Living room makeover for around $130.00

Our living room has desperately needed attention for some time now. The problem was just that~ TIME. But this past week I decided to tackle the task by rearranging furniture and accessories I already had in my home. Read: spend little money.


I knew I could do it, but I also knew I had to take my WHITE chairs out of their safe haven (my bedroom) and subject them to the sticky, dirty hands of my four children. Shudder.


As soon as I put the chairs in place in the living room, I knew that oxi clean and I would become fast friends over the next few years. 'Cause I love having them out where they can be used and I can stare at 'em all day long. Truly, as lovely as they were in my room, I never really sat in them. Who has the time? And the children and I are already having lessons on how NOT to touch the chairs every time we walk by. Bribery may or may not be involved:)


Okay, so it all started with the purchase of three dressers from my sister. I'm not really adding this purchase into the room total, because I only used one of the dressers in the living room. The other two were badly needed in other areas of the house. Rationalizing? Probably.

{This dresser is painted and now living in Lane's room}

{living room dresser being painted}

{finished}

Next, I painted a black cabinet we purchased years ago in the AS-IS section of our favorite store. If you look closely, you will see that it is missing a glass panel on the side, and has been for ummm... probably 5+ years. Embarrassing. We're working on it.

{almost finished~it still needs glass, hardware, and scraping}

Years ago my mom gave me a round table from my childhood that we have incorporated into the room. I still remember eating oatmeal at this table when I was seven. You know, about 20 years ago. Ahem.

{Table top mid sanding}

{sanding the base}

{finished table}

{$10.00 for the plant-hope I don't kill it}

{mirror I previously had in the room- I popped out the oval mirror and painted it white}

{Ben made the bench for my kitchen table. I'll probably have to move it back eventually, but for now I'm lovin' it here}

{Succulents on the coffee table-$20.00}

{two awesome stools dad found in the trash- Free!}

{8x11 herringbone jute rug $99.00}

With a little white paint, hard work and a bit of cash we now have a living room that feels welcoming and complete, like a breath of fresh air when I walk into the room. I wonder if we will now be able to move people out of the kitchen and into the living room when we have a party. I'm not betting on it, but if we can, they better wash their hands first!:)

Project Day

I needed a mirror for over the dresser in our newly renovated, almost done bedroom (yay!), and I needed it to be free or nearly free. You see, around the Puckett house we are in what we like to call no spend April, which is kinda turning into spend less April, but who's counting anyway, right? Ha. I kid. After finishing the bathroom and bedroom remodel and adding up the countless receipts, we decided it was time to STOP paying Lowes every penny we earn.


So to the local thrift store I went in search of a deal. I found these two little beauties stacked against a back wall, totally neglected, and not living up to their full mirror potential. I took pity on them and purchased each for the bargain price of $8.98. Oh yeah.

As far as I'm concerned, there is nothing a little paint can't make better. Perfect example right here, don't ya think? After a fresh coat of paint, the mirrors were looking quite lovely, but they still needed something. I remembered that I had a sample size amount of blueish paint that might just make that center portion stand out a bit more.


Taking full advantage of today's gorgeous spring weather, I rallied the kids together for "art class" outside, and we all painted away. I worked on the mirrors, while they experimented with thumbprint drawing. Can you tell from the picture that's what they're doing? Don't worry, neither could I. That's why I told ya.

Beautiful! We took them inside, and I must say that they fit right in and are perfect for the space. All for under $20.00! On second thought, I just might be able to survive spend less April after all;)

I'll leave you with a shot of me and my love~ taken when we were both still in high school, 11th grade. Look at the two of us in that smaller picture; we were just babies! I loved him then, but I love him so much more today.

Here we go again...

The bathroom is finished. And since nothing else is going on in our lives(HA!), we've decided to keep the ball rolling and move ahead on the bedroom redo. We MUST get the bedroom finished while the weather is still yucky and before summer vacation. Because we've got plans, people. None of which include plaster, paint or plumbing. Yahoo!

