What I've Been Up To

Okay..so you all know what Ben has been up to, but I figured I'd give you all a little sneek peak into our home, where the magic happens. So far, I have pictures of my room, the bathroom, the living room, and the master at work in our garage, which was recently cleaned up.

In my room, I decided to make a picture gallery wall of random pictures I had..take a look and see what you think... I have taken a kind of Scandinavian approach to the decor of this room, and my pictures on the gallery wall are from all over the place. I have always wanted a wall filled with random things. The pictures are purposely off-angled, and I broke up the ones that are part of a set. I think it makes it much more interesting. And, I really love all of these pictures. I make a rule never to put anything up I don't love. I also have a cuckoo clock from Germany and a water-color painting from Sicily in my room. The bookcase was made by my father, and I also have a hope chest passed to me from my mom.



In the bathroom I took a slightly different decorative approach, definitley French, with the black, white and red decor. I have thrown in a bit of apple green, just for a different effect. I also have a smaller gallery of pictures that I have collected from random places. I just love them all! One thing I love that I don't have a picture of is a mirrored vanity tray, hung on the wall. I love to be surrounded with things that make me happy!



The last room of the tour is the living area. This is definitely more contemporary, but to off-set the coldness of the leather and the monochromatic colors, I add spots of color, and many pillows and blankets crafted of warm fabrics. The picture of Paris is by far my favorite, but I love the cowhide too. All of my furniture here is super-light, so I can move it myself. My favorite thing about the ottoman is that it has four cubbies to hide all sorts of things, and the tops flip over for trays to eat on. Perfect! I have two sitting areas in the front room, and Ben sleeps on a daybed out there too, but we will not photograph that for privacy sake. I hope you have enjoyed my little tour.




Oh, and one last picture of Ben in the garage, making his magic.

Side Table Chic

Here comes another posting, this table I created today. Unfortunately I became so inspired by the project that I forgot to take a before pic. It wasn't pretty let's just say that...okayy. Anyways I was originally going to paint the whole table black but after sanding the legs, I loved the modern/rustic/french look it gave. Once again it's the recombination thing that I love so much.

I am working on two more dining room tables currently, those will be finished closer to the end of the week. I must remind myself of one thing to wear a dust mask, because I finally understand why people who start cleaning and use chemicals can keep going for hours. They have inhaled so much, that their heart races and they are unable to slow down.

First Lesson learned: Always wear a dust mask.
Second Lesson: Always sand before painting.
Third Lesson: Do not start painting furniture until you have listened to Lady Gaga remixed.

And ACTION!!!

Well it is official, my first blog posting. I have been putting this off for quite sometime because I wanted to ensure that I created something that represented me and what I am hoping to achieve in the best way possible.

This whole thing began because I have an obsession with thrifting. If you are unsure as to what thrifting is, well I would say that it going to consignment shops, garage sales and thrift stores and look for fashions and home goods that can be modified to fit into todays world without looking old or outdated.

I have a sense of being able to see something and look at the silhouette or the fabric, and see the potential that lies within it. It takes a bit of vision, and definitely quite a lot of elbow grease and trial and error to make something old look new. That is the beauty in the whole process. Of course I love how something looks when I am finished, but the best part of the whole thing for me is the transformation.

Here is my first official piece, pictured below. I found this at a thrift store and knew that with a fresh coat of paint and a little work this would be a treasure.

before

after

I decided it would be fun to try a great little treatment on the top as well, I want to create something that I would call a combination of French and Modern. Here was the result.