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!