Vintage Aqua Bedroom

I have the hardest time gearing up to show projects that I complete within my own home.  I don’t have a really good reason for that…except that I never feel the pictures really capture the feeling of the place I call “home.”

And that may be the only explanation you get for why I am showing my daughter’s mostly-completed room makeover a mere 5 months after it was completed!

Here it is today….

 

And here’s what we started with!

OK, so the pictures above are already a bit of a work-in-progress 

But her room really was almost always that messy! (sorry, dear)

Everything in the room was boring beige, and that was a hard thing for my dear daughter to bear…especially considering that this is what her room looked like in our previous home!

Bright, huh?  She picked out that IKEA-look-alike furniture all by herself.  I never was that crazy about it, but hey, it was cheap.

She was dying to do something with her room in our new home, but she kept pitching ideas to me that included words like “red & yellow,” “retro,” and “bubble chair.”

Ugh.

When she finally adjusted her vision to something that included “vintage,” “aqua,” and “white,” then she found I moved a lot faster.  My children eventually learn that I get a lot more motivated to work on their projects if they’re what I want to do anyway!

If we’re all very lucky, I’ll come back and revisit the individual projects that went in to her room.  But for today…just pretty pictures…with the understanding that there are still a few things to do in here…like get more pictures up on the walls!

 

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Linking up here:

The Inspiration Exchange	Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper	Thrifty Décor Chick
Friday Remodelaholic	The Scoop!
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off Miss Mustard Seed
Beyond the Picket Fence	Coastal Charm
Knick of Time	Domestically Speaking
Perfectly Imperfect	No Minimalist Here
Common Ground	My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours	Mod Vintage Life A Little Knick Knack

I took that leap…

I signed up to be a vendor at the Ruffles & Rust vintage market!

(click on the picture for more details)

There are no refunds, so I guess I’m committed now…

…or maybe I should be!

Spring Suitcase Wall

Among other changes I have been making in our home, I decided the suitcase wall needed a little updating.  Can you see the difference?  (You can see its debut—and the “how to--here, or its Christmas look here.)

Look down….look down…look down…

Yep, the little green suitcase is a new member of the family!  I never did figure out what to do with the awkward space at the bottom…so I put a suitcase in it!

Then I moved around some of my favorite vintage goodies, and added a bird nest or two…  (And notice the canvas I had made of Bubble Boy!)

It’s probably hard to tell, but the wall color is actually different (more on that later).  It took me a long time to work up the nerve to paint the suitcase wall!  I had to take all those suitcases down…then put them all back up…  Ugh!

Since I had to go through all that trouble anyways, it seemed like a good time to cut another suitcase in half!

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This project was featured at My Repurposed Life and Elizabeth & Co..

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Linking up here:

Coastal Charm’s Nifty Thrifty Tuesday	Elizabeth & Co.
Mod Vintage Life	No Minimalist Here’s Open House Thursday
Friday Remodelaholic	2805
My Simple Home Life’s Simple Creations Friday	Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off
Primitive & Proper	Thrifty Décor Chick
	My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Perfectly Imperfect	{Primp}
Simply Klassic Sundays	My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours	It’s So Very Cheri
Common Ground	{aka} design

January Buffet (with a new treasure!)

First of all, thank you to all of you who responded with thoughtful comments, encouragement, and advice on our home situation! I can’t begin to tell you how much it means to me.

If you didn’t get a response back from me, that is because you don’t have an e-mail linked up to your account, and I would love for you to consider changing that situation!

We actually had an offer on our home today…for a mere $20,000 less than our asking price! We politely said, “No, thank you.” We’re motivated, but not desperate!

On to more fun things…

Do you remember my Christmas buffet?

Well, the stockings came down, and the hurricane lamps moved to other places. I pulled all of my poinsettias together, including the ones from the suitcase wall, and made a new arrangement:

It was simple and pretty, and highlighted my beautiful flowers…

…but it still seemed to be missing something.

Lucky for me, a brief stop at a new antique store revealed that perfect “something” to me!

Do you like my new sled?? I adore it!

My boys are disappointed that it is to be decorative rather than functional!

And guess what else?? Even my husband likes this one!

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Linking up to Brambleberry Cottage.

Christmas Hurricanes

Hurricane lamps, that is. Didn’t want anyone to panic for me!

I don’t have a mantle, but I do have a lovely buffet that is the first thing you see when you come into my house…it’s my substitute mantel!

I had it all decorated, but I was feeling vaguely dissatisfied with it. It had a lovely vintage ceramic tree on it that is special to me, but I really didn’t care about/love the other pieces that I had displayed.

Then one Saturday I had to throw together a centerpiece for a family gathering, and I pulled out my three glass hurricane lamps.

The small center one I picked up at a garage sale this past summer, but the other two are very special—one came out of my paternal grandparents’ home, and the other out of my maternal grandparents’ home (where it was actually used). I put them together on a thrift-store tray I painted, and filled the bottom with some faux snow and some bits of greenery (real) and sparkly berries (not real). I loved the arrangement because I felt a real connection and sense of pride for these hurricanes…so I decided to ditch the original buffet décor and put my hurricanes up instead!

I placed an old cupboard door behind the lamps so they wouldn’t get lost against the beige wall. With a couple of my beloved poinsettias (you can see my others here) and some bead garland, I love the buffet’s new look.

Above the buffet hang my children’s stockings. I cross-stitched each one for each child’s first Christmas—tricky with two December babies, but I managed it (barely)!

