Cute Ideas

Wanted to share this really cute idea with you. Why sailing last week, I came across this lamp. I bought it for two reasons, one it matches my kitchen and second wanted to share this idea. One pottery crock, one lamp shade, a little wood working and a light kit. How cute is that?

Also wanted to share with you, one old picture frame, so me vintage valentines and cards, makes one great wall decoration.

Check this out found at second hand book stores and sales, I came across this wonderful vintage book series. American Country by Time Life. This book set of 20 volumes has classic country decorating ideas and explains all that is country. I fell in love with this set, because it will never go out of style. I found most of it on line for a penny a book. Shipping was terrible.Costly but worth it.

Old Wrought Iron Tables

Old wrought iron tables. Love them. But, sometimes you find them with missing glass tops. That is ok. Love them too. Reason being they make great planters. How fun would it be to have one of these next to your kitchen door filled with herbs, or like me on my patio filled with wave petunias. The best thing about these tables they can easily be converted back with a piece of bought glass. So gather up your table, chicken wire, coconut grass and a few plants. Have fun.

Outdoor Lighting My Way

The joy of outdoor rooms, the magazines are all showing them. Outdoor Living Spaces, have you ever noticed that they show candles for the lighting of these rooms. Yes, I know they are beautiful, but, if your patio is like mine, the candles melt in the summer sun. The electric lights are nice, but then I had cords running every where. Oil lamps,better take them in at night too.

I came up with a neat idea. Solar. Try to find solar lights with personality! Good luck! So I took some old floor lamps, chandliers, wall sconces and plant and candle holders. Removed all the wiring, sprayed with an outdoor metal paint and added solar lighting. The lights came from a home improvement store. I removed the stakes for placing them in the ground and then crazy glued the lights into place.

Personality, soft glow, and movable! Best part I can still use the candles when company comes.

Fireplace Charm

I was lucky that the antique mantle already had a back to it. Someone else had added it to use in their home. What I did was add a tin ceiling panel painted black to the inside to add depth and interest. I placed the fireplace up on to a faux brick mat, picked up at a home center. Next I wanted to keep the chippy look of the paint, but still need to be able to dust the thing. So, I painted on three coats of watered down Elmer's white glue. Dry between coatings, and sand lightly. Over that I painted on three coats of varnish, sanded lightly between coats. What all this does is seals the original paint in place, makes the surface smooth and protects the exposed wood.

After that I touched up the carved pieces of decoration with my magic gold marker and sealed that to with a light coating of varnish. Once this was complete I added a firescreen, and a pair of old cast iron lamp bases made into legs to hold all in place. A remote control appliance switch from the hardware store, and a cozy fireplace with no mess is now installed.

A View From The Side

Finding old pieces of furniture. What a rush it can be. You see a piece in the trash ( the dresser here) or a small buffet ( bought for $25) and your heart skips a beat.
You zero in on the object, and find the sides are a mess. The piece is usable, but the veneer is peeling or spliton the sides. What a shame.

There is hope, a trip to the home improvement store, skip down the trim isle. pick up some wonderful moldings, a few pieces of ceiling tin etc,. The choices are endless.

Cut, glue, nail, miter etc.etc.etc. Look what you have. A wonderful piece that looks as good from the side as it does from the front.

Fixing The Mirror Issue

Well, as you all know I broke the mirror to the dressing table, while taking it out of my car. It could have been fixed, but the three panel mirror would not have worked in the room anyway, sometimes accidents happen for a reason.

The original mirror had three panels of glass and slid down into the back of the dressing table. So to get around this issue, I cut two pieces of antique trim ( picked up at a previous yard sale and hide away till needed)and glued them over the opening that the mirror slid into.

I had found a couple of years ago a large antique full length looking glass and had stored that away too. Perfect, I painted it to match the dresser and hung on the wall it blends perfectly.

As you can see the full size bed is massive, so I needed a piece that was going to balance the room. I think this did the job perfectly.