Lettered Cottage Home

Such exciting news! One of my favorite bloggers, Layla at The Lettered Cottage has opened up a site to purchase some of her amazing finds and merchandise. You really must check it out!www.letteredcottagehome.com

celing fan makeover

So when we first moved into our house everything was brass. Every knob, fixture, hinge and ceiling fan. Now, if you know me, I HATE brass. So gradually over the last 11 months I've been switching out everything! One of my more recent projects was to tackle the ceiling fans. We have three of the same brass fans throughout our home and it didn't really make sense to get rid of perfectly good fans just b/c of the color. So, Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze here we come!


I started by taking down the blades and taking off the brass hardware. Then I taped around the base of the fan w/o taking it down! I cut up some trash bags to tape to the ceiling to protect it while I sprayed. After two coats of the bronze spray paint I put everything back together! Here's the finished product. Amazing difference isn't it. And only for the cost of one can of spray paint! Next up I'm going to do the one in our bedroom in a brushed nickel...

rocker

A few weeks ago my dad offered me a wooden rocking chair that belonged to my grandmother. I was beyond excited to have it in my home.... but the first words out of my mouth were "can I paint it"? As you can see, the rocker is that traditional black lacquered with gold painted details and it doesn't exactly fit in with the rest of my decor.


With my dad's permission (lol) I sanded, primed and carefully applied coats of antique white paint. (Free from Glidden!!) A little poly and a few pillows is all it needed to be complete!

I hope one day it finds a home in a nursery, but until then it'll be perfect in our bedroom for Mr O' to sit on while putting on his shoes.... since I always have clothes on the bench that was originally for this purpose. Oh well.

my favorite room...

When we first moved into our home we had this small room in our "basement" (it's not really underground) that was completely empty aside from an utility sink and a gorgeous window seat. After much debate about what to do with the space we decided it would be the perfect work area for me, a craft room!

This would be my first major project in our home, and way before the blog ever came to live so I don't have any before pictures of the room. It wasn't even shown in the real estate listing! When I first started thinking about what I wanted to do with the space I knew it would be very shabby chic. After all, it is the only room in the house that could be completely girlie. I knew I needed a table and comfy chair and some storage space so I started looking at pictures online for some inspiration. Here are some that I found...

The next stop was over to Lowe's to pick up some cabinets and and a counter. They were super easy to put together and my dad and Mr O' hung them for me. I then used a wooden dowel in the middle of the top cabinets to hang my ribbon. Here's the final result. I did make some cute pillows for the finishing touch!

Now, after everything is complete I could spend all day down there. I even found the perfect place for Mr O's college mini-fridge! And there is a half bath right next to it!

Twice Remembered Giveaway!

One of my fave bloggers, Kim, from Twice Remembered is doing a giveaway to celebrate her new blog address! She is giving away a copy of the new book Blogging for Bliss. I have been wanting to get my hands on this book to look for tips and ways to improve my own blog. Be sure to head on over to Twice Remembered for the giveaway and to check out all of Kim's fabulous work!

field trip!

Yesterday I had the privilege of visiting one of the most fabulous places for a designer...The Marketplace Design Center in Philadelphia. It was actually my second time visiting but it was much more interesting this time since I've really been diving into interior design.

I'm a terrible blogger and didn't take any of my own pics but will use some stock photos to show y'all what I saw! The design center has some amazing showrooms...perfect for a bit of inspiration.

I loved browsing all the fabulous fabric at Brunschwig & Fils, they also just started carrying Farrow & Ball paints and wallpapers which I absolutely love.

Stark Carpet Corporation was truly inspiring. I tend to lean towards hardwood floors but I had no idea there were so many carpet options out there. Stark recently did the carpeting in the White House for the Obama Administration!

My absolutely favorite showroom was Baker Knapp & Tubbs. You know how much I love furniture.. I could have spent the entire day in there! I fell head over heels in love with this amazing dining table from the Stately Collection. And for about $30,000 it can be yours! Also, their Historic Charleston collection is absolutely amazing! Capstan Table below... the leaves are actually the diagonal pieces!

If you aren't able to get to the design center in Philadelphia see if there is one near you. They are many all over the country and they're a blast to visit!

