Better After: November 2011

The World's a Stage

Nov 30, 2011

You know what I love more than anything? Chocolate chips in my cereal, yes how did you know? But besides that, you know what else I really love more than anything? Staging! It's like getting a complete home makeover without ever having to leave your home! There's just something a little bit magical about seeing living spaces completely transform from a simple rearrangin'.

Of course, it's not a simple as it looks. That's why people hire professionals like Robin who staged this awkward and clunky room into its best possible self. She's like the Oprah of furniture placement! Check it out on her site Madison Modern Home.

Another view ...

A Pointed Discussion

Do you have Neiman Marcus taste but an IKEA budget? Hannah had lusted after a Lily Pulitzer piece from ol' NM, but was stopped in her tracks when she realized how expensive the dang thing was. So she turned those tracks straight towards everyone's favorite big blue box of happiness and picked up this $39 cabinet instead. A dash of metallic gold spray paint, and she's got a similar luxe look on her hands with money to spare!

See it on her blog Champagne Lifestyle on a Beer Budget.

Can't get enough chevrony goodness? Then check out one more redo from Kim at The Sasse Life, who found this little cutie on Craigslist and decided on a bold color combo. I personally have only one red item in my entire house; it's a hand-me-down KitchenAid that matches nothing. But ... I'm quite drawn to the combination of black, white and red here. Hmmm, perhaps I should branch out. At least for the KitchenAid's sake.

I'm in trouble deep.

No, this isn't the transformation of Jannet's little girl Lola, she's already cute as a button. Instead, take note of that big dark buffet behind her and envision it in yellow. Or just nod and pretend that you are when we both know you've already scrolled down to the after.

Jannet fixes up and sells furniture like this for a living, but knew she was in trouble when she got her hands on this one because she just couldn't part with it! She says people either love it or hate it, but I can't imagine a world where people would hate something so fun! Either way, she's made up her mind that she's keeping her baby.

See it on her site Simple Matters.

Big and Burly

Nov 29, 2011

So, by now you probably know a little about my knotty wood phobia. I've touched on it a time or two. But I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of my even worser wood phobia: burl.

Knotty wood looks like eyes. That's creepy. Not to be overly dramatic, but burl wood looks like melted souls of the undead emerging from the mists of hell, mouths agape in silent screams and dark empty eyes; eyes that are endlessly searching but never finding. That's pee-your-pants-creepy.

I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure Lori felt the same way about her burl table (or misguided imitation of burl, judging by my inexpert opinion), and outdated chairs. So she just painted the whole thing black and added new fabric on the cushions to keep the whole vibe fun and playful. Big sigh of relief coming from my direction, yo.

See more on her blog Mama with a Dash of DIY Drama.

Iron it Out

What is your least favorite household chore? Mine used to be emptying the dishwasher and folding the laundry, but now I have kids old enough to do that for me, BWA HA HA! They aren't quite old enough to iron yet, which stinks, because that truly is the worst. Do you like to iron? You could come to my house and do it for me! I will bring you drinks and keep you motivated with morale-boosting cheers in exchange, how bout it? If not, I guess I could fancy up my ironing board with a lovely little handmade cover like Jackie from Jackie's Creations and maybe that would help me kindle a love for ironing. Yeah, not likely. Pretty darn cute though, huh?

In Good Taste

Jilly had an enormously long living room on her hands. If you've ever been to Arizona, you have seen this phenomenon. For some reason local building codes require half a football field of uninterrupted living space upon entering the front door.

But Jilly had had enough of that nonsense and found the perfect set of giant bookcases to help break up the cavernous room. Perfect in every way except they were kinda woodsy, and not her vibe at all. Not a problem when you've got paint, simple wood cutouts and a handy set of friends who will help with the dirty work! Looks absolutely fantastic! See more on her blog Girls with Good Taste.

Glue Sticks!

Nov 28, 2011

Remember how keen I was to show you some projects featuring natural wood earlier today? Well forget that as you behold this kitchastrophe, because nothing could save this steaming mess from itself. Except a crow bar and the steely determination to go on once Allison realized that all the wood you see here are individually glued down pieces that had to be individually pried off, not to mention the heavily glued down laminate that had to be removed as well. Owzers. My hands ache in sympathy.

