Tag Archives: how to

May 4, 2012 · 9:49 am

Craigslist Buffet Transformation

I’m back!! Sorry for my absence. I’ve had a lot going on recently (business-wise) and was feeling a little un-inspired in the home decor department.

I’m feeling rejuvenated and ready to share some fun upcoming projects with you! Which brings me to my latest project..

After about a year of searching Craigslist for an antique buffet/sideboard (apparently I am kind of picky) I finally found the perfect piece!

Here’s what it looked like before:

It has all the intricate details I was after – stunning turned legs, scalloped wood & tons of gorgeous wood detailing.

After a good sanding, 3 coats of paint, stenciling and new hardware.. here is what the buffet looks like after:

Cute right?

{Supplies used}

* 1 gallon Behr paint in pure white satin finish – Home Depot

* 1 gallon Martha Stewart Dolphin Gray in satin finish – Home Depot

* Electric sander – $30 at Home Depot

* Martha Stewart stencil pack with quatrefoil stencil – Found at Michaels here

* Martha Stewart sponge paint roller & tray – Found at Michaels here

* New hardware from Anthropology

Now to get started:

Step 1 – Remove hardware & doors. Sand down the wood to remove shine & any scratch marks – I used 80 grit sand paper for this. I had to sand the legs by hand (UGH).

PS. Yes I know my garage looks like a junk yard. We need to have a garage sale, don’t judge!

Step 2 – Vacuum sanding dust then wipe down entire piece with damp cloth.

Step 3 – Paint time! In both paints I bought the primer & paint all in one, since I really hate priming. Using the all in one paint worked great.

I did 3 coats of white – in some spots I had to do 4 coats

I painted the cabinet doors with 2 coats Dolphin Gray

Step 4 – Stenciling. I decided to use the quaterfoil stencil from the Martha Stewart stencil pack. I was a little tricky at first to get the hang of it. The second drawer was definitely better than my first, but I don’t really mind.

Tape down your stencil, making sure it’s straight.

Only use a small amount of paint on your sponge roller, and gently roll over the stencil. If you use too much paint on your roller, it will seep under the stencil and then design doesn’t come out so pretty.

Not bad right?

Step 5 – Install pretty new hardware & you’re done!

We finally have extra storage!

This weekend Clay & I are going to Ikea to get these floating shelves to go above the buffet. I still need a spot to store all my wine glasses & pitchers, so I think the shelves will work perf. Can’t wait to see what it looks like.

Stay tuned for the big reveal!

By the way, do you think I should paint our dining table?? It seems so dark now..

Oh and we are also going to finally hang this lovely gold chalkboard above the buffet too.

Enjoy your weekend! Xo, Melissa

9 Comments

Filed under DIY Ideas, Home decor ideas, Uncategorized

Tagged as antique, before and after, buffet, buffet sideboard, Craigslist, DIY, furniture, how to, ideas, martha stewart dolphin gray, paint, prime, quatrefoil stencil, sideboard, sponge paint, stenciling

March 15, 2012 · 9:33 am

DIY Wood Pallet Wall

I know the title of this post probably sounds really weird, but trust me on this! I have been seeing this idea all over Pinterest & “Blogtown”. Honestly it’s brilliant. It’s inexpensive, recycled wood – so it’s Eco-Friendly and gorgeous! I always like incorporating a little rustic into a space. Adding a natural element seems to make a space feel more grounded and homey. Idk, maybe that’s just me.

These walls are made out of FREE wood pallets!! Loving this beachy shabby chic look. To achieve the whitewashed shabby look, brush over the pallets with something like this and then lightly sand with 60 grit sandpaper. You might want to water down the white wash stain, depending on the look you want.

This tutorial shows you how to create a wood pallet wall & the weathered/white washed look. They did an incredible job.

{Via Real Housewives of Bucks County}

{Via Design Sponge}

{Via Just A Girl}

This darker wood makes the whole room into a masculine and edgy boy room. Love it.

{Via Just A Girl}

Wood pallets are typically FREE, just call around your local area!

