LOVE bookshelf

I'm so lucky to have one of my best friends pregnant at the same time. It has been wonderful sharing stories, questions, fears, excitement and of course decorating ideas! She is expecting a little boy and saw this DIY LOVE bookshelf on Pinterest. Of course I came right home and volunteered Willie for the project. He did such an amazing job and made some special modifications to really make it his masterpiece. 

We left it bare wood for her so she could decide the colors, but she ended up using the Annie Sloan chalk paint in Old White as a base and Florence over. She then distressed it to give it that lovely rustic look that is so in now.

For her shower everyone is supposed to bring a book for the baby and I am so happy that Willie could creative something that will hold such special memories and be a significant part in her beautiful, fun, bold boy's nursery.

All in the room :)

Our little girl's nursery

Today I am 37 weeks pregnant. Ahh!! Time has absolutely flown by!!! What an amazing journey it has been. I feel truly blessed to have had such an amazing pregnancy that has allowed me to enjoy every moment and kick along the way. I am definitely going to miss her in my tummy but excited for our little bundle of joy to arrive.

After our two amazing baby showers hosted and attended by  our incredible friends and family…We are finally complete with the nursery and just waiting on the little girl to make her debut. Thank you everyone again for the outpour of support and gifts. Willie and I are so grateful to have you in our lives.

Here is the story behind my family inspired nursery:

We saved a TON on furniture!!

·        Our first item was my crib…YES my crib. My remarkable mother of course was wishful thinking when she saved my crib, highchair and all my favorite children’s books. Thanks mom!

·        Then we inherited the beautiful shabby chic kids furniture set given to us from Willie’s family after his grandmothers passing. She was an amazing lady and we are so lucky to have these beautiful furniture pieces in our baby’s room that she can enjoy for many years. The dresser will serve as the changing table and I found a perfect customized cover on Etsy that has our last name initial on it (since we still haven’t decided on a baby name…YES I know I’m running out of time, but it’s hard decision!).

·        Our only purchase was the glider and of course, I found a bargain…Buy Buy Baby had a glider and ottoman floor model set that was originally $800. We got it for $340 with the floor model discount and additional 20% coupon! Go me! The beautiful pink Afghan blanket was knitted by Willie's Aunt. So sweet!

 Décor:

·        First there was the debate on paint…From the previous owner it was a dull sage green that I just found down right boring…Willie on the other hand was determined that it was staying. Well after 2 months of debating…I finally got my way and it is now a rich pinkish grey and I couldn’t be happier. Thanks mom for the full day of painting help J It definitely gave the room a facelift and created the perfect backdrop for all the decorations to come!

·        The beautiful gold mirror and shelf is from Willie’s grandmother. I topped it off with a photo frame I made that had our ultrasound photos in it for my first mother’s day J

·        The amazing pallet artwork was created by Willie’s cousin’s wife. It was the PERFECT accent above the crib and it was so sweet of her to put the time and effort to making us a one of a kind piece of art.

·        My best friend Kellie made the adorable headband/bow holder that will definitely get tons of use with our little diva!! What a great idea! I think she has more clothes and accessories then me already HAHA!

·        The little dream catcher hanging from the ceiling fan was a find from our recent California trip where we attended a reggae festival (which was amazing!). Willie has a great deal of Cherokee in him, so I thought it was very fitting J

·        The hutch holds must of the memories, with my childhood books, book ends made by my grandfather and other knickknacks from grandparents. Then atop are my favorite wooden animals. I still remember these being lined up against the window overlooking the gorgeous pool in my grandparents’ home. For our little one these are extremely special as they would have been hand carved by her great-great grandfather and painted by her great grandmother. “Herman” was my pet box turtle growing up so my grandmother thought the wooden turtle should have a name J

The finishing touch will be photos above the changing table. My great friend Heather, who is a professional photographer, gave us the gift of newborn photos for our shower. I’m saving this spot to display these amazing and super thoughtful photos she is taking VERY soon!!

Hope the nursery has inspired you to always keep family items or anything that might mean something special to you one day (even if you house is packed to the max like ours HAHA). I’m all about sentimental items because they really do make your house a home and unique from anyone else!

Silly cats!! What I'm I going to do with her!

Flea Market inspired chair

My inspiration from the Lucketts Market was in full effect!

Remember that reupholstered wing chair from my last post? Well…I tried my own version.

Definitely not as professional looking but for $40 in supplies compared to $375, I’ll take it!

I will forewarn you that if you are looking to use this chair on a daily basis and want durability…this method of no sew reupholstering is NOT the way to go. This is more for a statement piece in an office or library that will get infrequent use. After all, it is being held together with hot glue and staples J

I bought the old coffee/feed bags at the Lucketts Market for $5 each. Most local coffee shops should have some for around that same price. I had some leftover fabric from another project (lesson learned- iron fabric before application), but you can choose any fabric you like.

Since I got the chair for free I really didn’t mind experimenting, so I really had fun with it and even tried some braiding and edging on the sides and back.  

Materials you will need:

·         Old chair (preferably free)

·         Heavy duty stapler

·         Staples (longer the better for edging)

·         Hot glue gun with LOTS of glue sticks

·         Scissors

·         Burlap or Coffee bags

·         Fabric of choice

 Have fun creating your beautiful flea market inspired upcycled chair!!

