The Boy’s Bath {Before & After}

As always, I want to kick off the reveal with a reminder of the before.  This is where we started on move in day.  I’d never in my life laid eye on a tri-fold shower door or a tri-fold mirrored medicine cabinet until I became the proud owner of such lovely items.  All jokes aside, I was very appreciative of the updated counter, sink and faucets and was pleased that the “vintage” honeycomb tile was white and in good repair. 





So before we moved in, we removed the medicine cabinet and shower door contraption, gave it a good scrubbing and painted the walls and vanity.  We had all of the Pottery Barn Alphabet Soup decor from our old house and just made it work in the new space.  See more of the Baby’s Bath here.



So now the teeniest space in the house has seen another update!  With all the basics done, this before and after was really just about changing the decor.

 
Sources:

• Paint – Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray (walls) and Alabaster (vanity and trim)
• Mirror – Target (It was originally black but for this update I painted it in Annie Sloan’s Old White chalk paint with a clear glaze.)
• Light – Pullman Bath Light from Shades of Light
• Shower curtain – Target
• Rug – Target
• Towel bars & curtain rod – Home Depot
• Nate Berkus Tortoise Shell
• The Line Print from Old Try

 

I originally purchased the Nate Berkus tortoise shell for the baby’s big boy room but ran out of wall space.  I’ve had the towels at least since the baby was born!  They were from Love Street in Smyrna and feature burlap appliques of the littles’ first initials. 

 
Y’all know I have a slight obsession with Old Try’s line of letterpressed prints.  This particular one is called The Line and was also originally purchased for the big boy room.  It is framed in an Ikea frame with a piece of art paper behind it since it didn’t fit exactly in the mat.




The shower curtain is from Target and was a real production, as things tend to be around here :-)  I wanted to keep the height on the curtain since it makes the ceilings look so tall so I ended up buying two shower curtains and begging Mother to cutting the three ruffled bands off the bottom of the second and sewing them on to make the first the right height.  I have a second lower rod back there that holds the plastic liner.  The rug is also from Target, but I’ve had it for about a year now.  I originally purchased it for the mud room and then I lost it so I purchased a new identical one and then I found it.  Follow that?





I think this rendition of the boy’s bath should last a good long while!!
xoxo

See all of my Before & After decor here and our House Tour here.

Flattered for the feature at Le Chateau des Fleurs and Tatertots and Jello!

Find me at: Between Naps on the Porch, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Shabby Creek Cottage, Tatertots and Jello, A Stroll Through Life, French Country Cottage, No Minimalist Here, The36th Avenue, Bacon Time, It's Overflowing, At the Picket Fence,Shine on Fridays, DIY Show Off, House of Hepworth, Homemaker on a Dime, Stuff and Nonsense, 52 Mantels, I Heart Nap Time, The Frugal Girls,Six Sisters Stuff, One Project Closer,Jennifer Rizzo, Le Chateau des Fleurs, Not Just a Housewife

Two More Skirted Tables

I’m still chipping away at the baby’s big boy room!  I started with two mismatched size tables that I liked for their height and similar sizes.  Unfortunately, that’s where the like ended.  The white table was picked up at an antique store (though it was more “junk” than “antique”) and the demilune was in my foyer many moons ago.




Last week the baby “helped” me chalk paint the tops of these two tables in Annie Sloan’s Old White and coat them in clear wax.  We then stapled on a few yards of burlap to cover the mismatched legs.  The whole thing took a couple of hours…but I’ll be the first to admit that we didn’t do the most precise job (see the size of the pleats, for example.)  Mother will laugh at the fact that my “good enough” quickly went downhill to just “get it done” in the matter of about fifteen minutes.  The whole thing took place on our front porch seeing as it took nearly all my energy to just carry the two things down the stairs and this was the closest exit.  I’m sure the neighbors wondered what kind of hair-brained idea the crazy girl and her baby were up to this time :-)

 
This is officially the very end of burlap skirted tables around these parts.  Clearly I’ve an unhealthy obsession – it’s just that they are cheap and easy and pretty darn good looking.  Hold me to it, y’all!
xoxo

More big boy room projects:

Big Boy Room Kick-Off

A New Old Chair

Catherine Lovett's Crab
Crown Molding
Chalk Paint Dresser

Big Boy Bedding

At Long Last

At long last, I have finally completed the project for which I originally purchased my Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue Chalk paint…nearly a year ago!

I piddled around with a mirror, a frame, a monogram, a chair and odds and ends and finally bit the bullet and painted the dresser for the baby’s big boy room.  I’ve never re-done a piece of furniture like this and was terrified!  But boy am I glad I finally did it because 1) it was incredibly easy and pretty much fool proof and 2) I ADORE the new look.

I started with Honey’s childhood dresser.  It’s a solid, well made piece but the wood color didn’t go with the rest of my stuff.
 
Here’s how it all went down…
1. I stripped the finish off the top by following the directions on the bottle of Stripper.  It took two rounds of it and was incredibly fast and easy.
 
