Let there be... COLOR!!!

  There are two things that I have learned about myself.  One is that I do not like dark or busy area rugs... I would buy a rug and would get tired of it at the six month mark and be ready for something else.  But rugs aren't cheap and it seemed that I was spending a lot and not getting a lot of use out of it.

  Two is that although I LOVE LOVE LOVE a white room in a picture or in a magazine, in my own home I crave color.  Not red slipcover color like I had before but color that is fun and bright, especially this time of year.

 I bought some fabric for $35 and made 4 pillows.  I like how the pillows bring in other colors than the yellow but also brings it all together.  The pillows are fun and will be easy to change out when I feel like it... and the sisal area rug from Ikea that I purchased for $99 has been down for a year, and I still love it!!

... and I am still loving the yellow lamp!!!  It is such a fun and easy project that anyone can do in just a few hours!

So I am interested to know, is there anything that you have learned about yourself in regards to decorating?

Before:

After:

I'll never win Seamstress of the Year... my sewing skills are basic at best!

Fun, colorful, and easy to change out... yes please!!!

~ Kim :)

Spray Paint Yellow Lamp

  Hi everyone, I'm sorry I have been M.I.A. for a few days.  My Mom came into town on Thursday and my sister arrived today, my son's 4th birthday is Thursday and his birthday party is at our house on Saturday.  I also have two wedding makeup clients this weekend.  Whew!!!... on top of all that I have been very BUSY doing projects around here!

  I have been on the lookout for a thrift store lamp to spray paint yellow for awhile and when I picked up the Country Living magazine I knew I had to do it.  So Sunday I took some time to hit the thrift stores.

Here is a $4.25 lamp from Goodwill that was screaming for some spray paint love!!  

  The lampshade was in good condition so I left it.  

I used Rust-oleum's Sun Yellow in Gloss.  I didn't even prime it, which I have never done but it was so much easier, and it seems to be just fine.

 I mean I LOVE it!!!

Tomorrow I will show what I've done different in our family room.  Remember I was saying I wanted some more color...well I've got it now!

~  Kim :)

Inspiration Friday No.7 ~ Fabric

It's Friday!!!  

The kids have been on Spring Break this week so we've been busy taking in the nice weather

... lots of bike riding!

  Now that I have a light and neutral slipcover I am craving a bit more color on the pillows than the ones that I made here.  I was browsing through the pages of http://www.fabric.com/ to get some ideas and came across these pretty fabrics.  I also ran into Hancock Fabrics earlier and found a few I liked.  So we'll see, we might have some pretty new pillows soon!

Premier Prints 

Premier Prints 

Premier Prints 

Robert Allen 

Robert Allen 

Waverly  

Waverly 

Waverly 

Premier Prints 

Waverly

Have a great weekend!!!

~ Kim :)

Link Party... antique side table

I linked my antiqued side table over at http://primitiveandproper.blogspot.com/.

Link party DIY Showoff

 

I linked my board and batten post over at http://diyshowoff.com/.  

I think the link picture turned out wrong... but I am #206.  Go check it out! :)

Hallway Board & Batten {Sneak Peak}

We hopped on the Board & Batten bandwagon!!

I've been holding out on showing you because still aren't done, but it might be awhile until we are totally finished, because we have a 4 year old birthday party to plan!  

The before started out really rough... our hallway looked like this for 2 years!  I couldn't decide on a paint color... I couldn't decide what to do but just painting it didn't seem right.   Boring, even.

I had seen board and batten done all over blogland but it wasn't until one day it hit me that it would look fantastic in the hallway.  I also wanted to create a sort of art gallery for all of the artwork my two children bring home.  I had frames from the thrift store that I spray painted and from Ikea to start with.

It took me awhile to figure out how I wanted to do it.  I could have gone a cheaper route and used lattice pieces, but it didn't seem right since we removed the baseboards and put in 1 x 6 inch boards to replace them.  I wanted something thicker and substantial.  We ended up using 1 x 4 inch boards for the top and vertical pieces.  We bought the already primed boards to make our life easier!

This picture (below) I got off Google helped put the pieces together.  We left out the back board because we have smooth walls, and we did not put the shelf part at the top because it was a hallway, and we were afraid we'd be bumping into it.

The remaining To Do List is to:  replace those awful lights, put down sisal runners until we refinish the hardwood floors, and to purchase more frames for the kid's artwork.

The view from our bedroom at the end of the hallway... see the Legos :) 

The Ikea frames. 

It's not done, but we're getting there!

~  Kim :)

** the paint color is Smoky Charcoal by Glidden if anyone is interested.

Happy Easter!!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter spent with friends and family!

~  Kim :)