Some Kitchen Inspiration
I ran accross this awesomely unique idea on Apartment Therapy today.
Isn’t this a gorgeous idea?! I feel inspired to do something similar when I get around to the kitchen…
See the post here: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/kitchen/diy-inspiration-leather-kitchen-cabinet-pulls-147756
Yard Progress
A lot of work and a few sore muscles, and we now have a usable yard. The backyard, as I have mentioned before, was three lots of mounds of compost. An unusable waste is what I call that. Compost is a great idea, but an entire three lots full? No thanks. So, I set out to get the yard summer-ready. We are finally almost there.
I started by pulling the massive amounts of growing weeds out of the compost piles. Once fairly clean, my options for the compost were to either give it away to people who used compost or to spread it out evenly. Upon further inspection I realized that the compost was old and mostly now decnt soil. I decided to spread it and make level ground around the fire pit area. This took an entire day and I was definitely sore after all the work, but it was well worth it. We sprinkled grass seed on the raw dirt areas and are hoping that something other than weeds sprouts by the time we have our backyard engagement party.
These pictures look boring after the rain, but it was much cuter the other day (and will be when we have company over!). We have moved the picnic table out near the fire and have a table cloth for it. We also have a large hammock and fun pillow ordered for in between the trees. The large log near the fire is actually a seating area. We are using it as-is right now, but will form it into a bench later. We also have some cute red paper lanterns to go in the trees and a few buck candles to go around the area. I think it will all come together well.
We also worked on the side of the house near the alley. We have a hard time finding keys and getting into our kitchen door in the dark, so we added a few inexpensive solar lights to the walk-way. They really make a boring area look homey. The former residents of the house also left an annoying pile of rocks near our parking area. We have no idea what they were meant for, and they are now growing weeds. So, we dug in and Tony arranged them where my car goes. There is only one slab on cement and a lot of mud where I park. This may not be the cutest solution, but it definitely helps and now its all ready for when we get more cement poured (or better yet-a garage!). Didn’t Tony do a nice job making the rocks look neat and even!?
And, on a prettier note, our peonies are in bloom! Another bush of pretty pink flowers is also in bloom, which I think might be a kind of roses. Here is a shot of the rose bush and the bouqet we cut for the table and even some for the bathroom. They smell great and you gotta love a free touch for the home! 🙂
So there you have it, our yard progress. Not super exciting, but it has opened the way for us to work on a few more diy projects for the yard. We will keep you updated!
A New Headboard
I think this was Tony’s favorite project yet! My mom had an old brass headboard for a king size bed. She was going to throw it out, so I snatched it right up. After a coat of primer and a couple coats of black paint…
He was so excited last night after we got it hung that he said the bedroom looks like a hotel now. I take that as a compliment! I was afraid that the black would be too much next to the black art above, but I think it worked out well. Always a work in progress…
I think the pups approve too!
Typewriter Table Detailed
Sorry, I forgot to upload new pictures yesterday. But, today you get to see a lot of progress from the weekend! Here is the typewriter table that I showed you before. It is now finished and detailed!
Once I finished the second coat of white spray paint I arranged cardboard scrap-booking stencils in the placement I liked. I traced and filled the stencils with a paint pen. These little guys work great! I have used it on a couple of projects now and it always does the trick. I think it is super cute and ready to be used!
Sweet Little Details
I really believe that it’s the little details in a home that make your space special. Ok, that sounds cheesy. But, it is true. We have made some major repairs, spend lots of money, and in the end it’s the little projects worth a few bucks that make me so proud of our home. I have been excited for days about the new towel bar we hung in the bathroom. This is not only a convenience, but looks so much better than having the towel laying on the sink all the time- and, it only cost me about $3!
