Porch Party: Before and After pics

 

 

Welcome to Rhondi’s Porch Party! Please visit her at Rose Colored Glasses for a list of participants. Rhondi did this last year, and it was the second blogging event I participated in.  Thanks Rhondi for doing this again, so that we can all see the great looking porches of our blogging friends-both old and new.

When we bought our home in 2003, it had this hideous red deck on the back. We loved lots of things about the home-mostly the location-but this red deck was not one of them! It was my dream from the beginning to add a screened porch to the back of the house. It didn’t take us too long…we did it the summer of 2005, and were in the middle of construction when Katrina came along. The porch was a great help then since the roof was on and we were able to spend lots of time there since our power was off for 6 days. It was definitely the coolest spot in the house.

This is the outside of the house today with the porch added. The porch includes 2 sets of French Doors, but we screened about 3/4 of the porch and left one area open.

 This picture shows the area that was not screened in. We use this area for grilling out.

An interior view…..

 Another view that shows the wicker. The wicker was originally white or tan, and was bought at different points in time from garage sales, flea markets, etc and spray painted the same green color. The cushions were covered from tablecloths I bought on sale  for $1.00 each at Walmart. I didn’t sew them…took the lazy way and pinned the fabric to the back of the cushions. LOL

 Something I enjoy doing is picking up accessories at thrift stores and garage sales for my porch like this little rabbit in a planter.

 Pillows from the thrift store………………

A cute little ladybug house-found at a flea market.

And this Southern Living at Home basket to hold house plants. One of my favorite spots is the porch. I love to admire the flowers through the comfort of the porch. These purple coneflowers are really putting on a show right now!

A hydrangea planted next to the open part.

A view looking into the woods. I got the tea cup bird feeders ‘free’ at an estate sale…bought enough other stuff, so they were just thrown in! 

I hope you enjoyed visiting my porch! It is one of my favorite spots at my house.

Thanks for stopping by…be sure and visit the other porches on Rhondi’s site!

Diane

Trash to Treasure: Storing my pictures

Welcome to Trash to Treasure on Tuesday!

I hope Mr. Linky works...it wasn't as easy as I thought. LOL

As the old saying goes, "One man's trash in another man's treasure."

In my opinion, a Trash to Treasure is anything that you've bought or had given to you that someone else didn't want and you really like! It could be from a garage sale, thrift store, or a bargain from a retail store. In other words-a thrifty purchase-just use your imagination! If you don't have anything new to share, feel free to link an old post!

I'm going to keep my first post really simple... so here is my Trash to Treasure for this week:
I bought this cute little suit case this past weekend at a yard sale. Since I've started blogging, I have been thinking of different ways to use things. I love the shape of the box and the size, but didn't really care for the car on the front.

So using scrapbook paper, the computer to print a title, and Mod Podge, I redid the top of the suitcase and plan to use it for family photos. The inside is lined with black felt, and large enough for 2 rows of 4 by 6 photos.I am going to cut cardboard for the inside to divide it into two sections. I think it's much cuter than the photo boxes that you buy for photos. Now if I could just run across a few more of these! I need more than one to hold all my pictures!

For those that are new to linking to Mr. Linky, here are the directions:

1. Create your post and publish it. Please include a link back to my blog by typing in my blog address http://diane1876.blogspot.com You can type in the name of my blog, and highlight the words by a right click, then click on the paper clip to type in the blog address.

2. After you have your post ready and published, click on the title of your post. Then right click on the address in the address bar at the top of your browser. It should turn blue, then right click 'copy.'

3. Go to my blog and type your name in on Mr. Linky and right click on the http space and click 'paste'.

4. If you have problems, just email me or leave a comment, and I'll try to help fix it. Thanks for visiting and for participating!

A Kitchen Redesign -a little at a time!

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch is hosting Metamorphosis Monday. Please visit her for lots of inspirational photos!

When we bought our house in 2002, we knew it was a 'fixer upper.' So I've included our 'before' pictures in with my post.Here is a before of the kitchen before the other family moved out:
And here is the same view of my kitchen today:
We have done the remodeling in stages, and of course when you do that, there are always things that you wish you might have done differently. We replaced the appliances within a year, and now I wish that I had bought stainless steel.

