Brighten and lighten (family room!)

Helloooo there! I am so excited to show you some changes I made to the family room over the weekend. It was a great weekend – we were home almost the whole time and I had a bunch of time to just piddle around with projects. It was bliss!! I got SO MUCH done -- what a great feeling.

Anyway, I tackled a project in the family room that eventually turned into an additional three, four…five?? projects. The first couple I’ll share today. ;)

I shared how years ago I had finally given in and put a mirror over our mantel. I had kind of fought that for years (a decorating friend warned me against it) and I really did love having the reflection up there…for the most part.

It was nice and big and took up a lot of visual space, for cheap (I made the mirror). It was oh so easy to decorate…just stick a wreath on it and you’re good:

But for a while it had been bugging me – the black frame was so dark. I could have just painted it, but the big mirror was also a problem. It almost made the mantel look cluttered because it was always reflecting so much STUFF. The ceiling fan, the ceiling, the doors, stuff in the kitchen.

So months ago I picked up a mirror at HomeGoods that I loved – I bought it specifically for this spot, but it sat. And sat. Sat in the mud room, all lonely like. I don’t know why, I guess the thought of hanging a mirror overwhelms me?

Well, this weekend I got over it and kind of rigged it up there to see how it looked. I was IN LOVE people!! I don’t change things out often up there because of the wood planked wall I installed – I had to put new holes through the wood and putty up the old ones. But it was worth it:

You can still see the holes from the big mirror (they were in studs cause that thing is a beast), but only if you look reeeeeal hard. I’m not going to stress about it.

I shopped the house to accessorize the mantel – I don’t switch the decor often, usually just for the holidays. When I find something I like, it stays for eons. And this I like:

The orchid is real, and that’s for another post. I’m trying desperately to keep it alive! The candlesticks I’ve had forever – they originated on the Christmas centerpiece years ago. I’m in love with the copper and metallic colors I spray painted them.

I LOVE luff lurve this small change over the fireplace. It is SO much brighter and welcoming. UGH. Love:

The mirror has a gold finish on it with some speckles of black. My plan at first was to paint it – I wasn’t sure to what, but when I got it up there I knew I wasn’t touching it.

I don’t have to spray paint EVERYTHING:

The thing was, you know how one change turns into 35 others? Well around here it does. When we had the former corner fireplace built out, it left an odd wall to the left that has been a pain in my patoot to decorate.

I’ve had three different ideas up there, and the last was my DIY Pottery Barn art:

But when I put the new mirror up it just felt so heavy and dark and too much. I was like, seriously??? I am so dang tired of messing with that wall. But I found a solution. I took my (free!) framed prints from another small wall in the family room and tried moving them over. At first I thought they’d be too small, but they looked just lovely!

I considered spray painting their black frames gold to carry it over, but I thought that would be too goldy. Then I remembered Courtney’s brill idea and got to work:

I grabbed my Frogtape (I used the delicate yellow kind, just because it’s what I had closest) and totally just eyeballed the corners. I taped them off and then schmeared on my gold Rub n Buff. No measurements, no time at all – I was done with both frames in about five minutes:

Absolutely LOVE them!

The “campaign” look bring in a touch of the gold from the mirror over the mantel, and I think I’ve finally found a winner for this spot:

Simple and pretty. And…done. Pinch me if I change that wall again, OK? (By the way, the PB wood art moved to the wall these came from. Just a switcheroo.)

That chair is so high it looks like the frames should move up a little, but then the top one would be over the door frame next to it and that looked weird. This feels cozy to me:

All weekend long, when I walked in this room, I smiled because it is so much brighter and the pretty mantel is finally looking how I envisioned it from the start.

I sit on the sofa and stare:

OK, I don’t really yes I do.

I changed up the accessories in my DIY tray a little too – my little terrarium with the moss is actually the glass from an 80’s light:

Some of you suggested adding a little finial to the top and I loved that idea! I love giving older pieces a new life!!

There’s a couple other big changes that happened/are happening in there too – you long time readers may be able to find them:

Any ideas?? One is done, one is taking forever to finish. And the walls are going to be painted soon…when I can get amped up to do it. The molding will change a little too so I’m putting that project off.

Let’s take a look at how this spot has changed over time, shall we? First, with our annoying corner fireplace that I picked out on purpose years ago:

Then we had the wall built out, a new surround done and I tiled around the fireplace:

I added the planked wall and it helped to lighten things up even more:

But it was hidden behind that mirror!!

