Before & After: Asian Mirror

before

I found this mirror shortly after moving from Los Angeles to Pennsylvania (these photos were taken in the backyard of our previous apartment).  It was sitting among other sad old mirrors at The Salvation Army... and I bought it for $9.99!   As you can see, the shape is great but the finish is, well, horrible.  It has a gritty silvery painted finish (like it had been spray painted with some sort of rough paint?  so weird).

It reminded me of this beauty, available on 1st Dibs.

Obviously, the mirror had good potential.  So, all this thing needed was a coat of paint.  I lightly sanded it down, to clear the rough spots.  Then, I took a paint brush and painted the frame with a semigloss black paint.  Easy enough!  While the newly painted black frame was a HUGE improvement, it didn't seem like enough.  So, I added a skinny stripe of metallic paint (the same color I used to paint the sunburst mirror in the guest room).

I love the way it turned out!

before:

after:

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Lauren's Kitchen: Before & After

I am so amazed by the transformation of Lauren's kitchen.  Great job, Lauren!  What an inspiration... 

Take a look for yourself!

before...

after...

And, check out the dining nook. 

before...

after...

I LOVE that wallpaper!  Read about the entire transformation HERE. 

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Before & After: Sunburst Mirror

Thank you for the emails and comments about my faux bamboo dresser!  So many people emailed me and asked about the mirror, I thought I should post about it.  And let me tell ya, it was a cheap DIY.

I wanted a mirror that looked like this beauty from Mecox Gardens.

But, buying a $500 mirror was not on the priority list.  So, I bought this mirror at Pier 1 Imports for fifty dollars.   Here is what it looked like when I brought it home...

With a coat of metallic champagne paint, it looked almost as good as the Mecox Gardens mirror...

I did this project back in April, and now I cannot find the tube of paint that I used.  If you want to recreate this project, use a basic acrylic (metallic) craft paint.  I purchased mine at Michaels.

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Before & After: Faux Bamboo Dresser

It's been so busy around here, this project has taken months to complete!  You might remember this piece, I've mentioned it before.  I found this yellow "tiki special" dresser at a thrift store last spring...  it sat in our guest room until Labor Day Weekend, when my husband and I finally carried it outside for a new paint job.  And now, months later, I installed new hardware and snapped some "after" pictures to share with you.  Finally, it's done!

The lovely dresser before:

Outside, we sanded it and primed it (our primer has a grey tint, which made it a bit more tedious to cover with white paint)...  filled the holes in the drawers with wood filler, and secured some loose pieces.  After all that, it was ready for glossy white paint!

  

Here is how it looks now.  It sits in our small guest room, at the edge of the bed, and I love seeing it when I come up the stairs.  It took me forever to commit to any hardware, but finally settled on simple brass pieces from Restoration Hardware.  We bought the small "adeline" knob in antique brass, and the 6" pull from the same collection.  I actually love how the simple hardware works with the room.

UPDATE:  Thank you for the emails about the dresser and mirror!  The mirror was a (cheap!) DIY from Pier 1 Imports for $40.00.  It had a horrendous "southwestern" painted finish when I bought it.  All it needed was a coat of champagne metallic paint!

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A Country Farmhouse

Thanks, Jennifer, for directing me toward this amazing blog: A Country Farmhouse.  I am in awe of this rejuvenated home.  Go see for yourself.  It's beautiful...  and, incredibly tasteful.  I just love it.

Look at these before & afters...

The kitchen:

The kitchen AFTER:

The den:

The den AFTER:

The entire blog is just beautiful, full of antiques...  it's inspiring!

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Before & After: Vintage Spool Table

We found this amazing spool table over the summer, and it was in absolutely horrible condition.  The "before" pictures really don't do it justice.  If you touched it, it felt like it was about to collapse.  It had nicks and scrapes everywhere, and it was covered in dirt.  Covered. 

But, we couldn't pass it up...  I mean, look at those legs!

We took it outside and literally hosed it down.  Filled the major gashes with wood filler, sanded, primed, and then sanded again and primed again.  Then, I sprayed the entire thing with black satin paint. 

I love the way it turned out!

Now, maybe someday, I can get myself those abacus spool-style barstools.

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Bamboo Dresser re-do

Here is a sneak peek of the sad (but awesome!) bamboo dresser that I picked up at a thirft shop many many months ago...  it's just begging for a glossy coat of paint.  Over Labor Day weekend, my husband and I took the dresser out of the guest room for a make over with white paint...

"After" picture to come!


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Guest Room Headboard: Before and After

So, we did a little headboard DIY at my house. I found a (hideous) queen sized headboard for $20.00 at a thrift store, and with a little upholstery foam, batting, fabric and upholstery tacks, we created something a little better...

before...

after...

Just a few tips...

*Purchase a medium to soft upholstery foam.  I purchased the upholstery foam for $60.00 at JoAnn Fabrics. I knew the exact dimension that I needed and the gals there cut it for me.

*If you attempt to upholster an old wooden headboard with nailheads, make sure that you are nailing your nailheads into a FLAT surface. As you can see, the bed that I used has a curved frame... this made the nailhead process EXTREMELY frustrating. You have to get that angle just right to create a straight line.

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Sideboard: Before and After

A lovely before & after, brought to you via Design Sponge!

Before and After: Brad Ford

Check out this precious before and after from Brad Ford and Country Living.*

This is the bedroom attic before...


*I don't know what has gotten into me. I am loving country style lately. I can't explain it. Can't seem to get enough of 10" wood floor boards, antique country furniture, large floral prints, etc. But, I promise to stay away from watering cans filled with dried flowers, and wooden carved signs that read, "Welcome Friends."

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