3 Years

today :)

Fall In Iowa City

No recent projects to blog about. No, it is Hawkeye football season in Iowa City.  That means there is tailgating and football watching to do.  If you are a true Hawkeye fan, your weekends are consumed with all the Hawkeye Hoopla, leaving little time for much else.  Have I mentioned that Hawkeye fans are the coolest around?  I think I have.  Well, if this wasn't awesome enough. . .Check this out!

This was the scene at the Iowa vs. Northwestern game last weekend.  Yeah, I know.  Pretty sweet.
This weekend. . .Homecoming. . .Iowa spanks Indiana.  Bring it.
GO HAWKS!

au revoir brown armoire

I finished the armoire for T's new apartment.  I probably wouldn't have picked out what we ended up with, had I more time.  But we were under crunch time since move out day is August 1.  I found this 1970's something, somewhat tacky, yet sturdy armoire on Craigslist for $100.  I was thinking of spending more like $50, but when you are under pressure to get something done, you have to cave and make quick decisions.  It goes without saying that it is killing me she is moving out, but alas, it is probably time and I want to do all I can to make her new digs comfortable (and remind her of me. . . selfish?  yes.  I don't care).
A recap of the BEFORE:

Now before I post the after, I just want to remind everyone of the silver/mirrored dresser I did for her a couple years ago.  And the fact that I am not letting her take it with her.  Because of this, I thought it only fitting to redo the armoire in silver.  I had best intentions of ditching the hardware and dated scrolly panels, replacing them with new, glam hardware and possibly fabric panels, but then I got cheap (thinking she may be moving back home in a year - wishful thinking) and this piece may end up on the curb. 

AFTER:

 

I wanted to add some depth to the piece, so I brushed diluted brown acrylic paint over all the accent areas and rubbed off with a rag.  I ended up painting the existing hardware and for a final,

whimsical touch - painted the inside of the cabinet doors with chalkboard paint.

Love you, Roo.

 

Restore It Wednesday

Up Next

My lovely Miss Taylor is leaving me.  Yup.  She is moving out on her own.  I have mixed emotions about it, I'm sure, like every other soon to be empty nester.
On one hand, it will be nice to not have to clean her bedroom and bathroom as often, I will reclaim my back coat closet (which is currently home to a mountain of ridiculously cute Miss Taylor shoes), I won't have to hear "there is nothing to eat in this house" and the best thing - - she is only moving a couple of miles away.

On the other hand, SHE'S MY BABY!!!!! And, I'm getting old!  Time goes too fast.

Thankfully, she has already informed me that she will be coming home every week to do her laundry - - uh, thanks, Taylor.  I will look forward to that.

Anyway, being the selfish mom I am, I am not letting her take the infamous silver/mirrored dresser with her.  Nope.  Too attached to that one.  Which means we needed to get something else for Miss Clotheshorse  Taylor to keep her goods in.

Enter my latest Craigslist find.  Stay tuned.  I gotta get this bad boy done before moving day.

Citra Solv Laundry Project

Just can't get enough of this technique!
I wanted something to fill the space to the right of the train rack in my laundry room, but couldn't
really come up with anything appropriate other than laundry related stuff, so I made my own subway art.

Total cost: $4.50 (half price canvas at Hobby Lobby. . .and yes, I already had the fabric - snap)

hmmm. . .wonder if the fam will get the subtle hint at the end.

Benchmark

I spied this little bench at my sister-in-law's house on a recent visit.  She had intended to recover it to sell in her upscale furniture consignment store Revisit.  I begged her to let me take it home with me.  Just kidding, I asked her how much she wanted for it and she was kind enough to just give it to me!

I have been wanting to try the Citrasolv technique on something.  The beautiful thing about this technique versus printing on fabric with your inkjet printer is that it is machine washable/dryable and you can do it on a larger format.  So I thought I would give it a go and make a cushion for my new bench. . . thank you, Cindy ; )

Using a graphic from the Graphics Fairy, I created a monogram design and transfered it onto some fabric (yes, the same zebra fabric (reverse side) I have used for all my blog projects - - -wow, I just realized I have really gotten a lot of mileage out of this stuff - - -good investment heidi ho).  The technique was really very simple, but I didn't have any luck with the copy straight from the laserjet printer, I had use a photocopy.

