Before and After pictures of my master bedroom.

April 26, 2010 AT 11:24 pm 79 Comments

You have to see this to believe it!

My master bedroom has undergone a major transformation.

When looking at my bedroom on the Parade of Homes yesterday, I was feeling a little insecure that maybe it didn’t look as good as I had hoped.

But when I looked back at the “before” pictures of my room, I cannot believe how far it has come.

I love my new bedroom. It truly feels like a master retreat when I walk in the room.

Here’s the recap of where I began:

I had a cherry bedroom suite that I sold on Craigslist for $700.00. One of my kids puked on my comforter (seriously), and I had to throw it away, so I didn’t even have a complete bedding set. I really hadn’t done much to decorate the room except throw some pictures up on the wall.

Here is my awful “before”…

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And here is the “after”

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I did not change the wall color or the window treatments. Those two things can cause a lot of stress. :) I knew I wanted the walls to be neutral, and I liked the way the curtains matched the color of my fireplace.

I think the wall color is called Navajo White by Porter Paints. We painted it five years ago, so I’m not real sure.

The curtains I got at Homegoods a couple of years ago for $8.00 a window. It was only $16.00 for all four panels! You can’t beat that price.

See how much space the king sleigh bed took up? I had it up against that wall because it was the only place it would fit. I tried moving the bed in front of the window one time, but it looked horrible. When you walked into the room, all you could see was that HUGE footboard. So the bed remained on this wall…

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When I tried the four poster bed in front of the window…I loved it! The bed was my mom and dad’s bed, so I didn’t have to purchase a new bed which helped a lot with my makeover budget. And it’s a king bed, so we were able to use our same box spring and mattress.

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One of the things I didn’t like about the layout of our old bedroom was that you saw our tv as soon as you walked into our room. So one of my goals for my makeover was to find a piece of furniture to hide our tv in.

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Now our tv hides in this black armoire that I got at a habitat store for 40 bucks.

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It was missing the back, so my husband added one.

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He also built some shelves inside to add more storage, so the total project cost us about $90.00.

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We removed the ugly ceiling fan from the middle of the room.

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The fireplace was the hardest thing to accessorize, and I am still not crazy about it. All of the items on the mantle were things I already had.

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The picture of the boys was a 16×20 wall canvas that I won last year in a giveaway at Reluctant Entertainer! It has been in our foyer for a long time, but I decided to frame it and put it on my mantle.

Believe it or not, I already had this frame that I wasn’t using and it was a perfect fit! The frame was gold, so I painted it black and wiped off the edges with a wet paper towel right after I painted it so the gold would show through.

I love the way it turned out! I took this picture last year on the road directly in front of our home. I love those boys!

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The bed used to be against the only “solid” wall in the room…

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…now my new dresser resides there. The dresser used to be green, and I bought it at an antique mall for $210.00. It was the most expensive purchase for my room.

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The little lamp was a $10.00 purchase at an antique mall. The mirror frame was $4.50 and the blue vase $1.00, both from Goodwill. I got the wall mirror at Lowe’s for $25.00. It isn’t exactly what I wanted there, but it will have to do for now. I am still looking for a mirror or something else to put there.

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But I love what the mirror says…

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Here is the “before” view of the other side of the room…

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The “after”…

I love watching tv from our cozy (dare I say romantic) bed.

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Another “before”…

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“After”…Look at all that floor space!

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The accessories on top of the armoire are things I gathered from other parts of my house. :)

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Here is another picture of my bed with my lamps all lit up…

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I was having a hard time finding lamps for my room. I knew I wanted lamps made of glass, but I really couldn’t afford them.

I found these lamps at Garden Ridge for $24.99 a piece, plus $9.99 for each shade. They were exactly what I was looking for. I almost got them, but since I didn’t have much money left in my budget I decided not to.

The next day, I was talking to a family member who told me about some lamps she saw at Garden Ridge that she thought would be perfect for my room. (She follows my blog.) :)

It ended up we were talking about the same lamps! She felt like that was more than a coincidence and told me that she felt led by the Lord to buy them for me. What a blessing!

I just absolutely love them!

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I was going to put a skirted table on this side of the bed, but couldn’t find any material that I liked. I’ve had this metal side table for years, and it was currently living in my den. I decided to save some money and use it in my room. It actually works pretty well.

I didn’t want this side of the room to look too “weighted down” with bulky furniture, so this piece keeps it kind of “light” and open.

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The large pitcher on the bottom of the side table was a $5.00 find at Goodwill. It was an ugly tan color, so I spray painted it white!

