The Bedroom

We have lived in our new place for almost a month now. After having moved three (or maybe four..?) times in the last few months I have intentionally not been decorating/ projecting. Knowing we will be here for almost a year, and having a small yard to work in, means its time to get busy!

Our bedroom is slowly coming together, piece by piece. The headboard lived as a door in another life and we picked it up at this cute place in Swansboro, NC. After we got it, we cleaned it up, sanded the crap out of it, and painted it. Blake had painted the teal squares while I was at work one day, and they turned out a little too teal. (I know, its hard to believe). Last week I took the sander and went to town. It definitely helped.

The most recent additions are the cedar chest (you can view its original condition here) and the blue throw on the foot of the bed. The cedar chest has done a 180. Its still not in fantastic shape, but we stripped all the veneer off the top and restained all of it. Its a good solid piece, and at least it looks great!

My sister Ashlie is always sending me links during the day (Does she even work...?? jk!!) of projects to do. I liked this one so much I actually decided to do it! Kojo Designs did a great job at showing step by step instructions that made it look so easy! However, I made it even easier. Instead of cutting 12" x 12" squares, sewing the knots onto them, and then sewing the squares back together, I just left it whole, graphed out my knots and went to town. Granted, she had way more control over the end size of hers, I was still pretty satisfied with mine. After all, I wanted it more as a throw than the actual blanked for the bed.

This dresser has been every color. Literally. Just about anyway. I remember it being Ashlie's probably 12 years ago before it became mine. Its old, solid, and wonderful-- it had been another family members previously. I can remember it being white, crackle-paint-green, white with sunflowers all over it, black, and teal (to name a few). My friend Meredith came to visit this weekend and she thought it was new! We were friends from college and she spent many of nights at my house, so I laughed that she didnt remember it. But, oddly, it had been living in a closet.... This one of our first projects a few years ago, and I still love it!

It took everything in me to keep her off the bed while I was trying to take the first few pictures. Silly Monsters. I cant keep anything in my house dog free. But shes so sweet!! Look at that face!

I, Shelby, have a china cabinet! WOO!

It all started over a year ago when Blake and I got married. Our wonderful friends and families had given us such pretty things and we had no where to display them. When my Mother-in-law helped us relocate from Jacksonville, Florida to Jacksonville, North Carolina after the wedding, we set out to find one. We really wanted everything to be just right when she left, and we were determined to have a place to display all of our pretty China and crystal.

Blake had been living in NC for a few months, so he said he knew a few places to take us. We had envisioned purchasing something from a used furniture store, something I could repaint, or refinish. Granted, we were searching on a Sunday, we were coming up empty. Turns out, Blake knew were lots of furniture stores were, but few used stores. Eventually, we came across a tall cabinet whose intended purpose was side cabinet to a larger entertainment center. It seemed like a good option; it was a good size for the apartment we were living in.......but, it was missing the glass, and because it was designed as part of a bigger set, it only had crown molding/ trim on 2 sides. We paid $150 for it.

Now, dont get me wrong. It served a great purpose, and we really didnt know any better. We know now. (Soooo I tried attaching a photo of it, to show you, but, I JUST - like 2 weeks ago- erased a bunch of photos off my phone, and its not on this computer, its on my iMac, which is at home. Im at Panera bec we have been too lazy to turn on internet... ) :)

ANYWAY. Here is the one I found maybe 2 months after living in Jax NC for $100, and I absolutely loved everything about it. But, we had just purchased the other, and I couldnt justify buying another.......

If you cant tell, I love the whole mid-century/ Danish modern... lovelovelove. Its wonderful. Heres a look at some more I have come across.

I almost bought this one TWO DAYS before I found the one we purchased. I liked it for obvious reasons, it was $75, which was good, buy there was a nice gouge above the right drawer handle (look closely), there was a foot long scratch in the glass, and the veneer was starting to peel apart from the bottom of the top piece. But, I really loved the style...!!

CONFESSION. This one wasnt for sale. :) It belongs to a wonderful lady who is a friend of my Mother-in-law, and I just love its character... and all of the white Ironstone inside! So pretty!!

This one I saw in a store at the Canton Flea Market in Texas.

Ok... DRUM ROLL.....!!!!!!