I have told my children that the stockings never get to leave. They think I’m kidding. I’m really not!

I love my buffet so much more now that it includes things that are unique and special to me. I think I’m tired of decorating just for the sake of decorating!

How about you?

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Linking up here:

Coastal Charm’s Nifty Thrifty Tuesday	Topsy Turvy Tuesdays
	Someday Crafts’ Whatever Goes Wednesday
Hookin’ Up with House of Hepworths	No Minimalist Here’s Open House Thursday
Friday Remodelaholic	Common Ground
My Simple Home Life’s Simple Creations Friday	Sisters of the Wild West
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off
	I Heart Naptime
Beyond the Picket Fence’s Under $100 Party	My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Perfectly Imperfect	{Primp}
	My Repurposed Life

Making an Entrance

I have posted about my front room “design dilemma” on a couple of occasions (see here and especially here)…well, I have finally been working on a solution!
Before you get too excited…the whole room is not ready. I’ve just been working on my “entrance” (or lack thereof). You never get a second chance to make a first impression, right?

I posted a teaser yesterday, and the suitcase wall definitely seemed to capture the most attention, so I’ll focus on that first!
I don’t claim credit for the idea of turning vintage suitcases into shelves. That came from this magazine…

…which my neighbor purchased, and I, shall we say--commandeered for several weeks!
Here are the things I needed for this project:

Vintage suitcases

1x10 wood

Painter’s tape and scrap paper (for templates)

2 1/2” screws (big ones)

3/4” screws (little ones)

Level

Jigsaw

Table Saw

Electric drill with a screwdriver bit

The hardest part—emotionally, that is—is that in order to get this look, you DO have to cut innocent luggage in half.

You can call me the Suitcase Slasher.

That may be my Halloween costume.

I don’t have pictures to share of that process. It is very hard to take pictures while running a table saw!
I measured approximately 6 inches from the front of each suitcase and drew a line, then I used the table saw to cut each half of the suitcase as far as it was able. THIS IS SCARY!! No joke. If you can, remove as much of the lining as possible before cutting, as when the table saw hits the fabric it will catch and make a funny sound and send your stomach leaping to your throat!
Now, my blade wasn’t high enough to get all the way through even one-half of a suitcase, so I used a jigsaw to finish the cuts (I originally tried to use the jigsaw alone, but my jigsaw couldn’t walk a straight line for a policeman). Since some of my suitcases had metal banding, I used a metal blade on my jigsaw (you DON’T want to send metal through any saw that isn’t fitted with a metal blade).
Next step: measure the opening at the back of your poor mangled suitcase, then cut a board to fit the opening (I cut my backs out of a 1 x 10 pine board).

I enlisted helpers to begin arranging the suitcases on the wall…

…and I actually used wrapping paper cut to size to get the layout right on the wall (I lived with that up for about a week).
There is more than one way to mount your suitcases to the wall. The magazine suggested cutting keyhole hangers in the backs of the boards, screwing the suitcases to the boards, and then hanging.

I didn’t do it that way.

I used a stud finder to mark out the studs in my wall, and then I screwed the boards directly to the studs. Your boards DO NOT have to be centered on the studs, they just have to cross over two of them. Start one screw (I used 2 1/2” screws), then level your board, then screw in the next one. It’s very helpful to have a teenage daughter help at this point!

Eek! A mouse! I promise, it’s just a Halloween decoration.

Once the boards are in place, I used four 3/4” screws to attach the suitcase to the board (one top, one bottom, on each side).

These things are sturdy!

I had fun “shopping” my house for accessories for my new shelves! My folding yardstick star (I tried to fold it into a pumpkin—major fail) from Suzanne at Meridian Road looks great next to my grandfather’s cloth tape measure.

A wooden spool is pressed into service as a makeshift vase.

Glittery spiders and pumpkins have taken up residence everywhere!

I haven’t decided what to do about the open space at the bottom. Either I need another suitcase (or two), or a narrow bench. What do you think?

I think it’s official…I am a despoiler of suitcases (remember this one that I painted).

But….I can’t summon up any remorse. I am in love!

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This project has been featured at Las Vegas Review Journal, The Vintage Faire,  Whimsically Creative, Oh My! Creative, Recyclart, Dude Craft, Flea Market Style, Pamela Joyce Designs, Funky Junk, House of Hepworths, Décor Hacks, My Repurposed Life, Eye Heart Today, Mod Vintage Life, Sisters of the Wild West, Unconsumption, Charming Zebra, Simple Home Life, I’m Topsy Turvy, 2805, Shabby Love, Stylish Once Again, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, Hating Martha, and Renewing Your Find Cafe.
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Linking up to these great parties:

Coastal Charm’s Nifty Thrifty Tuesday	Topsy Turvy Tuesdays
From My Front Porch to Yours	Someday Crafts’ Whatever Goes Wednesday
Hookin’ Up with House of Hepworths	No Minimalist Here’s Open House Thursday
Friday Remodelaholic	2805
My Simple Home Life’s Simple Creations Friday	Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off
Primitive & Proper	I Heart Naptime
Beyond the Picket Fence’s Under $100 Party	My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Perfectly Imperfect	{Primp}
CoE - Creative Final Resting Place	Mod Vintage Life
Stylish Once Again	Reasons to Skip the Housework
DebbieDoo's Copycat Challenge	Thrifty Décor Chick

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In case you’re wondering…I bought three of the suitcases for $10/each, one was $18, and the other two were given to me. It was not an expensive project!

Updated to add: You can see the staircase part of the project HERE!