Better After

11 In decor

Cock-a-doodle-don’t

Erin had had it up to here with all her red and black country decor. I think up to here stopped just beyond the rooster. So she kicked him out of the coop and switched everything up in favor of a lighter, brighter color scheme. And aren’t her dishes and cups fantastic? They make me want to go dinnerware shopping RIGHT NOW, even though we currently have about three bowls and two glasses in the entire house because we can’t go a day without breaking something over here. If only there was plastic-ware that cute!

See more from Erin on her blog Sunny Side Up.

September 22, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

10 In living room/ tables/dressers

Simply meant to be.

Michelle from Innovative Interior never dreamed that these clunky old end tables could have possibly looked so chic. No, wait, that was me. But she did take a pass the first time she saw them. Then days later, when she couldn’t stop thinking about them, she realized she had to have them! Of course they were gone when she went back. Or were they? She scoured the store, and hooray! Shoved and stacked into a corner, they were still there! Just waiting to be brought home!

Has that ever happened to you? It did to me today. I saw a sweet little skirt at the mall on Saturday, thought about it all weekend and went back today, and guess what? They were out of my size. Oh, but guess again! They had ONE more in the back, still in the shipping package, AND it was on clearance. Sometimes the stars really do align.

See more of Michelle’s living room HERE.

September 22, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

4 In tables/dressers

I Louvre It!

If you can’t afford a trip to Paris, why not try the next best thing? A Parisian furniture makeover! Ok, so maybe that’s not the next best thing. Refinishing furniture might be a smidgen further down the list of Things Almost Better Than Going to Paris. But isn’t it fantastic? That is one professional paint and stencil job, I’d say. It looks like the stencil set was created specifically for this piece!

From Karen at Never Enough Thyme Creations. Thanks Karen!

September 21, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

17 In outdoors

Pretty Impatient

These dramatic changes that Erin made to her home are somehow completely subtle. She took out a dormer, added a portico over the front door, and re-pitched half the roof! That’s dramatic! There was a crane involved! But doesn’t the after seem like it was always meant to look exactly like that? Like the before was just a weird dream? So absolutely charming, I kind of wish she was selling it. To me!

The changes didn’t stop there. Check out the back view, and take a moment to sigh in wonder at her lush landscaping. They don’t call her The Impatient Gardener for nothing!

September 21, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

10 In tables/dressers

Torched and Crowned

O, say can you see?

That this dresser was bright.

What so loudly it hailed,

with a purple plum paint job.

But a new coat of gray,

toned it down all the way,

and that Lady Liberty graphic,

made it look so fantastic!

What a stylish tribute to our ever great nation,

From Claudette at Life’s a Journey, Not a Destination.

September 21, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

8 In chairs/ottomans/seating

Swirls Just Want to Have Fun

Nothing wrong with this chair, nope, nothing at all. Other than it didn’t really fit in with the feel of Haley’s home, and the fact that the more I stare at it, the more it looks like a unhinged dragon-serpent trying to hypnotize me. So Haley banished the dragon in favor of stripes and we can all breathe easier.

Check it out on her blog, Messy Craft Table

Be honest, did you kind of like that crazy dragon fabric? If so, you will love this next redo from Chelsea, who gives boring the boot to make way for some zesty Morrocan fabric of fun on her office chair! Fantastic!