Introducing Shop Your House

Getting ready to host a blog party is just like getting ready to host a live party in your home.  You find yourself looking around your place (ie.your blog) and trying to finish all of the little things you’ve been saying your going to get to PLUS the party prep…

- Party favors - in the form of a button :)
- Entertainment --- in the form of a good post
- Welcoming entry --- in the form of header touch ups
- Well organized games --- in the form of McLinky
- And then also figuring…that someone may always need to use the upstairs bathroom --- sponsors, sidebar, archive

Well…I’m far from ready, but just as they say…you didn’t come to see my place…you came to see people – in this case…for me to see all of you!!!

So…with all of this other fretting, plus getting ready to do the opposite of shop…have a garage sale...I have done very little “House Shopping”, but I’ll show you a small shelf that was empty and lost when I brought it home and by shopping the house I found it some friends in 15 minutes – literally!!

The newcomer shelf:


The semi-final resting place:


It’s far from the most beautiful creation ever, but not bad for 15 minutes and if you’ve been seeing my office/guest bedroom turtle-paced makeover then you can see it fits in perfectly!

So…let’s go shopping piece by piece…

Tell me these don’t make your heart go pitter-pat.  I bought the set while I was pregnant and I read them allowed to baby each night. He’s getting to be a little man now and these looked a little out of place among the monster trucks and hot wheels. Sold.


These were already in the room.  They add an eclectic not planned look to the shelf.  The color flow of both items pair well with the other accents. Sold.


These were in the hall under a bench.  They looked good there, but the hard metal shelf needed warmth and texture.  You really get the homespun feel in to action playing off the books.


As you can see in the first photo…I added the plate.  I didn’t shop for it…I stole it!! Right off the dining room table (which is still set from the tablescape)  -- We have been eating…on the porch!

  I’m not sure why I grabbed the plate…I’m thinking I liked the white, but it will only work if I add a little something to the mix.  But, that’s the great part of shopping your house --- the return policy is VERY flexible :)

Next week…I’ll be sharing a few tips for shopping your house…

But for this week think of the definition of “shop” according to Webster’s: to examine or buy an item.

Start examining what you already have with the same eager eye that you have at Pier 1, Target, the flea market, etc…

Thank You So Much for coming…by now you know party etiquette…so I’m going to simply ask that you don’t put your elbows on the table and please link back.

Oh…and no one likes to sit next to the guy who never stops talking about himself , so be a good listener and see what the other guests have to say by visiting their blogs.

Take a party favor if you like and put the Shop Your House logo in your sidebar…

And a polite thanks for having us in the comments would absolutely thrill me!!

I WAS SO WORRIED that I wouldn't get the Linky right that I posted before I got my code linked up so pretty please check back for the code or just use link it as a pic!!

So here you go...show me YOUR dirty hands!!

PS...Scroll down to see "Sidebar Sensation"
Tell Shalom you found me here and she will give you 20% back on your purchase!!

Linking to:
Beyond The Picket Fence
Colorado Lady

A place to sit – front porch style

I was spoiled in our last house.  Spoiled.

We had a beautiful, beautiful front porch.

We have a very nice front porch in this home too…although the floor needs replaced! 

I have been waiting for the front porch  to “come together”
3 years later…it has arrived! (except the floor)

I’ve had these very sturdy, very comfortable, very ugly pieces on the porch.  I was so excited to pick them up for $30 at a flea store (not big enough to be a market, too dirty to be antique). 


I questioned my vision and tried to sell them in a garage sale, but others must have questioned my vision also – they did not sell.

I finally listened to my neighbor who has been a believer of the vision from the beginning and painted the chairs (in the dark.)

Getting better, but not sold….so I left the chaise red.


Over the winter, I bought fabric to make a cover for the cushions (the cushions are very sturdy…you can’t buy them like that anymore!) Sewing is a good winter project. 

I instead stayed up late sewing on a beautiful spring day.

I also painted the chaise, but I will leave the table red for my own whimsical pleasure…(and to drive the neighbor crazy!)


She was right though…it was very easy to sew!!

And it looks really great!!! 

To sew these…I just laid the cushion on the fabric folded it over. Cut the fabric and sewed a giant pillow case.

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Moral of the story:  If you wait long enough for it to “come together”…magic happens…the magic is lo-v-ing what you already have!!!

Do you l-o-ve my palm planter??
Look for more secrets on this coming soon!!!

Cost of 2 chairs, 1 chaise lounge and side table - $30
Cost of fabric – 2.5 yards $8 (HUGE SALE!!!)

Now I must go and nap on my front porch!

Before I do though…remember to come by
DirtyHands, BeautifulLife next Wednesday for my first
Shop Your House party….

Linking to…

Vintage Kitchen Makeover in a Day…and for under $100!

When I say in a day…I mean everything bought, transported home, set in it’s place and enjoyed…in a day!  A magical, fun, terrific, memorable, wonderful day!! 

We drove around for 45 minutes waiting for our first selected flea markets to open…an older fellow couldn’t tolerate our loitering any longer and waved us in a few minutes early (woot! woot!).

We had so much fun…just look…she’s even beautiful in her bloomers!!

      That’s actually an apron!

You should know that for a while now my BFF has been wanting to give a facelift to her kitchen. Her kitchen had a cute, but not cheery/contemporary/vintage/eclectic look she longed for…

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At our first flea market…this was the load in her cart…
It only takes a quick look to see…her kitchen was born!

