Dining Room Before and After

I painted the walls and trim white and painted the table.

I found this pink lamp shade at my thrift store and attached a capiz shell wind chime inside it.
There are lots of tutorials about adding a shade to a fan. I liked this one at Thrifty Decor Chick.

Another idea I found on Design Sponge is to paint a design on window film. I did a search for "hibiscus graphics" and found this beautiful design.

I'm going to try using a paint pen and trace this pattern onto clear contact paper. We'll see how it works?

Hope you have a beautiful day!

Waiting For Paint To Dry...

I'm working on my dining room furniture today.  I decided to use the Watermelon Smoothie paint for the table base.

The top will be white so I can use any color place mats and dishes.

I'm going to paint the chairs white too. That is, after I do a lot of sanding and priming!

I haven't decided what fabric I want to use for the seats? I do have an idea though.

Hope you are having a great weekend!  

Defining My Style

Did you watch HGTV Star last night?  I did, and I am inspired. I've been trying to find and copy rooms I like but so far none of them are really "me."

I think this is why I have had so much trouble choosing fabrics and paint colors for my living/dining rooms. I've got the basics done now. White paint, bamboo and tropical colors. Something is missing...

There is a "hippie chick" inside of me that is dying to come out again.  :D













I love Amy Butler fabrics! I love her colors, patterns and the symmetry of her designs, especially her Lark collection.

So many beautiful fabrics! So many great colors!

I have an eclectic heart, a love for the sea and the beautiful colors of nature. Somehow I'm going to combine the things I love to create MY own space.

A counselor once told me that I needed my home to be my sanctuary. I want a place that defines who I am and makes me happy. I'm going to stop trying to copy others and define my own style!

Stay tuned.

Prime Time

I would love to skip the sanding and priming part of my dining room furniture, but it has be done, and someone has to do it!

Guess that's me!










I'm going to paint everything white for now. The table may end up another color, depending on which fabric I decide to use on the chairs?

This fabric is 54" wide so it will only take one yard to recover for seats. :D






I also have some cute fish fabric that I could use on the chairs...

I'll have plenty of time to decide. I've got four chairs and a table to sand, prime and paint!

Hope you are having a beautiful day!

Dylan, Drapes and Lamps

Thanks for all of your sweet and encouraging comments about Dylan. He is taking his antibiotics and seems to be doing well.  He is one tough little doggie!

I stopped by my thrift store again last night. I found this twin size sheet for $1.99 and a pretty lime green dust ruffle for the same price. Lots of fabric to work with for four bucks! I'm going to use it to add trim to my white sheet drapes.

I have two glass lamps that my mother and I made years ago. They are both completely filled with sea shells and are very heavy!  I'm going to take all of the shells out of the lamps and wrap the posts with bubble wrap before putting the shells back inside.

I love this little 1:12 lamp that Kris at 1 Inch Minis made.  So cute!

I know it is not as heavy as mine. :D




I took my lamps apart and spray painted the lamp parts with Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze. Now they look brand new. I'm also going to use this paint for my electrical conduit curtain rods.

I'm hoping to find some pretty shells inside my lamps to use to make finials. Love these!

Image from Landi Designs Etsy

I've got my work lined up for today. What are you planning to do this weekend?

My Little Friend

This is a photo I took of my sweet little Dylan. It was taken two days after his cancer surgery in January. He has been doing great.  :D

Dachshunds are known to be stubborn and determined. He wasn't about to let a "little" surgery get him down!  He has been right by my side every minute. I can't even take a shower without him in the bathroom with me. He runs around the house, plays with Nugget and Henry Cat.

Of course he cuddles right next to me at night.  I think he likes to feel me breathing right beside him. I know I do...

Last night I discovered that Dylan has developed a small open wound on his chest. I felt something damp under his arm when I picked him up to help him outside.  It is right where his surgery was done months ago.

We're going to the vet this afternoon. Being a nurse, I imagine all sorts of horrible things...  I hope it is a localized infection that can be treated with antibiotics.  I know it is probably something else.

Please pray for us. We knew the time would come eventually. I just hope it's not right now.

Delicious!

I just had to try out my new paint in the kitchen. It is Glidden's Watermelon Smoothie and I love it!

I think I will paint the frame on the watermelon art white? I may do a color wash to make it look more like driftwood? I may look for an entirely different frame that is more modern?

I asked the girl in the paint department at Home Depot if she had ever seen a pink kitchen? She said, "No, but I think it's going to be beautiful!"  Me too.  :D

While I was at Home Depot I got my rod cut to size for the living room. Now I just need to spray paint it and get it up.

I'm still trying to decide what to do to freshen up the white sheets I'm planning to use for my drapes. I found a great tutorial at Floridays Mom for making no sew drapes. I love the chevron fabric she chose!

I really don't want to invest in a lot more fabric. I think I will just trim my sheets with either ribbon or an inexpensive fabric? Like these found at Houzz.com.

I've got one hour left this morning to get something done before I have to go to work. Think I will take the seats off my dining room chairs so I can paint them later...

Hope you have a great day!

I Wasn't Planning to Paint the Kitchen...

When you paint one room it makes all of the other rooms look like they need to be painted too! I have a really ugly kitchen. It looks like this. 

Yes it is always messy like this and cluttered with projects I'm working on...

The watermelon art was done by a friend in Florida. I've always like it and now it has inspired me to paint another room!

There is only one ceiling light in the kitchen with a 60 watt bulb. Very ugly and very dark. I think I will lighten up a bit!

This is Glidden's Watermelon Smoothie. Even the name sounds yummy!  I still need to finish the living and dining rooms first but I think I will buy a tester of this color and try it out in the kitchen. :D

Inspiration photo from DiaOcOnline in Vietnam

I finished painting the dining room yesterday. It looks much better now. Next project will be painting the table and chairs. That is if I don't get distracted by another project!

Hope you have a beautiful day!

Moving On...

I got the bamboo blinds up in the living room this week. I really like how they look. I'm still trying to decide what to do about drapes. I think maybe my white sheets will work just fine?

I'm moving on to the dining room this weekend. I still have lots of little things to do in the living room but I want to get these walls painted today.

Here is the fabric I found to recover the chairs. I ordered it online Wednesday from the Fabricguru.com and it arrived yesterday. Now that's what I call service!  :D

It is an indoor outdoor fabric so I think it will work well on the chairs. It will be a LOT better that what is on them now, that's for sure!

I'm going to paint the chairs white.  Not sure what color the table will be?  The top of the table has a black laminate veneer on it.  I'm hoping satin paint will cover it...

I may choose a color for the table from my other new fabric. I really like the light blue and I LOVE this print!

I plan to use this fabric to make shades for the dining room windows. That will be a project for another weekend!

Hope you have a beautiful day!