High end dressers on a budget

Have you ever wondered how you could take a piece of furniture and make it a little more...High end looking?  

I was wandering through Ikea a little while back searching for a very inexpensive dresser for our little princess.  This pink dresser just jumped out at me.  Best part?  It was on clearance for $39!  I loved it, but it needed a little glam... 

I had seen some information on a company that made these Overlays specifically for Ikea dressers to give them a little extra pizazz!  So, I picked out a few patterns and ordered it up.  The whole process was SO simple.  

Here is a BEFORE

After I added the Overlays

{ please excuse the quality of this pic =) }

Popped on some cute knobs

The Finished product!

The overlays go on with liquid nails and literally took me 3 minutes to apply...  It's so easy!!!  

Check out their website to other ideas for what to use their overlays on.  

So, what do you want to Glam up? 

Stephanie

Sloane's Big Girl Room

Sloane's Big Girl Room by thedivinelivingspace on Polyvore

Ankara Panels - Grey
zgallerie.com

Barbie Garden Party
zgallerie.com

Alexia Chandelier - 12"W
zgallerie.com

Serena & Lily Punch Diamond Quilt
serenaandlily.com

Serena & Lily Strawberry/Juice Cabin Quilt Euro Sham
serenaandlily.com

Serena & Lily Wharf
serenaandlily.com

White Lattice Cottage Mirror
target.com

The Land of Nod: Kids' Beds: Kids White Spindle Jenny Lind Bed in Beds
landofnod.com

Serena & Lily Shell Trellis Sheet Set
serenaandlily.com

Creative artwork under $13 that makes a BIG impact!

Ever since we moved, I've been searching for the perfect artwork for my teenagers room.  She is SUPER creative.  She is a blogger, a photographer, a little bit of a graphic artist... she's just all around SWEET!

In her old room, I had used several photos of our family above her bed.  I had to make them REALLY big since the end canvas was actually disguising an electrical panel.  Ha! Who knew?

When we moved, I promised her she could re-do her room.  One of the things that didn't work was the cute canvases I created =(. Back to the drawing board.  

She found this bedding that she LOVED!

It was cute, but busy!  I knew I had my work cut out for me for what to pair with the new bedding!

I had already created a homework area for her that included lots of her photography

... so I wanted to do something different.

On a total whim, My friend and I ended up at Home Goods.  (Seems like I always find things when I'm not looking) 

 I just happened to walk by this:

The frame?... PERFECT.  The artwork?  Not so much.  It was WAY too busy with her bedding!

I KNEW I could do something different with the art.  I mean, why not?  So I bought it... brought it home and disassembled it.  Then, I happened to stumble across this AMAZING chalkboard art.  

Seriously, it couldn't have been more perfect! She collects vintage camera's!

   You literally download it onto a memory stick, bring it into a Staples or Office max and within 5 minutes, they had printed me out a 36" x 48" black and white poster for a little over $7.00!!!!!!!  Phew... I think that was just a run on sentence...I'm just so excited!  

I brought it home and stapled it to my frame and.....

Ta-da!!!!

Yay for good things that come for those who wait!

Downloadable poster $5.00 + Black and white poster $7.50 = $12.50 ! 

( plus the cost of your frame)

{Whole room reveal coming soon}.....

A modern twist to a boring fireplace...

Ever since I laid eyes on our fireplace, I knew it needed a makeover.  

It is a HUGE focal point in the room and it was just... well, BLAH! 

I kept warning my husband I was going to do something, but wasn't sure what. He was skeptical.  

After all, it wasn't bad and he didn't want me to ruin a perfectly good fireplace surround.

One day I stumbled across this company that repurposes wood and makes them into tiles. 

 The texture, dimension, and color was like something I've never seen before.

That my friends, was EXACTLY what I was looking for!  There are two products to choose from: 

Up-cylced wood, (which is basically wood scraps from cabinet makers) and re-cycled wood (made from barn wood ).  They take the wood and put it on a patented tile backing so it goes up like traditional tile does.  Best part?  It's made in the good ole USA!

This company is AMAZING!!! Not only do they make a GREAT product, but their customer service is seriously top notch! Kim and I spoke for days.  I sent her photos, dimensions and ideas.  

She sent me samples and lots of details on installation. 

The plan? would be to take off the cross beams and make the surface flush to add the wood tiles.. 

The problem? the cross beams were glued on, so taking the wood beams of

 may not be as easy as it sounds....

What's a girl to do?  I called up my handy dandy dad who brought his tools by and we got right to it!

