Scrappy Headboard~

A few years ago, I wanted to dress up our room a bit by making a headboard. 

I loved the look of oversized headboards, but I've never been a fan of the oversized price.

To accomodate a tight decorating budget, I created the look of a large headboard 

by tacking trim to the wall and painting the inside.

Really easy and pretty inexpensive. 

You can check out the post HERE.

The only problem with this type of headboard is that you can't move it around. 

That can be a challenge for a girl who likes to change things up frequently.

After a couple of years, it was time to add a bit more oomph.

I raided the garage and found a bunch of scrap pieces of wood. 

I made sure they were all about 1/4'' thick, but I used all sorts of different kinds of scraps.

Beadboard, pegboard, mdf, whatever I could find.

I figured out the hard way that it was best to listen to my husbands suggestion and start at the top.

All of the pieces in a horizontal row need to be the same width.

 They can and should be different lengths.

Attach one horitontal row at a time and work your way down the wall.

I tacked  the pieces up with a pnuematic nail gun.

It took awhile... and the nail gun and compressor scared the crap out of my dog. 

She hid in my closet for the duration of the project.

Here is a picture of the finished headboard. 

I love the new look! Clean and shabby at the same time.

Feel free to try this at home.

You just have to be happy with the fact that your bed will never ever ever move again...:)

A few Summer projects~

I probably won't be an amazing blogger throughout the summertime, 

but I'm excited to share a few projects that I've been working on.

I've been playing around with vinyl, trying to find a cute design for our address. 

I didn't really like the size for my door, so I stuck it on our entry bench.

This beautiful secretary was given to me by my Mother-in-law. She found it in San Fran way back when The Joe was a little boy. I love that she kept it for all of these years and carried it with her through all of her many moves. I started painting it last year and then got majorly burnt out, so it sat...and sat..and sat in my storage.  

 Here it is, finished and functional in our office. It's such a great catchall with all of those little cubbies.

Now that Summer is in full force, I also wanted to brighten up the living room shelf with some happy decor.  I totally forgot that I had this lemonade sign! Sometimes it's nice having a crappy memory because you're always discovering new fun things around the house! Lol.  

I hope you're enjoying the sunshine!

Mother's Day Shelves~

The Joe built me some beautiful shelves for Mother's Day.

Here's a before shot of the wall.

We'd been trying to figure out where to put shelves for quite a while. We didn't want to take away useable square footage from the main level, so we opted to build them high up on the wall.  

My 8yr. old is not a fan of reading, but she's a huge fan of climbing, so they've really peaked her interest in books. All of the kids are LOVING the new shelves...and so am I!

I hope you all had a wonderful Mom's Day! 

Family display~

I finished up a the display I've been working on over the weekend.

The True Love board has the date of our anniversary

and the smaller boards represent each of our children with their initials and dates of birth.

Half in half out display~

I was in the mood to redecorate my Family room shelf today.

It's not quite Spring, but it doesn't feel entirely like Winter either so I tried to do something that could swing both ways.  

I thought maybe white and green would work. 

I put some vinyl onto an unframed mirror and then placed a old window frame in front of it.

I just pulled in some knickity knacks from around the house so I didn't have to spend any $$.

It's kind of nice having something new before Spring actually hits:)

Transforming the front room~

Our front room was bright and whimsical. This weekend I was ready to make a change. 

I was craving something clean and refreshing.

I had helped my friend Heather hang board and batten trim in her master bedroom and she gave me all of her extra supplies, which was super nice! I loved how her room turned out and wanted to do something similar in my front room.  This weekend The Joe and I celebrated our anniversary. We went to a football game(something he really enjoys) and worked on projects(something I really enjoy). It was a wonderful way to spend time together and make some fun memories!

Here are a couple of the process pics. It was actually a very fast project. We had everything tacked to the walls within an hour and a half. We used 4'' boards for the top and 2'' boards for the battens. We chopped the bottoms of the 2'' boards at a 45 degree angle so they would match the base molding.

To space the boards evenly, we cut 2 board that were 17'' long and held them in between the battens while we tacked them into place. One near the top and one near the bottom. It was really easy and we didn't have to worry about measuring everything!

After saying goodbye to the bright yellow wall and painting everything I felt like the room needed a little something more so I made a shelf to one of the walls.

I was worried that the shelf might hurt the look of the room, but I actually love how it all came together!  

The paint colors are antique white and pebble gray by Glidden.

Before:

After:

It feels much cleaner to me! Just what I was hoping for.

I'd like to add a dark gray throw pillow to the chair and figure out a good window treatment, 

possibly making shutters?? I would love to be able to figure that out!

artwork, table top and magazine vases...

Take a scrap board and divide it into three equal parts.

Paint both ends of the board. 

After the paint dries, tape off the middle section.

Paint the center stripe and remove the painter's tape.

Tone it down by sanding the entire surface and wiping it down with stain.

Display it 

or attach it to the top of a bar stool for a table top.

Decorate the side table by rolling magazines and taping the edges.

Empty Frames

How do you feel about empty frames on your walls?

pink pound shop

Are they quirky and fun...

Via The Beautiful Shelter

Airy and appealing...

Picture Frames Manufacturers

Or do they feel too empty?  Do you want to stick something in them?

Apartment Therapy

Does it bother you to make a cazillion holes in your walls?  

Tip Junkie

Or do they add the perfect touch? 

les creations de la maison via Casa Decor

Do you have empty frames in your home?

Post extension:

I had to add Gail's version.  Visit my repurposed life for more of her crazy talent!

Unique collections...

Decorative collections aren't limited to candles and glass bottles.  

Check out some of these interesting collection collages.

I absolutely adore this rock set. The worn out pieces of wood really appeal to me as well.

Apartment Therapy

You'd better be excited if you can get your hands on this many old windows.  What an open feel.

Care2

I must admit I have never bee to excited about license plate collections, until now.  This is so well done.

Subida

If you want to display your collection without putting a cazillion holes in your wall, try hanging it.

Apartment Therapy

A variety of monograms hung above a headboard create a unique and interesting focal point to the room.

Country Living

Hanging skeleton keys on a bookcase is quite charming.  

Country Living

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Su sent me a unique window collection, I just had to add it!

Thanks Su! Such fun bright colors.