Better After

15 In lighting

Ceiling Stunners

Howdy! I’m back from a nice Thanksgiving weekend in Salt Lake City, where I froze my buns off so thoroughly, I’m pretty sure they fell off in one icy chunk somewhere on south Temple Street. Ha ha, I wish! My buns are most certainly still here and will be spending some quality time on the treadmill this week.

Did you have a great Thanksgiving? (or regular ol’ weekend if you don’t live in America?) Have you fully shaken off your turkey coma? If not, here’s a zinger of a makeover to help wake you up from Jennifer at Dimples and Tangles.

Tired of the boring fans in her home but unhappy with anything she found in the store, she decided to make do with what she had! The first fan she simply taped off and painted the stripes with craft paint, and the second fan is modge-podged fabric! Jennifer reports that both have held up just fine against everyday use.

See the entire room makeover from the chevron fan HERE.

November 28, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

5 In kiddie

My Little Pony

Poor little Pony. He had spent many happy years entertaining the children with his bucking and bouncing, but those days were long gone. He watched sadly as they began to outgrow him and he was relegated to the backyard as an ‘outside toy.’ The elements were harsh but the abandonment was harsher. It was like a scene straight out of Toy Story 3.

Funnily enough, Toy Story 3 came along with the adventures of Woody, Bullseye, and the gang, and the spark was reignited! The youngest of the children became obsessed with all things cowboy, and so Pony was rescued and rehabbed into the lusterous steed he once was. Yee-haw!

From Molly at Just a Little Creativity.

November 24, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

8 In desks/hutches/buffets

Grunge Fashion

Chrystal bought this hutch with the intention of fixing it up and selling it. But she just couldn’t let go. It didn’t make sense to keep it, she already had a nice hutch that matched her current table perfectly. But something about this hutch kept drawing her back in. So she went with her heart and decided to keep it forever. Much like Tori Spelling, only with furniture instead of, you know, husbands.

She calls this look “Grungy French” and I LOVE it! See it on her blog The Shabbiest Chick.

November 23, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

4 In decor

Seems Fishy

Hey, I have an idea! Since many of you will be hanging out with big groups of friends and relatives in the next few days, why don’t you ~~put them to work~~ make a fun craft together? Gather up some heavy paper and several large hole-punches, and don’t stop the fun until you have a hefty stack of circles like this. Then enlist someone to spray paint them gold (I’m sure your nephews would love this!), lay them out in a super chic fish-scale design, glue, frame, and poof! You leave your Thanksgiving get-together with something besides weight gain!

See the complete how-to from Allison on her blog TwoThirtyFive.

November 23, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

10 In lighting

Bowling Alley Bar to Pottery Barn

Where I grew up, there was about only one fun thing to do, and that was to go to the bowling alley. And the bowling alley wasn’t even close by, it was like an hour away. And inside the bowling alley was this seedy bar that seemed like such a mysterious place to me. It was always dark and smelled gross, and no kids were allowed, but there were darts! And pool tables!

And what any of that has to do with today’s redo is this: when I look at this old light fixture, I think of that bowling alley bar. Not the first thing you want people to think when they walk inside your house. Or even the second thing or third thing. But somehow Christy saw potential here and whipped that thing into non-outdated-bar-fixture shape. Beautiful!

See it on her blog This From That.

November 23, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

7 In tables/dressers

Lodge Podge

Candace needed something to replace the empty spot of nothing in front of her sofa. So she found this old coffee table and decided to give it a full-blown makeover! But then, when her arms could take no more sanding, she decided to give it a half-blown makeover! She simply painted the top and hand-traced the deer design to resemble a rustic old lodge sign instead. Pretty cool. See more plus a tutorial on her site Frugal Mom.

What’s that? You want more yummy table goodness? Well, I aim to please. Here is a beautiful nightstand redo from Helen who has the shabby chic technique down to a science. She could write the book about it! In fact, she IS writing a book about it: The Science of Shabby Chic. Ok, I’m making all that up, but it is a catchy name. Someone should get on that.

Check it out on her blog Picked and Painted.