The Latest: Sep 2013

There are plenty of reasons for an adult to have nightlights in the house. Some use them to avoid tripping during late night trips to the bathroom, or to illuminate the path to a midnight snack in the kitchen. And, yeah, OK? Some of us might still be a little afraid of falling asleep in the dark. Whatever the reason for the all-night soft lighting, nightlight options aren’t limited to the fairy and fire truck options in the kids’ aisle.

Erin’s neighbor was moving out of the state and she wanted to help fill her new, bigger home with furniture. When she spotted this chair at a garage sale for only $45, she knew that with a little work, this chair could be the perfect going away present. From Erin: With a little spray paint for the frame and a fun black and white bold fabric for the cushions, this chair screams for attention now. And our friend absolutely loved it! Want to copy her look?

Amy says, “Great things happen when you are willing to haul your neighbors’ discarded trash down the street at 8am in your PJs while they drive to work in their swanky cars.” Want to see what she means? Read on… Amy’s about to start her own creative business so she needed a great space to inspire her. With her limited budget ($200), she was able to fill in the gaps of her scavenging with a few key IKEA pieces and some DIY initiative.

Jessica picked up this bench for $10 several years ago, but it wasn’t until a trip to India that she found the perfect fabric to complete her project (and get a lovely souvenir from her travels). When she stumbled upon this beautiful gold leaf print, she knew it would be perfect for the bench. She also sanded and painted the frame to compliment the new design. Jessica says, “All told I spent about $45 on this bench and I love the way it looks in my entry!

Heidi had been storing these bland 90’s era stools, hand-me-downs from a relative, for years but it took her daughter’s room makeover to finally put these blank canvas stools to use. See how she punched up their personality. From Heidi: I first painted them a raspberry pink color. I created the gold dipped effect by spray painting a taped off portion of each stool leg.The whole project cost about $10 and only took a couple of hours. It fits perfectly in her themed room and I LOVE it!

Jennifer and John loved their new home’s open floor plan, but they didn’t love the lack of a defined dining area. So they set out to create a dining space with personality and punch. For the walls, they chose a muted yellow (Dried Plantain by Behr) which, Jennifer says, “makes us happy and hungry!

Kate stumbled upon these two dilapidated chairs at her local Goodwill for…wait for it… $14.99 for both. Spoiler alert: she sure got her money’s worth. Want to see these chairs now? Kate says, “as I started to peel away the faded ashes of rose velour, the foam basically fell off the seats and backs and disintegrated into a cloud of dust.” Obviously new foam and fabric was in order: I fell in love with this bold 50’s inspired floral pattern.

Michelle and her husband go camping every year with a big group of friends, but they were getting tired of their tent, so they found a rundown vintage trailer and fixed it up. Michelle says, “We had no idea how much fun it was going to be.” From Michelle: We would work on it at night after the kids were in bed, and it took us about 4 months from start to finish. We have three girls so we painted it pink (obviously!).

Ashley’s a DIY fanatic and she had so many ideas that she couldn’t commit to a headboard so she found a clever solution to both her blank wall and her need for variety. A customizable headboard! Smart! Says Ashley, “Now whenever I get an itch for change, I can easily update it with whatever style or trend I love at the time!” Want to steal her look? Ashley shares the whole project at her blog, Sugar & Cloth. Thank you Ashley!

Matt and Christian’s IKEA table was still really good at doing table jobs like supporting their food, but not so good at looking pretty while doing it — the pressboard top was beginning to disintegrate. So they came up with an easy and inexpensive way to give it a new life. They headed over to their local scrapyard and picked up some reclaimed 3/4” planks. For variety, they looked specifically for pieces with interesting paint or stain colors.

Old signage is a familiar sight at salvage shops and flea markets. While most might walk past this dingy exit sign, John was able to give it a bright future in a few hours, for about half of what a new reproduction would cost. From John: Yesterday, I found this great — but beat up — vintage exit sign. Today, I cleaned, sanded and repainted it, replaced the colored filter with clear plastic, and added colored bulbs. My boyfriend attached the (still functional!

While shopping for a bulletin board to hang above my home office desk, I was shocked to discover how much this home office essential can fetch from some decor retailers. And adorned with something special like an ornate frame? Forget it.

Lizzie described her budget as “less than a shoestring,” so when she found this old rocking chair at a clearance yard, she snatched it up. She sanded the seat, arms and back (taking off several layers of skin along with the peeling varnish) and painted them in a quirky neon turquoise (an unexpectedly and fun choice). Looks like her risk paid off. Lizzie obviously has a history of scoring great deals.

Adrianne’s 1950’s home had a dated dining room in major need of a revamp. Well, it’s dreary no longer. Take a look at it now: What an amazing transformation! From Adrianne: We installed hardwood flooring and did some DIY wainscoting, baseboards, and crown moulding. We also brought in some of our favorite DIY pieces, like our vintage card catalog buffet and driftwood art. The dining table and chandelier are awesome vintage Craigslist finds.

Chrissann recently re-did a dresser for her daughter’s room. In its original state, the dresser wasn’t anything special — certainly not an antique — and she wanted something more fun, and brighter than the original boring brown. If you are sick of seeing chalkboard paint everywhere, or hate the dusty mess of the chalk itself, here’s an alternative: try dry erase paint instead.

Anu’s family (which includes two small boys and a Golden Retriever) was in desperate need of a mudroom — a place to feed the dog and keep all the muddy boots and winter kid gear — but their small bungalow just didn’t have the space. Wow! Anu transformed that unused nook into a mini mudroom. The floating bench serves as seating as well as a place to stow shoes and dog bowls. Cabinet knobs became coat hooks and each boy/dog in the house even has his own bin.

Amanda’s original 70’s monster of a moss rock fireplace didn’t look good or even function. From Amanda: To fix the function, we bought a wood burning insert. For a sleek, updated look we built a frame around the rock, tiled the lower portion, added plywood to the top, trim pieces, and painted it crisp white. Now we adore the clean lines and contrasting colors. See more photos and details at Amanda’s blog, Our Humble Abode. Thank you Amanda!