Home Decor Blog Love

Since deciding to purchase a home I have noticed a major shift in my blog attentions. I was going through a 5 month long health & fitness blog kick, and although I still love and read those, my love is waning in favor of another genre of blog.

Source: Thrifty Decor Chick

Home Decor Blogs.

Oh my goodness. There are SO many amazing home blogs out there, but the ones I love the most are just normal couples like you and me who are making over their own homes one room at a time. And many of them do it on crazy low budgets as well! Talk about inspiration.

Since I know we'll have a lot of home improvement projects on our hands when (if) we close on this house, I figured I should start getting inspiration and ideas. And boy have I ever!

Here are some of my favorite, recently discovered home decor blogs for your reading pleasure.

-Nesting Place: This one actually isn't recently discovered. I've been reading her blog for a while now because she is a RENTER who still manages to make her (rented) home look beautiful and custom. That's quite a feat!

-A Soft Place to Land: Beautiful room re-dos and lots of great small ideas too (like hanging a hydrangea basket on your front door!) that make you say "Why didn't I think of that?!"

-Young House Love: This one I seriously fell in love with at first sight. They're an adorable couple, both of whom contribute to the blog, who are renovating their home. They show great step-by-step tutorials and lots of photos. This post on painting kitchen cabinets has me thinking that maybe we should paint ours. They also just seem like the type of people we would be friends with.

-The Inspired Room: Melissa is a design consultant who truly does inspire with her room makeovers. I love her style and her "keepin' it real" attitude.

-Better After: I love a good before and after photo for inspiration, so this blog is right up my alley. It's dedicated solely to showing great before and after transformations. Sweeeet!

-Thrifty Decor Chick: This girl seriously knows how to spy a junky looking piece at a thrift store and see it for what it could be. She transforms them into beautiful, magazine-style pieces in little to no time. And can I tell you how much I loved this post on being a "piler"? Because that's totally me. Note to self: Must work on that nasty little habit!

Hopefully with inspiration from these ladies (and one guy) I'll be a home decor professional in no time and have our house looking immaculate! (Yeah right.)

Do you have any favorite home decor blogs? What are they? I am always looking to add to my Google Reader!

Summer Bedspread

With the temps getting up in the 100's these days, I realized we needed a lightweight, summer bedspread. I was also growing tired of our neutral comforter and wishing for a little more color in our bedroom.

When I was at Target the other day I browsed the bedspread section and found a great candy apple green quilt-like bedspread that I really loved. I figured it would go perfectly with the throw pillows that we already had so I snatched it up. {Side note: Why are King size bed linens SO expensive?!?!}

Here is the BEFORE:

Nice, but neutral.

Here is the AFTER:

I couldn't seem to get photos that properly represented the color but trust me, it's a bright and punchy green!

I'm really liking the color change and I'm loving how lightweight the quilt is too. Perfect for summer!

Do you change out of your bedspreads for the seasons? This is the first time I have done this but I definitely think it will be a habit I will continue from now on.

Giddy for Goodwill

Along with my recent Dollar Tree obsession, I've also become enamoured with Goodwill. I just love love love it for awesome and cheap home decor items. I stop at Goodwill at least once a week and I almost never come away without making a purchase....which I don't feel the least bit guilty about because it's so CHEAP!

I also have a little secret about shopping at Goodwill that I believe helps me snag all the awesome stuff before other people. I actually debated on whether or not to share this "secret" for fear that giving away my secret would cause me some shopping competition...and as selfish as it is, I want first dibs on all the best stuff!!

But in the end I realized that one reason I write this blog is to try to help and inform people about cool stuff. So, I will share my secret. Are you ready? Here goes...

Shop Goodwill on Mondays. Most people bring their donations to Goodwill on the weekends, so shopping on Monday usually means you get first dibs on all the new stuff that came in over the weekend. I'm certainly not saying this is a foolproof plan but I have noticed a significant change in the quantity and quality of items when shopping on a Monday vs. say a Thursday.

So today I made my Monday stop at Goodwill and I found a couple things that I'm really excited about.

That's 5 antique-looking books and an adorable Santa Clause figurine! {Excuse the TV on in the background. Mondays not only mean Goodwill but also Dancing with the Stars which is a must-watch for me!}

Look at those yellowed pages and worn bindings. Swoon!!! I got the books for $1.99 each. Worth every penny.

I used a few of them to raise up a puny lamp on my side table. And that glass hurricane was a Goodwill find from a couple Mondays ago.

The other two found their home on the bottom shelf of this table. They look right at home there!

I think I inherited my mom's love of Santa figurines. This little baby was $2.99!! Score! Now I can't wait for Christmas season so I can display him.

