Better After

2 In tables/dressers

What’s serp?

If you are in the mood for a serpentine dresser makeover, then today’s your lucky day!

If you don’t know what a serpentine dresser is, that’s OK. Don’t tell, but I actually didn’t know either until yesterday, and I’ve been talking about dressers every other day for the last seventy-five years.

In fact, when I received the email titled ‘serpentine dresser makeover’ I thought it referred to this paint technique…

What a cool ‘serpentine’ paint technique, right? It … uh … entails the use of sandpaper and … turpentine? That’s obviously how Beck obviously achieved that perfect weathered patina, obviously. Oh, what’s that? The term ‘serpentine’ actually refers to the wavy surface of the drawers, and their appearance of undulating like a snake? Yes, yes, I totally knew that.

I’ll let myself out.

Go visit Beck, a blogger who actually knows stuff about things, over at at Beckwith’s Treasures.

June 22, 2016 By Lindsey @ Better After

6 In bedroom/ kiddie/ tables/dressers

Polka Do’s and Don’ts and Dots

There’s really no such thing as bad polka-dots, right?

So maybe that’s not entirely accurate. Perhaps there is such a thing.

But today’s before bedroom had no polka-dots, and that’s got to be worse than bad polka-dots, am I right?

Look lady, I’m sorry you were forced into this unfortunate polka-dot rain-hat situation, but it’s 2016. Polka-dots are like, way cool now. Super groovy. Check it out:

Doesn’t that look fantastic? Mint walls, gold polka dots, and a high probability that the little girl who lived here won’t look back in 25 years and roll her eyes. Maybe she will. She’ll probably live in an apartment on the moon by then, who knows.

One thing is for sure: this room is full of personality and color now. How cute is this coral dresser makeover?

Simple changes made such a big difference, just paint and new hardware was all it took to bring this dresser up to date. From The Fancy Farmgirls, first featured by Brooke at All Things Thrifty.

Did you notice the fun pom-pom garland too? There’s definitely no such thing as bad pom-poms.

I rest my case.

June 20, 2016 By Lindsey @ Better After

21 In My House/ office

Hot! Pink! And other office updates!

Remember that one time like 100 years ago when I painted this set of enormous bookshelves and nearly died in the process?

(And by 100 years ago I mean like, 1 year ago, and by enormous I mean pretty tall, and by nearly died I mean I got tired). So maybe I exaggerate occasionally.

Anyway, back then I mentioned that I would like to someday add more color in here, perhaps a hot pink rug. And you thought to yourself, “Yeah right Lindsey, you think gray equals a pop of color.”

Well, guess what haters? Just kidding, you’re not a hater. I love you. But guess what??

I put a hot pink rug in here. And I like it.

I also added a piano, which I’m slowly, slooowly trying to teach myself to play. If you too would like to teach yourself how to play a piano, just do what I did and buy one off Craigslist. (It also helps to have a stupid amount of patience and to be nice to yourself).

But I do recommend Craigslist. I found so many for so cheap. This one was around $100; it’s not in perfect condition and it came without a bench, and the inside was full of toothpicks for some mysterious reason, but it sounds great. And that’s not just my amateur opinion, my piano tuner even said so. You might be surprised what you can find. Speaking of recommendations, if you live in near Phoenix and need a good piano tuner, let me know and I’ll get you his info. He’s fabulous.

I took all these pictures at different times of the day, so the saturation of the rug’s color may look different from photo to photo, but I’d say the picture above is the closest representation. A lot of variation to she shades, some deep burgundy and purples weaved in, which gives it some nice depth.

It’s a great size to fill a room, 8’2″ x 9’11”, and it’s from Rug Studio, although it looks like it’s currently sold out! But I linked to their selection of pink rugs if you’d like to browse.

A few vibrant bougainvillea branches from my yard are a perfect match. One good thing about Arizona summers. Look, there’s Divorced Giraffe!

This room still fills a bit bare in the center, since all the furniture is up against the walls. It just needs a little something yet. I’m thinking maybe some fun poufs?

I’ll let you know in 100 years what I figure out.

June 17, 2016 By Lindsey @ Better After

3 In bedroom

Tall Walls and other Mysteries

Do you ever lie awake at night, contemplating mysteries of the universe like ‘If Mars had earthquakes would they be called marsquakes?’ and ‘If a bunch of cats jump on top of each other, is it still called a dog pile??’ and also, “How am I supposed to decorate tall walls???”

