making progress...

This past weekend, we made a trip to the Zillah furniture auction. 

Zillah is a very small town, about an hour east of us, right before Yakima. 

This is where we bought our leather sectional back in February. 

I had my fingers crossed I would find my console table here...

AND....

Success!!!

It's supposed to be an entertainment stand, but it works ABSOLUTELY perfect!!! It holds all of my music, with room to spare!

AND....

we found a chair!!

You can't really tell, but it's reclined right now! 

There was also a loveseat being sold, as part of a collection, but since we had our couch already, we decided not to get it.

But, now, with our new chair in the room, the old couch looks REALLY worn and old. DOH. 

So, now we're on the lookout for something to replace the couch. We might have gotten it, if it were a couch and not a love-seat. 

Okay, so here's the before:

And After!

We're making progress! I'm so amazed at how the console and piano match in color EXACTLY. I was really worried about getting a bunch of different wood colors going on, so VERY thrilled.

But now, we've got a lot of red tones going on.

Next step:

find a rug.

I'm eyeing this one:

but, it's from Potter Barn, so of course, $$$. 

The room is taking on a more traditional look, so I thought this would be fitting.

I thought Dan wouldn't like it, do to the flowers. But when I asked him, he said "like it!". 

I said, "Really?! With all the flowers?"

D: "What flowers?"

T: "The flowers all over it!"

D: "Those are just designs."

Oh. okay. whatever. Call it what you want, but we both agreed on something!

Any other suggestions on rugs?

wall paint colors? I'm thinking a darker taupe/brown, with cream curtains. 

I know. kinda boring. I'm scared of color. I admit it.

This is a before, before. The trim color is the actual wall color now. I left it there for comparison. I'm not loving it in this picture though. maybe brown is not the way to go? Green?

Furniture redo disaster

We should probably rename this blog: Trisa needs advice....

Here's where my "project" is at now:

Anyway, it's been a discouraging couple of days. 

I probably should have started the staining process before I put so much time into this thing.

Here's the problem:

The pieces were so weathered on the top, that in order to sand them smooth and flat, I sanded through the veneer and into the particle board stuff. I tried to cover it with wood filler, but that worked only a little. So, I prayed a dark stain would mask it enough. 

Nope. 

It looks awful.

So, now:

1) Do I just paint the whole thing white? or a different color, like brown or black? (black's not really my decor color...but maybe for resale?)

2) Do I try to bang out the top and put a fresh top on it?

•  (I'm not really sure I could find a solid piece of wood wide enough. (THis top has a center piece, and then is trimmed out with solid wood.)
• I would plan to router the edges for a nicer look. 
• Then maybe add molding underneath the top, so the rounded edge wouldn't look so funny? 
• I don't really want to pour more money in this, because who knows if I will end up keeping it? 

So QUESTION: Can I still salvage this? or should I just fix it enough to resell it? 

I was so excited to have furniture in my room! And for the armoire for my craft stuff. Should I just live with it? 

PLEASE give advice on frontroom.

Okay, I Need some help. This room has got me. I want to decorate other areas in our home that I have inspiration for, but Dan wants this one done first, because it is the first thing people see. 

I've labeled the pictures for reference purposes, so I'm not reposting pictures and making this LONGER than it is. 

Picture A:

(The view from the front door)

How about a LARGE clock that centers in the peak of the vaulted ceiling? 

Picture B:

(Looking in from the Kitchen)

Picture C:

(The front door, from the corner by the piano) Notice the vaulted ceiling, and the bajilion angles. WHERE to paint?!  I thought about a smaller console table behind the front door, or a half circle one, with a large mirror above it? Or just a large vase/plant in the corner by the closet? 

Picture D:

Picture E:

Picture F:

Any thoughts on what to put above the piano? I don't like the smaller pictures. I was thinking a large clock or a LARGE family picture with wall scones on either side? 

Or, I could hang this clock on the outside of the wall, that goes too the kitchen. so you can see it from the kitchen AND the living room.

(Okay, I couldn't get it to load, but it's one of those double sided trains-station like clocks. )

Would you paint this wall? Leave the trim part on top a cream, so it looks like trim? or leave it alone.

Some things to keep in mind:

1) ONLY the piano MUST stay. 

2) The couch was given to us. We love it because it is super comfy, so probably won't replace it in the next year, but it is not a permanent fixture.

3) I need something to store my music, and piano teaching stuff.

4) What walls do I paint?

This is a console table found at Walmart. I like the tall doors, for a place to stash music, and the drawers for my little things: flashcards, metronome, stickers, etc.

Another option:

 I would also use the space for what I have previously kept here:

This is the round table in the corner by the couch, as seen in PICTURE B. The table would go under neath the window where the two lone chairs are currently.

So, I was thinking of scooting the piano towards the tile area, and opening up the corner and putting something like this in the corner:

(I like the rug also, but might be too bland?)

For painting I like this idea:

I like the color also. I noticed how well it went with the oak mantel. I would put this on the wall that continues on into the kitchen. 

Some "inspiration pieces" I like: 

I would like a coffee table, but Dan thinks it will make the room feel to crowded. Opinions?!

OKay, that's all for now. ANY imput would be awesome...via comments or e-mail?

Sihlouette Collage- ALMOST. :)

whew! So- here's my collage.

(Oh, I should note that I need to buy another sheet of paper to fix me and P's picture. that is NOT how it is supposed to look. :) ) (oh, and that I am currently planning on redoing anna's shilouette to be a side profile. I think its cute now, but it looks like a generic baby. and its not. its my adorable baby girl. :) sigh. I do love her chin/cheeks, though.)

Im pretty excited about- I think it turned out really cute. Not positive about keeping the pink, but- it was the best of the options I have currently.

P and I were both noticing that it looks kinda lonely on the wall. Not sure how to fix that. I will be hanging navy curtains on the window behind the tv- so that will help that wall...but any other ideas on what this needs?


P.S. I LOVE YOUUUUUU!!!

Here's how the curtains look . . .

You have been begging to see the room "transformation" with the new curtains. . . so I figured I'd just post it on here :) The goal was an inexpensive way to lighten/up date things--what do you think? Any other ideas/suggestions?  Yes. . . I'm also taking (inexpensive) ideas for that ugly light fixture. . .

Bedroom furniture revamp part 1

After seeing THIS post, I was amazed by the transformation, and thought "I can do that!" So, I hopped on craigslist, and found a complete bedroom set for $40! The set includes 2 nightstands, like the one below, a headboard, 2 mirrors (not sure what I'm going to do with those), and an armoire. 

The armoire. I'm so excited about this.

 I plan to use it for my craft/sewing/scrapbook stuff.

They had been sitting in a garage for MANY years, and were very weathered. I wondered if I would be able to even salvage them. But, I'm willing to try!

The veneer on the sides were starting to peel off, so I helped chipped them all the way off. Some of the sides weren't too bad, but I had to stay consistent. Trust me, it was VERY tedious.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do to fix them, but then I got the brilliant idea of putting beadboard where the veneer used to be.

Then, to try to keep the look going, and "update" it, I added a piece to the drawers:

After LOTS of sanding, and caulking, and repairing holes with wood filler, etc. they are ready to be primed!

And that is where we are on the project now. I put this on here, so motivate me to keep going. I don't get a lot of time to spend working on it, so if it weren't for the big mess in the garage, I might forget about it! 

Any tips, suggestions?!

car seat covers

Here are two car seat covers I made:

Don't you love this fabric combo?! looks like it was made to go together!

The link for the tutorial http://www.make-it-do.com/sew-it/baby-car-seat-cover-tutorial/