More Room on the Night Table

When you don't have a lamp on your table, you can fit a lot more books. 

Or cups.  Or toys. 

Or nothing at all, if you can do that.

I've always loved Pottery Barn's wall sconces, but never could justify the price tag.  

So when I saw the Nester's link to Copy Cat Chic's affordable version-I ordered 2.  

pottery barn adjustable arc lamp - $139

lakeside collection adjustable wall lamp - $19.95

and now I have more room for my books.  

Storage for the Schoolroom

We had a bin system for the first half of the year.  My oldest three kids each had a plastic bin that held their schoolbooks.  The three bins fit perfectly under a bench we had temporarily moved into that room.  This worked really well for a while.  

Then Baby started getting mobile.  

And her greatest pleasure each day was getting into those bins and ripping out whatever pages she could.

  

I thought about getting the Ikea Expedit bookshelves and those baskets that fit perfectly in the squares.  But Baby might figure out that those baskets can come out and she just may figure out how to get them out...so I thought a credenza or dresser of some sort would work better, and possibly cheaper.

  

Last week I found this dresser (Mainline by Hooker) on craigslist and my father in law picked it up for me on Monday.  My father in law is my craigslist-partner-in-crime.  Not only does he have a pick-up, he offers half of whatever the asking. And has no qualms doing so.  

He goes with me every craigslist purchase. 

every one. 

For $75, we got this dresser with a matching headboard 

(full-size if you're interested-it's going back on CL).  

On the right side, behind the sliding doors, are 4 drawers about the same size as our old bins-perfect.

THE GIRLS' ROOM

Belle turned 7 last week.  Her wish was to move into her new room with Baby Girl.  The room is now filled with girliness.   I love it.  We finished moving their clothes in this afternoon.

So, there you have it-our girls' room!

Waiting Wall Art

I wish I could host a playdate with you, my bloggy friends.  I'd invite you in, start the coffee maker and direct any kiddos following you to the stairs that lead to our always messy playroom.  My kids would love the time with friends, however new or old the friendships are.  

But since that playdate likely won't happen, and many of you are nowheres near Texas, let me just welcome you into a little corner of our playroom.  The corner without toys strewn all about.  I love this corner.    

A lifetime ago, back in June, while we were waiting for the phone call to let us know we passed court in Ethiopia, we needed an inside, near-the-phone distraction.  

I had blank canvases in the back of my closet so the day seemed to be the best to pull them out and let the kids paint!  I gave no instructions, but limited the paint to three colors that were already in the playroom.  I love the whimsy they add to the room, as well as the memory of painting while we waited.

If you are in Texas, come on over.  I'll get the coffee ready, 

A Dresser and a Court Date

We got our court date!  June 15th-one week from today.  I am praying that we pass on the first go 'round and am hoping to hear word that day, as they are 8 hours ahead of us.  Travel could be 8 weeks after court, so nesting is now!  

Sunday night, I found this beautiful chest of drawers on Craigslist just 4 miles from us!  Picked it up less than an hour after I saw it posted.  It's so beautiful-too beautiful to paint pink.  Really I was looking for something more shabby on the outside and still clean on the inside.  This was the closest I could find, but not shabby enough on the outside to justify a coat of pale pink.  It's staying the way it is. 

Girls Room:: Dallas Sources

The girls' room is coming along painfully slow (to me, anyway).  I made it my Memorial Day goal to get fabric for the one window in the room.  And although I finally ended up with a purplish grey printed cotton from Hancock, I found a few new sources for fabric.  

Fabric sources:  Sew Mama Sew Shop (online)

City Craft (small local fabric shop that carries Amy Butler, Anna Marie Horner, Michael Miller, etc.)

I totally thought this was grey when I bought it.  When I stepped outside the store, it was obviously more purple.  But I still like it. 

I'm still on the mad hunt for a vintage tall dresser/chest of drawers/wardrobe thing to paint a pale pink.  In my hunt, though, I've found a few new Dallas shops that sell used furniture:

Lula B's: 2 locations with booths of Mid-century relics, furniture.

