Welcome Home Ikea

A little while ago I was contacted by Ikea with a terrific opportunity to spend $100 on holiday decor.  As much as I am known for refurbishing older furniture I have to admit, Ikea is a weakness for me.  I can spend a day browsing down the arrowed aisles gathering ideas and new items for the house.

So let’s be honest shall we?  Did I stick to my $100 budget?… nahhhh.  Too many little seasonal items struck my fancy.

Start with this gorgeous lit red star STRÅLA.  This beautiful paper star lights up a dark corner of my room perfectly.  And at the end of the season, I can just fold it up and store it flat.

  

Sock Snowman & Santa

With so much to do in so little time I was looking for a simple craft to whip up this holiday season.

This craft is incredibly easy and really fun to do.  And with a very short list of supplies, you can round up what you need in a jiff.

I guess I should say, Sock Snowpeople. Cause our little Snowman has found himself a girl.

Coffee Table Challenge

If you’ve never visited Wayfair.com do it now! Well…read on and THEN RUSH OVER.  When they say, ‘ a zillion things home’  they aren’t kidding.

I was thrilled to be contacted by Wayfair to participate in the DIY Blogger Challenge.  The challenge had us take one of their products and transform it any way we wanted. We also received a gift card from Giftcards.com to cover the cost of supplies.

This is the coffee table we chose out of 3 different items.

Refined and Elegant Vintage

As Seen in the National Post

This beautiful dresser came to me through my cousin, who had it for years and now no longer had room for it.  Unlike so many discarded items I work with, this one was clean as a whistle inside.  The outside wasn’t actually in terrible shape, but it was in need of a little refreshing.

The dresser is solid wood and weighs just under a metric ton (ok, not that much, but it’s pretty darn heavy).

As with all pieces of this era, that shiny laminate type finish had to be sanded down to allow for new paint. 

I must admit that the top wasn’t in this kind of condition when I got it, but it’s been kicking around in the garage so long that well…. it acquired some battle scars.  Not to worry, I knew what I was going to do with it.

Fall Coffee Filter Wreath

Ever since I made the Christmas coffee filter wreath last year, I’ve been wanting to do one up for fall.  For this wreath I used the natural, unbleached filters. These filters can be found most anywhere.  I found them at Walmart, but most grocery stores carry them.

Not only is it pretty to look at, it smells wonderful !  The pine cones are cinnamon scented.

The full and complete instructions can be found here, but here are a few anyway.

Start off with foam wreath and about 200 coffee filters....

Autumn Kitchen Wreath

I wanted to make a rustic wreath for my kitchen this year and being a huge fan of Autumn and apple pie,  I combined the two.

I started with a few items from Michaels and one from Walmart.  A wire wreath, the wooden flat-sided rolling pin, a roll of loose woven burlap, a few fall sprigs and some apples came from Michaels.  The fabric I found at Walmart; inexpensive and perfect for this project.

Diary of a Laundry/Powder Room–The Reveal

It’s been a while, but the Laundry/Powder room is finally finished.  For those who haven’t read the previous posts, my laundry room is in the main floor powder room.  It’s quite convenient actually, but it’s never been pretty…. until now.

Here’s a sneak peek

Project Recap:

This before picture shows the bathroom vanity.  To the left of the little wall jutting out, is my laundry area.

Remember there were large bi-fold doors concealing all of this, but at this time of this picture they were already removed.

Laundry/Powder Room Progress

Betcha thought you’d never see a post on this again.  I was beginning to think that myself.  It’s been terribly busy and with some good weather and good friends, I’ve found myself socializing slightly more than I deserve to lately. 

In any case, this is the progress so far.

A recap of how my gorgeous Laundry/Powder room looked before can be found here (I can’t bear to post those pictures again).

Basically the laundry area is the bulk of the work.  The laundry room was behind two large bi-fold doors completely hidden from the rest of the washroom, and thank Heavens it was.

