$20 Photo Gallery Ledge

So, not to rub it in ya all's faces, but I'm getting the heck outta dodge and heading west to SoCal for an extended weekend vacation.  Oh wait, it gets even better.  I get to go with my hilarious and awesome sisters and...wait for it...ZERO kids!  Holla!!!  Are you jealous now?

But, before I head out, I wanted to share a super quick and easy diy project that I just checked off the to-do list.

All you sista's out there with a ginormous {or even a gi-teeny} wall with not a darn thing on it, raise your hand.  Higher.  Own it, girl.

Today is your lucky day, cause I'm gonna show you how to make your sad little {or humongous...whichever it is} wall into a masterpiece.  No seriously. I'm gonna show you how to turn your blank canvas in to a fabulous photo gallery.  It'll be like going to an art museum, except the artwork will be totally way better because it will be photos of you and your lovies...and I'm gonna do it for $20. 

All you need is:

• A piece of wood {I used a piece of 1x6x10...$6}
• and a couple of wall brackets {I used the industrial/building kind...$5 at "the depot"}
• stain {in the color of your choosing}

You will probably want to enlist the help of a friend to help you mount the shelf onto the wall. 

Studly and I attached the brackets to the wood first, then leveled the shelf and attached the brackets to the wall.  It's a pretty simple, pretty straight forward process.  I would definately recommend screwing the brackets into to studs, just for safety sake.  Once you get all of the pictures up, the weight on the shelf could become quite heavy. 

And that's all there is to it.  See, I told you it was super quick and easy.

The wall I had to work with was 11 feet by 9 feet...a pretty substantial space.  So, I opted to make two, 10 foot shelves for my gallery. It is definately a statement wall now.

I'm debating on whether or not to stack some larger photos along the floor.  I just feel like it needs something.

I have to say, that it's also nice having a home for the gazillions of photos I've accumulated through the years.

The best part about this project is seeing the kiddos start to walk by it, then stop to admire all of the pictures.  I've even caught my 14 year old, big boy standing there gawking.  

See I told ya, even better the Metropolitan Museum of Art {kay, maybe not quite, but pretty darn close}.  

Best $3 I ever spent

Some of you may remember my World's Fugliest Laundry Room Make-Over. 

One of my favorite additions to the new and improved room was the cool, industrial light I found to replace the prior "boob" light.

I didn't say anything about it in the initial post cause I was a little embarrased, but this handsome light is supposed to have a glass covering over the light bulb.

I made the mistake of setting the light atop the washer during the spin cycle and...yup, all of a sudden I heard a huge crash and the sound of breaking glass {or maybe it was my heart as I realized what had happened}.  Stupid, stupid mistake that has been nagging at me ever since it happened.  Even though I still love the light, I couldn't help but feel like it was a little lacking every time I looked at it...like it was naked...just "exposing" it's bulb.

Then, a few days ago, whilst meandering around "the depot" as I often do, I came across this little nugget of delight.

It is a light bulb cage. 

*cue angelic choirs now*

I grabbed it and threw it in the cart, knowing exactly what I was going to do with it.

First, I gave it a coat of silver paint.

Then I attached it to the "nekkid" light.  And voila!!!

My new, new and improved light.

So much better dontcha think?  I was really getting tired of staring at the light's...bulb.  Amazing how a $3 piece of plastic can add so much character.  Best $3 I ever spent {except for that salted carmel cupcake I just purchased last night}.

End table revamp...finally.

Yikes!  I can't believe how fast the summer is flying by.  School starts next month and it's kind of freaking me out.  I've spent that last week or so keeping busy trying to get my preschool put together, and finishing up all of my half-finished projects and checking things off the to-do list before things get crazy.

One of those projects was my master bedroom end tables...these babies don't look half bad in the picture, but the tops were starting to wear {and not in a cool, rustic way}. They were scuffed and stained and...well, quite simply they were hideous, joy-bumming nastiness.  Am I making my distaste for them clear?

They have been in desperate need of a full on extreme make-over for some time, but I've always seemed to have other "more important" projects to attend to.

Then I was contacted by DecoArt and asked if wouldn't mind trying out some of their products.  I was more than happy to oblige as I love their products anyway.  So, I decided to test out their line of enamel paints, since, you know, I had two disasters flanking my bed, just begging for a little sumthin' sumthin'.

I also decided try out their weathered wood product...just cause I liked the sound of it.  It's purpose is to make paint look old and crackly and delicious.

Here's what I ended up with.  I have to say, I don't mind how they turned out.

And even better, Studly likes the way they turned out...now that's sayin' something.

I have to say, I was also very, pleasantly surprised how well I liked the paint.  It went on ultra smooth and dried nice and hard.  I guess the only complaint I would have is the size.  The paint doesn't come in quart or gallon size.  BUT, that said, the smaller size made it much easier to mix paint colors to get the desired hue I was looking for.  So, I guess, depending on how you look at it the size can be either good or bad.  And the weathered wood...well all you do is slap the stuff on and paint over it once it's dried.  Doesn't get much easier than that, does it?

It's ironic how checking a project off the to-do list inevitably results in more projects to do.  Now that I've started paying a little attention to the master bedroom by redoing the end tables, I want to make some cool artwork for over the bed and change out the light, find an overstuffed chair for the corner, build a cute little wooden bench for the foot of the bed and...

