I found a neat looking basket in the discard pile at my job.
Yes, I trash pick. #notashamed
I liked this basket because it had feet and I liked the shape of it. It was also in great shape. I thought it would make a cute planter.
I promptly painted the basket white with some chalk paint.
I let the paint dry and painted a second coat of white chalk paint.
I then popped in some boxwoods and I thought it was perfect!
This thing would be cute with some faux apples in it for fall, or some mini gourds. I can’t wait to see how many different ways I can decorate with it!
Have you turned any trash into treasure lately? Comment and show me your projects!
We’ve been blogging here for a good five years now, and in that time, we’ve had a lot of questions from readers. One question we’re often asked is this: “You all seem to always be doing something to your house. How do you do so much?” Today I’d like to share how we prioritize our projects.
1. Do projects a little at a time
We just did a small remodel of our master bathroom. We replaced mirrors, hardware and light fixtures. We eventually plan to replace the bathtub and surround and flooring as well, but it simply isn’t in the budget right now. So we started with the cheapest, easiest items on our “master bath to-do list” and we completed those.
2. Find cheaper options for the things you want to do
We love carriage house garage doors, but we neither need nor want to buy a $2,000 garage door at the moment… so we took to Amazon and ordered faux Coach house door hardware and a faux window kit for $50. We spent far less money something that looks like the real deal.
3. If you can DIY it, do it.
Custom closets are expensive, but my dad and I built this closet organizer ourselves for $100. It only took one day and it was a fairly simple project. We saved a lot of money by doing it ourselves AND it was a lot of fun.
4. Before you do any part of the project, ask yourself these questions:
1. Who will it benefit?
If it’s something that will benefit everyone in the home, bump the project up higher on your to do list.
2. Can I do the project in phases, or must I do it all at once?
If a project must be done all at once, but it’s small, it’s probably OK to raise it on your list. If it’s a big project and you can’t do it in phases, it’s probably expensive and should be lower on your priority list.
3. Do I need to do it, or just want to?
Projects that you want to do, no matter how much you want to do them, are never as important as the projects you need to do.
5. Save money for the things you can’t afford right now
Even if you can’t afford the things you want at the moment, save money until you have what you need.
Pardon the snow pictures; since my server crashed earlier this year, I’ve lost many of my pictures.
Not bad, but this eyesore wasn’t doing a thing for our home’s facade.
Our garage door was big, white and booorrrring. I’ve been crushing on Coach house garage doors since forever, but because they run in the upwards of $2,000, they aren’t exactly in the budget right now.
I promptly ordered them and, thanks to Amazon Prime, I received them two days later. All pieces were 100% magnetic, so if you make a mistake, or like me, can’t seem to get your “window panes” straight, you just pick them up and move them…no nail/screw holes, and no damage 🙂
It took me about 30 minutes to put them all on the door. I would recommend having a “spotter” to stand back and help you determine if you’re putting your “windows” on straight. Other than that, these things are easy-peasy to install.
I texted a picture to all my family when we were finished and several of them asked when we got a new door.
Doesn’t our house look so much better?
Let’s see that before and after:
before:
after:
Isn’t that a thousand times better? It’s amazing what just a simple, $50 change can do for your home.
Join us this week for the following features:
Wednesday: a super cute study space
Friday: Farmhouse Friday: Repurposed and recycled decor
Saturday: Simplify Saturday: Your paper clutter problems solved!
I love chunky, wooden turned candlesticks, but they can be costly. Did you know you can easily DIY them from materials you can find in most hardware stores?
I was in Lowe’s earlier this week when I happened upon these lovely turned table legs.
I purchased the terra cotta saucers from Rural King.
I then used wood glue to glue saucers to one end of the legs, but for the end with the screw? I chose to drill a hole in the saucers.
I learned that you can soak your terra cotta pots overnight in water and drill a hole with a standard drill bit. No masonry bit needed!
I then bolted the saucers on and painted them white with two coats of chalk paint.
I’m happy with how they turned out, but I’m thinking of cutting one of the taller candlesticks down so I’ll have three varying sizes. I love the look of these and I know they’ll look great on our mantle.
This was a DIY project that didn’t cost much, and it was easy and fun to do. I love how cute these candlesticks are as well!
I realized recently that I typically show you all my summer home tour in early June, and here it is mid-July and I’ve yet to share it. What? How did that happen?
It’s either because of our super busy schedule this summer, or the searing heat we’ve had to endure lately. In all honesty, it’s just because I got busy and it wasn’t on my mind.
So, without further adieu, here is our 2018 summer home tour. It’s a much less scaled down summer home tour, but our home is able to breathe and I’m loving it.
This cute little vignette rests in the middle of our dining table. I love the green apples, and how they match perfectly with the green hydrangeas.
Also in our dining room: The fake “mantle” I decorate each year. Stay tuned…we are getting a real mantle soon.
But I love how simple and pretty the purple blooms are with the milk glass and candles. And you know I had to put some lanterns up there, too.
Here is the other side of our dining room. Just a little summer greenery here.
And in the living room, this lovely vignette greets you from our sofa table.
Our summer decor is pretty simple- a few floral blooms for color, some natural elements like moss balls, twigs, or grass, and plenty of lanterns and candles. Tune in next week for a look at our summer porch.