Now it finally shines!:

Total cost was $50 for the mirror at HomeGoods, but I bought it three months ago. So I’m not sure if that counts now. ;) Otherwise I used what I had.

I’ll share the other projects soon! For now, I’m putting a hot pad on my neck and resting for a bit. (HINT HINT.)

Anyone else good at doing one little project that turns into 50??

New kitchen nook, complete!

Hello there! I’m back! Last week was crazy – I flew across the country to Salt Lake City to speak at the SNAP! Conference and then hurried home after my session (I was there for about 36 hours) to get home in time for an event honoring my hubs Friday morning.

And then…it was cancelled. You gotta be kidding me.

We had SO much rain last week and the school had flooding so it was postponed. I was glad to be back home though, so all was OK in the end.

I’m back with the full picture of how the kitchen nook turned out. I first showed you how I transformed an IKEA table into a farmhouse table here. Thanks SO much for all the lovely comments by the way! They make my day!

Well, the next phase was new chairs. We have had the black chairs in there (from Garden Ridge) for about seven years now – they’ve held up OK. A few scratches but mostly OK. But the thing that bothers me about them is that the legs become loose ALL the dang time. I am tightening the bolts on them at least once a week.

I had fallen in love with a different chair too – and for months I was dreamin’ about it:

(1/2 sources)

I ADORE these x-backed chairs. The pretty curves, the warm wood. LOVE. But these were way more than I wanted to spend. (One was $150, the other $200.)

So I watched for months and stalked Home Goods and never found anything. And then it hit me to check out World Market. Yes, again. I love that place:

I got them on sale so they were wayyyy cheaper than the other two versions and I only got two because I had a plan for the other side of the table.

Many of you guessed it – a bench. I mean, it’s practically begging for it, right? We’ve had one for years that I used to use at the round table we had in here. It’s been sitting in our mud room for a while now, so I pulled it out, primed it, then gave it a fun color:

That color is apple green by Valspar by the way –- I was trying to use a color I had on hand. It was brighter than I first wanted. When I asked hubby what he thought he mentioned how well it went with the boxwood wreath on the pantry door, the island chairs, the flowers on the table…the man is good:

I love the pop of color – this nook has had no color for so long, I’m happy to bring some in. And the best part about spray paint – it will take me 15 minutes to change it up if I ever want to.

Someday when the budget allows (and they are on sale again) I’ll pick up a couple more of those chairs to have for when we need more seating. For now this set up works great for just us.

The last change to this space was a new light, also from World Market. I had been eyeing it for months but was afraid I wouldn’t like the leafy things on it:

I went to see it in the store and it was GORGEOUS.

I’ve changed the light over this table at least five times now – the rest of the lights in our house have never been changed or replaced once. This spot…I don’t know what it is.

But I finally feel like this is the perfect combo – the size and look of the table and the pretty chandelier – it works now. I promise not to change it out again for at least a year. ;) I have a plan for our other light that was there – once I can find someone to climb 20 feet to install it. (Not it!)

Of course all of these changes happened over the course of a couple months – and I did my research on everything for six months to a year beforehand. (YES, I take forever.) Once I decided what I wanted I picked up different pieces as the budget allowed.

I’m SO thrilled to have a big table to use again. And yes, to decorate:

I may have to do a spring tablescape just to celebrate. And can I just mention I am OBSESSED with ranunculus. I love these flowers!

Someday I’ll learn how to properly take pictures so the light streaming in the windows does not blind us:

But today is not that day. ;)

I ADORE these chairs – they are really sturdy and the wood that makes up the “X” is too – I tried out some that were really flimsy and way more expensive:

I especially love this spot with the light on a dimmer in the evening:

It’s just so much more open and bright now! I cannot even believe the difference, I really can’t.

We all love this table – the size and shape just works so much better for this space. It’s so much easier to spread out on the computer, for homework – all that stuff too:

The round table felt so cramped in comparison.

And now that this spot is transformed, the budget is frozen for a while. This was happening while I took pictures this morning:

More water issues. The disposal stopped working and (gross) water was POURING out of the disposal. Didn’t know that could happen? Me either. Fantastic!

There are a few more changes coming to the little kitchen nook – and many more coming in the kitchen (someday). But for now I have a pretty table that I love. :)

 

**For more info on the chalkboard wall, go here.
**For more on the pantry (with the glass door), go here.
**And to find out how NOT to paint your glass atrium door, go here.

