Better After

7 In desks/hutches/buffets/ tables/dressers

Sunnyellow

I’d love to impart some delightful descriptions of the following pieces to you, but when it comes to yellow, my vocabulary gets stuck somewhere around “cheerful!” “happy!” and “cheerful!” So let it be known that I think that these redos are swell! And truthfully, sometimes too much description can just be a bad thing. Proof: Lil’ C. See Also: Steven Tyler.

(Seriously, I just tried to read Steven Tyler’s new book and it was so mind-bendingly painful, I couldn’t even make it past the prologue. More Proof: “I’ve been mythicized, Mick-icized, eulogized and fooligized, I’ve been Cole-Portered and farmer’s-daughtered, I’ve been Led Zepped and 12-stepped. I’m a rhyming fool and so cool that me, Fritz the Cat, and Mohair Sam are the baddest cats that am.” Can a brain sweat? Because mine just did).

Anyway, what the heck were we talking about? Yellow! Yes. It is delightful. Also, cheerful!

From the always fail-proof Jesse at Nine Red.

Gorgeous, isn’t she? From Lauren at B and B’s Nest.

A cozy (and cheerful!) scene from Better After reader April. Great work everybody!

July 29, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

13 In bathroom

Park n’ Wash

A few basic rules of bathroom design: You shouldn’t be able to wash your hands while sitting on the toilet. Also, if you have a few cracked floor tiles, find it in your heart and budget to replace them with tiles of the same size and color. And, seeing how you just love all that tile, why not make sure that your “decorative” tiles all face the same direction?

This little bathroom of horrors was the first thing to go when Jeanette and her husband started remodeling This Dusty House. They included a whole new layout, a shiny white toilet and tub, and tasteful tile that doesn’t give me the OCD itchies. Fantastic!

July 29, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

20 In desks/hutches/buffets

Railing It In

FYI: This hutch was your typical hokey-oak country cabinetry type piece, not a glowing portal to an otherworldly dimension, as the poor-quality photograph may suggest. Bummer.

So Better After reader Camille stuck to its country roots with a smokey blue paint job and a distressed finish, along with the naturally stained top and uh … other top. The higher top. The crown moulding part on top. You know what I mean. Anyway.

I also love how she put plate rails in place of the teensy railings that served no practical purpose I can think of other than protecting teacups during a very slight earthquake. Great job Camille!

July 28, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

10 In miscellaneous

Stick it to the man!

Catherine found this jewelry box at a thrift store and fell it love with its swirls and curves. However, not caring much for the cracks and dents, and oh yes, colonial kitchen-slavery scene depicted on the lid, she whipped out her spray paint and fashioned the sweetest little pincushion you’ve ever seen instead. I think I smell a trend! Check it out on her blog Cat on a Limb.

And just in case you saved room for more pointy household item makeovers on your plate, then chew on this: A grimy, rusty, bronze wastebasket turned into a cheerful be-chevroned wastebasket from the infinitely talented Beckie at Infarrantly Creative.

July 28, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

12 In chairs/ottomans/seating

Grannie’s Girl

Say you have some sort of family item that has been handed down generation, to generation, to you. What would Gram-Gram prefer? That you freshen up her old chair in a way that delights you so much that you catch yourself gazing at it in happiness at least once a day? Or letting it collect dust in a corner of the attic that might as well be labeled “Stuff I Feel Like I Have to Keep.”

No brainer! Check out more from Ashley and her Great Grannie’s chair on her blog Ashlilium.

July 28, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

5 In tables/dressers

Campaign Trail

Yet another case of “Someone Who Is Not Me Finds Awesome Campaign-Style Furniture at Thrift Store.” I must say, I like this either way … the natural wood with the brass hardware, or white and sleek with silver hardware. What’s your vote?

As far as decor goes, I would also have to choose The Hunger Games series vs. the cat, but just because my son is allergic and also I have a fear of cats laying on my face and trying to suffocating me in my sleep. It could happen.

From Elisa at What the Vida?