The Rug Hunt Continues

What's that old saying?  "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again?"  I'll keep that in mind as I return the 4th rug I've purchased to use in the sunroom.  My initial thought to have a leafy green rug in there has now gone right out the window...so have grey, dark brown, and gold.  Dare I even think to get a white one?  All I can imagine are popsicle stains and dirty footprints...Perhaps something navy then.  Since I don't have a nice picture of a rug for you today I'll instead share a little spray paint project I did a couple of days ago. I took an old iron christmas tree (which was originally red and green) out of my dingy basement and a bunch of sand dollars I had laying around in a box leftover from our wedding and made a fun, beachy decoration for the sunroom.  Here is the after picture (my apologies, the before picture somehow got deleted).

Rug Hunt

I've mentioned before that my sunroom is now a beautiful shade of navy (Symphony Blue by Benjamin Moore), which looks crisp next to the bright white paneling I've painted in there.  I've also used lots of other blue and white accents to decorate the room.  For a pop of color, I'm going to bring in a shade of grassy green (inspired by a small leaf in one of the accent fabrics I used).  Today's mission - area rug.  I love this one at Crate and Barrel:

I'd like to find something similar that is a bit softer (I'm picturing many falls and crawls so it needs to be knee-friendly) and a lot less expensive (crumbs, popsicles, milk, yeah - a little less la-di-da is the way to go).  With a bit of luck I'll have something later today to show you!

Throw Pillows & More

I had just enough fabric left over from the bar stools to make coordinating pillows for the settee.  Instead of making the pillows all one fabric, I decided to add depth and interest by making them double-sided.  Now I can change out the look simply by flipping the pillows over.  Here's a look at the settee with its new "jewelry."

Throw pillows are so easy to make and take little time to do. (Perfect project for a naptime!) Simply cut fabric to the size you'd like, place the right side of the fabric in, sew around 3.5 sides, stuff, and (hand) sew or glue the opening.  It's so easy and really makes a big impact. 

Speaking of leftover fabric...I have plenty of the Toile left over from the settee makeover.  So, I decided to take some and give an old lamp a little makeover.  Here's the lamp in its semi-original state (it already had a small makeover years back with a can of black spray paint).

And here it is now:

Here's how I did it:

1. Measure lamp shade and cut out fabric:

2.  Use a glue gun to glue fabric to shade.

3.  Glue trim to cover all rough edges.

4.  Spray paint the lamp to the color of your choice.

5.  Paint a design if you'd like.  (I did!)

6.  Step back, enjoy!

Hidden Treasure

I'd been searching for a shelf to add some eye candy on the high wall we have in the sunroom.  Little did I know, there was one just waiting to see the light of day in an old, forgotten closet of ours.  It's not much to look at in its original state, but I had big plans for it:

I got out my handy dandy white paint, and paint, paint, paint I did...Here's what the shelf looks like now:


This pic also reveals a sneak peek at the symphony blue I have on my walls now in the sunroom.  Of course, the big reveal is still to come.  I think a bit more decorating is needed.  Next up?  DIY throw pillows.

Sunroom Decorating: Part 2

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am going to use the two chairs from my dining room set, in my sunroom.  Here's a glimpse back at what they looked like in original form:

And here is a picture of them now:

You may also notice the lanterns on the table - remember what they used to look like? Amazing what a little spray paint can do!


I love how inviting this space is now - I can't wait to show you the finished look! 
Next up - Shelving...stay tuned!

Sunroom Decorating: Part 1

Remember all of the fabric I got for pillows and other accents in the sunroom?  Here's a pic to jog your memory:
 


Well, I'm finally putting it to good use.  I decided to reupholster the leather-seated bar stools we have in there.  Since I didn't have enough of one fabric to cover both stools, I decided to use two coordinating fabrics.  A bit of a design risk?  Yes.  Working for me?  Definitely.  Here is a shot of the bar stools in original form:

And here they are now:

I like the "his" and "hers" kind of feeling they give now. They also make the room a bit more cozy, not to mention colorful.  Even better - I have enough fabric left over from both to make small pillows that I'll use somewhere else in the room. 

What's next?  Well, I'd been on the hunt for two chairs to put around the round, white table I painted last week in the sunroom...when it dawned on me:  I already have two chairs from my dining room set that are just waiting to be painted (sitting in my garage!).  I'd only painted four out of the set of 6 when I did the dining set makeover.  I just love it when I can go shopping in my garage (or basement).   Stay tuned for the before and after pics!

Round Table After Shots

Happy Friday everyone!  Remember the old table I rescued from the garbage? To jog your memory - here are a few before shots:

Here is what it looks like now:

It only took me 3 coats of white paint this time.  I probably could have done 1 more, but I was eyeing up a table cloth at Target that I may put on top anyway:

I've purposely held off on showing you the after shots of my sunroom makeover - simply because it's still in progress.  I've finished painting the walls and baseboards and am in the decorating stage.  I must admit, this is always the most challenging part for me.  Oddly enough, one of my favorite places to "shop" for decorations is in my own basement.  Being a person who has a difficult time throwing things away, (guess that's why my basement looks the way it does, ha!) I'm always finding old things that can work perfectly somewhere else in my house.  I was just running down to change the laundry over when I spotted these two things just waiting for a new home:


I think they will look nice with a spray of white paint.  Perhaps I'll put them up on a shelf in the sunroom...