Bench AFTER:

It fits perfect between the french doors to our master bath and the french doors out to the balcony from our master bedroom.  But I am thinking this little bench would be awesome in one of the bathrooms. . .  who knows where she will land.

Linking up to:

Fine Dining

Patty had a kitchen table and chair set from. . .I want to say the 70's. . .not sure, whenever they were from I am sure it was before my time.  ahem.
Anyway, she was ready to kick the chairs to the curb -

but wanted to salvage the table so she gave me a call.  The table had really good bones - pretty pedestal legs, but the top was formica.  We decided to paint the table black, but I wasn't sure I wanted to attempt painting the formica top; I just don't think it would have held up well to card parties, dinners and the grandkids.  (plus there were four leaves that went with it)  Leaving well enough alone, we decided to paint just the legs.  I suggested Patty find some chairs that would be a combination of stained and black painted wood to tie in with her new table.

Table BEFORE:

     Table AFTER:

What do you think?  I think Patty did a swell job picking out the chairs.  And I love how the chair cushions really glam up the whole look.  Now she's ready for some fine dining!

yes, i said swell. . .and i lied. . .the before table and chairs were not before my time :(

Tray Chic

I have been searching to find something that I can glam up with a coat of chalkboard paint.  It's obviously a rage and I have been admiring all the chalkboard paint projects out there in blogland. . .I just had to try it myself.
Not willing or ready to commit to an entire wall or refrigerator or countertop or one of the other awesome venues (I see ceilings, floors, entryways, garage doors to name a few), I wanted to start small. . .like a framed chalkboard in the kitchen or laundry room or something.  When I make my mind up to do something, I expect to get 'er done just as fast as the bulb lights up in my head.  Never happens.  Couldn't for the life of me find anything to spray chalkboard paint magic on.
. . . . . . that is. . . until I was putting a re-purposed placemat (used under a fern pot in the sunroom cause HECK NO do we set a table at the Owen Crib) away in an ONLY TWICE (actually maybe once) A YEAR visited linen drawer.
Came across a Goodwill HAND-ME-DOWN serving tray.  I'm sure I've had it at least five years.  Stuck it in the drawer and pretty much forgot about it.  It had good bones, really cool aluminum twisty handles and rim, but not so cool fake wood grain MDF for the middle. 

This was it. . .what I've been searching for, right under my own nose. . .in my very own kitchen.

Why thank you. . .don't mind if I do.

Laundry Quandry

When Tim and I built our house in 2006 we had to leave certain things unfinished due to budget constraints.  The laundry room and basement among them.  Since then, we have worked on the basement, but never did anything with the laundry room.  We purchased a laundry sink and faucet along with all the other fixtures when we built the house and until last week, they sat in a closet in the basement. 
Tired of waiting until we can afford custom cabinetry. . .who knows when and if that will ever happen in this economy, I decided I could be happy with purchasing an unfinished oak cabinet from Menards - anything to get that sink hooked up.  I could glam it up and customize it myself with a little paint and decorative knobs.  Tim was on board with this idea. . .C-H-A  ching!  I'm saving us money (that's what she said).

So. . . here is the (small) laundry room BEFORE:

Add an unfinished oak base cabinet. . .

 

A little leftover Sherwin Williams Austere Gray paint (from the antique dining room buffet), pre-cut cornices for "feet", and knobs from Hobby Lobby. . .

Pre-cut 6' laminate countertop from Menards, 12"x12" mesh mosaic tile squares from Lowes and I now have the laundry sink I have been longing for.  I told Tim I don't think I could be happier. We were able to do all of this for around $250.  Sometimes being on a budget isn't so bad.  It really narrows down the choices you have and gives you the opportunity to get creative.  (I have to note that we did not have to make one tile cut - - the length of the wall is just under 6', so we just had to cut one row of mosaics off the mesh backing and the top border tiles fit across perfectly - - too easy!)

I can eventually add overhead cabinets and finish them to match. . .or not!  I don't really need more storage space.  I will add some decor on the walls eventually.
Oh, and Sully couldn't be more thrilled either since this is his dining room. . .actually I don't know if he is all that thrilled or not.  I just said that.

