Jimdandy Chandy

Kara had decided that this funky old chandelier was just not for her.  Good thing, because this isn't even her house. You are actually looking at her friend Abby's living room, the lucky recipient of Kara's generous chandelier donation.

Abby was was totally stoked to hang that thing smack dab in the center of her home, but the rest of the room was a mound of 'meh.' Abby knew that a light fixture of this magnitude needed a solid supporting cast, so she rounded up some color and accessories to complement the brass and glass, and made the whole room shine.  See more on her blog A Delightful Design.

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Fo' yer Entertainment

Have I ever told you about my grandma?  Well, she is the coolest.  She is also a lady.  The type of person who keeps a lace hankie in her sleeve, and if she doesn't happen to be wearing long sleeves, she'll tuck a hankie in her watch wristband. Once, when I was about 13, I said the word 'pee' in her presence, and never forgot the look she gave me. I haven't said it since.  (In her presence, at least). She gardens in white dress slacks.  She calls the rectangular patch of tile in her entryway the foyer.  

See, you don't really need a formal entry space to have a foyer, you just have to BELIEVE!  You just start calling that space a foyer, and everyone else will too, fancypants.  A little makeover wouldn't hurt either, like Kim's from What Am I Going to Be When I Grow Up.  Her husband built that bench with nothing but a picture torn out of Martha Stewart Living to guide him! I'm impressed.

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#2 Stencils

Stencils, much like Jazzercise, have made quite a comeback.  Because back in my day, stencils were really uncool. (And Jazzercise wasn't any better.  Remember when people used to wear leotards over tights to work out?!  Ha ha ha!  Actually, there is this one lady at my gym that still does that.  No joke. I can't NOT stare at her when she's there. You go girl!  You rock that workout onesie!) 

Anyway, times have thankfully changed for the better, and stencils are no longer the typical teapots, grapes, and ivy vines I recall from my youth.  I apologize if you still have teapot, grapes, and ivy vine stencils in your house.  Perhaps it's time for an update?  Here are a couple of idears!

This lovely makeover comes from Rita at Design Megillah, who found this desk for $40 on Craigslist. A perfect candidate for some sweet stenciling action, and I love the surprise of blue inside too. 

Stenciling is hard work, which is why Linda probably asked herself "Why bother squeezing into all the nooks and crannies of my armoire just to stencil the back panel, when I'll probably get tired of it eventually?"  So, genius alert, she painted in the comfort of horizontalness on a piece of foam core instead!  You would never know.  See more on her blog Burlap and Blue.

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It's hip to dip!

This bedside table was getting the job done, but not with any kind of style.  Meg wasn't about to be having that.  So she spray painted it white, but get this, no seriously, GET THIS: apparently spray paint is BANNED within Chicago city limits!?! I don't know if Chicago and I can ever be friends.  But Meg wasn't scared of a  little law-breaking, and she didn't stop there.  She went skinny dipping.  (By that, I mean she dipped the skinny legs of this table in gold paint.  What were you thinking?)

Actually, she didn't really even dip them, probably because Chicago has a law against that too. She just marked them off and free-handed it.  I digs it.  See more on her blog Radical Possibility.

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Insider Tips

It's officially summer break here.  Heaven help us all.  On the one hand, I'm looking forward to sleeping in a little bit and avoiding the morning rush that always leaves me feeling like I'm about to have a stroke, but on the other hand, what am I supposed to do with the other 23.5 hours of the day!?!?  Summer break in Arizona is officially unfair.  There's no sending the kids out to play, or breezy bike rides, or lazy days roaming the neighborhood with friends.  No.  We are indoors, blinds drawn, shackled to the AC, pants optional.  Anyway, I'll stop whining now.  But feel sorry for me.

Down to business.  Wait, what is this?  This does NOT look like a before picture.  No, Virginia redid her kitchen, and this is the after.  But look what was lurking inside those freshly painted cabinets... 