I love my new lamp on my ($25.00) vanity too!

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I don’t know if I ever mentioned that I bought the white coverlet and pillow shams from Sears. It is their Country Living brand. I got them on sale for a little less than $100.00. The tan pillow was my mom’s. I wanted to make some pillows with some blue in them, but had trouble finding material I liked.

I bought the frames on each side of my bed for $2.00 at the habitat store and painted them black. I printed the pictures off of my computer from Vintage Printables.

And of course, my favorite addition to the room is my chandelier that I purchased at Lowe’s for $145.00! I am so glad I splurged! Every girl needs a little “bling” in her room, right?

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Here is the breakdown of my $700.00 budget:

$145-chandelier from Lowe’s

$90.00 – armoire

$210.00 – dresser

$25.00 – vanity

$25.00 wall mirror

$100.00 Country Living bedding from Sears

$36.00 Brown burlap/velcro bedskirt

$4.00 frames for both sides of bed

$10.00 – small lamp from antique mall

$25.00 _ (approx) miscellaneous accessories from Goodwill

$20.00 – two sets of white king pillow cases from Walmart

________

$690!!!

I did it!!!

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And I love it!!!

If you missed any part of this makeover, just click on “Master Bedroom” in my sidebar labels, and you can see every project I did these past few months for this makeover.

Thank you so much for all of your comments and encouragement throughout this whole process! I promise you that I would have never taken on this makeover if it weren’t for this blog and everyone who reads it…so THANK YOU!!!!!

A couple of announcements…

Don’t forget that this Friday is my second linky party…

large aprilI will have the linky system up around 9:oo p.m. Thursday night.

This is a chance for you to share the best DIY project that you completed in April. Please keep the projects related to DIY home decor or home improvement. Only one entry per person, and be sure to link your post back to my party.

If you don’t have a project to link up, you are still invited to come by and view everyone else’s. And I like to encourage everyone to visit at least 3 to 5 blogs and leave comments for others. We all need the encouragement! :)

Also, be sure to stop by Poppies at Play today to see the next four homes on their Parade of Homes! I have loved visiting everyone’s lovely homes!

Click on the button to join the parade..

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I am linking my master bedroom makeover up to these parties:

The Lettered Cottage


Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

DIY day at A Soft Place to Land

Before and After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick!

Have a blessed day!

Traci

P.S. Check out my sister’s new fab blog!

Love it. Love her.

 

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Parade of Homes (and Master Bedroom Reveal!)

April 25, 2010 AT 11:52 pm 79 Comments

I am so excited to be participating in a blog Parade of Homes sponsored by Poppies at Play!

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For those of you who are visiting my blog for the very first time, let me introduce myself.

My name is Traci, and I am a stay-at-home mom of four boys. I am married to a wonderful man who loves the same things in life that I do. We love sharing in this adventure called “life.”

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I was an elementary teacher for 6 years before my first son was born, and it is hard to believe I have been at home with my boys for the past ten years. What a blessing!

I started my blog in March of last year after my mom kept encouraging me to. I am so glad she did. It has been a huge blessing in my life! My blog is dedicated to my mom who passed away in September of last year after a short battle with gastric cancer. Her love and her faith in God has changed my life forever. (You can read about her story by clicking on “mom” in my sidebar.)

Over the past year, I have been fixing up my house one room at a time. I just recently finished our master bedroom, and I am so excited to reveal it today!

I am not an interior decorator. I have no degree in design. I have just used the inspiration I have found in blogland this past year to decorate my home. :)

So welcome everyone to my

ol’ Kentucky home!

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I like to call my home the “House of Thrifty Finds.” Almost everything in my house is from Goodwill, garage sales, or hand-me-downs. I will point my thrifty treasures out to you throughout the tour.

As you enter our home, you will see this vinyl saying that my Mom helped me put up last August.

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Directly down the foyer is our kitchen and eating area.

I purchased the hutch for $75.00 at a garage sale and painted it black. You can read about that project HERE.

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The white buffet on the left side of the picture below is a $55.00 find at Goodwill that I painted. You can read about that project HERE.

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I love this view of my curtains through the mirror. I made the curtains from drop cloths, and I absolutely love the way they turned out. If you want to see how I made them, just click on “drop cloth projects” in my sidebar.

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Our biggest renovation in our home has been the kitchen. Last fall, we tore out the soffit above our cabinets and created new, taller cabinets. You can see the complete DIY renovation by clicking HERE.

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I love the glass cabinet doors and the open shelving my husband created above the microwave.

