Matchy Mirrors

Quite a while ago, I stumbled upon two mirrors on clearance at Winners. At first, I didn't know what to do with them. I loved the shape and the price.

But they were different finishes. Neither of which I was fond of. 

So what's a girl to do? 

Spraypaint!! Yessiree! And did I ever have a good time spray painting these beauties. Sure, a rogue bug or blade of grass found its way into almost every sticky coat of high gloss white pray paint I applied. Nothing a little sanding and repainting couldn't fix though :)

I'm super happy with the end result. The high gloss white looks great against the wall. I love how a new coat of paint has done wonders for the original frame and bones these mirrors always had. I mean before, I could hardly tell they had such delightfully sculpted edges. Now, thanks to the glossy white, those edges are on full display!

Currently, the mirrors are situated above one of the love seats in our living area downstairs. They reflect the kitchen beautifully and definitely make the whole room feel bigger.

Overall, I'm thrilled with the way things turned out. Lesson learned? Spray paint is awesome. Always has been, always will be. 

I have a feeling spray paint and I are going to have a long, healthy and very pretty future together.

Goodwill Loot

I recently got myself some pretty sweet loot at Goodwill. And imagine my surprise and elation when I just so happened to be at Goodwill while everything was marked 50% off! O yes. It was a good day.  

I only ended up walking away with two items though, because I am really trying to only bring things into my home that I love. Like, luuuurve (as my fave Canadian Celine Dion would say ;). So the other day, that's exactly what I did. Love rule fully enforced. 

I got this shelf for $1.50, which was originally...you guessed it...$3.00. It's going to get a nice coat of paint and will help me finally finished my bathroom project mentioned in this post of yore. Ya. Procrastination is my middle name. 

Then, for $2.00, I got this sweet apothecary type glass vessel with lid. I'm thinking the quicker this little ditty gets filled with homemade biscotti where it can be proudly displayed on my counter, the better. 

On that note, did you know that biscotti are super easy to make? One day I'll share my go-to recipe. They're delish and they go perfectly with an afternoon coffee craving.

Yay. Coffee!

So, that about wraps up my Goodwill loot grab. Besides, I think singing the praises of a good cup of java is a perfectly awesome way to sign off. So, I'll leave it there.

$3.99

That's what I paid for this beauty.

My baby sis and I were trolling Goodwill the other day, when I saw this swank piece. It was listed at $3.99. And yes, I felt the urge to barter. 

Unfortunately garage sale season is still a few weeks away. 

So, I forked over my $3.99 and took this pitcher home with me. It sat in the garage for some time before I got on to fixing it up. But this weekend, I took advantage of our lovely warm weather and got to work on revamping this sad, sad pitcher. 

I opted for some Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint that I've heard about so much about over here. Ordinarily, I'd go for plain white, but this color (can we call it that?), is just so intense. It's dark, but not black. It's super dimensional and sparkly and different from every angle.

So, away I went. 

Action shot. No big deal. 

A couple items to note in the above picture. 

1. Yes, I am wearing crocs. They're my garage-cleaning, yard-working, spray-painting shoes. One time, in university, I wore these crocs to school. It was a low point for me. I was told that by a friend that day.

They were very right.

2. Yes I am wearing my old softball tee shirt. Single tear for the now defunct Dodgers. 

But once again, I digress. On to the Goodwill pitcher transformation!

Coat 1. Lookin' patchy. 

Coat 2. A little more coverage? I think so.

Coat 3. Mmmmhmm. Ladies and gentlemen, I think we've arrived.

Let's zoom in for a few detail shots shall we?

I think the picture below best shows the iridescent quality of ORB. It's not black, not brown, not entirely sparkly and yet not matte. It's just perfect!  It's a delicious concoction of spray-paint that creates the richest and most delightfully pigmented finished product. 

At the end of the day, I have a beautiful little pitcher that went from grungy Goodwill to rustic and restored. It always had these classic lines, but the galvanized steel and gold detailing were competing for attention. With a clean, uniform coat of ORB spray paint, this pitcher can finally be the little flower canister it was always meant to be :)

We Built A Wall Of Curtains

For me, windows are like the eyes of a room. 

Memphis agrees.

Although, he's working with a pretty nice set au natural. Lucky duck. 

For the rest of us mere mortals, here's what I have to say about eyes. While I like my eyes just fine, there are few things that make me look in the mirror with a slightly more appreciative glance than a good coat of mascara (or two) (or three). Look, ladies, you know what I'm talking about. Even when you're running late. Even when your hair isn't exactly done. You slap on a little mascara and, all of a sudden, you look more awake, more pulled together, and you feel a little more ready to take on this day!

Good window coverings, I feel, do that for a room. Even if the room is unfinished, sparse on details or in desperate need of some art above the bed (no, I'm not speaking directly to myself here. yes I am.), a great window dressing does a room a world of good. 

That's what I'm talking about today. 

You see our master bedroom has two, almost floor to ceiling height, windows on the far wall. Below is a poor picture but you can see the one window and the start of the other on the far left side. 

For the longest time I had two white, floor-length curtains. They just covered the windows and left the walls on either side and in the middle looking a little bare. For a while I contemplated hanging art, but the spaces were too small and any fix seemed a little kitschy.

So, I decided to create a wall of curtains.

Our house is neutral in almost every way. So, when planning for these curtains, I wanted to make sure I infused the room with a healthy pop of color. I may or may not be allergic to color. By may I mean I'm not. Wait. That doesn't make sense.

What I'm trying to say is that making bold color choices in our home is difficult for me. I want to, but I'm not sure how. These curtains were my first foray into a bolder color palette in our bedroom. I was nervous. But, with great fear and trepidation, I pressed on and chose a fabric and color.

The result? I couldn't be more pleased! The fabric has the most beautiful cross-hatched pattern. I love the subtle detail. The color itself is a muted, yet still deeply saturated (in a way) aqua. It goes well with our wall color and trim. And, at this point, I wasn't wanting to paint the house. So, picking a color that works well with the existing wall and trim was a must.

Here it is when the light shines through.

This was definitely an at-home job. And, while I was home-schooled, and while part of that educational process did include regular sewing lessons...I opted out with these babies and did the ol' iron on hem and clip on curtain loops method. Worked like a charm. My mom was there, and helped me out from start to finish. With both sets of eyes, and opinions, I feel like we got the clips and lengths decently balanced and symmetrical. 

Here is the view straight on, when you walk into the bedroom. You can see how the curtains do a great job of covering that unused wall space, while highlighting the windows. Mascara people! Mascara. 

We don't have high ceilings, so hanging curtains high and wide tends to do wonders for making the space feel larger while helping to create the illusion of height in the room.

Here is a view from the opposite side of the room (entering the room from the attached bathroom). I like how the curtains take up the wall space, so I'm not left with any decorating decisions to make. The curtains are statement enough.

So there you have it. We built a wall of curtains. And now, my bedroom gets a slightly more appreciative glance from me as I walk by. Because even though its lacking some finishing details, its got its mascara on.

And that, as we ladies know, is sometimes all it takes ;)