Better After

10 In bathroom

Ho, Ho, Woah!

Obviously this before picture was taken mid-renovation. Not so obviously, on the other hand, is what in the world little Santa was doing in there. See him? Just chillin’ next to the rubbing alcohol? We may never know. But what we do know is this: Emily’s parents have a gorgeous bathroom on their hands now. So much glamour in such a small space! I need to fan myself. See the whole transformation on her site Go Haus Go.

June 4, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

119 In Uncategorized

A question for you!

Hey there! I just had a quick question that I would really appreciate your input on …

I’ve been thinking hard about making the switch from Blogger to WordPress. This means a whole lot less hassle for me (eventually), and a cleaner, easier to use Better After blog reading experience for you.

This also means that instead of typing in BetterAfter.blogspot.com to get here, you would type in something less long. Something like BetterAfter.com. But, here’s a big bummer: BetterAfter.com is already taken. Boo! Yep, that address is owned by some lame domain purchasing company that wants over $1,000 to buy it. Double boo.

BUT! There are other options.

Here are a couple I’m thinking about, and I’d love to know your opinion:

BetterAfterBlog.com OR BetterAfter.net

I’m ridiculously decision impaired, so any feedback you could offer, hit me with it.

One of the biggest advantages to hosting my site on my own domain, or whatever the heck you call it, is that Better After would become more accessible to more people. I know that lots of schools and workplaces automatically block blogspot.com sites, (pssh, why? Like working or learning is more important?!?) so this might be an advantage for you. Not to mention better design, better functionality, and just better betterness overall.

Anyway, all of that is down the road a bit. I will be sure to let you know when and how things might be changing, but for now, I just need to pick a name!

June 2, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

11 In tables/dressers

Hot Diggity Dressers: Part II

Heyo, it’s time for some more dresser makeover yumminess. Can you handle it? I don’t think you can. PS: if you missed Part I earlier today, you can find it HERE.

Dionne from The Turquoise Iris is back again with a badly abused campaign dresser (seriously, it looks like it was hit with a water balloon full of milk). But now its aqua and awesome and shining in all the right places.

And Megan’s dresser looked a bit campaign-ish too, only fake-out alert: those handles are only made to look like the real thing, and don’t actually swing out at all. Unfair! Must be why the old owners opted to paint the entire thing brown, handles and all. That’s the only logical reason I can muster up. See the whole story on her blog Make Bake and Love

A’hoy matey! Deny, AKA A Girl and a Brush opted to simlify the bat-signal handles on this dreary dresser with sleek knobs, teardrop pulls and oh yes, some sweet, sweet stripes. It’s a nautical knockout!

Attention citizens: Father’s Day is only about two weeks away. Dear old dad doesn’t want another tie, I’d bet your bottom that he would love this instead. A dresser turned toolbox! Better After reader Shel created this look with glossy red paint and aluminum sheeting to serve as handles. It looks like the really real deal!

And now for something ultra-feminine (in case you kind of forgot about Mother’s Day, not that I did or anything), check out this stunner from Beth at Sawdust and Embryos. Lots of instruction on her blog should you be inspired to recreate this look yourself. All you need is a projector and a dream! And a lot of patience. And some decent hand-eye coordination wouldn’t hurt either.

June 1, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

8 In tables/dressers

Hot Diggity Dressers: Part I

Hey there and happy Friday and all that good stuff. I hope you woke up today and said to yourself, “I really need to see some great dresser makeovers today.” Because that’s what you’re getting! So many, in fact, that I have split them into two posts. Here comes Part I. Hold on to your pants:

Holly from My Sister’s Suitcase used chalk paint, new hardware and sheet metal from Lowe’s to transform this dresser. She just painted the metal and stuck it up there with Zot’s, which, if my meager crafting knowledge serves me, are adhesive dots meant for scrapbooking! Ha! Clever.

Dionne at The Turquoise Iris had a badly distressed dresser to contend with, so she figured “Why fight it?” and made it look even more distressed with a few more layers of paint and an aging treatment on the handles. And a single stripe for extra radness!

Martha found this Craigslist dresser and decided the wood grain was too beautiful to hide, so she declared it Opposite Day and just painted the pulls instead! I love the look, such a cool contrast. See more on her blog Leone Design.

Jill from Bless{ed} Nest has a couple dresser makeovers up her sleeve, and also, really big sleeves. This one was a Craigslist find and got a simple pale turquoise paint job and while the knobs got a coat of brass. I love that combination. If you had told me a few years ago that someday I’d be a fan of brass, I probably would have cried because it meant I was going to lose my mind in the future. Glad to report that’s not the case. I don’t think.

Good gravy, I really love this one too. Very Don Draperesque. As my favorite character on Mad Men would say, “Sensational!” (My favorite character is Pete Campbell, if you couldn’t tell. Please tell me you love him too. Even though he is such a weirdo. But when he dances, or wears his little pajamas … I just can’t help it.)

See more on Jill’s blog Bless{ed} Nest.

Check out Part II HERE!

June 1, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

18 In living room

Jimdandy Chandy

Kara had decided that this funky old chandelier was just not for her. Good thing, because this isn’t even her house. You are actually looking at her friend Abby’s living room, the lucky recipient of Kara’s generous chandelier donation.

Abby was was totally stoked to hang that thing smack dab in the center of her home, but the rest of the room was a mound of ‘meh.’ Abby knew that a light fixture of this magnitude needed a solid supporting cast, so she rounded up some color and accessories to complement the brass and glass, and made the whole room shine. See more on her blog A Delightful Design.

May 31, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

12 In other rooms

Fo’ yer Entertainment

Have I ever told you about my grandma? Well, she is the coolest. She is also a lady. The type of person who keeps a lace hankie in her sleeve, and if she doesn’t happen to be wearing long sleeves, she’ll tuck a hankie in her watch wristband. Once, when I was about 13, I said the word ‘pee’ in her presence, and never forgot the look she gave me. I haven’t said it since. (In her presence, at least). She gardens in white dress slacks. She calls the rectangular patch of tile in her entryway the foyer.

See, you don’t really need a formal entry space to have a foyer, you just have to BELIEVE! You just start calling that space a foyer, and everyone else will too, fancypants. A little makeover wouldn’t hurt either, like Kim’s from What Am I Going to Be When I Grow Up. Her husband built that bench with nothing but a picture torn out of Martha Stewart Living to guide him! I’m impressed.