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The bead board cabinet doors added to the cottage style I was striving for.

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We also installed recessed lighting inside the glass cabinets and underneath the cabinets. You can never have enough light in the kitchen!

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On the right side of the kitchen, I made some cafe shelves like the ones I saw in Ballard Designs catalog. You can see the tutorial of how to make them for yourself HERE.

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Our master bedroom is
right off of our kitchen. I have been working on our bedroom for a couple of months now, and I am so excited to finally share the finished product.

I renovated our entire bedroom for less than $700.00, and I will be sharing a ton of Before and After photos, plus the break down of my budget, tomorrow. You won’t believe the difference, so be sure to stop back by and check it out!

Here is the view as you enter the room…

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The bed was my parents, and I painted it black. I made the brown bedskirt from burlap, and I think it turned out beautifully.

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I was so excited when I found this little vanity for only $25.oo! It fits perfectly beside my bed. It just needed a little TLC which you can read about HERE.

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I have enjoyed accessorizing with items that are special to me, like the picture of my mom and me when I was a little girl and a decorative bird that was my mom’s.

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The chandelier was my “splurge” for my room. I got it at Lowe’s and I love the way it adds a little romance to the room.

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This black dresser was purchased at an antique mall, and I painted it black as well. (Can you tell I like that color?) :)

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Here’s the view of the other side of the room.

I got the armoire for $40.00 at a habitat store! It needed a little work (like it was missing a back), but it works perfectly for our room now. Our tv hides in there! Click HERE to see that project.

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Our master bath is really small, but can you believe it was actually smaller?! We renovated it a couple of years ago by knocking out a wall and making it a little bigger.

My husband did all the work in our bathroom. He is quite the DIY man!

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One of my favorite “rooms” in our home is our covered back patio.

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I love watching my boys play in the back yard and enjoying lots of cookouts with friends and family out here. Those are some of life’s sweetest moments!

See that red door in the background of the below picture?

That door leads to the guest house we built over our detached garage.

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My husband built our guest house, and I got to decorate it. A winning combination!

We didn’t really have any money to decorate the guest house, so I had a ball shopping at Goodwill and garage sales. I am one of those people who think it is FUN to decorate with thrifty finds!

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My hubby built me these amazing cabinets! If you want to see how he made them, click on “cottage cabinets” in my side bar labels.

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I got this cute little coffee table at Goodwill for $6.50 and painted it white. It fits perfectly with the room. I also got the chair for $6.50 at Goodwill and covered it with burlap.

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If you would like a complete tour of our guest house including the bedroom and bathroom, click HERE.

Well, that concludes my tour!

Thank you so much for stopping by, and I hope you enjoyed your visit.

The next house on the Parade of Homes tour is Beth from Stories from A to Z. Her house is beautiful and so is she…inside and out!

Just click on the #3 button below, and it will take you there.

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Enjoy the Parade!

Have a blessed day!

Traci




I found a side table that I love!!!!

April 18, 2010 AT 11:45 pm 49 Comments

Okay, I am feeling really brave today because I am sharing a video of me with you.

I found such a great deal that I had to share it with you “in person”.

(I took this video from my phone, in my son’s room, late at night, and I’m looking pretty rough. I must really love you guys!) :)

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Here is what the vanity looked like when I walked into the Antique Mall…(insert bright light from heaven and choir of angels singing)…

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Here is what the top looked like when we brought it home. I loved it despite it’s flaws…(we had started sanding it a little already)…

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My hubby helped me sand it with 80 grit (coarse) sand paper to get some serious work done on top…

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Then he sanded the whole top with 120 grit sand paper, and then smoothed it out with a 220 grit sand paper.

Now, I apologize for not taking pictures of the next steps. I was so excited about this project that I truly forgot. But I will tell you what we did.

I wiped the dust off the top and applied two coats of Miniwax “Dark Walnut” stain with a clean cloth. (Be sure to let it dry in between coats.)

Then I cleaned the bottom half of the piece with a wet cloth and a little bit of Murphy’s Wood cleaner.

Then I put a coat of Minwax Polyurethane (satin finish) all over the entire piece with a large sponge brush. Be sure to put on a thin layer.

When it was completely dry, I lightly sanded the top of the vanity and applied a second coat just to the top.

And here it is….(It looks orange-y out in the sun, but it is really a dark brown.)

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The drawers work perfectly even though they have some big scratches on them, and I love the way they look. The scratches give the piece so much character…like there is a story behind every scratch.