Lucketts Spring Market

What a perfect day to shop on Sunday! The Lucketts Spring Market was held this weekend and it was amazing!! Wonderful vendors that had an array of items from antiques, flea market gems, chalked painted/repurposed furniture and custom made masterpieces. It really offered something for everyone and in every price range.

The Old Lucketts Store is located in gorgeous horse and wine country of Leesburg, VA. It is such an oasis just an hour outside the hustle and bustle of the DC metro area. The Store also features a monthly interior design house. It enables you to really envision the most creative way to put together a beautiful home while incorporating modern, vintage, and creative ways to decorate your home.

Hope you enjoy some of my snapshots from the day J

 

 

 

I cannot wait to try this on my own! What a great chair!!

 

The Design House

 

 

http://luckettstore.com/ 

Vanity Affiar

So I have a slight obsession with vanity tops…although not all were DIY projects, you can really transform a bathroom with focusing your accents around your vanity top.

Luckily, with my four trips to Afghanistan I was able to pay for all four of our home’s bathroom vanities. I also had free plumber in-house so that saved a lot on labor costs for hooking up the new fixtures J

Key lessons:

1.       Look for remnant pieces at your local granite store. These change daily, so if you don’t like something the first time you look, go another day. Don’t rush!

2.      If you have a friend or family member who can reattach your faucet and plumbing ties after installation, you will save a TON!! The granite place wanted $100 for each plumbing hookup because they have to subcontract a plumber to come in.

3.       Look for sale accent items.

The first vanity change was the “man cave” bathroom (Willie is very lucky, I always put his needs first J). This amazing green granite was a remnant so we got a great deal on it! Adding the sage green paint, new fixtures, and some accents, this bathroom is a perfect addition to Wilie’s man cave. Willie just recently added a speaker to the ceiling and some crown molding, which I have to admit turned out A LOT better than I thought it would for his first time.

Second project we tackled ourselves with a standard size granite top from Lowe’s. We then transformed the bathroom with a clearance rug and shower curtain from Lowe’s, new fixtures, and a beautiful storage cabinet. The finishing touch was the amazing gold mirror we found at Marshalls for only $29.99!!


After

Before

Third project was our master bedroom. This was probably my favorite transformation. We got another amazing deal on this remnant exotic granite. The uniquely shaped squared sinks gave this master bathroom the little kick into the 21^st century. We finished the bathroom off with antique fashioned faucets and mirrors from Kohls.

Looks like space, doesn't it? So cool!

Before

After

Last project, for our main floor...a rustic inspired bathroom. First thing, getting rid of wallpaper and painting! We also added crown molding to match the rest of the main floor. I really lucked out finding this stunning remnant of this grey exotic marble. Again, new faucet (we choose a water trough spout to go with the rustic theme), new rustic mirror from Marshalls. AND finally our DIY projects. Willie transformed the light fixture using mason jars we found at the thrift store and created a toilet paper and towel holder using pipes! I will take credit for that idea, but he always knows how to make it J

Before...like the wallpaper? :)



After



I say we’ve done pretty good…now what to do next?

Pallet Wine Rack

Another amazing DIY project using free pallet wood. Who knew a pallet wine rack would be so elegant!

Here are some simple DIY steps to make one of your own:

To start:

Cut the pallet in half (leaving the center support of the pallet). So you will have 2 big halves and 1 center strip. Using the center strip pry off the long board and nail it to the bottom of the half cut in the first part (so u have a basket to hold the wine.) DONE! Willie also drilled 3 holes with a center drill bit so we could put the 3 bottles upside down.

To create the wine glass holder:

1.       Need to buy from Lowes (or local hardware store)

a.       1 ½ nails or so. (or whatever you have around the house)

b.      1” (thick) x 2 wide X 8ft (length) craft board  ($4)

c.       ¾(thick) x 4”(wide) x 4ft (length) ($4)

2.       Cut one 4ft long of (a.) then screw it to the back (making a stopper)

3.       Cut strips of (a.) to create a pathways for the wine glass to slide into (this will require measuring between so they are straight and even)

4.       Cut (b.) to the width of the pallet and screw b onto a) to create a holder on the pathway so the wine glass don’t fall out. (center each one so they look straight and even)

 

Happy woodworking J

*PS- to make the piece extra special, fill your wine rack with custom labeled wine bottles. Ours were created by my maid of honor for our engagement party and rehearsal dinner. I absolutely LOVE them!

Wedding Bliss

The past 7 months as a newly married couple has been a whirlwind!

I finally had a moment today to go through all of our wedding photos again and I couldn’t believe that I never shared our astonishing DIY/antique accented dessert table display.

When we decided we were going to be married at a winery I immediately knew I wanted a dessert table display using wine barrels. How I was going to do this exactly I wasn’t sure, but I made it work!

My florist (also a family friend) found antique doors at The Old Lucketts Store in Leesburg, VA.  We used these as the table top for our cake displays. The winery we were married at supplied the 3 barrels we used as our base.

Then we solicited the help of a family friend to cut a large piece of wood and assembled the pieces into a tiered stand using PVC pipe. Once completed, a finishing touch of polyurethane really made the stands shine (literally J). Willie and I covered the PVC by wrapping thick twine around the pipe and hot gluing the ends. And voila! Beautiful, unique, rustic cake stands!

They definitely were the centerpiece of our wedding reception room! Our guests absolutely loved it!

Many thanks to Cakes by Cathy Stewart and The Apple House for the yummy treats to use on our display!!