Craig's List Finds

I often times will check out what’s listed on Craig's List.  Today I thought I would share what caught my eye in my home state. 

Nebraska!

On a side note….did you hear that Nebraska made #3 on the happiest states to live! 

It makes me ask why and how?  But then I remembered this picture I took last year.  The deep green of the land, the bright blue sky above, and the gentle rolling hills sets me in a good mood.  There is just something peaceful about this place.  I guess I’m not alone if Nebraska made #3.

Onto Craig's List…chairs, chairs and more chairs.  I think I might have a thing for chairs and bed frames(keep scrolling down).  Side chairs can be cleaned up, maybe reupholstered and BOOM! you have a new extra seat.  Maybe the extra seat could be a place where you drop your coat in the entry area…or a seat you can pull in for extra company in the family room…or a place to snuggle in and read a book in the bedroom.

These chairs are being sold at a second hand furniture store in town.  I had never heard of this store before.  I meant to check out the store on Saturday but ran out of time before it closed.  Neither one had a price that was listed.   The barrel chairs look like they are in great condition.  It’s hard to tell what the fabric is but it looks like a suede or leather.  Either fabric would look nice in almost any room coloration.  If you were to reupholster them it wouldn’t take much fabric.  And if you could do it yourself it would be any better.

The recliner had some interesting detail on the arm sides that would give a room some texture.  The fabric looks like a faux leather that I don’t know if I would keep.  I actually can see this chair in my little guy’s room as a side chair.  A chair that he can kick up his feet and read a book or watch some TV.  But looking deeper at this picture the seat cushion doesn’t look to soft.  I can just imagine myself sitting on it and just “sitting on it” not sinking in.  I’m thinking it would be very comfortable.  So maybe scratch this picture.  All it’s got going for it is the arm lattice detail.

These chairs I would take in a heart beat!  They are a set of 4 Danish teak wood desk chairs for $100.  I like the tapered leg, contoured back piece and the mid-tone wood color is nice.  If we were ever to refinish our basement I could see these chairs around a game table.  They’re not too big but look comfy for your bum and back to sit and stay awhile.  The seat and back piece look like the fabric is just stapled on and so it would be fairly easy to reupholster.

These chairs I totally envision in a master bedroom as a chair for a small writing desk or a chair for a bathroom.  They are a rosewood chair for $100 each.  To me it seems a bit high, but the selling point of the listing was the needlepoint work done on the seat.  Sorry to say if these chairs came to my house the fabric would be ripped off!  Not my style!  The open back of these chairs would feel quite light in a room as opposed to feeling chunky.

This bed again I totally would purchase!  It came in a set of a dresser and some other items so I don’t know of it’s price alone.  The listing didn’t say they wanted to keep it all together or if you could buy individual pieces.  The wood is a Birdseye maple.  To me it looks masculine; not a whole lot of curvy lines but has some detail at the top to keep it interesting.  With this wood so light I would pair it with a grey plaid of hounds tooth bed fabric with white sheets.  OH I wish this could come home to me!

Anything brass I HAVE to like!  This brass full-size bed frame is listed for $100.  I love that it would give any room some shine!

This bed also came in a set and I don’t know of it’s individual price.  The set included 2 night stands and a dresser.  It all was a bit to matchy match for me!  The thing that appealed me about this bed frame is the detail of the turned wood.  Definitely want to show that detail off!  With this bedding it’s not doing it.  The bed frame and bedding just blend together.  Using a lighter bedding fabric would take care of that.  Unfortunately it’s a queen size and me the hubs need our king.  But sure is nice to look at!

And lastly only in the Midwest would you find a 1940’s horse drawn sleigh for $1500.  How awesome would this be if you had an acreage!  But I guess a person would also need horses!  And horses are in a whole other category themselves.  Besides who has a need for a sleigh and plus who really wants to go on a sleigh ride in the freezing cold?  OH well it looked like a fun thing to have and a romantic trip to take with a loved one.  As once heard on Seinfeld, “there is just something about the clip-clop sound people go nuts for”!

Thanks for reading!

Bye for now,

Christmas Entry Area and Book Shelves

Our little guy had his 6th birthday a couple of days ago!  Doesn’t seem possible that he was born 6 years ago!  My how time flies!  He’s become a super little guy that is filled with excitement, thoughtfulness and a selflessness abundance to want to help.  It’s a crazy good on how much he just wants to help!  I just love him so!  Here’s a picture of him that night.

I have so much to share and very little time to do it in.  Thank goodness my shopping is done!  A few more presents to wrap and this Christmas season will come to an end.  But first let me share my Christmas entry area and book shelves.

I didn’t do a whole lot of rearranging of the shelves from what they looked like here.

I picked up a few more books from my Grandma’s house to fill the empty spaces and added some Christmas sparkle.

I twisted regular garland with a lighted garland to give it more thickness.  Then I clustered ornaments and tied them to the garland.  I didn’t have enough to span the distance of the book shelves so I just draped it over one side. 

