diy :: thrift store frames

you’ve probably gathered by now that i’ve got a thing for 1) old frames, 2) white paint & 3) diy projects.  whelp- this one combines all three!  i’ve got old frames all over my house, and i’m estimating that i didn’t spend more than $15 on all of them put together.  it’s amazing what you’ll find if you just do a little thrifting!

i used valspar spray paint (found at most hardware stores) to turn these ol’ frames into some of my favorite pieces around the house.

here’s the how to:

1) give your frames a good cleaning (i used simple green and a dry cloth), and let dry.

2) most frames will benefit greatly if you use a primer like this one (half way down, #65054), which helps the top coat stick better, cover better and go on smoothly.

3) after the primer has dried, spray paint with a high gloss white paint (i used valspar gloss in white).  let dry completely (only takes a few hours!) and your ready to start displaying them.

Tags: before and after, diy, frames, project, thrift, white paint

more of my home

hi dear ones!  well, it seems that the hubba has passed his cold on to me. :(  i’m at home today with a scratchy throat and dizzy head, so i’m going to take the rest of the day off to relax.  i did however, want to thank you for all of your sweet comments lately, they are so special to me!

if you want to see more of our house and the small things that really make it feel like home, i’ve added a few new flickr albums that you can browse.

for lovely things :: home details

for more rooms shots :: our home

i’ll be back tomorrow with some handmade goodness and a little something else i’ve been working on. :) i hope you have a wonderful day!

xoxo, bonnie

Tags: after, before, diy, flickr, home, projects

our house – before and after!

hi lovelies!  finally, i’m going to be able to share with you what i’ve been working on!  i’ve been trying to take the official ‘after’ pics of our home for a while now, and i’m very excited to finally share them with you!  though some of the decorating isn’t finished (is it ever?) most of the renovations are, so i’m going to go ahead and let you see our new house! most of you know, we just bought it in november and have been busy doing projects ever since. 

i hope you enjoy our before and after pictures!

LIVING ROOM BEFORE

this is the living room the way my grandmother had it.  we took down the railing, gave everything a fresh coat of paint and replaced the chandelier with a clear acrylic ceiling fan.

LIVING ROOM AFTER

it feel a lot bigger now! we’ve got plenty of room to spread out and entertain now.

LIVING ROOM – BEFORE

this is the living room from a different angle. we added some shelves and dressed up the windows a bit.

LIVING ROOM – OTHER SIDE AFTER

we tried to make it as bright and cheerful as we could, and all the natural sunlight fills the whole house!

KITCHEN BEFORE

this is one side of the kitchen, before.  we replaced the flooring, painted and added some storage on the far end for food.

KITCHEN AFTER

all of the ‘pretty’ food is displayed in labeled glass jars, and the cereal boxes and tortilla chip bags are nicely concealed behind the doors.

KITCHEN BEFORE

KITCHEN AFTER

KITCHEN- BEFORE

this is the working side of the kitchen.  we painted, replaced the counter tops as well as the door knobs.

KITCHEN – AFTER

as you’ll see below, we took out a few walls! therefore, we were able to add this island in the middle, giving us so much more work space!

KITCHEN – BEFORE

here’s that wall we took out..

KITCHEN SIDE – AFTER

we actually took out both sides of that wall (below) to open the living room and kitchen  up.

see?  now, we have so much more space and light!

DEN TO MASTER BEDROOM – BEFORE

the den just so happened to be connected to the master bathroom (which also had a closet in it)- and since it’s the biggest room, we decided to make it our bedroom!

DEN TO MASTER BEDROOM – AFTER

just some fresh paint and new carpet here..

DEN TO MASTER BEDROOM – BEFORE (other side)

DEN TO MASTER BEDROOM – AFTER

DEN TO MASTER BEDROOM – BEFORE

DEN TO MASTER BEDROOM – BEFORE

GUEST ROOM BEFORE

here’s the (messy) guest bedroom.  we just painted and dressed up the windows here.

GUEST ROOM AFTER

i’m not done with this room yet, but here’s the start.  it’s going to have a bit of a ‘fishing getaway’ theme- see the vintage hooks on the wall?

MASTER BEDROOM TO OFFICE – BEFORE

this was the master bedroom, but we decided to make into our office.

OFFICE AFTER

i have a think for vintage prints- and the art on this wall changes constantly.  but, this is where i blog and write to you, every day!

OFFICE (OTHER SIDE) – BEFORE

OFFICE (OTHER SIDE) – AFTER

this also ends up being david’s guitar room, the yoga room and 3rd bedroom when we need to accommodate more guests.

SEWING ROOM BEFORE

this is the sewing room- before we painted, and added some shelving and counter tops.

SEWING ROOM AFTER

all of the lower cabinets are what we took out from the kitchen, and ikea counter tops and upper cabinets made this renovation very affordable.

SEWING ROOM BEFORE

SEWING ROOM AFTER

SEWING ROOM BEFORE

SEWING ROOM AFTER

i bet you couldn’t guess that this is my favorite room in the house! it’s where i get away, and get creative.  it’s a big change from my little sewing table in the corner of our bedroom in our last house!

before and after :: my thrift store chair

happy monday dear ones!  we’re kicking off this week with one of my before and after projects- then make sure to check back later today for some sweet cyber monday deals!

i found this poor pitiful chair sitting in the corner of one of my favorite thrift stores.  so, i paid $5 for her and brought her home!  after a nice coat of primer and a fresh coat of yellow paint- below is what she had in store for me!

i couldn’t tell it at first, but i when i started to remove that drab burgundy cover- i found a whopping 9 covers that previous owners had just stapled on top of each other.  and, they were all really gross.  so one by one, i got down to the wooden board.  i replaced their ‘cushion’ with some batting of mine and simply stapled the cover to the underside.  after i got all the covers off- it only took me about 10 minutes to actually recover it!  now it sits in my sewing room and is perfect at my machine.  so bright and cheerful!

