FREE Weekend Makeover: Part 3

Welcome to Part 3 of my FREE Weekend Makeover!

How to refresh, restyle, and redecorate without spending a CENT -
by using what you already have!

We're at the halfway point!
You've seen the deck and patio, and the living room in previous posts,
and now it's time for
The Dining Room!

Before:
The dining room is located to the right as you view the house from the front entry,
but it's actually part of the main living space.
That large modular sofa was blocking it off from being used to all of its potential, though.
[You saw in this post how I rearranged the sofa sections to open up the living area...
and you were probably wondering 'Where's the other sofa section?']

After:

Here's the other sofa section!
The armless unit [from the center of the old 'U'-shaped sofa] has been moved to the dining area.
Why? Because it helped open up the living room to get it out of there.
And because this wall was screaming for something on it.

And because this piece of furniture here gives the dining room more uses:
*You can still see the television from here, so it's a great lounge space.
[Ask my brother. He loves it!]
*You can participate in conversations in the living room.
*You can move the table over and this section creates two extra seats -
so the table seats six instead of just four -
which also works well for working on home work or a laptop.

And  because by putting it here, I've created another area
where one of two preteen girls can sit with a book, a Kindle, or an iPad
and not be sitting right on top of her sister all summer long
[one on the chaise in the living room, one here -
WAY better than fighting over corners of the old 'U'-shaped sofa!]

That's a LOT of value added 
by simply scooting one four-foot sofa section across a room!
Remember, you have to SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY!

continue reading to see MORE of the dining room - and kitchen!

A FREE Weekend Makeover!

How to refresh, restyle, and redecorate without spending a CENT -
  by using what you already have!

Last week, my brother and his wife & daughters headed out of town on vacation.

I house-sat and pet-sat for them. Oh, and I also gave their house a total makeover!
[Hello, I am Deb. And I am a Decorato-holic.
After 35+ years as a retail display stylist, I should be!]

This project is a perfect example of my HOMEWARDfound decorating philosophy:
Re-think what you already have on hand to make your home look terrific!
And even as I was decorating their home,
I was thinking about sharing the process with you in this WEEK LONG SERIES...

Let's start OUTDOORS, shall we? 

Here's the front deck,  

which is the first thing you see when you enter the yard. 

[I have no 'before' photos of this deck, because I was in HYPERdecorator mode and FORGOT -but I can tell you that there was just a firepit, and four chairs with four pillows sitting here.]

The 'found' items that I added here are the umbrella and the table.

The beach umbrella was shoved in the garage, so I just hauled it out and set it up.
[there are two tan umbrellas over on a nearby patio, and this perfectly echoes them]
The wood table was on the side of the house. Unused. Beige. And kinda' dirty.
So I painted the table with the white exterior trim paint on the house (can was in the garage).

The succulent plants in 3 pots had been placed at the front edge of the deck,
where you literally walked past them without seeing them.
By moving the two small pots onto the table, and the large pot next to the chair,
the plants add softness and life to this exterior 'room' and bring it to life.

The pillows were already here, and they work perfectly to connect the color scheme to the home's interior.

Next Up: the patio. 
It sits closer to the house, located in the front and side yard.

continue reading to see what else I did!

It's All Bottled Up!

Don't you just LOVE it when you find something you already have
that you can make use of for your upcoming party or holiday decor? I do!

I was searching through the garage cabinets one day for paint,

and discovered a hoard of vintage soft drink bottles under there!

I knew exactly what I'd use them for: flower vases in a patriotic tablescape...

The vintage Coke and Pepsi graphics on the bottles
coordinate perfectly with the patriotic color scheme in this summer setting by the pool...

I even used some blue blown-glass plant watering bulbs to bring in more color,

because it doesn't always HAVE to be about flowers in your centerpiece.

Click the 'Read More' link for more photos and ideas!

All American Style: Dresser Makeover

Looking for some inspired and LOW COST ideas for your Summer home decor?
Here's what can be done with a little bit of carpentry work and a few coats of paint

to a piece that may start out very UN-inspiring...

The mid-century (1950's) dresser shown in the 'before' photo wasn't too appealing-

except for the fact that it was found for free in the remnants of a friend's garage sale!

Combined with some old boards, new knobs and feet, a little router work, and paint treatments,

the one-of-a-kind piece in the 'after' photo is ready to be a star 

in an an entryway, guest room, family room, or even on a patio for Summertime fun!

* The long tapered legs (very dated look) were chopped off just below the case. 

Then four large ball feet purchased from the hardware store were screwed into place.

 * A new top was added over the existing dresser top, 

made from some old, peely-paint T&G siding pieces, placed side by side. 

The new top measured @ 3" larger all around, to add more dimension to the piece.

* 2" crown moulding was added to make the new top a seamless fit to the old piece.

* Up close, you can see the grooves in the drawer fronts - cut in with a thin router blade to mimic barnwood.

* The entire piece was painted white.
Then, the drawers and cabinet door were all painted dark blue, then more layers of  white and red were applied. 

A dry-brush application of white over the blue and red followed, 

then a careful sanding with fine-grit sandpaper revealed the graduations of color 

and made the grooves stand out on each section.

Best part? The paint was free at the garage sale, too!

* Simple round white ceramic knobs were added to the original drawer pull holes on the piece - 

their quirky offset placement was charming!

The finished piece has no hint of the dated, Danish-inspired design it began with. 

Instead, it displays classic country lines with charming All American Style!

