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Living Rooms

Kitchens

Furniture

15 In kiddie

Big Wheel Keep on Strolling

Umbrella strollers are great. Cheap, light, and easy to keep a spare in your trunk. Hey, just like a real umbrella! Maybe that’s why they call them that. Downside: umbrella strollers are not that cute.

Well guess what homie? You don’t have to live with that pastel print of two chubby teddy bears holding hands, or in this case, a mutant fish/chicken hybrid mama and her baby fish things. Because Lauren from House of Chic and Penoche will show you how to DIY it into fabulosity. After all, as she says: “Strollers are for the moms just as much (if not more so) than babies.” This is truth.

April 29, 2011 By
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7 In desks/hutches/buffets

A Lil’ Iffy

Tiffany needed a desk for her little girl. After a long and fruitless search, she finally decided to just order one online. Then, when it was almost too late, as her cursor was hovering over the “add to cart” button on the Walmart website, this little beauty was found at a yard sale for $5.

Five bucks! It would cost that much just to drive to Walmart, and you can bet your bottom that the desk in question wouldn’t be nearly as sturdy OR as perfectly pink. Turned out great, don’t you think? See it on her blog Iffy Scraps.

April 28, 2011 By
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3 In chairs/ottomans/seating

Take five. Or ten.

You guys, I’m tired. I’ve been running around like a maniac all week, and I can’t foresee a chance to sit down and catch my breath until sometime late next week. If you have emailed me recently… I’m sorry! I’m working on replying to you as best as I can!

So, in the interest of time, I am happy to show this chair makeover by Better After reader Nick, who saved me an entire extra step by sending in this side-by-side before and after pic! It will even save your finger time from scrolling up and down. How efficient!

Nick reports: “My wife found these pepto–bismalesque chairs at a re-sale shop and immediately fell in love with them. After removing thousands of staples (there at 10 of these suckers!) and suffering through the entire project for weeks – we’ve finally finished them! Total cost for 10 chairs: $450. $300 for the chairs from the store, $50 for fabric from Ikea, $40 in paint and $60 for nailhead trim.” 

Ten chairs?! Dang! I’m impressed.

April 28, 2011 By
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6 In innovative idea/ living room

Spiffy!

The last time I was whining about Blogger being annoying, Dakota Transplant (aka Christa) suggested I use Windows Live Writer, so here goes, I’m giving it a try! If the blog looks funky, blame her. Ha ha, I kid!
Anyhoodle, check out this idea from Wendy at Designed to Dwell, I think it’s so neat! (I’m an 80 year-old-woman at heart, I’m allowed to say words like ‘neat!’ see also: ‘keen!’) She and her husband took a pair of these old bookcases, matched them up with a pre-fab bathroom vanity of all things, added some trim and moulding to unify the whole shamdangle, and boom! New entertainment center. Bet you didn’t see that coming, huh? Swell!

April 28, 2011 By
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20 In living room/ other rooms

Formal or Abnormal?

Raise your hand if you use your formal dining room more than five times a year. If so, congratulations to you and your fabulous life full of gourmet dinner parties and sparkling conversation with your interesting and fashionable friends. The rest of us use it for folding laundry.

Christy decided to reclaim her formal dining room into a space that would get a little more daily action. After all, what is the point of even having all that square footage if you literally spend more time in the garage? So she went against the norm and made it into her own private craftopia! I’m jealous. See more on her blog Beach Brights. Thanks Christy!

April 27, 2011 By
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7 In tables/dressers

Weather or Not

Chances are you or your mom or someone you know has this set of Basset furniture. I see them all the time on Craigslist. You can’t swing a dead cat around a thrift store without knocking into one. You also can’t swing a dead cat around a thrift store, period. You will probably get arrested.

Megan decided to give hers an old-world provincial feel with a paint, stain and glaze technique. I would love someone to come to my house and teach me how to do that. I still haven’t figured out how to make things look cool and old instead of dirty and weird. You can see more on her blog Never a Dull Day. Thanks Megan!











April 27, 2011 By
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