Ugly Duckling Dining Room No More! {Blogging Without Borders}

I am sooo excited to share my Ugly Duckling Dining Room makeover with you!!  This has been a project of stops and starts, but I am thrilled with the end result.   I had to think outside the box AND try things  I'd never done before...  a challenge in every way!  But I think you'll agree that the payoff is huge... and now I will have a fresh and FINISHED dining room for the holidays! Before I get to the big reveal, let me remind you where we … [Read more...]

Painted Lady {Inspiration for the Secretary}

Monday already?  We had a busy weekend around here and I continued to press on with my Ugly Duckling dining room projects... slowly.  Lots of interruptions and a few stops and starts, but slow and steady wins the race!  I'll be so excited to share the reveal here next Monday! The light fixture is hung.  The mirror is in place.  But the biggest project I tackled was painting my aunt's secretary. Here she is before... it's been the home … [Read more...]

DIY Baby Spoon Display {Ugly Duckling Dining Room}

I am totally in love with my baby spoon display in my dining room, so I thought I'd share the "how to!"   It all started with these small racks I found thrifting with Charity a few weeks ago... They were $2 each and I got them for 20% off -- $6 for the four of them. :-) I've also gotten in the habit of trolling the hobby stores framing department for frames on clearance... especially open frames.  Many were custom orders … [Read more...]

I Can’t Resist…An Occasional Chair

There's just something about a simple chair.  An "occasional" chair that by design and definition is a versatile furnishing in your home. I was looking through some vignettes I've pinned over the last several months and a common theme emerged...   Source: allumerdecor.blogspot.com via Heidi on Pinterest Source: ramblingrenovators.blogspot.com via Heidi on Pinterest Source: forevercottage.blogspot.com via Heidi on … [Read more...]

My Thursday Gig and a Peek at the Mom Cave

Did you know I have a regular Thursday gig?  You can find me at FancyLittleThings.com every Thursday where I blog about home and garden with snippets of faith thrown in. I love my space over there, because my talented editors Aimee and Danielle come up with theme for each month.  My challenge is to blog within my niche (for the most part) while addressing the theme of the month.  July was "Beside Restful Waters" and I had fun with that, … [Read more...]

A Home for the Watercolors {Thrift Store Frames}

At last.  A home for my grandmother's watercolors that she painted back in the 1950's.  After months of searching art supply and framing stores and pondering custom frames, a simple pair of thrift store frames got the gig. Once they got a little facelift and were paired with prefab mats from Michael's, they were the perfect solution. I love the way the finish turned out (read about that here).  I love that both her hands and … [Read more...]

Ugly Duckling Dining Room {Bloggers Without Borders}

Ahhhh.  Amazing what a fresh paint color will do! As promised, here's my progress on my Bloggers Without Borders project, my Ugly Duckling Dining room... This was in the midst of the chaos-- forgive the blur, I was a little weak from that dad gum stomach bug. :-) The paint color is Behr's Silver Sateen, the same color I used in my Mom Cave (which is adjacent).  And because just painting isn't enough, I decided to reconfigure the … [Read more...]

Thrift Store Frames Revamp {Chalk Paint}

I'm alive but functioning at about 50% -- not good when you have a dining room in total disarray and company on the way!  I've put my indentured servants teenagers to work helping clean and fluff for the grandparents... times like this I love having older kids!  Thank you for your well wishes yesterday - I so needed your words of encouragement. I was hoping to share a fully completed project today using these thrift store frames, but I'm … [Read more...]

My Summer Mantle {mantel}

It's about time, right?  I actually finished this up a couple of weeks ago, but am just now getting around to sharing my summer mantle.  I wanted to keep this mantel simple but layered, and in keeping with a summertime and travel theme.  Did I hit the mark? The painting of the little girl running in the waves is something I purchased a few years ago at a Special Olympics art auction.  It reminds me of my daughter.   Of course, my map … [Read more...]

Blogging Without Borders {Ugly Duckling Dining Room}

  It's here!  Time to reveal my project for our Blogging Without Borders project! The idea behind this project was to encourage us decor DIYers to break out of our comfort zones when transforming a space in our homes.  We can all paint a room, right?  But what about those project ideas you pin but in the back of your mind you're thinking it's probably too complicated or over my head?  I know you have those thoughts.  Or maybe I'm the … [Read more...]