My original plan was to have new cabinet doors put on the existing cabinets and add granite counter tops. After getting estimates from several contractors, we decided to replace the cabinets and use Formica on the counter tops. Maybe one day we'll add the granite or quartz counter tops, but we had to cut costs somewhere to stay within the budget...and that was the place for us. I'm so glad now that we had new cabinets put in...they not only look better, but are so much more efficiently designed!

The kitchen is not very large as you can see, so the redesign of the cabinet space, which was done on a computer, has made the area so much more usable. We have two of these corner cabinets...one on each side of the window. They are very deep and hold quite a bit. We chose stacks of drawers rather than cabinets with doors wherever possible. I really can find most everything so much easier. And all but the top drawer are deep enough to hold most pots and pans.
Here is another stack of drawers on the other side.
To utilize every bit of space, we used these corner cabinets that swing open with lazy Susan shelves on both sides of the sink. Now I can get to stuff that used to be almost impossible to reach.
Here is a before view of the other side of the room...the breakfast area before the other family moved.
And here is a picture of the way it is today.
We replaced the fluorescent overhead fixtures with ceiling fans and put in ceramic tile. One of my friends tried to get me to put in hardwood or laminate....I wish I had listened to her--the grout is a pain to clean. But as soon as I finish teaching this semester, redoing the grout with a permanent paint is on my list of projects!

The room has been repainted since we moved in...from golden grain to the sage green you see in this picture. I'm thinking of replacing the table in the corner with a chair and nice lamp to make a reading area. We never use this table! Our dining area is convenient to the living area, and we eat there or at the bar. So as you can tell...I'm not really totally 'done' with this room!

One of my favorite things in this room is my Daisy Chain pottery by Mississippi artist Gail Pittman.
I have quite a few pieces of this as you may notice from the other pictures. The pottery originally belonged to my daughter, Kelli at Sassy Southern Mom, and when she moved in her new home, it no longer worked for her....so I inherited it all! The color in the picture is a little off...the green in the dishes is not quite as bright as it looks in this picture. Daisy Chain has been discontinued, so I'm always on the lookout for it on Ebay, antique stores or flea markets.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Perfect Little Table to Paint!

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch is hosting Metamorphis Monday. Please visit her for lots of inspirational posts!

I have been looking for a piece of furniture to paint black since I first read the post that Rhoda on Southern Hospitality did giving detailed directions. You can see her post here.

This weekend I found the perfect little table! It was only $5.00 at a garage sale. The table was still on the flatbed trailer when we drove up, so I was the first one to spot it. I couldn't believe the lady only wanted $5.00 for it! I couldn't get over there fast enough to claim it! It had even been prepped for painting and was sanded as smooth as a babies behind! Here is the before picture. I love the legs on the table, and the height of it.
Since it rained the entire weekend, I couldn't get out and spray paint...so I bought a can of satin black by Krylon and painted it with a brush. It now has a new home at the end of my sofa. I don't have much space, so it was a perfect fit!
This project is another one of the many benefits I've gotten from blogging. Before, I probably wouldn't have thought of painting furniture black! There are lots of other bloggers that have painted projects too, and all of them have been an inspiration to me! I love the way the 'new to me' table looks in our living room.

s ahead of time? I love the scheduling feature!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day.
Diane

Secretary and Scrapbook Paper

The other day I found these packages of scrapbook paper at TJ Maxx. They were only 3.99 a package and there are about 25 sheets in each package. I really liked the warm earthtone shades and patterns of the papers.

This antique secretary in our bedroom needed to be cleaned out. I had not really tried to accessorize it...and it was looking junky! I had just been stuffing books and other things in it, and it really was overcrowded!
So I decided to copy an idea from some of the blogs I've seen. I know that Rue lined a bookcase with scrapbook paper, and Kimba has done one. There are probably other blogs that I've looked at too...just don't recall now!
And this is how it turned out! It didn't take too long, and I like the results. The color is actually more of a sage green than the picture shows. I uses double sided scrapbook tape to hold the paper in place.

If you want to try this project, here is a word of warning....measure the distance between each shelf. These shelves get gradually larger from top to bottom, and I almost cut the paper too short!

Here' a picture of the whole secretary. This is another one of my purchases at the Green Door Antique shop I've mentioned before. I put it on lay a way, and brought it home the day I picked it out. The shop owner knew us well by the time we bought this piece, and knew I'd pay my bill!