AFTER:

Linking up to:

Reflections of A Dining Room

I finally moved the Guy Buffet prints down to the family room/bar area where they have been longing to hang out. . .get it? (hang). . .sorry.

Anyway, I found a round mirror for the spot above the dining room buffet.  Hubs says I hung it too high, but I wanted it to reflect the chandelier. . . and who wants to see themselves pigging out anyway?
(actually, slim chance of that beings as we have NEVER eaten in this room. . .which leads me to ask myself. . .why am I even concentrating on decorating this room?  I really should focus my energy on the great room)

BEFORE

AFTER

I don't think it will look too high once I get some “stuff TBD (to be determined)” on the buffet.  I am so liking the glam of all the mirrors in the dining room that I am on a mission to find several more for the two remaining empty walls.  Welcome to Heidi's Glam-O-Rama Dining Room, but you can't eat here, it's just a place for reflection. . .get it?. . .sorry.  Beautiful by candlelight at night. . .darned if I can get a decent photo.

Craigslist Dresser Makeover

UPDATE!  SOLD FOR $500 AT REVISIT!

Before:

This is the dresser I got to keep me out of trouble during my holiday break from work.
It was a $50 Craigslist find.  I really didn't have a space in mind for it. . .I didn't think it
would fit in anywhere. . .I just got it because I thought it had good bones. . .and I needed a project.

During:

I used a combination of Silver Sage metallic paint and Bronze glaze over my SW Austere Gray.  To erase the brush marks I used a dry roller over it all.  I thought about distressing in areas, but thought it would look more formal to leave it alone.
 
After:

LOOK - - it fits perfect on my diagonal dining room wall!  What do you think?  Can I keep him?
My house lacks many accessories mostly because we don't have many furnishings.  But now that I am slowly adding pieces I can start picking up accessories to add more interest.  (but not too many - - have I mentioned I don't care for clutter. . .or dusting?)  I am thinking a few apothecary jars and maybe a tall rectangular mirror on the wall. . .but I'm up for suggestions. . .

What Is It?

Beats me.  Oddly, this Goodwill find was hollow like a vase, but only about 6 inches of it's total height was hollow; the bottom 2/3 was solid wood.  I guess it could have been a taper candle holder, but more than half of your candle would be swallowed up in the deep hollow.  I guess you could have put fake flowers in it (yuck). . .or use it to clobber an intruder. . .it was Heidi. . .in the kitchen. . .with the big, heavy wooden Goodwill thing.  (yes, I played Clue as a kid)

Anyway, I saw potential so I plugged up the hole and whipped out a can of glam.
A little sanding over the carvings, slapped on a little stain and. . . .

now I have a pillar holder for my sunroom.  Thanks, Nanc!  ; )

Keeping Out Of Trouble

Working at The Daily Iowan on the University of Iowa campus is awesome because we don't publish during university breaks.  This allows me three weeks off over the Xmas and New Year's holidays.  Such a blessing during the first two weeks when I am busy last minute shopping, decorating and hosting parties, but now that the tree has been thrown out the front door, (I mean literally thrown out the front door. . . what a freaking mess. . .I may have all the needles vacuumed up by next Xmas) all the entertaining over and the decorations put away; everyone else is back to work and Heidi needs something to keep her out of trouble (I don't actually get in trouble. . .I just need something to give me a sense of accomplishment).

ENTER:  My latest Craigslist find.  Yeah baby. . .and only $50.00.  I don't really have a good space for it, but it has such good bones I couldn't pass it up.

So I got to work on it right away.  It had two large cracks down both sides.  A little wood filler, sanding and primer. . .

I am going to slap on a couple of coats of Austere Gray (the color used on the dining room buffet; I think I have just enough for this project so it will be nice to use that up) and I am going to attempt to glaze over the gray with a mixture of bronze and a silver sage metallic paint.  I am kind of nervous because I know I will have brush marks to deal with.  Any furniture I have ever done metallic has been spray paint so no brush mark worries.  I have my fingers crossed that it will turn out the way I picture it in my head.  If so, I will have to somehow find space for it somewhere. . .if not. . .look for it on Craigslist. . .jk.
Check in tomorrow or Wednesday. . .I should have it done - - -GASP!  But then what will I do the rest of the week?

probably paint something.  or print on fabric - - stop.