Tuesday, January 25, 2011

My new favorite mirror...

Last month I fell in love with a white glass mosaic mirror from HomeGoods.  It was on clearance for $29.  For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why it was on clearance, after inspecting it for broken mosaic tiles or cracked grout.  I decided to count my blessings and purchase it, without the slightest idea of where to put it in the house.  When I got it home, I considered hanging it in our guest room, since that's the "girliest" of the rooms in our house, and this is a definitely "girly" mirror.  But then, after being inspired by this post from my friends over at YHL, I decided to attempt to remove my guest bathroom medicine cabinet in order to mount this mirror in its place. 

Here's a shot of the mirrored  medicine cabinet (both front and side view) prior to being removed from the wall:



It's the side view that really seals the deal on removing this unit - the mirror itself isn't in bad shape, but I've been at a loss with how to make it medicine cabinet look less like a cabinet with that much of it protruding from the wall:

All it took was a screwdriver to remove the 4 screws on the inside of the mirror, a utility knife to break the seal that was created when I painted the wall red, and it popped right out:

I was actually surprised by how nice and clean the cutout was where the cabinet used to be.  I opted to leave the hole as-is for now, in case 1) I changed my mind and decided that I needed the storage that a medicine cabinet could provide or 2) we sell the house someday, and the new owners decide that they absolutely cannot live without a medicine cabinet in the bathroom.

After the cabinet was out, the hanging of the new mirror went surprisingly easy once I measured (and re-measured, and re-measured....).  I used a plastic drywall anchor on one side, but fortunately hit a stud on the other side, so I was able to screw directly into the stud on that side.  Here's the result:



Much better, don't you think?  The only problem is, that by updating the out of date medicine cabinet, the overhead light looks even WORSE to me than it did before - but I'm on a search for the perfect light that doesn't break the bank.  Here are 2 lights I'm loving right now for this space (both from Shades of Light):

Option #1:


Option #2 :


When you factor in taxes and shipping, both of these are out of my price range, but I think these pics will at least help me to narrow my search for a similar style - I'll keep you posted on how it all turns out!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Symmetry....

...I'm a sucker for it.  And the lack of it leaves me with a very unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I'm trying to expand my horizons and convince myself that sometimes asymmetry can be even more beautiful than symmetry, but I'm not quite there yet. 

A perfect example of my discomfort with asymmetry came in the form of my living room sofa/window combo, pictured here below:


I blog about this sofa in an earlier post here.  After posting images of my living room onto HGTV's Rate my Space, the overwhelming suggestion I received for solving my symmetry dilemma was to use curtain panels to "cheat" the location of the window so that it looks like it is centered over/behind the sofa.  So I decided to give it a go.  I ended up purchasing an 8-ft long wooden curtain rod painted black from JC Penney.  I hung the rod close to the ceiling, centered above the SOFA (NOT the window - this is important!).  I then proceeded to try out several curtain options -


Testing out a couple of my Target curtain options - they were actually tablecloths, but I figured if I really liked them I could make them work - I didn't like them.

- from Target, World Market, and Ikea, before settling on a nice (long - 96") set from Ikea (only 49.99 for the pair!).  I evenly spaced each panel on either end of the rod, and here's the result:



Obviously, you can see by the light streaming through the right hand curtain panel where I "cheated" the window, but at night you can't tell at all.  I was worried that the living room would feel darker with the loss of light from the portion of the window that ended up being covered by the curtain, but thanks to the material of the curtains ( I think they would be called semi-transparent?) there doesn't appear to be much of a difference. 

I've now accomplished my desire for symmetry through the curtains, lamps, chairs, and ottomans - but - big deal here - I'm trying to get comfortable with the asymmetry currently existing in the form of the two different side tables.  We'll see how long I can last....oh, and please ignore the painter's tap you see on the right hand side of the picture above - I'm not trying to save on paint by decorating with tape - I've got another project in the works in this room...

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Thrifty Thrifting . . .

