IN THE WORDS OF JOHNNY CASH....I GOT STRIPES

So I put some stripes on my "hallway" walls and I like it a lot.  I started late on Sunday and put the painters tape in the appropriate positions (not easy without a level to use and a long weekend of too much fun under my belt).   I measured the wall height from the top of the floor moldings to the ceiling.  I knew I wanted wide stripes and wanted to maintain more of the lighter wall color ( i.e. have one more of the lighter stripe) so I took the height and then divided by 10 (5 stripes x 2).  I then measured starting from the top and marked my way down and then got to taping. 

I will say I am pretty pleased with the results, there are some spots I need to touch up because when you have old plaster walls you quickly find they are not perfectly flat... there is a lot of variation, but that's what you get when you live in an old house... lots of variation. :)

The blue tape in the middle is to ensure I didn't completely eff it up and paint the wrong stripe.  I would recommend it if anyone is thinking about doing this in their home. 

The picture isn't great lighting but you get the idea.

STRIPES

I know, I know, I know... I have been seriously MIA and my apologies but when you live at the beach and it's summer time it seems like there is always a new visitor coming into town and plenty of fun things to do outside of the house.  So needless to say there haven't been many DIY projects lately but I've been thinking about adding some interest to a little "hallway" we have in our home.  I call it a "hallway" because  it's more of a square rather than the traditional rectangular shape.  I was thinking adding some fun horizontal stripes would be a quick, cheap way to mix things up a bit.  Here's a few inspiration pics to think on for a while.

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I like the third stripe used with this one.

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The metallic in the paint adds a different aspect to the look

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The chevron pattern is great... maybe too trendy?

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Very classic & neutral

Pinterest is super addicting

Sorry I have been missing for awhile.  I have become completely addicted to pinterest.  It's this awesome little site chalk full of design inspiration, delicious pics of sweet treats, beautiful rooms, stylish clothes and tons of DIY ideas.  So needless to say it's a bit like online crack, that site is soooo addicting and time consuming.  Check out my pinterest page here when you can and in the mean time here is a little bit of what is has to offer.  Enjoy!

It's been awhile...

Sorry I have been completely MIA, there is really no excuse so my apologies folks.  So let's get down to business.  I thought I would share with you all some pics of your veggie garden.  Paul has quite the green thumb and thankfully that produces lots of delicious, money saving goodies.  So enjoy the show folks.  We have everything from lavender to ferns to peppers and more... oh my. 

PS  All the veggies are planted in raised beds because that's how we do in the south.

coffee anyone?

So my love of the sweet little bean is pretty intense.  To say I have an addiction to coffee is an understatement.  My coworkers can definitely back me up on that...right Missy?

So anyway I was lucky enough to have a hook up at one of the local coffee shops who gave me a couple of the coffee bean bags.  I pondered what I could do with them and thought about making throw pillows, aprons, table runners etc but settled on framed art.  Not just because I am completely addicted but well I am broke and can't afford a massive piece of artwork for my expansive living room wall that was currently a literal blank slate and the bags are actually pretty colorful and graphic.

 I got to work and cut the fronts off of each of the bags and stretched it like no other around the backer board (sp?) that came with the frames.  FYI frames came from World Market.

So I broke out the guns, both literal aka the staple gun and the figurative my arms (ha ha) and got to work. They turned out great and the impurties in the stamped prints and the discrepencies with the burlap are more evident in the framing but I think it adds to the uniqueness of this art.  What do you think?

Vistors, Taxes & House Painting

So sorry I have been completely MIA lately.  We have had visitors the last couple of weekends and being a professional procrastinator I waited to the last minute to do our taxes.  Call me crazy but I don't think good ole Uncle Sam would  let me slide because I have house rehabbing to do.  So being the upstanding citizen I am I opted to do the taxes with the looming deadline. 

So this weekend I was free to take on a project I have been wanting to do for awhile.  I have really wanted to paint the living, dining, entry and hallway.  They are the same color because essentially it is all one big room.  We have had this bright yellow on the walls that  I painted when we first moved in.  I liked it at the time but I think paint colors are like fashion trends and this trend was O.V.E.R.  I was so tired of seeing that bright buttery yellow it could have maybe induced vomiting had it lasted much longer.  I know I know completely dramatic but true nonetheless.  I forgot to take shots prior to moving the furniture into the middle of the room but this gives you a good idea of how bright those walls were. 

Sorry for the tilted pic... I forgot to edit it before uploading so just tilt your head.

With my mom in town ready to help (thanks Mom) we headed to Lowe's to get some paint.  It needed to be something light and clean.  I love dark saturated colors but our house is a bit of cave because of all the trees surrounding so I chose a color by Valspar called Asiago, its like a light greige (grey/beige).  And here it is now.

I just took a shot of the living room because I am not quite done with the dining room.  There is a big ass piece of furniture that mom and I didn't even want to try and move so P can help with that. :)

PS  More to come on some diy art I made with coffee bean bags. 

Another Before & After....it's the fireplace!!!!!

Here it was the day we moved in, this picture isn't great but just to give you perspetive there was also very bad ceremic tile circa 1991 flanking it.  It stayed like this for awhile but after a couple of years with it this way it was time for a change.  The room is pretty dark due to many mature trees that surround our house and create A LOT of shade (sunshine is overrated!!!!!!)

Well I know we are very lucky to have a home with a fireplace (we may have used it twice so far...wooo hooo).  You don't need one much in the south.  So I pondered what changes I wanted to make, I considered painting it a really bold glossy color just to do something different but then I remembered that I live with my husband and he would have had an actual cow.

So I decided on the tried and true classic crisp white.  I sanded the entire thing and then put on a light primer.  Then came the paint.  I think it makes a huge difference in the room.  It really lightens things up if you know what I mean.    Paul surprised me and replaced the tile with a black slate that looks waaaaaayyyyyyyyy better.  So here she blows now:

 

Don't mind the discolored areas.... I must admit it still needs a light sanding and some more paint.  After painting it white some "impurities" appeared in the structure.  So I had to break out the trusty wood filler and that is the remeants of what you see.  But all in all I think its pretty good. And please don't mind the christmas ornaments in the plant, I didn't feel like putting them up after the holidays :) .  I think they had a nice suttle sparkle... fyi I am just making an excuse for myself.