2. I sanded it down to a smooth finish using Honey’s handy dandy sander.

3.  I applied two coats of Minwax stain in Jacobean, by following the directions on the can.  I love love love how this stain let all the character in the wood show through.  You really didn’t see it before and it’s just gorgeous!
 
4. I applied two coats of  Minwax clear varnish in satin finish by following the package directions.  I did sand between them, as directed, using a block sander rather than Honey’s power tool.

5. Mother and I painted on two coats of Duck Egg Blue chalk paint to the body of the dresser and drawer fronts.

6. I waxed the dresser in Annie Sloan’s clear wax.  I did one good coat and buffed it to a nice sheen. 

7. After it sat in my garage for a week to dry and harden up, we moved it to the baby’s room and I put on the gorgeous mercury glass knobs from Anthropologie.  I purchased them at the Howell Mill store in March with my birthday coupon.
  
I could not be happier with the piece and, from start to finish, it took about a day and a half!

Oh oh oh... any of y'all tuning in to NBC's new show Revolution??  The series premier was a nail biter and I cannot wait for the next episode to air tonight!!

xoxo

see more chalk paint projects here

More big boy room projects:

Big Boy Room Kick-Off

A New Old Chair

Catherine Lovett's Crab

Crown Molding

New Addition ~ Wire Planter

 

 

Hi everyone! 

 

I hope you are all doing well.

 

A couple of days before leaving for Florida I purchased this vintage wire

planter.  I have always loved these but I could never find one that was not too

expensive. I bought this one at an auction for $15.00!  

 

There wasn't enough time for me to really style it before my trip but I
wanted to share it with you anyways.   

 

There are two identical mirrors hung above each other on the wall.  The

mirrors were a very bright gold color until I painted them gray with

DIY chalk paint.

 

 

 

Isn't she a cutie?

The salt (sale) jar was purchased on a trip to France.

 

 Thanks for dropping by and for all the sweet comments you leave me.  I
so appreciate your friendship and your prayers for my dad.

Hugs,
Sherry



Monogrammed Canvas

The minute that The Nester’s monogrammed canvas popped up on my Pinterest feed, I knew then and there that it was the perfect piece for my guest bathroom.  (Picture from The Nester)

You see, I had a large space of wall to fill and not a whole lot to spend!  I already owned the large canvas (24"x30") from a previous DIY painting project gone bad so all I needed was the monogram.

After scouring the internet for the lowest possible price, I ended up ordering the 18” white vine connected monogram from Scrappin Plus on etsy.  With shipping, it rang up at $32 – pretty cheap compared to prices upwards of $75 that I’d seen on other sites.  It arrived about a week later and, after rubbing some sand paper over the edges, I gave it a good coat of Annie Sloan’s duck egg blue chalk paint.  This took quite a long time to get all the little curves and crevices, but was well worth it!

Honey used a little trim paint (Benjamin Moore White Dove) left over from the porch and gave my canvas two nice coats. 

After both the monogram and canvas were dry, he used a super glue to put the two together.  We let it set overnight and then propped it up on the floor for another day to make sure it wasn’t going to fall off.  (It didn’t and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon!)
 This was the last thing in the guest room so I’ll be doing the reveal real soon!
xoxo

Flattered for the features at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia and Top This Top That!

Find me at Our Fifth House

Pin Board Frame with Printable {Porch Projects}

I’ve had this wooden plaque from AC Moore hanging out in my craft closet for months on end.  So, I carted it down to Savannah, along with my chalk paint and waxes to finally make use of it.  When I saw a board painted with “Today I’ll be Happier than a Bird with a French Fry” in Seaside Sisters down at Tybee, I knew then and there that it was the perfect contender for my plaque and would make a fantastic addition to the new porch!

You’ll need:
- A piece of wood
- Upholstery tacks
- Picture or saying
- Paint and supplies
- Plate or book stand for displaying on a table or picture hanger to hang
1. Paint your board.  I used Annie Sloan’s Duck Egg Blue with both clear and dark waxes.
2. Center your picture and adhere at the four corners with the upholstery tacks.  If you want to use mine, download it for FREE here!
Happier than a Bird
3. Swap out your picture as the fancy strikes!  Here’s my 4th of July version…
 
I bought the board with a 40% off coupon too long ago to remember how much I paid, but I am certain this whole project cost me under $10.

Happy crafting, y’all!
xoxo

A No-No

I am afraid this post will make some of you cringe…a few years back, Mother travelled to China and brought back these gorgeous hand carved plaques from an antique store near the Great Wall in Beijing.  The were promised to be hundreds of years old and taken from a bed.  (Can you imagine?!?!)

As you well know, I am in the throes of a little guest suite gussy-up and, as I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, the plaques were not left unharmed.  Rather, they received a fresh new coat of duck egg blue, natch.  That’s right gals.  My name is Amanda and I maimed two who-knows-how-old antique relics from China just so they’d look  pretty in my guest room.

Seriously, I positively mad for the new do!  After all, it was either a fresh coat of paint or the rest of eternity in the bowels of my closet.

