More Play Space

Another way to refresh a space is by changing up your pillows. They don't have to be elaborate or fancy just because they are custom. I love making pillows. Maybe because I love fabric and this is the only way I can use all kinds of patterns and textures and prints together. I love the way they can change the look and feel of a room within a matter of minutes.

Here are the custom pillows in our play room. All I had to do was find black, white and lime green fabric!


Another easy refresh on an old stool.

We made the news...

Well we made a newsletter!
One of Raleighs best real estate agents (for legal purposes I guess this is where I have to state that it is my opinion), Jennifer Perkins listed us (with a link!) as one of her trusted resources in her monthly newsletter!

She turns to us, when looking to Refresh & Repurpose her own home! Nice to know because we turn to her when looking for "all things Raleigh"!

You can check out her Raleigh blog Home in the Triangle! Oh look, she blogged about us too! She has a great eye for good things...including houses! So if you are looking to buy she's your girl!

Functional Storage

I love storage. I love pieces that are functional. So when I find a piece that does both it's a no brainer! It's coming home with me!

Living in Boston provided many great things. However tons of square footage was not one of them. So, everything had to function.

My roommate went and bought a blanket chest like this one & I stained it.

Picture from Sanford Unfinished Furniture


Since our days there it has been around the block. Literally. As well as Chicago, back to Boston, Raleigh, and now Denver.

It has been re purposed many times over. A footrest, blanket storage, Christmas storage, a coffee table, an end table, clothing storage. Most of all it has been loved.

What's your favorite (non kitchen) functional piece?

In love with Young House Love

I came across the blog of some fellow DIYers John & Sherry awhile ago. It's phenomenal! I read it every day. And since they mostly post twice a day...I find myself reading twice a day.
I am not sure what it is about their blog. The way they write makes it feel like you know them and are having a conversation with them. They have been in their home a few years now and have added a baby girl. Somehow they still find the time to complete projects AND blog about them! Their sponsors have some great discounts available to YHL readers!
It only makes me wish Chad and I had started a blog about our home! Oh the things people would learn about us!

Outdoor Cushions

My friend Jessica had these great outdoor chairs that she got for a great price. Problem was she couldn't find a cushion ANYWHERE that fit. The chair was straight across the back and curved up front. It also had a slight flair.

This is where I come in! I find out what exactly you want. I can find your fabric, give you places to find fabric or you can bring me the furniture and fabric!

Below is what you will get in return:

Fabric you like

The exact size you need, no settling

Custom design & Quality work

Will work with your budget

Handsome design assistant price varies by day not for sale!!

Potato Sack Pillows

I'm working on a "farm" room. It's coming together pretty nicely and I can't wait to share the final look! Hopefully after Thanksgiving.

I went out to investigate a new (to me) antiques place here in Raleigh. I fell in love with it. They had a ton of great stuff. They redo furniture as well. You could buy pieces as is or finished.

One thing I found was a bin of potato sacks. Immediately I knew what I was going to do with it! Pillows! What else?

Here they are cut and ready to sew

Sewn & Stuffed



For whatever reason, I felt compelled to do a little whip stitch at the top. I think it add a little cuteness. I wish that it was a little more noticeable!

That, my friends, is how you refresh a potato sack!

Dreamy...

Anyone else receive this dreamy piece of mail recently?

As usual it is filled with amazing things that get me excited about decorating and the magic that is Christmas!

I always do a quick flip through and then a detailed scan of every page. The mantels, the walls, the linens, the table decorations. Everything is bright and cheery and red and has glitter!

I am ready to go upstairs and take out our elf. One becuase how exciting is the Christmas season and Two, it's never too early to remind the boys that Santa is watching!

(Picture from PBK.com)

What pieces will you be refreshing your mantle with?

Let there be light!

Our play room needed some light. Again, I wanted it to be fun and of course cheap!
I found these lamps at the thrift store. I love the roundess of them. They are exactly what I was looking for!

Of course, keeping them brass was not even an option. It had to be green, it just had to be!
Then it needed a shade. Since I didn't want to carry it around, I came home with a few options. Now it has the shade, but is it too plain? I was thinking some green pom poms grosgrain ribbon or ric rac. What do you think?

I am loving this green refresh!
The sister lamp you will see in a room refresh that is coming much later!

Just Frame It

Our house was a DIY dream. Slowly but surely we have worked our way through a list of projects! We have learned many things, sometimes too late.

One of our first was replacing a vanity in a guest bathroom. It was much higher than the one we took out. Which means the mirror that was above it, no longer fit. Oops! We called and called. No one would cut the mirror for us. And no one, including the habitat restore would take it!

(Side note: I am an expert at wallpaper removal, email me if you need tips!)

It sat in our garage. Like a lot of projects it sat there for quite awhile. Until I decided that we needed it in our dining room!

With some help from my trusted carpenter husband and a miter saw we had a new dining room mirror!

