making history your own

Anyone who has been around these parts for a while knows I've long been on the hunt for a great secretary. I mention it often, and even did a whole post here solely on my wish. So, when my parents had to make room for a new/old piece of furniture I was more than happy to take one (of many) pretty china cabinet off their hands.

Now I know you are thinking, "uh Elizabeth maybe I can help you with this - a secretary and a china cabinet are not the same thing". Yes, I know. But just as beer and gin aren't the same thing, I can make a damn good time out of either option.

My dad found this china cabinet in pieces in an old box in the back of a garage at some sale in the 70's (groovy) and had it refinished and restored. I remember this piece growing up, sitting in my parents dining room full of blue and white china. A great use for it of course, but I had other plans.

As soon as I got it home though I realized that I had the same beef with the piece that my mom has had for the past 40 years - it is a black hole. Those doors close and those shelves are like a tomb. Not the bright and fun look I'm in favor of.

Then, while on an antique trip I noticed a whole store full of great old china cabinets all with their insides painted. Chalk paint has been used on the inside of glass front furniture for generations - hello Williamsburg.

Chalky blue to the rescue. My dad growled but I reminded him that we saw the same thing at Monticello. And when you've got a founding father on your side, really no one can disagree with you, right?

Let their be light! Now let's take a look inside, shall we?

Some of my favorite design books, the bar (hand over your heart) a few pictures and accessories and of course some blue and white in a nod to my parents version of the same piece. A little of the old and a little of the new.

Have you inherited any furniture? What did you do to make it your own? Ever turned down a piece because you thought it wouldn't work? Maybe give it a second thought!

home office makeover - before and after reveal

The time has come. I can put it off no longer. I cleaned off my desk, took some pictures and had a few G&T's because the office is done people! Let's rip the curtain off this sucker.

The goal was to turn a corner of my unfinished basement into an office that I wouldn't mind spending a few hours a day in using ONLY things I already had. How did I do?

Remember, this space has some pretty humble beginnings. I needed an office space, I live in a small house, and this was the best unused corner available. Cue the before and after pictures.

Everything was hosed down and then covered with bright white paint on the walls and ceiling. The floors were painted Bermuda Turquoise (Benjamin Moore) and gave a great base of color. To be honest, I could have just left it with the new paint and been thrilled. But you know I can't leave well enough alone.

The metal desk was a hand me down from my dad's old office (aka FREE). I sprayed it down with hot pink spray paint and stuck that beauty right in the middle of the room. The perfect spot for my lovely lady lamps, which are the only thing that I bought specifically for the office.

The chair is one of those, 'I have nowhere for it but I really like it' purchases last fall. I believe it was $15. It was stained the most horrible shade of yuck so I stripped it off with the intent to paint it. But I like the unfinished wood and it brings some nice warmth into the space. So it stayed. Underneath the desk is an old dhurrie rug I got several years back at an annual thrift sale for $2.

Remember Elmer? I found him at an estate sale in a few dozen pieces. Well he is all fixed and standing watch under my desk. He's my trusty butler who holds my drinks so they stay off of the desk and away from the computer. (I've been known to spill things.)

When the overhead pendant didn't end up working out, I decided to leave the ceiling alone and go with lamps instead. However, I did add a swing arm library sconce over the inspiration board. I'd gotten it several months back at Home Depot with the intent of putting it upstairs but never got around to it. I'm sensing a 'putting off projects pays off' theme here.

The inspiration board serves a great purpose as...inspiration. (duh) But, it also solved the issue of having a vast white wall behind me and not being able to use a single nail (nails in my foundation don't sound like a good idea to me) as well as falling into that whole already owned theme.  I mimicked the shape of the bamboo mirror to create the shape of the board with gold glittery tape. Because if you have a hot pink desk and lady lamps, you need gold glitter somewhere.

I didn't fill it up all the way as I think that is something that should happen over time but it was a fun experience that took me back to my Teen Beat days for sure. And although Johnny Depp circa 21 Jumpstreet didn't make it onto the wall, I did pay homage to my never ending love for Moonlighting with my handmade art from way back when. Oh Bruce, you were so funny back then.

And on that note, let's move on.

Before...

After.

The paint and whatever other crap was under the stairs was removed and I put in some of the metal storage shelves we have for a bit of, well, storage. Now all my fabrics are in one place and I've got a whiteboard to keep me organized (in theory). And I'm going to have to remove all those pillows because the hubs came in and said "you have too many pillows" which just isn't true at all. What does he know.

The other rack of metal shelves (we got a few sets of these a long while back at Costco) now stores books, magazines etc.

The mirror was a CL purchase a while back thanks to my friend Charmaine who posted the mirror when she did a St Louis search. Yet another purchase I had no spot for when I bought it that has come in handy now. It was also another piece I had originally planned to paint but once I got it into the room decided I loved it as is.

On the other side of the room, the new window is a tie for 'best decision ever' with the paint for this space. That window has made a huge difference and it even opens and has a screen. Super fancy. I have it open a lot and get a nice breeze and a breath of fresh air. I'm in the basement, so any fresh air is welcome.

The curtains are leftover ticking fabric. Fabric hoarding to the rescue. The bamboo frame was a score at the estate sale trifecta.

Next to the window is the old wicker demilune table that you all helped me with. I went black and I love it. The armchair also came from the estate sale trifecta, I just removed her slipcover. The cushions need recovered at some point, but until then, a little fabric does the trick. The mats are from an Indie Mats warehouse sale last winter and they are a great solution for walls that can't take nails.