All of this was just around $60…she added to it a $10 plant stand and a few other odds & ends for around $25…

That’s a total of $95…

Cool…we can eat the value menu at Wendy’s and still be under $100!!! (Hey…we’re splurging and now in a hurry!!)

Once we had this loot we made a quick decision to rearrange the day and make the quick trip back to her house to put it all together.

First though, we stop at my house to ‘maximize the assets’ otherwise known as ‘shopping the house’…and…she sees these chairs stacked in my somewhat embarrassing garage sale pile and she says - Hey those might look good in the kitchen…she was right!


As soon as we brought them in…it set the whole tone for the room!

I should mention the first step we took and you should take in any room…is editing.  This is not the same as de-cluttering.  Editing is taking out of the room anything you don’t think you absolutely want to keep in the decor scheme…curtains down, beaded garlands, baskets, whatever…some will find there way back in, but you must first slim the visual pallet down!!

There used to be a cedar bench where the chairs are, but these are sooo cozy!  Three of these beach pictures were her FAVE find, so that pushed us into a wide color scheme that really gives the eclectic look she wanted…

We also were fortunate to have the perfect amount of fabric to create no sews in a bold, cheery, and totally yummy print!

The chest was a trade we made a while ago that got me in trouble…sorry sister!! It made a nice mini ‘table’ for displaying her new collection…she will be able to play with this for many seasons to come…

By maximizing her assets (shopping her house) I found this great green screen that actually goes on one of her windows, but they never use it...

The towel bar was already there…we added the vintage linen and the decal which she already had…($5 she paid for it!!)

It really echoes the existing wall words she had on the other side…and that vintage medicine cabinet was one of our finds for just $12!!! It had the makers name and date of 1936 on the back!!

The cabinet and the bread box also give places for storing pens, bills, homework and all of the other things that filter through their very, very busy kitchen since it’s the entryway for their home also!!  

And this little launch pad on the opposite wall  by the ‘green screen’ gives a place for keys in the mini basket and books, etc in the bigger basket…  

So you know I’m not fooling…here’s an example of cost…
Side note: Don’t you think the oval platter really breaks up the ‘boxiness’ of all the other rectangles in the vignette??

So much to be considered when planning vintage eclectic…or really any room…

-pattern…consider shapes
-texture…woods/metals/linens
-size….of furniture and accessories
-color…at least one white and one black item in every room too!
-contrast…mirrors/glass

…too name a few…

Another feature missing in her ‘old’ kitchen is the flow from room to room…it now flows with her dining room, but also by putting one of the beach pics on the entry porch…the kitchen flows out to these!!


Now…you just have to decide where to sit first!!

She even said that her daughter fell asleep in one of these the other night!! I’m so excited that instead of walking through their kitchen…my BFF’s wonderful family can enjoy a family room in their kitchen!! What a privilege and memory maker :)

For me…it was a fun day and I can remember her kitchen re-do while wearing this little vintage smock that only I would wear…well…me and Caroline Ingalls…

…picked up in the loot for $3!

Linking to...                           http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

http://www.southernhospitalityblog.com/

 

Over the Top Vintage

I brought home some of my freebies stored at my moms. (Yes I said some – and ‘stored’ means used as decor in her house until I find a place for it in mine) ~thanks mom~.

I knew I was going to be putting the dresser in the office-bedroom to replace a table and plastic 3 drawer container that I use for fabric and linens…

It needs new knobs and maybe a paint job (maybe) but the detail is wonderful and the storage - even more wonderful!

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Sitting in this room was also this cherry picker ladder that I L-O-ve but I can’t ever find a place for because it’s 5’ high and 4’ wide
Only I would even consider this!

I started feeling it when I added this picture and tucked the chair – oh…yeah…the chair! I found it sitting next to the road last week…I didn’t have room for it in my car at the time so again ~thanks mom~.

Maybe I’ll do a slip-cover or reupholster it…

but maybe its my tid-bit whimsical…

Next I added this old 5 loaf bread pan that I’ve recently started using to organize a few random things…
I added all the pieces I needed to function there….storage boxes, laminator, a couple of books…and then I thought of my blue Ball jars from Kane County!! Yippeee!!! More containers for sorting pens, nailfiles, etc….
So here it is…I may wake up in the morning and hate it, but I’m thinking I just might L-O-ve it too!!

Not only is it vintage and made of pieces I L-O-ve, but it TOTALLY qualifies for the Under $100 party at Beyond the Picket Fence…

- Chair FREE from curbside
- Dresser FREE from estate sale…
- Globe $10 – antique mall
- Picture $5 – garage sale
- Ball jars $10 – flea market
-Bread pan $20 – antique mall
- Photo storage boxes $6 – Goodwill
- Pillow $3 – Goodwill
- Fabric $6 – clearance sale
Bible - PRICELESS
TOTAL $60!!!

Even…laminator $20 & label maker – free gift…leaves me with $20 left to add to the project…hmmm….
This is also featured in “Vintage Thingy Thursday” at Coloradolady.

Notice there is extra space in the drawer…I’ve cleaned out some vintage linens and those will be available soon in my up and coming etsy shop…check back if you think you might L-O-ve my linens:)

Join me soon for "Shop Your House" Weekly Linky Parties...


Oh...and did you see my new button??

Linking to...