DIYs & Garage Sale Finds!

It's the most wonderful time of the year.. No, not Christmas.. it's Garage Sale Season! (So basically like Christmas for some of us ;)

 

What some might find to be a useless old pair of crutches, others see as a repurposed book shelf!  Take your garage sale finds & get creative folks!

 

Here's 5 inventive ways to use your awesome garage sale finds!

 

1.  Shutter Magazine Holder

Simplified Steps:

• Cut out every other slate using a Dremmel (or pop them out with a hammer)
• Sand, prime, & spray paint

If you're going for a more vintage look, distress your shutter.

 

There's tons of DIY projects you can do with old shutters, so if you see these while garage sale-ing, make sure to grab them!

 

Head to My Repurposed Life for more detailed instructions.

 

2.  Mosaic China Plate Table Top

  Photo Source: Country Living

Simplified Steps:

• break plates apart with a tile nipper (can also be done with a hammer)
• prepare your table (wood: apply waterproof sealer, plastic: scuff with sandpaper)
• spread tile adhesive onto tabletop
• place tile pieces on table in design pattern, let adhesive set
• apply a thick coat of grout using a spackle knife
• use damp sponge to remove excess grout

You can also do this to a chair or to garden stones!

 Photo Source: fleamarketmakeovers

 

Mackenzie Wright provides more detailed instructions at SF Gate.

 

3.  Story Canvas

Photo Source: Fabulously Flawed

Simplified Steps:

• tear out the pages of a book
• arrange the pages, make sure the pages hang over the canvas to cover the sides (you may need to cut some pages to fill in small gaps)
• glue down pages to canvas with modge podge & a paint or sponge brush
• smooth out pages with hand & wait for glue to set
• use brush to apply a thin layer of modge podge to the entire surface

To avoid bubbling:

• let dry for a minute, then place canvas face down on a sheet of wax paper
• place a book inside the frame of the canvas (frame not included), & then 2 more books over the whole canvas (frame included)
• let it set for 20 minutes, peel off wax paper
• if you still have bubbles, let it sit on a flat surface over night

This one is fun because you can use any book you want.. a children's book, a piano songbook, your favorite novel, newspaper pages, calendar pages, old CD covers, ect.!

 

4.  Rake Wine Glass Holder

 Photo Source: the kitchn

Simplified Steps:

• break off handle of rake
• use twine or ribbon to wrap around top or tie a bow
• use 2 nails to hang on wall

This one is super easy & cute!  If you want a more clean look, paint your rake to match the room you put it in.

 

5. Crib Desk

 Photo Source: Tori Spelling Editorial

Simplified Steps:

• remove drop side of older crib (if crib is newer, just remove front side of crib)
• adjust crib to highest newborn height
• cut 2 mdf boards to the mattress size (use strong boards)
• paint with blackboard paint
• attach hooks as preferred (suction, hanging, ect.)

What an awesome way to recycle an old crib.  Children's chalkboard desks can run over $100, so this is also a much more affordable alternative for your kid's creativity corner!

 

DIYs

 

I wanted to see what other people were doing for DIY projects, so I went to Facebook & asked some of my friends to let me feature their projects in my blog!

 

 This one was done by my friend Lisa.  What an awesome transformation!

 Before

 After

 

My sister, Brandi, sent me a picture of her new entry-way coat hanger she made from a wood pallet!

Here's a couple of Brandi's other projects:

Frappuccino bottle made into a vase using twine.

Transformed jars with burlap, lace, & twine.

 

Check out how my friend Kristi recycled these tires to create an awesome play space!  A car table, that doubles as toy storage, and a cute little chair.

 

Finally, my new project.. an antique school desk!  We have been too busy to get started on this project yet, but here is the hidden treasure that we picked up at a garage sale a few weeks ago!  We plan on creating an art station for our daughter, while keeping as much of this antique desk's vintage flare as possible!

 

Comment below about your home improvement projects/designs.  I'd love to show off your hard work by featuring it in a future post!

 

Live with what you love.

 

CS4 Flooring & Design

Nursery Designs

Whether your planning now or fantasizing years in advance, one of the most fun rooms to decorate is your child's nursery!

 

When my fiancé and I found out we were expecting, I decided I wanted to do a Jungle theme for our little peanut, regardless of what the gender was.  So, my fiancé, being the handyman that he is, immediately painted the nursery green.  Well.. then when we found out we were having a girl.. I decided she needed to have a princess room, and next thing you know my fiancé is painting the room a cream/tan color to go with my new pink and brown theme:)  Luckily the carpet he had put in still matched perfectly!