And here it is in its new home…aaaahhhh….

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Doesn’t it fit just perfectly?

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I may put a mirror over the vanity…I haven’t decided yet.

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The top turned out silky-smooth! I got that mirror picture frame at the Antique Mall too for just $4.99. I thought it would add some more “bling” to the room.

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I love the details on this piece….the engravings, the cute little round feet…

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One more reminder…$25.00!!!!!

Seriously? You can’t beat that with a stick!

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So can you tell I love this piece? Hope so!

I am sooooo close to having this room finished. I am mostly looking for some lamps and some material for pillows.

The “big reveal” will be coming soon….

I am linking this party to DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land!

And Home is….@Reluctant Entertainer!

Be sure to mark you calendars for my next linky party.

All you have to do is link your favorite DIY project (related to home decor or home improvement) that you have completed in the month of April. One entry per person please.

If you don’t have a project to post, then just come and hang ou
t at the party and check out everyone else’s great projects. :)

I will be posting more details about the party this week.

Have a blessed day!

Traci




Bling for my Room

April 12, 2010 AT 10:29 am 37 Comments

Today I am going to show you my little “splurge” for my room.

I have tried to be really thrifty with my spending for my master bedroom makeover.

I sold my other bedroom suite on Craig’s list for $700.00, so that is the budget for this makeover.

(Click on each picture to see each project.)

So far I have spent:

$210 for my dresser

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$90.oo for my armoire

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$100.00 on bedding

$36 for my (velcro) burlap bedskirt

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And now to add some “bling” to the room, I spent $140 dollars at Lowe’s on this little cutey…

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I have never had a chandelier in my bedroom before, so I am still getting used to the “fanciness” of it. But I really do like it and so does my hubby.

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I was trying to add a little silver/mercury glass into the room, and this really helped. But I am still having a hard time “swallowing” the 140 dollars I spent on it.

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What do you think? Was it worth it?

I really wanted to find an old chandelier that I could paint or something, but I didn’t have any luck finding what I was looking for. Thus, my splurge.

Which brings my total spending to $576. I still have about $125 dollars left for my makeover.

Which is not a lot considering a need side tables for both sides of my bed, some lamps, and accessories for the walls.

I am trying to “shop” my house and use what I have for the rest of the makeover. I’ll be honest, it’s not easy.

My goal is to have my room completed by April 26th when I am taking place in a fun event here in blogland.

Say a prayer that I don’t lose my sanity in the process! (And that my husband doesn’t either. Hee. Hee.) :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Be sure to come back tomorrow for another great giveaway from one of my awesome sponsors!

I met her at Blissdom, and she really IS awesome!

Blessings,

Traci




Black Dresser for my Bedroom

April 4, 2010 AT 11:23 pm 51 Comments

UPDATE: I have had a bunch of questions about my Easter outfit. :) You girls are so funny! The dress is Calvin Klein, and I got it at Marshall’s on clearance for $44.00 (which is actually kind of pricey for me). The shoes I got at Payless for $14.99, and I already had the necklace and earrings. There ya go, sweet things!

I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend.

The weather here was absolutely perfect, and I enjoyed spending time with both sides of our family.

I did get a couple pics that I wanted to share with you.

Me and my boys…

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The loves of my life!…

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The whole crew after church…

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I missed Mom terribly. I have such wonderful memories of Easter as a child. Mom played a big part in making it so special. I pray that my boys will also look back on these days and feel the same love that I did growing up.

The best part of the day was being in the Lord’s house and celebrating Jesus’ love for us all!

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Now to another piece of furniture that I finished for our master bedroom makeover.

Remember this inspiration picture I shared with you?….

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And remember this dresser I found at an antique mall?…

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Well, I broke down and bought her. They were asking $250.00 for the dresser. (Remember I had a $700.00 budget from the money I made selling my previous cherry bedroom suite.)

I did NOT want to pay that much!! I am sooo cheap! I knew that as soon as I bought the dresser, I would find one like it at a garage sale for like 25 bucks, and I would be totally kicking myself!

So I waited for about two weeks as I looked at every used furniture store, Goodwill, and antique mall I could find, and I saw NOTHING like this dresser.

I went back to the antique mall and offered them $200.00 cash, but they didn’t take it. So I called my Aunt Sue who buys and sells antiques, and ask her what I should do.

Long story short, my Aunt Sue went to the antique mall and talked the dealers down to $210.00. That’s as low as they would go, and since it was exactly what I was looking for, I decided to get it. :)

Thank you, Aunt Sue!

