Wallpapered hutch reveal.

If you follow me on Instagram then you know the saga of this hutch & might be a little tired of it (sorry). I bought it, loved it... lived with it wood for a while.

But deep down I had a HUGE desire to paint it. I just wanted it to be right & thought about it for a LONG time. I finally chose Armington Grey by Sherwin Williams mixed in with BB Frosch Chalk Paint Powder. 

Painting the outside was a breeze and took barely 2 coats for excellent coverage. The inside was a little more work. I knew I wanted to do a paper on the inside but didn't want to spend a zillion dollars for the back of a hutch, so I sourced this fabulous wrapping paper from Rifle Paper Co. for the back. I used a matte mod podge & it turned out great! The small sheets were easy to work with, and this pattern is forgiving so the seams aren't overly visible.

Here is what it looked like before, pretty, but plain.

And after

I just love how it looks in our front room. It has so much character!

I am mildly in love the paper on the back. I have plans to use some other Rifle Paper Co. prints in some other spaces in our home as well. 

This is what it looked like with just the base grey coat before I sealed it with white wax from Miss Mustard Seed over the top which totally changed the colors and gave it a totally unique finish.

The inside isn't filled with anything precious. Just a collection of yardsale dishes, old books, and some vintage finds.

The whale bookends you can order here. 

I saw them when I did an internship at a design firm this spring, and just HAD to have my own. I absolutely love them! 

This hutch was a labor of love, but I am SO thrilled with how it turned out!

54 comments

DIY Board & Batten Entry Wall.

I'm finally getting around to sharing some projects that we have finished recently in our home.

Today I am sharing one of my very favorites... and perhaps the easiest with the greatest amount of impact.

We recently added a board & batten wall treatment on the entry way wall of our little abode. I have to admit that I put off this project over and over because I was afraid of the cost + time commitment of it all, but it really cost us under $50 and took one afternoon.

Not kidding.

I had a hard time finding a suitable tutorial to do it the way I envisioned it working + turning out, so I plan to share the way we went about this wall so inexpensively and how we problem solved our way into making this such a breeze project. 

For now, here are a bunch of pretty pictures... because that's what we're here for! I think the decor on this wall has been ever changing since it was completed, but here is how it currently looks.

The bench is from Downeast Home.

Mirror & rosette pillow is Threshold for Target. 

Gingham Pillow Ikea.

Stool is vintage.

Baskets & pot are Homegoods.

Cheery lemon wreath is Threshold for Target.

Bag is Target.

Monogram is from Etsy.

Hooks are from Home Depot.

I relocated our family gallery wall to the photo ledge we added. I love the homey touch of having them all lined up as guests enter our home. I've collected the frames from Target & Ikea over the years. 

Also, that snake plant is a sur-viv-or. It has been amazing me with its will to live spite my negligence.  Plus, it's cool to look at so win win. 

This wall is not only beautiful but it adds a LOT of function not to mention impact to our little home. The bang for your buck is definitely worth it! Stay tuned for the details.

16 comments

Our home: Dining nook

I finished this space a while ago, but I have been so busy project deep I haven't had a chance to show you all the new pretty things happening!

Here is our new dining nook that looks especially pretty in front of our DIY planked wall.. (more on that later)

This whole makeover was inspired by a free farmhouse style table my Mom brought to me. She knew I could do something with it. It had an ugly yellow oak top before.

So I quickly stripped the existing finish, and used a stain made out of vinegar + steel wool for the top.

The top is aged and inconsistent grey... much like old barn wood. I kinda love it. 

I sealed it with a polycrylic + wha-la.

I left the legs as they were white, chippy, a little dirty... ya know adds character.

I paired it with some Target industrial style chairs that I found on a local yardsale page (lucky day!!) and a thrifted bench I quickly painted white. 

So pretty much, this entire area is second hand. How awesome is that?! 

Chairs similar here

Vase from Downeast Home

Dishes from Walmart

Curtains & Placemats from Target

Silk flowers Hobby Lobby

Table + Bench Thrifted

5 comments

DIY Blanket Ladder.

I thought I would share my quick DIY blanket ladder that I quickly built a little while back.

This was seriously SO easy.

Isn't it funny that the simplest DIY projects tend to be your favorite? 

Honestly, this cost like $4 and took me about 15 minutes to build. 

All I did was buy inexpensive 1x2 stripes of pine from Lowes. 

I totally eyeballed the height...  mine ended up being about 6' tall and each horizontal strip is about 20". 

I simply measured, and screwed the pieces together with long wood screws. 

Stained it Dark Walnut by Minwax & wha-la.

Seriously, anyone can do it.

You can even have Lowes cut the wood to size if you aren't so sure about using a saw. 

I love having our pretty throw blankets on display and it adds a little bit of cozy to our family room. 

27 comments

Confessions of a decorator: Taking Risks & our navy blue master bedroom

This is a true story, about someone who can walk into a room and make design decisions for anyone else without second thought.

