Laundry Room Feature

Today I want to show you an adorable, and believe it or not inviting, laundry room.  This amazing laundry room belongs to my friend, Angela.  And let me tell you, not one detail was overlooked.

This doesn't look like the entrance to any laundry room that I've ever seen!

I just love the harlequin wallpaper that Angela added.  Instead of just adding a plain ole rod for hanging clothes, Angela used a pretty curtain rod with finials. 

Here's a closer look at the wall arrangement above the little chest.

Even her washer and dryer are gorgeous.  They are the jewelry for the room.

Angela replaced the utility cabinets that were originally in this room with these much nicer oak cabinets and added decorative hardware.  I didn't get a picture, but crown moulding was added to the tops of the cabinets.  The cubbies under the cabinets are actually shoe holders from the closet section at Lowes.

This cute rooster mailbox resides atop the cabinets hanging above the washer/dryer.  Can't leave out the roo.  They're like bunnies, you can never have too many!

I'll end with the view looking back toward the kitchen.

I hope you enjoyed touring Angela's wonderful laundry room.  Maybe my laundry wouldn't feel like such a chore if I had a room like this!

In case you missed it, you can see more of Angela's house here and here.

I'll be sharing Angela's laundry room at these parties:

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Meet Me Monday at You Are Talking Too Much

Your Cozy Home Party on Monday at Cozy Home Scenes

Motivated Monday at Be Colorful

Savvy Homemade Monday at Home Savvy A to Z

Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie

Tutorials and Tips Tuesday at Home Stories A to Z

Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

Show and Tell on Wednesday at Blue Cricket Design

Overflowing with Creativity on Wednesday at It's Overflowing

Uncommonly Yours on Wednesday at Uncommon Designs

Show and Share on Wednesday at Southern Lovely

It's A Party on Thursday at A Creative Princess

Open House Party Thursday at No Minimalist Here

Share Your Creations on Thursday at Kristen's Creations

Tickled Pink Fridays at 504 Main

Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Feature Friday Free for All at Five Days...5 Ways

Addicts (not so) Anonymous on Friday at Addicted 2 Decorating

Come Party with a Blonde on Friday at A Blonde's DIY Life

Inspiration Friday at At the Picket Fence

Potpourri Friday at 2805

Weekend Wrapup Party on Saturday at Tatertots and Jello

Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors

Sew Darn Crafty Sunday at Sew Many Ways

Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table and Dreaming

Simply Klassic Sunday at A Simply Klassic Home

Sunday Worship

source

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ , who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Col 3:1-4, NIV

Updating the Dining Room

It never fails that after all of the Christmas stuff has been stashed away and all most every bit of the glitter that I can see has been vacuumed up, I struggle with putting my house back together.  The same decor that I may have loved before now looks boring and dated.  This year I was determined not to put everything back the same old way. I wanted to do something to freshen things up.  

I don't have the $$$ to replace all of my furniture - nor do I want to - at least not all of it.  ;o)  One day I had a light bulb moment when it occurred to me that I didn't have to replace my furnishings and repaint every room to get a fresh look.  Sooo...I decided to try my hand at mixing my traditional/transitional furnishings with a few more modern accessories with maybe a vintage item or two thrown in for good measure.   Sound easy?  Well, it hasn't been.  It has been harder than I thought.

This is what my dining room looked like before Christmas.  

And this is what it looks like today.

Funny, when I look at these pictures together, the room doesn't look that different.  You'll have to trust me when I say it definitely is!

I started off by updating the chandelier.  Here it is after Mr. Worthing took it down for me.  I was so over the brown.  I added the layer of dust for your viewing pleasure.  Where oh where does all this dust come from?!?!?!

It took three different spray paints plus Rub n Buff before I was able to achieve the antique gold color that I was after.  The Krylon paint on the far left was a pretty color, but the gold was too soft - more of a champagne color.  The Ace Metallic was the perfect color, but for some reason it didn't react well with the  metal.  What finally gave me the color I was after is the Rust-oleum with Rub n Buff in Antique Gold added all over as a final coat.  

Here is what she looks like now.

You can see that I removed the sage green chandelier shades and replaced the bulbs.  Mr. Worthing looked at me sideways over those bulbs.  I like that the bulbs kind of look like bubbles when they aren't turned on.  

I already had these red urns.  The lids are a bronzey, gold metallic.  This vintage cache pot was in my mother's family for years.  I believe it belonged to my grandparents who lost most everything in the Great Depression.  I decided to spare you a picture of the inside where you could have seen the big ole crack where Mama glued it back together after I sat in it when I was little.