Tags: before and after, chair, cushion, diy, paint, recover

lighten up a little!

with the new house- i’ve been thinking about lighting. a lot.  i think the small things like light fixtures and door knobs are what make a house so unique.  i’ve changed about everyone of them- and though i think everyone’s tired of being my ‘electrician’ – that’s what makes the house uniquely ours!

these are some of the light fixtures i got from ikea- and they are making the house so bright and inviting!  i love the white and all the unique, clean lines they give.  check out their lighting page to see all the endless possibilities!

1 :: white burlap drum shade 2:: vintage minimalist 3 :: wire light pendant chandelier 4 :: lil bloom pendant chandelier 5 :: orono. vintage ball jar pendant 6 :: wire flower shade

i’m also looking for something unique for our screened in porch.  i am *loving the wirey look but just can’t decide! what do you think?

Tags: house, lighting

thank you thank you thank you!

since i found my camera- i figured i should give a proper thank you to all of our wonderful friends and family who have been helping us with the house! plus, it will give you a sneak peek of our renovations.  there’s no way we could have done all of this without your help!

this is my dear sis-in-law and her beau robert.  they traveled over 3 hours to come spend the weekend with us and help!  and, did such professional work- hung crown molding like a couple of pros!

lindsay and chad came from over an hour away- and put in such hard work!  they are probably still sore from all the painting they did.  we would still have trim to paint if it weren’t for them.  plus, they kept us laughing the whole time. :)

mom gave us a hand in painting, mopping and decor opinions- thanks for all your help mom!

here’s my good ol’ dad working in the yard- so handy!

sandy is my mom-in-law and she and tom have just about been over helping us every night.  i can’t even tell you all they’ve done!  so fun, so helpful, so sweet, and i’m so thankful!

dad-in-law tom here- who knew he was so handy!  he’s hung shelves, changed out lights, painted, put together new furniture and so much more!  he’s probably going to regret revealing all of his hidden talents- but as long as i p the cookies coming, i think he’ll be happy.

this is my dear sis becky.  always dependable and always willing to help.  plus- she’s an awesome painter!

and chris- her professional electrician boyfriend (score!).

good friends cory and bethany came as well.  they hung shelves and all the cabinets in my new sewing room- (which i can’t wait for you to see!).  cory built his house and bethany works construction for a living- so again we were blessed with the talents of some wonderful people!

finally, here is david and i.  though it was loads of fun giving orders- we tried to put in our fair share of work too!

again, thank you so much to everyone for helping us out.  we are indebted to you! so, don’t forget us the next time you move!  we love you all! xox, bonnie and dave

Tags: diy, house, renovation, thank you

bit of a circus

oh my circus- cotton candy promises

hello!  it’s been a bit of a circus around here this week- so i thought this was only fitting.

playing circus

i’ve taken this whole week off work- and we’ve been working away at our house non-stop!  we’ve sort of been climbing over each other to get stuff done- but that’s no complaint because we’re so grateful to all the people who are helping us!

big top sketch

things are really starting to come together- and we even have this (possibly unrealistic) goal of spending our first night there tonight!  i’ll keep you posted.

keep calm and clown on

so for now- this is all we can do.  keep calm and clown on!

so, i’m taking the rest of the day off to work diligently.  i’ve been up to my elbows in paint all week and am ready to clean up and start moving!  i’ll be posting pics via my twitter today- if you want to keep up with what we’re doing!

in the meanwhile- here are some links i’ve been drooling over for you to enjoy!  (p.s.- they are all from home to roost commenters! (thanks!))

butterfly food: http://butterflyfoodie.blogspot.com/

lobotome: http://www.lobotomeblog.blogspot.com/

papermango: http://papermangodesign.com/ (don’t forget she’s had giveaways every day this week that you can enter to win!)

the fabric shopper: http://fabricshopperonline.com/

love, natalie: http://lovenatalie.squarespace.com/

brown eyed fox: http://browneyedfox.squarespace.com/

oh chalet: http://ohchalet.blogspot.com/

blue sky butterfly: http://blueskybutterflystudio.blogspot.com/

dandy bread and candy: http://dandybreadandcandy.blogspot.com/

the morins: http://www.jeremyanderinmorin.blogspot.com/

raenovate: http://raenovate.blogspot.com/

dance in my garden: http://www.danceinmygarden.blogspot.com/

birds in chandeliers: http://birdsinchandeliers.blogspot.com/

teal town: http://tealtown.blogspot.com/

making chicken salad: http://www.katherinejalaty.com/

demolition

well here are just a few pics from this weekends demolition (my camera seems to be mia- but as soon as it re-appears i’ll post a few more).  we got SO much done and things are starting to come together!  i can’t say thank you enough to all of our friends and family who helped us- we are forever indebted- thank you thank you thank you!

this is me painting our new front door- yes, purple! do you like it?

and david putting together all those ikea boxes- he’s such a dear. :)  stay tuned!

love, bonnie