Better After

8 In tables/dressers

The Primary Colors

Long ago, when I was a young young child in Sunday school, we used to sing a song called “The Primary Colors.”

Our Primary colors are one, two, three–

Red, yellow, and blue.

Each one has a message for you and me.

Each is a symbol true!

Red is for courage to do what is right,

Yellow for service from morning till night.

Blue is for truth in our thought and our deed.

We will be happy when this is our creed.

I’ll be darned if I don’t sing that song every single time I see anything red, yellow, and blue, yep even dressers.

These are all so great, but I think the blue one is my favorite. That detail on the sides, plus the keyholes and the fun new knobs, ahhh. Picture me kissing all my fingertips then opening them into the air, while saying “Perfecto!” (That would make way more sense if you saw me do it in real life rather than just typing it out but anyway. That gesture needs a name).

Go visit these talented ladies to see more! Red dresser by Shanna at Restoration Redoux. Yellow and blue dresser by Colette at Little Blue House By The Bay.

December 8, 2015 By Lindsey @ Better After

3 In kitchen/dining

Moooove over, old dining room!

Hey friend, how was your weekend? Did you get a chance to check out my homework nook makeover? Thank you so much to everyone who left such sweet comments on it, that always means the world to me!

My weekend was pretty good, minus THE HORRIBLE TIME I HAD AT THE CARNIVAL. Let me explain. A carnival came to town and I decided to take my oldest son for a little mommy-son time, thinking we’d have fun and make some memories. We made some memories all right. Memories include frantically screaming at the attendant to let us off the carnival ride from hell, hobbling weakly to the nearest trashcan, weeping, drooling, laying flat on our backs on the sidewalk in the middle of the carnival for a good twenty minutes until I could see straight enough to drive home where I laid on the floor for two hours. I’m not even exaggerating. It was literally the worst my body has ever felt, and I’ve given birth four times.

Add that to my list of things I will never do again.

But there is something I will ALWAYS enjoy, and that’s a good makeover! Better After reader Leatha recently reworked her dining room, and it looks fantastic!

Even with a neutral palette, she’s incorporated so much texture here, and she’s a wiz at mixing patterns too. She reports: “The walls are Revere Pewter which is like BUTTAH as we say here in the south. The bench I purchased last year at World Market on clearance because they were discontinued. All the other chairs are from Homegoods. Most of the gallery wall was either Kirkland’s or Hobby Lobby.” Plus the table was built by her husband using free wood and plans they found online. Don’t you just love when jaw-dropping style doesn’t come with a jaw-dropping pricetag? Let’s take a closer look at that gallery wall …

A great mix of shapes and sizes, and who wouldn’t want to share their meals with an inquisitive cow in a cowboy hat? No one you should be hanging out with, that’s who.

December 7, 2015 By Lindsey @ Better After

32 In Uncategorized

WIld Kratts with PBS

Happy Friday gang! Today I have a fun little makeover to share with you that I recently finished. Lest you think that I somehow managed to complete a dining room makeover AND this other room in the space of a couple weeks, think again. When I say ‘recently finished’ I actually mean ‘I did this over the summer,’ and I am finally able to share it now. I hope you enjoy!

***

I recently had the opportunity to work with Overstock.com and PBS to create a Wild Kratts-themed space, and I know what you’re thinking ….

“Wild Kratts? Like, the cartoon?? The cartoon about animal conservation??? Good luck!”

Maybe that’s just what I thought to myself. But you know, the show is all about educating kids in biology, zoology, and ecology, and teaching them small ways to make big impacts, so actually that is a pretty awesome theme to be working with. I was excited to get going!

I decided to go with the ‘educating kids’ route by making over one of the most unappreciated and unloved areas of my home – this sad, sad little computer nook upstairs:

So sad. So beige.

This is supposed to be a ‘homework station,’ but my kids never do any homework here, probably because it’s kinda depressing, and also the lighting is terrible at night. Only one single recessed light attempts to light up this space, and fails miserably. Plus, the beige. My whole house is so very beige.

But with a little love, I figured it could be a fun space that actually invited the kids in. “Come!” it would beckon. “Sit here and learn all the things! Drink the sweet nectar of knowledge! Bask in the glow of discovery!” I was very optimistic about this homework nook.

I hopped on over to Overstock and made a plan.

My goal was fun and functional with a lot of natural touches, and of course, animals!

But first, how about the big reveal?

Ta da!

One of the first things I put in my Overstock cart was this cement planter. It has a nice hefty weight to it and was perfect for bringing in some rugged and natural texture.

How cute is the alligator bookend set? It’s sure to inspire some wonder in the kids. Hopefully they will wonder about the vast and magical world of animals, and not about why mom bought this random collection of books at the thrift store just because they were white. Seriously, is that Diane Keaton’s autobiography in there? Yes. Yes it is.