So, not quite the Danish Modern, but close. I know you cant tell from these images, but it overall has the very clean lines that I like, but I think the arched doors are good. It makes it a little softer/ more feminine than some of the others.  And I LOVE the hardware. Ill try to upload a close up, because they are COOL. (Remember, Im at Panera's.. not home. We are working on fixing the whole internet thing..)

Since Im not home, I better get outta here......... Blake will be home from work soon, and he will be expecting dinner. Im making, for the first time, French Onion Soup, the real way. Im following Ina Garten's recipe.. .yummm! Wish me luck.

The Bed

Remember this little piece?

Well, you should see her now......

 Initially, I was going to simply paint her white, then distress her by removing parts of the paint, (like I did with the dresser on the left). The only problem was, I was afraid the puke green would still show through. My mom has been glazing the pieces she has redone and they have all turned out really nice, but I was skeptical, and scared.

 After I painted this white, I was very content, and actually didnt touch the piece for about a week. But, deep down inside, I knew it needed something more.

 I had already purchased the glazing/ antiquing items weeks earlier, so they were already on hand... It was just a matter of finally doing it.

 Once I started, I actually liked the look. A little here, a little there..... and I was constantly wiping and smearing with a clean, wet rag. The entire process took about 10 minutes. (Which was the best part.)

 I am very happy with how she turned out. Hard to imagine what she looked like before! And the best part, is my guest room is finally looking like a guest room! At least until these items sell.... :) Speaking of, be sure to check out the link to my new "For Sale" page at the top! Please help me get this business up and running so my husband will let me keep buying new furniture to restore!!

The Grey Buffet

I am kinda ashamed to show you these pictures. (Hence the reason the project has been done for several weeks and you have yet to see it). The only spot for the buffet (or dresser- its a versatile little piece) in my house currently is the foyer. Which is great, I love it there! However, there are no windows. And its a long way from the windows in the rest of the house. So, basically, there some really crappy lighting that my camera hated, and I had to do some major color correction on them, so I apologize. In advance.

Heres the before, just as a reminder:

I do absolutely love the way it turned out, and I hope you do too! My mother-in-law was actually the one to suggest the grey, and I thought it was perfect.

I have been in the midst of repairing/ repainting the puke green headboard/ footboard... They are both completely painted, but now I have to start on the rails, then I think Im going to apply a glaze.... :) Ill keep ya posted.

On another note, we are looking forward to our Florida trip this weekend, where much junking will ensure...! Hopefully Ill have plenty of new projects!

The Little White Dresser

I have a confession. I have been neglecting this little blog. And this little dresser. I finished it about a week ago, but have dreading photographing it due to its surroundings. My office / guest room / storage room has been slightly overwhelmed lately, with stuff everywhere. Since we live in an apartment, its hard to find somewhere to store all my furniture that's waiting for some love, so it ends up here. Today, I finally went in and got it organized (only because my husband gave me an ultimatum... get it cleaned, or he was going hunting on the first weekend I havent had to work in 6 weeks!!... silly him, he didnt think I would get it done!)

Anyway, the point is, I was finally brave enough to snap a few photos of the lovely little white dresser. Shes so cute and feminine. I just love her.

Maybe when I move I will actually photograph her in her entirety... ;)

Quick Fixes

Heres a few examples of some quick projects I completed recently.

I picked this up last week when Kelly and I went impulse junking after work one afternoon. I know its hard to see the fabric, but its a dingy tan and the pattern is circa 1980. When I flipped the chair over, it had some school markings, and the fabric is definitely reminiscent of a school waiting area (20 years ago).

I simply recovered the existing pieces (I didnt even remove the old fabric) with canvas drop cloths from Lowe's that I had bleached. I loved the worn stain on the arms, and really didnt want to tackle stripping that off of all those rounds surfaces, so I had to choose a fabric that would coordinate. It doesnt show in the photo, but the stain is actually pretty red.

No sewing necessary here. All I did was staple the bottom seat, and hot glued the back of the top!

Mom and I found this a few months ago when she was up for my birthday. I loved the screen printed quality, and of course, the subject matter, we just couldnt resist it! The only problem was the blaring red sun that just wasnt going with the other colors.

Look how much better it looks!! Its amazing how that simply fix switched the focus to the appropriate subject (sailboats) rather than the giant sun. And, you can actually notice the bird now! This is hanging on the entry wall, currently. Its patiently waiting its new buffet whose paint is drying as we speak!

