Featured on Bob Vila { the guy fromThis Old House}

I just discovered a very cool feature on Bob Vila's website. This guy has been around a lot longer than any blog or blogger. I remember watching This Old House on PBS growing up. I found that he has a post on DIY Kids Furniture and he featured and linked our play kitchen made from a nightstand back in 2010.


There are a lot of play kitchens out there....it was pretty neat to have a DIY celebrity notice ours! Thanks Bob Vila, or can I call you Bob?

Loft Makeover {ALL the Details}

I have had a lot of questions about our recent makeover of our loft, and where we got the things in it-especially the rug. So here is the post with all the details of how this room came together. Thanks to Before and After for the Feature! I'm sure I left something off, so please leave a comment if you have a question and I'll get back to you. There is one wall that isn't featured here, so as soon as it is finished- photos hung up- I'll add it to this post.

Re-doing this loft has really helped me to see, that it's not about the size of the space you have- it is about what you do with it. This is one of my favorite rooms to be in now, and it was a beige box.
I did not want to repaint the walls, because that was a lot of work, and we don't plan on staying in this house forever, so we went with basic colors for walls and floors.
**The bean bag is from uglysofa. I get a lot of great deals from her website. The toy kitchen to the left has been moved out and a wing-backed chair sits there. *Most of the decorative items on the shelves I either already had, or I got on clearance at Target or Marshalls or Hobby Lobby.
More details about the other pieces are listed below.

Let's look at the before: (link has more before photos)

The paint color is Sherwin Williams Kilm Beige- I think. When we built this house, we upgraded our carpet, but it is still a basic beige color. Really, this room is pretty boring- minus my cute son who likes to read. ☻

We found inspiration all over Pinterest, and some of my favorite decorating blogs. After seeing a few people use basic IKEA shelves to make built-ins, I got measuring. I found shelves from IKEA that fit the amount of space we had available.
I think we used BILLY shelves, but it really depends on the size of the space you have.

We first painted the backs of the shelves with an accent color. We used Behr's Teal Zeal. My husband also added pieces down the edges of the shelves, to make it look more built in. We also added the molding, and had to match the paint. For the white pieces we added we used a paint from Lowes, Valspar's Creamy Delight. I think Censational Girl used this and it matched perfectly we discovered!

We did not fill the holes on the sides for adjusting the height of the shelves. It would look more professional if we did, but I think I may want to adjust the height of the shelves. Caulking the edges of the shelves where they touch the walls, will also make them pretty permanent.

Most of the basics for this room we already had. I just moved stuff from other rooms in the house, to this room.
1. The couch was a deal from Costco. We have had it for several years. The pillows in the picture, are mostly made by me. The turquoise ones are bought from Marshalls, but the rest are slip-covered pillows I have had. In fact, many were in my bedroom a long time ago. Above the couch is our family gallery art wall.
2. The yellow rug- I love this rug so much, I ordered it in another color for our great room. This rug is from rugsusa. If you buy a rug from them at the right time, you can get a huge discount. I have gotten my rugs at 65-80% off! They also offer free shipping. It is really helpful to read the reviews on the rugs before you order, because returning a rug can be a huge pain. This rug was found under the "modern rugs" tab, and is nice and thick. It is a polyester blend rug, not wool.
3. The end table I have also had for years. It was from a thrift store, and cost about $7. It has always been this yellow color, which is actually a tractor spray paint color. The lamp is from Home Goods, and was always in this room. I actually picked the bookshelf paint color based on this lamp color.
4. The curtains and curtain rod are from IKEA.

The leather ottoman is from Costco. I have had it for about a decade. While I would have loved to do a white bench to match the shelves, I am glad we left this here. It holds many of the bigger  toys- cars, trucks, etc. The pillows are all ones that used to be in my bedroom. I know they are wrinkled...but you know, with a house full of boys, they use these for one thing: jumping on them. There is no reason for me to have fancy pillows at this time. I sewed the covers, so that they are washable and I can change them if I want.

 1. I removed the small play kitchen (that you see a little bit of in some of the photos), and put Grandma's chair back in the room. I have thought of recovering this chair, but it sort of goes with the room, so we have kept it as is for now.
2. The turquoise throw is from Marshalls.
3. The pillows are more of the same pillows I have had that are slip covered, for easy cleaning or changing.
4. This hutch/ entertainment center was a thrift store find many years ago. We painted it white, but left the top the original color. We have hung our T.V. above it, and have a collage of family photos to hang above that- all in white frames.
5. Mirror- also had for a while - a clearance find from Kirkland's.
That pretty much covers the entire room. It is literally 100 square feet of space- very small. But wow- it feels so much bigger now!

Thanks for reading or stopping by! We have more makeovers coming as we try to get our house ready for these TWINS coming in a month!! On another note, This is my 1000th post!! Crazy!
I did not know I had that many things to write about. :)
Thank you to everyone who reads, and leaves nice comments.

Free Desk Makeover!

A little over a year ago, a friend gave me this free desk. I was so excited! I saw major potential! FINALLY...we got around to finishing it- or shall I say- my husband got around to refinishing it!

