Better After

10 In kitchen/dining

Your Roots are Showing

Betsy’s kitchen was firmly rooted in the ’80s. Pukey pastels, wallpaper borders; heck, it would probably rock a set of teased bangs if it could. (I personally never teased my bangs back in the ’80s. Oh, wait, that’s because I wasn’t capable of doing my own hair and made my mom do it for me. This business carried on well past the age it was socially acceptable to tease your bangs AND for your mom to do your hair. Don’t be jealous of my coolness).

But now, thanks to a dying dishwasher, I’m doing my own hair for the first time in my life! No, wait. What I meant was, thanks to a dying dishwasher, Betsy had to redo her entire kitchen, because you know how one thing leads to another. And now she has a super cool streamlined space to enjoy for years to come!

June 26, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

11 In chairs/ottomans/seating/ kiddie

Parking Spots

So, it was my 31st birthday yesterday! Man, I’m really getting up there in years. I told my son that from now on I’m going to start counting backwards. Next year I’ll be 30. I know 31 is not really that old, but … its kind of starting to feel like it. I had to go to the mall to fix my cell phone today, and it was taking the Verizon people so long that I pooped out just from standing there! I actually had to go sit on the benches among all the little old men holding their wife’s shopping bags. I’m just old and feeble now, I guess.

Anyway, speaking of malls and benches, this little ‘Park It’ bench by Meghan used to be a display stand at a store in the mall! Ok, I’m not 100% positive if that’s true or not, but I can totally see it stacked with folded jeans in The Gap, can’t you? See more from Meghan on her blog Styled Savvy.

And if you wanted an even drastic-er (real word, trust me, don’t look it up) chair makeover, check this sweet seat out. You’ll never guess what it used to be. Unless the before picture tips you off. That’s right, Linn recycled this old box spring (which, surprisingly, was made with zero springs) into an adorable little table and chair set. After she had built a custom bed, she didn’t need the box spring anymore, but couldn’t bear to let all that good wood go to waste. Way to save the world Linn! Check it out on her blog The Home Project.

June 26, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

12 In bathroom

Unbeiging the Bathroom

Teresa is the kind of host who wants her guests to pee in comfort and style. How thoughtful! I know I always appreciate it when people provide more than a slimy sliver of soap and invisible hand towels for my bathroom experience. So her overly beigy bathroom had to go. Her beveled mirror was already pretty glam, so she went with that vibe and added a fabulous damask wallpaper and lots of pretty accents. See the whole space on her blog Unbeige My Heart. (ha!)

June 25, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

334 In Uncategorized

Shabby Apple Giveaway: $100 Gift Card! (GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED)

(now closed)
I’m a huge fan of online shopping for many reasons. One: you can do it from the comfort of your own home, any time of day or night while eating a bowl of cereal and paying your kids to rub your feet. Try doing that at the mall.

Two: You could either go to the mall and search for hours and find maybe a couple cute dresses that probably aren’t even in stock in your size, OR, clickity-click right over to my favorite online shopping destination, Shabby Apple, and be confronted with such an expansive panorama of adorable dresses and accessories that you may never go to the mall again.

Sorry, mall.

Shabby Apple offers literally HUNDREDS of dresses, tops, skirts, accessories and shoes. Well, I don’t know actually, I didn’t count, but there are SO many. All fantastic.

All of the items seen here are just a few of my favorites from their newest collections,

Lighthouse, Twin Palms, The Block, and Mad Hatter.

Plus, you can now use the code betterafter10off to receive 10% off your Shabby Apple purchase!

SO! Want to get in on some sweet Shabby Apple action of your own? Enter to win a $100 Giftcard to Shabby Apple right now! Entering is easy! The hardest part is making up your mind…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Random winner will be selected Monday, June 25. Giveaway open to US mailing addresses only. Good luck, I hope you win!

June 22, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

7 In fashion

Fashion Friday: Home Edition

Hey funky friends, are you ready for a Fashion Friday fix? I love Fashion Friday almost as much as I love alliteration. (PS: That reminds me, you should come visit me on Facebook for Throwback Thursday. It’s a groovy good time).

Today’s fashions are extra cool, because instead of old duds being made into better looking duds, these are all made from home decor items! Ha! What fun.

First, check out how these outdated curtains got transformed into a pleated skirt of prettiness from Laura at Trash to Couture.

Ack! So cute.

And do you have a tacky old table runner lying around? I would have put this thing in my “Take to Goodwill” pile, but Laura tossed it into her “Sew Into Adorable Pair of Shorts” pile, and then that’s just what she did. See more HERE.

Hmmm, what else can she dig up around the house to turn into an awesome outfit? How about this old lace pillowcase? Yep, just like that, Laura transformed it into a chic little mini. Doesn’t hurt that Laura is basically a supermodel. I personally would require several more pillowcases before I would be allowed to leave the house. See the process HERE.

And while we’re on the topic of bed linens, here’s a vintage sheet project from Better After reader Rita. She found this 1970s butterfly bedsheet at a thrift store for $3 and whipped it into matching dresses for her daughters. The cost of the whole project was $3, at least, until a ribbon shortage snafu ended up costing her $20 more. Still, two vintage dresses for $11.50 a piece? Can’t beat it.

I hope you enjoyed today’s Fashion Friday, and if you just can’t get enough fashiony fashions, guess what? C’mon back later today for a $100 Shabby Apple giftcard giveaway! Woo!

June 22, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

16 In desks/hutches/buffets

Aged to Perfection

Well, shark farts. My computer keeps crashing today, and it’s really giving me anxiety. Nothing twists my stomach up more than stupid computer issues, other than losing my kids in public, which truly is the worst. It sends my stomach from ‘normal’ to ‘diarrhea zone’ in about three seconds flat. Was that too much information? Sorry. So I’ll try to make this one quick before my computer dies for the thirtieth time today.

Vintage furniture makeovers! First from Erika at Rose Colored Glasses, who turned this worn out old vanity into a cute little window seat with a monogrammed pillow. Now all she needs is the window!

And Karen at Restyled Vintage quickly pounced on this buffet when she saw it for sale, especially since there were two other women making eyes at it. Luckily one of their husbands insisted he HATED it (!), so Karen was free to haul it home.

She used a blue mistint and Antique White paint, then did a heavy waxing job for an aged finish. I think it’s so funny that we make our antiques look more antiqued. Someday our grandkids will be doing this (or undoing this) to our furniture. It’s the circle of liiiiiiife!