And here she is now…

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Isn’t she cute?

I followed the same painting steps on this dresser that I used for my black armoire, except I cover the whole dresser with primer. You can read about the details HERE. I also will probably be putting a coat of polyurethane on this dresser for extra durability.

I did want to share with you how I did the drawer pulls.

They looked like this at first…

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My husband primed them with some self-etching primer that he uses on his cars. (You could use regular spray primer.)

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Then I spray painted them black (look at the handle at the top of the picture.)

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I used a Folk Art paint from Walmart called Metallic Antique Gold ($1.25) and wiped it over the black handle with a paper towel.

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It gave me exactly the look I was after! Can you see the difference in the picture below?

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I love the way they look on my dresser…

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Pretty close to my inspiration picture, don’t ya think?

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LOVE IT!

Now for the hard part…accessorizing! I always struggle with this step. I’m not sure what I want to put on it…lamp?….pictures?….flowers?….we’ll see…

I am linking this project up to these wonderful parties…

Before and After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick,

Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality,

Make it for Monday at Cottage Instincts,

DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land

Furniture Feature Friday at Mustard Seed Creations

Blessings!

Traci




Armoire Re-do

March 29, 2010 AT 12:34 am 48 Comments

 

I have been working fast and furiously on my master bedroom re-do. I have gotten a lot done but still have more to do.

I wanted to share with you the entertainment armoire that I found for our bedroom.

As I told you before, I wanted to be able to hide the tv in our bedroom. To do this, I decided to try and find an entertainment armoire to re-do.

I searched at some antique malls and on Craig’s list, but had no luck. The ones on Craig’s list were all $200 to $300, and I didn’t want to pay that much. (Remember, I am doing my master bedroom re-do on a $700.00 budget.)

One day I ran into a Habitat store and saw this armoire…

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I walked over to check the price and expected it to be way more than what I would have wanted to pay.

So you can imagine my surprise when I saw that it was only $40.00!!! I was so excited!

To be honest, it wasn’t exactly the style I was looking for, but for 40 bucks, I could learn to love it!

When I opened the doors, I quickly realized why it was only 40 dollars…

The back was gone!!

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But that didn’t bother me or Eli one bit! That was an easy fix! (My 8 year old help me take these pictures.) :)

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I called my honey and said, “Honey, I found an armoire for 40 bucks!”

He said, “Great!”

I said, “The back is gone.”

He said, “Oh.”

“Can you put a back on it for me?”

“Yup.”

So I paid my forty dollars and took that baby home! :)

Here it is from behind…

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My hubby applied wood glue to the edges…

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And then used his staple gun to nail the new back on…

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( 4 x 8 sheet of birch plywood – $18.00 at Lowe’s)

I also need some more storage space inside the armoire for baskets, so my hubby built some extra shelving. He used a 4 x 8 sheet of MDF board for the shelves since we were going to paint them. It cost approximately $ 15.00 at Lowe’s, but we only used a little of it. My husband used the leftover wood to make a work table for his garage.

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Here are the products I used…

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First I applied a liquid deglosser over the entire piece to prepare the surface for painting.

Then I primed the fronts of the armoire with KILZ. Technically, I should have primed the entire armoire for the paint to adhere properly. However, I knew that I wanted to sand down the edges of the armoire after I painted it. If I had primed the edges, the white primer would have shown through, and I didn’t want that.

So I didn’t prime any of the parts that I was planning on sanding. Again, this is my way, not necessarily the right way. :)

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I did prime the insides of the armoire because I knew I would be painting them black.

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I used my favorite Valspar paint in black satin to paint it.

Then I used a medium grit sanding sponge to sand the edges like this…

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I love the way the cherry wood shows through.

Here it is in my room…

(I am sorry these pictures are not the best, but I think I had my camera on the wrong setting. Now it is nighttime and too late to take any good pictures.)

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I love the way it turned out!

I just threw some things on top to take these pictures. :)

And I haven’t bought any handles yet. I am still trying to decide what type I want.

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Here is the inside of the armoire…

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I got the baskets at Gordman’s. They were 10 dollars a piece. We are using them to store socks and such.

I love the way the doors slide back into the armoire. And the tv is up good and high so we can see it perfectly from our bed! :)

We are using the bottom of the armoire to hold some of my husband’s clothing.

Here are the total costs:

Armoire – $40

Wood for back and shelves – approx. $25.00

Paint – $9.00

Baskets – $20.00

So the whole project cost me less than $100.00! Not bad.