It you remember my DIY vase I didn’t have much luck using gold leaf.  Well I did some research and decided to give it another try.  I did paint it gold first then applied the gold leaf.  Which in some areas the gold leaf rubbed off completely and just the gold paint is showing.  I can’t even tell those areas so I decided to keep it.  Plus it’s somewhat covered in the book shelf so no one will ever completely see those areas.

My small entry tree has now become this fun whimsical kids’ tree.  It has all my Hallmark ornaments from when I was a child plus our children’s collections.  It’s fun with it’s oversized bulbs, snowflakes and curly red glittered wires coming out of it.

On to the other side of the room, we repainted our cabinet in a fresh coat of black paint.  Placed above it is a Pier 1 mirror I got for my birthday a couple of months ago.  I spray painted some curly branches and applied white glitter to a few of them and placed them into a glass candle holder.  I hung a collection of ornaments from the branches.

I wanted a simple holiday wreath to hang over the mirror.  I made this one from greenery picks that were bent and then wired together into the shape of a wreath. 

Again for the holiday season, I used my vanity tray from my bedroom and placed a bowl up top with a few sparkly ornaments within.

In the past I’ve had wreaths for my front door that have been made by me.  Made by me in the fact they took hours and hours to make.  This one was also made by me but it’s simple; it only took an afternoon!  I combined 2 existing wreaths.  Cutting greenery from one and hot gluing it onto the other.  It made a full wreath that is close to 22” in diameter.  I originally had planned on adding some pinecones and ornaments but I rather liked it in it’s simple base form.  I tied some gold trimmed red ribbon into a bow and hung it from the top of the door.

I’ll be back soon to share my little guy’s bedroom all decked out for a woodsy Christmas.  I think someday I’ll have to stop calling him my little guy or maybe not.  He will always be my little guy no matter what age he turns!

Thanks for reading!

Bye for now.

a little bit of this and a little bit of that

Oh my gosh…I been busy, busy, busy!  I’ve started a new daycare child and it leaves me with no time for extra things at naptime.  There are things that I HAVE to get done and once those are usually done baby will wake up from her nap shortly after.  Naptime was usually the time I sat down and was able to write or start a blog post.  Now I need to reevaluate when I can write.  I am SO not a night person mainly because I’m wiped out from the day I can’t think straight.  I already get up early I don’t know if I could do any earlier.  So I need time to think what will work mainly because I do like this blog thing and sharing.  How can I get it all in?  I just need a few more hours in the day!

Anyway, over the past 2 weekends I have gone to the Goodwill.  I like going there and seeing what treasures can be found.  My trips usually take me awhile to comb through the items on the shelves and what they possibly could turn into. 

I went into the furniture section of the “slinkiest” Goodwill (as my children call it) and I came upon this chair.

Since we installed our bookcases, I thought a side chair in a wood finish would look nice.  It’s a barrel chair with a cane back and sides.  I absolutely love the texture it gives this little space.  My thought at the store for it was that it could act as a side chair but then be pulled around to use at the computer.  It was a nice thought but the seat height is too low!  It had a small cushion attacked to back of the cane that I cut off.  The seat cushion is a grey woven fabric.  At first I was not in love with the fabric and thought I could sew another cover.  But the grey seat has grown on me and seeing that I would like to incorporate more of that color it will stay.

My second purchase was this picture.  What caught my eye at first was the gold-copper frame.  But as I walked closer the artwork was really quite nice.  It looked like something that I might have drawn in my rendering class in college.  The mat was discolored and I simply just painted over it as close as I could get with one of my acrylic craft paints.  I’ve never painted mat board before and who-knew it would turn out good!

I rearranged a few pictures in our living room and BOY! handy-husband was not pleased!  There were holes that needed to be patched and painted.  It definitely was not something he wanted to do on a Sunday afternoon. 

I got a second pair of antlers from my Dad that I have hanging above my new Goodwill picture.

The deer antlers had a red velvet fabric covering on the plaque.  Well red just would not do.  I changed it to a gold crushed velvet that works much better in our living room.

This past weekend I took a trip to my Grandma’s house to pick up a few more books for my bookshelves, (I’ll show that later as I’m restyling them for Christmas) but I picked up a few unexpected items.  One was this picture…

I really love the frame but don’t know if I’m exactly in love with the artwork.  In an odd turn of events, handy husband was in love with just the opposite.  I really shouldn’t say love for him, because I don’t think he could be in love with artwork.  But in other words he didn’t like the frame – way TOO much for him.  Well we hung it anyway.  Don’t tell him this but it probably will come down in awhile, we’ll just see.  Here’s a close-up of the detail on the frame.

I also got this brass faux bamboo coatrack.  I wanted something to fill both sides of my entry cabinet to give it more of a presence.  I think this is working for one of the sides, plus it gives guests a place to hang their coat. 

