Better After

11 In fashion/ innovative idea/ laundry rooms

Getting Steamy

Hoo-boy, I’ve been excited to share this one. As you may know, I am a proud contributing writer over on one of the best sites on the interwebs, Cake Wrecks. All week long Cake Wrecks is a barrage of the most hilariously terrible professional cakes that your eyeballs can handle, and then some. Come Sunday, your eyeballs no doubt need a break from all that wreckage, so that’s where I come in. I write about beautiful cakes and confections in a feature called Sunday Sweets.

But ANYWAY that’s not even the point. The point is Jen, the mastermind behind Cake Wrecks also has a more personal blog called Epbot, where she shares her love of all things girly and geeky and steam-punky. She and her husband John recently gave their laundry room a steampunkified makover, so let’s check it out right now!

What’s that you say? You don’t know what steampunk is? Steampunk is really cool … and really hard to define in a few words. I’m no expert, but here’s a few: Rust. Cogs. Gears. Corsets. Crazy old-timey inventions. Industrial Victorian. A fantasy sub-genre that blurs the lines between the future and the past? Does that help? You’re probably better off Googling that one.

But anyway, here’s how Jen and John steampunked their laundry room:

Steampunk is all in the details, so you’ll have to head on over to her blog to see them up close. My favorite is the ‘steam boiler’ which is actually the water heater in disguise!

They also disguised that totally NON steampunk pantry with a sliding barn door and shared their easy tutorial here.

Note the faux tin ceiling? Fun touch! Next up, Jen hopes to give the washer and dryer the steampunk treatment, which would be so super cool to see. And speaking of cool, here is one last steamy makeover from Jen, this time as her cosplay character ‘Lady Vadore,’ a very loving, steampunky, and girly homage to Darth Vader. Again, I’m the last person on the earth who could adequately define ‘cosplay’ but it sure looks like fun.

Wowza! Hard to believe, but she really did start with nothing but a plain-Jane Vader helmet. There’s WAY more to see right here.

May 29, 2013 By Lindsey @ Better After

5 In chairs/ottomans/seating

Handwriting and Cock-Fighting

Why is it that people in the olden days had such incredible handwriting compared to us now? I have an old Bible that belonged to my great-grandpa, and he wrote his name in it, like, five times, so I’m pretty sure he was just doodling at that point, and it still looks fancy enough to be a wedding invitation. My grandpa was the principal of a high school, and his handwriting was so nice they had him fill out all the diplomas every year. My handwriting looks like something you’d expect from a blindfolded six-year-old.

That’s probably why I’m always a fan of anything that incorporates script, like this little ottoman from Beck at Beckwith’s Treasures. And hey, anything would have been a step up from that old fabric, even MY handwriting! No, too far.

But tell that fancy print to moooove over, because this next project was going super-simple. Katie put the insanely busy farm-scene-fabric on her settee out to pasture in exchange for an oatmeal linen slipcover accented with box pleats for a bit of flare. From a total ‘don’t’ to a cock-a-doodle-DO! See it on her blog The Sewing Nerd.

May 29, 2013 By Lindsey @ Better After

9 In tables/dressers

An Aqua Quandary

Can’t decide what color to paint that thing you’ve got to paint? I know! Aqua! There are thousands of shades of aqua out there, from light and airy to deep and dramatic, and I’ve got them all here for you. Actually, I just have those two. Light and airy or deep and dramatic. You can imagine everything else in between on your own time.

On the lighter end of the aqua spectrum is this little side table redo from Shanna at Restoration Redoux. So light! So bright! So much less haunted vampire lair than before! Doesn’t this color look perfect against the gold pulls?

And for deep and dramatic, here’s a bold choice for a worn out old dresser from Kristen, who was on the hunt for a TV stand after purchasing a snazzy new TV. This one fit the bill perfectly, so she gave it a colorful kick in the pants and highlighted the inserts (insets?) with white. Truth be told, she was more excited about the new stand than the new TV! See it on her blog Cat Eyed KP.

May 28, 2013 By Lindsey @ Better After

4 In bedroom

Brighten Up A Bedroom

Have you ever seen some professional decorator on TV say something like, “For a fresh new look without spending a lot of money, try adding a few throw pillows and a colorful rug to your room!” And you’re like, “Pshh, like that would really make a big difference.” Turns out, those people are on TV for a reason. It’s true!

Krista didn’t change the layout or even the wall color of her master bedroom, she just added a whole bunch of color and accessories, and ok, maybe a showstopper of an upholstered bed. (Secret alert! It’s not an upholstered bed, it’s a sneaky DIY version made with plywood and duct tape!) Find out how and see more on her blog The Happy Housie.

Hey there! Do you have a makeover to share? Send it my way and be featured on Better After! betterafter(at)live.com

May 28, 2013 By Lindsey @ Better After

1 In desks/hutches/buffets/ wood

A day of desk.

Hey! What are you doing? Didn’t you read my last post? You’re supposed to be outside! Oh, wait … do you have to work today? Oh oh oh. I’m sorry. Bummer, man. Everyone else is out there having barbeques, and eating watermelons, and shopping the sales, and you’re here stuck at your desk.

But, speaking of desks, here’s a fun one from Melissa, aka The Friendly Stripper that’s sure to take your mind off of working! Unless … it only makes you sadly wish you had a cool desk too. Dang, you just can’t win today! Unless you are NOT actually reading this at your desk. Maybe you are reading this on your phone, or in another country that’s not even celebrating anything today, in which case, this just got awkward. Hey, look a cool desk!

May 27, 2013 By Lindsey @ Better After

7 In chairs/ottomans/seating/ miscellaneous/ outdoors

Swing Into Summer

I hope you plan to get yourself outside on this lovely Memorial Day! It’s such a nice time of year. It’s probably starting to look like summer in your part of the world, or, if you live in Phoenix, it’s our last gasp of tolerable weather before we spend the next six months partially clothed and hunkered down in front of the AC, surviving on nothing but sheer will and Otter Pops.

So anyway, here are a couple of outdoor transformations to kick your summer off right! First, a little bench Vivienne salvaged from the dumpster and rehabbed with spray paint and some wood she had on hand. Since that back didn’t look any kind of comfy, she whipped up a cushion made from a king size pillow. Summertastic!

And how crazy-fun is this idea from Nicola at The Garden Of Colors, whose son had long since outgrown his swing-set? But … does anyone really outgrow a swing-set? It was too hard to say goodbye, so Nicola bid farewell to the primary colors and painted it white to match the existing garden furniture, then hung an adult sized outdoor swing in there instead. I pretty much want one.