whole house has the original hardwood floors, but since the family room was an addition, it's carpeted.

And even though we'd put in new carpet 4 years ago, it was looking shabby.

But of course, you can't put in new carpet and not paint, right?!

At least that's what I told Mike.  :)

Here are some befores:

 One green wall...

 and three brown.

Light carpet (that had become super stained, despite Mike's steam cleaning).

Here it was yesterday morning:

And here it is this morning:

 Love!

This was such a "design on a dime" project.

New carpet, new Ikea rug (thank you Ikea Family card for saving me $30!), new paint, new room!

 This would not have happened without my patient husband and my incredibly supportive and helpful friend Rachel.  Seriously.  She stayed over all day to help see this project through and help us get it done!!

The walls got a fresh coat of griege paint (a gray-beige combo) and it's light and clean.

All the furniture was moved back, including the kids' bookcase

and behind-the-sectional play area.

 Grayson seems slightly confused by the change.  :)

But we just love it.

I'm so happy with how it turned out and feel like we have a brand new room!

Thank you Dad, Rachel, and Mike!!

Goodwill Lamp

So not only am I hacking Pottery Barn with this lamp re-do, I'm also copying my friend Rachel, who had the idea first.  She bought a pair of lamps similar to these.  I teased her for buying such hideous things (hers had teddy bears inside!), she showed me links to her inspiration, and I knew.  I. had. to. have. some.

Fortunately, there was another larger set at the same Goodwill and you better believe I woke Grayson up early from his nap so we could head over and snag them (though I'm not sure there was a HUGE demand on them!).

I bought two of them.  I photographed one.  They were... painfully ugly.

Filled with moss, ribbon, and plants (??), they were a sight to be seen.

But, after getting a good clean out (like seriously, I was afraid there were live organisms living in there), spray and wipe down...

 They are beautiful glass lamps!

My sister saw them in my trunk yesterday (the before version) and thought I'd lost my mind.

Mike unloaded them and thought I'd lost my mind when he saw that I'd paid $8 for each one.

 Hopefully I was able to prove them wrong!

 I'd bought these shades on clearance at Target, oh, a year ago and they never had a home.

Well they do now, and in my opinion, they're perfect!

So for $16 (since I had the brushed nickel spray paint and shades), I have two beautiful, Pottery Barn-esque lamps!

*Linked up at Wayward Weekend!

Curbside Dresser Turned Ombre

I am SO excited about this dresser for two reasons:

1.  It was FREE.  Seriously.  I found it on the curb and not only did the homeowner said I could have it, he loaded it in my car for me!

2.  It turned out EXACTLY like my vision.

Here's what it was:

And, after sanding, some primer, and pots of gray in varying shades...

Here it is now:

A super cool ombre dresser!

Mike did ALL of the work on this little guy and I'm so in love (with the painter AND the dresser).  :)

I hinted that maybe we should keep it for Grayson's room, but I know we should try and sell it.

So, this totally hip guy is going on Craigslist and hopefully then to a good home!

People ask how I find free furniture and it's really not terribly hard.  Tell any family and friends that you're interested in refinishing furniture and have them keep their eyes open.  We've found cribs, headboards, dressers, and mirrors!

I'm linking up over at:
a beach cottage

blue cricket design

very merry vintage style:  share the love wednesday 

savvy southern style: wow us wednesday! 

diy by design

{primp} 

domestically speaking: power of paint party

someday crafts: whatever goes! 

 restore interiors