Shabby Chic Dining Room

So the Craigslist ad worked and I had to say goodbye my inherited 70’s black lacquer table that I reupholstered and brought back to life three years ago. I get a little emotional about furniture and it was hard to give up, but I knew I wanted something different, something glam, something that oozed shabby chic and I think I achieved that with my new crisp chalk painted antique table!

The story behind the new table…

I’m lucky enough to have a great group of friends from my years of competing horses. We have such a strong bond that was fostered by our love and devotion to our horses. Even though most of us are out of the sport, we still get together for parties, wine nights, and do practically everything together. I cherish the moments with these wonderful women because I know they will always be there to support and love me. Thanks ladies!

Anyways, one of those wine nights, Mrs. VP (AKA- my barn mother) mentioned she was trying to sell her dining table on Craigslist. I immediately popped up from the couch and exclaimed “I want it”. I ran over an inspected the table. With all the joyful experiences the table witnessed over the years it had minor dents and scratches, which made it a perfect candidate for the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

Thanks to a friend, the table was safely delivered to our townhouse and I was ready to paint.

DIY time…

Chalk Paint is not sold everywhere. Use this link to find a location close to you. I pick Old White with the clear wax. http://www.anniesloan.com/acatalog/North_American_Stockists.html. I found mine at a great store in Falls Church, VA called Stylish Patina. Chalk Paint is a little pricy, but it goes A VERY LONG WAY! I did the whole dining set with just 1 can!!! It’s also so worth it not having to sand or prime! Follow labeled directions for painting and waxing your piece. I didn’t use the Annie Sloan paint brush (way too expensive). If you have a Harbor Freight near you or something similar just buy their medium grade brushes. They work perfectly and for half the price. We bought 10 brushes for $15.

Before painting, remove your seat cushions and wipe down the entire furniture surface.

For the chairs I had a really hard time finding a budget friendly fabric I liked. Willie thought of a great idea to go to HomeGoods and use curtain fabric. We bought two 40” x 84” curtain panels for $19.99 compared to the $80 I would have spent at a fabric store was such a great budget saving option! Getting the old fabric off is the hard part, but then very easy process to measure, cut, and staple the new fabric on.

Last touch to my new dining room was getting rid of the hideous ceiling fan and replacing it with a chandelier and ceiling medallion. Props to my amazing husband who surprises me every day with his handyman abilities!

And voilà…my beautiful new dining room. I hope you all love it as much as I do!! I’m so ecstatic to share new family memories at this table. I can only hope it brings as much togetherness as it did for the VP Family.

My awesome table at Christmas with a stunning floral display from a very talented friend.

Game Day DIY Pallet Headboard

I had been seeing all these amazing projects made out of wooden pallets on Pinterest and I couldn’t help myself from trying one on my own.

We had a little embarrassing snafu trying to find free pallets outside stores (FYI- even though some businesses put them out by the trash, apparently they aren’t trash and aren’t free). Luckily, Willie’s father is close friends with a man who own a garbage company and does large pickups that normal trash days don't cover. So in 2 days, Willie’s Dad had 3 beautiful big free pallets waiting outside our garage for us.

On Saturday, Willie created the frame using our bed measured dimensions with four 2X4s. He also inserted some metal corner moldings to make the frame more secure.

The next day (football Sunday), Willie started his morning by dissembling the pallets. Willie wrestled with the pallets to pry the boards off, which not always worked and resulted in the board getting a blade run through it, but in the end we had workable boards for our headboard. Then it was time to play Jenga! Trying to make the boards fit together and lineup was the most time consuming task because even though it’s a “rustic look” we wanted it to be a “perfect rustic look”. So about 2 hours of puzzling the boards together we finally screwed everything in just in time for the 1pm Sunday football game. Willie let me take one photo of him and he was off to have a beer and relax watching football.

I was so happy with the way the headboard turned out. Such a fun cheap project with wonderful results!

Three Pallets = $0 FREE

Four 2x4s = $12
One 1x3=$4
Metal corner frames = FREE (We had them in the house but they cost like $3)

Screws = $6

Our Total Cost was only $22

*He normally doesn't look this ridiculous, but supporting Movember :) 

What a year!

I cannot believe it is already Fourth of July week again! What a magical year this has been for Willie and me. We had the good luck of being able to celebrate our 1 month wedding anniversary (yes, I know...cheesy) in the wonderful Outer Banks where he proposed one year earlier. Unfortunately the weather wasn't the greatest but that did give us an excuse to exercise our shopping abilities. Once again, the Outer Banks antique stores didn't fail me. Here are some of my favorite items I saw.

These colorful glass pieces are just amazing!

 

This tiny blue vase (circa 1940s) was made by the Fenton Art Glass Company who is the largest manufacturer of handmade colored glass in the United States. For some more history go to: http://www.fentonartglass.com/history/

 

 

 Amazing electric coffee pot set made around the 1920s.

This Nippon hand painted gold plate made in the late 1800s was breathtaking!

These didn't look too comfy but how cool are these Victorian boots!

 

Girl's Weekend before the BIG day

What an amazing bachelorette trip I had this weekend with all my closest girlfriends! We stayed in an amazing beach house in The Outer Banks. We couldn’t have asked for better weather, company, activities, food or anything. It was absolutely perfect and a great way to spend my last few days as a single woman. I can’t believe the wedding is in 10 days!! Crazy!!

Anyways, on our way home we stopped at the Williamsburg Antique Mall. This place was enormous and a little overwhelming to be honest. We winded back and forth through the aisles of stuff and just completely amazed at how much “stuff” there was. Some of my favorite displays included the PEZ dispenser collection, Star Wars Wall, salt and pepper shakers, blue and white Polish Pottery, beautiful flower ivory vases, an awesome hutch, gems and jewels, and my absolute favorite…modern furniture made out of reclaimed wood. I am definitely getting one of these amazing tables! So fun to explore!

 

 

 

Snazzy at Work

This great little work outfit cost only $36!

The grey Limited dress was $8 at my local thrift store.

The boots were an off season sale from Charlotte Russe outlet for $12.

And the AMAZING necklace was a livingsocial deal from Ily Couture. There were multiple colors to choose from but I fell in love with this minty color that really screamed “come on Spring” to me. The necklace normally sales for $40 and I got it for $16 with free shipping.

 

 

Sunday Funday

It was Sunday 50% percent Funday! I normally just focus on the sale colors, but today I found an amazing find that was worth even the thrift full price. This beautiful black cocktail dress is a great simple little number that could be dressed up for a night out or paired with a blazer to feel extra special for an important meeting at work. This was a brand new dress! It was originally priced at a boutique store for $330.00 but at Village Thrift it was only $19.90!!! That's a 94% savings!! Unbelievable!

SALE COLORS FOR THE DAY

BEAUTIFUL TAN COAT ONLY $9.95

BEAUTIFUL CHIC TRENCH COAT $12.45