Better After

An Accord at Vinnord

Let’s start this new year out with a bang, shall we? (Yes, we are still pretending it’s New Year’s).

This sweet little Norwegian cottage transformation is sure to take your breath away, or make you gasp in wonder, or at least sigh wistfully. You may think the before photos are from like, 1992, but no, these were the listing photos when Trine bought the place in 2008! Clearly, this place needed some love, and fast.

But Trine from The Cottage of Vinnord was the girl for the job! First up was the most important room in the house, the kitchen. I’m no interior decorator,
nor do I play one on TV, but even I could tell you that none of the
fabrics, textures and colors in this room should exist together at
anytime, ever. Except in a before photo. Trine felt the same way and bid adieu to every single thing in here except the floor-to-ceiling beadboard. Which is amaaaaazing!

See the dining room peeking through there? It wasn’t always such a stunner. First Trine had to deal with miles of maroon and pine paneling and a vibe that managed to be super-dreary despite two large windows. But doesn’t it look about a millionty times better now? I LOVE the slightly different shades of blue on the chairs.

And finally, the cave-like mudroom got lighter and brighter, with an equestrian feel that pays homage to Trine’s love of horses. I love how subtle and elegant this look is, instead of hitting you over the head with full-on cowboy memorabilia.

Trine says, “I like to think I brought Vinnord back to life. I like to think is how
SHE would have wanted to look. Like a welcoming, warm and airy lady. And
it is true that this house possesses a certain soul. Every time you enter
the front door your pulse and breathing goes down. You relax, whether
you want to or not. Maybe this is why projects take longer here?”

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing Trine! Take the full tour over on her blog The Cottage of Vinnord.

this post sponsored by

PhotoJewelryMaking.com

January 4, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

22 In Uncategorized

Top 12 of 2011! Finally!

Well, HI! Man, it has been one whirlwind of a month here. Which is why I’m just now posting my Top 12 of 2011 list, because my brain is still stuck somewhere in December and can’t compute that we are now well into a new month and a new year!

So, let’s pretend it’s still the last few days of 2011 and commence with viewing some of my favorite before and afters from each month! Fun number fact: This was really tough to decide, because Better After delivered 655 posts in 2011! Holy smoking cow. Is there an award for that? There should be.

Ok, let’s get jiggy with it:

JANUARY

Catherine from Freddy and Petunia combined this random lion face thing with a simple dresser into a cohesive work of art! Still amazes me one year later!

FEBRUARY

A great bathroom redo from one of my favorite bloggers, Kristi at Addicted 2 Decorating. Really love the idea to paint the brassy parts of the shower black, which has to be about 1,000 times cheaper than replacing it.

MARCH

Lindsay and her husband Jace of Baum Shelters either completely transformed this sad little house or sent me pictures of two different houses. Hard to believe, isn’t it!

APRIL

April was a hard month to find a favorite, there were so many fabulous projects to choose from; but dresser-into-a-desk redo is still of of the most innovative makeovers I’ve seen yet! From Alicia at Thrifty and Chic.

MAY

I think I love Maggie’s living room makeover so much because it incorporates three of my favorite things: mirrors, chevrons, gray, sparkle and shajazz. So that’s four things. Five, if you count the made up thing. Whatever. See it on her blog Mummy Maggie Chronicles.

JUNE

Arlene used a collection of old frames as more than decor – she used them as part of the wall itself in this wainscoting-with-a-twist kind of thing. So unique! Lots of readers took a shine to this look. See it on Arlene’s blog Little Altars.

JULY

2011 saw a whole heckuva lot of great chair redos, and this one from JC at My Rustic Cottage Life
still sticks out in my mind. I just can’t get over how far it came: once a filthy dumpster-reject, now a catalog worthy star! It’s like a Lifetime Movie!

AUGUST

I am pretty sure I started at this kitchen redo for a good 15 minutes, soaking up every stunning detail. So much loveliness to behold! Take the entire tour from Mia on her blog Jilly and Mia.

SEPTEMBER

Ahhhhhh, I love this house so much I would like to literally give it a hug. From Erin at The Impatient Gardener, who knew that underneath her house’s boxy awkwardness lurked a true charmer!

And as long as we’re visiting the past, let’s drop in and say hi to another stunning September memory: Our Ugly Lamp Contest Winner!

Yup, still as gross as ever.

OCTOBER

The geometric painted rug trend really took off this year, and this one from Steph at Birdhouse Family struck my fancy in particular! I love the bold pattern and how it picks up the dramatic blue from the wall and accessories. Has your fancy been struck too?

NOVEMBER

Another tough month to choose from! There were a few bathrooms featured during November that I would be happy to live in for the rest of my life, but I finally settled on this “Grungy French” hutch Chrystal at The Shabbiest Chick. And hey, did you notice the “before” and “after” got a makeover too?

DECEMBER

As you know, I am a sucker for black and white, and if you didn’t know that, well, now you do. That is partly why I fell hard for this bathroom redo from Michelle at Decor and the Dog. The other part is that it would probably look just as awesome in any other color scheme, because I am also a sucker for wainscoting.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of some of the best Better Afters of 2011! I CAN’T WAIT to see what you fabulous and talented folks come up with in 2012!

January 2, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

1,901 In Uncategorized

CAMEO Giveaway! (GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED)

(now closed)
Hey there! I hope you won’t mind a couple of giveaways back-to-back as I take a little time off to celebrate the holidays! And I really don’t think you’ll mind this one, because it’s a FREAKING FREE CAMEO!