Closets. We needed closets. So this week Mr. LORIENDEVON built me two. One for clothes and the other for my enormous-hideous-always in the way treadmill. After weeks of deliberation in my own little head, I've come to the conclusion that although I hate the way my treadmill looks, I cannot live without it. Or should I say that I couldn't button my pants without it? Whatever. You get the point.

I told Mr. LD that I wanted a long closet big enough to hold only the treadmill with a TV hanging on the front wall and a fan in the back. He made it happen. Loving him. Here is what we've come up with so far.

{closet area before}

{walls going up}

{very, very beginnings of a closet}

{Treadmill will be hidden from sight behind this wall}

{bedroom side~treadmill side}

Sorry for more ugly remodel posts, but that's truly our life lately. Work on remodel-make a mess, Clean the mess-have a party, school the children, work at real job (because it pays the bills) then do it all again next week. Kinda exhausting, but hopefully worth it in the end. We'll see. Thanks for following and your encouragement along the way. It means the world to me. More to come.

Lori

Bathroom Remodel~ After

The time has come and I am thrilled beyond words to share the after pictures of our bathroom redo. It is never easy to completely tear apart a room that is lived/slept in, but the mess, work and money were all so worth it in the end. We are loving it.

If you need a refresher, take a walk down memory lane here and here but only if you're feeling brave. Alright, enough of the chatter. Here we go...

{sink area is all refurbished furniture from our old school room and was FREE!}

 

{linen shower curtain and roman shade made by my amazing sister in law at the industrial cottage}

{looking down into the bedroom}

{outside of closet}

{inside of closet}

{fancy jewelry display trick I stole from my sis, Chani. brilliant}

{potty area. My other famously talented sister in law, Dee, is working on a painting even as we *speak* for the space above the toilet}

{my make-up/hair area}

{close up of mirrors~ 'cause I HEART them}

{under the sink storage}

{beam}

There you have it, friends. Thanks for joining us on this painful journey. You're all invited over for a nice warm soak anytime;) In fact, I could use one of those myself right about now.

Lori

Hideous chairs

I found two wingback chairs in the AS-IS section for a steal. They were banished to the back of the store due to the fact that they are covered in a horrendous fabric that would pretty much look TACKY in any interior. That's a deal breaker for the typical consumer. 

I, however, fell in love with their shape and the number scribbled on the bright red clearance sticker. And since I just so happen to be related to the best slipcover maker on the planet, I was able to look past awful and see potential.

Did I mention I made this purchase THREE years ago? Staring at their ugliness and moving them around and out of view for this long is getting to me. Now seems like the time to have them recovered, because the next room to tackle around here must be our bedroom. There's a small area right next to our bed perfect for the pair. So we're moving on it. Finally.

Sorry if it seems like I'm throwing another project at you before I've shown you finished pictures of the last. I might have a disease and my therapist might lovingly refer to it as project ADD. Bear with me. I'm working on it;)

{Promising shape. chunky legs and cushy arms}

Not me, the chairs. ha.

{close up of the fabric. Yuck.}

 Inspiration pictures I found while scanning google images.

{small box pleat. adore}

{I want to move in, but I bet they never have pasta and red sauce on the menu}

I knew I was drawn to the box pleat look on the bottom with the legs exposed, but I thought I wanted a chocolate brown since the dark color would hide all stains my family brings. Every picture I found that I dig uses light fabric, though. What...light colors? In my house?

But now I'm thinking... The chairs would be in my bedroom, mostly away from the chaos. A slipcover can easily be removed and washed in the event of an unfortunate spill or such. And I'm loving the look. So I need your input.

I'm thinking a nice twill for the fabric: cheap and durable.

This is the fabric of my duvet cover and pillows~

Here are the fabrics I'm considering~

Two somewhat dark chocolate browns

Two lighter browns

Or WHITE...the horrors of it all.

It would bleach.

 Help! What color/style do you like?

Thanks. If I continue to do this blogging thing, maybe I could just fire my designer and my therapist! Y'all are that helpful:)