Eh ehmm.

I can pretty much tell you what a room needs to have changed and added to make it feel complete & beautiful.

But, then I get to my house and I kinda freeze up.

It's the weirdest thing. I've literally been debating on a bedroom color for our master for a year.

A YEAR. I mean really. Why was it so scary to me?

Probably because I was really set on changing the feel completely to something completely against today's design grain. 

Everyone out there is all like, "Paint all the things white!" And I'm over here like, "I just need something saturated in my life!"

I like white, light, airy.. but color is not a bad thing either.

I have been LOVING all the navy blue accents that are starting to show up in the home accessory world. I knew I wanted navy blue in my house, and something more than an end table or a vase.

Then there was the part that nearly EVERYONE who saw the patch sample of deep navy on my wall nearly freaked out. 

What if it was a cave.

What if I hated it.

What if I ever wanted to change the color.

What if it took 5 bajillion coats of primer to cover my DARK PERMANENT mistake!

What if a future buyer of my house HATES it.

Let me tell you, that future, nonexistent, made-up, home buyer was the one who stopped me dead in my tracks the most.

I mean this isn't our forever house, so I'll have to sell it someday. 

Then I thought really, how dumb! Just do it Jenna! 

So I did. And I am SO thrilled with the color. It is the perfect shade of Navy. It has a LOT of pretty grey tones to it so it's not too "blue" if you know what I mean.

I pretty much have all the bedding I've been considering on the bed in these pictures. Of course it's TOO busy but it's all part of the process.

Rooms don't just pop out pretty like I think the blog world leads people to believe.

Of course the duvet will get filled with an insert if I permit it to stay. And maybe even some pretty trim added onto it.

It's all part of the process. I've been living with these linens just to see how I REALLY like them. Ya know what I mean?

I've been gathering pretty things for the walls and I am about done I just need to make some artwork for the walls. And edit the bedding selection.

I can't wait to show you how this space ends up.

So  moral of the story is sometimes you need to stop second guessing yourself, and take that risk in your house to make you completely happy. Not everything is about resale. And sometimes you know better than the current trending colors. Break that mold & just do it! 

The paint color is Relaxed Navy by Valspar.

1 comments

Gallery wall + DIY industrial coffee table.

The formal living room at our house is the poor neglected room while the other spaces evolve. I've finally been giving it a little attention. There are big plans on the horizon, like board and batten, built ins, new window treatments, and a sofa. 

Until those magical mystical things happen I didn't want it to be an eye sore since it is what people see when they walk into my house. yaknowwhatimean? 

I started this gallery wall a few months ago and it has been evolving ever since. Ya know, I walk by something in another room, grab it, and relocate it because clearly it was meant to live on this wall instead. It's really just a bunch of things I had hastily put together & all my other walls might be bare now but... I'll just make some more stuff for them, right?
 Some things I made, some things I bought, and filled in the rest with pictures of cute kids and that darling husband of mine. 

Not too shabby though.

The coffee table started off as just a base that I found on a local yardsale page. It had a weird silvery finish. So I picked up some Rustoleum Oil-Rubbed-Bronze spray paint and gave it a little makeover.

My husband whipped up the top for it out of some pine boards from Lowes, and it is stained Dark Walnut by Minwax. 

The chairs I picked up from Downeast Home, which is a total secret weapon for locals. They sell discounted name brand furniture. These chairs happen to be Pottery Barn originally, but I picked them up for a much smaller price tag from Downeast Home.

The rug is actually from Hobby Lobby. Insane huh?

The pretty linen pillows are from Ikea.

Here is the coffee table before. 

And after

What do you think? 

Linked to Jennifer Rizzo 

20 comments

Functional and small office nook.

Since moving into our house almost a year ago it's been a game of musical rooms. 

Our house isn't HUGE so I have to find ways to get the greatest amount of use and functionality out of every square inch. 

And I have two little curious children on my hands so emphasis on functionality.

And workability. 

I had my desk tucked into the guest room but I found that I needed to work more than when the kids were asleep, so I moved my desk out of there and put it smack dab in our family room. 

I can work and watch them play at the same time.

This space felt like an outlaw and cramped... so I put my designer brain on... resisted the urge to move the desk out... and took a little trip to Homegoods on the hunt for a large mirror to make the space feel bigger, and more like it belonged.

Ta-da. Homegoods always has my back.

So.. I came home, hung it up.. did what any good blogger does when they hang something on the wall... I took some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

I picked up this Threshold desk from Target a few months ago, I love it.

I found this vintage chair, I plan on painting it up with some Miss Mustard Seed Milkpaint, but I can't decide on a color... so there it sits in its yellowy oak glory. 

It's kind of an unconventional space for a desk, but I'm keeping it real. I think real people have kids that fill the rooms in their houses and don't have a great office space.

So there it is.

And to get an idea of where it is in our family room... and just how small of a space I'm working with.

Linked to Jennifer Rizzo

4 comments