[This project was completed in 2010 by my late husband and I for our business 'Retreat'.
It was purchased and lives in a beach house on Camano Island, WA ]

Tutorial: May Day Tin Can Flower Baskets

Happy May Day!

I've been making this cute Spring craft for decades:
flower buckets made from upcycled tin cans and seed packets!

I've had a 'thing' for upcycling tin cans for quite a while...

Back in the 90's, I had a decorative painting business

and made these pails - and I handpainted 'vintage'-look seed packets on the front of the cans. 

Hundreds and hundreds of cans!
 I really loved my friends in the restaurant industry, who supplied me with all I could want.

I painted and sold these with designs for every season and every holiday,

in practically every shape and size of can that exists. Mine had little wire handles, too...
see my Painted Pails here!

Now I've created this version that requires NO painting!
You'll love this 'Fast, Cheap & Easy' TM project -

and will have little buckets of flowers to share with everyone today!

 Supplies:
* empty tin cans with lids removed
* seed packets (full or empty)
* string or garden twine & scissors
* manual can opener (with pointed end)
* glue stick optional
* flowers clipped from your yard (or 2" potted plants)

1. wash empty tin cans and remove paper labels [GooGone works well on stubborn glue]

2. use can opener to pierce two holes at top edge of either side of can (point down)
3. use back of can opener to roll and press punctured metal FLAT on inside of can (no sharp point)

4. lay can on side, and lay seed packet over the seam of the can (or over stubborn glue spots!). 

glue in place with the glue stick if you wish.

5. cut @ 24" piece of string/twine and wrap it several times around the can and the seed packet,

 near the bottom of the can. Repeat with another string at top of seed packet/can.
6. tie strings tightly on the back side of the can to hold the seed packet in place.
7. cut @ 24" piece of string/twine, double it, 

and pass the ends through both holes on the sides of the can. tie ends together to form hanging loop.

8. fill can with water (@2 inches) 

 9. add flowers!

 10. hang up on a doorknob or display on a tabletop, counter, or shelf...

You can use empty seed packets, or ones that are still full of seeds - 

and if you can fill the can with the same kinds of flowers that are on/in the seed packet,

it's a doubly sweet gift.

[PS: I found these pretty seed packets at the Dollar Tree store - ten for a buck!]


This project inspired a party decor theme for Mothers Day!
See more in this post

shared online:

2016: Project Inspired{d} Party

one project closer | Creativity Unleashed

creative country mom | Home Sweet Garden Party

the answer is chocolate | bff open house link party #26

featured:

see post here

It's My Pot-ty and I'll Hoard If I Want To!

I just love terra cotta pots!

They are such a versatile decorative element...
I can ALWAYS find a way to use them, in every season.

Driving down the road one day about eight years ago,
I saw something that caused me to slam on my brakes:
There were terra cotta plant pots 
sitting in boxes and standing in stacks in a yard by the side of the road.

Lots of them.

Lots and Lots of them.

Lots and Lots and LOTS of them....

and next to them, there was a sign:
'FREE!'
Be.Still.My.Heart! 

Just LOOK at some of the vintage ones in the mix:

so you know what happened next, right?
uh huh.

 I quickly loaded those babies into my trusty Isuzu Trooper 'Suzi'

[oh, how I miss her], took them HOME with me,
...and they lived happily ever after!

In my yard...

In show displays...

 DETAIL:
underneath that cool old stove above, a broken pot adds charm....

The last of them ended up in my gardenhouse...

and then when I left Seattle in 2012, I gave them away.
[Yes, that was hard - but necessary at the time.]
I'm sure that in the future, I'll amass another collection!

I love bringing them into the house and using them, too...

Gather them on a platter or in a crate, sit them on a miniature chair,
add a little moss, tuck in a blooming primrose or tulip,
dome them under glass, set the table with them...
EASY!

I'm a purist and generally don't paint or embellish them for my own use -
but I've seen some very cute ideas out there!

What's YOUR favorite thing to do with terra cotta pots?

Happy Earth Day - Every Day!

Those of us who create using reclaimed & recycled materials  

observe Earth Day EVERY day!

It's fun to know that we are not only helping to keep the planet 'green' and healthy,

 but we are preserving parts of history by not sending architectural salvage to the landfill.

As I was arranging the frames for the presentation that I shared about in my post yesterday,

I remembered a similar project that I created, using old window frames.

They were used in several arrangements as props inside our Retreat Home booths
at vintage shows in 2010...

Basically, I just hung varied sizes and styles of old window frames

[both with and without glass in them]

at varied heights and levels from the booth frame, using wire,

to create an overhead 3-D composition.

Giant chandeliers completed the look and added sparkle!

You can see in the photos above that the window elements

can be arranged differently in each setting - 

in this case, vendor booths at three different shows - 

and yet the message or theme remains the same.

Windows are also pretty cheap at salvage stores, garage sales, and on Craigslist!

This idea is easily adapted to a 2-D wall arrangement

using old windows, frames, mirrors, shutters, crates, palettes....

any kind of salvage with character.

btw, that 'baby grand piano' in some of the shots above?

it's a bar. and it ended up in a magazine!

see more of it here!

photos above taken by and property of Debi Ward Kennedy (me!)

of my RETREAThome (my previous home furnishing & decor business) booths

at the Farm Chicks, Barn House, and UrbanBarn antique / vintage shows in 2010.

many thanks to HOMEBNC for including this post in their 2021 summer decor feature
40+ Old Window Outdoor Decor Ideas

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