Around the House: The New Old Desk

That right there friends is my most recent roadside score. Apparently my neighbors had a garage sale a few weeks back and this desk didn't sale. It was then put to the curb in hopes that someone would provide a new home. Hello desk. Wanna come home with me? Uh-huh.

Right here is when I came to understand why no one had purchased this dreamy desk of awesomeness. Heavy. Back pulling, hernia inducing, heavy. Oh my mercy. All I could grab on my own were the drawers. Then the hubs and I had to take the guts and the top off in order to get it into my studio. Was it worth it? Hellz yes! This baby is a sewer's delight.

After wiping down every inch of the desk, I sanded the varnish off and stained the wood with an ebony stain that we had in the garage. (I couldn't stand the orange-y hue of the original stain. Yuckers.) Once the stain was dry, we put the top back on and bolted her down tight. We had to recruit some help (thanks sister and BIL) for getting the guts back in. You must be asking... "guts?" "What the heck is she talking about?" Only the absolute best part of this desk. The door on the lefthand side opens to reveal another "desk" that pulls out and pops up. Perfect for a serger. I KNOW! Sewers' dream. I die. I think it was originally intended for a 10 key or something. Not anymore baby.

After cleaning out the drawers, I lined all of them with some old wallpaper that I scored a long time ago at a thrift store. And then I replaced all the pulls, which was crazy difficult because 4" centered pulls are not the easiest thing to find. Especially if you want the pulls to actually look good. I finally found these amazing bronze beauties on myknobs.com. 

You guys, this desk is a total game changer. I can sew, serge and work on my computer, all with the swivel of my chair. Whaaaaat? Did someone say, "heaven." Amen sistah. In the end, my new old desk ended up costing my $31.00. It is by far the best thing I have ever scored in bulk trash. I love it so much it's kinda sick. Sometimes I go up to my studio to just sit at my desk and look around. All the natural light, white and tree top views makes my heart go pitter-patter. I want to sew all the time now. Praising God for the little ways He blesses us.

I hope your Mother's Days were amazing. Just like each of you. Happy Monday. xo

Around the House: Updating An Ikea Classic

Ikea is a staple in our house. Clean lines. Affordable prices. Check and check. My hubs bought these old Ikea barstools a long time ago for location shoots because they are lightweight and were extremely inexpensive. While the stools aren't bad, the bolts come loose really easily and require a bit of TLC every now and again to make them sturdy. (That's probably why they don't sell them anymore.) Unfortunately, it's currently not in our budget to buy new stools. So I gave our old grey stools a quick makeover with some spray paint and twine. Who doesn't love a good Ikea hack?

Oh, and my boys think popping off this black foot rest is a sport (annoying), so I happily discarded that piece in the makeover.

 I taped off the feet and the base of each leg on the underside of the stool with painters' tape...

Once a few coats of Rustoleum and a clear coat finish were dry, I brought the stools in and wrapped the footrest bar in twine. The twine I had on hand was pretty fuzzy, so I trimmed any long stragglers and applied a coat of Mod Podge so that the twine wouldn't unravel.

I love how they turned out. This should hold us over for a few more years. Hopefully. When the white seats get dirty, I just clean them off with my favorite sponge - the Magic Eraser.

And if I get sick of the mint green or twine... I'll just cut off the twine and grab a new color of spray paint. This project was really easy and cost me $0 since I already had everything I needed in my garage. Bam. My heart explodes with joy when that happens and I may or may not have done a happy dance around my kitchen.

What have you spray painted lately?

Around the House: Exterior Makeover In Progress

First impressions are everything right? If that's true, and I'm pretty sure it is, then I want people to feel welcome the minute they drive up to my home and knock on the door. In fact, for many, I'd like them to skip the knocking and come on in. That is warmth, familiarity and inviting. I want that for my home.

That "before" picture above is somewhat welcoming, but not our vision for what we knew this home of ours could be. Since it's been warm out and my FIL had just wrapped a job, the hubs asked him to come down to Texas for some family time and a much needed facelift on the front of our home. This is a glimpse of what has been completed to date: old siding ripped down, cedar installed, beams covered, stain, new house numbers and a fresh coat of paint on the mailbox. Basically their part is almost finished and now it's time for me to add the accessories. 

Here's the progress we've made so far, via iphone...

