Modern Decorating Touches

I know everyone’s style is different, and it is always fun to peek in other’s homes and see how they decorate.  When I stayed with my friend in Baton Rouge a few weeks ago I snapped a few photos of her decorating style.  You’ve already seen her guest bathroom, so here are some shots of the rest of the house.  She leans toward the modern side with an eclectic touch.  Here’s her living room:

This room was featured in Louisiana Homes & Gardens magazine last year.  I love the warm color she chose for the walls.

The dining room.  I think the table & chairs is a family piece.  I like the juxtaposition of the retro dining set with the super modern chandelier. Also love the monochrome window treatments.

More modern touches, like these fabulous clear doorknobs and cool light fixtures.

I’ll share her fabulous kitchen tomorrow!

DIY TV Stand

I apologize for my extended blogging absence!  After Thanksgiving things got a little hectic with work, embroidery orders, and lugging all the Christmas decorations down from the attic! 

Amidst all that, we had to get a new TV since our old one bit the dust. I can’t say hubby was too disappointed about that!  In order to make our new television fit in with our entertainment center, hubby had to make a new stand and I wanted to show off his handy work!

I took the idea of the storage cube he built last year and expanded upon it.  Here is the end result:

I think he did a fabulous job, it really looks like it came with the entertainment center!

We used some deck railing caps to build up the bun feet.

I was able to find the perfect baskets at Hobby Lobby for easy access storage. 

I really wanted something light colored and textured to break up all the wood tones and these worked perfectly.  They match a rattan footstool that sits across the room.

This was a great solution for us since we needed something with specific measurements and couldn’t really find the perfect fit.  Plus, everything we looked at online and in stores was more than we wanted to spend! Including the baskets, this project cost right around $100.  I’m so lucky to have a handy hubby!

French Door Transformation

My mom recently took on one of those types of projects that always make you say “Why didn’t I do that years ago?”  They have two sets of French doors in their living room that lead out to the screened-in porch.  It occurred to her one day to remove the grilles that give the glass a paned appearance.   This is a set that is in the master bedroom, since the original living room before photos came out too dark.

As you can see, there was a grille on either side of the glass.  Google tells me that the official term for these are muntin bars.  See, you learned something from this blog today!

These actually screw together on either side of the glass to hold the glass into the door, so they had to remove one at a time.  

Then my dad used his dremel tool to remove the inside muntin bars. This was a tedious process!

Then they screwed the frame back to the door.  A good bit of scraping and cleaning was involved.  

But the end result was totally worth it! 

The room looks so much bigger, bright and less cluttered!

BEFORE:

 

AFTER:

What sort of simple projects that make a big impact have you done lately?

Linking up with Metamorphosis Monday, and the DIY Showoff.

Power of Paint: Built-In Bookcases

I’m joining the Power of Paint Party for the first time, but not because I have a new project.  Most of my big painting projects are behind me, we took care of all that shortly after we moved in our current home 4 years ago.  One of the first things we did was paint the built-in bookcases in the living room.  And by we, I mean my mom and I.  My husband has never picked up a paintbrush, he leaves that to the professionals (my mom and me)!

 

Here’s how the area looked before (also notice the window frame, we painted those, too):

During:

And after:

Here’s a more final product, with the new wall color as well.

In order to cover the old orangey-looking stained wood, we applied 1 coat of Gripper primer (oil-based) and two coats of Behr Interior Satin Latex paint in Decorator White on the shelves and Behr Vintage Grape on the back paneled wall.  We used the same purple paint in our foyer.  Be sure to let the primer cure for a day or two as well as the paint before placing any accessories.

 

I really love the way the white stands out very crisp and sharp, and the purple really sets off the accessories in the bookcase.   Painting the back wall/panel of a bookcase a different bold color is a great way to get an accent wall look without having to commit to painting a whole wall.

I also replaced the brass hardware with black satin knobs.

Another look at the change: For more before and after shots of our living room, click HERE.

Show Us Where You Live Friday - Living Room Edition

Kelly over at Kelly's Korner has started a weekly blog entry asking readers to "show us were you live" every Friday. Last week was kitchens, and this week is living rooms. She had so many great entries last week I thought I would join in the fun this week. Our living room has undergone quite the transformation from top to bottom since we moved in. We replaced the nasty grey carpet with hardwood floors, painted the walls and bookcase, and installed a new fan. Also, it's decorated in my favorite colors, purple and gold! (Don't worry, it doesn't look as bad as that sounds!)

Here's the full view from our kitchen. Gidget is proudly displaying the hardwood floors that we put in last year. I've been looking for some new artwork for over the couch, but finally decided to just spray paint the frame of the one that is up there now (it was light brown before). You can't tell from this photo, but it is a beautiful watercolor print that has all the colors of the living room.

Here's the view from the other side of the room. My hubby usually claims the chair (it reclines) and I stretch out with Gidget on the purple couch. I love my couch, it was my first big purchase (besides my car) after I graduated college. It's beginning to sag a little around the edges, but I can't bring myself to replace it just quite yet!

And here's what we're looking at when we're lounging in our respective spots. I was not very happy when my hubby wanted such a big TV, but I gave in when he agreed we could purchase a nice entertainment center to go around it....something else for me to decorate! Now I love the big screen and wouldn't have it any other way!

Here's a close up of the built-in bookcases. My mom & I painted these white and painted the back wall purple (the same color is on the foyer walls). I have fun decorating these shelves and like to switch out the decor occasionally.
Here's a chair on the other side of the room that my mom & I re-covered. She also made the pillows with a beautiful fleur de lis fabric (who would have ever guessed I would have picked fleur de lis???). You can also see the beautiful Tiffany-style fleur de lamp I got for FREE from one of my mom's friends.
And finally, here's a close-up of the candlescape on our coffee table. I made this candle embellishment to dress up the candles a bit.There you have it! I just so happen to be posting entry from my big purple couch right now while watching DVR'ed TV!

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend....give your mom a big hug and kiss if you are lucky enough to have that special person in your life. I'll be posting the DIY Mother's Day gift I made on Monday.