So, last night while finishing up the living room curtains we also hung up some coffee mugs in the kitchen. I bought a few new red mugs at Wal Mart for $2 apiece. I got a few cup hooks, and viola! Instant face-lift for the kitchen space. I love my bird of paradise mugs, but these look much more updated and will go great once we finishing the painting of the cabinets. Tony actually hung a separate board under the cabinet so that the screws for the hooks wouldn’t go all the way through. He also had to slightly open up the cup hooks, as the mug handles were a bit wider than standard ones. All in all I think they look great and will be awesome in the new kitchen too!
I know I said that I would be starting to work on the cabinet painting last week, but I got a bit lazy. I really am going to work on it this week, so check back for updates and tips on the cabinet painting!
Mini Bar Makes More Progress
I think the mini bar project is almost done (the mini bar we made out of a re-purposed vintage TV armoire). We are going to leave the wood as-is, at least until we see what it looks like next to the black desk (which is still in progress). We are planning on changing out the handles, but haven’t found the perfect Hollywood Regency looking pair yet. Yesterday we got the mirror for the back and the glass for the bottom cut and installed. We also hung a stemware rack under the top and I lined the drawer with some fabulous material. I would like to find a very simple mountable wine rack to hang under the top on the other side, so if you have one of those to recommend…! So, here it is, looking gorgeous!
Chandelier For The Porch
Here it is. This is the fancy project I completely with the ugly, little, pink basket.
Here is the before picture:
Here is what I made:
I took a 75cent basket from the Salvation Army and spray painted it black. I hung crystals and beads on it and added a length of chain. I added some mini candles in jars and viola! We now have a chandelier above the ice cream table on the porch! I found this idea on Apartment Therapy and think its super cute. What do you think?
Whats In Store For Next Week
Over the weekend I have a long list of fun little projects to tackle. If I get myself into gear and get them done you can plan to see updates next week. I hope to be working on the kitchen curtains, painting some pots, planting flowers, cleaning up the yard, building a fire pit, and working on redoing a headboard for the master bedroom. It sounds like a lot, I know, but I think I have most of it covered! And, my favorite little project…
Check out what I do with this ugly little pink basket!
Check back all next week for updates, photos, and how-tos of my many projects! Have a great weekend!
Bookend Project
I have said it before, but I love repurposing items. Especially in these times, finding new life for old items is the greenest option. Some things you hate to ruin by transforming them, but for the most part I believe that reusing old or obsolete items is a far better choice than letting them waste away in some one’s unloving basement, or worse yet, a landfill. Plus, repurposing is often much cheaper than buying new items, as well as healthier for the planet. So, when I get the chance to make a new addition to our home, and at the same time get a new project with old items, I jump on it!
In college I made bowls out of records as a dorm floor project. I still have mine in our office on the book shelf. The other day I saw a project online where book ends were being made out of old records, and decided that would be a perfect addition to the shelves, and even fit in with our music themed office.
I made a stop yesterday at the Salvation Army and picked up two records. They weren’t anything special, just old records in decent shape and with pretty labels. Last night we boiled some water and dumped it in the kitchen sink. The water softens the record and you use a utensil to bend it.
Overall the project was easy and turned out pretty cute!
Cooling off under a box.
Office Storage
I love the matching office supplies my mom got me a year or two ago. There is a pencil cup, tray, two boxes, and a magazine box, and they are all in different forms of black and white damask with little bits of red here and there. I was thinking lately that I just needed a few more storage pieces for office things. I had recently seen a post online about making your own magazine boxes with cereal boxes. Last night I dug into this project as well.
I cut the cereal box top off and cut the sides on an angle. I then recovered the box by glueing some black and white skull material (I have a thing for skulls right now) over all outter sufaces. It was easy and cheap and I think it goes well in the office space. Now I have one more storage box. More to come in the future.
I didn't take a before picture of the empty cereal box, but here is the finished product.
There it sits next to the other box on the shelf of our pocket office.
Also, another little office update. Tony finally installed the frame for the projector picture. The wall at least appears empty for a reason now. I kind of like it. It almost looks a little purposefully quirky when the projector isn’t on.
Make Mine Eclectic 