That’s right, you could win a Silhouette CAMEO, which in my humble opinion, is the best cutting and craft machine on planet Earth, hands down.

If you are still wondering what the heck this CAMEO contraption is all about, let me tell you! It’s an electronic cutting tool that works like a printer, only instead of printing, it cuts! Paper, fabric, vinyl and more, the CAMEO can cut almost any design you can dream up or download.

You never need to buy any extra shape cartridges or fonts. Instead, you plug it directly into your computer, and you can use any and every font you already have!

Plus the online store offers a library of thousands of downloadable shapes that you can download for super cheap, like 99 cents each.

You could be crafting up a storm with your new CAMEO before you know it!

THREE CHANCES TO WIN!
Entering is easy!

To enter once: “like” Silhouette on Facebook

For another entry: follow Silhouette on Pinterest
(leave separate comments here letting me know you did so!)

For another entry: share the giveaway on your blog, facebook, twitter, what have you!
(leave another comment here!)

(and don’t forget to leave your email address!)

Fine print:

Open to U.S. residents only (boo!)

If you have some Christmas money burning a hole in your pocket, use the promo code AFTER to get a Silhouette CAMEO and a Fabric Ink Starter Kit for $299 right now!

If you already have a Silhouette CAMEO any and all fabric ink kits and supplies will be 20% off with the promo code AFTER.

If you are planning to use the promo code, just add the Silhouette
CAMEO and a Fabric Ink Starter Kit to your cart (separately) and then
enter the promo code http://silhouetteamerica.com

***
Good luck, I hope you win!
Winner randomly selected Jan. 3rd.

December 29, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

23 In Uncategorized

Merry Christmas!

Dear friend,

A big fat “Merry Christmas” to you from me! I hope you are surrounded by all the love and joy and peace you can imagine this season. Thank you SO MUCH for your generosity in sharing your talents with me, your words of encouragement, and your presence in simply being here! YOU are appreciated.

I am taking the next week off to celebrate the holidays and spend some time with my family, including my baby brother who just got home from a 2-year church mission to Mexico City! Very excited! But I will be back soon with a recap of the 12 Best Better Afters of 2011! I’m looking forward to 2012! (except the part when the world supposedly ends according to the Mayans. Um, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.)

Merry Christmas!

December 24, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

19 In decor

Out with the old, in with new! And old!

This year I had a serious talk with myself. I asked myself why I’ve hung on to so many ugly Christmas decorations for so long. “Does that stack of plastic poinsettia placemats have sentimental value, or were they on clearance at Wal-Mart?” I prodded. “Clearance,” I mumbled.

“Did you plan on revisiting your “Country-Christmas phase” from a decade ago, or can we admit that you never liked it in the first place and throw out that 3-foot tall gingham Santa thing that falls apart and stabs someone every year?” “I’ll get rid of Stabby Claus,” I sighed.

It really wasn’t hard to part with a lot of my junk once I got going; it actually felt like a relief! If you’ve found yourself with a little extra breathing room in your Christmas storage bins too, here are a few great holiday decor ideas that you might want to try. Yay for non-ugly stuff!

Nikki from Grand Design Co. made these Christmas stockings with $3.99 IKEA rugs! I love the burlap trim too. She says you can make one and a half stockings per rug. If my math skills serve me, that’s like $2.65 per stocking! Cheap, easy and cute. That’s my new Christmas decor criteria.

Better After reader Dana also got creative with her stockings by using a fleece blanket. They practically give these blankets away; you could make stockings for your whole neighborhood!

I love mini Christmas villages, however, I’ve never wanted one for myself. So much work and money! I just prefer to let you put one up so I can look at it. BUT, thanks to Shannon from Fox Hollow Cottage and her little church project, I think I’m going to keep my eye out for village pieces at the thrift stores during the year. Because how pretty would an all white, glittered and sparkly village be?! Answer: So pretty!

And keep that can of white spray paint out, because look how easily it turns creepy into cute! I’m pretty sure that before elf was not really Santa’s little helper, but actually a demon vampire. The blue glitter is really helping it’s cute-ability factor too. From Crystal at Beautiful Haven.

And don’t put away the blue glitter yet! Give your holiday wardrobe a kick of color too! (get it? Kick of color? AH Ha Ha! Ha! Ha. ha. … Sorry.) Anyway, it’s so unexpected and fun. From Francesca at Restyle Restore Rejoice.

I hope you enjoyed these holiday revamps! May your days be merrier and brighter!

December 23, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

9 In bathroom

Tile it up!

A few years ago we lived in Layton, UT, in a house that was about 30 years old. I’m pretty sure the bathroom had never been remodeled once in those 30 years. Elizabeth’s before bathroom here is giving me a total flashback, only replace that brown and beige tile with ALL brown, but a poopier shade, and replace that small frosted window with a full-size regular window (why, WHY!?!) and there you have my old bathroom. Try to contain your jealousy.

I wish I had known how big of a difference new tile would have made back then, this looks 100 years newer! And don’t you love how the tile goes all the way up to the ceiling? Why did no one think of that 30 years ago? Was there a tragic tile shortage or something? Were we rationing it for the war? Was there a war? I guess we’ll never know.

See more from Elizabeth on her blog Little Black Door.