Better After

12 In bathroom

Just the Facts, Ma’am

Howdy Ya’ll! I’m in Texas for the week, so posting will be a little sparse! But thank you as always for stopping by. And say hi if you see me wandering around the Alamo, ok?

Amy from Style by Design made over this bathroom and proved several decor rules right along the way. They are: that a simple can of paint has the power to make a small room appear twice as big. That you should exchange your weeny valance on your weeny window because it makes the window look even weenier. That a tall item on the back of the commode will draw the eye up and away, while a squatty plant will make your toilet look like it’s wearing a bad Corbin Bleu wig. These are just proven, undisputed decor facts. I didn’t make them up. Nope.

June 8, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

4 In decor

Turn Back the Clock

I’m living it up in Texas on vacation, so posting will be a bit light this week! But thank you so much for stopping by!

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“If I could turn back ti-iime… If I could find a way … I’d take back all the words that hurt you … and you’d stay…” remember that old Cher song? Did you spend many hours passionately belting that one out into your hairbrush as a young girl too? Sure you did.

Shannon at Crescent City Ramblings decided to turn back the time on her manufactured-to-look-vintage clock and replaced it with some sleek simple style. And when she gets bored with the sleekness, she can chalk it up to her hearts content!

Hannah also had a clock, and I suspect that this thing truly was vintage, ‘vintage’ being defined as anything older than 20 years. That makes me vintage and then some. And I’m kind of a faded mauve color too! Now if all it took was a blast of spray paint to fix my face up, I could shave a ton of time off my morning routine. Hmmmm. Are you listening, Revlon?

Check out more of Hannah’s cute redo at A Handmade Childhood.

June 7, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

18 In tables/dressers

Still Stylin’ in Silver

Hello! I am on vacation! So you are reading this in the future, but I am writing this post in the past! What I mean is … I’ve already written this post and pre-scheduled it, so you are reading it now! In the future past! It makes my head spin! But I wanted to clarify that just in case silver leaf has managed to totally go out of style in the last few days. No? Are we good?

Great. Then please enjoy this sweet silver leaf dresser makeover from Hahn, who was inspired by Jenny’s dresser on Little Green Notebook. Which as of today is almost a year and a half old. So I think silver leaf is going to stick around. Phew!

June 6, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

8 In Uncategorized

CSN Stores Review

Well, it’s about time I got around to doing a CSNstores.com product review that I promised I’d do … several months ago. Yikes. Someday I’ll get my head screwed on straight.

But the eternally kind and patient people at CSNstores.com allowed me to review a product from their store, and I chose this truly magnificent shower head. I know a lot of people get their best ideas in the shower, but not me. I basically slump in a catatonic state against the wall, until one of my eyes cracks open or my kids start asking if they should call an ambulance.

I blame my lousy old showerhead. It looks like your typical shower fixture, but it was really crustified and so the water just dribbled out pathetically, no matter how hard I scrubbed. Obviously I’d be much more creative with a better one!

So the day my new showerhead arrived was a monumental day in the Allen household, to say the least. Everyone wanted a turn basking in glorious downpour. You can barely see the water in this picture, so I’ve slightly retouched the next one…

AHHHHHHHHHH! And as it happens, this particular showerhead was available in 4 different finishes, so the oil-rubbed bronze matched up perfectly. Hooray!

It was really hard to narrow down the choices, because CSNstores.com carries an abundant amount of showerheads (among other things), from easily affordable to extravagant, and many name brands too, from Moen to Kohler and more. Delivery was quick, assembly was easy, and we don’t miss our old shower head one bit!

Thanks to CSNstores.com, where you can shop for just about anything for your home or garden or self, and to you as always, dear reader! Have a great weekend!

June 3, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

21 In tables/dressers

Rock the Chalk

There is a new craze in the DIY world going on right now and it is called CHALK PAINT! It seems like everybody I know is giving it a whirl. Maybe you are like me, (lazy) and have wondered what all the hubbub is about and were wishing that someone would just tell you so you don’t have to go, like, looking it up for yourself and junk.

Well, lucky for you! I got a bunch of chalk paint submissions recently, so I asked some of the submitters their thoughts.

First I asked Susan from Hometown Girl, who redid this dresser, but she hasn’t got back to me yet. So …. sorry, that wasn’t very informative, was it? But the chalk paint sure looks nice, eh?

Then, I asked Jennifer from Always in Wonder how she liked the chalk paint she used on this dresser. Wait. I think forgot to ask Jennifer. Dang. But here’s a fun chalk paint fact I just learned: you have to order it online, and it’s like $50 a quart! It MUST be awesome, right?

But Ann came through! Ann wanted chalk paint specifically for this piano, which was in rougher condition than it appears (I always feel like I have to say that so piano fanatics don’t throw bricks through my windows).

She says: “I had a specific reason to use the chalk paint on the piano. I did not want to sand it. The piano although ugly was still in tune and I feared that all of the dust from sanding would get into the body and be impossible to get out. “

“I slapped the chalk paint right on over the finish ( I didn’t even wipe it down). I applied a coat of wax, the first time I have ever done this and I would definitely do it again, it has such a nice smooth finish. I am extremely happy with it, it has made a dark dreary corner of my living room nice and bright.”

Look, she even gave the candlesticks makeovers!

And Sharyl from The Little Brown House also had great things to say about it when she redid her drum table: “I really love the chalk paint, specifically for redoing antique furniture. It is not latex based, so it has a soft chalky texture that works really well with older pieces. And it can actually be sanded off – it doesn’t seem to go as deep into the grain of the wood.”

“Two other advantages are that it doesn’t have much odor, and you don’t have to prep what you are painting. As in no sanding or primer. It does have a different finish than regular paint though – it isn’t smooth or shiny. So I don’t suppose it would work for everything, but it is awesome on furniture!”

This was pretty much the most informative post ever! Chalk Paint!

(insert shooting star logo: The more you knoooow!)

June 2, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

11 In chairs/ottomans/seating

Sour to Sweet!

Oh man, these before chairs are making me sad. The one on the left has given up on life completely, hardened by despair. The one on the right looks like it’s trying to put on a brave little happy face in spite of it all. Which reminds me of that McDonald’s commercial with the lemon, and the lemon has a sad face, and he’s feeling all bad because nobody likes lemons, and he has a little Jersey accent, and I swear I almost get choked up over that sad little lemon face.

But everything works out ok for the lemon, because he gets blended up into a strawberry lemon drink, which is actually quite tasty. And these chairs got a little shot of strawberry too, and yay, everyone is happy!

From Terri at Crafty Workin Mommy, thanks Terri!