Atomica Modern: more Mid-century goodness.

Salvation Army at Harry Hines (although the entrance is on Inwood): the largest SA I've been to, loads of furniture.  

Still looking...

Any local favorites you've found?

A table just like Mom's

I started using a table cloth this spring and soon realized why my mother always kept a piece of plexiglass on her tabletop when my brother and I were growing up.  She always has a cloth on her table and a mug or vase of flowers from the yard.  

We got an acrylic sheet cut to size at Lowes' for our tabletop.  And have since stopped using plates.  Okay, only the kids skip the plates.  But now I don't have to get upset about it. 

Do you cover anything with plastic or do anything else just like Mom?

Inventing a girls space

To-do list for the girls' room:

• Make Bird Mobile from Spool Sewing
• Paint Rocking Chair yellow
• Buy/install IKEA Knappa Lamp
• Paint dresser pastel pink, find knobs
• Paint/Install white shelf around the ceiling on 2 walls
• Find fabric to make knock off  Pottery Barn Kid's Audrey Chenille Dot panels I'm drooling over...or else sell a bunch of stuff on craiglists/ebay to fund the real deal
• Find daybed with trundle on Craigslist
• Spray paint daybed pure white
• Find white comforter for daybed; funky pillows
• Find a small white table; maybe Ikea?  Garage sale?
• Hang gold/mixed frames/prints

Still no call.  This is helping.

Before and After: Our Entryway Mudroom

I thought about calling this post, "How it Pays to Have Friends with Skillz"  after my last post.  Because this makeover is all thanks to my friends, Sammi and Eddie for their tools and skillz.  Is it one "L" or two when you add a 'z?

After spending the winter frustrated with our staircase turned coat rack, and then seeing Tim, The Remodeling Guy's post on this Coat Hanger Shelf, I thought I had to at least try this how-to.  It turned out to be too much for the Pajama Mama, but no problem for Sammi's husband who always seems up for a project.

Here's the before:

And the afters:

And for those of you who read PM in a reader, click over to see what my other skilled friend Ana (you know her from Barefooted-Blessings) did to my banner!

Thanks, Ana & Eddie!

Call it nesting...

No phone call yet...but I just know it will be this week!

Meanwhile, here's me playing on Polyvore, daydreaming of a girls' room...

The Girls' Room by kristensunna on Polyvore.com

What are you all doing this week?  Anyone else nesting?

Repurposing Christmas Ornaments

The tree is in the attic.  The stockings are dehung with care.  All but one ornament is tucked away for next December.  I saved this one from the the storage bin to admire all year.

Do you have any lingering Christmas?

Dining Room for Nothing: A Before and After

As promised, here is my Summer Project #2. For those who've been wondering where I've been, Summer Project #1 was my painted armoire.

Sometimes having a zero-dollar budget actually allows you to follow the most current trends.


What?

Did I just say you can have the latest trends with no money? without breaking any laws?

Well, that was my thought when I had an inherited dining table that looked like this:



I also had a can of white paint and some brownish craft paint.

So for $0, a brillo pad, and a couple of days worth of rest-time painting, I was able to jump on the white dining room trend.



That is a trend right?

No?

Oh.

Well, at least I'm not out any money.



If you're visiting from Kimba's DIY Day, thanks! While you're here, check out what I made with felt in today's post, too!

I'm also linking this post up to Gina's Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage.

How to Lighten Up Your Living Room -A Before & After

I love our living room. Everything in it has been chosen carefully (albeit on a Craigslist budget). However, because we were so careful in our selections, most of the room is very neutral. Lots of wood and earth tones that can seem heavy in the afternoon's sun and dark and stiff in the evening.

