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?
Our House- The Outside
When we moved into our new home it was getting cold and dreary out, and I have yet to post pictures of the outside of our house or our porch. Until now, that is. This weekend was so gorgeous outside that I took some pictures of the porch and the newly covered bench, as well as the patio furniture that I had time to repaint. Here we go:
The front view of our house.
The little bench by the front door and our red vintage lawn chairs! 🙂
Our gorgeous chairs!
And on the other side- our lovely vintage ice cream table and chairs!
Enjoy our sunny pictures!
Bench Project
When we first moved into our new house Tony and I bought a vintage vanity on Craigslist for $20 to go in our spare bedroom. The vanity is used to hold all of my “get ready in the morning stuff”. The vanity came with a little vanity bench. The problem was that the bench didn’t match the vanity. The bench was painted white and had obviously been recovered with some purple material. I had thought about painting the vanity a shabby white, but that wouldn’t solve the whole problem. The styles and sizes of the vanity and the bench didn’t even match. So, I put the bench up for sale on Craigslist, again. After a couple of weeks the bench still hadn’t sold. Well, another project for me!
I liked the chipped white paint of the bench, so I decided to keep it. I also decided that there were too many things, including another, smaller vintage vanity seat already in the spare bedroom. I thought that the front porch could use something, so that was to be the new home of the bench. We have a small, white ice cream table and two chairs on the porch, but nothing else so far. The white would be a perfect match. I have also had my eyes peeled for some of those vintage metal lawn chairs. I want two of them in red, or to paint red. That helped me make my choice for fabric. I chose a white material with a red coral pattern.
Last night I started ripping old fabric off the bench. Come to find out there was not only one layer of awful fabric, but three! Here’s the before photo:
The next layer. Even worse:
And the final dingy layer:
But, here’s what it looks like all spruced up:
I think its really cute now. I will show you pictures of what it looks like on the porch once I get the ice cream set repainted!
A Pop Of Red
The black and white kitchen gets a pop of color! Red! While at the Salvation Army looking for items for a few projects, I came across the cutest little vintage sauce pan. And, it was red. I couldn’t resist. Now it hangs on the wall in our kitchen. So cute.
The pot wouldn’t hang the other way around, but it worked out ok. The bottom of the pan is decorated! It says Vitrex Gourmet and has some funky designs. With some research I learned that Vitrex Gourmet is a Spanish cookware company. Very cute, and very durable, too!
The little things truly do amuse me!
New Chair Love
This week I have been a little sick, making me a little absent, but I am pining for a new chair. I had to share it with you. Its the Marais AC chair from DWR. Industrial. Colorful. Perfection!
This photo was on Apartment Therapy. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/flickr-finds/flickr-finds-bright-yellow-076197
Here is it in red:
I think these are just gorgeous! I would love either color. Or silver metal…
Oh, the possibilities!
Picking The Colors
I am so full of wedding ideas right now! I am trying to weed my way through them slowly, so I thought I would post some of my ponderings here. If any of you out there have any suggestions, adivce, or pictures to share with me, please! 🙂
A small run down of a few of the important things we have been considering so far:
We would like the weather to be warm, not scalding, so we were considering a late August wedding, which probably means August 2010. We are having a small ceremony at the church I grew up going to. We would love to have a large reception with all of our friends and family. We are on a very small budget, which means we are doing most everything ourselves. This also led us to the idea of having our reception outside. Our three possibilities so far are my mother’s backyard where I grew up, our county fairgrounds where Tony says he first knew he loved me (sentimental!), or a hangar at the airpark down the road from my childhood home. I also know we do NOT want a themed wedding, but will probably take influences from vintage themes, such as the 30’s and 40’s.
Now, my first question up for help is the colors. We want black and white. Elegant, yet simple, especially if we are outdoors. But, I would like an accent color. My two favorite ideas with black and white are red or dark teal. I love them both. So, here are a couple pictures for inspiration, and let me know what you think!!
Here is a black and white wedding that was also outdoors. http://snippetandink.blogspot.com/2009/01/board-329-white-barn-black.html
These are just some black and white examples. Ours wouldn’t be quite as barnyard casual.
Here are some examples with red as an accent color. http://justjaime28.wordpress.com/2008/09/07/a-black-white-red-wedding-shower/
This set is a little too fancy for our outdoor setting, but it does show how well red would work with black and white and that damask that we love.
I couldn't find pictures where people actually used teal, but here is a tie. http://www.neckties.com/teal_by_elite_solid_teal_tie.apml
I think that the teal color could add to the vintage-y vibe we are looking for.
If we used teal, we might be able to incorporate peacock feathers into our flowers and centerpieces. http://www.curbly.com/DIY-Maven/posts/5950-Intro-to-Digital-Photography-Week-2-Messing-round-with-f-stops-
I was hoping to use some feathers, even in white, such as in my hair, but, was inspired when I saw this gorgeous picture.
What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Change it up somehow? Help me out here!? 🙂
Fat Rock!
Yes, its true! I’m engaged! Tony proposed to me last night. It was so unexpected, and so sweet. We do not yet have an exact date, but are considering late August in 2010. I told myself not to get too excited, and to hold off on the planning, but that really isn’t going to happen. I have already been writing down ideas and scouring the blog world. We are considering a black and white color scheme, with either dark teal or red accents. I would also love to do a vintage touch (doesn’t that sound like us!?). I, of course, will continue to blog on our home and decor ideas and projects, but there might be some random wedding ideas here too! Fill me in on any ideas! Here is a picture of the ring.
Its a vintage square diamond turned on an angle. Pictures don't do it justice- its gorgeous!
I’m Thrifty
I’m usually kind of a name brand junkie. Not proud of it, but I can admit it. I do give in to cute vintage finds, but I rarely find clothing at a thrift store. But, I was feeling creative last night when I stopped at the Salvation Army for the little glasses. I was just creative enough to see the potential in a long, red, vintage jacket. I snatched it up for three dollars and ended up loving it! So, here you go, I just had to share!
Go ahead, be honest. But, I think its cute!
The Little Things
We have two new little additions to our bedroom. First, Tony’s mom passed along a red glass from his great grandmother. The heirloom has been in their family for many years and she wanted us to have it. The beautiful glass has found a new home in our bedroom on the vanity. The second is some old marquee letters from a vintage highway sign. We found a T and a J, and hung them on the wall in the entry to the bedroom. Its the little things that really give personality to a space.
The photo doesn't do it justice, but the glass is a ruby red.
They look a little lonely, so they might not stay exactly like this for long, but I do think they are cute.
Make Mine Eclectic 