house projects

I saw on the Nester's blog awhile back that she refinished several pieces of old furniture in fur. I thought it looked so quirky and chic and unique and I LOVED it. I've been feeling super crafty lately, and decided that I wanted to build a bench for the end of our bed and cover it in faux fur.

I headed to Home Depot and bought four 14 inch legs and a board about 4 feet long. I went to JoAnns to get quilt batting and foam for the cushion, and I also bought 2 yards of fur (which was WAY too much - I could have easily done it with just one yard).

The first thing I did was spray paint the wooden legs in a shiny gold. I knew the wood would still show up pretty matte, so that's why I got the metallic.

Once the legs dried (after 3 coats), I got Danny to help me attach them to the board. There are tons of ways to do this, but the easiest for us was to use a screw driver and screw a nail through the top of the board into the legs.

Next was the cushion. I first cut the foam to the correct size of the bench. Once the foam was in place on top of the bench, I wrapped the batting around to hold it in place and stapled it under the bench.

You want to make sure the batting is pulled tight...and I used tons of staples.

Now its the fun part - the fur!! I picked out a chocolate brown color (looks a little different in person) that I thought would go well with our white comforter and dark furniture. Drape the fur over the bench and cut it (leaving about 3 inches hanging on all sides). Then staple the fur under the bench just like the batting.

And the final product!!!

I really love how it turned out - all for under $60! Doesn't Danny look excited about our new bench?!

I can't believe we've gone this long without a place to sit in our bedroom. It really makes such a difference (and yes- it's sturdy!).

Those curtains? My mom sewed them for me. She did an awesome job! The wreath above the bed was a quick project because I needed a temporary space filler until I find something I love.

It's a book page wreath and it was so easy. Just buy a small wreath form and tear pages out of an old book. Roll the pages into cones and hot glue them around the wreath. Cute and simple!

refinishing antique furniture

We've been in our house 2.5 years now, so I'm starting to get the itch to redecorate.

This is my grandmother's china cabinet that I inherited when she passed away in 2009. I cherish it so much! My kitchen has white cabinetry and light granite countertops, so the dark wood did not really match the room.

It was alot of work. And it took me forever!

I was so happy with the finished product! I painted the whole thing with 2 coats of white, then I put a wood stain over it once it dried, then wiped that off for an "antique" look. It looks darker (more of a cream) in person.

Before and After :)

deck the halls

I love love LOVE this time of year! Christmas is my absolute favorite season. I love the cheer, the decorations and that it brings families together. And I really love rejoicing in the birth of our King.

Enjoy your sneak peek into my holiday home!

This is the view to the right when you walk in the front door.

And the view of my living room.

Another living room view :)

I love Christmas countdowns and Advent calendars.

We got a new surround sound system, so I couldn't put my garland on the mantle like I normally do. So I improvised!

I had the stockings made by a local seamstress a few years back. They tie in to the zebra print pillows on my couch and the curtains in my kitchen.

I love the look of the hanging ornaments under the mantle and it was so cheap and easy!

I loooove gold and glitter!

This is my entry table in my front foyer.

This table is on the wall behind my couch.

Arrangement I made with little glitter snowflakes.

Remember my gold thumb tack wreath? I just changed out the ribbon for Christmas! 

And my split pea wreath- I spray painted it gold and changed the ribbon. 

Pretty lights Danny hung on our back porch.

And our tree! I used gold mesh and different sized ornament balls. I also added a little gold spray at the top. 

My Disney jingle bell door hanger :)

This is our guest bathroom. 

 Guest bathroom

Merry Christmas!

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. -Luke 2:11

changing it up

The last week has brought us several new changes! I'll start with our new car...

This is our 2011 Toyota Scion XB. Our six year old Nissan Maxima was beginning to have some serious problems. We took a roadtrip to Memphis with Yvonne & Pablo last weekend (which was so fun! I'll post about that trip soon) and we took our car. The drive is three hours, and our A/C was blowing out warm air in the 80 degree heat. It was just too much. I think the transmission was acting up too, so we knew it was probably time to get rid of it before we had to put some serious money into fixing it. At first I wanted a Honda CRV, but we went to the Toyota dealership on Tuesday and left that same day with a new car! We both love it.

Danny washed it off as soon as we brought it home - haha! I think he's gonna take great care of the new ride ;)

We bought a new rug for our living room today and ended up changing the room a little bit. Here is the before and after picture:

The new rug is larger than the old one and I think it really pulls the room together. We also removed the table skirts and updated a few decorations. Click on the picture below to enlarge it (I couldn't get it any bigger on the page).

Another picture:

This is a beautiful painting my good friend Sarah did for me. I absolutely love it! She is SO talented!

I'm enjoying spending the entire weekend with my sweet hubby.

 I love it when we have no plans and can just relax and enjoy being together!

I was at work yesterday during the scary tornados. Believe it or not, I felt so much safer at work than at home because our building is concrete and metal (whereas our house is made of wood). I know it hit Clinton and Tuscaloosa really hard. Please keep all those affected by the storm in your prayers. God will provide!

christmas home tour

Welcome!

This is the view of my living room from the front door.

Our tree! I used gold mesh and different sized and different colored ball ornaments. I think it's simple and pretty.

Close up of our tree 

This is the mantle with the garland I made. I had these stockings made last year to match the zebra valances in our kitchen. 

Close-up of our mantle 

Cute, sparkly reindeer!

This is on our entry table in our foyer. 

This table is behind our couch.

I made the centerpiece and bought the glittery snowflakes from Wal Mart! 

I got this door hanger at Disney World this summer. I love the jingle of the bells when we open and close the door! Reminds me of my childhood. 

This is our guest bathroom. I added a silver tree to match the gold one in my foyer. 

This Noel sign is hanging from the cabinet. 

My gingerbread house! Yummy! (Hoping it will last at least a week!) 

Danny putting up our lights! We lined the entire front of our house with lights - we used the big lights and I think they look so retro. It only took him like an hour to do the whole house. 

Mesh wreath on our front door 

Our house with the lights! 

Merry Christmas and thanks for stopping by! :)