This adorable baby boy nursery is the cutest! This Blog has a really good pallet accent wall tutorial as well & great safety tips.

{Via Bower Power}

I am highly obsessed with The Lettered Cottage. See how they re-did their reading room. Simply amazing. I love how the room looks like it’s right out of a Pottery Barn catalog!!

{Via The Lettered Cottage}

Can you believe creating a wood pallet accent wall is cheaper than painting?!? Not to mention it looks like it’s a billion times more expensive than it actually is.

By the way, this would absolutely increase the value of your home. Just in case you were wondering.

Xo, Melissa & Virginia

6 Comments

Filed under DIY Ideas, Home decor ideas, Increasing Your Home's Value

Tagged as accent wall, baby, bedroom, boys room, cheap, decorate, DIY, eco friendly, house, how to, inexpensive, nursery, pallet, pinterest, projects, recycled, rustic, tutorial, weathered wood, white washed, wood, wood pallet wall

March 14, 2012 · 9:40 am

TV Solutions & Decorating Ideas

TVs are probably the hardest design challenge when it comes to living room spaces. It’s like do you mount it over the fireplace? Hide it behind an armoire cabinet? Stuff it in the corner?! I too have had the hardest time with this. Our living room is pretty small and we have a massive TV! (I blame this on my Husband) I have gotten a couple of emails from readers asking for my ideas on how to make their TV NOT be the focal point of their entire room. So here ya go!

Idea #1 – Frame art around your TV

{Via Lonny Mag}

AMAZING right?? I love this idea. Embrace your TV by framing art or photos around it! So simple & fun. Personalize it by choosing frame colors that go with your decor!

{Via AB Chao}

It can even be off centered & still look amazing. I love how this blends perfectly with the gallery wall.

{Via Laura Winslow Photography}

Makes such a difference don’t you think?

{Via Pinterest}

Idea #2 – Frame your TV!

{Via Apartment Therapy}

{Source unknown}

{Via FrameMyTV}

Check out Frame My TV for custom TV framing!

You could also go to the antique fair & look on Ebay or Craigslist to find frames to fit your TV

Do you like these ideas? Have you done something similar? I’m always looking for more ideas, so please share!

Xo, Melissa

3 Comments

Filed under DIY Ideas, Home decor ideas

Tagged as around tv, art, arts, concealing tv, decor, decorating ideas, DIY, focal point, frame my tv, frame your tv, framed, hide tv, home, how to, ideas, mount tv, photos, pinterest, pircture frames, tips, tricks, unique

February 8, 2012 · 11:41 am

EASY DIY – spray painted media cabinet + trellis design

Since everything else in the living room has been updated, our good ol’ Ikea media cabinet was really starting to bug me. It was in need of some serious style infusing.

Soooo for fun, I started googling “trellis design/pattern” and came up with this

I decided to print it out and glue the paper together, making it large enough to fit in my 11×18 inch windows of the media cabinet.

It looked a-ma-zing, so I got all excited and informed my husband that I would be painting & covering the windows to the media cabinet. He always thinks I am nuts, but agreed and requested I paint it an antique white color rather than pure white.

I really didn’t feel like getting out my paint brushes, sander & primer and doing the whole messy ordeal, so I grabbed a couple of cans of Heirloom White Rust-oleum spray paint from Home Depot. (I ended up needing 4 cans) + some spray adhesive to apply the trellis paper to the windows.

Tapped off and hardware removed.. First coat!

Almost done…. Oh and I bought two aqua knobs from Anthropology to replace the old brassy gold ones + it matches the aqua wall.

So here is the living room before..

Before again..

After!!

Yayyy now people don’t have to see my extensive collection of workout dvds!!

I sprayed a light coat of spray adhesive directly on the paper before sticking it to the windows – worked very well!

What do you think?? Just for the record, I definitely don’t recommend skipping the sanding and priming steps even if you are going to spray paint. I am just lazy.