We made sure we laid the tiles out before we started installation.  There is a lot of variation in the color, so I wanted to be able to hand pick the ones that would go on the face of the fireplace.

 Once everything was removed we put on the pre-mixed thin set and went to work.  It was NOT difficult at all.  Time consuming... a little.  We just had lots of cuts.

Here is the finished product!  

We love it!  And my skeptical hubby... Well, he loves it too!

Before                          After

You can read more about this amazing company here:

http://www.eandstile.net

Coffee table turned Ottoman

A couple months ago I was searching for an ottoman. It had to be a large ottoman.... about 42" would be ideal. I found plenty of ottomans I LOVED, but all of them came with a HEFTY price tag. I needed another plan, so I turned to Craig's list. It was there I found a gem! It was the not only a perfect size, but it was a SOLID wood piece! There was just one small problem...The top was damaged!!!

This was a HUGE bummer, because there was a beautiful inlay pattern to the top. I desperately wanted to fix it! I emailed my friend over at Against the Grain Woodworking for some expert advice. It seemed it was a job for a wood expert (which I am not). 

PLAN B. I would repurpose this to make it into a ottoman.

First things first. I enlisted my helpful hubby to drill some pilot holes in the bottom legs so I could add casters. I wanted to be able to move this piece around easily.

Here he is vacuuming out the dust so it didn't get everywhere... And you can see the wheel there added on one of the legs =)

Next, I painted the entire base of the piece dark chocolate brown.

AND....

Here is how it turned out!

                                                                  Before & After

Sorry for the lack of pictures in-between. Somehow they must have gotten deleted, because I know I took them. Basically here is what I did step by step. 

1. Went to JoAnn Fabrics and purchased 2" foam 

 2. Cut the foam the shape/size of table 

3. Sprayed the foam with adhesive to keep it in place 

4. Covered that foam with a thick batting so you didn't see any lines from the foam 

 5. Placed the fabric on top and turned the whole table upside down and stapled it underneath. 

Stars and Stripes Forever

As many of you know who have followed my blog, WE MOVED!  The house is beautiful, but it needs some pizzaz, you know...character, personalization...you get the hint.  I WISH I was better at taking before pictures.  The boys room was a periwinkle color.  Not bad, but not for my boys.  I wanted to make them something modern, different, but classic.

Here is a couple pics of what I did with the space!

First, my helpful hubby painted the room white.  

Next, I used my handy dandy Black and Decker Laser-level. This clever tool allows you tape off the stripes using the laser it projects onto the wall.  Best part, they are level!  

I found these cute headboards off Craig's list for $35.00!!!  What a steal!  I love how classic they are!

The boys had these canvas's from our old house, but they were the wrong color.  I quickly painted them and added the vintage star to the center.

Add the bedding and pillows from Target and it's done!

What do you think?? This project was super easy...and FUN! Best of all, the boys LOVE their new space!

A Do-It -Yourself Room Makeover with a Designer's Eye

Don't think you could decorate a room on your own?  Think again.  

When this Do-it -yourselfer came to me last spring and asked for my help, I jumped at the chance!  My client wanted a relaxing and beautiful space for her office. This was the first room you saw when you entered her home, so it had to be great!  We knew we wanted to introduce a subtle, but bold wallpaper as an accent wall, and yellow& gray were her colors. She was creative at heart, but just didn't know where to start.  I collected lots of information and got right to work!

This is the  before of her sitting room.  

 I created this idea board and gave her a list of the places she could shop for the items




Gina took my ideas, {incorporated some of her own} and transformed her space into this:



Easy, right?

So now you know.  If you are ambitious and want a designer look {on a budget}, hire me for your next project!
Here are some details on what you need to know:

• You will save a lot of money by hiring a professional online designer.  If the budget permits, by all means, hire someone who can come into your home.  A professional can shop for things and see things in your space that you would not be able to achieve on your own. However, if you have the time and love to shop for that perfect item, this is the way to go!  You will not only save a lot of time hourly, but you can also tweak a few items to fit within your budget.

• Speaking of budget, you must have a realistic one.  You can not decorate an entire room folks on $100.00.  I can not tell you the number of people that come to me and want me to work miracles.  I pour a lot of time into these idea board searching for the perfect items to fit your space.  Although they will save you a lot of money in the long run not paying hourly for a designer, they are still an investment.

• You have to do the leg work.  It's all in the details and I need as many of those as you can give me.  I need a feel for your space, your style, and your lifestyle.  I may even ask for a picture of the exterior of the home so I can visualize the overall feel.  

So there you have it!  

A Do-It -Yourself Room Makeover with a designer's eye!