I can’t quite put my finger on it.  I think my love affair with all things French may have begun when I was younger when I watched Gene Kelly in ‘An American in Paris’.  

Perhaps it was when I lost myself in Peter Mayle’s novel ‘A Year in Provence’ that I devoured many years ago. 

Most certainly, my l’amour was made permanent when I took my first trip to Paris in 1998. 

Whenever it happened, it happened, and my decorating style was forever altered.  I can’t help myself ~ I’m a self professed Francophile.

Despite my love of traditional French decor, I do like to inject a little modern flair, and the new mirror and trellis pattern rug in the living room certainly help.

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We have some great friends named Tony and Mia, and our girls go to kindergarten together.  Mia is a busy mother of three who runs her own salon four days a week.   By the time she gets home from work, the last thing she wants to do is start a home improvement project.

What I love about Tony and Mia’s home is that every time you visit, you feel the warmth within, from the spice colors on the walls, to the rich and rustic wood pieces, to their doggie wagging her tail to greet you.  Their house definitely feels like a ‘Home Sweet Home’ and that’s why we love to visit.

So when I was in her family room the other day, Mia asked me what to do with her oak fireplace surround.  She wasn’t sure if she wanted to replace it or stain it, but she knew she didn’t care for the natural oak finish.  The wood’s tone clashed with her dark wood floors and furniture, but overall it had really classic lines and was in great shape.

As I leaned in, I could swear I heard the mantel whisper, “Paint me, I beg you.”  So I recommended we paint it white to coordinate with the trim and lighten up the wall.  Plus, a white fireplace mantel is simply timeless.  So in less than four hours, I gave her fireplace wall a fresh new look with just some primer, paint, and accessories.

Here’s Mia’s Before:

Here’s Mia’s After:

Splendid, right ?

The difference is all in the details !

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We’ve owned this laminate and particle board media center for about fifteen years.  It was purchased in the leaner years from a discount furniture store.   Back in the 90s, we used it in our family room to store all of our media equipment, but then we eventually moved it to the kids’ play space.  For the longest time (like most moms) I was just grateful for the storage it brought me and I didn’t care what color it was.

Then all of a sudden I just couldn’t take it anymore.  I was staring at the faux maple laminate last week and I decided the day had come.  It was time to paint it!  It’s not that I don’t like blonde wood, I just don’t like faux blonde wood.  It’s the fakeness that bothers me.

So it was time to rid my world of the maple tone and give it a fresh coat of white paint.  This is a relatively sturdy piece, so rather than go out and buy a new system, or build one myself, I determined the best way to save it was to simply paint it.  The best part of all is, I changed the look of this piece in 48 hours!

Here’s the Before:

Here’s the After:

Here’s how I painted my laminate storage center.   

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Last week, I picked up a pair of dusty chairs at a thrift store.  I loved the classic cottage shape and the cheap price, but the finish was so grungy.  I brought them home and sanded them down to the raw wood, removing all the dirt and grime.  Then I gave them a fresh coat of spring green paint ! 

Here they are Before . . .

. . . and After

All it took was half an hour of sanding and and an hour of painting to give them a fresh new look with some paint and a little distressing !

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Happy Monday all, hope you had a fantastic weekend !  Last week, you saw the upgrades in the dining room, and one of those changes included this trestle bench that I found on Craigslist a few weeks ago. 

The bench was the perfect size to add seating to our dining space and very sturdy too since it is solid wood.  However, I wasn’t using any maple tones in the room, so I decided to give it a new look.  The bench received a two phase transformation to arrive at two different looks.

Here’s a reminder of the bench ‘Before’:

Here’s the first new look I gave this bench:  

And another different style achieved by adding a washable cotton slipcover:

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My dining space has always been tricky to decorate because it stands in the middle of a major freeway between the garage, family room, and kitchen.  We don’t have a formal dining room – there is simply no need for our laid back family of five to have anything other than a casual dining space for evening meals.  We nibble in the kitchen most of the time, don’t you?

However, I do like the idea of our dining space being dolled up for holidays or special guests.  After all, it has a beautiful set of French doors and a view that leads to the rear yard.  So a few weeks ago I decided to upgrade by adding some new window panels and a bench for additional seating.  I’m returning to the peaceful calm of white because I find it so fresh and uplifting.  Also, cream and white are such a nice contrast to rich dark wood, so I kept a purposeful neutral palette in our dining space.  I added some taller silk curtains and a transformed Craigslist bench. 

To some it’s plain, to me it’s perfect.

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The Special Interest Publications by Better Homes & Gardens are one of my all time favorite go to resources for DIY ideas.  Today, I thought I’d pass along some of the ideas from my inspiration files that I think are completely fabulous. 

Enjoy ! 

How cool is this idea to wallpaper the drawers of a dresser with a little decoupage ?

Sew a half dozen sheer napkins together for a cafe curtain, and add charm with mismatched flatware as curtain hooks !

Add a pop of color to your pantry by sewing kitchen towels into basket liners. 

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I’ve been reflecting on my master bedroom, and its décor and I’ve concluded it’s pretty nice so far, but in need of some modern upgrades.  I’m really seeking to take the bedroom to the next level.  You know, add some elegant wainscoting, change up the art display, add some dramatic sconces, some upholstered seating, and perhaps a glitzy mirror above the bed.  Really glam it up a with a hint of that Old Hollywood style.

