Better After

13 In decor/ My House

A Unicorn Makeover

The other day I was strolling through Goodwill when I spotted a little unicorn sculpture. You can’t walk past a unicorn and not buy it. You just can’t.

I’m not one to disobey rules of the universe, so I paid $2.99 for this unicorn and brought it home even though I had no idea what to do with it.

Then an idea popped into my head: gold polka dots! I love when fully-formed ideas pop into my head. It’s rare, but it makes things so easy. I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

Tada! I started by giving her a few coats of white satin spray paint to cover up the old iridescent paint job, then just used a gold Sharpie paint pen to make the dots, eyeballing a pattern as I went along. I love how it turned out!

If you want to try this at home, remember to use a Sharpie PAINT pen. They go on much, much better than a regular Sharpie. There are also other paint pen brands too, just be sure they are oil-based.You can probably find them anywhere craft projects are sold, I found mine in the craft section at Wal-Mart. And also remember to never not buy a unicorn when you have the chance.

January 17, 2015 By Lindsey @ Better After

8 In chairs/ottomans/seating

Getting Spicy

I’ve got a random mix of chair makeovers for your eyeballs this morning. They are all very different, with their own personalities. Like the Spice Girls.

Let’s call this one Retro Spice. Yvette was on the hunt for a first-time project when she discovered this offering from the Salvation Army. A sad little oatmeal-colored thing, reaching it’s little baby chair arms out for a hug. Well, now she’s a star! Oooh, and it’s actually a pair. A duet!

I’d say Yvette nailed it. Look how well she lined up the fabric, this doesn’t look like a first-timer project at all.

This next girl is the backbone of the group. The senior member. We’ll call her Old Spice. She’s been around the block, but she still knows how to rock.

From Shelly at 100 Things 2 Do.

If we wanted to include a Posh Spice in the mix, this is our girl. Eden at DIYHER dismissed that matronly mauve fabric and brought in a cheeky cheetah print instead.

Me-YOW! She’s going to climb the charts, if she has to claw her way to the top!

And finally we have Sassy Spice. What else can you call a chair that’s been doused in hot pink paint? That’s right, paint! No upholstery skillz needed here. Shanna used several coats of plaster paint to achieve this look.

“Isn’t that going to feel all crunchy and weird?” you are probably thinking. Nope! After a light sanding of her final coat, Shanna applied a paste wax and reports that it feels soft and smooth as leather. Get all the details at Restoration Redoux.

Girl power!

PS: Posh Spice was/is my favorite Spice Girl, in case you were wondering even though you probably weren’t.

January 16, 2015 By Lindsey @ Better After

22 In living room

Deja who?

You know how when you’ve been blogging about makeovers for several years, and you’ve written something like 2,700 posts, and you realize one day that you’re currently writing about a project you already wrote about? That never happens to me. Well, almost never. Until today.

I was staring at this fireplace from Jamie at So Much Better with Age, thinking how familiar it all seemed, then I realized that I actually featured it way back in 2013. That’s like two hundred years in blog years. So, you probably don’t even remember it. Everybody’s attention spans are so short nowadays anyway. We’re like goldfish. I’ve already stopped and had two snacks since I began writing this paragraph. You probably already forgot where you are.

Well, you are at Better After, a blog all about makeovers! Here is a living room makeover that you’ve never ever seen before. Enjoy! You are at Better After, by the way!

I stared at that picture over the fireplace for a long time, thinking it was a woman walking dramatically in a cape and a pointed hat, until I realized it is actually a seashell.

January 15, 2015 By Lindsey @ Better After

18 In bathroom

Indecent Enclosure

I love window seats, and I’m not talking about on airplanes. Although, those are pretty good too. Unless you are on a long flight and need to use the bathroom often, and you’re sitting with strangers, then it’s very awkward and uncomfortable.

The most uncomfortable I’ve ever been on a plane was this one time when my plane was going down. It wasn’t really, but I thought it most definitely was. The plane was attempting to land on a hot summer night in Phoenix, in the middle of a dust storm, aka a haboob. Big deal, you are thinking. A dust storm, oooh, how scary. Take a look at this picture of a haboob in Phoenix and tell me if you want to fly in a plane through that. No you do not girlfriend. Anyway, I survived by basically crawling into the lap of the stranger sitting next to me until it was over.

Hmmm. I may have lost my point in there somewhere. In any event, window seats sure are cool. Until they aren’t. For instance, in a bathroom.

No, no, nope. There is just no need to encourage any pre-shower nor post-shower window lingering. No one needs to see your haboobs.

Nate and Michelle at Decor and the Dog agreed and ripped out that little storage seat and replaced just about every other surface in this bathroom, and the result is absolutely beautiful and also unlikely to get anyone arrested.

January 14, 2015 By Lindsey @ Better After

7 In kiddie

Boxing Day

Like phases of the moon, and seasons of the year, January is for organizing. It’s a fact of the universe.

Let’s stir up your inner organizing goddess with some storage box makeovers. She loves that stuff. She’ll probably drag you out in the cold to go find one today. Don’t cage her in. Inner Organizing Goddess needs to be free!

Deb at Lake Girl Paints let loose on this chest that someone else had let loose on before, but not in a good way. It basically looks like they sneezed across some stencils.

She gave it a streamlined look by removing the appliques and adding a chunky new base, rope handles, and painted lath strips to cover the top. So unique and lovely!

This toy chest was pretty durn cute, but the owner had long outgrown the nursery rhyme phase. They asked Joan for a new look, and she gave it an age-appropriate makeover, Union Jack style! I continue to love this look, how about you? Can a country’s flag ever go out of style? I say no, unless it’s made out of like … parachute pants or something. See more from Joan at Nicer Than New.

January 13, 2015 By Lindsey @ Better After

7 In kitchen/dining/ laundry rooms

Beach House Revival

Beth and Kristy at My Design Chic recently worked their magic on this beach house kitchen for the One Room Challenge. And it was a challenge. Where to begin? The double-decker cabinets? The lone flourescent light? The five (literally FIVE) layers of linoleum? How about the teeny (and oddly also double-decker) window? To me, that’s the biggest sin of all. You can’t have a beach house on the beach with no view of the beach!

Aaaahhhh, now that’s better. They initially had planned on an entire wall of french doors, but the budget didn’t allow for it, so they went with as many windows as possible instead. And an extra sink, for gutting fish, of course. What a fantastic job.

Plus, there was also this weird little laundry room just off the kitchen, which got re-purposed into a cozy lounge space. Who needs laundry anyway? (Everyone. Unless it’s a nude beach. Which, to my knowledge, it is not. The laundry room just got moved upstairs).