Redecorating on a Budget

I took two days of leave last week to give myself FIVE days off in a row without anywhere to go. I had two goals for this extra long Labor Day weekend:  1) finish the living & dining room redecorating and 2) do some serious work on my dissertation … SUCCESS on both projects!

When the family was all together this summer after our wild, wacky & wonderful trip to Disney World, everyone pitched in and did some serious painting. I’ve got a high ceiling on one wall in the living room (goes up about 18 ft. — you do not want to see me on an extension ladder with a paint roller) and can’t do it all by myself … and the budget doesn’t allow me to hire anyone (got an estimate a few years ago and they wanted $1800 to do ONE room!), last time it was all painted was 11 years ago (yuck!).  I don’t have any good “before” pictures, but this shot of a corner of the dining room shows what the color scheme was previously…lots of green, including green and white striped couch and chair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I now have bright, clean, beautiful yellow walls (and thanks, Marissa, for insisting I needed to have white baseboards/doors … and an even bigger thank you for putting the three coats of paint on them!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have wanted a red couch for YEARS … alas, the budget also didn’t allow for new furniture, at least not new stuff made as well as the old (which I bought years ago, gently used, from a friend).  I checked into having it reupholstered, but, yes, once again, no budget for that either! It took me three tries, but I finally found slip covers that I could be happy with (cost was about $250 total for both couch and chair) … I now have a red couch and chair, they are as comfy as the “old” pieces, and they look so good that I’ve actually had a couple of people ask me if I got new furniture! :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, the chores for this weekend included touching up the paint after finally taking down the curtain rod hardware (I thought I would be making new valances so we painted around the old ones; decided after 6 weeks that I like it “naked”) and recovering the ottoman which previously matched the couch/chair.  These things run a couple of hundred dollars new in the furniture store! I recovered this one for about $35.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s get to work! First, I took off the old casters (as you can see in the picture above, they were uneven, barely functioning, and had seen better days).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was enough solid red in the room to make my heart sing, so it was time to break it up a bit. I chose a heavy weight red/white striped 100% cotten fabric (3 yards) which resembled pillow ticking.  Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of this part!  The ottoman was too wide for one width, and I didn’t want the seam running right down the center. I cut the piece in half, and then cut one of the halves in half lengthwise and sewed a piece on each long side of the center piece.  Iron the seam toward the center and topstitch 1/4″ from seam. Make sense?? Here, in lieu of a picture, maybe this will help:

 

Proceed by “wrapping the ottoman like a gift box, securing the fabric along the bottom edges with a staple gun. Since tape wasn’t appropriate for this “wrapping” project, I used white upholstery tacks to fasten the outside edges.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I recommend picking up an extra box of the tacks (only $1.49/box) … then again, you may be better with a hammer than I am!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The casters were replaced with these upholstery nail pads, which probably work best on wood or tile, rather than carpet – and should cut down on ”the grands” popping wheelies and sending it flying around the room!  :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m very happy with the finished product!! Since these spaces only get painted every 10 years (and I’ve been informed that next time I’m going to have to hire someone!), I splurged on high quality paint … the painting crew was happy that I did since we got great coverage. This “re-decorate” encompassed not only these two rooms, but also the foyer, and the L-shaped hallway which runs the full length of house:  approx. $665.00

Total re-decorate:

slip covers:  $250

rug: $35 (I’ve been saving it since Linen & Things went out of business!)

paint and supplies:  $150

ottoman: $35

blinds:  $75

pillows/throw/candles:  $75 (I love IKEA!)

art over the fireplace (which was my “inspiration” for the red/yellow/blue color scheme) – purchased for me from a street vendor in Washington, DC: $45

 

The finished product:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, instead of cringing when I walk into my house, I’m all smiles!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: budget, Debbie, furniture, re-decorate, reuse

Music Room Guitar Decoration/Picture Holder

YAY!  The Weekend Warrior is back!  That’s right!  I finished another project!  Not just another project, a WHOLE ROOM!!!

We moved to this house almost TWO YEARS ago and have had the ugliest formal living room ever.  I don’t know what is wrong with the people who lived here before us, but our walls were two colors – a dirty olive green and a burnt sienna brown.  It was so dark and dismal and BLEH!

