Is there a piece of furniture in your life that is beyond hope? So battle-scarred and abused that there is no chance of it ever living a normal life? So mistreated in a former life that it would be easier to just let it go and move on?
Don’t give up.
There is always hope!
(This advice also applies to people and animals, and is brought to you by Sarah at Funcycled).
Want your room to feel bigger? Use smaller furniture. (I hope you’re still reading, because that is actually a lie). No! Don’t do that! Small furniture won’t help a small room feel any bigger. But don’t make the mistake of using bulky over-stuffed out-of-proportion furniture either. The secret is … HEIGHT.
Check out Pam’s bedroom. Built in 1938, it wasn’t very big at all, but she was on a mission to make it feel that way. White paint helped brighten up the space, but what I think helped the most was the scale of the furniture and decor she chose. Her headboard and side mirrors stretch toward the ceiling, and the stenciled treatment on the wall keeps the eye traveling up, up, up too.
There are a ton of other great details to see over on her blog Simple Details, my favorite is the ostrich IKEA nightstand hack! (I do love me some ostrich).
I’ve been a little obsessed with shoes lately, like probably most women who have recently had a baby. That’s because shoes always fit! They don’t betray you like your pants, who have cruelly shrunken to a laughable size in the last few months. Or your button-down shirts, which are now uncharacteristically obscene. We won’t even talk about how unsupportive your bras are being throughout this whole ordeal.
But shoes, they’re are always there for you! Bless them.
Today, I am happy to be able to give away a sweet pair of shoes to one Better After reader, thanks to ShoeMint!
I’m a long-time fan of ShoeMint, and they just keep getting better. If you’re not in the know, Shoemint is a free, members-only website that features an exclusive collection of shoe styles every month.
They’ve recently partnered with Aldo, which means even higher quality designs and craftsmanship.
This is my most recent pair: the Torrie. Ack, I love them so much! They are made with such high quality leather, and so soft to the touch. Perfect for running around in while still looking stylish, even if I’m still not speaking to my pants.
ShoeMint adds new styles based on the latest trends every month, and shipping and returns are always free. I’ve had to return a pair before, and it was absolutely painless. Great customer support.
Would you like to win a fabulous pair of shoes of your choice? Sure you would!
Simply visit ShoeMint and become a member if you aren’t already, (completely free, no obligation to buy), then leave a comment back here telling me your favorite pair.
That’s it!
First-time members can also use this link to receive 20% off your first purchase!
Good luck friends, I hope you win! Random winner will be announced Thursday, March 27th. Giveaway is open to US and Canada only.
This post is in collaboration with ShoeMint, all opinions are as always, 100% my own.
Having a little desk space in the kitchen sounds like a totally efficient idea. “I can pay the bills and boil water!” “Flip through Facebook and filet a fish!” “Play on Pinterest and parboil potatoes!” But Cami can tell you that a desk in the kitchen is actually quite inefficient — when it’s so unattractive that you can’t bring yourself to look at it, let alone use it.
That was the case with her little space here, but one day she decided she couldn’t take any more of its offensive blandness. She painted the maple stained cabinets to match the rest of the kitchen, blocked out the clutter-displaying glass doors with fabric, created a new countertop with wood planks, and added a ton of adorable little details you’ll have to see up close on her blog Tidbits. My favorite (which you can barely see in this picture) are the fancy new legs!
And now, a few items of business. MyQ Garage giveaway winner is … Robyn Swenson! Congrats Robyn, I will be emailing you ASAP.
And one more thing. Either everyone thought I was joking, or everyone is intimidated by my book of celebrity bar mitzvah photos, but no one has entered the Super Random Dollar Store Contest 2014 yet! I hope you do, it will be so fun! I will have a prize, and I promise it won’t be the book! Ha!
I found the most random thing of my life at the dollar store yesterday. It’s a book called Mazel Tov, and it consists of photos of celebrities at their bar mitzvahs. Yes, read that again. This is a real book that really exists. Does it get anymore random than that? I doubt it.
It amused me so much that I started a contest called “Super Random Dollar Store Contest 2014” over on my Instagram. I would love for you to participate! Just share a photo of your most random dollar store find either on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter, and use the hashtag #superrandomdollarstorecontest2014, and we will all have a good laugh, and the winner will receive some kind of prize! But seriously, good luck beating my book.
And in makeover news, here comes a rattan dining set that Kammy from Kammy’s Korner gave new life to, on more than one occasion. You might hear “rattan dining set” and think “Golden Girls condo circa 1988,” but with black paint and an image transfer technique, the look is as classic as can be.
Take a look at this before picture, then take a guess. What will this makeover entail? Splashy new wall decor? Crazy paint treatment? Some furniture rearranging?
Wrong-o!
There was a kitchen back there! A sad little kitchen, all closed off from the rest of the house, but now it’s open and freeee!
Here was the stove area. I get the sadsies just looking at it. But now the cook can enjoy a view all the way out into the yard, instead of gazing at the microwave and wondering what everyone else in the house is doing.
I also love the deep espresso cabinets all the way up to the ceiling. It’s such a dramatic look. If you’re wondering about the ceiling panels, they were a genius solution for merging the two different ceiling textures without redoing the entire expanse of ceiling.
Get all the details from Elisa about her new kitchen on her blog Emodel Your Home.