I found this armoire at an antique mall a few weeks ago and almost bought it…

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They were asking $375.00 for it. I think my armoire turned out just as nice, and I saved $275.00 by being a little creative!

So I used the money I saved to buy a little “bling” for my room!

Here’s a sneak peak…

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Ooh-la-la…I love it!

Stay tuned for more of my master bedroom makeover!

I am linking this project up to…

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Make it for Monday at Cottage Instincts

DIY day at A Soft Place to Land

Furniture Feature Friday at Mustard Seed Creations

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day!

Traci




Velcro Burlap Bed skirt

March 21, 2010 AT 10:49 pm 62 Comments

I am continuing to work on my master bedroom makeover.

I found an entertainment armoire to hide our tv in for $40.oo! It needs a little work and a fresh coat of paint, but I think it will look great when I am finished. :)

A little progress has been made on my bedding. This part can be stressful. I am trying to come up with the colors that I want in my bedroom. I was leaning toward my favorite colors…tan, black, white, and red. But lately, I’ve been wanting to add a little bit of light blue instead of red to my palette.

I went to some fabric stores and found a fabric that I loved. It had some blues and browns in it, and I might make some pillows with it. Not sure.

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But I did decide what material to use for my bed skirt.

Brown burlap.

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Ya’ll know that I love burlap. And when I was looking at my inspiration fabric, I could picture it with a brown bed skirt. I remembered that Hobby Lobby had some brown burlap on sale for $1.99 a yard. How can you beat that?

I bought four yards of it and brought it home. I tucked it under my mattress to get an idea of what it would look like and I loved it!

So here is what I did to make it.

The burlap comes in a 45 inch width, so I unfolded the material and cut it in half. I will be able to make skirts for two sides of my bed with this.

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Using one half of the material, I decided to make my hem on the outer un-cut edge by first ironing the edge over about a half inch.

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Then I folded it over again about an inch and pressed it again

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Next I sewed a straight stitch down the hem.

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Now I have to explain this great idea I had for making a bed skirt.

I wanted to make a skirt that I could just velcro onto my box springs. I have made bed skirts before that are like the kind you buy in the store. The ones that have the material all the way across the box springs that the skirt is attached to.

It was always really hard for me to get the bed skirt to fit “just right”. One side was usually too long, and I would have to use safety pins to keep the skirt in place. Even bed skirts you purchase in stores can drive you nuts. They are always moving around when you put your fitted sheet on, or they will end up sliding over and drooping on one side. I can’t stand that.

So to keep my bed skirt in place, I decided to velcro it to my box springs. I didn’t come up with this idea on my own. My mom was a professional seamstress, and she had told me about this idea. She hadn’t tried it herself, but she said she had seen other professionals do it.

I have always wanted to try it, and my bedroom makeover was the perfect place.

So I bought some industrial strength velcro from Walmart for twenty dollars. I didn’t like paying that much, but it was a lot cheaper than the velcro I almost bought at JoAnn’s Fabrics. It would have been over 40 dollars there!

I got it because it was two inches wide, and I thought that it would make the bed skirt more durable. (You may be able to find it somewhere else for less.)

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Unfortunately, I didn’t notice that it had a “sticky” back to it. (I know…it says it right on the box! Duh.) The stickiness actually became a huge pain when I was sewing the material to it.

Now you might think I am crazy, but I hot glued the velcro to my box springs. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t going anywhere. :)

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The velcro strip looked something like this when I was done. (I have pushed my mattress back to take this picture.)

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The edge of the velcro was 17 inches from the ground so I decided to make the skirt 18 inches long.

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The next steps are not easy to describe in a post, but I will try.

The total length of my material from top to bottom was about 22 inches long (after I had already hemmed the bottom). I wanted the skirt to be a finished length of 20 inches…18 inches for the part of the skirt you would see, and 2 inches to sew onto the velcro strip
and tuck under the mattress.

I also created a one inch hem on each side of the skirt.

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The next part made me almost lose my sanity!!!

I was going to show you an easy way to pin the material to the velcro strip, but there was no EASY to it! The material kept sticking to the strip when I didn’t want it to. (I’m not going to go into detail of how I literally wrestled that strip of sticky velcro…it’s just too painful to re-live.)

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I finally decided to use the “stinky” to my advantage.

I just folded the material over every couple of inches and pressed it to the “sticky”.

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It still wasn’t holding together very well, so I ran to my sewing machine and began sewing.

I sewed a straight stitch on the top and bottom of the two inch velcro strip and attached it to the box springs.