Let me try to help.

A: I hope so.

B: Yes, because the term ‘catpile’ insinuates something else entirely.

C: Like Melissa from Polished Habitat did here:

At least, that’s one way to do it! What an incredible way to maximize all that spaaaace!

Melissa ditched the teeny tiny decor that was above the bed in the before photo, and replaced it with an oversized print and geometric trim all the way to the ceiling. So fun.

Plenty of other gorgeous things are happening in this room, from the heavenly rug to the new bedding and furniture, to the pale pink/navy/gray color scheme which manages to look youthful and sophisticated at the same time.

Let’s swing ’round to the other side.

More tall-wall domination! Melissa created a cohesive gallery wall; another great solution to fill space. I like the balance of large prints mixed with smaller prints and plants. Scale is always the key when decorating a tall wall. Too many small items won’t give your wall the impact it needs and can end up looking cluttered. Go big or go shopping for something big, that’s what I say. One time I was at a fancy decor store here in Phoenix and saw a huge airplane propeller for sale and it made me want to bulldoze my house and build a new one so I could fit an airplane propeller on my wall too.

But if you can’t find anything awesomely oversized, there’s always paint or trim, or plenty of other creative options. Remodelaholic has a great round-up of ideas to decorate tall walls here.

And you can see more from Melissa and her gorgeously glam bedroom on her blog Polished Habitat.

June 16, 2016 By Lindsey @ Better After

4 In decor/ innovative idea

What can the humdrum become?

Today I want to inspire you to take a look at all the mundane, ordinary things in your home a little differently.

C’mon, let’s glance around right now. *glancing … glancing* Look! Over there! Your desk fan. Have you ever noticed how boring it is? Of course you haven’t. You don’t notice it at all. All day it sits there, obediently fanning you, asking nothing in return. Here’s one way to show your appreciation:

Take it apart and spray paint it a fun color like Anima at This Design Journal did! I’m sure it will sit a little taller and prouder if you do. Unless you don’t put it back together right, then it might malfunction and burn your house down or something. So don’t screw it up.

Ok, what’s next? *glancing … glancing* How about these old window panes you’ve been meaning to do something with? They’ve sat here for so long, your family thinks they’re a physical part of the house.

… let’s get them up on the wall instead!

Linda had held onto these windows for SEVEN YEARS, always wanting to do something with them and never knowing exactly what. Then she noticed a nearly identical set of mirrors at Pottery Barn for $150 each. Inspired, she recreated the look with her windows and saved a cool $450. And that’s why you should never throw anything away ever.

See more on her blog Burlap & Blue.

Hmmm, what’s next? Oooh, what about this pile of trashy wire hangers?

“OK Lindsey,” you are thinking, “The fan was cool. The window panes look great. But hangers? Get a hold of yourself. These are headed to Garbagetown. What are you going to do, spray paint them gold and … hey, what are you doing with those wire cutters?”

BAM! Why don’t you trust me by now? Honestly.

Lindi from Love Create Celebrate is the creative genius behind this project and reports that it was both fun and easy. AND it involved gold spray paint, so it really hits all my buttons. That’s my kind of project!

June 14, 2016 By Lindsey @ Better After

11 In living room

Streamline Inclined

Some people might look at this before living room and find it absolutely dreamy. Cozy and warm! Lived-in and lovely!

Some people might find it way too busy and cluttered.

Some weirdos might only notice what appears to be Patrick the starfish wearing a firefighter uniform and holding a vase of flowers on the sofa table. Tell me you see it too.

But the people who bought this home from the previous owners were definitely in the ‘too cluttered’ camp. They streamlined it to suit their modern tastes, and you would hardly even recognize today.

I really, really like this version. So much more open, it’s like the room took a deep cleansing breath. The white walls keep the vibe calm and fresh, while the wood ceiling adds contrast and texture, in addition to disguising the beams. AND it frames the skylight so nicely now, instead of looking like an afterthought in the before. I also love the simplicity of the new windows. Looks like they have a great view, why cover that up?

What do you think? Which version would suit you best? Tell me, tell me!

From Denise and the pros at Decor Aid.

June 13, 2016 By Lindsey @ Better After

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