Mummy door!

Hey there! How are you and how was your weekend? Ours was jam packed full of fall goodness – it was great!!

The Bub and I got some more Halloween decorating done on Saturday, including this project I’m sharing today. It’s a super simple one that almost turned into a fail…but I’ve come around and I think I love it even more now!

It all started with Pinterest. Are you surprised? I saw this mummy door idea weeks ago and knew I wanted to try it out. We put our own little spin on it and it turned out so cute!

I just took some white crepe paper from the dollar store (they came two to a pack and I ended up using two packs) and just took strips of it to wrap around the front door.

I taped it on the sides of the door and it was time consuming but easy. The hardest part of the whole thing was trying to keep all three animals from escaping while I had the door open. They think they are sneaky like ninjas but I caught them every time…but it did make this project take longer than it would for you I’m sure. ;)

Anyway, I forgot to take pictures of this part because I was so focused on the escapees but it’s pretty self explanatory. After the door was wrapped I knew I wanted to make a cute face for our mummy, so I grabbed some poster boards to make the eyes and a mouth:

I traced our Whirley Pop for the eyes and just hand drew a cute, wonky smile free hand.

We left for the day after we finished and for some reason I had this urge to take a picture of it – not sure why, I just thought to myself “just in case”:

I zoomed in on him as we drove off and I’m glad I got a before shot. ;)

I haven’t even done my normal corn stalks and mums on the porch like usual yet – my sis’s wedding has kind of taken over this fall. Now I don’t know if I’ll do them or skip right over to the Christmas garland. ;)

Anyway, SO CUTE right??

So cute.

I loved the mummy door. Well, we came home that night and I about cried. The crepe paper had loosened up with the night air and drooped like crazy:

I was SO upset! But the longer I looked, the more I realized he still looked cute. And the longer we keep him up the more I love him. Even hubs said he likes the droopy mummy better cause he looks more like a real mummy. ;)

The bottom strands kind of catch under the door now, but I think it will be OK till Halloween. I was thisclose to just putting him up on an interior door, but at the last minute decided to go with the front door:

Yes, we need to rake. :)   

In the end I’m glad I did. Even though he’s droopy mummy now. :) Of course if your front door is exposed to the elements you’ll want to do this inside. Ours does not, it was just the wetter nighttime air that made the crepe paper loosen up.

What I thought was a fail is definitely growing on me. :) It took about an hour to put up and cost two bucks for the two packages of crepe paper. If you want to splurge on wider paper I think that would cut down on the time factor quite a bit. While I was doing it I was wishing my crepe was about double the width. I may try that next year. :)

We worked on a couple other Halloween projects this weekend too, I’ll share those soon! Have you decorated yet? We’re later than usual this year!

Show Us Your Closets!

Heya! Are you ready to show off more of your house? Some of you are totally ready for this party, and some of you will be hanging back checking out the links for some organization inspiration. I get you. ;)

This month I’d love to see your closets – anything closet related. A laundry closet, master closet, linen closet, pantries (big or small!), or closets you turn into something else to meet your family’s needs. Anything closet-y goes.

Why don’t I say closet one more time?

Closet.

OK, let’s move on. I’ve shared quite a few of ours over the years, but tonight I’m recapping my top three.

First up, of course, the linen closet in our loft that I turned into a book nook:

  

I rearranged and purged the items in that closet, and by the time I was done it was pretty much empty. So I thunk up this idea. :)

We still love it and it’s so fun having a little nook in our very open house. If you’d like to see the how-to, check it out here.

Next up, one I shared most recently – the pantry redo:

It’s only been a couple of weeks but so far it’s stayed organized. Many of you asked where all the dang food is, and it’s still there. ;) It’s mostly along the sides, since it goes back about a foot past the door frame on both sides.

Finally, I shared the decrapification process I use when I go through and organize a closet (which is about once a year for each one):

And…I just realized I must have saved “decrapification” in my spelling check, cause it didn’t flag it. That’s awesome. :)

Now it’s time to see yours! (Remember if you’d like to be featured later this month, be sure to link back to this post or the blog!)

Here’s a button I threw together because I’m a slacker and still haven’t had one made. I know.

Now link it up!!

New at TDC

Hello hello! I was so hoping to share the office redo with you today, but the last project is taking the longest. (Why is that how it ALWAYS is with me?!) And because this part being such a bugger, I came up with a new idea for it anyway. In my head it’s pretty darn cool, but we’ll see how it turns out.

