New Life for a Dreary Old Lamp

In my line of work I deal with the "three Rs".  At home, though, I like to use three other "Rs" - renew, rejuvenate and reuse!  I can spend hours sprucing up my home just by reusing something in a new way, moving something to a new room, or rejuvenating something in some small way to give it new life.  That is what we did recently with this old brass lamp.  Now, don't get me wrong, back in the day, this was an awesome lamp!  I remember clearly the day I bought a pair of these beauties.  I had just been named principal of my first school.  I was so excited and proud and I thought I needed a treat.  I had been eyeing these lamps at a local furniture store.  A day or so later, they were mine.  Fast forward 15 years and I no longer like brass.  Actually, I haven't liked brass in a while so somewhere along the way one of the pair disappeared. There is no telling where it is now - I am sure I probably gave it away.  The other was sitting in the attic.  I tried to sell it at a garage sale, but no takers!  My friend, Lynda, said don't throw it away or sell it.... paint it!  Well, I had no idea you could paint brass (apparently everyone knew this but me!).  

I decided to give it a try, but first I had to figure out where to put it when I finished  my project.  I LOVE lamps so I truly didn't need any more in any room of the house EXCEPT for in Seth's new bedroom.  Seth is 8 so what would look good in his room may not appeal to the masses.  I thought it turned our super for a little boy's baseball bedroom.    

This is the "before" - tired and outdated. 

Cut off pull chains and tape over the light bulb receptacles. 

We decided to use a matte black spray paint.  

Now for the shade:  We tried so hard to find a new shade that would work, but with no luck.  I actually bought two and had to return them.  (If I were doing this for the great room, I had pictured a beautiful square lamp shade with an M for our last name.)  But, as I mentioned before, Seth needed a lamp, the rest of the house did not!  So we kept looking.  Finally, my husband said, let's just buy fabric spray paint and paint it red!  At first I was a little dubious, but the idea grew on me.  After all, it was going to be used in a baseball bedroom. So.... off we went to Michael's.   Soon Jon was painting again.  

 This was a little messy and took three cans of spray paint.  

Hmmmm.... getting there :-)

Jon added baseball pulls since our little fellow is a baseball fanatic! 

Here is the completed project in his new room.  It is just perfect for Seth! For the cost of paint, an old neglected lamp was turned into one of a kind item for our little man! 

Please join in the following parties: 

Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays @ http://www.linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/

Potpourri Party @ http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/


Tuesday's Treasures @ http://www.myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/

New Art for the Guest Bedroom

"Children at the Beach"

We did a guest bedroom "redo" recently.  We made the change from a teenage boy's bedroom to a guest bedroom suitable for the long term stay of Jon's mom.  We kept the same furniture (simple pieces that we had bought on Craig's List for Matt, my oldest step-son).  We did, however, change the khaki walls - and one black wall - to a calming pale blue. 


I wanted to go all out and completely redo everything - new furniture, gorgeous toile bedding, you know, the works!!!  But then I thought, stick to a budget, Lisa!!!  So the bedding came from Target.  I think it turned out really well - simple and pretty! 


I have a silhouette of me from when I was a young girl that is framed. It is just such a sweet memory.  My sister, Anita, found these after my Mom passed away and had them framed for each of us.  This little memento - made on simple construction paper - brings me such joy!

The real crowning glory of the bedroom though is the original art that is found above the bed.  My very talented friend, Diane, made this piece for me after I mentioned that I wanted a "beach" picture.  I had seen one at a precious store in Fairhope, AL and while it was beautiful, it was quite expensive!  My sweet friend painted me a picture and brought it to me one day at work!  I was so thrilled!!! 

I set out to find the perfect frame for my new found masterpiece.  This proved harder than I thought.  I finally found the frame I liked, and used my 40 % off coupon at Hobby Lobby to purchase it.  The bad news was that it was dark brown... beautiful, but not the shabby chic look I wanted.  So I sanded it, painted it (Behr Cotton Fluff), sanded again, and then finished with a coat of Minwax Finishing Paste.  I think it turned out so well!!! 

The "before" of the frame.

Painted with Behr Cotton Fluff.

Sanding the frame.

Finish by applying a thin coat of Minwax Finishing Paste. 

The finished frame.

The guest bedroom - calm and peaceful.