{Some other options/ideas}

A stencil would be amazing on any piece of furniture you are re-painting like this one – Cutting Edge Stencils have a good variety

{source unknown}

O’verlays would be amazing too

{via pinterest}

Xo, Melissa

13 Comments

Filed under DIY Ideas, Home decor ideas, Uncategorized

Tagged as anthropology, before and after, cutting edge stencils, design, DIY, glamourous home decor, home depot, how to, ikea furniture, media cabinet, modern, o'verlays, pattern, pictures, piece of furniture, pinterest, rust oleum spray paint, rustoleum heirloom white, serious style, spray adhesive, spray paint furniture, stencil furniture, tellis, trellis paper, update furniture

October 17, 2011 · 9:44 am

DIY Picture Frame “Love Wall”

****UPDATE****

This is what the current gallery wall looks like now. Read more about that here.

After the wedding, Clayton & I had so many wedding & engagement photos we wanted to frame. My biggest dilemma was I didn’t want to fill my shelves and fireplace mantle with a plethora of random frames! I hate cutter. So I decided a picture frame wall with our top favorite photos would be the way to go. And might I add that we used a lot of the same frames that were used in our wedding (double sentimental!) The frames in the wedding were used as our table numbers. I love that we are incorporating a part of our wedding into our home.

{Here is exactly how I created the gallery frame wall}

I gathered up 17 of my favorite frames. I traced the frames in newspaper and junk mail so I could use these cut outs as a guide for what the frames would look like on the wall.

I tapped the junk mail cut outs on the wall and moved the cut outs around until the spacing of the frames looked good

(Trust me, it’s going to start looking better soon!)

one by one I nailed & hung each frame in the place of the cut outs..

In keeping with Operation Glam Chic I went to Lowe’s and grabbed some high gloss yellow and turquoise spray paint by Valspar

I decided to paint two frames yellow and two turquoise

What a difference these bright colors make!

After that we chose and printed our “love photos” to complete our love wall… So what do you think?

We love the bright pops of color! It is truly amazing what a couple of $4 cans of spray paint can do.

3 Comments

Filed under DIY Ideas, Home decor ideas

Tagged as before and after, create, diy picture frame wall, gallery wall, how to, how to display picture frames, how to make a picture frame gallery wall, photo wall, picture frame solutions, picture frames, spray paint picture frame

September 30, 2011 · 11:53 am

Paint Stick Sunburst Mirror DIY

For the longest time I have wanted a huge sunburst mirror to hang over our fireplace mantel. But with all of our money going toward our skyrocketing wedding budget last year, I knew there was no chance of me purchasing one of these stunning mirrors.

What can I say.. I went a little overboard with the wedding.

A couple of months ago I came across this amazing and super EASY DIY over on Centsational Girl. So finally last Friday night I went to Home Depot and Michaels to pick up all my materials.

{My Shopping List}

Home Depot

16 1- gallon paint sticks – FREE
16 5- gallon paint sticks – FREE

The guy at the paint counter literally thought I was insane wanting that many paint sticks! I told him it was for a do-it-yourself mirror I was making.. and he thought I was even more crazy.

Michaels

Picture frame 3 pk kit – 3.99

7″ embroidery hoop – 2.49
7″ round mirror – 2.99
Metallic Sahara Gold craft paint by Folk Art – 1.99
Metallic Pure Gold craft paint by Folk Art – 1.99
3 piece paint brush kit – 3.99
11″ square piece of wood – free

Total cost = $18.00

****Update****

I finally got around to sawing the super long paint sticks down, making it much cuter! Here is what the sunburst mirror looks like now:

Read more how I updated the living room here & here

I followed Centsational Girl’s tutorial here. I have to say I am pretty happy with my sunburst mirror and very impressed with myself! I thought I did pretty good for my first DIY home project. It makes such a statement in our living room. Plus how can you beat $18?! It’s a lot less than what you would spend on a store bought Sunburst.

Below is our living room before we updated it eekks!

I love the metallic colors!

So there you have it. What do you think? You can really do any colors you like, to match with your home. Hope you try this too!

Some upcoming projects I am working on include painting and re-covering our dining room chairs & a picture frame gallery wall. Here’s a little sneak peak of what I have been slaving over this week.. sanding and painting. Stay tuned!