I guess there is no such thing as a completed to-do list, because there will always be something that needs fixin' or tending to...whether it be jobs I create myself, or jobs that fall right out of the sky.  Did you happen to hear about my "unintentional skylight"?  'Nuff said.

 

Where do all the ugly frames go?

Howdy Friends,

Just wanted to let you know that I have another super awesome, super easy, super cheap diy project posted over at Lovestitched.
If you have a bunch of old, ugly picture frames just lying around collecting dust {which I know you do} then this project is for you.

I'll show you how to transform your frames from eyesore's into eye candy. 

Ooh, you're interested now, aren't ya?  Well, what are you waiting for, go check it out.

More A "door" able Ideas.

After painting the laundry room door yellow, I loved it so much I decided to paint the interior side of the front door too.

I had been kicking around ideas for awhile, about what I could do to add some much needed color and interest to the space, but could never settle on anything til now. The space was very plain, very neutral and very boring. 

The door itself...is not my favorite.  It has some weird viney embossing in the horizontal panel{which you can't really see in the picture}...just a wee bit too eighties for me.  I was hoping a new paint job would help conceal this not-so-attractive detail, while at the same time giving the door a fresh, modern and updated look.

I think both of those things were achieved.  Here's the door now...new{ly painted} and improved.

The space still needs some accessorizing, but the door totally jazzes up the space dontcha think?  At least it's not oozing eighties anymore.

It's hard to tell in the picture, but the door color is a dark, peacock blue...almost navy {but with more green}.  I decided to tape out this graduated, chevron stripe pattern because I wanted the door to be the focal point of the space.  It's certainly hard to miss now.

Amazing what a $13 quart of paint {a few hours of monotonous taping and 400 coats of paint} can do to a space eh?  I meant it when I said in my last post, "if you have a space that needs some color consider painting a door".  I guess now we can also add to that, "if you have a hideously outdated, eighties door that you despise, consider painting it...you might actually end up loving it".  I did.

 

 

Shut...err, Paint the Front Door

I've been a little agitated lately...presumably because my bathroom looks worse now than it ever did before and I haven't been able to enjoy my ritual of soaking in a hot, soapy bath whilst catching up on celebrity gossip for over two weeks.  I know it may not seem like a big deal to some, but I have come to rely on this little routine for maintaining my sanity. 

Yesterday, whilst changing out the laundry, I realized that my laundry room...though newly revamped and still totally awesome, was is need of a little color punch.  In an effort to relieve some built up stress I decided to paint the door.  And while it was no soak in the tub, it did offer my mind a few moments to forget about the "pit of despair" {aka. my bathroom} for a good forty-five minutes and concentrate on less "moldy and messy" issues such as...which cupcake flavor is my favorite- strawberry shortcake

or salted caramel...an internal debate I constantly battle.  Forty-five minutes was nowhere long enough to come to a decision, but was more than enough time to work up a nearly uncontrolable cupcake craving.

Here's what the laundry room looked like before...that mass of white on the left is just begging for some color dontcha think?

 

And here it is now with a buttery, yellow door... does it remind you of delicious, lemony frosting or is it just me?

It's funny how something as simple as painting a door can change the whole mood of a space.  The yellow door in the laundry room makes it feel much brighter and cheerful...which could come in handy, especially on the days I find myself trudging through mounds of stinky, dirty laundry.

If you have a space in your house that could use a little something extra in the area if color, why not consider painting a door in a fun, bright hue. 

The Verdict Is In.

I am disappointed to report that my dream of taking a bubbly bath in a footed tub will have to wait.

Studly is all for a bathroom redo...he doesn't have much choice with death {in the form of black mold} staring him in the face. 

But, after a great deal of research, he and I both realized that purchasing a vintage claw foot tub, though totally rad, was not really that cost effective. 

There are {diy kits} available for refinishing old, crusty bathtubs, but the reviews I read were not that promising.  So, I decided that having the tub professionally refinished was the safer way to go.  I called one bathtub refinishing place and was quoted almost $700.  Adding in $100 for the tub itself, plus another $100-$200 for the hardware I was looking at spending close to one grand{you can buy a brand new claw foot tub for almost that.}

That's when I knew that my dream of soaking in a "clawed basin of utter delight" was just not going to happen...except for in my dreams. 

I was a little depressed at first, but I would much rather salvage the "perfectly fine-but totally clawless" bathtub we already have and spend the money on retiling the shower, buying a new vanity and putting in new floors.  It's not going to be the bathroom of my dreams, but it will look nice...much better the "petrie dish" I have now.

I'll keep you posted on the progress.  Here are few items that are being considered for the renovation.

A modern vanity to satisfy Studly's taste

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Porcelain tile that looks like wood planks {I am totally in love with this.  Almost makes me okay with taking a bath in "regular" tub...almost.}

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A rustic barn door {to separate the bedroom from the bathroom, cause up until now bathing/showering has been an adventure in exhibitionism.} to satisfy my traditional/farmhouse taste. 

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There's one other architectural element I am hoping to add, but I'm gonna wait to tell you about it...just in case Studly shoots it down- just kidding, but kinda not.