She kept it simple with a fresh coat of white and a few small updates in order to flip and sell! See more pics (seriously, it was a tragedy) on her blog TwoThirty-Five Designs.

Stain Attained

Let's go au naturel, shall we? Let's celebrate the unadorned beauty of simply-stained wood grains, yes? Ok, well first is a cute little desk by Kari at Encore Decor. The before wasn't a total tragedy, but it surely wasn't anything that would catch your eye and ask it to dance, now was it? That's not the case anymore!

And here Katy stripped down and got dirty with this desk, oh for crying out loud, get your mind out of the gutter! Haven't you ever stripped furniture? It's a dirty job, sheesh! Now, the beautiful wood that was lurking under layers of chipped stain is shining through, and she gave a little extra gleam to the original handles too. See it on her blog Krush Remakes.

Ceiling Stunners

Howdy! I'm back from a nice Thanksgiving weekend in Salt Lake City, where I froze my buns off so thoroughly, I'm pretty sure they fell off in one icy chunk somewhere on south Temple Street. Ha ha, I wish! My buns are most certainly still here and will be spending some quality time on the treadmill this week.

Did you have a great Thanksgiving? (or regular ol' weekend if you don't live in America?) Have you fully shaken off your turkey coma? If not, here's a zinger of a makeover to help wake you up from Jennifer at Dimples and Tangles.

Tired of the boring fans in her home but unhappy with anything she found in the store, she decided to make do with what she had! The first fan she simply taped off and painted the stripes with craft paint, and the second fan is modge-podged fabric! Jennifer reports that both have held up just fine against everyday use.

See the entire room makeover from the chevron fan HERE.

My Little Pony

Nov 23, 2011

Poor little Pony. He had spent many happy years entertaining the children with his bucking and bouncing, but those days were long gone. He watched sadly as they began to outgrow him and he was relegated to the backyard as an 'outside toy.' The elements were harsh but the abandonment was harsher. It was like a scene straight out of Toy Story 3.

Funnily enough, Toy Story 3 came along with the adventures of Woody, Bullseye, and the gang, and the spark was reignited! The youngest of the children became obsessed with all things cowboy, and so Pony was rescued and rehabbed into the lusterous steed he once was. Yee-haw!

From Molly at Just a Little Creativity.

Grunge Fashion

Chrystal bought this hutch with the intention of fixing it up and selling it. But she just couldn't let go. It didn't make sense to keep it, she already had a nice hutch that matched her current table perfectly. But something about this hutch kept drawing her back in. So she went with her heart and decided to keep it forever. Much like Tori Spelling, only with furniture instead of, you know, husbands.

She calls this look "Grungy French" and I LOVE it! See it on her blog The Shabbiest Chick.

Seems Fishy

Hey, I have an idea! Since many of you will be hanging out with big groups of friends and relatives in the next few days, why don't you ~~put them to work~~ make a fun craft together? Gather up some heavy paper and several large hole-punches, and don't stop the fun until you have a hefty stack of circles like this. Then enlist someone to spray paint them gold (I'm sure your nephews would love this!), lay them out in a super chic fish-scale design, glue, frame, and poof! You leave your Thanksgiving get-together with something besides weight gain!

See the complete how-to from Allison on her blog TwoThirtyFive.

Bowling Alley Bar to Pottery Barn

Nov 22, 2011

Where I grew up, there was about only one fun thing to do, and that was to go to the bowling alley. And the bowling alley wasn't even close by, it was like an hour away. And inside the bowling alley was this seedy bar that seemed like such a mysterious place to me. It was always dark and smelled gross, and no kids were allowed, but there were darts! And pool tables!

And what any of that has to do with today's redo is this: when I look at this old light fixture, I think of that bowling alley bar. Not the first thing you want people to think when they walk inside your house. Or even the second thing or third thing. But somehow Christy saw potential here and whipped that thing into non-outdated-bar-fixture shape. Beautiful!

See it on her blog This From That.

