Before and Afters Archives | Page 32 of 51

Before and Afters

Slipcovered Chair & Rugs for Sale

Before I show you the chair and the rugs, I had to share a sweet gift I received in the mail yesterday. It’s an ironstone thimble! Look at the little mark inside. And it was wrapped with a paper tape measure bow. I swear, I have some of the best readers. Thank you, Susan. Now, on to the slipcovered chair. Any guesses which one I pecked away at over the holidays? If you guessed one of the green velvet chairs, you’re right! I know a lot of you loved them as is and I’ve used them that way for a while, but it was time to change them up. I don’t mind a touch of green in the paintings and from the boxwood, but I’m trying to de-green a bit. Here’s the result… I know you perfectionists are looking at that crooked piece in the front. You know who you

December 3, 2013 No Comments

Before and Afters

Dining Chair Slips & New Curtains

Believe it or not, sewing is not something I really enjoy. It’s something I do, so I can get the look I want. And I don’t hate it so much that I’m not willing to do it. Sometimes I get in a mood to sew and then I have to take advantage of that. I’m in one of those moods now, so I got three out of four of the dining chairs slipcovered and I just love how they turned out. I know they are frilly. I know they have bows. I love them anyway and embrace that they are graceful chairs that deserve nicely tailored skirts! Here’s how these chairs started out. I bought the four on Craig’s List for $300 and had them stripped for an additional $200 for all four. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with them, so I left them stripped for

November 15, 2013 76 Comments

Before and Afters

the old, new dining room table

I’m reading the book Five Love Languages right now (which is a really awesome book, by the way) and I just finished a chapter on the phenomenon of being “in love.” As I was reading it, I actually thought of how that same phenomenon happens in decorating. Or, at least, it happens to me. I make a change or buy a new piece and I get flutters and I walk in the room just to look at it. I want to show it off in my pictures and I feel so warm and fuzzy and happy about it. Then after a time reality sets in. Sometimes reality proves that it was a good move. Sometimes it reveals all of the things I didn’t notice when I was all googly-eyed over it. I see that it’s impractical, it’s wobbly, it doesn’t fit the style of my home, it needs more work

November 12, 2013 83 Comments

Before and Afters

Turning Attention to the Outside

I spent most of my childhood in military housing, usually an apartment, so I didn’t have to help with gardening or raking leaves or pulling weeds on a regular basis. Most of my married life has been spent in apartments and then a condo-style townhouse where all of the mowing and yard care was handled by the neighborhood. So, when we moved into our current single-family home a few years ago, my inexperience with lawn care, gardening and exterior-decorating showed. My husband mows our lawn…and I use that term very generously, because it’s mostly weeds and clover…and every spring, I get a little inspired to get something done to make the yard look nicer. We’ve pulled out some overgrown bushes, cut down a few trees, planted a few holly bushes in the front garden beds, but it was all half-heartedly done and anything planted was forgotten about once the heat

November 11, 2013 39 Comments

Before and Afters

Master Bathroom Details & Reveal

Yesterday, someone asked me about my master bathroom in a comment and I realized I have never shared the details on that makeover! I finished the bathroom and immediately went on three trips in a row and then hopped right back into the school year routine. Also, we haven’t finished it totally. We did a lot of projects over the summer for HGTV.com and we got just enough done for the photo shoots, but now it’s time to really finish everything. So, I’m sharing photos I took this summer (before my new camera) and the bathroom isn’t 100% finish, but that’s just life, right? Here are the before pictures of the space we were working with. It’s a small master bathroom (about 6′ x 8′, not including the tub recess) and an interior room without windows or natural light. There was nothing wrong with the bathroom, but it just

November 10, 2013 88 Comments

Before and Afters

Painting the Dining Chairs

I have been looking for a sturdy pair of oval back chairs to use in my dining room for years. They were always too expensive or too rickety for practical, regular use. So, I was ready to buy some from Restoration Hardware, but the day I was planning to press the “purchase” button, I found a set of four chairs on Craig’s List. Woohoo!! You can read the full story HERE. They were perfect, but they were maroon. Not being able to stomach stripping four caned chairs, I took them to have them professionally stripped, which cost $50/chair and saved me hours and hours. I’ve had them in their stripped, raw state for a few months now and today I started to finish them. These chairs were my inspiration… (photo source) I really liked the chairs raw, but they were a little rough and some of the old white and

November 5, 2013 58 Comments

Before and Afters

Typewriter Vanity/Desk Reveal

This is how the piece looked when it came into my possession… Typewriter MMSMP is our color of the month for October, so I thought it was good timing to use it on this piece. I generally don’t paint pieces all black, but I knew bleed through would be an issue and nothing hides that better than black. Here’s how the piece looked when I last showed it to you… …and here’s how it looks now that it’s finished. I painted it in one coat of Typewriter without the Bonding Agent added. The piece was sanded to give the surface tooth, though, so adhesion wasn’t an issue. I allowed it to dry and distressed it pretty heavily with 80 grit sand paper. I’ve always loved the look of warm wood against black paint. The top was finished in Minwax Dark Walnut stain and the entire piece coated

October 16, 2013 70 Comments

Before and Afters

Apron Strings Dresser Reveal

When I last showed the dresser painted in MMSMP Apron Strings, it looked like this… …and this is how it started out… …and here is how it looks now… First off the color looks a little bit more raspberry than coral on this piece, but I love how it turned out. It’s spunky, vibrant and fun. I think most of you know, but the cherry blossom design is hand painted, not a stencil. See the crackling in the top right corner? That’s just some paint stripper that wasn’t totally washed off. I love the look and may have to do it on purpose at some point! I originally tried clear glass knobs, and those looked fine, but I tried these amber ones I picked up from Target on clearance and they brought it to a new level. They were perfect. It really is amazing how much distressing a piece and

October 16, 2013 40 Comments

I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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