Sneak Peak... :)

Remember this....?

Ive had this for quite some time now, and immediately after purchasing it, I painted it white. Well, my motivation stopped there. I just couldnt figure out what to do with it. Last week, I found some awesome heavy weight knobs at Target (10 for $20!!). I thought these dressed it up some. Then, yesterday, I got a crazy streak in me and decided to go to town and start distressing it. The image above doesnt show any of the changes yet-- Im still working on it. But, now I am [finally] very excited about it, and back to working on it! As soon as I finish, Ill post some new pics!

This is where it all started...

This is where it all started. My beloved desk. I found her at the local Goodwill a few months back for $13. I just couldn't turn it down, it was love at first sight! My husband, Blake, was shocked and amazed when I called to tell him he would have to make a pit stop after work to pick it up for me. She was in pretty rough shape, cosmetically speaking. You can see the two- toned paint job, the hardware had tarnished and turned yellow, and sticky labels appeared to have been there for years. Based on her remaining contents, I think her former life was as a school teachers.




I knew immediately what color I wanted to paint her. After purchasing a color that was just too neon, I swapped it out for this perfect shade of teal. Some light sanding, 2 coats of primer, 2 coats of paint, and some finishing wax was all it took for her to shine.



This is the perfect spot for blogging and reading other blogs.. Im in love. xoxo

In Process

Despite it bring 100 degrees outside, and a hurricane heading straight for us, I went junking today with my friend Kelly. It was kind of on a whim, but sometimes those are the best kinds. After Kelly showing me a few new junking locations in town, I found another cool chair.... You might not know this yet, but my Mom and husband sure do: My house is quickly becoming chair hell. But I just cant help it. Acknowledging that I have a problem is the first step, right?More importantly than my chair find today, Kelly found the perfect pub style table for her dining room! A few nicks here and there, and a little repair to the top and she'll be good to go! I cant wait to see what she does with it!




I found this piece for $60 at a huge furniture thrift store. I havent done a thing to it. It has a few superficial dings here and there, but overall its in good shape. Its in our bedroom. I think I may sand down some of the stain and then stain it to match the tops of our new nightstands!




Ok, so this one is actually done. Ill work on getting you a picture. But, theres a matching one, that is reupholstered, but needs the cording on the bottom edge finished up, so technically its still in progress. :) (I think I got both chairs for $17 at Goodwill)




This is one of my very favorite pieces I found. I purchased this from my favorite junking spot, New To You. The salesman actually tried talking me out of buying it because its got some wear and tear. It was designed by Norman Bel Geddes for Simmons furniture back in like the 30s. I just love everything about it-- and it was already teal! It needs nothing more than to find the perfect spot in my house for it. It makes me smile just to look at it.




This is my lucky find today with Kelly. $8 at a local thrift shop. Some new fabric, and it was be cute at my office desk!




I bought this off of lejeuneyardsales.com (a craigslist type site) for like $14 or something ridiculous. It has currently been painted white, and the knobs replaced with brushed steel round ones. (The knobs in the pic are lion heads.. lol)




This was $10 at a fabulous JUNK store in Burgaw. This place was piled high with junk. And I loved every minute of it. This has a skirt on it because of the leg needs replacing... As soon as I con Blake into fixing it, Ill probably just make a slip cover for it. Its eventually for Copper. (Yes, I buy furniture for my dogs) :D




I love this piece! I just bought it for $24 at Goodwill. This one I havent even started on. I want to use it in the dining room or foyer as a buffet. My thought process so far has been white, with the moldings painted a teal or blue. Those moldings stick out almost 2-3inches, they are pretty prominent. Any suggestions??

Eventually I will post about my beloved desk, that started it all.......

BEFORE AND AFTER...

Welcome to my corner of the world! I hope to actually keep posting regularly with new projects and actually follow through with a blog for once. SO. Here we go. Our first Before and After Post. :)

BEFORE: My Mom visited me a few weeks ago for my birthday, and we did some MAD junking. It was awesome. These were one of our finds. Kinda hideous, right? They appear to have been once connected and used as an old vanity. The gentlemen we purchased them said something about having been in a fire or something random. I considered these a bit of a slpurge, $70, but, it was my birthday, right?!


Check it out now!


I vow to take better photos not using my phone anymore. I'll try. I promise.