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Though I wasn’t sure it was all going to come together…

it turned out exactly as I had hoped.

(I still need to iron it in a few spots.)

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I ADORE the look of burlap.

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I only have pictures of the left side of my bed because I haven’t done the other sides yet. :)

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I used a little less than four yards for this side of the bed. I had to cut off about 6 inches of one end because there was a bad place in the burlap. Sometimes that happens.

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The other half of this material will be used for the skirt at the end of the bed. I will need to get 4 more yards to do the right side of the bed and will have material left over for pillows if I need it. ;) I will have 8 total yards in the whole bed skirt which will cost me $16.00. So the whole skirt ended up costing me $36.00. I think that’s pretty good! (I already had the other supplies like thread and glue sticks.)

I am hoping to finish the skirt tomorrow, and start painting the armoire.

Update:  Here is a picture of my bedskirt in my completed bedroom makeover.

 

If you have any questions about my bed skirt, please feel free to ask. It’s usually best to email me at

beneathmyheart4(at)gmail(dot)com

And don’t forget about my first linky party! You ALL are invited!

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You can read about the details by clicking on the button.

If you would like to help me spread the word about my party, you can add my button to your sidebar or in a post. (You’ll be my BFF in you do!) :)

 

Beneath My Heart

I am linking this post to a few parties this week:
Visit thecsiproject.com

Make it for Monday at Cottage Instincts

DIY day at A Soft Place to Land

Show and Share at Just a Girl

 

Blessings!

Traci

 

I will be announcing the winner of the $50 dollar gift certificate to Leen the Graphic Queen Monday afternoon!




Master Bedroom Progress

March 15, 2010 AT 7:57 am 18 Comments

We (actually my husband) made a lot of progress on our master bedroom makeover this weekend.

*He took down the ceiling fan and a light.

*Pulled up all of the carpet from the room.

*Painted the ceiling a fresh coat of white paint.

*And touched up the walls in the bathroom and bedroom.

Unfortunately, we are at that stage where it doesn’t look like we have gotten much done.

And of course, we are not at the most fun part of our makeover yet …the decorating!

So I have a few not-so-inspiring pictures to show you.

Hubby taking down the huge ugly ceiling fan…

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Capping the wires and adding a ceiling plate…

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(Yes, we have those UGLY textured ceilings, but girls, I do not EVEN want to think about replacing our ceilings…that’s for another time, another place!)

Speaking of a project that we are saving for a later date…

We are not installing hard wood floors in our room like we had hope. (BIG huge pouty face)

Honestly, we just don’t have the money.

I had my heart set on beautiful hard wood floors, but we can’t always get what we want, right?

So we are going to get carpet installed instead.

And I am thankful, and I am grateful. Some people will never live in a carpeted home their entire life!

Here is my sweet Eli wanting to help Daddy paint. He had undressed all the way down to his “church socks” and was ready to work.

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Eli says, “Be sure to use a extension pole when painting the ceilings…it’s a must!”

Jonathan and Eli watched the Kentucky Wildcats beat Mississippi State in overtime to win the SEC championship, while Daddy painted the walls. (Woo-hoo!)

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Notice the carpet is all gone!

My hubby also took down the light that you see was in front of the window. I am hoping to find a chandelier to go there.

We are going to put a fresh coat of white paint on the trim and doors too before the carpet is installed later this week.

I’m still trying to decide on bedding and such. And I am trying to be patient and make wise and frugal choices. :)

That’s all for now, but be sure to stop by later today for my…

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!! (Echo, echo, echo, echo)

Well, it might actually be bigger to me than to you. :)

But stop by anyway, ya hear?

Traci




Bed has been painted!

March 5, 2010 AT 6:28 pm 63 Comments

Good day, friends!

This sun is shining in the beautiful state of Kentucky, and it makes my heart feel lighter. :)

I hope you have some sunshine headed your way today too.

I wanted to quickly share with you the progress I have made in the Master Bedroom.

I shared with you at the beginning of the week that we sold our 5 piece bedroom set on Craigslist. I sold it for $700.00, and that is the budget for my bedroom makeover.

(That does not include the price of the new flooring, but I will explain that situation later.) :)

The starting point for the makeover was our new bed. It’s not new, but “new to me”. It was Mom and Dad’s king four poster bed at their house.

Dad has moved in with my sister since Mom passed away, so he does not need all of the furniture that was in their house. Some of their furniture was put in storage, and the rest was divided among us kids.

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I got their cherry four poster bed. And I knew immediately that I would be painting it black.