Just a few more tweaks in the room and I’ll be ready to share!!
xoxo

Before & After Chair

Chalk Paint Mirror

Find me at: Between Naps on the Porch, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Shabby Creek Cottage, Show and Share, Get Your Brag On, Tatertots and Jello, A Stroll Through Life, French Country Cottage, No Minimalist Here, The36th Avenue, Bacon Time, It's Overflowing, At the Picket Fence, Stuff and Nonsense, Shine on Fridays, DIY Show Off, Chatty Chics, House of Hepworth

(Another) Before & After Chair

I'm slowly starting to redecorate our guest room in a color scheme that flows better with the rest of our house.  Believe it or not, the guest room as it stands today is almost an exact replica of my bedroom in my first college apartment.  I have the same furniture, much of the same bedding and the same pictures and accessories.  I only updated the wall color when we moved (knowing that I wanted to redo the rest) and added a new rug.

The first project on the long list was to trade the red on this sweet chair to BLUE!  Annie Sloan's Duck Egg blue to be exact.

Here's the before...


Armed with two tiny paint brushes, mother and I simply painted over the red with the blue in no time at all. I then glazed the whole chair with clear wax, dabbed on dark wax over the blue parts and then buffed. I think both the before and after are equally as gorgeous. But the after will go with my plans for the room MUCH better!

And speaking of the after, here she is (along with a sneak peek of the room)…


As for that gorg little pillow sitting in the smartly painted chair, that’s something I dreamt up in the shower one morning.  (I tell you what, I don’t get to shower every day but when I do they are long and fruitful.)  Mother whipped up the pillow cover out of left over fabric from my den drapes (Basha Dot fabric has been discontinued.)  I then attached these burlap rosettes (purchased on sale at AC Moore for $1.50 each) and further embellished with bedazzled brooches from Macy’s (a steal at $7 a piece after a one day sale and coupon.)


So excited to finish up some other projects and have a big reveal!!  Stay tuned!!
xoxo

The FIRST Before & After Chair

Chalk Paint Mirror

So flattered for the feature at Savvy Southern Style!

Before & After~The French Project

Before I show you my newest project I want to thank each and everyone

that sent their congrats on my Romantic Homes Magazine Feature. 

I so appreciate your friendship and your support of my blog.  Without

all of you this feature would not have happened.

Thank you!

Lately I have been working on several projects to lighten-up our

 house but I only have one completed to show you today. 

Below is a picture of the family room taken prior to painting.

The darker art work wasn't going back up so I ordered

original antique french letters from Vintage Paper Attic's 

 Etsy shop and then went on the search for frames.  Michaels  had

some very shiny gold frames I liked and I knew they could

 be painted with my  DIY Chalk Paint. 

White craft paint was mixed with calcium carbonate to create the

chalk paint.  The frames were painted, distressed and then glazed.

I didn't want a brown glaze on these so I used a transparent glaze

from Home Depot and added light gray craft paint to it. 

I added  two 11x14 frames inside a larger frame.  Normally

I would add something more to the wall but because of the

new wall paint I'll probably leave it as is.

If you have been reading my blog lately you already know I

have been trying to lighten-up our decor to sell our home.  We

recently had our khaki green family room walls painted

a neutral beige to appeal to more buyers.

Yesterday Steve and I went to the sneak peek of the upcoming

Homearama in our neighborhood.  Each home is being professionally

decorated and will be open to the public in late April.

I was totally floored when EACH home we went into had very dark painted

walls in almost every room.  Chocolate brown, dark blue and gold were

popular wall colors. 

 Can you guess what wall color was in every single home

we visited?

Yep....

Khaki green!!

LOL

I am partying at:

Savvy Southern Style

2805

French Country Cottage

Ivy And Elephants

Common Ground 

At The Picket Fence

xo,

Sherry

Better Late Than Never

I've been reading about the wonders of Annie Sloan's chalk paint on every blog I visit for at least a year now. I finally gave it a whirl and I couldn't be happier with the outcome.

I know my strengths and capabilities and let me just assure you that painting is not one of them.  So I started small on this adventure.  This mirror used to hang in the basement bathroom of my old house.  When we moved, I never found the perfect place for it, namely due to it's too silver finish.

I've been drooling over Duck Egg Blue since I first heard mention of the famed chalk paint.  When the Honeybee (a west side must-shop) started carrying the line, I literally bee-lined to the shoppe to make it mine.

And, just three months later, I finally put brush to paint.  One of the fantastic features of the chalk paint is that no sanding or priming is required.  So, I taped off the mirror and set to it.  I didn't really know what I was doing so I started slow.  I basically dry brushed the color on and then (just by happenstance) used a baby wipe to dab off where I wanted the previous finish to show through.

I let it dry overnight and then went back and gave it a clear wax.  I really worked the wax into the mirror, and then pressed it down and wiped it off with one of the PCP's socks.  That night I went back over it and buffed it with the sock to a flattering light luster.  Waiting time aside, painting the mirror was a snap.  I'd say it took only about thirty minutes of actual work.

And now my masterpiece (at least in my book...I'm awfully proud of it) hangs in the den.  

It's safe to say things are going to be turning up duck egg blue all over the place around these parts.

xoxo

Flattered for the feature at Mrs. Polly Rogers!