Fabric is Fabric...

This is a tip worth remembering. In our attempt to reuse, recycle, and re-invent we need not overlook and important little rule that "Fabric is Fabric." Curtains can be made from sheets, a table runner out of a piece of burlap, a throw from a table runner, and in this case a pillow from an old shirt. This project holds particular sentimental value because it was for my grand-ma-ma. After my great aunt Lucille died (my grandma's sister in law) about a year ago, I was given some of her old clothes, which had a lot of character.  We were also in the middle of my grandma's kitchen renovation. We thought that some pillows on her bench would look nice when I remembered Lucille's robin-egg blue sweater with pearly buttons, and a pillow was born, complete with rosettes and pearl button details. It is not only nice to look at, but provides a bit of history and a piece of a loved one.

Grandma's Hutch

In an earlier post, I was telling you about my grandma's kitchen make over. This is a picture of her hutch before I got a hold of it. We wanted to lighten everything up a bit. The fronts of the cupboards below aren't even wood, their like a plastic facade, not that that matters to me, it had character, somewhere.

Here is after long hours in my garage. It's a nice Ivory color with a walnut colored-brown in the recessed areas. Really liked how it turned out. I also put it up on some bun feet to make it feel more substantial and also because looks more polished that way, like the way you feel when you wear heels instead of flats. Then we went accessory shopping around grandma's house, she has nice robin-egg blue books and pottery pieces. Here she is:

Closeup of the distressing:

Mindy's house... (Book Nook)

Here is a fun little project. The house that my friend mindy just moved into had an abandoned little spot in the hall where a washer and dryer used to live. The kids were using it as a little play spot, so we decided to run with it. There is still a row of cabinets above the space and everyone can always use more storage space, so those will stay. We thought a simple little awning attached to the underside of the cabinets and then to a tab in the fabric and a tension rod would really define the space as a new "Book Nook" reading spot. Scalloped edges on the awning are kinda cute, like a little street boutique. Her existing bookcase would be painted a candy-apple green the same color as the stripe in the awning. Throw pillows in our color scheme will complete the look and provide lots of comfy seats for the little ones. We'll catch you up on the project in a future post.

Mindy's house...(office)

My good friend, Mindy, just moved into a new home and is looking for some inexpensive ideas to help make her house a home. The office space is a pretty small room off of the front living room, I don't know that there would be room to move an actual desk in there. There is a tall built-in cupboard that would be nice to repaint either a nice cream/white or go dark with a stain, depending on the mood of the room. I would like to custom build a table/desk attached to the cupboard to complete the built-in look. Also, tall spindle legs that allow you to see more floor space will make the room appear larger.