Now please don’t think I am horrible for painting this bed.

First of all, it is not a sentimental piece of furniture. They had gotten it off of Craig’s list just a few years earlier. Dad also gave me one of Mom’s cherry bedroom sets that she had custom made over 20 years ago, and I would NEVER paint it. It is very sentimental to me.

Secondly, I know some of you think I am crazy for painting over cherry, but cherry furniture is just not my style right now. And if Mom had given me this bed herself, and I told her that I was wanting to paint it black, she would say without hesitation, “Honey, you go ahead and paint it black. I don’t care. It’s just a bed and if you think it would be prettier painted black, then do it.”

Those would be her exact words. Why? Because my mom was a lover of painted furniture. Where do you think I got it? If Mom didn’t like the color of something, she just painted it. It was what I grew up seeing week after week. She LOVED to paint things.

So I know that Mom would give me a big “thumbs up” for painting this bed.

Here are the products I used:

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1) First, I used a Liquid Sander Deglosser over the whole bed.

2) Then I painted the bed with Kilz primer using a paint brush and a roll brush.

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I let my husband help too! :)

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Then I painted the bed black using my favorite Valspar paint from Lowe’s.

It comes in a quart size and is found over by the spray paint. It is very durable!

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Doesn’t it look beautiful. I think I am really going to like it with tan and white bedding, don’t you?

So since our room is a mess, here is our temporary master bedroom….in the den…

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Let’s just say the boys love it!!!!

We will be tearing up the carpet this weekend and starting on the new flooring.

More details to come…

Have a great weekend!

I am linking this post to some of my favorite blog parties,

Mustard Seed Creations’ Furniture Feature Friday,

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch,

Make it for Monday at Cottage Instincts,

Make Your Monday at Twice Remebered.




Bedroom Makeover has Begun

March 1, 2010 AT 9:58 am 43 Comments

I have started my master bedroom makeover this weekend.

I’ll be sharing my progress with you over the next couple of weeks.

So today, I want to show you the “before” pictures. And of course, point out the little things in the pictures that make me laugh (and cringe.)

I did nothing to my room before taking these pictures except for vacuuming the carpet. I didn’t want to show off the Poptarts on the floor. :)

This is as real as it gets at my house.

I just sold our 5 piece King Cherry bedroom suite this weekend on Craigslist. And I hope to use the money I made from it for this bedroom makeover.

This is my mis-matched bedding. I had a red comforter that my youngest son puked on one night, and the dry cleaners said they couldn’t clean it without it falling apart. So I threw it away. :)

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I have a red quilt on my bed now. The pillow cases are left over from when I had a cream matelasse on the bed at one point.

Please check out the horrific bed skirt. I’ve always hated it, but needed something to cover the junk I hide under my bed. It’s not quite doing the job is it? :)

Notice the bolt of lining that is propped up by the door? That’s been there a couple of weeks. It’s a reminder of why I need a “craft room”.

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This room used to be a den, but when we bought the house, we turned it into the master bedroom. It has 3 light fixtures in the ceiling. I want to get rid of the ceiling fan during this makeover, and try to incorporate a chandelier or two in the room.

I also hope to find a armoire that I can hide the t.v. in instead of having it as a huge black focal point in the room.

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I love our fireplace, but I always have trouble knowing how to decorate the mantle. I just threw these things up there to get them out of the way. Take note of the missing candle.

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Here’s another view of the bed. Those are my mom’s accent pillows that I threw on there because I might keep them for this makeover. They do match my window treatments.

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The big piece of wood on the floor is the top of an antique blanket chest that I inherited from my mom. The bottom half is still in the garage. I might try to incorporate it in the makeover.

Notice the missing globe on the light fixture. It just fell right off one night and broken into a gazillion pieces. Scared me to death!

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Here is another view of the room. The louvered door on the left is our tiny laundry room. The door by the fireplace leads to outside.

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The door to the right is the bathroom. You can read my post about the bathroom makeover HERE.

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This next picture made me smile from ear to ear. Please notice a little piece of cuteness on the far right side of this picture….

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Did you find him? He was waiting patiently for me to finish taking pictures. Oh, I love that boy!!!!

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This next picture is keeping it as real as I can keep it.

I wasn’t going to share it, but I don’t want anyone to ever think that my house is as neat and clean as it is in most of the pictures I post on my blog. It never is.

This is real life…

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So there you have it.

This is my starting point. I am very excited to start working on this room! And I can’t wait to share the progress with you.

It’s going to look totally different!

Thanks for stopping by!

Traci






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