Pottery Barn Pretties

While I don't own a single thing from Pottery Barn, I adore their catalogs and their website for ideas and clean and beautiful design trends. They recently added over 500 new things to their site and here are a few of my faves. Happy Friday!



I'm digging the woven fabric on the top and the distressed red color really makes it pop.



I love the unique shape of these lamps and the rich green shade.



Even though I just bought new bedding, the blending of the blues and grays and the swirly design of this one still made me take a second look.



The twisted wire of these candleholers is just so different and a touch on the antique or rustic side.



These big vases look great in a group with the different shapes and shades of glass.



What a neat idea to hang vintage keys on the wall. You could probably find these at an antique shop or flea market. These look like they are a bit larger though.



This grouping of black and white typewriter pictures is another unique art display for your home. I'm sure you could make something similar by printing out clip art and sticking it in a cheap frame or over a stretched canvas.



And finally these beautiful roman shades. The colors and design are exquisite.

Painting Exterior Lights the Lazy Way

I had to participate in A Soft Place to Land's DIY day. Check out my DIY project and then head on over to ASPTL and join in on the fun.





When I posted about our outside house makeover here and here, I left out much info. on how I revamped our outside lights on each side of the garage. They were probably gold originally and then had been painted white somewhere along the way. So here's what I started with.(And yes it's a bad photo, sorry!)



I decided when we painted the shutters and garage trim black that the lights needed a makeover too. So it was time to break out the spray paint again. However, hubby did not want to take the lights down and have to worry about getting them back on right and making sure they didn't leak. Therefore, I decided to spray paint them the lazy way and leave the lights still mounted to the house while I painted them. Here's how I did it.

1. Remove top of light and glass inserts. This was pretty easy, just a few screws holding the top in place and hubby carefully lifted out the glass panels.

2. Remove lightbulb and tape of inside of light where the light goes. Spray paint and electricity don't mix so well so keep paint out of there.

3. Use newspaper, plastic bags, whatever you have on hand to cover the side of the house around the light. Spray paint on light good, spray paint all over the house, bad. I used a thin plastic drop cloth on the first light, but I found newspaper worked much better. Use painters tape, masking tape, packing tape, again whatever you have on hand to tape the paper/plastic to the house around the light. Carefully tear paper and use tape to mark off around the base of the light. This can be tricky because of all the curves.

(Imagine picture of light surrounded by newspaper and tape here. I should have taken more photos of the process, sorry, I'm trying to be better about that!)

4. Stand carefully on ladder if lights are up high and get going with the spraying. I used black satin Rustoleum paint. Put top cover of light(that was removed) on cardboard or dropcloth and paint that also using light even coats.

5. After a couple coats of paint let everything dry and remove plastic and newspaper from house so neighbors will stop staring at you. Reinsert lightbulb and top of light. Stand back and admire your work.



I know this won't work for all types of lights and if you to remove the light that's fine too. But if you have these blah builder grade lights, you can change the color and do it the lazy way like me.

More Beautiful Baths

I still keep going back and forth between which project I want to tackle next, but our master bath is starting to drive me crazy. There are no drawers in the vanity and no good way to organize things or even have a place to put your toothbrush. The floor is scratched and stained and the huge mirror and bright Hollywood dressing room style lights are so dated. Who ever thought those type of globe lights actually were a good idea? So here's a few more bathroom makeover idea photos I've collected.

I've got to get one of these star pendents some time. I just love them.



I love chandeliers over bathtubs although I think it has to be one with candles and not electricity. Otherwise it might be a code and safety issue.



Can this bathroom with its board and batten walls get any cuter?



Simple elegance.



How awesome is that round window? And they added a chair with a circular back to tie in with that cool window.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

My dad had some free tickets to the All Star Fan Fest in St.Louis so we headed down there last night to check it out. They had a lot of collectibles and displays of jerseys, trophies, tickets, photos, and other baseball memorabilia. There were players signing autographs and booths were you could make your own baseball card or pose with life size cutouts of the Cardinals players. There were also batting cages, video games, and many other interactive exhibits. It wasn't terribly crowded, but the lines for most of the activities were a bit long.



Unfortunately I didn't get to bring this Corvette home as a souvenir.



We also check out the world's largest baseball which is signed by all the players.



Overall it was a neat thing to see (alhtough not worth the $30 they were selling the Fan Fest tickets for) and it's fun to have the All Star Game happening at Busch Stadium. Unfortunately, I will have some nasty traffic to deal with tonight while trying to get home especially with the President in town too. It should be a good game though.

Stars and Stripes Forever

Well, stripes anyways. I've noticed that painting vertical or horizontal stripes seems to be a hot trend these days. I see it all over online and on HGTV. Horizontal stripes help stretch a room and can make a small space feel much larger whether the stripes go all the way floor to ceiling or just one or two stripes in the middle. Vertical stripes can also add visual interest and make a room feel more cozy. Even a floor can be painted with stripes to jazz it up a bit. Here are some examples of some wonderful spaces that have been livened up with stripes.

This one is a really fun space with all the different colors. The furniture and curtains are kept more neutral so as not to compete and clash with the walls.

Even a piece of furniture can get on in the striping action to add some drama to a space.

How lovely are these contrasting stripes. Some are bold, some more subtle tone on tone.

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And how about some nice horizontal stripes to enlarge these bathrooms.

You can visit Young House Love for a tutorial on how to paint stripes like the room below. (This is the blog formally known as This Young House, shhh don't say that out loud or they might get in trouble. Head on over to their site if you don't know the story yet)

The creative youngsters at Young House Love also did this wonderful porch transformation with stripes. While time consuming, the end result is amazing.

And finally if you have a wood floor that's seen better days and can't be refinished, why not paint it with some gorgeous stripes like the room below.

I don't have any rooms I'm planning to paint stripes in right now, but it's something I have considered trying whenever we get around to makeover our office space.

Light and Bright Living

Since I'm on a lightening and brightening kick lately, I thought I'd share a few lovely fresh spaces to enjoy and start off the weekend. Here are some living rooms decorated with a airy feel from Coastal Living. Enjoy!

Weekend Projects Part 3

Ok this one isn't really a project, just a small change. I had bought a table runner at Old Time Pottery and while I liked the fabric and design, the color was a little dark.



Then I was at Target on Friday and I found another runner that pulled in the lighter tans and creams as well as the darker browns so I bought it. I think it was $14.99. Luckily I still have thr receipt for the first runner, so it's being returned to Old Time Pottery. I also visited World Market and snagged the two white and green candle holders on clearance for $2. I still need to add some candles, but you get the idea. I still have some fussing to do with the centerpiece, I may be putting a lantern in its place, or a different vase. Well just have to see. But here it is how it looks right now:



I'm not sure what happened the night after I added this new runner, but I guess the cats were chasing each other or fighting on the table, because this is how it looked Monday morning:



As long as nothing breaks, we're still good. I guess it's good practice for any future kiddos that might come along. So that's what I did over the weekend. I already have plans for this coming weekend that involve doorknobs and spray paint, so we'll see what happens next.