In the mist of all this rearranging and shuffling of pictures I took down all my fall stuff.  I’ve never started this early decorating for Christmas.  December has always been a busy month and I want to be able to enjoy it!  I don’t want to be hanging Christmas ornaments one night and then the next going to a holiday program.  Last year I didn’t have ANY posts in the month of December.  I want to enjoy my children’s excitement and not be bogged down with trying to get something done.  I don’t have my trees up but here is a sneak peek at my entry table.

I painted a bunch of curly branches last year and stuck them into glass candle hurricane holder.  So simple but it adds height and just fills out the space.  I added a few ornaments and sitting next to it is a gold cone beaded tree.  The mirrored vanity tray was once on my dresser in my childhood home.  I brought it out onto the entry table and placed a grouping of white, gold and silver ornaments within a decorative bowl.  Again so simple and sparkles so much whenever I walk by.

I hope to be back soon with a tutorial on how I made my fabric covered Christmas ornaments.  I’m shooting for Friday but it more likely be on Monday.  So let’s just say Monday.

I started this post on Monday and geez….it’s now Wednesday.  I guess I will just have to piece my time together and write when I can and when I’m not so tried and feel mentally ready to write.

Thanks for reading.

Bye for now!

Styled book shelves reveal

Our book shelves are finished and completed styled! 

You can read about my first craigslist purchase and the installation of these book shelves.

I love how they look in our entry area and I am totally satisfied!  It definitely adds warmth and completes this small and awkward entry area.

I am finally at a point where I can say I am done!  I like each and ever shelf and the story it tells. 

First off…..I have to admit I was scared!  Scared of buying a ton of new items to fill each shelf.  Really scared that because the shelves were so deep it was going to take A LOT OF STUFF!  Buying new things WAS NOT an option.  I had to make due with what I had and to “shop my house”.

To contradict on what I just said, I did buy 3 new picture frames with birthday money and a gift card to Hobby Lobby.  So I guess it’s not really money out of my pocket.  My favorite item on both of the shelves has to be my newly purchased gold and silver mirrored picture frame.  It sparkles every time I walk by and reflects light from almost every angle.  That one piece started my so called “theme” of using gold and silver through out the book shelves.  I’ve done a mix of both and I really like how it’s looking.  I bought it at Hobby Lobby in their Christmas display area, but I think I will end of using it all year round.

I have used treasured family heirlooms that are special to me in some areas….

and special items that are mine in other areas. 

It might be weird but I think I have a candle stick obsession!  I have several:  wood, brass, silver, glass and even rattan.  If I’m out shopping it’s one of the things I look at the most and I think that I need.  When in actuality have I several of the same kind at home.  I want to see how it would look if I burn down some candles to put in the candle sticks.

Favorite photos of my kiddos and marble-looking paper in all the right colors fill picture frames.  Right now the family photos are of fall scenes and I’m thinking I will switch them out as the seasons go.  Trinket boxes and flowers fill other spaces and color coordinating books laying flat or standing up fill other areas.

The item I’m most surprised at myself for including has to be my Dad’s deer antlers.  I never thought I would EVER EVER have antlers displayed in my house.  About a year ago I started noticing antlers hung in interiors of homes that were not log cabins or homes that had hunting memorabilia.  They were just hung for their beauty and for their sculptural nature. 

My book shelves may be deep but the height of the shelves itself was not big enough for me to prop the antlers up.  I had to lay them flat.  I’m actually preferring it anyways.  Yes, they are backwards as my husband pointed out but they just didn’t work with them turned around.

Finished!

I’ll tweak things from time to time and as the seasons go.  I can’t wait for Christmas time and infuse seasonal and wintery items.

Of course I still have my kiddos silhouettes.  They had to be moved a bit from the increase of the book shelves' depth.  If you are interested in making your own you can find my tutorial here.

Onto the other side of the room, the black cabinet is finished with my mirror hung above.  BUT….I’m not totaled satisfied with it.  I mean everything is all nice and fine and I don’t want to change anything but it just seems sort of wimpy sitting up against the wall.  I’ve thought about adding some pictures on both sides of the mirror to add more presence on the wall.  Possibly adding a stool to one side and maybe an umbrella canister or a coat rack for the other.  I don’t know…have to see what I come across and what I can find.

Until then please take away one lesson from this post.  Use what you have!  I pulled things left and right from different rooms of the house switching things around seeing if it would work.  I pulled things from our bedroom, my daughters’ bedroom, boxes in the basement and even grandma’s house.  See what will work.  Change an item by painting it or using it in a different way.  If you tackle a project like this and before you buy a ton of new things, “shop your house”!   

Thanks for stopping!

Bye for now.

Linking to these parties:  Romantic Home, The Charm of Home, Jennifer Rizzo, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, The Shabby Nest, French Country Cottage, Tatertots and Jello, Under the Table and Dreaming, Lamberts Lately, Living Well Spending Less, Finding Fabulous