Lodge Podge

Candace needed something to replace the empty spot of nothing in front of her sofa. So she found this old coffee table and decided to give it a full-blown makeover! But then, when her arms could take no more sanding, she decided to give it a half-blown makeover! She simply painted the top and hand-traced the deer design to resemble a rustic old lodge sign instead. Pretty cool. See more plus a tutorial on her site Frugal Mom.

What's that? You want more yummy table goodness? Well, I aim to please. Here is a beautiful nightstand redo from Helen who has the shabby chic technique down to a science. She could write the book about it! In fact, she IS writing a book about it: The Science of Shabby Chic. Ok, I'm making all that up, but it is a catchy name. Someone should get on that.

Check it out on her blog Picked and Painted.

Bit of Bubbly

Now before you go glancing quickly at this makeover and think to yourself (as if there was any other way to think), anyway, and think to yourself "Oh, another white dresser," know this! There was hard alcohol involved. Not really. But there was champagne!

Yep, Chelsi went above and beyond a basic paint job with a three-step process that produced this gentle champagne-colored metallic sheen. If you can't quite see it, well then head on over to her blog TwentyNine Magnolias for a closer look! Thanks Chelsi!

Rhymes with Jello

Nov 21, 2011

Amber and her husband decided to do something a little bold with the exterior of their house. I bet you can guess what it was! YES! They updated their windows! Oh, you guessed something different? Well, they ripped out their bushes too! And replaced the siding! Ok, ok, I'm only joking! The bold and bright new change I'm talking about was obviously ... the new porch lights!

I don't know about you, but I think the whole thing looks great. But now I'm craving bananas...

Weird.

Chasing Waterfalls

I think you are going to like this one! They say it's impossible to please everybody, but I think this waterfall desk comes as close as possible. Purists will be happy to see the wood surfaces have been beautifully restored and restained, while those hankering for a graphic punch o' fun will not be disappointed either. (Does anybody ever "hanker" for anything? What a weird word).

Anyhoodiddlelydoo, It's a little modern, it's a little vintage, it's a whole lot of awesome.

From Ann Marie at Twice Lovely.

Love your Laundry

Jennifer's new laundry room is totally stunning! Almost as stunning as Jennifer Lopez's attire last night at the AMA's, holy crap did you see that? She looked good and everything, but dang, I feel like I know her better than her gynecologist does now. Thankfully this Jennifer is short on rhinestoned body-suits and high on fabulousness and fun instead.

See more on her blog Dimples and Tangles.

Chair baby, chair mama, every-chair daddy daddy, CHAIRS!

Nov 18, 2011

Are you feeling somewhat bleary-eyed today? Is it because maybe you stayed up all night to watch Breaking Dawn? I'm way too cool for such things myself. Just kidding, I was like the first in line. But I feel a little old to be going to midnight showings, I can barely function today. I also feel a lot too old to be ogling Jacob's abs, but whatever. Let's talk about chairs.

Big bunch of sweet chair makeovers coming your way! Something for everyone here, pick your fave!

Nothing cuter than a happy pink chair! Except Jacob's abs. (Oh, I'm only kidding!)

From Brooke at Being Brook.

I think this chair was previously upholstered in muppet skins, but Brittainy brought it back to life with a pretty paisley floral. I like that the colors stayed true to the original, but minus all the nightmares!

This one by Robin at Madison Modern Home might be my favorite. I love black and white and I think the choice of fabric works nicely with the simple straight lines of the chair. I'm also in love with the price tag: $12!

Here's one more from Robin, or should I say three more? Probably, since there are three of them. Not one more. Three more. Yes? No? Leave me alone, I'm sleep deprived! See more HERE.

I love this one from Katie at Strawbridge Stuff, it reminds me of pajamas. No, I'm not projecting here, it really does! I think it's the stripes.

And finally, Brittany discovers a hidden talent when she decided to reupholster a chair for the first time in her life and it turns out beautifully. That makes me wonder ... what if I'm really good at something that I've never tried? Like, what if I'm actually a secret tennis pro or a computer programming genius? (Judging by the amount of tries it took me to spell "computer" right just now, that is probably not the case). I'm going to take a nap.