Monday, February 27, 2012

Upstairs Landing

  Up until a few days ago, our upstairs landing had been the most forgotten space in our home.   I have been on a mission to change that and I think I have done what I set out to do.   Take a look.        

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Most of the things I used were stashed in my shed from auctions, yard sales and thrift stores with the exception of a few recent purchases, the table being one of them. This is what the table looked like when I bought it.     

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I loved its size and knew that it would work perfectly on our landing, but the color wasn’t right.   So I stripped the top and painted the base of the table with ASCP off white. 

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I was going to stain the top after I stripped it but decided not to and I’m so glad I didn’t.  I really like the top with the natural wood finish. 

Another recent purchase was the terrarium you see on top and I bought that at Kohl’s.   It was fifty percent off and I think I paid $19.99 for it.  

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Inside I placed a wire clay pot holder.  I placed moss covered rocks with tea lights in three of the pots and I placed a faux plant in the other one.    033

How do you like my little lamp?  It was a $5 thrift store purchase!   

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I love the patina on this mirror.  I debated whether or not to paint it when I first purchased it months ago at Goodwill.   I’m so glad I didn’t! 

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I think I have a thing for little stools because I have so many of them scattered throughout my home.

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Maybe that will be my next blog post…..how many stools/benches I have and where I have placed them.

I’ve made a few changes to the upstairs landing since I last posted about the Curio Cabinet and the Stenciled Closet Door.  You can read about that here and here.

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I’ve changed a few of the quilts inside the curio cabinet and placed a little quilted stool beside it.  And I added a little table beside the stenciled closet door with a lamp on top. 

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I like this little set-up better because the lamp lights up the stairway at night.

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Well now that the upstairs landing is done, I’m in the dining room and I’ve been making some changes in there!  Wait to you see all the silver pieces that I purchased at the Salvation Army the other day. 

As always, thanks for the visit and your sweet comments.  They are always appreciated.    

Gail

Linking this post to:

Coastal Charms for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday

Three Mango Seeds for Do It Ya Self

No Minimalist Here for Open House Party

From My Front Porch to Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday

Friday, February 24, 2012

A Stenciled Closet Door as Wall Art

Hello Everyone!  It’s so hard to believe it’s February with this beautiful weather we are having.  It reached 70 degrees here today!  Now that the master bathroom renovation is done, I have been working on the upstairs landing.     

Several weeks ago, I purchased a set of bi-fold closet doors from the Habitat for Humanity Restore for $10.  I wanted to use one of them as wall art on one of the walls upstairs. 

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First I dismantled the bi-fold doors and stained one of the doors.  Next I painted the entire piece with ASCP Country Grey and then lightly brushed graphite here and there.  After it dried, I sprayed water and wiped it down to show signs of  wear.  Next, I applied dark wax.    

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After I hung the door on the wall, I stenciled a design pattern using gold paint on the three raised panels. This is what it looks like. 

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I also added the glass knob to the door. 

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This is what the wall looked like before. 

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I really like the change.  

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  I have one more thing I’m working on upstairs and it has to do with this…….    

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…..and some thrift store finds.  The table was purchased at the HomeGood Store, but I have given this a make-over as well.

Thanks to all of you who left such sweet comments on our master bathroom reveal.  We have really enjoyed this make-over. 

As always, thanks for visiting and your sweet comments.  They are always appreciated.

Gail

Linking this post to:

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

At The Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday

2805 for Potpourri Party

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Master Bathroom Reveal

I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am that the master bathroom is done!  The changes we made have made the biggest difference.  Before I share it with all of you, lets take a look at the before.  

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And now the after.

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We purchased the vanity cabinet, double sink vanity top, faucets and two lighting fixtures at Lowes.  The oval mirrors were purchased at Wal-Mart. 

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I used a curtain instead of a shower curtain because I could not find anything I liked.  The window curtain was one panel that I cut in half.

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I think what makes the biggest difference in this bathroom has to be the tile behind the tub/shower stall and the flooring.   

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 This was not the original floor we ordered.  We ordered the peel, place and press floating vinyl planks manufactured by Armstrong.  Instead we received the Swift Lock Vinyl Planks by Armstrong.  Installing them was easy and it only took Charlie and I a couple of hours to do. 

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  I still need to hang the towel bar above the vanity stool. 

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It was a lot of work but I think it was well worth the work! 

As always thanks for visiting and for your sweet comments.  They are always appreciated. 

