A Mini Make-Over

I had a few items around the house that I wanted to spruce up a little.

This tray was originally intended to go on the ottoman in our rec-room but I thought it was too small in proportion.

A simple can of white spray paint and a sanding block were all I needed to transform the tray into this...

I really liked the direction I was heading but I wanted to make it look a little more 'vintage' and tone down the bright white. Using a cloth, I lightly added cream coloured craft paint.

Then it became a beautiful way to showcase some pretty jewelry.

 

Why not show off your pretty pieces! Items that are often kept out of sight sadly slip out of mind in the morning rush. Now, I am a firm believer in trays on dressers.
They add some structure and help contain otherwise scattered pieces.

An Upcoming Project!

Maybe the weather has something to do with it or the fact that Spring is just around the corner, who knows but I am in the mood to freshen things up. My next project...

This dresser.

And his little friend...

My inspiration:

My plan is to update these quality pieces with a fresh coat of white paint. I was searching for a new bedroom set but I was disappointed with a lot of the selection that was out there. I wanted real wood pieces that would last. I had a hard time trying to find a style that my husband and I could agree on and something that balanced both the masculine and feminine (which I think is the hardest part of decorating a master bedroom).
I realized that I already had the pieces they just needed some TLC from yours truly.

Wish me luck and stay tuned for the finished products!



A Porch Update

I'm a little bashful but still excited to share some pictures. At the end of summer 2010, we re-vamped the porch. We removed the out-dated, ranch style railing and repainted. It was difficult trying to match an old piece of chipped off paint but I think we managed.

 

Earlier in the summer, we replaced the large bay window along with the front door.



The front door was painted in my favourite colour!
Shortly after the fresh coat of paint, a silver kick-plate was added and I LOVE it! I think every high traffic exterior door should have one.

A new light fixture helped to modernize the space, sadly I don't even remember the old one!

A fresh coat of paint on the interior too.

And just for kicks, a look back at our old, wooden and not-so-secure front door.

A few things have changed since these pictures were taken. I've also added a black cast urn, we swapped out the flagstone that edged the front flower bed and replaced them with bigger field stones and the shutters have been replaced. I will need to add the pictures, Stay tuned!

Remember when...

For a total of three years and two months, my husband and I have been working on our forty-something year old side-split. Actually, one of my main reasons for starting this blog came from researching side-split homes on the web and realizing that there wasn't much out there in terms of ideas or "how to" guides. I'm constantly looking for new ways to jazz up the retro design.
Here is an oldie but a goodie of our home shortly after the time of purchase.


Our First Home <3

 I had soooo many great ideas on how I wanted our place to look when we moved in. I had soooo many expensive ideas! I quickly began to realize if you have a great idea and a little bit of creativity, it IS possible to achieve the looks you love for A LOT less. A friend once told me that it would take time to get things the way you want them and that couldn't have been more true. So here we are a couple of years later, I'm still full of ideas and my semi-handy husband is right there with me.

Stay tuned for more pictures to come!

Please allow me to introduce myself...

Hi Everybody!
I'd like to welcome you to my blog! I wanted to point out that this is my first blog EVER but I'm really looking forward to it and I'm really looking forward to sharing some of me with you all.
I like to think of interior design/decorating as one of my hobbies. When I have a chance, one of my favourite things to do is to research decor and to allow myself to be inspired by the creative works of others.
I guess you could say that this blog is providing me with an opportunity to give back to all those creative cats that inspired me.
Enjoy!