Living Room Tango

Hello there! So, our living room is in constant motion. It's not so much a result of indecisiveness as much as patience, (at least that's how I try to play it to Husband). Seriously, though. When we moved to our home, we had to get very creative with our living room as we were pretty short on cash. A lot of early decorating was rather temporary until I either made or found exactly what I wanted. I can tell you this; every single thing in our living room with the exception of the slipcovers and throw pillows were either made by us, bought used, or passed down from other family members, (and between 7 Bed Bath and Beyond coupons and a gift card, I practically used pocket change to buy 7 new throw pillows).

In the beginning...

And now...

Opposite wall take 1...

Take 2...

Take 3...

A sideboard dressed for Spring....

And dressed for Winter.

That's our Living Room for now. I hope you enjoyed popping in!

So long, Fair Desk

Hello! I hope you have had a wonderful weekend. My weekend started bittersweet as I had to say goodbye to one of my favorite pieces. I'm learning that furniture refinishing is a tough business!! It's a daily practice to put a lot of myself into each piece - I pick the color, distress it where I want...each piece is a reflection of my personal taste and style, (unless someone drops a piece off with a specific color and finish in mind). Then, as if I'm not attached enough I bring each piece inside and stage it to make it look like part of our decor for a little photo shoot. I'll admit, sometimes I let pieces stay in our home for a little while if I really like it. This just makes it that much harder to sell! Luckilly, old furniture will ALWAYS be available for refinishing. There are few guarantees in life, but this thing I know to be true.

For the most part I really, REALLY enjoy distressing and bringing some age out of a piece. This desk and chair, however, I just couldn't bring myself within 10 feet of with sandpaper! I couldn't do it. As soon as I finished the final coat of thick, creamy, almond colored paint, I coulnd't do another thing to them! They looked so pretty. I find a lot of beauty out of distressing most pieces, but once in a blue moon there will be one that just looks so perfect with clean, smooth lines; so polished and pristine. This matching desk and chair were among those rare pieces.

Knobs from Anthropologie

Seat cushion refinished in a soft burlap. When people ask if I reuhpolster, I tell them I'm quite handy with my staple gun...but that's about it. There are some jobs that require little more than a good staple gun and pretty fabric.

It was a sad farewell as I really enjoyed working on this pair and quite love how they turned out. But, they are going in a sweet little 8yr old girls room. I couldn't think of a better place. :)

Ongoing job this week: finishing the farm table I started last week. I have painted 2 coats of chalk paint, 1 coat clear wax, distressed, second coat of clear wax, and tomorrow I will apply dark wax. This transformation is above and beyond my favorite thus far so I can't wait to show you very soon!!

Recycling Baby's Breath

Hello! It's been 9 days since Valentine's Day and if you happened to get flowers they might be on their last leg soon. Don't fret, you can still use your Baby's Breath in a few pretty ways around your home!

1. Cut a bunch short and fill up a plain mug. This would be cute in a guest bedroom, bathroom, end table or the kitchen! I like mine in the kitchen - I don't have much space for flowers, but a small mug of Baby's Breath is still nice to look at :)

2. Fill a tiny vase nice and full and add it to a group of other decorative items, or on top of a stack of books, (I use old baby food jars with a hold punctured through the lid).

3. Fill a bunch of tiny vases with just one branch or so of Baby's Breath and group them together. In this example I have them surrounding a large hurricane candle vase as our dining table centerpiece.

An old picture of my girl, Shire, checking out Momma's handiwork.

I hope this helps you enjoy your flowers a bit longer! Do you have any cool ideas of how to 'stretch' a bouquet?

I finished painting the farm table today! My first go with chalk paint :) Tomorrow I'll be adding a couple layers of wax and distressing. I can't wait to show you! Thank you for stopping by!