Happy New Year
How is the New Year starting out for everyone? Mine is full of fresh starts and surprises… so stay tuned for some projects and some new directions!
Here my mom and I dressed up for the New Year’s Eve celebration:
And a gorgeous new ring:
Happy New Year everyone!
Ruffles For Me
So craving this entire bathroom right now! I love the industrial look mixed with very feminine touches. I’m sure you can all tell from the rest of my home that my style isn’t usually very feminine, but in small amounts I think it can be a great touch.
So, when I found the budget bathroom remodel in the Country Living magazine I was swooning! Unfortunately, I can’t post pictures from their site here. So, here’s the link: http://www.countryliving.com/homes/makeovers/budget-bathroom-makeover-0609?click=main_sr . I particularly fell in love with the ruffled shower curtain from Anthropologie. But, $98 was quite a bit out of our shower curtain budget. So, I started searching…
Here is the curtain from Anthropologie:
Snow Field Shower Curtain by Anthropologie: http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/category.jsp;jsessionid=ED2A98B77A9062003BA15D4E3C0DB04C.app43-node4?popId=HOME&navAction=middle&navCount=5&isSortBy=true&pushId=HOME-BATH&id=HOME-BATH-SHOWERCURTAINS
Bed Bath Store: http://www.bedbathstore.com/rushwhfashcu.html?id=rushwhfashcu1
Ruffles Curtain by Target: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/179-2733649-8695932?ASIN=B000HPTSE2&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B000HPTSE2|Ruffles_Shower_Curtain&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B000HPTSE2&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001
Ruffled Curtain by India Rose: http://www.burkedecor.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=09223-24-25
My First Ikea Visit- EVER!
Yes, its true. I’m a small town girl, never been to Ikea. We took a little road trip to Chicago this weekend with some friends to visit the monstrous store- WOW. Love it. That’s all you can really say. Tony even enjoyed this shopping trip- was it the beer that you can drink while there?? 🙂 We didn’t come home with too many exciting things this time, but we got what we went for- a new duvet cover! We also got a few pillows to replace the raggedy ones in the living room, and a yummy smelling candle. All on the cheap! I wish we lived closer because we will definitely be making the trip back when we need something!
The new duvet cover- looks like we need a bed-skirt too! – and the grey blanket is also from Ikea.
The big black and white pillow is actually a cover, which we stuffed with three of the old dilapidated pillows, and the black one is also new. We think they tie in the black curtains a bit better.
A cute little delicious candle- for $2.50 you can’t go wrong!
Also- the counter-tops are half in and looking great. They are planned to be done tonight!! Yay!
Kitchen Cabinets!
They are done. Yes, they are done! I love love it! Remember, as you look at the pictures, though, that the old white on white counter-tops look won’t last long. We will be getting the new dark counter-tops in a few weeks. Also, notice the new cabinet in between the stove and the fridge- now the dog food can be hidden! (It will also get a counter-top!) A before to freshen your memory:
Here you go:
Well? What do you think? I think it feels so nice and new and clean in there! Remember, things will keep changing for a while. In addition to new counter-tops there will be a hood where the old microwave is, and the cabinet above the fridge will change. We also have a few more projects for in here… like new lights and something to do with antique rolling pins… so let me know what you think, and stay tuned!
One More Sneak Peak- Countertops
So, I guess I should have, but I didn’t plan for the unexpected road blocks when finishing the kitchen. Like, accidentally buying a couple too few hinges! It is done, but not picture ready. So I have one more sneak peak for you until then. Here is the sample card for the counter-tops we are getting. I originally wanted pure black, but there is no standard laminate in pure black. I picked black because it was to look like slate. Laminate is, unfortunately, what we can afford right now. So, this was the most black laminate we could get. It is probably going to look like marble. This may be great to some, but I am concerned it is too far from my original vision. Will it look to country? It does tie in the browns from the floor and the white from the cabinets. It will take about two weeks to get them in since they are extra long… so please, ease my mind until then! No, really, give me your true opinions!
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!
