When I started seeing how other creative bloggers and decorators were making over their IKEA Rast dressers, I knew had to get in on the action. I can finally report that these pieces are finished and in their respective home in my entryway.
Continue reading to see how I revamped these dressers into one-of-a-kind pieces.
Yellow is quite the powerful color. It’s inspired many songs in various music genres, is a color guaranteed to grab your attention, and is symbolic of wisdom and optimism.
My inspiration for this current post of Get Your Color On! is the abundance of sunshine and warmth we’ve had here in northwest Ohio. With summer on its way, it’s the perfect time to celebrate yellow by decorating with it.
Because yellow is a very stimulating hue, it can be tricky to decorate with. It comes in a spectrum of shades that can spark a variety of moods in our homes. Creamy, pale hues like buttercup evoke a sense of happy calmness, while saturated yellows like lemon or schoolbus yellow inject energy and cheer into a space.
Continue reading for my tips on using this color in your home, decor projects & tutorials from other bloggers, and my personal selections of yellow decor items.
I have continued a legacy that my dad started: garbage-picking. Well, not garbage-picking per se; rather, a delight in secondhand items.
My dad would take pleasure in shamelessly sifting through curbside items, dressed in the blue jumpsuit he wore when doing dirty work and car repairs. Most times, he took home electronic items like computers and radios, as he was a ham radio operator. My fondest memory of his garbage-picking skills is the Easy Bake Oven he procured for me as a young girl. Knowing it would be a great “just-because” gift, he brought it home, cleaned it up, and repaired it before giving it to me.
I don’t think most of us kept using those Easy Bake Ovens once we learned how loooong it took to bake such a tiny treat. But the love behind my dad’s action remains and always will, as I’ve been given a deep appreciation for thriftiness and my dad’s giving nature.
Over the years, I’ve developed even more of a liking of thrift store/secondhand items, especially in my decor. Thrifted items are great for cost-conscious shoppers, but provide more benefits than just saving money.
Read along to learn these benefits & to check out my secondhand finds and reincarnations. Continue reading
Whitewashing is an easy and cost-effective method of decorating. By adding an air of patina and texture, this paint technique enhances a variety of decor styles like as cottage, beach, country, or shabby chic.
Recently, I included whitewashing in my bedroom makeover by revamping some bamboo matchstick blinds. Because I’m re-decorating this room into a beachy, Zen space, this technique was perfect for adding texture and warmth to my neutral color scheme.
Read along to find out how I achieved this look and how you can also transform an item with whitewashing.
During my recent vacation, I planned to finally paint my wooden tanker desk. Problem was, I couldn’t figure out what color to paint it. I’ve been updating my living room from turquoise and red to a neutral color scheme of black and white.
I wavered between painting it in gray/white or turquoise/teal (my favorite color). While a neutral shade would’ve been practical, I thought “what the hey” and decided to go with color. I even went a step further and chose a different color than turquoise: green. I bought “Garden View,” in the Behr Premium Plus Ultra line; I wanted to eliminate extra work with a paint that included primer. This line of paint seems to have worked well so far.
Unfortunately, this color appeared much brighter when I started painting. Thankfully, I began this project with the desk drawers. I knew I wouldn’t be happy with seeing that color close up, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Plan B: new color. To save money, I used some leftover paint and only bought an additional quart of a color I’d previously used when I created some Moroccan-influenced wall art. It’s called “Pacific Sea Teal” and is in the same line of Behr paint that includes primer:
I like that it’s one of those colors that looks different in light. In the daylight it appears bluer but at night in artificial light, it’s more like a true teal/green-blue. Here’s some shots of my revamped pride & joy:
(click to see a larger image)
One key component of my living room makeover was to create a new decor scheme. I’ve always liked a mishmash of decorating styles, so I came up with a fusion of mid-century modern and Moroccan decor. When a DIY folding screen project didn’t work out, I had leftover panels of wood. I used them to create customized wall art to fit into my new theme.
There were a few things I considered in making this piece. I wanted an exotic yet subtle design. I didn’t want the decor to feel overwhelming, both in creating it and in its finished state. The piece would also have to be large enough to serve as a focal point and to help visually extend the height of the room.
Check out more info on what I used to create this decor after the jump.
Painting my desk is something I’ve considered for a while now. After the furniture-painting spree of 2011, I was burnt out. It truly is a lot of work!
But, I have this beautiful wood tanker desk that I’ve finally decided needs a make-over. I have some vacation time coming up soon, so that will make the task much easier. In typical Libran fashion, I’m going back and forth on how to re-do it.
I’ve recently made over my living room with a neutral color scheme of black, white, gray, and silver. I like color but will accessorize with pops of it… so far, that color is turquoise. The decor style is a combination of vintage, modern, & Moroccan. It’s a pretty hefty desk, so I want a color that will really complement the room.
Here’s the options:
*White
*Black
*Silver (Rub N Buff)
*Light gray… such as:
*Turquoise/teal… probably this color, since I have leftover paint:
It has to a color I can work with everyday for 8 hours a day, since I work at home. What do you think?
One of my favorite past-times is to make over something, especially with paint. I’m a sucker for any activity involving a paint brush. This mission to redecorate involved my balcony, a lovely space I consider as another room in my home.
The issue: the colors of my patio furniture no longer coordinated with the colors in my living room. I like to coordinate the colors in each of my rooms to create a sense of flow. They aren’t all decorated in the same colors, but they do each share a common color. I chose to extend this decor flow out to my balcony.
Several years ago, I scored a couple of outdoor sling chairs from Walmart for my balcony. They’re made of mesh and are fairly comfy, and were a decent golden yellow, not too bright like a lot of patio furniture. At the time, these warm colors matched well with the purples I had in my living room.
Before, 2010…
Last year, I tried working with the yellow and incorporated it into my indoor color scheme of turquoise and red. I sewed these pillow shams and painted a lotus design to tie the colors together:
Before, 2011…
I dug the gold/turquoise/red color scheme, but I just didn’t love it. So, I decided to coordinate ALL the colors on my balcony to those in my living room,which now includes mint green and makeover those yellow chairs:
…After, 2012
The new color is also great because I can mix and match decor between the living room and balcony. There’s no tutorial since it was a pretty easy process. Here’s how I did it with latex paint:
It brings me great joy to have finally completed the bedroom dresser and to have moved it back to its proper home. It’s taken up space on the balcony and in my living room while I went through the stages of repainting it. I’m finally starting to feel like I have my living room back (and free of clutter).
Check her out before…
…In redecorating, that is. 
(Get your minds out of the gutter!) This past week, I’ve repainting the chests of drawers mentioned here and shown below. The furniture is pretty much the last bit of redecorating for my bedroom, so to celebrate, I made an inspiration board:
