decorating
Wood Dining Chair Makeover With Fabric Tape
A new dining table calls for new dining chairs. It’s a law or something, right? Shhh. That’s what I told Handy Husband. I wanted something completely different from what I’ve been sitting on for the past 15 years. FIFTEEN! It seemed like a good time to mix things up. I really wanted these chairs, but they wouldn’t push under my new table and space is at a premium in my dining nook. Instead, I found a similar style with a higher back. It’s the TMS Angelo Home Hermosa Dining Chair from Wayfair. I loved the blue color, but not the yellow. At least, not for my space. I bought the…
Update: Vintage Key Project
Over a year ago I shared the vintage keys from our house in Ireland. Yes, the doors of our Irish home actually opened with vintage-looking keys. It was super cool and also a wee bit tricky to get in the house. Details, details. The reason I have those vintage keys now is not that I kept a set when we moved back to the United States. I can’t speak for Handy Husband though. It’s that the doors to the home were replaced while we lived there and those keys no longer worked. I thought they would be the neatest memento of our time living in Ireland. While taking a therapeutic…
The $9.60 Table That Almost Broke Me
To clarify, I did not break a table. A table almost broke me. Emotionally speaking, of course. Our current house (I need a name for it because I’ve had a lot of ‘current’ houses) has a good-sized kitchen with a bump-out for a dining table. That bump-out is directly next to what I’m assuming was intended to be a proper dining room. Since our family functions best with an open concept floor plan, I’m making the ‘dining room’ into a living room. However, my table that I love (not as much as my children, but close) is the wrong shape for the dining area IN the kitchen. It’s rectangular and…
Cat-tastic Chair Makeover
If there’s ever any doubt that I love my kids, let’s all remember this blog post, shall we? On a recent trip to the Habitat Restore where I found THE couch, my daughter found a chair for her desk. It’s actually less of a desk and more of a vanity table (from IKEA), but let’s not mince words. She draws her cat pictures there, so I’m calling it a desk. Plus, we’re a little too early for the vanity stage of growing up. Draw cat pictures as long as you want, kid. Now, back to the chair. My daughter tested out a lot of potential chairs and finally after I…
When Your Husband Takes Your Prank Seriously
Last week the kids and I headed to our nearest Habitat ReStore to see if they had any furniture gems on hand. I’m on the hunt for three dressers, outdoor furniture and a desk. We also really need a couch or some living room chairs, but I anticipate buying those new. This particular ReStore was huge and packed with treasures. I was distracted by this cabinet and thought it would look amazing painted. It wasn’t what I needed at the moment, but the hardware was incredible. Of course we tried out a rocking chair that was missing a seat. That’s what one does when you discover a seatless chair. This…
DIY Live Edge Wood Coffee Table
When I go “home” for a visit, I literally go home to the same house I grew up in. Anyone else sleep in their old bedroom when they go home? Thankfully, all my old posters are long gone because there are some things I just don’t want to explain to my kids. However, I am happy to tell them over and over until they say, “MOOOM!” about the endless amount of chores I had to do. When I was growing up one of our home’s “design features” was a 5-foot long slab of unfinished black walnut wood sitting on top of a half wall. I’m not even sure if the wood…
My Design Style Is a Little Bit Funky
I NEVER take those ‘just for fun’ online surveys. Especially not the ones on Facebook that ‘just for fun’ take all your data and your friends’ data and sell it. Thanks Facebook! Real swell of you. Anyway. I digress. I’m a loyal reader of The Lettered Cottage blog. I love Layla’s cottage style. Last week she took a HomeGoods ‘define your style’ quiz and shared her results. I got sucked into the hype folks. I was ripe for the quiz taking because I’m having a style “crisis.” OH NO! The horror! Say it isn’t so! Yep. Furniture I bought pre-kids and 6 homes ago is finally not working for me…
I Just Don’t Understand: Two-Handle Kitchen Faucets
Let’s talk about something I just don’t understand. Genuinely don’t understand. Maybe one of you can clue me in. Let me know what I’m missing. I have seen tons of gorgeous pictures floating around blog-land and HGTV of kitchens with two-handle kitchen faucets. Like this Kingston one from Home Depot. It looks pretty. There’s no doubt about that. But why is a two-handle kitchen faucet a good idea from a practical standpoint? In order to get an ideal temperature that’s not scalding hot, you have to adjust both the hot water AND the cold water handle. (image: Kohler) Doesn’t this make cleaning up extra difficult? Especially if both your hands…
Sheet Music Easter Eggs
Confession time. Things don’t feel very Easter-y around here. It’s not a holiday I typically decorate for and with our recent snowstorms, it hasn’t quite felt like spring around these parts. So I decided I would craft myself into a spring mood. Nothing says spring rebirth like styrofoam eggs, so that’s what I started with. My first attempt at decorating my fake eggs was a major flop. It’s also a reminder of why I try to avoid Pinterest. My second attempt was much more successful. I made Sheet Music Easter Eggs, which I’m not sure are actually spring-looking, but they are more my style. Making Sheet Music Easter Eggs is…
My Latest Rummage Sale Find
I don’t want to hurt my brain thinking about it too hard, but I’m fairly certain my ‘latest’ rummage sale find is actually my ‘only’ rummage sale find. But let’s not get bogged down in the details. My children’s school holds a rummage sale before Christmas each year. Parents donate the crud they can’t wait to get rid of slightly used toys and knick-knacks and then give their kids money to buy it all back. It’s the best idea ever a great fundraiser for the school. I have volunteered to staff the rummage sale the past two years because I want to make sure my kids don’t buy their own stuff back it’s…