Yet, for some reason, it is the last room downstairs that we got to (two years later!).  I guess it just took me going back to work to get motivated to finish it.  Why the heck is that?  The less time I have, the more things I am trying to get done!

As you can see, we got rid of the ugly colors and painted the room a nice blue-ish grey. {Aaaahhh…so soothing}  In designing this room I wanted a way to display pictures of family and friends.  However, I am really not a “photo wall” type of person.  I have tried it over and over – all the frames matching, not matching, lined up, not lined up, this way that way, every way.  I just am not a fan of people photos in picture frames.  So I started trying to think of ways to display our pictures, and this is what I came up with!

If you don’t get it at first glance, it is supposed to look like the neck of a guitar with all of the frets and strings (it is also over 6 feet long).  It’s Art meets Function!

Our formal living room has always been our music room.  This was not a room repurpose – just redecorate.  Other than this artwork the rest of the room is all function: it has two electric and two acoustic guitars, a ukulele, small bongo , Cajon (a wooden box that you sit on that sounds different every side you hit it on), electric piano, and a full set of drums.

No, I do not play a single one of them.  My husband plays all of them, my nine year old son plays the drums, and my five year old daughter plays the piano.  I can’t even keep a beat on a triangle!  And no, I cannot sing either.  Well, that’s not true, I am a ROCKSTAR in my car – alone.

So, anyway, this was my grand idea to bring some design and purpose to this huge empty wall that we had.  It looks EXACTLY the way I had envisioned it.  EXACTLY.  I was SO thrilled with the way this turned out and I was SHOCKED at how quick and cheap it was to do.

Music Room Guitar Neck Wall Photo Holder Thing-y:

Materials:

• 1×2” wooden board cut into TWO of each of the following lengths: 14”, 13”, 12”
• 8 – 2” silver nails
• 4 – 2” screws
• 8 – 2/4” screws
• 12 black screw covers (the “rare items” section by the screws at you local hardware store)
• 12 white thumbtacks
• 3 packs of 26 gauge craft wire, each five yards long (or whatever combination you need to get 6 strings of wire each over six feet long)
• package of miniature clothespins
• guitar picks (as many as you want)
• can white (or desired color) spray paint
• glue gun
• screw driver
• wire cutter

Directions:

1. Sand and spray paint the wooden boards with the white spray paint.  Do NOT skip the sanding!  It has taken me years to learn how important this step is!
2. Using a wire cutter, cut 6 sections of wire that are about six and a half feet long.  Set aside.
3. Using a glue gun, hot glue a clip on the back of each guitar pick.  Be careful!  Make sure your picks are sturdy enough to not melt under the heat of the gun, and make sure you don’t glue the clips closed.

On a side note, my husband and I debated back and forth as to which picks to use.  He had quite the collection, varying from the first pick he EVER used to play guitar (below in purple) to picks he caught at concerts, got from music shops, etc.  He could tell me where they each came from.  Or, we also had the general, packaged picks purchased from any store.  Which to use?  Well, considering they were all stored away in a box, we went with using the “important” ones.  We have a rule we live by in our house when it comes to keeping stuff.  If it’s important enough to us, we put it where we can see it all the time.  This is one reason we keep such little “crap” in our house.  If it isn’t important enough to display, it isn’t important enough to keep.  Thanks babe!