Thrifted and Rearranged
We have been busy busy. It all started with a quick stop at the D.A.V. (Disabled American Veteran’s) thrift store. I happened upon a cute little vintage typewriter table for $3.95! I love the metal industrial look, so I couldn’t resist. It was just a bit dirty and scratched, so we painted her white. With one more coat and a small black swirl on top (this weekend) this beauty will sit next to the door to the backyard in the dining room. It is on wheels and easily movable, so it will serve as an outdoor drink table as well. We have been searching for something to go outdoors while enjoying grilling or the bonfire, and nothing seems pretty but built for the outdoors. This way we can just bring the little table in when we aren’t out there. Here she is:
While I was there I also spotted an antique, claw foot, drop leaf table. Hmmm… We got to thinking. We have been wanting a bigger table for the dining room and decided to try moving the red table to the kitchen. After giving the rooms some rearranging we fell in love. Here’s the kitchen:
It feels so nice and cozy in there now. We even sat here yesterday morning and had coffee together. So, after giving the new arrangement a night we decided it was a keeper. I headed back to the D.A.V. and snatched up the dining table. We got a great deal, but it does need some work. I removed some scuffs, but there are scratches. We are probably going to cover it with a table cloth until we get some other projects finished and then start stripping and refinishing it. We are thinking of staining it either a lighter brown to match the maple bar or black like the desk that is still in progress. I am still hung up on my mis-matched chairs, and am in the process of adding a few different styled ones, so although it doesn’t match perfectly right now it will when we get done! Bonus: I found out that the table expands for adding leaves! Although it didn’t have the originals with it we can make some for it to have big family meals here! 🙂 Here’s the dining room:
Well, what do you think? Any suggestions or ideas? Its always a work in progress, but it’s getting there! Oh, and Romeo the camera hog says hi, too.
More Curtains!
Last night we finished hanging curtains in the living room. I am so excited to not have these flowery old lady curtains any more:
I really wish I would have remembered to take specific before shots of these. They even had poufy, paper-stuffed valences!
I’m not too sure about the new curtains we chose, so I need your opinions and suggestions. They are, no doubt, better than the before, but not exactly what we had in mind. We wanted to stay inexpensive for right now, so we got these at WalMart (no Ikea near us!). We originally picked a charcoal color, but when we got home we realized that the packages we grabbed were all black! They do need some steaming, but here they are:
I think it is a huge improvement, but it still feels a little off. Tony likes the blinds on one window (this is the previous family’s doing- not mine!) but, I think the small window should have sheers as well so the two match. What do you think?
Either way, these are much more our taste, style, and colors, and best of all- no foofy grandma curtains! 🙂
Oh, and I realize that we really need a rod that is meant to be showing, but we aren’t going to spend the money on a custom length one right now. So, the white bar has to stay and we just have to deal with it for a little while!
Another Project Finally Finished
Remember that little stool with the opening lid I got from my grandma a few months ago? It has been on my to do list to redo the stool for a while now, and it is finally finished. See the before here: http://www.makemineeclectic.wordpress.com/2008/12/31/new-little-project/
I took the lid off, which actually made recovering and painting much easier, and ripped up the fabric. I tacked down new fabric and replaced the old black backing since it was still in good shape. Backing helps cover the ugly seems when they are on something like this, as the lid being lifted will constantly expose this back area. I then sanded and painted the wood bottom, put the top back on, and TaDa!
Much better, don’t you think!?
Some Color In The Pocket Office
Over the weekend I made a few tiny but fun changes to the pocket office. First, I added some bright red paper to the blah sides of the drawer set under the desk. It looked as if it had just been stashed under there, but now it looks as if it was intended to be there. I also tried to eliminate some clutter. I took down the picture mobile, arranged some of the hanging photos on the inspiration wire, and changed the art a bit.
I had seen online where framing simple art in a blank CD case can be easy to swap and add a fun punch to your walls for little money. So, I hung three of these CD case frames with some strange art in them above the desk. The art was small, cluttered, and mismatched. I changed the art out to something more simple and in the color scheme. I then hung them vertically to contrast with the inspiration wire. I think this is starting to look much better than my original office a few months ago!
The colored paper on the drawers.
The CD case art I made.
Doesn't it look so much better!?
And, the other side of the office, so you can see the pretty matching boxes.
What do you think?
Make Mine Eclectic 