Fall Decor on a Budget

Fall officially began a couple of days ago, which means I can now display my Fall decor proudly {without getting the side eye anymore since I've had most of it up for weeks already}. And in a miraculous turn of events, the weather here in Texas actually cooled off by about 40 degrees since the beginning of Fall this week. Sometimes I really do think God has a sense of humor....Like as if he said "Haha it's been 100+ degrees for months but the DAY Fall officially begins I'm gonna drop that sucker down 40 degrees!! That'll get their heads spinning!" Welp, thanks God. I'll take cooler weather, despite the fact that I think you're laughing at us up there.

Anyway, on to the Fall decor! I love decorating for holidays but I don't like to spend a lot of $$$ on it. There are some things you can do to save money on holiday decor.

Use items you already have. For example, in the above photo I decided to pull a Fall-colored cookbook from my collection to put on display. I just love the extra pop of Fall-ness that it gives my little nook on the kitchen counter.

I also pulled that glass vase off of a shelf in my closet where it had been sitting for months. It was actually one of those vases that you get when you receive a flower arrangement {not that I get many of those...love you hubby!} The filler in the vase I found at Tuesday Morning for cheap. I just love this little Fall nook now!

Buy holiday decor out of season. This is hard for me because I don't really get "in the mood" to buy holiday decor until it's the season but I try to still keep my eyes open for anything that's just too incredible of a deal to pass up.

I bought the above Fall leaves table runner {which I adore} on super sale from Crate & Barrel last December for {I think} around $10. The plate I bought for 50% off at Hobby Lobby and the candles I already had. Granted, the table decor definitely is a work in progress but I still like it a lot.

Shop for holiday decor at super cheap places, like the dollar store. I bought the strand of Fall leaves for $1 at the Dollar Tree. {And I'm thinking about going back and buying 4-5 more strands of them for the mantle, dining table. etc.} The pumpkins were gifts from people I think. I got the candle & little wreath {on the lower shelf} from Hobby Lobby on sale last year.

Finally, spread your holiday decor out throughout your house {kitchen, dining, & living room mostly}. Little pops of decor here and there are better than a ton of stuff piled in one place.

Now for a couple of Halloween items:

Dollar Tree find

Dollar Tree "Haunted House" sign & Trick or Treat sign bought from Hobby Lobby on sale.

Dollar Tree "Witches Way" sign

Ugly Ducklings

Recently, I've developed a bit of an obsession with the Dollar Tree. How come no one ever told me all the great finds they have at that store for ONE DOLLAR?!?! I almost feel like I shouldn't tell anyone about how great the Dollar Tree is so I can keep first dibs on everything. Just in the past few weeks I've found everything from Halloween decor to glassware to home improvement supplies. As I was getting ready to check out, these little ugly ducklings (or birdies) caught my eye:

Who would think that sand glued on to them was a good look for these things?!? I mean, really? But I saw the potential and knew they would look great with a coat or two of my secret weapon:

That's right. The ridiculously popular (in blog world, at least) spray paint color called "Heirloom White". Not too white, not too yellow. Just right for a nice creamy color.

I first attempted to sand off the...er...well...sand! But that crap was stuck on there and not budging much so I just decided to paint over it. Here they are with the first coat (notice my super amazing "drop cloth"...also known as an empty bag of dog food):

After a couple more coats and a little drying time they transformed into beautiful swans:

It's really amazing how much cuter they are now! And the paint really brings out the detail on the wings, which I love.

I love my little "nest" that I created for one of them. The glass container was also from Dollar Tree and the moss I already had from a previous project. So total cost for that little bird's nest was less than $3!

This picture is way too dark but you can get the idea. I am in love with my little birds now!! I want to buy more and put them all over the house.

A Dresser of a Different Color

This is the story of an old dresser originally purchased from Target that looked like this one:

Photo from Target.com

I'm more of a dark wood kind of girl so I'm really not sure why I even purchased this dresser in such a light color. I bought it when I was in college so maybe I was hungover the day I bought it?? Who knows.

The point is I wasn't feeling it anymore. It was just sitting in my guest room being hated by me. So I decided to paint it and make it purty. Only problem was that this dresser is laminate, not wood. Can you even paint laminate??

Yes, yes you can. First I removed the hardware {well actually this part happened when my husband was home on R&R so I made him take off the hardware}. Then I used our palm sander to sand off the top layer, being careful not to sand down too far. You just want to get off the shiny laminate part. I forgot to get a picture of this step...sorry. :(

Then I used a small foam roller brush to paint on a primer that said it was suitable for laminate. {Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Primer to be exact}. Here's what she looked like after two coats of primer:The only thing that sucks about this primer that I used is that it needs 7 days to completely dry. SEVEN DAYS?!?! Don't you realize I'm an instant gratification kind of girl???? So, I begrudgingly left the dresser to dry for 7 days {it was torture}. Once the primer is completely dry go back over the primer with sand paper to smooth out any bumps and things.

Then I was finally able to get to the paintin' part. Yahoo!!! I painted it an off-white Kilz color {and again I used a small foam roller brush}. Once it was painted and dried I reattached the hardware and VOILA!I just love the way it turned out!! I probably should have given it a coat of polyurethane to protect the paint but I was way too impatient for the final product so I skipped it {for now...maybe I'll do it later}.