For more information about The Marketplace Design Center or any of the showrooms check out their website!

fall already?

I am absolutely loving the Pottery Barn fall collection. I don't think they've had a collection in a long time with such amazing pieces. The theme of the collection is "Vintage" and the pieces truly are timeless.

This beauty would be perfect in my basement. If they only made it in black... this sounds like a future project!

I love, love, love this coffee table.. if only I needed one!

The details of this side table are so classic! And how about that pineapple.... looks just like the one in my secretary!

This dresser really does look like an antique!

This bedside table would be perfect for my guest room!

The accessories are amazing too.. I love the dark colors for the fall!

I'm a sucker for anything vintage with a horse...

loving...

Two-toned railings. I have been dreaming of staining my railings a dark espresso color! Mr O' is not very good at visualizing my ideas so I had to find some pics to show him exactly what I was thinking. This is the first one I found, off a MLS listing for a home in our area. (the home is dreamy btw) After seeing the picture he was on board.

This week, one of my favorite bloggers, Centsational Girl, posted pictures of her staircase that she recently stained. I cannot get over her before and after pics. It really makes such a difference. It's amazing how such a simple change can really make your home stand out.

diy showoff!

I'm so excited! The fabulous blog diyshowoff has featured some of my recent projects! Click here to see the article and many more gorgeous projects!

diy cork board

I've been searching for a large cork board for my craft room for a few weeks now and have not been able to find exactly what I'm looking for. So I decided to make one of my own! I went to a local Goodwill over the weekend in search of a large wood picture frame to paint. I found this terrible pastel picture that had a solid wood frame and the detail I was looking for. And it was only $10!

The first step was to take the paper backing off and disassemble the pieces. After getting it down to just the frame it was time to spray it with some white primer and two light coats of Heirloom White spray paint.


While the frame was drying it was time to attach the cork to the cardboard backing that came with the frame. I purchased a roll of cork from a local office supply store for about $12.






I used some foam sticky squares I had from a previous project to attach the cork to the cardboard.



Once the frame was dry all that was left was to place the cork board back into the frame! I did have to move the hanging hardware from the top to the side so it would hang the way I wanted it to.


Here's the finished look! I spent a total of about $25 on this project which is close to what it would cost to pick up a large cork board from an office supply store. However the detail and the look is so much nicer! And you could save money by using a frame you already have!

and the after...

So I can't find the before picture of the side table I recently purchased off Craigslist, but here is the after! I think it turned out beautifully! I used an oil based primer and two coats of my favorite Rustoleum Heirloom White. Lastly I added a glass knob to give it a girlie touch. It's a perfect addition to my office!

loving...

I have to share the most adorable store I went to today! It's called Vintage Home and is in Paoli, PA. If you are in the area you must check it out! The have the most gorgeous refinished furniture and accessories with a clean shabby chic look. It is truly inspiring.

This chandelier was adorable for a bedroom, or perfect for my master bath. And at only $72 it is such a good deal!They had this beautiful white secretary desk that looks exactly like the one I just refinished!

I absolutely love this black chair and the side tables. I love the look of mixing light and dark furniture in a room. And that damask seat on the chair!

the big reveal

Here it is! I'm so excited to finally reveal my $15 yard sale dresser. It has really come a long way, and I'm so happy with the final result! Total cost was about $30 considering I already had the painting supplies and just needed to buy new knobs. Again, to the right is the before and below is the after!

up next...

Quite a few things going on at our house! I finished painting the side table and dresser and am just waiting on some fab knobs to arrive courtesy of eBay! Promise to post pics as soon as they're on. I'm currently working on some curtains for the guest room that I hope to post soon!

Next up will be repainting our living room. It's currently a tan and chocolate brown combo but it really is not my style. I know I've said this about almost every room in my house but I was way to quick to pick colors when we moved in. I'm thinking about doing Restoration Hardware's Silver Sage for the walls, and be done with the accent wall. We spend most of our time in this room and it needs to be more calm and relaxing.

Some other exciting news... I'm taking some interior design classes at Philadelphia University. Tonight is my first class so wish me luck, it should be interesting! I'm sure it'll provide some good articles for the blog!

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!