 Here is what it looked like before:

 I should mention that it was wobbly. It did not stand straight and sort of rocked back and forth. Well you can't use a desk that doesn't sit right. So my husband made some adjustments and added some pieces so it stood up nice and still like a desk should. It wasn't completely free. We had to buy primer and paint. We spend about $28 dollars on paint.

 My husband used part of one primer (in gray), after we sanded some of it. It had veneer on it that was split. He also had to glue some of the wood back together.
He then painted the white in flat lightly before putting on white in satin. We used Krylon spray paint. It look one of the flat, since it was put on lightly, and 2 of the satin for the entire desk.
To finish, he used 2 cans of Krylon Clear indoor/outdoor spray paint in satin. He put it on heavily on top and lighter on the sides. He said in the future he would use Minwax Polyurethane Spray instead because the desk top is so wide and that would have been easier to use.
The handles were done with brushed nickel spray paint which we already had on hand.

I love love love my desk! Of course I love my husband even more for completing it for me! For now it serves as a nightstand table.  I found the little yellow ottoman on clearance at Target for about $20. It works perfectly since a chair would have been way too much next to the bed.  Several months ago I redid- yet again- our master bedroom-well the bedding- on a dime- and I love the addition of this desk! I'll show you the Master later if you are interested... I have changed it a lot and probably will change it again- but hopefully not too soon.

Thanks for letting me share! I just love a free furniture make over!

Ikea Hack: Spice Rack turned Book Shelves

I love love love Ikea. Problem is I live like 100 miles away from it. Last year we wanted to get some shelves like this up in the preschool room. This year, we finally did!And I love it so much, I want it in every room in my house. (hee hee)  I saw this idea on Ikea Hackers using this spice rack shelf. I had a whole plan to build some just like this- but this was so much easier!

We decided that the shelf alone was not too great for holding books, since the books could slip out of the bottom, so we added a front piece-made from a yard stick:

 We bought some cheap yard sticks, and cut them down to fit the front of the shelf. I love it- it would look cute unpainted (but has some company's name on it- so we painted it...) It worked best to prime and then paint.

So if you live in Arizona, and want to make these too, well I need some more.... and live pretty far away from Ikea, so save me some- it might be a few months before I get there! hee hee... I love IKEA.

Thanks for reading! oxoxo

DIY Lego Table {from an old Coffee or End Table}

For my son's birthday, I decided he needed a Lego table. I was pretty sick of stepping on those dang Legos. After doing a little research, it turned out that most Lego tables, were around $100. No thanks. So we made one instead for about 1/2 of that.

Here is what we did:
DIY LEGO TABLE:
We found the perfect table for $20 at our local thrift store. While this was more than I wanted to pay- I only wanted to pay like $5- this was the perfect table, that hardly needed any work. It had a set in glass top, and an edge around the top; it had solid wood legs- just what we wanted to add wheels to the bottom. It was also solid wood, not like the cheap-o Lego tables you buy- this was much sturdier.
SAND, PRIME, PAINT-we sanded it down and removed the criss-cross stuff and glass from the top.
We primed it wish spray primer- Krylon brand. Next we spray-painted it also with Krylon paint. We used 2 cans primer and 2 cans paint- total $12.
ADD LEGO PLATE TOP- I purchased 4 Lego plates- that were 10 by 10 inches each. These were about $5 each. ($20 total). My husband used Gorilla Glue to attach them- lining up the little Lego dots- which is very important- so your child can attach their Legos anywhere on the the table top. It is also important to use something heavy- and apply even pressure to the top while the glue is drying.
ADD WHEELS-My husband wanted it to have wheels so it could easily be moved around. The 4 wheels were a total of $6. He also purchased a few screws to attach them.

That is it! It was really rather easy, and quick! It cost us $58. I'm sure you could find a cheaper coffee table- or use one you already have and save more money.  Since we have almost 4 boys, I'm sure we'll be using this for years to come- as long as they can share! {We don't have room for 4 separate Lego tables- ha ha.}

And although there are LESS Legos on the floor, for some reason- some still end up on the floor.... now to get the right containers to store the things in..... right now we are using plastic bins w/ lids- that never get put on...

thanks for reading! oxoxo

Family Gallery Wall + Loft re-do

Before I write this post, I wish this fire would end! My heart goes out to the people who have lost their homes. There are so many fires in AZ right now and we really need some rain! Praying for rain. {please keep AZ in your prayers- we need rain.}


Now something HAPPY  and  FUN.

The loft is still in the works, but here is the "Family Gallery Wall". Mostly, this wall is framed art done by my children.

I used a variety of frames- mostly ones I already had that I spray painted white. I want to add something above the framed art- still working on that.

The pillows, were old pillows I made covers for with fabric from Fabric.com. {I'm sort of obsessed with Chevron Fabric right now...} The white end tables are ones I have had forever- rejects from Pottery Barn sold by Downeast Home about 15 years ago- that we painted white. They double as storage.

The lamps are from my fave- Home Goods.

