Picker Sisters

Oh my!!!  Have you all seen this show called Picker Sisters.  BEST.SHOW.EVER!  My card catalog/barrister bookcase/campaign dresser sister was staying at our house last night because her power is still on the outs from Miss Irene and stayed up until midnight watching on demand episodes of the show.  Let me put things in perspective for you.  My sister just got back from a 10 day jaunt in AUSTRALIA (does she have the life or what!) and is severely jet lagged and hasn't slept since returning because she has been baking in her oven of an apartment.  So you know it's gotta be good. 

The series is about two best friends and interior designers, as they embark on the ultimate challenge to start their own store.  They travel the US searching salvage/junk yards searching for things they can turn from trash to treasure.  They turn complete trash and really weird stuff into gorgeous one of a kind pieces.  The hosts are super chic, borderline annoyingly perfect, and have some amazing vision.   If you like dumpster dive rescues and trash to treasure makeovers you must watch! 

This is the episode I just watched where they turn a silo into a fab hanging chair.

It airs on Tuesday at 10pm on Lifetime.  Tell me what you think if you watch.  I've only seen one episode but I have a feeling I will have caught up on the whole season by the weekend!  Hope my husband thinks these chicas are hot cause he's going to be stuck watching with me ;)

Have you all seen the show?  What do you think?

Holy Hurricane

Sorry I've been a little MIA.  We just got power back last night after that diva Irene blew through here.  We were out for a glorious 53 hours.  We were very fortunate to have no damage...one of the only perks of living in a pop up neighborhood with little charm and trees the size of my 5 year old.  And I know this is really weird but a small part of me was sad when the power came back on.  There's something nice about no tv, AC, and Internet.  I kind of felt like I was on vacation with the cool breeze blowing in the windows.  It forces you to get outside and hang out with neighbors.  I'm a firm believer no one knows their neighbors anymore because of the modern convenience of air conditioning.  So, as annoying as it was, it was a nice break from the day to day routine. 

My parents did not fair as well as us.  They live on Connecticut just yards from the long island sound.  Here is a picture of us there this summer.

Do you see the water...waaaaay back behind us.  Well here is a pic from inside their house during the hurricane.  It's a little blurry but I hope you can see the water is meeting their porch.

By the grace of God it stopped just inches before entering there house.  They had to leave after they took this photo and trudge through the deep water to a neighbors up their street so they weren't sure what they  would find when they returned.  Needless to say we are feeling very thankful these days.

Oh but have no fear, one of the first things my mom did when she saw it was getting bad was get the card catalog and barrister bookcase she is babysitting for my sister to the second floor!  Priorities, people!  Priorities!

I hope you all faired well against Irene and everyone is safe and sound. 

Master Makeover

I'm slightly altering my master bedroom color scheme.  We've had a green thing going since we've moved in but I'm over it and want a change...so...with the help of Pinterest I've picked a new color scheme...

I started with orange and blue which I'd seen on Pinterest and loved but it reminded me of a sports team (UVA, florida gators, etc, etc) when I tried to pull it off in my room...so I switcher to a softer more feminine coral color. Of course I pick one of the hardest colors to find!  It seems like coral varies so much, sometimes its pinker and sometimes more orange. But I'm giving it my best shot!  Here is some inspiration that has me motivated to get going!


http://www.styleathome.com/decorating-and-design/colour/10-colourful-interiors/a/34531


https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoYII3Jdv3Yvax1zLPIPdx4G4Ho8pRe8hj1kj_7-bePa1caUY7x4FxmHYQFswNRJo_UQC5x8oeW6gQg4b59nkL-vg_SkK3dE064DYFFGpTW82_qq81JUm4rMAyrPqb8u3QDK3Ql_isxw/s576/Picture+62.png


http://www.mixandchic.com/search?updated-max=2011-08-14T15%3A06%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=8


http://www.everythingfab.com/search/label/Decorating

Anyone else loving the whole navy and coral combo???  Any fun plans for the weekend!?  We are trying to avoid our second natural disaster of the week...first an earthquake and next a hurricane!  eeek! 

What I've been pinning lately

Are you all on Pinterest? I joined a while ago but just recently got into it. I went on a bit of a pinning bender a week or two ago. It was like a drug! I couldn't get enough! I was pinning morning, noon, and night. And the worst part is that everyone that follows you can see when you are pinning...so naturally everyone that follows me must think I need to get a life. So I've tried to cut back lately but its a struggle ;).  Here's what I've been re-pinning lately!

http://shop.hm.com/gb/shoppingwindow?dept=DAM_YTT_JAC&modelnum=783381&type=matching

http://www.lillypulitzer.com/accessories/ric-rac-bangle-set/invt/91260/&bklist=icat,4,shop,accessoriesandgift,jewelry

http://www.marylandpinkandgreen.com/

http://www.naughtybettyinc.com/greeting-cards/new-releases/pee-alone-card

http://www.shophallelu.com/gallery/detail.aspx?id=284941

PS  the hubby got this for my birthday!!!  Gotta love pinterest for gift ideas!!!

google

Did anyone else have this phone growing up!?!  Total blast from the past!