Unpainted cabinets!  It's the dirty little secret that no one likes to talk about. 

But Virginia went the extra mile and not only painted them, she chalkboard painted them!  That's like, the extra-extra mile.  Get an up close look on her blog Live Love DIY.

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Sew, what are you trying to say?

I hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day (in case you don't know), is a day set aside here in the states to remember the sacrifices of our service men and women.  Heartfelt thank-yous and hats off to them!

And since we are making a point to be all remember-y and stuff, why not remember that old table in the garage?  You know the one. It's been there for about ten years? Holding your random junk like that broken blender and spice rack?  Well, remember how you've ALSO been searching for the perfect little table for your sewing machine? I'm going to let you figure the rest out by yourself.

From Rachel at Always a Project.

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It's a Chair Roundup, Pardner!

Howdy there, ya'll!  Knock the dust off yer boots and hunker down for a spell, because I've just lassoed up a herd of chair makeovers to whet your DIYin' whistle.  Yeehaw!

Ok, I'm not sure what all that cowboy talk was about, but here we go!

Megan had searched far and wide for a chair for her nursery that fit certain criteria: it needed to be a rocker or glider, and NOT a typical big-box store item, preferably either second-hand or organic to cut down on introducing toxins into the room.  And the solution was right under her nose!  At least, if she was sitting on the roof that is, because she had forgotten all about this rocker in her attic!  Perfect. See more on her blog Green Motherhood.

Oh, my goodness, I don't think I've ever seen sadder chairs. So beige. So floppy. The left one is trying to keep a brave face, the right one has given up on life completely. Jenn from Heim-Elich rescued them with ebay fabric and new legs from the 'as-is' section of Ikea. (Which is my very favorite spot in Ikea, after the meatball aisle).

Carlene was digging on the surprisingly decent aqua fabric this armchair was rocking, and brought it home to live at her house.  (Not without dickering $15 off the price tag first, aw yeah.)  She added a few colorful throw pillows and painted the wood white for a quick update, and now it fits right in! 

Cynthia's ottoman looks a billion times better with the burlap upholstery and nailhead trim, although I can't help but wonder what future anthropologists are going to think when they discover all these numbers we've arbitrarily painted on our furniture.  "I say! This ottoman is in remarkable condition for being over 200 years old!"  See it on her blog Simply Chic  Treasures.

You otto know that there's another ottoman makeover coming your way.  Hannah found this one for $5 on Craigslist and was able to muscle past its suspiciously-stained and cigarette-burned fabric. She must have an iron stomach, because I would have been crouched in a corner quietly dry heaving.  She repaired the damage, right down to fixing sagging springs with a piece of MDF and a few things she had on hand.  A DIY MacGyver she is!

Nicole's bentwood rocker was vintage, and not in a hip way.  More like, a saggy and sad because it's super old way. She fixed it up with the equivalent of Botox for furniture: white paint! The rad bird fabric doesn't hurt either.  It looks brand new, but like, totally old school too. So hip! Check out Ms. Green Designs for more.

This chair is so boring, it's hurting my feelings.  But Bridgette gave it a chic changeroo with new paint and fabric, and all told, the whole thing cost around $8.  That's ridiculously ridiculous!  You practically don't need the job that necessitates the office that necessitates the office chair for that price!

Some rehab was needed here obviously, and Vikki from The Quirky Quail tackled the task with a distressed paint job on the frame and some amazing 50% off fabric from JoAnn's. 

Ok, I can't handle it. Is there some kind of like, secret room at JoAnn's?  Where they keep all the cool fabric?  Because EVERY time I go to JoAnn's, I end up wandering around for an hour without buying a thing.  I've never seen ANY fabric there that is remotely this cute, ever.  Is there some kind of skull and bones JoAnn's club? I'll totally join. Will you guys just please tell me where they keep the cool fabric already?