 

Moral of the story.. before going paint and project crazy, make sure you've decided on a theme and colors that are peaceful and pretty, because you very well may be staring at them at 1, 3, and 5 a.m. every night for the next 6 months! ;)

 

Marie Pari

Photo Source: Pinterest

 Navy and coral together are so pretty and elegant!  What could be more perfect for your little girl's nursery?

Photo Source: Pinterest

Take a couple of glass milk bottles, paint them, tie a burlap or hemp rope bow, and add some artificial flowers to create an inexpensive, adorable piece of décor.

Photo Source: HalfPintPMB on Etsy

Photo Source: lilianiw.blogspot.com.au

 Repurpose a vintage china cabinet to make the perfect little armoire.  I like the idea of doing this piece in distressed pink.

 

Flooring to Match:
A medium toned, small-planked hardwood for a classic feel.  Almost everyone prefers wider planked hardwoods these days, but choosing the right small planked wood makes the room feel vintage.  Especially if you live in an older home, everyone walking into this room will wonder whether or not its the original hardwoods.  Feel free to add a cream colored rug in the center of the room, since, well.. babies learning to walk fall a lot :)

 The hardwood is great, but some prefer carpet in their bedrooms, especially in a child's room.  If I were decorating this room for my daughter, I would actually go with this pretty, patterned nylon carpet.

 

Lil Man Cave

 Photo Source: The Coral Cottage on Etsy

I loved the navy so much for the girl themed nursery that I had to do one for boys, as well!  I recommend grey paint for the walls, with a navy accent wall.  Or if you're a fan of DIY projects, create your own wood plank accent wall.

Photo Source: Project Nursery

Here's a few other pieces that you can either make or buy that will add to the rustic outdoors theme of this room.

Sold by RusticLuvDecor on Etsy for $65.82

This canvas sign cracks me up!  How cute is that?

Sold at Amazon for $30

Flooring to Match:

Tie it all together with a light grey carpet.  A darker hardwood works for this space, as well.

 

Travel Inspired

You can go one of two ways with your travel themed nursery.  The 1st theme is "Up, Up, & Away"  Stick to pastel colors for this design.

Photo Source: Little Hands

This is the perfect scenario to use a wallpaper feature wall!

Photo Source: sunshineandvodka on Etsy

Make your little one his/her very own mobile.

Photo Source: francisass.tumblr.com

A globe is a perfect design piece for a travel inspired room.  You can also personalize your globe using paint, or purchase one already personalized from Etsy.

Photo Source: Kate's Creative Space

This hot air balloon is made out of paper mache, but you can also use a paper lantern.

 

Flooring to Match:

I choose a light multi-colored carpet for this room.  It's warm & goes well with the pastel colors in this room.

 

The 2nd Travel Inspired theme is what I call "Oh the Places You'll Go" (this is also my 2nd week in a row of referring to Dr. Seuss in my blog, so I'm realizing that I may need to get out of my house more and have more conversations with adults ;)

Photo Source: Pretty Perfect Living

Put a large map behind the crib, and let that be your feature wall.

Sold from World Market

What would look more perfect than a suitcase dresser for your little one's travel inspired room?

Photo Source: chelseasewbee.blogspot.co.nz

Inspire your little one to imagine and explore.

Photo Source: MyOtherFootsLaughing on Etsy

You could take your regular light switch covers and make this yourself, or purchase them from Etsy!

 

Flooring to Match:

So this flooring is literally awesome.  There's only 2 planks here, and they are large planks.  Each plank is made out of smaller planks of old barn wood.  This hardwood works so well for your little one's travel themed room because the wood looks old and "well-traveled on."  All of the little nicks and flaws come from the fact that this wood is repurposed.  Man, I can't get enough of this floor!

 

Mother Earth

Photo Source: dominomag on instagram

 This isn't the same wallpaper from last weeks blog on wallpaper feature walls, but it was the inspiration behind this theme.  While writing last weeks blog, I was thinking to myself that while I loved that look for a dining room, I was jealous that I hadn't thought of it a year ago for my daughter's nursery!

 

This theme could also be easily done in a boy's nursery, by simply switching out the wallpaper for a tree decal, while keeping the design pieces.

Photo Source: earthbound-living.com

This teepee can be found online at The Land of the Nod for $159

I also found tons of different styles of teepees by searching for them on Etsy.

Complete the look with an antique style rocking chair. 

When I was thinking of the perfect rocking chair for this room, the 1st thing that came to mind was the rocking chair that my mother has in the nursery she created for her grandkids!  So the chair pictured above is a picture of my mother's actual chair.

 

I remembered that she bought this chair while at a benefit, though, so I wanted to find a similar one so you all can purchase one, too!