Our master gets morning light, but becomes really dark in the afternoon and evening.  For the longest time, I was looking for a mirrored buffet like this one from Z Gallerie to put under the front window to pull light into the space.  Plus, I have a storage issue in my bedroom.  I have several dozen half finished books that I’m committed to reading, so they simply cannot leave the room.  And a ton of magazines piling up again.  Yet all of those books and magazines were collecting dust and I really needed a storage solution for my bedtime reading material.

Enter this downtrodden substitute from the local thrift store.

A beautiful piece of cabinetry in my eyes, but sad too.  I can tell that someone wanted to fix her up, but gave up.  Perhaps because the top and side panels are veneer and not real wood.  Or perhaps because this piece had taken a lot of abuse.

I saw so much potential here, and also a storage solution!  So I paid $25 dollars at the local St. Vincent de Paul thrift and brought it home.  As you know from last week’s ode to Opulence Pearl paint, I got to thinking that I could refinish the piece in a cream color, then glaze it with my new found best friend.

With my newest fixation on metallic finishes, I must tell you that I came so very close to giving it an antique silver finish. I even considered silver leafing it.  But then I realized I had a bronze thing going on in the master bedroom space.

See?

As tempted as I was, I decided this cabinet refinished in silver in this space might be too Vegasy (is that a word?).  So I live to silver leaf another day.

I have absolutely no use for another wood tone in this room and the existing linens are cream.  Besides, I like to mix painted pieces with wood furniture.  So I opted to paint it in a cream color, and give it a  pearlescent glaze.  Here are the three tools I used to transform:  Zinsser primer, Rustoleum’s ‘Heirloom White’ latex in a can (can you believe it?) and Pratt & Lambert’s Opulence Pearl, all purchased from Orchard Supply & Hardware (OSH).

Plus some new knobs from Anthropologie.

Love !

I sanded, then primed with Zinsser.

Then I gave it two coats of Heirloom White in latex.  The final third coat was a blend of one part Heirloom White to three parts Opulence Pearl, both latex paints.

Here she is After:

The existing linens in the room are a cream damask pattern.  Hmmm.  Then I really got to thinking.  Why not play off this pattern ?

So I had a crazy clever idea.  I really like this etched look on these panels, like on these pieces that I featured yesterday.

I really love this carved detail.  It separates these pieces from the crowd and really makes them one of a kind.

On my piece, the inner panels of this cabinet separate from the door.  So I had this paintable patterned wallpaper that I plan on using in another top secret project to be revealed whenever I get around to it.

Available at Lowes:

Excuse me, but whomever invented paintable textured wallpaper, let me kiss your ring.

I clipped off four sections, painted and glazed the wallpaper, then attached it to the removable inner panels to give it that etched panel look.

Cool, huh.  Reversible panels.  Two looks in one.

Seriously, they reverse with just a few tiny screws.  Takes five minutes.

I had the finished edge mirror custom made to fit the top of thsi cabinet for $60 dollars.  Pricey, but worth it since it pulls so much light into the room, and gives off a really beautiful reflection.

Whether it’s crystal and costume jewelry.

. . .or blooms and colored glass.

Here’s a peek at the pearlescent sheen up close.  Keep in mind this is three parts Opulence Pearl to one part Heirloom White paint.  I know it’s called ‘Heirloom White’ but it’s really a cream color in my eyes.

I thought two coats of the Opulence Pearl on top of the Heirloom White was too shiny for this piece, so I mixed the paint with the glaze to arrive at the perfect subtle pearl sheen.

Plain panels:

‘Etched’ wallpaper panels:

So which look did I settle on?  I remain undecided.  In truth, I like them both.  One little voice says “Oh, the plain panels, they’re so elegant!” and the other voice hollers back “You wallpapered the inside panels ?  You go girl !”

So as you can see, I am torn.

What say you?

Linking:

I’ve never had a problem with brown.  I love brown, especially chocolate brown.  I think it looks amazing when paired with crisp white or warm cream and a really hot color.  But I was totally over brown in my home office.  Everything in there was brown, the walls, the furniture, the curtains.  Blah blah blah brown. 

The home office is the first door just off the entry way, and was always closed whenever visitors came over.  Quite frankly it was more of a storage space and less of an office for many years.  The first thing I ever did when I heard the doorbell was close the office door.  

When I spied some bookcases on clearance for $20 dollars each at a local outlet that was closing its doors, something clicked in my brain.  “I spy with my little eye a home office remodel.” 

It took me five months to finally get around to completing the entire space since I’ve been busy with other things (ahem, life) but it got a complete overhaul from floor to ceiling and now I can say it is finally finished.   

Here the After:

Here’s the Before – these are the ‘uncluttered’ pics:

Here’s the story. 

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Months ago, I chanced upon some bookcases at the local Villeroy and Boch that was closing its doors.  When I found out the outlet store was selling their displays for $20 dollars each, I was inspired to remodel my blah blah brown home office. 

Perhaps you recall the twin glass shelf towers that I transformed way back in August that sit on the other side of the space.  Those were easy peasy.  The accompanying bookcases ?  Not so much.  I didn’t realize at the time I brought them home how much extra work it would take to get them into ship shape.  It took me three months to face facts – these required more than just a quick coat of paint.  They had some problems that required extra attention to detail. 

Here’s a peek at one of the two bookcases we just finished that give me that built in look, an extra work table, and plenty of storage.  They were the final hurdle to completing the home office remodel. 

In the store before, and now installed in my office.

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