Thanks for stopping by and peeking at my little project. I may try to do the piece in the breakfast room next.
Have a great day,
Diane

Rainy Day Makeovers

Yesterday it rained all day long here! I usually don't stay home all day, but the slow rain made it a good day just to stay home and work on some projects. First, I put my ferns out so they could get a good watering. Then, before the rain started in, I spray painted a few things that needed a face lift. I had to move them to the shed before they were dry...and it took a little longer for them to dry because of the damp weather.
My daughter is having a Southern Living at Home party this weekend, and I'm helping her with some projects to get her home ready. She bought this picture for her screened porch at a recent garage sale.
She wanted it to be updated a little, so here it is with a new coat of paint...in none other that black! After looking at all the projects on blogs, I just couldn't picture it any other way.
Here is a rattan bird cage that I found at a yard sale a few weeks ago. I thought about painting it to match my porch.
But since I had the black paint out anyway.....I gave it a coat or two of black!

We may use it to decorate Kelli's porch, but for now and for the photo I put it on top of the new garage sale cabinet. I really like the contrast of the green plant and black. If she doesn't want to keep it for her porch, it may end up here.
So, there you have it! That's how I spent my rainy day...painting, blogging, washing clothes, etc! The rain finally stopped around 4 pm., and I decided to go to aerobics. How do you spend your rainy days? I'm hoping the sun will come out tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by!

Cabinet Facelift Postponed: Seeking advice!

A few weeks ago I posted some things that I bought from a young couple at their garage sale. I mentioned this cabinet, but didn't post the picture. My plan was to paint it...but now I'm unsure what to do with it. I liked the traditional style of this cabinet, and wanted to have a cabinet to display some pottery that I inherited from my daughter. Also, it has holes in the back for cords and will be a great place to display my North Pole Village at Christmas.

Below is the furniture in the breakfast room that I was going to replace. It is a really old washstand that belonged to my husband's grandmother. My daughter wanted this piece to go in a small spot in her house, so I went ahead and let her get it. As long as it stays in the family!
I know I said I was going to paint this cabinet when I bought it and I probably will...eventually! It's not that I'm lazy but I'm unsure what color to paint it. I didn't want the spot to be empty while I am trying to make up my mind, so my husband and I brought it inside and polished it. We made a few small repairs and put the missing hardware back on. The cabinet looks so much better!
Here is a close up of the dishes that my daughter gave me. The pattern is Daisy Chain and was designed by Mississippi artist Gail Pittman. This pattern has been discontinued, but is still one of my favorites. The colors in the pottery go with the color scheme in my kitchen much better than my daughter's kitchen.
My original plan was to paint it like the cabinet in the picture below. I saw this cabinet in antique store in Collins . My kitchen cabinets are finished with this same glazed color.

Or I could just leave it as is! It looks so much better after furniture polish and with the hardware put back on.

I wish I was more confidant about decisions like this! I know that once I paint it, that's it...the mahogany finish will be history! And it sure would be easier to leave it as it is now. What do you think?
Thanks for stopping by and PLEASE give your opinion!

One of My Daughter's Rejects and Rub N Buff

This was what I had on one of the walls in my breakfast room. It had been there for a while and I was was ready for a change!
My daughter couldn't find a place in her new home for this little shelf....so I took it off her hands when she had her garage sale this past weekend.
It fit perfectly in the spot between the french doors and corner of the wall. I had 2 prints from Southern Living at Home that I've had a while. The faux pears are from a yard sale a couple of weeks ago.
The frames were a little too 'gold' for the shelf, so I dug out some Rub N Buff in Spanish Copper. You can see how much it helped tone down the frames. You can use your finger to rub it on, but I preferred using a cloth.
Here they are after the rub and buff...much better match to the shelf!

I really enjoyed making this little change with Kelli's shelf. It's like it was made for this spot! And the piece that was in this spot is now hanging on her front door!

This little project is one of the small benefits I've gotten from blogging. I read on Rhoda's site Southern Hospitality about a project she did using Rub N Buff, and remembered that I'd had some tucked away. It's good stuff...and so easy to use!

Edited to add: You can buy Rub N Buff at Michaels or any other craft store. It is also available online...just google Rub n Buff