It is said that great design is in the details. And, this cozy bedroom has tons of details! Let’s do a recap of the some of the features! Furniture The bed is a local, vintage store find. The desk and chest are Dollar Tree finds and stain/painted. Such great “miniature” finds for decorating on a budget. The chest is also from the Dollar Tree, found in the “craft” area. These are gift boxes. The desk chair is part of the dining set purchased at Hobby Lobby. Wall Decor The ”Lea” pendent is made from ribbon and felt. Simple! The two...
DIY Projects
Dollhouse Windows & Window Boxes
Who doesn’t love a house with lots of natural light? This cute little dollhouse has lots of windows. It is a vintage piece and some of the windows were in disrepair and the mullions were not consistent throughout. Replacing or Making Windows I am sure there are a variety of materials that can be used to make these windows. I attempted to use materials I had on hand and this case was no exception. I had thick cellophane bags left over from charcuterie cups I made and this worked out well. First, I carefully removed the window casing so it...
Dollhouse Living Room Details
It was so fun to think creatively when pulling together the decor for this adorable living room! In my last post, I shared information on the flooring and base moulding. Let’s take a look at the rest of the details. Paint The walls/ceiling are painted Sherwin Williams Alabaster and the base/ case mouldings and stairs are painted Sherwin Williams Alpaca. The spindles are Behr Limousine Leather. I had all colors on hand. So, no additional purchase! Lighting I got inspiration from a Serena & Lily light fixture. I’ve seen it in the homes of many of my favorite DIYers too!...
Dollhouse Flooring Options
If you have been following me a while, you know I am a DIYer and have lots of building and craft ”stuff” to pull from for this dollhouse. For this dollhouse, I pulled ideas from previous projects for much of the flooring. Hardwood Floors I spent entirely too much time on Pinterest and YouTube looking for flooring ideas. I love the idea of hardwood floors. I contemplated installing popsicle sticks individually (too tedious) or using a printed image (lack of dimension). In the end, I used pole wrap left over from another furniture renovation project. Pole wrap is a flexible,...
Baby Shower Welcome Sign
Baby shower decor! It’s so fun to create! This welcome sign was my DIY contribution to my niece’s baby shower. I was so sorry to miss it, but happy to add to the decor! The sign stand was originally made for my son’s wedding shower a couple of weeks earlier. This blogpost has the details on how that was made. Acrylic I purchased the 24 x 36 frosted acrylic at Menards for ~ $40. It was $7 less than the piece I got at Home Depot for the last sign. I am still looking for a better source for the...
MacKenzie Childs Inspired Courtly Check |Upcycled Spice Rack
I found this vintage spice rack at an estate sale and the size was perfect for a small space in my kitchen to hold essential oils. So, if you are looking for something vintage for your oils, the spice rack was perfect! I added some decorative trim to the shelves for interest and to prevent the oils from falling from the shelf. I primed and painted the spice rack in SW Alabaster. (My go-to white.) I really wanted to try the new MacKenzie Childs Courtly Check pattern on something (see below) and thought this was a great project to give...
Wedding Welcome Sign
I’ve been working on lots of wedding decor items and it’s been so fun! Last week, I finished up this welcome sign that pulled inspiration from lots of places. Acrylic My future daughter-in-law wanted an acrylic sign, so that’s where we started! I ordered this frosted piece of acrylic from Home Depot. It is 24” x 36” and was the most expensive material in the project ($47), but not too bad! I have heard you can get clear acrylic and sand it to get the same effect as the frosted acrylic. The frosted is more expensive than clear. I’ll will...
Affordable DIY barn doors!
If you have some decent DIY skills, making barn doors from a slab is an affordable approach. I had the opportunity to help out a family friend who is making some updates to her Chicago condo. One of the updates was to replace french doors that open into the room with barn doors. Essentially, trading space in the room with space along the wall. This is a picture of how the area started out. Check out that view! Five panel doors at the size needed were a custom order or available on Wayfair for about $310/door. This is without the...
Kitchen Cabinet Refresh | Key Tips!
Painting kitchen cabinets is a great refresh to update tired, wood cabinets. It is an undertaking, but the results are worth it! This client kitchen had dark, ’90s oak cabinets and the client was getting the property ready to rent. The appliances and countertop were also replaced. I have painted several kitchen and bathroom cabinets for my own investment properties and I continue to learn! Here are some tried and true strategies that continue to work well for me! Surface Preparation Preparing the painting surface is everything! This sounds basic, but, taking short cuts on this step may lead to...
Cabinet Doors as a Project Feature!
If you are anything like me, you spy an interesting element on marketplace and see how you can use use it! I’ve done this a number of time with cabinet doors! Here are some of my favorites! Linen Closet This door was from a salvaged bookcase. I used it as the basis for a linen closet. I built shelves on the inside and the face frame was built around this door to fill the opening. The doors on the bottom were built from the shelves of this same bookcase. I just love it! Free Little Library This stained glass door...
Board & Batten Feature Wall Round Up | A Few Tips
I love a good feature wall! The texture, design and color can make all the difference in the world. There are tons of blogposts detailing how to install board and batten (mostly batten) so, in this blogpost, I am sharing the feature walls I have done so far and a few learnings. Here is a round up of my board and batten feature walls! Learned so much along the way! Master Bedroom, Investment Property
Master Closet Update
Replacing the wire shelving in my closet was on my list of updates to make to the house. It’s a small closet and I wanted to add some warmth. This is a “before” photo. The wire shelves were removed; walls patched with drywall compound; and, painted. I found a door from a cabinet at an estate sale. I love the design and the wood tone. We used 3/4 plywood to build a cabinet. The cabinet was sanded, primed and painted (SW March Wind) The shelves were 1/2 inch plywood, capped with a 1 x 2 stained, pine board. The door...