Industrial Chic Skelton Lamps

Do you like skeleton shades? I do! I've always had a thing for Industrial Chic.!

OK, so maybe I created the term, definition- Industrial Chic : Raw,junky design; not as frilly as Shabby Chic.


I've been wanting to add some light to this corner. I also wanted it to hang. I thought about lighting a birdcage but when I was at the thrift store and saw these lamps shades "Light bulb!"

Bought one large, one small

Cut through and rip off the old fabric from around the shade.

Then stick the small inside the large.

Next, install the lamp cord. You can buy them at Pier 1 for about $10. I had this one already from an old lamp that hasn't been hung up in a long, long long long time, but I alway kept it knowing I would do something with it! Glad I did! I love being able to shop in my basement!

The cord needed some help, so I debated between chain or fabric.

Went with the fabric! Much easier and a softer look. So I cut a piece about 5"x6'

Now, I was dumb and picked a fabric that was stiff and didn't bunch by itself like a linen or maybe even like a light cotton would. So I had to sew my own "bunching"

To make: I folded the 5" piece in half, right sides together. Then did pleats about every 4". Sewed the side closed, and flip right side out....which was probably the hardest part! I ripped 2 pleats in the process and had to sew those closed by hand. Blerg.

In the end, it worked out great and bunched beautifully on it's own!


Some junk turned into something fun!

Link Parties

Hall Bath Make-Over (Frugal Style)

This bath needed some love! It was such a wonderful fleshy color when we moved in...infact the whole house was that color, got spend a month of my life covering up that little number.


Bathroom Before

Bathroom After
The paint is TurtleDove from Behr. It's a light blue with a little bit of a yellow-y/green undertone. It is my new fave. I want to paint everything this color!

Found these little shelves at the local thrift store for $1.


Spray painted them aqua from Krylon...


And glazed them black to add some aging and put one in my bathroom topped with this cute plaque from Home Goods.

(I've been learning to like pink, the Honeysuckle Pink that is 2011 color of the year is adorable, so I've added a little to the bathroom...babysteps!)


I love Vintage Carnival stuff and this pic was right up my ally! Love it! It's 18x36 and I got the frame, again at the thift store, for $4! That's a steal since it had glass!

I got this cute towel/coat rack at the DownEast tent sale $3, Their tents sales are the best for finding random things!
I added the "Family" "Friend" "Guest" "Acquaintance" "Intruder" lables. Now there's no confusion who hangs their towel where.





To learn how to make these cute Pillow Case Bags go Here!


I had this jar so I bought a pack of simple white soap blocks and filled it.




I had this basket so I hung it on the wall and clipped some vintages French ads to it.


For something different, I took this old frame and sprayed it the Krylon Aqua.


Then Mod Podged some different strips of paper to it.


Used it as a frame around the towel ring.

Now La Toilette is a more pleasant place to do your business!

Take a Seat!

I believe that a home should reflect who you are and what you love.

I want to share with you what I love!

Starting with my Entry way. I love all things vintage.



I love all things design and I loved studying historical and modern furnishings when I was in design school. I LOVE these pictures of chairs, they remind me of all I learned, each one telling a history.
This is how I decided to display them. There is no short supply of seats here!


I love to re-purpose old furniture! My mom gave me this chair, it came from her old 70's dining set. So I took this old chair that needed a second chance and gave it a make over!


I wasn't lovin' the sunburst carvings, so I filled them in with a wood putty. Sanded and primed.


I painted the chair a high gloss black. Now the little carvings are a lot more subtle and I love the country chairs juxtaposed with the modern high gloss finish.


Next I recovered the seat in a vintage pattern. This fabric, if you notice, has a little sunburst pattern in it as well.

I added some numbers to it just the other day, I felt like it still needed something. Still a little grandma-ish, but that's what I love about it.

This is another beaut that I found at D.I.

It was a gold and teal, so cute I just couldn't take a pic........ or I forgot.

Again, I sprayed it with a high gloss black.

Added a little topography for fun. (It's our wedding date!)

Now My Love has no excuse to forget now! (Not that he ever has)

Recovered the seat in another vintage fabric.

My 3 little chairs. I have something fun planed for the middle chair, I just need to buy some freezer paper and figure out my new Silhouette!

That's what I love! Thanks for stopping by!

(I also love these guys!)

Dining Room Preview

Here's one view of our Dining Room before.  Pretty boring* with the builder beige walls, red curtains I brought from my last house, and don't get me started on the el-cheapo builder standard chandelier (but it does give off tons of light, I'll give it that).   The room has some nice newer furniture going and crown molding we put up shortly after we moved in.  

BEFORE:

Enter the same wall,  in the process of the room redo.  I told my husband I was going to paint the new chair rail white and then do the panel boxes underneath, and paint them white.  Then he came home from work and looked at it, and said, "I thought you were just going to paint the boxes white and leave under the chair rail the beige to match the top?"  HA!  Little does he know there is going to be nothing to "match the top" because that builder beige is PAST DUE  for a makeover. After I get all this painted, and the boxes added, I have some fun things in mind for the rest of the room.  Now if only I could work as fast as my little brain can dream!

DURING: 

**I feel I should add a disclaimer:  I hope I'm not offending anyone when I say that builder beige makes me want to puke. :-P  Our homes should be about what makes us happy, and how we feel when we are in them.  Whatever color makes you feel calm and happy, that's wonderful.  Unfortunately, the colors the walls in my house are painted are not doing it for me --Don't even make me bring up the 'mental institution gray/green' in my family room!  (but that's going to take a whole lot of arm twisting with the hubby, since it was 'professionally painted' by the previous owners.... then I remind myself Rome wasn't built in a day). 

Until then, I'll be up to my eyeballs in putty dust and paint.

It has a purpose again! Furniture Re-purposing.

Finally! I've been wanting to post for a week but could not find my camera and on it it held all of my hard work! It was one of those things that got lost after we came home from our 2 week trip and started unpacking and the once nice clean house we came home to was now trashed! So anyway, I found it, in the same place I had looked through about 10 times! Augh! whatever.



So I love that my husband one day, come to me and said he wanted to do a piece of furniture for his mom for Christmas so we hit D.I. and found this beauty!



I love even more that he did most of the work! It didn't have a bottom or a back but that wasn't a problem for him. He went to Home Depot and had some ply wood cut to size and he put it in..... unfortunately he forgot to get pictures of that part.
Oh, we also primed it with grey primer from Krylon. Love the grey primer! A must when using dark colors!
(great for walls as well)


(Sorry about the pics. It was dark out and the lighting was florescent)
My mother-in-law decorates with red and we thought this would be great in red...and it is! We used Banner Red spray paint from Krylon.


Then me, being the master glazer that I am (wink wink) glazed it in a black glaze.




Lastly, we took off the old brassy knobs and replaced them with these black ones we pulled off some old doors.

It was a hit! She loved it and is using it as a T.V. stand.

Checking off the Honey Do List

I have had the best holidays ever.  Not because of the Christmas presents (although those were GREAT).

Mainly because my awesome step-dad came over from Denver and worked on 3 projects for the house.  Here is just a peek at the current state of the frame we put around the chalkboard, before I sand the putty and paint it.  I need to hurry up and get the other projects painted as well so I can share those. 

We used 3 inch MDF and added a quarter round trim piece on the edges

 Now that the holidays are over  (well, after I make a birthday cake for a 1st birthday boy they will be:)) I'll have some time to put towards a little interior decorating.  Have a Happy New Year!