This little elephant not only adds a fun punch of color, but it also does a knock-out job of representing education and conservation. It was hand-crafted by artisans in Kenya who take recycled flip-flop rubber collected from factories and turn them into works of art. Not only does this help foster environmental sustainability, but it provides income for the artisans and their families. I mean, c’mon. This guy is a WIN!

I love this stencil so much, I used it again. You may remember seeing it first in my mini-bathroom makeover.

Although I will never use it anymore, because I chopped it up into pieces so I could work around the corner. File that under “Stenciling Tips That Are Useful But Not Really.”

Even with the walls darker, it feels brighter. Hanging the pendant lamp overhead helped too. This one simply plugs in, no wiring required.

Also, here’s an easy painting trick I used that can give a window maximum impact: First, I taped off a wide border extended from the window, about 4 inches, and painted it white. Then I left a smaller border of black around that and started the stencil out from there. The end result: my window looks huge! And I didn’t even have to break out the power tools or hang trim! This trick would obviously work without a stenciled wall too.

This was a fun little makeover to work on, special thanks to Overstock.com and PBS for helping make it happen!

Sources here:

Recycled Flip Flop Rubber Elephant

White Chair with Wooden Base

Cement Planter

Black & White Striped Rug

Floating Shelves

Alligator Bookends

Drifting Arrows Stencil

Happy Weekend friend! Thanks so much for hanging out here, I truly appreciate you!

December 4, 2015 By Lindsey @ Better After

9 In tables/dressers

Say Geez!

We just took family pictures yesterday for our Christmas cards because I am always a step behind, and it was SO FUN. (It was not at all fun). You probably sent your cards in October and have all your shopping done and are spending the entire month peacefully humming carols and sipping eggnog and roasting chestnuts and whatever else it is you ‘organized’ people do in December.

Your family pictures probably don’t feature your baby picking his nose, and somehow also picking his brother’s nose. Your baby would never pull out a clump of your hair when you tell him to smile at the camera. Your nine-year-old son is SURELY mature enough to realize that wearing a button down shirt for 30 minutes is not worthy of a 90-minute temper tantrum. Your family was probably perfectly color-coordinated in trendy outfits. You probably wore a cool scarf. You probably know how to tie a scarf. Well GOOD FOR YOU.

I wore a gray shirt that I found on a desperate Target run the day before. I have a scarf, but things didn’t work out between us. There were no festive colors to be seen in our outfits, just basically a lot of gray. I have a problem.

But I also have a point. Kind of. I was going somewhere with this, I swear …

Oh yes. Gray. It’s still in (if the clothing selection at Target is any indication), it still looks good, and here are some gray makeovers that prove just that:

Hard to believe that those dressers are one and the same! From Sarah at Funcycled, who has turned it into a bathroom vanity. That’s one lucky bathroom.

Erin and Dan rescued this shoddy dresser suffering from the dreaded double-knob syndrome with a streamlined look.

They removed the chunky pieces on the drawers, which they also covered in paintable wallpaper for added texture, and dressed it up with some fun animal pulls. Can you see what the animal is? I’ll give you a hint … it would totally fit in with my family pictures and be more well behaved. (Better hint: it’s also gray).

See more at DIY Passion.

December 3, 2015 By Lindsey @ Better After

10 In kitchen/dining/ miscellaneous

Vintage Camper Vamper

Hey friend. How’s the weather in your neck of the woods? It’s legitimately cold here. Like, I can almost see my breath cold. I’ve started wearing tights to bed. Tights! I feel like I’ve stumbled upon some cold-weather-survivor secret with this tights thing. They keep me warm without having to wear some sort of bulky pajama contraption that gets all tangled up. It’s genius!

Anyway, if you are a cold-weather-wuss like me, you might already know about tights, and you are probably also already dreaming of warmer temperatures. Here’s a sweet little camper refresh from Francesca at Restyle. Restore. Rejoice. to get you further in the outdoorsy mood.

Her dated and dark camper was ripped up, scrubbed down, reupholstered and transformed into the adorable light-filled vacation-on-wheels it is today.

I just love Francesca’s effortless style. She’s mainly a fashion blogger, (I’ve featured her clothing makeovers a time or two), and she naturally brings her free-spirited style to her DIY projects. Doesn’t it make you want to find a camper to gut too? Maybe you should put it on your Christmas list, and then you can have it ready by summer!

December 2, 2015 By Lindsey @ Better After

2 In miscellaneous

Gonna find out whose fireplace is nice …

You’d better watch out, you’d better not cry, you’d better fix your ugly fireplace or Santa will refuse to use it and probably give all your presents to the neighbors.

That might not be true, but why risk it? Even if Santa Claus doesn’t really care about the aesthetic appeal of your fireplace, I’m betting Mrs. Claus does. (nudge nudge, wink wink).

So why not kick this holiday season off right with a refreshed mantle that belligerently screams HOLIDAY CHEER!!! like it’s had a little too much eggnog. Or, you know, just a nice normal good-looking mantle is fine too.

Emily at Our House Now a Home turned this light-sucking, lump-o-coal into a glorious fireplace that glistens like freshly fallen snow.