Gail

Linking this post to:

Savvy Southern Style for WOW Us Wednesday

DIY by Design for Winter Blues Wednesday

No Minimalist Here for Open House Party

The Shabby Creek Cottage for Transformation Thursday

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

At The Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday

2805 for Potpourri Party

Monday, February 20, 2012

It Snowed!

It’s a snow day and we can’t even go out and play. 

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Because we are busy working our butts off in the master bathroom.

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As you can see the drywall needs some repairs, some caulking needs to be finished and our twin mirrors need to be hung.

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We also need to finish some tile grouting and then all we will have to do is accessorize.

Hopefully, by this evening we’ll be done! 

As always, thanks for your visit and enjoy your day.

Gail

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Outdated Curio Cabinet

The other day I shared a glimpse of a piece of furniture that I painted over the weekend.  That piece of furniture was a curio cabinet that sits in the upstairs hallway.      

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   This is what it looked like before.  

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It was a gift from my parents back in the 80’s.  I have to tell you, I was seriously thinking about getting rid of it.  I had grown tired of the dolls, knick knacks and the oak finish.  BUT now that it’s painted….I feel differently. 

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I used Annie Sloan chalk paint.

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First I painted the entire piece with country gray and then lightly brushed graphite here and there.  After it dried, I sprayed water and wiped it down to show signs of  wear.  Next, I applied dark wax.   

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Instead of filling the cabinet back up with all the dolls and knick knacks, I filled the cabinet up with things I had around the house.

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I placed my small collections of wooden bobbins and some small quilts inside. 

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The only doll that I placed inside was my bride doll.  She was given to me for Christmas when I was 13.  She will be 39 years old this coming Christmas.    

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Isn’t it amazing what a little paint can do to an outdated piece of furniture.  I think I’m going to keep it, at least for a little while anyway.   I have more painting projects going on in the hallway so be sure to come back and see what I’m up to next.   

As always, thanks for visiting and have a wonderful day.

Gail

Linking this post to:

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Three Mango Seeds for Do It Ya Self

Savvy Southern Style for WOW Us Wednesday

Crown Molding and Tile is up in Master Bathroom

Happy Monday Everyone!  How was your weekend? The best part of our weekend was spent in the master bathroom.  We installed the crown molding and tiled behind the tub shower stall.   

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  I still need to grout and caulk but I couldn’t wait to share what we have done so far……I love it!  

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I can’t begin to tell you what a difference it has made by just adding the tile behind the tub shower stall. 

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It’s hard to believe that one week ago today, our master bathroom looked like this.  

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And today it’s looking like this.  

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We still need to install a piece of tile on the lower wall but we’re waiting until after we install the new flooring.  We will remove the baseboard and floor molding before we install the flooring. I have my fingers crossed that our flooring arrive this week so we can start installing it by the weekend.  Expected delivery date is February 20th. 

I also managed to squeeze in a little time this weekend to paint a piece of furniture.

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I’ll share it with all of you once I’m finished accessorizing it. 

As always, thanks for visiting and have a wonderful day. 

Gail

Linking this post to:

Northern Cottage for Party Time

Saturday, February 11, 2012

HomeGood Store Step-Stool

Hello Everyone!   Several weeks ago while shopping at HomeGood Store, they were stocking their shelves with these cute little step-stools.

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I picked one up for $19.99 thinking it would work great in the powder room.   Although I liked the picture on the steps, I wasn’t a fan of the green.   I knew I would change that and I did as soon as I got home with it.        

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I used three different Annie Sloan chalk paints to achieve this look.  First, I painted the whole step-stool with Graphite, then Versailles and then lightly brushed on Off White. After it dried, I sprayed water here and there and wiped it down to show signs of  wear.  Next, I applied both clear and dark wax. 

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An easy fix and it only took me about an hour from start to finish.

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It’s the perfect size for our grandsons and fits so nicely in the powder room.  My daughter-in-law mentioned that she would love to have one in her little powder room and guess what…..HomeGood Store had one left and lucky for me I got it!    

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Because the pattern on top of the step-stool was not going to work in her powder room, I re-did this one too.  Again, I used three different Annie Sloan chalk paints; Graphite, Primer Red and Off White.

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After it dried, I sprayed water here and there and wiped it down to show signs of  wear.  Next, I applied both clear and dark wax.

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I don’t know about you but I like having a little stool or a waiting bench in our bathrooms especially for our grandsons.  Now, I need to make a trip to their house so I can deliver the little step-stool.   It’s always nice to find some little excuse to get up there just so we can see those grandsons of ours…of course to see our son and daughter-in-law too! 

As always, thanks for visiting and have a wonderful weekend. 

Gail