Better After

Pick up the Pieces

Do you have a boring patio table and issues with suppressed rage? I can help with both! Here’s what you do: first, buy a bunch of colorful plates from the thrift store. Then go to town on expressing your inner inferno of fury by smashing them to shards! Finally, have a seat at the table for a peaceful session of mosaic-making using the broken pieces. There now, don’t you feel better?

From Better After reader Amanda, who doesn’t actually have anger issues, but she sure does have a great table!

October 21, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

10 In tables/dressers

Can you change your stripes?

It’s no secret that gray is the go-to neutrals these days. It’s everywhere! I’d like to think I was way ahead of that trend, as I painted my bedroom gray three years ago. Hey, maybe it was ME who started that trend! (Shhh, I know it wasn’t, just let me pretend).

So, why wasn’t this gray dresser working? Just switching out the handles wouldn’t be enough, but you know what would do the trick? Stripes! You know what would be even better? Diagonal stripes!

October 21, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

8 In bathroom

Simply Stunned

Yowza! This bathroom was stunning. Stunning as in I feel like someone has taken a stun-gun to my eyes. Even removing the rug, other rug, and toilet rug wouldn’t have helped much. Not with the yellow sink and yellow toilet. Yellow toilet? Not ok. That’s like … brown underwear. Avoid.

Anyhoo, the beautiful after is about 10 billion light years away from the before. I can’t even believe they are the same space! From Tanya at Dans le Townhouse.

October 20, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

1 In decor/ lighting

Fair thee well!

I have tickets to go to Arizona State Fair today! So I thought we should take a look at some good ol’, down-home country-type makeovers to get me in the mood. Only actually, the State Fair is not so much about livestock and pie bake-offs these days, it’s more like, “Hey, let’s go see Snoop Dogg in concert for free!” Whaaaaa? I know. It is kind of awesome. I can see cows anyday.

So anyway, here we go! You might remember this highly flamable lamp as a contender in the Ugly Lamp Contest this year. Sara and Stacy from Sugar Scout ditched the yellow basket and the pom-poms, and now she’s as cute as a coat on a goat! (I just made that up. Pretty sure country folk don’t actually say that).

And Nick from Lindauer Designs has done the near impossible: inspired me to decorate with a wagon wheel. He’s converted his into clock! I just love that industrial gray/blue paint job. I’d say that’s the hippest wagon wheel I ever done seen! Thanks Nick!

October 20, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

15 In kiddie

Cruising Together

Aww, another Cozy Coupe redo, I just can’t get enough. They are such well-built toys, and they’ve been around for so long, you’d think that Little Tykes could figure out a way to make the plastic less fade-able by now. Oh well, that leaves more room for the creativity of people like us! Or, I should say people like Sarah, who added all kinds of fun doodles and personalization and color to her daughter’s car, whereas I would have probably panicked in the paint aisle and picked yellow and red. Er, it’s classic, right?

Thanks Sarah!

October 20, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

9 In tables/dressers

Hold the phone, it’s two-tone!

From a distance, the world looks blue and green… No. That’s not what I meant to write. I meant to write that from a distance this dresser looks pretty good. The Bette Midler lyrics just came out of nowhere. Sorry to have stuck that song in your head for the rest of the day.

So, yes, from a distance this dresser didn’t look all that bad, but up close it was a hot mess. Nothing a little paint can’t fix. And a pumpkin accessory for extra whimsy. I’m really digging the top, it looks almost black, but it’s actually a deep stain called Ebony. Purrty. From Bonnie at A wee Meenit, thanks Bonnie!

And here’s some more two-tone for your trombone, (no, that didn’t make sense) from Piper at The Barefoot Indian, who is still mulling over hardware choices for the handles. She reports: I used many of my husband’s choice decor items to adorn the top, in the hopes that I would win his approval. I highly recommend this tactic. Good strategy. Thanks Piper!