Unfortunately my washer and dryer each died on different occasions. The dryer was replaced first to match the washer which in turn died some months later, soooo I ended up with mismatched machines.  Not that it matters, they both do the trick.

Everything you see in this picture below had to be removed.  The washer/dryer were pulled out and set side by side, which is the way they’ll stay.  The bulkhead that separated the two parts of this room was removed.

Secretary Desk for a Writer

A client of mine contacted me recently with a request to do another desk for her.  I had previously done the Viridian Green Desk for Kari and now she wanted something for a  small nook her home to write her new children’s book.  Kari and her sister have one children’s book already published and she’ll be using this desk to pen a new one.  Take a moment to check out their book Margaret and the Moth Tree, you can find it at most bookstores as well as Amazon.

Kari located the desk herself and asked me to repaint it for her.  As cute as this desk is, it was in terrible condition.  I don’t believe I’ve ever come across a piece with so many coats of paint on it…(well maybe I have).  So many, in fact, that the paint was literally flaking off in chunks.

Padded Headboard

In an effort to spruce up a basement apartment bedroom, we constructed our own version of a padded headboard.

This room has no windows.  The cheery pale yellow on the walls and warm flooring helps cozy up the room, but the plain wall behind the bed needed help. 

Here’s an abbreviated version of what we did.

Start a with 5/8 sheet of finished plywood cut to fit a double size bed.  Select some trim for the edges. This makes up the main part of the headboard.

We cut another piece of finished plywood in this design to mount on top of the main square piece.

Coming Up ..

Believe it or not, I actually HAVE been busy. 

The problem is, that at the moment I have so many projects started, but not completed….except for this project.

Come on back this weekend to find out.

A Home away from Home

I’d like to introduce you to the main reason I haven’t posted much lately. Recently we purchased a house in Florida.  This is a project far from my home but close to my heart.   A couple of trips and  some hard work and we have something I’ve managed to become very attached to. There was a lot going in a very few short days, but I only managed to pick up the camera a few times to take these shots.

From the outside this was the way we found it…

Recaptured Charm in Italy

I know I’ve been slightly absent so far this year but I’ve been involved with so many different things, time just seems to be rushing by me.

I want to take a minute and tell you about one of those things… Recaptured Charm in Italy ?

Yessiree! 

Truly one of the more beautiful home magazines I have seen has done a little article about Recaptured Charm and the Stenciled Dresser…..in Italian of course.  I’m overjoyed to see it in print and in such a beautiful magazine.

Ristrutturare con Casa Chic

CONTINUED... (click link below)

Diary of a Laundry/Powder Room–The Beginning

I’ve been in my current house for over 4 years now.  Mr. Charming and I have managed to rework much of the house but 3 bathrooms have remained untouched.

My laundry machines reside in my main floor powder room.  Convenient ?  Yes  Attractive ?  No.

I admit there are times when I am ashamed to say ‘this is my before picture’, and this is one of them.   Granted, the  bi-fold doors that concealed the laundry area have been taken down for this picture… but it is an unsightly bathroom nonetheless. Thankfully, I have a second floor family room and guests can use the ‘less unattractive’ bathroom up there.

Ok, so here it is <big breath>  in all it’s previous glory.

Wallpapered Armoire

Well welcome back to me !

I’ve taken an extra long holiday this year.  I took time off at Christmas to thoroughly enjoy the season and lots of family time.  BUT… I have been working on something the past couple of weeks.  So to make up for my absence, how about an extra long post?

After repurposing  the previous armoire( seen here  in milk paint)  I came across another almost the same.  This armoire though, was larger and much deeper than the last.   Because I thought this piece would be too large for most kitchens or dining rooms to repurpose it like the last, it was decided to leave it as an armoire.

But I just don’t like mirrored door armoires.

Our before picture shows the Armoire  with one door already off.  I have to say this was in very good condition.  The inside was immaculate. The outside, although also in great condition was very shiny.  We all know how I feel about shiny.

In any case… off came the mirrored doors.