So I will finish it it up this weekend and share it with you first thing next week!! I’m ITCHING to get it done because I’ve forced myself to hold off on anything other projects till it’s done…so it must. be. done.

I’ve shared a few of my house goals with you over the past couple of weeks. There’s a bunch of them here, and then a BIG project idea in my last post.

I tell you WHAT. Y’all are a bunch of enablers and I LOVE IT. I’m SOOOOO changing up the dining room. I just have to get the final OK from hubby first. I start introducing my big ideas slowly with a lot of “I was thinking” and “Wouldn’t it be nice if…” or “SO, I have this idea…”

After all these years, he knows it (usually) ends up well…so he trusts me. I just have to remind him of that. ;)

(Check out my Facebook page to see a photo a reader sent me with the exact chair set up I was thinking of! Love it!)

Sooo…I’m pretty excited about some new stuff going on on the old blog this year and wanted to share some of it with you!

The popular Before and After Parties will continue every month:

Those go up the first Monday of the month and I love before and after  photos too much to give them up! ;)

But from now on, I won’t be sharing my own projects during that post, but instead will highlight some of my favorites from the previous month’s party. I figure this way I can show some of you off even more. I’m super excited about that!!

I love seeing individual projects every month, but I thought it would be fun to do another party too…this one sharing whole rooms. It’ll be a Pinterest frenzy!! ;)

I don’t have a button for this one yet, but the Show Us Your House linkies will go up the third Tuesday of every month – the first one this coming Tuesday, January 17. I’m SO excited about this one!!

Every month we’ll highlight a different room. Here’s the plan for the year:

January:
Office/craft spaces

February:
Closets

March:
Kitchens

April:
Dining rooms

May:
Nursery/Kids rooms

June:
Outdoor spaces

July:
Bathrooms

August:
Family rooms

September:
Basements/rec rooms

October:
Bedrooms (guest or master)

November:
Foyers

December:
We’ll play it by ear ;)

FUN eh? I can’t wait to see so many awesome rooms all in one post!! I think this is an awesome way to find new blogs too – it’s easy to get an idea of someone’s style when you can see a whole room.

Next up are some changes in the works for the blog. (Super excited about this too – this is just an all around exciting post for me.)

I’ve been working with a designer for about five years now to redo my site. OK, I think it’s been about six months, but I take forever to do anything, so it feels like five years.

It’s a totally new look and I really love it. There are still a LOT things left to do, so it won’t be revealed for a while yet. Here’s a little peak:

I know, not much. I suck. ;)

The change I’m quivering my boots about is this one:

 

YES. I’m doing the switch from Blogger to WordPress. I’ve fought it for years. I hate change. Changing up my blog look, I’m OK with. Changing up rooms, I’m great with. Changing how I work? Notsogood.

I’ll explain why I’m switching in a future post (it’s nothing earth shattering), but what I want you to know now is that the look of the posts will not change – they will not be truncated, or shortened. I’m trying to set it up in a way that’s familiar and comfortable for me and you. :)

And as far as posts go, I plan to keep up all the DIY of course, but hope to show and share more of ME along the way.

Not sharing more of me in that way…dirty birds.

I find myself looking at blogs and liking when I see photos of the actual blogger. I realized the other day that all you really see of me is this:

 

My left hand. ;)

I’m not really all excited about sharing my mug on here, but it is my blog and I am the one writing it, so maybe I’ll include some action shots here and there? You know…like crafting, sawing, watching paint dry. The exciting ones.

So we’ll see how that goes. I’d also like to share more of my life with you guys…just a bit more. I always struggle with how much to share because I feel like I spew out enough of my life on here, but I like when other bloggers share personal stories here and there. Nothing drastic, like my son’s birth story. (Although it was AMAZING, really, you should hear about it.)  :)

But just a few more things about me here and there. So we can get to know each other better. Cause I’ll be asking you to share some info too.

And you thought you were just going to get to sit back and read boring stuff about me.

SO…that’s the plan for this year on Thrifty Decor Chick! I’m so excited, are YOU? Can you barely contain yourself at the thought of seeing photos of me painting walls?? It’s gonna be AWESOME.

I have one question I need your help with – I’ve been wondering this for a while and would love your feedback. When I’ve done room redos, I typically share the redo along the way and then show the final result. Do you like it that way or would you rather see it finished first and then the how to’s after?

I like both ways so I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you like to see it in pieces or in one big reveal?

Thanks in advance!!