The colors are just right for this room - red with a soft green background and touches of gold.

Looking at the room from this angle, you'll see that I removed the pendants with tassels from the drapery panels.  I think it helps to take some of the heaviness away.  

BEFORE

AFTER

Over on the sideboard, I added a new bowl and two new lamps - all purchased at HomeGoods.  We won't talk about how many lamps I returned before I found these.  You can't see it in this pic, but the lamps have just a touch of gold around the edges of the fat parts of the base.  I removed the pillows from the chairs and also removed the plate racks that were hanging on the wall on either side of the mirror.

BEFORE

AFTER

At the other end of the room, I removed the urn filled with faux greenery and the oil painting that my Auntie Syl painted.  Don't worry - the painting will be gifted to my daughter who treasures my aunt's paintings just as much as I do.

BEFORE

AFTER

I'm planning to add some artwork to the wall beside the doorway going into the family room.  Probably a grouping of some sort, but I don't want it to be too predictable.  I'm f-o-r-c-i-n-g myself to be patient until the right thing comes along.

That pretty much sums up all of the changes that I've made so far.  So many of you are experts at mixing the old and the new.  What do you think?  Please be honest, but gentle (I have thin skin!).  Have I taken any mis-steps?  Should I change the fabric on the chairs to something more updated?  The chair fabric colors blend perfectly with the drapery fabric.  Should I replace the pillows that were in the two armchairs with ones made using a more updated fabric and no fringe or trim?   

I'll be linking up to these parties:

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Meet Me Monday at You Are Talking Too Much

Your Cozy Home Party on Monday at Cozy Home Scenes

Motivated Monday at Be Colorful

Savvy Homemade Monday at Home Savvy A to Z

Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

Tutorials and Tips Tuesday at Home Stories A to Z

Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

Show and Tell on Wednesday at Blue Cricket Design

Overflowing with Creativity on Wednesday at It's Overflowing

Uncommonly Yours on Wednesday at Uncommon Designs

Show and Share on Wednesday at Southern Lovely
What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

It's A Party on Thursday at A Creative Princess

Open House Party Thursday at No Minimalist Here

Share Your Creations on Thursday at Kristen's Creations

Tickled Pink Fridays at 504 Main

Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Feature Friday Free for All at Five Days...5 Ways

Addicts (not so) Anonymous on Friday at Addicted 2 Decorating

Come Party with a Blonde on Friday at A Blonde's DIY Life

Inspiration Friday at At the Picket Fence

Potpourri Friday at 2805

Weekend Wrapup Party on Saturday at Tatertots and Jello

Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors

Sew Darn Crafty Sunday at http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/

Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table and Dreaming

Simply Klassic Sunday at A Simply Klassic Home

Shutter Love

I love, no, make that I adore vintage shutters!  They are so versatile.  

My new bloggy friend Sherry, over at Sherry's Bees Nest is the lucky owner of all of these!

I just had to share some of the clever ways that she is using them.

I've seen many lovely mantles where shutters are used as part of a vignette.  Sherry's mantle vignette is just wonderful.  I love the daisies in the galvanized bucket too!

Here's a great idea that falls into the category of "Why didn't I think of that?".  

I think this is just the coolest idea for a summer porch or a dark corner in your home.  Go here to see how Sherry did it.

We all know that shutters work well for camouflaging items that we'd rather not have anyone see.  But I've never seen them used quite this way.  I love it!

Go here to see the before and what's hiding behind these shutters.

Ever thought about using shutters to protect your wall in an area that normally receives a lot of abuse?

Let me tell you - the wall closest to our treadmill gets scuffed and dinged all the time.  I think this is a great solution!

These are just a few of the many creative ways that Sherry has put her shutters to use.  Go visit Sherry to see even more!  While you're there, take time to look around.  Sherry has lots of inspiring ideas!

Would you love to have some shutters to play with as much as I would?  Well, you're in luck!  Sherry is hosting a giveaway this week for two sets of shutters - one tall and one shorter.

Go here for all the deets.   

Thank you, Sherry, for allowing me to feature your shutter creativity!

Sunday Worship

(source)

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus;

Who being the very nature of God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to death-

even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Phi 2: 5-11, NIV

Money Saving, Space Saving Headboard Solution

Just thought I'd share a great idea that I stumbled across the other day over at Metal and Mud.  Just maybe there's someone else like me who's been living under a rock and hasn't seen this already.  ;o)

It is a headboard that is simply made by attaching fabric to the wall.  Metal and Mud used a product called Stiffen Stuff, which can be purchased at Michaels.