After hearing my design guru, Nate Berkus, harp on the great finds to be found at thrift stores, I figured that it was time I check one out.  There is a large one a few miles from me here in Northern Virginia - called "Unique Thrift".  The name cracks me up, but I must admit, I was more than a bit intrigued, so I decided to check it out today while Heidi was napping and Robb was watching the Ravens game. 

I was a little overwhelmed upon first entering the place - before you even get to the actual thrift store, there's all of these "booths" specializing in everything from cheap furniture to jewelery (a lot of it looked kind of junky to me).  But, once you proceed past that area, the actual thrift store stretches out in front of you like an ocean (I exaggerate, of course).  The first 10 aisles or so were made up of household items like glassware, vases, pictures, clocks, etc.  The next 2 aisles were children's books and toys.  After that there was one aisle dedicated to both hardcover and paperback books.  Surrounding this section were lots of racks of clothes, organized by gender and age.  Towards the back were furniture pieces and light fixtures. 

I chose to focus my search on small housewares and light fixtures.  I proceeded up and down each relevant aisle slowly, looking the items over and keeping my eyes peeled for anything that seemed to "jump out" at me, for one reason or another.  At the end of my shopping experience, here's what I ended up with:


Here's a run down of the items, counterclockwise from the bottom left:

1) Par of Washington Redskins juice glasses - 69 cents each - $1.38 total - I had Robb in mind when I snagged these, and he was pretty psyched about them when I got home and showed him. 

2) Small galvanized metal cachepot/planter - 69 cents - I have 2 large galvanized metal pots/planters that I scored for $1 each at a yard sale awhile back, so I think the three together will make a nice vignette once I figure out what to plant/display - meanwhile, I'm loving this image from Pottery Barn:



3) Set of 3 small bottom weighted glasses (or candle holders?)  - $2.07 for the set - not sure what I'm going to use these for - at the moment I think I'm going to probably put tea lights in them, but we shall see -

4) 2 small glass bottles- one with attached cork/plug -$1.91 each - $3.82 total - would be a much prettier way to store hand soap I'm thinking (although not as convenient as the plastic pump dispensers we're currently using...)

5) Small glass canister with matching lid - $2.92 - I'm picturing some sort of bathroom storage, like cotton balls or something, much like the image here (the canister I purchased looks most like the small one in this pic):




Thanks again Pottery Barn for filling my mind with all of these ideas!

6) Glass decanter - $5.95 - looks similar to this Nola decanter from Crate and Barrel:


7) Basket with handles and hook closure - $2.49 - love the rustic look, and the ample storage is a bonus too!  I'm picturing this on a bookcase somewhere in the house

8) Desk lamp - was marked $6.99, but was apparently on sale for $3.49 - whoo hoo!  Reminds me of this lamp with its adjustable height and dome (although the one I purchase is more of a brushed nickel finish):


9) 3 books - 2 for Heidi (and one aptly named "Heidi" - the other one was Robinson Crusoe - these are for her in several years, obviously - but I HAD to get the Heidi one!) and one for me - chick lit. $2.97 total

10) This one is totally random.  I THINK it once was a spice rack, but the spices are long gone.  I think I was channelling this image when I decided to add it to my cart (can you tell I flipped through the most recent PB catalog right before heading out to shop??):



I figured that for $1.91, I could have a go at repurposing it into something special.

11) This vintage suitcase, at $3.99, was one of my more expensive finds, but I think it's one of my favorites.  The front of it is stenciled with "ADVANCED BEAUTY COLLEGES - TUCSON".  Love it for the unique factor.  I think I'd like to stack it with a couple other salvaged suitcases under a table for unique storage and display.

Grand Total - $33.25 (after tax).  I love that kind of shopping spree!!  As I was leaving, I learned that on Mondays, everything in the store is 25% off, so from now on, I will plan my visits for Mondays!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

What I did over Christmas vacation...