1. On one of the long and one of the short painted wooden strips, put a pencil mark evenly spaced out where you will drill your screws in.
   1. On the inside four pencil marks, use four of the short screws and place the screw cover down first.  Then turn the screw until it is all but 1/4” in (the screw cap will be hanging kind of loose at this point).
   2. On the outside two pencil marks, do the same but with two of the long screws (you are using the long ones on the outside because these are the ones you will actually be using to screw the wooden piece into the wall)
2. Place the 14” wooden block with the screws in it on the wall where desired.  We put ours in the lower left of the wall and angled it so the “neck” would be slanting upwards to the right
3. After that piece is screwed in, measure the space for the next several wooden blocks.  We used a level and a ruler to do this (all have exactly 12” between each block).  The two 14” blocks should be at the bottom, then the two 13” ones, then the 2 12” ones.  I don’t think perfection matters.  I really don’t even think the blocks needed to be cut different sizes, because it’s such an optical illusion on the wall, you can’t even tell in my opinion.  We used two of each of the 2 inch nails to attach the middle four pieces to the wall.
4. After all six pieces of wood are attached to the wall, begin attaching the wires to the pre-placed screws.  I found it easiest to start with the wires at the top piece.  I then stretched each wire down to the wooden bar at the bottom.  There is no need for the wires to be attached to the bars in between.  These are just for show to look like the frets of the guitar.
5. As you can see above, I tightly (but don’t pull so hard you pull the board off the wall) pulled the wire and wrapped it around the screws (that we did not screw in all the way earlier) underneath the screw cover.  Using wire cutters, clip off the excess wire.  Tighten the screws as far as they will go so the caps no longer move and the wires are secured into place.
6. Close the screw caps over the tightened screws.  For an extra touch to make it more realistic, as well as to add more depth the piece, I stuck a white thumbtack in the middle of each black cap.
7. Clip on the guitar pick clips you made earlier and use them to hang whatever you desire.  Photos, art work, music tablature, whatever!

And there it is!  I am SO PROUD of my little creation.  I’m sorry this isn’t a great tutorial at all, but some pieces of artwork are just difficult to recreate.  Or I just do a terrible job explaining it!  Hopefully you get the idea.

 

Tags: Art, Marissa, music room, picture holder

Easy Patio Furniture Revamp

I don’t know about you, but I think patio furniture is pretty overpriced.  It sits on the porch, gets beaten up by the elements, and clobbered by the pollen (especially if you’re in Florida).  Also?  It’s rare that I ever find patio furniture that’s actually comfortable.  My husband and I have a rocking chair and short table set that we love. We love it because it’s fairly sturdy, it was free (a hand-me-down from my parents), it fits on our tiny back porch, and it’s very comfortable.  This past weekend I cleaned up the back porch and realized that our furniture was looking a bit ‘weathered’.  Here’s a quick way to revamp your patio furniture.

New Cushions/Slipcovers:  If you already have cushions on your chairs, you can recover them and  use the same padding.  If you don’t have cushions (or want to ditch the existing padding), you can purchase new foam at any craft store (or even Wal-Mart).  I used the existing cushions.

1.  First I wanted to put a zipper in the back of the cushion so I could remove them for easier washing (pollen…remember the pollen).  I sewed the back seam with a long stitch.

2.  On the wrong side of the fabric, I pinned down my zipper (face down).  Using a zipper foot, I sewed in my zipper (the face of the zipper facing the ‘ugly side’ of the seam).

3.  I then re-sewed the rest of the back seam with a shorter stitch.  Once secure, I flipped the fabric over and pulled out the stitches only on the zippered portion.

4.  Before sewing the rest of the seams, I pinned down some smaller sections of ribbon to make ties.  Since chairs differ so much, be sure you make them long enough to tie around the bars on your chairs.

5.  ALSO, be sure to unzip the zipper before you sew up all the other sides of your cushion.  If not, you might say a bad word as you look for your seam ripper. :-)

6.  Stuff your new cushion covers with either your old cushion or new and tie to your patio chair.  Because our chairs are able to fold up, I tied them loosely to keep the ribbons from getting caught and/or broken when folding up the chair.

Neck Pillows:  This is an idea I would LOVE to take all the credit for, but my mom helped me come up with it. Granted, we thought it up about eight years ago, but these little pillows are still a favorite.  You know that void of a space behind your neck when you lean your head back against a chair?  This little pillow fills that void and is SO comfy.

1.  Make a small rectangular pillow (same process for a regular pillow). Mine measured about four inches tall and six inches wide.  Turn it, stuff it, and sew up the hole.

2.  Attach ribbons to the middle of the back of the pillow. You can either do this on your sewing machine before you sew up and stuff the pillow or you can do it by hand after stuffing.  I always forget and end up sewing mine by hand.

3.  Tie the pillow to the back of your chair.  You’ll probably want to sit in the chair to determine placement (comfort is an exact science!).

Table Top Cover:  Sometimes outdoor tables ‘turn’ and, no matter how much you scrub and clean them, continue to look dirty.  This little table cover gives you a clean look with the ‘wash and wear’ capability.