Pictures are a challenge in this room because as that sun moves at a rapid pace, so does my light. But on non picture taking days that is one of my favorite things about the space, there is always light moving thru this room so I can spend a lot of the day without lights on. A true surprise in a basement. Anyone else feel like sining This Little Light of Mine with me?

So there she blows. And I have pictures to prove that at one time, this room was clean.

Have you ever made a 'room' out of corner before? Do you keep a stock of items on hand for those 'just in case' times? You should. I'll testify that it is worth it.

home office makeover - best laid plans

A trait that is at the top of the list when designing anything is flexibility. Things will always come up that you couldn't have planned for (without a crystal ball) and you've got to be able to bend and revise your plan. And almost always this works out for the best.

Case in point - the lighting for my office.

I had long imagined that I would use a huge black and gold lampshade as my 'chandelier' over my desk. I'd gotten the shade at an estate sale long ago and was waiting for just the right thing to use it for and my office was that thing. I even used it in my design plan.

So once I had the space cleaned out, and the paint was down, I started to play around with my lighting scheme. The space only had one sad little lightbulb hanging and the plan was to center a new light over the desk as well as add some other lights around the space and a few outlets for plugs, lamps (more lighting) etc.

But standing in the space I began to notice two things:
1. I don't have soaring ceilings down here so the light would either have to hang pretty close to the ceiling or it would hang down so low it would obstruct the view and act as one big blocker in the room. Kind of like that girl who's bangs are too long but she still lets them hang in her eyes. Clean it up girl!
2. I was planning enough lighting for a room twice the size of my office. I am all in favor of good mood lighting, but this was getting a bit crazy, even for me.

My perfectly planned lighting scheme was not going to work and I was feeling deflated. Damn it I love that black lamp shade! As I sulked in a G&T I remembered these beauties at a favorite local shop. They (the pair) are old, heavy as hell and beautiful. Very feminine and perfect for my office. They have since come to be known as the 'lady lamps' around this house and I'm madly in love with them.

And even though I said I would work to use only what I already had in this office project, they were my one treat.

And speaking of things I already had, my parents said I could use this old metal desk that sat in the back of my dad's shop for the past 20+ years.

Aside from a good cleaning, the desk was in perfect condition and just the vast workspace I was looking for. I used Amy Howard's Lacquer Spray Paint in Begonia (a full review of my experience coming soon)

and in an afternoon, had one very pink, very lady like desk. Perfect for my lady lamps.

The rug is one I got at a local annual sale. It is the same sale I got this stool, and these chairs (before and after). The rug was an impulse purchase because it was huge and TWO DOLLARS. At the time I had no idea when or where I would ever use it, but come on, TWO DOLLARS. It isn't my first choice but without intending to, the colors work really well with the floor and desk and did I mention it was two dollars? See hubs, eventually all that stuff I keep in our basement pays off.

So plans changed, things got lady like and I made lemonade out of two dollar lemons. That sounds like progress to me. Next up, curtains, fabrics and books, oh my.

Do you shop your own house when starting a new project? Do you buy things without really knowing where they will end up? Did you play a drinking game with my over usage of 'two dollars'? (You should have, I said it a lot)

racing stripe bookcase: before and after

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Glidden® paint through their partnership with POPSUGAR Select. While I was compensated to write a post about Glidden paint, all opinions are my own.

While cleaning out my hall closet, I found a great little bookcase that had been hidden behind piles of coats, umbrellas and who knows what else. An old piece that came from my parents garage years ago that was sturdy but the victim of a very bad refinishing job.

So when Glidden® paint asked if I'd like to try their Glidden paint Duo Paint + Primer, I knew I had a good candidate on my hands. I wanted something bright and fresh for this little number. Something to give it a bit of style.

Color combos were an important consideration for me because I wanted something bright and, you know me - colorful, but I also wanted something different. What better chance to step out of your color comfort zone then with a blah piece of furniture, am I right? I even took a quick poll on Instagram.

Coral and white won out in the end thanks to a beautiful shade called Glidden paint's Cheery Cherry. Great name, right? Right up my alley. I tried the Glidden paint's Bright White in Eggshell and Glidden paint's Cheery Cherry in Semi-Gloss.

After stripping and sanding the bookshelf, I was ready to start painting. (Check this out for more info on how I strip and prep furniture for paint).

Disregard the beat up manicure and focus on my too very close hand. See any paint on there? Me neither. One of my biggest beefs when painting is all of the spray that ends up on my hand when rolling the paint on. I see one little spec of paint on my hand and this was after painting the whole piece. Aces.

Two coats later I had a bright white bookcase ready for a bit of fun.

All kinds of crazy ideas went thru my head on what to do with the inside of the bookshelf. I knew I didn't want to just paint the whole inside one color as that is the way it was before and it left the inside like a black hole. A stencil or some type of pattern crossed my mind but because of its size and fixed shelves, I thought it would end up looking too busy once it had books etc. inside. Ultimately, the single racing stripe won out.

The hubs helped to measure everything out to make sure that the stripe was centered and consistent all the way down.

Once the tape is down it is vital to paint one more coat of your base color over the tape to prevent any bleed thru. Learn from my mistakes people, this will make for very straight lines. It is so worth the extra step.

Two coats of Glidden paint's Cheery Cherry and I've got myself a racing stripe bookcase. I'm in love.

Straight lines make me giddy. And that semi gloss finish on the racing stripe gives just the right amount of shine.

I've already moved this bookcase into a few different spots, banging it when going thru doorways (when will I ever learn) but the paint has stayed in great shape. Not a nick in site. I'm loving the style it will bring to my new walk in closet.

Have you painted anything lately? Are you into racing stripes as much as I am? Is it possible that I'm obsessed with coral now?