Better After

32 In decor

Fall Style Guide and My Faux Mantle

My house has an abundance of … I don’t know what exactly to call them. Niches? Coves? Nooks? Big holey things in the wall? Behold:

Blerg. There is also another one directly across from this one, and one at the top of the stairs, but off to the side and so high up no one can reach it or hardly see it. Makes no sense to me. Someday I’m sure this will look great with custom built-ins or somesuch, but that day is not today.

However, there was plenty of inspiration to be had in The Home Depot’s Fall Style Guide, as usual. These particular photos were about new trends in paint colors, but I was swept away by all the custom mouldings and panelings and casings and baseboards. Dreamyville.

So, with Christmas approaching, I commissioned my handy brother Nathan to help me add a little interest to my cove of darkness, in the form of a faux mantle. (I must also give him credit for not giving me a hard time about wanting to stick a fake mantle in a house with no fireplace, purely for decorative purposes.)

We found a plan from Ana White, who coincidentally, was also featured in The Home Depot’s Fall Style Guide!

I really failed in the picture-taking department, but here you get a general idea of what we started with.

That’s right. Plain old lumber. Ana’s plan is super simple, so most of the time was spent at The Home Depot getting the cuts made, and actual construction of the mantle took I swear, like half an hour. Easy peasy.

Here is Nate doing all the dirty work. (We really didn’t make THAT big of a mess. He always looks like that. He’s handy.)

And here it is all ready to be sanded, caulked, and painted. Caulking is absolutely necessary to hide all the little gaps and spaces in the wood, especially when you are planning to paint. “Caulk and paint and make it what it ain’t!” Learned that one from my dad.

So, when I brought
it inside, I discovered absolutely hated the color I chose. (Rustoleoum’s Heirloom White, which normally I love, but in this case it just looked waaaaaay too creamy.) So I tried a brighter white, and here is it! Wait … let’s look at the before again:

Not bad for an afternoon of work, huh?

Good news! There’s a new Style Guide out now! Download it and enter your best Holiday Décor for the chance to win $1,000 gift card to The Home Depot.

If you subscribe to the Style Guide, you’ll receive updates each time a new edition is released, plus there’s even an iPad app, so you can enjoy browsing project ideas and plan for home improvements wherever you go.

Home Depot can be found:

Online at www.homedepot.com
On Facebook at www.facebook.com/homedepot
On Twitter at twitter.com/homedepot
And find the Style Guide iPad app here.

The
Home Depot partnered with bloggers such as me for their Fall Style Guide Blog
Network. As part of this program, I received compensation for my time. They did
not tell me what to purchase or what to say about any product mentioned in
these posts. The Home Depot believes that consumers and bloggers are free to
form their own opinions and share them in their own words. The Home Depot’s
policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media
engagement recommendations.

December 15, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

9 In Uncategorized

Sad Day

I had another post all ready to publish for today, but my heart is so heavy because of the recent tragic events that I just can’t. I’ll see you back here soon. Till then, sending lots of love and prayers to our friends in Connecticut and everyone affected by this senseless, heartbreaking act.

December 14, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

13 In chairs/ottomans/seating

National Day of Chair

It’s National Give A Chair A Makeover Day, did you know that? Just kidding, that day doesn’t exist. YET. But don’t you think it should? I mean, there’s already a National Lumpy Rug Day (May 3), and National Trail Mix Day (Aug 23), and a National Felt Hat Day (Sept 15). Those are actually REAL.

I think National Give A Chair A Makeover Day would definitely be the least stupid National Day on the list. We should start a petition. Someone get on that …

And hark! Here are some made-over chairs now!

You must look closely at this first one from Kristen at Twenty Paper Links. At first glance, nothing drastic seems to has been done. A second look reveals its total de-grandma-fication!

Better After reader Sarah and her mom took the lumps and bumps out of this chair that someone had previously upholstered with the holiday tablecloth of some forgotten and depressing holiday. National Plan Your Epitaph Day, perhaps? (Nov. 1. Dang, just missed it!) Now it’s rocking some classic and classy houndstooth. Never goes out of style.

Shanna at Restoration Redoux rescued this rocker from a yard sale and brought it to life with a vibrant turquoise paint job. I was wondering if a rocking chair with no arms had a specific name, so I googled it, and turns out it does! It’s called, get ready: an armless rocker. Yeah. Someone failed in the cool name department there.

I love this one from Elizabeth at The Little Black Door too. I like how the wild fabric just peeks through rather than punching you in the face. Looks so cool against the dresser and accessories.

Quick tip! If you like her little piece of coral, but can’t afford the real deal, here’s what you do: March yourself down to the pet fish section of your local Walmart and grab one of those big hot pink fake coral aquarium accessories. Then march over to the spray paint department and wait 20 minutes for an employee to wander by and open the case for you (if you live in Arizona, where you have to deal with such injustices, that is), then go home and paint that thing white, and wham! You now have some cool coral decor too!

And finally, a simple but stunning makeover from Jamie at C.R.A.F.T. who gave this tired old chair a quick boost of color and and some fresh fabric and it’s suddenly hipper than anything I own.

So what do you think? We really should make National Give A Chair A Makeover Day happen, because guess what today really is? National Bouillabaisse Day. Yeah. So … enjoy that. Try to party responsibly.

This post brought to you by:

PhotoJewelryMaking.com

December 14, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

7 In living room/ other rooms

Sit and Stare

Some people just have the knack, you know? They can look at this massive wall hole and think “Yes! I see open shelving flanking a custom sitting space backed with reclaimed wood, incorporating mint and mustard, industrial lights and a showpiece candid shot of the children who live here!”

I look at it and think, “So I guess that’s where the TV goes.”

From the ever outstanding Kara at Kara Paslay Designs.

December 13, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

5 In tables/dressers

Carving Cravings

Whenever one door closes, another one opens, you know that saying? Well, whenever your car breaks down, and you have to walk home, you might walk right past a house with a bunch of free furniture in the yard and come home with a dresser. It’s basically the same thing.

That was Better After reader Marilynn’s experience with this cute little dresser that she dragged home and cleaned up. And she gave a much more logical paint job, which included painting the inside of the carved design to really show it off. You couldn’t even see it before!

This next dresser had a long way to go for redemption, but Reeves was patient and brought it back to life. All but that puzzling damaged top … what to do, what to do? Then it dawned on her … mom! (Moms are the best). Paintable wallpaper: a perfect inexpensive fix to hide the damage and add a little extra oomph. Almost looks like a carved design too! Love.

See it up close at Reeve’s blog, The Weathered Door.

This post brought to you by:

PhotoJewelryMaking.com

December 13, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

8 In tables/dressers

LACK of Style

Here you see the LACK coffee table from IKEA. The LACK table is great because it costs somewhere around $15, which means you can get all creative up on that thing without worrying if you and your zany ideas actually end up ruining it.

No worries for Angela, though, because her mosaic tabletop idea turned out great! Just little squares of paper and Mod Podge, can you believe it? See the process on her blog Creative Blossoming. (And PS, can someone please let my Goodwill know that these tables cost around $15 BRAND NEW, so they really should stop charging $49.99 for a used and probably peed on version, thanks.)

Better After reader Andi also had little to lose when she found this coffee table on the curb. Since it was basically nonfunctional as a table, what with the top missing and all, she whipped out some spare plywood and fabric and turned it into a cheerful entryway bench! So cute, and it looks really comfy. Pretty sure I could nap there.