1.  Spread your fabric over your table and cut along the edge.  I left about three inches dangling from the lip of the table.

2.  Sew up a casing along the edge. Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect…it’s for the porch!

3. Run elastic through the casing, and either tie off the ends or sew them together. I personally like sewing them with the sewing machine.  I once had a tied piece of elastic came apart on me and now I always sew them together on the machine.

4.  Your tablecloth is complete.  Slip it over your table and voila.  A simple to clean tablecloth for the back porch.

Tags: Decorating, Sewing

Quick Easter Project for the Family

This little bunny candy dish makes a sweet last minute (and inexpensive, too!) Easter gift!  Here is how to make one for yourself or a gift!

What you need:

• one terra cotta pot
• one terra cotta dish that is much larger than the top of the pot (pot will sit in dish)
• white and pink felt pieces
• a straw hat that fits over the bottom of your terra cotta pot
• spray paint/paint of your choice (make sure it is non-toxic or be sure to only put wrapped candy in your dish)
• candy of your choice

What to do:

1. Paint the pot.  Remember that it is going to e a bunny when it is finished!
2. Paint the dish.
3. When the pot is dry, paint a bunny face on it.
4. Seal the paint.
5. Decorate the little hat with bunny ears using the pink and white felt.  Attach with a glue gun.
6. Fill with candy of your choice and have a Happy Easter!

Tags: Easter, Jennifer

Tile Coasters

My husband jokingly calls this the most expensive Christmas gift I gave this year.  It is actually one of the cheapest gifts I made but while a friend and I were making them, I broke my foot.  I was walking outside to spray the coasters and as I walked out my front door I fell flat on my face.  I had to have an xray and have been in a cast and on crutches for five weeks now with no end in sight…probably about another 4 weeks and then another 4 in a walking cast.  Hence the reason this is the most expensive gift I gave this year!

Aren’t these tile coasters great?  And they are cheap to make!

What you need:

• stamps of your choice
• StazOn Stamp Pad
• clear acrylic spray
• tiles of your choice (I wanted a smooth look so I spend a little bit more on tumbled tiles)
• small circle furniture protectors

First, clean off your tiles.  They are going to be very dusty.

Using your StazOn stamp pad and stamps, decorate the tiles however you would like.  I went with an easy pattern and just covered the whole tile with a flower stamp.  After that, I put a stamp in a different color that read “You only live once, but if you do it right once is enough”.  You will want to use StazOn stamp pads so it will not rub off of the tile.  They are a little bit more expensive than regular stamp pads, but with a coupon it will only cost about 5 dollars!

After the ink has dried on the tiles, take them outside and spray them with clear acrylic spray.  This is where I recommend you only carry a few at a time so you won’t fall out your front door and break your foot! 

Once the tiles have dried completely, put a little furniture protector on each corner of the tiles.

 

A quick, inexpensive gift!

 

 

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Tags: Arts and Crafts, Cake Decorating, Jennifer

Ribbon Wreath

I couldn’t help  but squeal when I saw the ribbon wreaths on Little Birdie Secrets.

I LOVE ribbon and I’m really getting into decorating…at least I’m trying. I often explain to people that I am NOT an interior decorator….I mean, I have a thermostat centered over my piano, for crying out loud.

But…I saw these and fell in love with them and decided to make one for myself.  Although I ended up making mine a little differently, I think it still turned out fairly cute.

What I did differently:

• Instead of using the wire for the base of the wreath, I used one of those wreath bases made of “twiggy” looking stuff. I actually found mine at the dollar store. It was about seven-eight inches in diameter.
• 
• I used three spools of ribbon in coordinating colors. My ribbon was all 1/2 inch wide and each spool had five yards. It ended up being a little “thinner” than what I probably would have wanted, but it wasn’t thin enough to constitute a trip back to the store.
• I used a lighter to burn the edges of my ribbon. After tying them to the base, the edges were starting to fray. Of course, I have yet to do a project and not have a ribbon that gets “burned”.

I ended up hanging my wreath at work on the wall of my cubicle. Today was the first day it was there and I got quite a few compliments!   I’m finding that it is adding the perfect amount of happy to the workplace.  I can’t wait to make more for each new holiday!

 

 

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Tags: Arts and Crafts, home decorating