Dining Room Chairs

A girlfriend of mine fell in love. With some chairs. Or I should say, their potential.

I was so excited that she asked me to do their refresh! I was also thrilled to use this fabric! Since this project it has been spotted everywhere (including Coastal Living magazine)!

The fabric on these was actually thumbtacked on?! And the seats were actually vinyl at somepoint!

Now they are updated & refreshed!

Fun Fabric!

A friend gave me this fun fabric....

Now what should I create with it? It's got a great hand and it's heavy! I would even dare to call it reversible!!
Pillows would be fun, but predictable.

What would you like to see refreshed?

Happy Hour!

This piece of furniture used to sit in my office at work. It was a horrible early 1980's two sided office credenza. However, when we were doing some major clean up, I was able to snag it! No one could believe I wanted it. I didn't bother explaining my vision for it. Would they have understood it was going to be a bar in my dining room?

We were looking for a piece to store all our glasses, cook books and various platters etc. This piece held lots of stuff, how could it not be perfect?!

I wish I had taken before pictures, but take my word for it...it was awful!


Cheers to a bar repurpose!

Dining Room Cornice Boards

As in my playroom, I wanted something simple to give my windows a finished look. Our house is not formal so I knew curtains (in the dining room!) weren't going to work.
I wanted a fabric that had the blue of my dining room as well as brown and black in case the furniture were to ever change. Which it has!
And well, I'm a sucker for paisley!
Another thing I love about cornice boards is that you can make them any shape you want. You can make them taller or shorter. Wider or more narrow. You can add trim. Fringe, pom poms, ribbon, even piping. Best of all...you can also change the fabric, the minute you need something new!

Where we play

We have a playroom in our house. It is supposed to be the formal living room, but we needed a playroom. Since it is in the front of the house, I wanted it to be fun but not too young and not too Fisher Price like.

I wanted grey walls. I just thought they would be nice and crisp with the white crown molding and baseboards. I knew I also wanted black and white to go with it. Then at the Atlanta Gift Mart, I saw some napkins that were black and white with lime green! I LOVE lime green! I knew that I could make the space fun with lime green!

I started with cornice boards. Since it's a playroom I didn't want curtains. I wanted something simple.


There you have it. Simple cornice boards with a touch of whimsy. Refreshing, isn't it?!

She's A Grand Ole' Flag

I LOVE this flag.


It came from this post HERE.

On this blog.

I must find a space to refresh with this flag!! I'll let you know when A) I find the space and B) how mine looks.

Those Chairs

I got these chairs (I will spare you the long story of how they came home with me) and they sat in my garage for months.

I wanted to keep them. Not because I thought they would be beautiful, but because I wanted to use fabric. Remember, I LOVE fabric. Everyone told me not to bother, just sell them as is. Well that goes against every ounce of my being. I couldn't just sell them, I had to do something to them! After much deliberation, I decided to at least paint them black so if I did like them, I could keep them.

Once I primed them, I was nervous because they looked really good "white". However, white just would not work in my room. I was stuck. What do I do? Do I go for it and paint them white for someone else, or stick to the plan, paint them black and lay claim for myself?

I went with black. I had to keep these chairs. I could not wait to use my cornice board fabric and find some more fun coordinating fabric for the other four chairs!

I LOVE these chairs. I love the way they look against my blue dining room walls. I love the fabrics. I love the colors.

And the naysayers...are pretty impressed with the refresh!

Mirror, Mirror..

on my wall!!
I found a mirror, I had to have! It's a bit cliche to have a mirror over a fireplace, I know, but I wasn't sure what I wanted above ours. We had a large picture, but it was a winter print, dark, snowy...DREARY.
Then....I found this mirror. I usually don't have any trouble finding anything here, but finding something affordable and large can sometimes be a problem. However, I studied it for awhile and carried around the picture and thought...I can make that! Then I studied it some more.
I couldn't have the exact mirror, especially once I learned that the frame is actually metal. I thought it was wood. One of the reasons I really liked it. I LOVED the size. I went to Micheals to see what I could find. They had mirrors, but not the 8.5"x11". I settled for 8"x8", they were still beveled, which I felt was the important part.
I then went to Home Depot and found some trim I liked as well as liquid mirror and a hanging kit and set out to make my mirror. I had the stain, plywood and wood glue at home. A few cuts of the plywood and trim and I was ready to stain.
Once all the wood was stained I attached the mirrors and trim. I let everything set and then attached the hanging pieces to the back.
After a few holes were drilled in the wall (yes, a few...it was late and I was anxious!) I had a new mirror! I then took pictures and sat down to enjoy my new mirror. I sent out the pictures to a few friends, who I am sure were tired of hearing about my mirror project. By the next morning the mirror was sold! I have until the new owner drives up from Florida to make myself a new one.


I think it would also look good in a variety of colors or distressed white! Let me know which one you would like!
And that my friends is my fireplace refresh!