Paint Color: Nomadic Desert by Sherwin Williams

Couch-Costco on clearance

To hang the frames, we followed the advice from all those fabulous bloggers out there- and cut paper the same size as the frames, arranged them on the wall, and THEN banged in the nails. - This saves so much time and heartache of making nail holes in the wrong places!

This is the wall opposite from the couch. This is a loft where you only have 2 walls, then the window wall- and the rest is the hallway area. The hutch redo is here. The frames are here.  Just missing my flatscreen wall mounted HDTV...I wonder where it is...

 So there you have it- the much improved loft space! I'd like to add a rug and a few things- but we are enjoying spending a lot more time in this area!

Happy Summer!

The Hutch is finally Finished! {another furniture make-over}

First of all, thank you for your comments and stories from my last post. It is comforting to know I am not alone! I enjoyed reading each one-thanks for sharing. ♥

I am thinking about folding the laundry, and putting it away, so my husband doesn't have to spend his free time helping me with it.... {yes, he is like that}, but before I think some more about it, and maybe even do it, I thought I'd post a project we finished some time ago. {finally!}

Here it is BEFORE:

It came with another piece on top, that we used to make a bookshelf for our boy's room.

For only $50, it was a great deal! It is solid wood, and from the 1960's or older, as I found a piece of paper inside of it dated, 1967,when we bought it. How fun is that? (Well I think it is fun!)

Here is the SPACE before and after:

Now if we could just afford the nice T.V. to go with it... {sigh} someday soon....

Can't wait to show you the rest of the room! It is almost done- and then I might actually enjoy spending some time in the loft!

Thanks for reading! Hope you are enjoying SUMMER!

Another Furniture Makeover {Free Desk Before}

I see so much potential in this desk! My friend (a super sweet preschool mommy) was trying to get rid of it, and we actually really need a desk with drawers! I loved it. It is a little wobbly and needs quite a bit of work, but those lattice pattern drawers- seriously- you can't find drawers like that for free!  So even though I promised my husband- "no more furniture projects"- I acquired a new one. oops...

We are still working on this from last year! Here it is in progress:

Thanks to my awesome husband who has helped with so many of these projects... a pregnant girl really shouldn't be breathing all those fumes!

Furniture Make-over: Blue Chest of Drawers

Another furniture makeover... I wanted to do this one forever and finally did it- yay!

HERE IS THE BEFORE:

I had this little chest of drawers for about the last 15 years. I paid way too much for it, at a chain furniture store- but at the time I needed some furniture. It had some cheap-o knobs on it that about fell off every time you opened the drawers.

So we gave it a new life - {we means my husband helped me a lot- as usual :)}

We kept this one very simple:

We used KRYLON spray paint and primer. The primer was white, and the paint color is called  KRYLON BLUE OCEAN BREEZE. 

 And now it looks much better:

Here are my other furniture makeovers- the fun never ends!

*Yellow End Tables
*Pottery Barn Heirloom Frames
*China Hutch turned Bookshelf

*Yellow octagon table
*Bunk bed Make-over
*Red Sewing Desk
*Play kitchen from a nightstand
*Nightstand make-overs

*Kitchen Table re-do
*A few chairs
OK that list makes me tired. And that isn't everything.  Most of our furniture comes from one of these places- Thrift stores, Target, Pier One, or IKEA. I don't have the money for the expensive stuff. But you don't have to spend a lot to get the look you want. :)

And don't faint, but I'm linking this post to Centsational Girl Paint Projects Linky Party: {I don't link very often, but I'm trying to do better...:)} Go check out the around 500 amazing projects linked up over there! You will be so inspired, amazed, and you might faint because of the amazing creativity that is out there. :) Have fun!!

Another Room Make-over: Craft Room/Multi-Purpose Room {part 3}

 I finished up this room. yay! The craft room/office/multipurpose room!

Well it is not completely finished, it still needs some paint on the walls, etc. BUT it is a lot closer!

Here are some of the many BEFORE looks:

{This one is the most recent}

And before this mess, was this:

This was a lot better than what you will see next, but there just wasn't enough storage for all the crap/craft stuff.

I was using this yellow dresser {which I love} and it just wasn't making the cut. The dresser is now my new changing table and  it is working really well. I actually sold the other changing table-which was your standard changer, with drawers and shelves. This one is cuter. :)

And because the yellow dresser wasn't making the cut... I was dealing with this- which made it hard to do anything:

So obviously, I needed some order and organization if I was going to ever sew anything again!

And would you believe I have at least a bin of fabric and a bin of paper crafting/scrapbook stuff....for a yard sale we are planning soon. Can we say -  too much craft crap  stuff! Seriously...too much!

As part of revamping this room into something usable, here are a few little things:

IKEA cork boards covered in fabric:

                                                  My first attempt at recovering a lamp shade:

The wall you see when you enter- fabric covered canvas squares, Target dollar section bins to hold some junk, and other stuff I can't part with yet...

And finally the big AFTER:

Of course, it will look a lot better, with some paint on the walls. I'm sure it will never be done, as I can think of a ton of things I would do to improve the space, but it is so much better! Let's hope we can keep it semi-clean....

Thanks for reading! oxoxo