And speaking of cool fabric, cast your eyes on this beauty from Rachelle.  She was happy with the size and shape and overall comfiness of this chair, but ... that funky fabric had to go.  First she cut off the skirt to show a little leg, (which is a great way to update anything.  Well, not anything...) then she went ahead and sewed a slipcover, just like that!  I know.  I didn't think it was a slipcover either.  But I'm pretty sure we can trust her. See more on her blog Adventures in Creating.

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Don't Dispute the Cute

It's about to get cute up in here. REALLY cute. Ridiculously cute. Like, get-out-your-umbrella-cuteness-is-pouring-from-the-heavens-cute.  I defy you to take a look at this cottage before and after from Amanda at Amanda Magazine and not put a hand over your heart and softly murmur "Soooo cuuuuuuuute."  It can't be done.

 Special thanks to Fiona!

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Sofa Reeking Better (say it fast!)

All this couch needed was a little lovin', but its owners heartlessly kicked it to the curb instead.  Pshh, rude!  But it turned out for the best, because Christi came along and rescued it with a scripty fabric and a professional reupholstering job that came in at $417 total.  (And that includes paying about $50 too much for extra yardage.)  She's not sure what the script actually says, but it looks great.  I won't tell you what I think it says, but maybe you can guess ... (*giggles immaturely*).  Anyway, seriously though, it's about a one billion percent improvement, and I love the black legs too.

See more on Compartment Life. (Hey, that's our fabulous sponsor!  Woot!  Go on over and say hi, won't you?)

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Plank Position

Alicia had a thing for cedar planks.  So she made a giant dining room table out of them.  "Lindsey," you are thinking, "You poor dear.  You need a nap or something.  You are confused again. Obviously, this is the SAME table in both pictures." Yes, well, I'm not done! 

I was about to say that her cedar plank table was becoming a problem.  One spill at dinnertime meant total-table-dismantlement to ensure no crusty crust would start to grow in all those nooks.  So one day she just took the whole tabletop off and leaned it against the wall.  She like how that looked so much, she was inspired to carry on her love affair with cedar planks there instead!  Check it out on her blog Thrifty and Chic.

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Claws and Effect

Meg from Meg and Mum's secured this lovely little hall table from an auction, then decided it was a bit too ornate for her taste.  (Mine too.  Mostly, I'm just having trouble with those "animal claws" which I think is a spin-off of my regular wood-related phobias. And general dislike of animals.  Uh, not really, I totally LOVE animals!  Don't send me any hate mail!)  Still though ... weird.  Anyway, so she quickly whipped up a custom blue for the base and restained the top, and offered it for sale instead.  And I think it looks fabulous!  Not at all like it's going to lumber across the living room and stand over me as I sleep.

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Color Connosisseur

Hey color-phobes!  That's right, I'm talking to you.  Are you afraid of making a color-itment? Too scared to be tied down to a startling shade or a prominent pigment?  Well, don't look at me!  I'm a color-phobe myself.  But maybe a look at the following redos will help us climb out of our (beige) shells a bit.   

First from Miranda, whose telephone table turned out terrifically turquoise.  And that yellow fabric! Just dreamy.  See it on her blog The Pinterest Project.

Kymberlie from Gameel Designs also went above and beyond a regular rehab with this dresser.  It's not a mere strip-sand-restain job here, no.   Instead, she outfitted the drawers in a  Marie Antoinette-inspired fabric, with a distressed top and hot pink frame.  Yowza!  I'm actually a big fan of color, just not sure exactly how to incorporate it into my home without it being like "YO!  BIG COLORFUL THING OVER HERE!  LOOOK AT MEEEE!  NOTHING ELSE MATCHES MEEE!" You know?  I should probably get over that.

We have a Simply Spray Upholstery Fabric Paint giveaway winner! Congrats to Rochel G., I will be in touch ASAP.

For those you outside the United States who asked where to buy this super cool product, simply click here. To buy online within the US, click here.

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