Sold at Wayfair for $382

I adore this feather mobile, it looks like a dream catcher.  You could use an actual dream catcher to make a mobile, as well!

Sold by DreamkeepersLLC on Etsy for $141

Flooring to Match:

The hardwood variations are gorgeous.  Everything about this wood feels very natural.

I choose a carpet that was still light, but had darker variations, so that the room wouldn't look washed out with the light colored teepee or other light furniture/décor options.

 

I could literally spend my whole life just picking out colors, themes, and décor pieces for nurseries, but I guess I'll just have to settle for redecorating my daughter's room every few years :)

 

Which nursery was your favorite?  Comment your answer in the comments section!  My personal favorite.. Mother Nature

 

All flooring recommendations can be purchased from CS4 Flooring & Design

 

To make sure that you don't miss out on any of your favorite designs, subscribe to my blog.  If you are reading this from your phone you may have to switch to the desktop version to find the subscribe button:)

 

Live with what you love.



Wallpaper Feature Walls

While I'm not a big fan of entire rooms covered in wallpaper, and my personal opinion is that there is nothing more awful than a wallpaper boarder, there is one aspect of wallpaper that I can get on board with: a wallpaper feature wall.

In order to pull this off, you must be VERY careful about the type of wallpaper you choose for a given room, your décor choices, and your flooring.  If all of these elements don't tie in together, than your wallpaper feature wall can quickly go from chic to tacky!

So that's what I'm here for, to help make sure your wallpaper feature wall doesn't end up looking like a scene out of your grandmother's musty old kitchen:)  Here's some of my favorite wallpaper patterns and the perfect flooring to match!

 

Classic Grey

Photo Source: janeclayton.co.uk

 The thing that I love most about this wallpaper is that its super versatile.  When I see this pattern, I think classic.  I would add some vintage, antique, distressed design pieces.  I can also picture this with some really simple, modern, and pretty design pieces, as well!

 

Flooring to match:

White laminate, that mimics wood, to keep this room looking bright and simple.

 

Bohemian Chic

Hello gorgeous!  I love the bohemian pattern here, and the turquoise and gold accent perfectly!

Flooring to match:

Check out the color variations in this wood!  The rich color would look stunning with the gold in this wallpaper.

Complete the look by adding one of these console pieces to your feature wall.

 

 Sold at Wayfair for $699.99

Sold at Wayfair for $106.99

 

Blue Chevron

Photo Source: www.marieclairemaison.com

On the "May's Color Schemes" blog from last week, I posted a beautiful chevron carpet, but hey, I'm not biased, I like chevron here and there, I like chevron everywhere! (Yes, that was a Dr. Seuss reference, sometimes its hard to step out of mom mode! ;)  Speaking of children, I like this wallpaper as a feature wall in a playroom or kid's lounge!  Plus, once the kids are older, this wallpaper also works for a scrapbooking/craft/hobby room!

 

Flooring to match:

I would go with carpet to help make this room feel warmer.  The cream color matches the cream in the chevron pattern perfectly.

 

Designing on a budget?  Complete your room with DIY design pieces (like the one below), at much smaller costs than store bought pieces.

Sold at Etsy for $45.37

 

Daisy Crazy

Photo Source: Saatchi Art

This look isn't for everyone, but with the right design pieces, I would definitely be willing to put this in my dining room.  In order for this look to remain pretty, and not too "childish," I recommend painting the rest of the walls and the ceiling white.

 

Flooring to match:

This bamboo flooring is warm and inviting.  The color goes with the nature feel of this room!

 

I love the idea of keeping this room fun and unique by adding an umbrella light fixture.  This would likely only work in a room with high ceilings, though!

Photo Source: blog.shoji.fr

 

Whimsical Woods

Photo Source: Cole-and-son.com

Create the perfect fairytale bedroom with this whimsical wallpaper.  It reminds me of nights spent catching fireflies.  Something about it is so enchanting!

 

Flooring to match:

This just depends on your personal preference.  Some always prefer carpet in a bedroom.  I think I prefer the wood mimicking laminate in this case.  Which one would you choose?? (Comment your answer in the comments section below!)

 

Take out the glass of an antique mirror, and use some lace to make your own DIY jewelry holder.  This vintage piece goes great with the whimsical theme!

Photo Source: Architecture & Design on Pinterest

 

Use the comments section below to tell me which design was your favorite!  My personal favorite.. Daisy Crazy, but only if I could convince my fiancé to make me an umbrella light fixture!

 

All flooring recommendations can be purchased from CS4 Flooring

 

Live with what you love.