The fireplace is also off-center and in a corner. Which makes it a very awkward focal point. So our media cabinet, or armoire, is unfortunately our focal point. And until recently, was also unfortunately knotty pine. I've shown pictures before, but here it is again, in all it's naked piney glory:



Years ago, I decided to paint it. First I thought black--another nice neutral color, but I already painted our kitchen table black and didn't want our house to look like it was designed by Mrs. Havasham. Then I thought about staining it darker-maybe a walnut or mahogany. But the room already struggled with too many dark tones.

The room needed some POP! Some whimsey. I chose Olive #5 from Ralph Lauren.

And the result, in my opinion is amazing.



The color really Made the armoire the focal point of the room. It is as if all the other pieces in the room are now pointing to this one lead piece. I could get really dramatic and describe how my lamps are standing on the the couches saluting my armoire chanting, "Oh, Captain, My Captain. " But then you'll think I'm exaggerating. Trust me. I am not. The room is chanting and it is inspiring.

And most surprising, adding color to our focal point actually lightened the whole space.

In lieu of blogging, I've been painting all over the house this summer. Hopefully, I will put the brush down soon and take a few more pictures to share again.

Before I get back to my projects, I'll leave you some painted amoire link love:

::Kim did her's in distressed black-so sophisticated! She's got more photos of it in her home on Scrap to My Lu, if you keep your eye out for it.

::Becoming Home paints an armoire a crisp white to house her linens.

::Edie from Life in Grace gives a French Painting technique tutorial she used on her armoire.

::And of course, Nester shared her tips for painting knotty pine last week, which I re-read and re-read before starting my project and am really glad I did-(the roller saved hours-and a primer was totally necessary to keep the knots from bleeding!)

::Lucas Rise dares you to paint creatively before dismissing an armoire! Do you dare?

This post is linked to Kimba's DIY Day.

{Staining Tabletops}

Thanks again, Joy, for yesterdays post! I love the ideas and reading others' suggestions in the comments. I got several ideas yesterday that I want to pursue in our family-and hope others did too! I'll keep checking the comment section, so if anyone has more to add the the discussion, Please Do!

Okay, now on to lighter things...

Memorial Day weekend was fairly typical at house. Flew our flag, ate enough hot dogs (Smart veggie dogs) and watermelon to get us to the next summer holiday, watched three Hitchcock films after the kids went to bed and used our credit card three times in 1 hour at Lowes....It was a great weekend.

I bought and had cut to size a new piece of plywood for the boys traintable (Lowes purchase #1). Mr. Smarty planted a blueberry bush and apricot tree (Lowe's purchase #2). And during naptime, I painted the legs of our old coffee table and stained the top (Minwax Chestnut). Thought we needed one more can of almond spray paint...Lowes purchase #3.

Before:



Memorial Day Makeover After:



The kids and I found this little stool at a garage sale for $1 last week. So I stained it to match:



I also stained the traintable, but want to sand, spackle and paint the plywood...so I'll post that makeover, ummm, later. Hope you got to your three day weekend tasks,

{Creatively Frugal Craft Space Organization}

Been Spring Cleaning...I don't have a Craft Room, but I take up my share of real estate for sewing/crafting in our game room. So in giving my space a little more organization, I've been searching for FREE ways to organize all my loot. Here are a few of my favorite ideas:

~The Peanut Butter Jars I mentioned Wednesday:


~Urns for brushes, baby food jars for buttons


~Cereal Boxes for magazines, clipped ideas, sewing patterns

Photos:Craftzine

~A Pocket Organizer for tools, spools, supplies
Photo:Burda

~Repurposed, repainted & stenciled Hat/Gift Boxes

Photo:Domestic Diva

~Tiered Wire Basket, Hanging Fruit Baskets

Photo:Country Living

~New Life for Old Furniture

Photo:Quaint Handmade

~An Old Ladder for fabric

Photo:A Day in the Life of Ramona

I'm totally hooked on frugal friday ideas! For more check out Julia's Hooked on Houses Linky Party and Wendy's Shabby Nest Frugal Friday Party! Have a great weekend,