Out and About

Saturday was my birthday so I got a complete guilt free shopping day...so of course I felt the need to thrift.  I found some things that I can hopefully snazz up and sell at my booth. 

I got both of these at Class and Trash...

I'm thinking about painting this and putting those cute lion head pulls on this one.

This is a child's size.  My 5 yr old son was so sweet, when I brought home I told him I was going to paint it and sell it and he said "man, I really wish we could keep it"  Of course that made me feel horribly guilty!  He might be able to talk me into keeping it! 

Oh- and the guy that does the heavy lifting at Class and Trash asked me today if I live there, as in the actual Class and Trash building.  He asked me if I was hiding in a closet somewhere, sleeping there?!?  I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm a compulsive thrifter and was politely trying to tell me to get a life ;)  I might need to start frequenting other places!  That or start wearing a disguise! 

Anyone find anything fun this weekend?  Do tell!

Dining Room Doll Up

My very sweet sorority sister from college, who we will call "Diane," emailed me to get some ideas on her dining room.  She is embarrassed about her before pictures (which I don't think are that bad!) and wants to use an alias, which I thought was so funny!  So, anyway, "Diane" has two little ones, works a full time job, and was still eager to take on the challenge.  Some would call her crazy, I call her dedicated!  Here is her before:

I gave her lots of ideas, but the biggest one was to paint, paint, paint that furniture!!!  It is such a cost effective way to make a major change in a room.  She worked her fanny off and is almost done!  I can't wait to see the after pics!  I will share them just as soon as I get them.  So...any other quick updates you like to do to give a room a new life?  Share with the group ;)

Library Chic- You can do it too!!!

Thanks for all the kind words about my sister's card catalog makeover!  It's clear that I'm not the only one willing to give up my first born search every Goodwill in the tri state area to score one of these things!  I thought I would throw together some online options for you fellow library nerds, and while these aren't the thriftiest finds they are library chic and available for purchase right now! 

Sears $264

ivgstores $258

Amazon $289

Ikea $250

World Market $360

So what do you think?  Would you buy a faux card catalog from a big box store or does it mean more to know that it's the real deal...straight out of a library?  I think my personal vote would be real deal....so the search continues!

Library Chic!

Remember my sister who has scored all the fabulous finds lately!  Well her card catalog is complete and I wanted to share it with you! 

Remember her before:

And here is her gorgeous AFTER!

She is thinking about using it as a bar and potentially putting some short legs on the bottom.  The only thing I see missing from the above photo is maybe a bottle of skinny girl margarita!

And how smart was my sister.  She recently moved to Richmond and conveniently left her card catalog at my parents...and what do you know...my mom cleaned the hardware, primed, painted, and polyed THE WHOLE THING FOR HER!!! She is soooooo the youngest child! I don't see anyone doing that for the poor middle children ;)

I'll update you with a pic once it's in her apartment, making friends with her barrister bookcase and campaign dresser.  

Linking up with these lovely ladies!

www.primitiveandproper.blogspot.com

Rub 'n Buff- A potential new best friend (make room Old English!)

I picked up these two little duck bookends at Goodwill the other day...

and while they are kinda cute as is, I feel like they need just a little somethin' somethin' to make them great!  After reading a friend's blog I knew just what I wanted to do with them.  Remember my friend Andrea from Oak Ridge Revival?  Well if you read awesome blogs then you've probably already seen this redo...but...she completely transformed a shiny outdated lamp into aged perfection! 
She used this product.   I'm pretty sure you can get it at Michael's and probably use a 40% off coupon but I found this one on Amazon.  It comes in a plethora of colors and Andrea used this one.

Amazon $2.76

Here is her before...eeek, too shiny!  When you can see your reflection you know you have a problem!

Ahhhh, much better!  Looks like an antique, doesn't it!

Thanks for such a great makeover Andrea!  I'm off to Michael's!  Actually that's not true...I'm waiting for my husband to get home to watch the kids...then I'm off to Michael's!  Hmmm,what color too pick!?!  We shall see!

Has anyone else used Rub 'n buff before?

A little housekeeping...

I've finished a few projects up lately despite the oppressive heat that I wanted to share with you!  Paint does funky things in the kind of heat we get here in RVA in the summer so my projects have slowed down a bit but I wanted to share a few little ditties.

Class and Trash bench....

turned shabby chic goodness!

Remember my friend Jennifer's laundry room bookcase she had me to paint, knotty pine popping through and all...

Love the gray! 

Unfortunate Goodwill bamboo-ish frame...

turned snazzy memo board (if someone had told me I would be painting things gold 2 years ago I would have called them crazy...but gold is the new black...I think?!?!  If not, someone please chime in!

I've added some of these to my booth at Through the Garden Gate.  Not my friends bookcase, that would just be mean!  I already sold one of the benches (oh happy day!) but I have one more there.

So that's that!  What have you all been up to lately? 