Accessories provide the warmth and welcoming feelings that I hope to achieve. Plants, Tiffany blue painted door, light fixture and door mat. We're doing native plants in the beds; mostly cactus that require very little water and a few rocks to add depth and more texture. I had originally hoped for a big beautiful fiddle leaf fig in the front right corner by the front door, but it's Texas and I fear the heat would death. (Either that or my brown thumb.) Now I'm thinking I might need to play it safe and go with a snake plant.

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I love that door mat. Funny huh? Feeling a DIY on that bad boy. And maybe I'll add some color to my cream plant pot. Hmm... I'm so excited. We are getting so close. Now if Spring would just show up and stay around a bit longer so that our grass can go back to it's lovely shade of green instead of brown. That would be the cherry on top!

Happy Monday y'all. xo

Around the House: Spring Patio

Happy Monday and a big Texas sized Happy Spring Break as well. We kicked our Spring Break off with a few friends gathered around our fire in the back yard. And though we have spent a lot of time around our fire pit lately, the patio remained neglected with about 10,000 leaves gathered under, around and behind our glider. Our poor patio was in desperate need of some serious TLC.

I moved everything off the patio, cleaned and swept. The stage was set for the amazing goodness I found at Target the other day. 

Here's the goodness. Doesn't look like much right now, but when you zoom into that red outlined rectangle... it gets real good. Nate Berkus gold "trash cans" marked down from $39.99 to $11.98. Not only is the price to die for, they are heavy. Really heavy. Like, flip them upside down and sit on them heavy. Hello side tables with a bonus of extra seating when needed.

At first I thought I'd set them to the sides of the glider and add a throw for an extra bit of warmth on those nights when the temps are still dipping pretty low.

I like it, but it feels unfinished. More changes... more textures. a better use of space and some pillows.

 Ahh... much better...

I'll bring out the blanket when it's needed. And as soon as it warms up a bit more, I'll be adding more plants. Eeek. I'm so excited to sit out here with warm breezes, books and wine. All the old wooden crates that used to be on our patio are being put on the wall in our mudroom for extra storage. Sneak peaks of that soon. How are you getting ready for more days and nights outside?

Around the House: 5 Minute Bench Makeover

Happy Monday and MLK Day. I'm popping in for a quick DIY that some of you may be inspired to try today if your weather is as insanely gorgeous as ours has been. My friend gifted me this bench when she moved into her new mid-century modern. I love it. Clean simple lines and the perfectly worn wood. Mmm... 

And as perfect as it is, I couldn't help but feel that it needed a little spice. A bit of gold.

Once the sun began to set we threw a few logs into the pit, sat by the fire and grilled marshmallows. I love, love, love our firepit. I'm so glad we had it built. Our family gathers around the fire quite often and watching the flames is proving to generate good conversation. That warms my heart more than the flames warm my feet.

 Yup, gold stripes... they will do quite nicely.

Enjoy your three day weekend! xo

Around the House: Playing with Color

Sometimes, when Fall and Winter begin to take the colors of Summer away, I need a little color injection in and around my home. Color that outdoor plants, grass and flowers can no longer provide. Don't get me wrong, I love the seasons. It's just that after Fall explodes in all it's glorious colors, brown begins to take over. What's a girl to do when her backyard needs a dose of color and her siding is in need of a major overhaul? Add paint!

This is the siding at the back of our house. Eventually it will be replaced with cedar, but until then I thought it was in desperate need of an overhaul. Especially since I spend so much time gathered around the fire-pit this time of year and the siding has spots around the edges where age is a serious issue.

I already had a ton of paint and supplies on hand. The only thing I purchased for this makeover was the turquoise spray paint. I had been thinking about doing this after seeing the super cool homes of Mockabee 7 and Ascot Friday. So the other day when the hubs ran to Target with the littles, I grabbed my supplies and went to work. (I had a feeling the hubs would shoot this idea down fast if it were only described first.) I got panel one done before they got back home. That's how simple this project is.

Day two - panel two. Another color added into the mix.

I absolutely love the way it turned out. It's a hidden treasure that no one can see unless they come to our backyard! And once you're in the backyard, the color adds a dose of unexpected playfulness and becomes a focal point vs. an eyesore. 

How do you inject color around your home in the cold winter months? xo