So while most people spent their Christmas holidays eating, getting some much needed R&R, or catching those after-Christmas sales, I spent every spare minute (read: Heidi's nap times and the hours after her bedtime) refinishing and re-purposing an old sewing table I snagged at a thrift store for $10.  Here's a pic of the table before I got to work:


Maybe it would help if I first explained what possessed me in the first place to buy a sewing table for our house.  You see, our house was built in the 1940s, well before the concept of a ""foyer" or "entryway" had even entered the vocabularies of home builders.  As such, our front door, and the door we use every day, opens directly into our living room.  This makes for a messy and cluttered area right by the base of our stairs, as this is where we tend to drop all of our bags, packages, etc. upon entering the house:



Due to the layout of the area when you first walk into our house, we didn't have the luxury of adding a storage bench like this, although I do love the concept:

image courtesy of Pottery Barn

I was looking more for a piece of furniture that could double as a side table while providing some sort of solution for our work bags - in my head I was visualizing a sort of console table cut down to side table height, width and depth, since this is the space I was trying to fill:



When I stumbled across the sewing table, I knew that the majority of the dimensions would work, and I figured that it wouldn't be too difficult to cut the legs down to make it the appropriate height for my space.  So, armed with the tutorial provided by John and Sherry from YoungHouseLove here, I got to work.

I started by taking the drawers out, the legs off, and the folding table top off.  Then I got to work sanding everything to within an inch of its life.  I was nervous at first that I would sand all the way through the veneer, since this is definitely not a solid wood table, but the veneer was luckily thick enough to withstand a LOT of sanding.  After I'd made my first sanding pass, I knew there would have to be a second one, since everything looked pretty streaky/dark still:


So I broke out the power sander and some 60-grit sandpaper, and got to work.  The second pass was much more even and smooth:


My first piece of advice, SAND OUTSIDE!  I was in the basement, since it was super cold/dark outside, and it resulted in everything in the basement being coated in a THICK layer of dust.  I've learned my lesson.

Then, I got to work staining everything.  I chose "Ebony" by Minwax, after deliberating for like a half hour in Home Depot:



I followed the directions on the can to a T, waiting the requisite number of hours between coats to allow the stain to full soak in, and then lightly running over the stained surface after about 20 minutes with a rag. It took 2 coats on the majority of the surfaces to get the color I wanted, but a couple of surfaces took 3 coats (I'm not entirely convinced that this table was assembled with all of the same types of wood....).  Here's a couple of pieces after the first coat:


And here's after I was finished - and after my husband (or, rather, my neighbor) cut the legs down to the 23" height I needed:


I ended up painting the detailing around the drawer fronts the same color as our walls in the living room, mostly because we already had that color on hand - sort of a mocha brown/khaki color.  Then I applied 2 coats of polyurethane (Minwax again), following the directions on the can, switched up the hardware for something more modern, and here's the finished product:



Much more contemporary for my tastes.  The open area under the table is where we will store our work bags, as evidenced here:


I also lined the drawers with a fun fabric I found at Joann's Fabric 40% off - the pattern is sort of reminiscent of the time period I envision this sewing table having actually been used (50's/60's I'm guessing) - they will soon serve as storage for our mail prior to us going through it - I envision a drawer for me and a drawer for Robb - and one for magazines and catalogs:



This project, while certainly quite the undertaking, has given me the confidence I need to refinish my grandmother's oak bedroom set from the 1940's which I used growing up, and which I plan for Heidi to use as well - but I'm going to wait for the weather to get a little nicer before I start that project so I can SAND OUTSIDE!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

The cure for the common lampshade....

Remember my lamp?  Here's a pic -



I've been trying to figure out what to do to make the lamp shade more interesting, and everywhere I turned and everyone I consulted all had the same suggestion - grosgrain ribbon.  So, using some dark brown ribbon I had on hand, along with some Elmer's glue,

 I measured and cut the ribbon to fit the top and bottom of the shade, and then ran a bead of glue along the top and bottom, smoothing out the glue before I attached the ribbon.  I pressed the ribbon tightly around the top and bottom of the shade, holding it in place with clothespins for about 30 minutes -


Here's the finished product:



I'm happy with the way it turned out - the glue seems to be holding up really well, and the brown ribbon does a good job of picking up the dark brown accents in the room.  Still working on "finishing" the room, but I will definitely post when I do so!