Barrister Bookcase

My mom has totally caught the thrifting bug!  And she hit it big last week!!!  How fab is this barrister bookcase she snagged?!?!

She found it at Goodwill (natch!) and cost her a measly $27!!!  The glass was covered with what she thinks was leather-ish wallpaper (not sure if that even exists but we are going with it!).  She used Zinsser wallpaper remover and it worked like a charm!  Did I mention I <3 Zinsser!  Their primer is the bomb and this was pretty fantastic too!

 

And if my sister who just moved to Richmond didn't have enough amazing and unique furniture (card catalog, campaign dresser, etc etc etc) my mom is handing this puppy over to her to add to her new apartment.  Something only a mother could do.  You'd have to rip this out of my death grip, with me kicking and screaming, in order to get it from me. 

So now the question is...what to do next!!!  My sister is thinking white with a pop of coral inside since those are the colors in the room where she'll be using it.  There's not too many of these redo's floating around the blogosphere or I would have added some inspiration photos.

I'll keep you updated!  Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend.  Anyone pick up anything fun?

What are you swooning over this summer?

The lovely ladies over at Swoon Style Home were sweet enough to invite me over to their Mid Summer Swoon Series!  Please stop over and see what I'm swooning over this summer!  But before you go...leave a note and let us know what you are swooning over this miserably hot, humid, and ridiculously sweaty season!

Buffet Re-do Reveal

I FINALLY finished my Goodwill buffet makeover.  Remember I was trying to emulate the amazing Tobi Fairley's gorgeous pieces?  Well, with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears...actually mostly just sweat...I got 'er done!

Remember the Before:

I really wish I could have staged it in a room with some cute lamps and a picture above but this thing is a BEAST!  If only I had two husbands!  A girl can dream ;)   So...I went classy and took a picture in the nasty garage!  Just imagine it in a cute room all fancied up!

What I did:
Sanded and filled in any missing wood with Elmers wood filler.

Paint:

Paint:  Behr color: Espresso Beans, Finish: eggshell
White:  Spray painted the drawers and doors in Rustoleum white in semi-gloss finish
Used oil based poly for the brown sections and water based poly for the white sections.

Hope you like!

Sharing with these lovely ladies!
http://www.missmustardseed.blogspot.com/

Master Makeover

My very sweet friend Hollis invited me over the other day to give some ideas on her master bedroom.  First of all her house is absolutely adorable (and so is her family...gorgeous!) and her before will look like most peoples after but she insisted she wanted a change so I put together some ideas.  It's kind of a lot and don't intend for her to do all of them.  I just kind of got carried away! 

I spy my campaign dresser in there!  She was sweet enough to buy it! 

So Hollis wanted to keep things light and add some pops of coral into the room.  I found this Sarah Richardson (Sarah's House) room that seemed like just the ticket!

Inspiration

source

And here are some ideas on how Hollis can Sarah Richardson"ize" her master!

Reminder of her before:





Idea 1: 
Hollis wanted to lighten things up so I thought this might help.  Purchase two $35 Ikea Rast Chest of Drawers and redo like this FABULOUSNESS!

http://www.curbly.com/

Idea 2: 
Remove bed skirt and do simple white. Remove swirly black pillow and replace with white or coral.

Idea 3:
Find coral throw.  I've looked everywhere for a link!  Anyone know where to find an affordable one!?!?

Idea 4:
Recover the ottomans at the bottom of the bed and maybe spray paint the legs white/cream to lighten things up.
Fabric Ideas:

Quilthome.com $9.50/yard


http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/163111

Beyond the Sea: Ikat Coral fabric by threeyellowplums for sale on... (clipped to polyvore.com)


http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/302118
or any number of fabrics I found on this website Spoonflower.  They are not the cheapest but with small projects like this it you really wouldn't need a lot of fabric.  And you can shop by color which makes it very easy to find what you're looking for.

Idea 5:
Artwork to hang on wall between the windows in large white matted frames either 2 or 3 to fill the space depending on size of frames.  Kind of like I did here in my dining room!

The Pink Pagoda

The Pink Pagoda

(this one should be coral, pic looks pink but says coral!?)

Idea Number 6:
Gallery Wall on left side of room.  She also has some antlers I totally think she should spray paint one or two white and add to the gallery wall!  I also think keeping the frames all white with white mattes would look crisp and not too invasive (if that makes sense!)  Love the black and white photos too!

Ikea road trip anyone!?!  They have super cheap frames and best of all....CHILDCARE!!!  Who's with me!







http://www.kerrisdaledesign.com/before-and-after/house-home-featured-condo-the-before/

http://theletteredcottage.net/
A very similar look in a bedroom but with mixed frames.

Idea 7:
Swap out the fan for something like this!

World Market $69.99
(they always have coupons though so I think you could get for less!)


All of these ideas are just some things to think about!  Doing all of them would not be thrifty at all!
Do one, do all, do none! 

Thanks for having me Hollis!!! Hope this is of some help and inspiration! 

What do you all think! Chime in with your ideas!  We would love to hear them!