All dressed up

....And im not talking about me dressing myself up to go on a Hot Valentines Date with Josh ;) -This weekend, other than digging down deep to my inner history-nerdy-Goddess, I went ahead and worked on adding some items to my newly $20 cabinet redo. I figured a week of looking at a bare space and seeing a sad little cabinet with nothing dressing it up, was long enough.

The cost? Nothing on my expense. I just used items I already had within the house!

Of course I had to add some glass jars ;) The shells were collected from the beach one weekend. The tray was actually a yellow/burnt orange color originally. It came with a sushi set that Josh had bought a few years ago. I went ahead and used some of the Valspar Brushed Nickel spray paint I had from spraying the handles of the cabinet, and gave it a new coat of 'color'.

The ceramic Horse head I had bought at Old Time Pottery last Summer and up until now it's been in my car, still wrapped up in the bag [I seriously forgot I had even bought it lol]. Of course I loooove Horses, so im happy to be displaying it on the new cabinet :)

The photo I printed off of Vintage Printable [Free!!] using some of my photo paper and the frame I already had. The other frame behind the print used to be a brown and gold color so I spray painted it with Valspar glossy white and put a bamboo mat inside instead of a photo, to add some texture.

The mirror Josh had bought me for Christmas. Up until now it's been sitting in my closet in the bedroom. I was originally going to put it [in] the bedroom but figured this space would work best.

And there is the completed space with the new cabinet redo. I really like how it all came together and it really adds character to the entire living room. This little space has inspired me with wanting to do more thrifting and possibly even some antiquing! 

  

Happy Belated Valentines Day! :)

$19.99 Cabinet Re-Do - Reveal

I probably should have waited until the top layer was dry and I could add a few pieces to 'dress' it up a bit, but that is not the case. I am to excited to reveal the finished cabinet I scored for $20.00 @ the local Goodwill. You might remember my post Here where I discussed how we happened to just casually walk around the place after our delicious dinner at Azteca [yummy!].

Let's take a quick look back shall we?

Good bones. Good design... just a little dated with the stain and gold handles.

So with some primer, paint, spray paint and a few days, I have managed to give this dated little number a totally new leash on life. Now before we go any further... I wanted to do something bold... well a little more bold than what I'm used to. I wanted to stray away from white or black.

So with....

That fabric, which I am using as the color palette for our living room, I wanted a nice bright, fun color.

And that is what I had in mind. There are still a few touch ups I have to finish off [like right next to the door hinges... I would have took them off the doors however they aren't attached with screws, and whatever they are attached with, we don't have the tool that fits]. Overall though it's about 99% finished.

 Source

The color I used was 'Beach Ball' from Olympics Premium Zero VOC interior paint in Semi-Gloss. The color doesn't have an exact match to my fabric-palette, however I preferred a yellow over an orangy-gold hue.

For the top knobs [something about that just doesn't sound right... ha!]. I wanted to keep the original ones that came with the cabinet because they have that 'vintagy' feel to them, and they matched the rest of the designs within the cabinet. The original color was a brassy/gold... so because that is not part of my color palette, I used Valspar's premium enamel interior spray paint for metal, in a brushed nickel color.

I did the same for the door handles. I kept the original brackets because they matched the designs in the wood, also because I think it would look weird to just have a simple knob there and another knob at the top of the doors.... to many knobs, so I figured the bracket would break it up a bit. The knobs however I switched out with new ones for the doors. I found those at Lowe's and they matched the same brushed nickel in the shade of spray paint I used for the bracket and original knobs. They also seemed a little 'vintagy' so I figured that would work well with the entire cabinet.

So there you have it. My finished $20.00 cabinet. It's sitting in the living room, right by the window. That space has always bugged me because it was so bare and I have been on the look out for something special to put there and I am so excited now to have filled that boring ol' area. This cabinet will also be used to store all of Jaydens toys that he keeps in the living room, which will work out great with hiding them all whenever we have company over!

I've been Framed!

This past weekend... between ripping 4 layers of tile floor up, amongst other master bathroom reno shenanigans [yes I really did just say that], I somehow managed a trip to the store. It was Sunday and the reno of the shower was complete. I was completely pooped however I wanted to get out of the house. If anything, just for a little while.

So with really no direction of where or what I wanted to do, I went ahead and stopped at a few of the local stores. One store being Wal-Mart and I just want to put this out there on the record. For all of you to know. I completely, with every ounce of my being, hate and despise Wal-Mart. I think the fact that a gigantic warehouse that sells anything from ground beef, furniture, diapers, tools, faux foliage and 47" Flat screen TV's, just maybe creeps me out a little... and than to top it off you end up having to wait in a line the size of a Target Parking lot, just to pay for a measly bag of socks.

But... I was bored and figured to waste time I mine as well just walk around. No harm, no foul right? ...and no I didn't end up buying a pack of socks....

What I did buy were some craptastical frames for $3.00 a pop. The frame themselves measured 8x10 [although in true Wal-Mart fashion, I don't think they really measured that size]. They were a metallic type color. Not to bright or anything but almost like gold met silver and had a love child color.

Well with my obsession with pictures and frames and spray paint, that little light bulb quickly went off in my head and the very spot I thought of was the wall that the large sofa is on.

That would be the wall that I am talking about. I never really had any energy or ideas for that wall, so for the time being I had 3 large frames above the sofa. The black however just seemed to harsh... Granted you might take one look at the sofa and think it's black, however it's not. It's actually a mix between a dark blue and a gray color.

Out with the old and in with the new wall gallery!

A collection of some pretty black and white photographs. Some taken by yours truly and others taken from royalty free image sites. Printed on 5x7 photo paper and than attached to thick, white cardstock paper. Frames I spray painted with Rustoleum flat white spray paint.

Overall it looks a lot better and makes the room feel more cozy [seeing as how the wall isn't so bare anymore].

Now it's time to spruce up the sofa's a bit and put some new and improved pillows. Brighter, more fun, pillows!

So what are your thoughts on Gallery Walls? Love em? Hate em? Never really thought about it? Do you have any gallery walls in your own home?