Close-up of the little girl on the oil painting. 

Close-up of the frame.

Thank so much to Kim at Savvy Southern Style @ www.savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com.  I followed her directions from a recent frame "redo".  Her blog is awesome!!  Check it out if you haven't already seen it! 

Please check back in the next few days.  I plan to show other original art that friends have given to me! 

I am linking to Metamorphosis Monday at http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/. 

Debbie's Newbie Party @ http://www.debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/

Amaze Me Monday @ http://www.dittledattle.blogspot.com/

Wow Us Wednesday @ http://www.savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/



Come join the fun!

Mirror Transformation

The "before" picture - a little too gold and shiny for my taste!

I bought a round mirror recently at Hobby Lobby in the clearance section!  I was thrilled with the price, but not the color.  I wanted it to look old and worn so I decided to paint it; however, I couldn't decide what to do in addition to painting - I knew that painting alone would not be quite right.  I was leaning toward just "roughing it up" with sand paper, but Jon suggested glazing it with a dark brown glaze.  I had been wanting to try my hand at glazing so this was the perfect opportunity to learn the process on something really small.  It was not hard at all!  In fact, it was super easy! 

First we removed the back and the mirror very carefully -

the edge around the mirror was chipped. 

Next I sanded the finish lightly with a medium grade sand paper.

The next step was to spray paint with a creamy satin paint. 

(I was concerned about using spray paint,

but the frame was a really hard plastic and it worked well.)

We let the paint dry overnight.

We used a brush to apply the glaze on the beaded

inner edge of the mirror. 

We had to buy a special glaze that would

work with oil based paint. 

I was so glad we told the salesperson what we were painting

or we would have had a mess!!

We used a rag to wipe away the glaze. 

It is starting to look good!

We used a hot glue gun to put the mirror back in the frame.

It is finished! 

A close-up :-)

Once I finished the mirror, it did not look terrific in the area that I had originally planned - over the bed in the guest room.  Jon and I walked around the house for a while trying to figure out where to put our pretty new mirror.  We finally put it in the somewhat neglected back entry way into our house.  This is a small hallway that leads into the house from the garage.  It is the entry we use all the time so Jon thought it was the perfect spot to check my hair "one more time" before I leave the house each day!  What can I say?  He knows me well!!!

I wish I had a more glamorous part of the home to show you, but hey, everyone has a back entrance  where friends and family are welcomed!  Now you have seen ours!  Welcome to our home!  Back door friends are best! 

I am linking to Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday @ http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

and

Debbie's Newbie party at www.debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com

and Kim's Wow Us Wednesday party at www.savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com

Come join the fun!  

Boring to Better Dining Room Chairs

Some of my favorite blogs that I follow regularly feature posts periodically that are entitled "Boring to Better."  I thought I would share with you something in my home that I recently changed from boring to better - my dining room chairs.  To be truthful, in the case of these chairs, BLAH to Better would be an even more accurate description.  They were the epitome of  "straight from the furniture store" boring with a capital B!  Actually it was a triple B - beige, blah, and boring! 

When we bought the dining room furniture after Katrina we knew eventually we would recover the chairs, but at that point, we just wanted to get furniture and get back in a home. I bought some fabric and put it in the closet.   I didn't think it would take us four years to complete this simple chore. Oh well, they are now finished and so pretty!

I had originally planned to cover all the chairs in the same pattern, however, when Jon and I started the project I decided to use some fabric that I had bought to make pillows with to cover the "end" chairs and the original fabric to cover the side chairs.  I thought it would add interest to the room if the chairs were covered in different material. Jon did most of the work, which is a blessing because he is such a perfectionist - the stripes on the chenille fabric were not a problem for him at all!   I am so happy with the way the chairs turned out! 

Here is a "before" picture.  Blah and boring!

This is "after" of the end chair.  I love the design on the fabric. 

I wish the colors would show better in this close-up. 

I definitely need a better camera! 

This is an "after" of the side chairs.  The fabric is a

nubby chenille that is red and gold/khaki.  The texture is fabulous. 

The dining room as it looks right now.  I am ready to transform it from

 somewhat "blah" to beautiful with a spring tablescape! 

I am linking to Kim's Boring to Better Party at http://www.savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/ Come on over and join the fun!