Head over to Metal and Mud for a full tutorial.  It looks really easy!

Please share if any of you have tried this.  I'd love to see!

Master Bedroom Reveal

I can hardly believe it myself, but my master bedroom is finally complete!  

  I'll show you around the completed room and hopefully give you an idea of the layout, since you've pretty much only seen bits and pieces up until now.

This is the view as you enter the room.

I replaced the lamp shades since I last showed you the bed area.  The new shades are slightly larger than the originals and are covered with burlap type fabric.  I recovered the original shades myself in an effort to save money and also tried a little something to make them appear larger, but it was an epic fail.  Trust me, you would laugh, not in a good way, if I showed you!  To see the original shades and learn more about my budget friendly drapery hardware go here.

I talked about the bedding and pillows here.  My tutorial on how to make a pillow sham can be found here and here.

The sitting area has a funny little alcove that I've never shown you before.  It's a great place to put the chest of drawers containing Mr. Worthing's clothes.  

I placed an organizer/charging station on top to give him a convenient place to drop all of his things each evening.

Part of the re-do was having an electrician install sconces on either side of the mirror.  The sitting area is like a cave and the overhead light fixture just wasn't cutting it.

Here's a closer look at the arrangement on top of the dresser.  The blue urns came from HobLob, the vanity tray is from HomeGoods and the two blue mercury glass bowls (one has watches in it and the other contains fun rings) came from Garden Ridge.  I already had the necklace holder, lamp and clock.

Finding or making pillows for these chairs was the big holdup to me having the room ready for it's final reveal. If you know me, you know that my intention was to make some pillows, but I couldn't find any fabric that looked right.  Then one day, I stumbled across these pillows in Kirklands for $9.99 each.  That's just about the maximum that I'm willing to pay for a ready-made pillow unless there's something really special about it!

You can read more about the box-pleated tableskirt here.

Directly across from my dresser are these two rocker/swivel chairs and table.  I'm not wild about the fabric on these chairs, but it works well enough for now.  Because the backs of these chairs is tufted, it was going to cost me at least $250/chair to have them reupholstered.  That's not counting the cost of whatever fabric I would use. 

  

The round blue pillow is velvet and was made by my grandmother back in the 60's, I believe.  You can read all about the great product that I used to clean the antique velvet here.

I already owned the container holding the hydrangeas.  It is metal and was originally a dark brown until I spray painted it a brushed nickel color.

The silver tray holding the artichoke jar and oversized keys, was a 25th wedding anniversary gift that my parents received.  I found the keys at Marshalls.

I've already shown you the bookcases that sit directly opposite the foot of the bed.  You can see that my shadow, Miss Diva Dog, wanted to get in on the pictures.  

I tweaked them a little since the first time I showed them to you.  I'm still not sure that I'm finished tweaking.  You can read more about the before condition of the bookcases here.  I had to take a picture with the glass doors open because of the glare.

Do you remember my dilemma wall?  You can read more about how I addressed it and get tips for creating inexpensive framed and matted art  here.

Gotta have the before and afters - right?

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER:

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE and AFTER of the antique velvet pillow

I'll close with this little vignette on the nightstand by my side of the bed.  That's a picture of my sweet Mr. Worthing on our wedding day.

I'll be linking up to these parties:

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Meet Me Monday at You Are Talking Too Much

Motivated Monday at Be Colorful

Savvy Homemade Monday at Home Savvy A to Z
Your Cozy Home Party on Monday at Cozy Home Scenes

Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie

Tutorials and Tips Tuesday at Home Stories A to Z
Overflowing with Creativity on Wednesday at It's Overflowing

Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style
Show and Tell on Wednesday at Blue Cricket Design

Uncommonly Yours on Wednesday at Uncommon Designs

Show and Share on Wednesday at Southern Lovely

It's A Party on Thursday at A Creative Princess

Open House Party Thursday at No Minimalist Here

Share Your Creations on Thursday at Kristen's Creations

Feature Friday Free for All at Five Days...5 Ways

Addicts (not so) Anonymous on Friday at Addicted 2 Decorating

Come Party with a Blonde on Friday at A Blonde's DIY Life

Inspiration Friday at At the Picket Fence

Potpourri Friday at 2805

Weekend Wrapup Party on Saturday at Tatertots and Jello

Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors

Sew Darn Crafty Sunday at http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/

Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table and Dreaming
Simply Klassic Sunday at A Simply Klassic Home
Favorite Rooms on the First at The PoloHouse