Better After

4 In outdoors

Gimme Shelter

Lindsay deserves some sort of award for bravery. She and her husband decided to purchase and renovate (while pregnant) the hillbilliest house I’ve ever seen. It looks like it would topple over if you stared at it too long. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was held together with duct tape and spit.

But hold on to your hats, because the after is going to blow your mind! And make you want to buy a ramshackle barn! Take the grand tour on their blog Baum Shelters. Most commendable job, Baums! I give you a huzzah!

May 2, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

4 In desks/hutches/buffets

I See Dead People

I thought it was such a great idea to flip this picture upside down, so the desk looked right side up. But now looking at it makes me queasy. Kind of like last Friday, we thought it was such a great idea to take my grandpa to see the Body Worlds and The Brain exhibit, but he was really, REALLY freaked out by it.

Now I’m queasy AND I’m thinking about the dead body museum. Double ugh. Quick, let’s scrolly scroll down to see the cute after in action. There’s damask! From Better After reader Shannon. Thanks Shannon!

May 2, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

4 In living room

Join the Living

Hello! How was your weekend? Was it filled with revelry? Did you celebrate the royal wedding? Or the demise of Osama? Are you laying lifeless on the sofa, surrounded by empty bottles and plastic cups, like the shoeless gentleman in the picture below?

Well, pull yourself together sunshine, it’s Monday! Dust yourself off, rearrange your mental furniture and get moving! And check out Amy’s living room redo on her blog Amy’s Quest. (don’t miss the momentary purple phase this room went through too!)

May 2, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

8 In Uncategorized

Sponsor Alert: Garage Sales Tracker!

I don’t know about your part of the world, but it is prime yard sale weather in my part! So, if you are headed out this weekend to scour some sales, let me offer a few tips:

First: buy some junk, take pictures of it, give it a makeover, take more pics and send them to me!

Second: save yourself some time and check out GarageSalesTracker.com before you go! (Actually, logistically speaking, this should be step one).

If you haven’t used Garage Sales Tracker before, it is … well, just what it sounds like it is. It tells you where the sales are, and it is super handy. I put in my zip code and in mere seconds I had four pages of addresses to nearby garage sales!

If that wasn’t enough, they also have a free iphone app, a bookmark feature to save locations of your frequent haunts, and my favorite, the trip planner feature, which that automatically plans out the most efficient garage sale routes for you! That will save you gas, my friend, which equals more money to spend at said yard sales!

And don’t forget, you can gain maximum exposure for your sale by posting it on Garage Sales Tracker too! Check them out, this shizness is legit.

April 30, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

9 In chairs/ottomans/seating

Cane You Handle It?

Cane chairs! Did you know you can actually cane a chair yourself? Yes, “cane” is a verb, which makes me think they should really be called caned chairs, but enough about me.

This chair and sofa were looking quite drab and dated, but the caning was in great shape. So just a little paint and reupholstery was in order and now they look fantastic! Like, really fantastic. I might try to find some cane chairs myself! Or teach myself how to cane, like that’s ever going to happen.

First from Ruth at Not So Cookie Cutter. I LOVE that fabric, and I don’t even like yellow!

And a sofa makeover from Emily at Crisp Interiors. It almost looks like it could be an indoor/outdoor piece with the open back, but it’s too beautiful to risk it. I’d keep that baby indoors! Thank you ladies!

April 29, 2011 By Lindsey @ Better After

7 In tables/dressers

As seen on TV

Read this to yourself in a melodramatic infomercial announcer voice:

“Do you like the look of lacy doilies, but hate the MESS?”

Picture an easily confused woman struggling to keep a doily on her table. It bunches up, it falls off. She just can’t keep the darn thing straight. She rolls her eyes to the heavens and blows hair out of her face in exasperation. Picture this in black and white for full dramatic effect.

“Well, what if I told you you could enjoy the beauty and extravagance of a doily covered table without all the WORRY?”

Woman nods enthusiastically.
“All you have to do is visit Vicky at Rescued and Rehabbed to make your lace-covered table dreams a reality! This offer is only available for a limited time, hurry now!”