I love the feeling of a finished project!

A Little Frame Makeover

My great aunt Ellabeth was quite a crafter when she was alive, and she also had a knack for painting. I was lucky enough to acquire one of her paintings that I love but unfortunately I was no longer loving the bronzey-gold frame holding it. However, the frame has great detail to it so I figured just a couple coats of spray paint would work wonders. Here she is all taped off and ready for spray paint. All I did pre-painting was wipe off the dust and grime that had accumulated on the frame. I didn't bother with sanding it or anything {lazy}. Then away I went with a couple coats of Dover White spray paint and voila!
{Please ignore the dog body in the background and the fact that the frame is resting on an ironing board}

I'm happy with the way it turned out and I think the white frame really makes the painting pop now! Also, although you can't tell in the photo, the paint job has an "antique" look to it where some of the spray paint didn't completely get into some of the nooks and crannies {aka I didn't spray it properly}....and I really like it that way! Sometimes laziness pays off people...I'm just sayin'.

So thanks, Ellabeth, for providing me with a one-of-a-kind painting that looks beautiful hanging in my living room. I miss you!

Wreaths: Not Just for Christmas

This is officially the easiest wreath to make ever! I have to thank my good friend Connie for the inspiration. She made an adorable Army themed wreath with ribbon so I thought "Gosh, I could do that!" I decided to go with Aggie (Gig 'em!!) and football themed ribbon since football season is upon us!
As with everything I make, it's NOT perfect, but I'm okay with that. It makes my front door looks so much more welcoming!
Here's how I made mine:

Supplies:

-3 different types of ribbon...at least two of which are a bit thicker and are wired
-A plain wreath...mine was on sale
-Hot glue gun & scissors

Procedure:

STEP 1: Glue the end of the thickest ribbon to the back of the wreath and then start twisting and glueing along the front of the wreath. It doesn't have to be perfect! Once you get all the way around back to where you started just cut the ribbon and glue the other end to the back of the wreath.

STEP 2: Repeat STEP 1 with the other thick ribbon, filling in spots the first ribbon didn't cover.

STEP 3: Take the thin, non-wired ribbon and glue the end to the back of the ribbon. Then just loosely wrap it around the wreath, gluing to the back in certain spots as you go. Once you get all the way around cut the ribbon and glue to the back.

STEP 4: Make a couple bows (I suck at bows so please make yours prettier than mine!) and hot glue them to the front of the wreath.

Voila! That's it! So easy, right?!?

An Imperfect DIY Topiary

I am loving topiaries these days! I've been seeing them everywhere lately...blogs, catalogs, stores, and more. I decided a topiary would be the perfect centerpiece for my mantel that needed a serious re-vamp so I went about making one. Yes, I made one. Wanna see?!?! Okay here ya go:Sorry about the blurry pic...I was impatient! Oh and SO WHAT if the stick is leaning a little bit. Get over it! ;-) And it took about 3 times as many fake flowers as I originally anticipated so there is definitely a bald spot at the bottom for the time being (a.k.a. until I get unlazy). I CAN'T BE PERFECT PEOPLE!

So basically to make it I just followed this tutorial on a blog that I love. However I'm still going to type out how I did it because I did change a few things.

1. Spray painted a clay pot with a couple coats of black paint, let dry, and sponged on the white circles.

2. Bought a dowel rod, cut it down to the height I wanted for my topiary, and spray painted dark brown. Then doggie decided to help me with the "weathered" look and proceeded to steal it off the table as it was drying and put some nice teeth marks in it. At first I was peeved about this but then I realized the teeth marks actually made it look more like a real stick! The jokes on me I guess!

3. Bought a styrofoam ball and 4 bunches of fake yellow flowers (they were on sale 50% off...thank goodness because this could get pricey). Like I said, this required way more flowers than I originally anticipated so beware! Pulled all the flower buds off the stems.

4. Hot glued flower buds around the strofoam ball, bunched tightly so you can't see any styrofoam, although I will say my foam ball was green and so were the centers of my flowers so it really didn't look that bad if there were tiny bits of foam showing...it just looked like a flower center...but I digress.

5. Bought styrofoam and cut it to fit in the bottom of the clay pot. Stuck the dowel into the flower ball and into the clay pot styrofoam. Hot glue into place for the most stability.

6. Bought a bag of moss and hot glued moss all over the top of the clay pot to cover the styrofoam base.

7. Voila! That's it. I am probably going to add a decorative ribbon to the dowel eventually to add a little more pizazz.

And to wrap it up, here's my new re-vamped mantel. I forgot to take a before picture but trust me, this is MUCH improved and totally different.It still needs more but for now I'm loving it! I plan on purchasing some fake flower to put in the green vase to add some height soon. I love the green with the black and white, though. Here's another view: