Birdhouse and old wood projects have begun! Why? Because I'm being forced by...

Melissa at The Inspired Room. She's having a 'Project Procrastinator's Party'.

(click on pic to check it out!)

We are to post the before of a project now and link to her site, and then in two weeks, post the after. Two weeks?!? Pishaw... no problem! (gulp)

Remember my story about Gerry dropping off his garbage wood pile on the way to a big burn pile, but landed on my driveway instead? (yes, I wangled free delivery on this one! I am on a mission, people!)

And remember this adorable birdhouse and post that was buried under that DIY gemware?

Here's what I will promise. I will post an after pic of the birdhouse in full action. Why the birdhouse? Because I've already started the project so I know it'll be ok. (cheat cheat!)

Honestly, I've been working soooo hard on the garden lately. It was baaaaad. I went for my camera while doing the major weeding and installing of the birdhouse, but my son was sick and sleeping inside the room where my camera was and I didn't want to risk waking him at the time. But for the reveal, I'll take a pic of a similar weed bed in the same shape. Yes, I'm the unfortunate owner of a few of those.

As for the wood... I have another idea for it, but not sure I can make it work in two weeks. I have two ideas for the wood... but I will if I can!

1. Attach the tongue and groove rustic wood onto a small bathroom area to create a feature weathered wall.

or...

2. Attach the tongue and groove rustic wood onto a framed only greenhouse out back to create a character building. I'm leaning towards #2 if I have enough wood! And what's better yet is, this weekend I'm going into the little neighbouring summer town that has a store with character buildings just like this, so I'll snap a few photos for inspiration! I'm also going to hang an old window and get a window box together underneath for a grand spillage of lovely flowers.

So there you have it. A birdhouse garden, and a character shed or a rustic bathroom wall. Ok, maybe just the garden. Ok, I'll try the other too. But here's the deal. I'm not spending money to complete these things. So my garden won't be in full bloom and all that. But I know you gals have wonderful imaginations thank goodness. So let the play begin!

So, fess up. What project do you wish you'd get a move on with? Please tell me I'm not alone in this one...

I have a solution for you too. Why not join in the 2 week challenge? Hope to see you at Melissa's!

On the hunt for seemingly all things WHITE... help

AUGHAUGHAUGH! Why did I go into that favorite thrift store of mine today?!? And I happened to have my camera with me too, so I caught what I spotted. Just to taunt me.

Once upon a time, I wanted to do something like this to my kitchen, so I propped a bunch of odds and sods I had on hand in place. Then I tried to move my massive hutch that really goes here into another room and it didn't fit. So I lost my office dream and dismantled the works.

Some of you may remember my quandary post about loving whites and coastal inspired themes as I live inside my very warm and pretty log cabiny woodsy upstairs. And I was wondering how I could incorporate some of that desired girlie white into my present scheme.

For some time now, I've been wanting to create a kitchen office. If I got rid of that mammoth woodsy hutch, (which holds dogfood and kitchen overflow, something I really can do without)I had imagined a desktop running the length of that hutch nook with something suitable holding up the works. I really desire a nice space for my laptop to get it off the island once and for all.

And what I saw today is so what I had in mind. Augh...

Aren't those cabinets cute?!? Full drawers and one door each, and the doors even both open towards the center. AUGH! BAD! This is soooo bad! (not really but it is for all the right reasons. I should leave well enough alone!)

The two little guys plus that goofy loose board on top was a whoppin' $20. (AUGH) The note on top of the works read, "Great for garage." Yeah right, like that'll happen. Next I'd need to scout out is something long enough to run the length of the hutch area for a topper. And I have this lovely tall white bookcase with a pretty curvy deal along the top, waiting down in my garage begging me to put that thing front and center on that tabletop. What an adorable office that would be! (AUGH)

Admit it! CUTE!

And here's another AUGH.

Look at the pretty lines on these table legs! Hello!?!?! Abit pricier at $69, but the thing was as sturdy as a ROCK. (AUGH) Honestly, if I had a big separate area for a kitchen office, this table would be the desk. It's just that cute. But it wouldn't look good next to my current table. Bleah..

I am in agony here. This table would sit in front of that little office thing. And look good together and everything. The table isn't that big, just a nice size. Not that we even use a table since I have a massively awesome kitchen island that seats on both sides. But you know, one should have a table so the room doesn't look odd and all that.

The top is currently tiled which is kinda cute. One tile was cracked. I know how to tile so I'd have no qualms retiling it. And that is a solid wood outer edge that needs abit of help. But what a nice way to bring warmth to the table while tieing in all the other woodsy factors in the kitchen!

My current kitchen chairs are bowback black. But I could paint just the seats that antique white to tie it in perhaps... eh.. who am I kidding. The chairs would have to go antique white probably. Nothing a spray bomb or 50 wouldn't cure. (this part is a bad AUGH)

Now, how to incorporate whites into my woodsy kitchen you ask? I'd love to find some tongue and groove thin slats of wood and attach them horizontally in the backsplash area. And you guessed it, paint it the same antique white.

Now, I had no intention of getting this, but it caught my eye and she was adorable! And there were two of her. And she was so comfortable! This chair just has to be a she. I can't say it. Gosh she was just so comfortable! (AUGH) See that lovely black metal detail in the back and on the legs? It's so cool! I sure wish I was decorating a diner styled kitchen and I'd have these snapped up in a jiffy! I need a barn for storage. NOW.

I have no budget for new stuff. I really don't. BUT... if I implemented the changes, I could sell my other stuff which would WAY MORE pay for these little itty bitty thrifty items. I'd only need like 8 guys to lug my massive hutch downstairs though. No biggie. (run man variety neighbours, RUN!)

Oh... another thing I spotted was this gigantic roll of sage green canvas style curtain material. It was sort of burlapy to the touch. Exquisite, but it wouldn't be what I would use. But if I just stocked it and had it ready for someone... stop it! I need to buy an acre and a barn first.

How do you just 'leave' these gems in the stores? How do YOU do it?!? I'm dyin' here... I so want to shabby this place up abit and because I'd have to work at it, I have to admit the challenge thrills me so...

As always, I'll sleep on it and stare at the pics tomorrow again. I'll know my answer by then. I think. And then feel guilty all over again for wanting this NOW.And what DO you do when you spot things you want like, real real bad and you know you just, well, shouldn't?

augh.

(feel free to offer your opinion or 3 on how to change over to more white with the least amount of $ and effort. The yard is calling me too you see..)

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Rhoda at Southern Hospitality wants to know what recent finds you've discovered. Go see what others are loading their buggies with!

Spotlight on an amazingly unique office makeover

Boy do I ever have another treat for those of you on the lookout for office ideas.

Do you remember my post about the dreamy kitchen?

I'd like you to now see Debra Renee's office. This is the same gal that owns that fabulous kitchen.

In her words...

"My husband and I turned the smallest bedroom in our home into an office for both of us. As usual, it was on a budget, which is a-okay with me because I love how it stretches me creatively and produces unique spaces that no one else has. Reusing materials is also very green! Our new office is so functional now. We both have plenty of storage!"



The warmth of the wood tones against the fresh white cabinets offers such a comfortable environment. And backed with a bead board look, this office is the perfect example of modern capacity with a vintage touch.


This is a closeup of the top of the desk. Debra-Renee wanted the desktop to simulate an old sign. Isn't it magnificent?!? And I adore those colour hues against each other.


Debra Renee says, "The desk and counters are doors from Habitant for Humanity (I love that place) that I painted and/or stained. I got the cabinets free from someone's remodel and painted them with Devine Whip. Then I glazed them with Raw Umber. The chairs I got on clearance for $30 a piece at Oak Express. "

Doors for counters too! What a fabulous idea! And note the clever way she displays pictures along the wall. Not to mention that coordinating valance idea. Oh my gosh, it has such a high end build in feel everywhere you look. Don't you LOVE how the file storage was incorporated from an open shelf? Wait till you see the next picture...

"I wanted the regular bi-fold closet doors to be more exciting so I added trim and bead board to give it more of an armoire look. Then I painted and glazed. "

I don't know about the rest of you, however I'll never view a plain 'ol closet as such ever again.

This is a seriously professional talented designer. And she's invited me for dinner (in THAT kitchen!) if I'm ever in her area. I could only wish!

I hope you enjoyed Debra-Renee's office tour. And again, I found her on Rate My Space.

Thanks Debra-Renee, for the amazing eye candy and inspiration!

So, curious, what idea do you find stunning in this post that you'd like to try to incorporate?

I'm personally loving it all, but I'm really into that closet idea for certain. I'm already eyeing mine up, especially the ones that have a side to them. I vision them encased with my new-old tongue and groove fencing to create an old barn wood looking armoire. I so need a ptchoo ptchoo nail gun...

Today's roadside diving - SCORE!

Isn't this cute?!?! It's a birdhouse complete with post. Know where I found it? Buried under this massive pile of wood. The entire works was going to be burned! Hello?!?!?!?

Meet Gerry. He's my new bestest friend in my quaint little town. I was walking the dog around the block when I saw his trailer stacked with this precious weathered tongue and groove DIY treasure and ran to his gate where I heard him talking. I pleaded and begged and whatnot to have him make a quick stop in my driveway before he carried on. Ok, abit of a lie. He was all too happy to get rid of most of it before he had to take it much further.

My plan for it is to create a feature wall in my bathroom. It's the little wall with the one window that needs a punch of fun. And this was exactly what I was looking for. I even love the sunburned warmth of the mocha colour the wood is. A wire brush to it and it's good to go as is!

He also had a question for me. "What does your husband say to this sort of thing?"

"I don't have a husband, so I'm allowed to do this."

"OHHHHH...." and laughs full throttle.

Then I had to show him my madness. I took him for a quick tour inside my house to show him what funk I create out of junk. And honestly? When he saw all my stacked against the wall projects jammed in many corners, it probably stressed him out some. But he didn't show it. He happily waved goodbye and off he went to burn the rest of the load, probably very happy to be in an environment where there wasn't so much work to be done.

Gerry claims to love carpentry as a hobby and has just retired. Boy oh boy, I need to find someone just like that in my life. He'd be soooo busy outputting what's in my head. Nope. Gerry ran FAST for the hills when he saw the full mechanics of how my creative mind worked. Gerry is a smart dude.

Thanks again Gerry! I love the wood and the birdhouse!

And this is hilarious. I spotted this curbside dive just down the road. I hope you can make out the sign ok. I was laughing the entire time I was loading this baby into the back of my truck. It's a mid sized office chair, solid wood and weighs a ton! It was as sturdy as ever and is the perfect size for my 9 yr old son!

So much to do, so little time...

What recent finds have you landed? And where do YOU store your undone stuff? I'm having some trouble with storage. Does this mean I should be working on the stuff I already have rather than scooping up more ya think?

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Join Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for her 'Today's Thrifty Treasures', April 27th edition linky party to spot what others have recently collected!

Name this decorating theme! What would you do?

This is my kitchen. (not quite finished but getting there) It's warm and cozy and even log cabiny kinda and has all the right elements for a rustic upscale country funky flair. (what IS my taste anyway?!? Does it have a name? Name that taste! Sounds like a good game show)




So why do I continue to be drawn to this look?

See that hutch thing over yonder? I like that too! It's rustic and suits this house to an absolutel T. It holds a ton of overflow kitchen stuff and even a big ol bag of dog food in the bottom. It's a must have!

So why must I continue to drool over this thing?!?



Here's a small glimpse of my living room with no curtains as yet. The screens are a recent find that offer some privacy until I can get things squared away the way I really want them. At first my thought flashed, wow, oriental. But now they just sort of fit in, black and all. I didn't plan for that to happen. Again.

Can you see a running theme going on? Do we always get that glimmer in our eyes for something we don't have? What leads us to our decorating decisions?

I love the coastal theme and or that fresh light country kitchen kinda feel. I love the light penetrating inspiring surroundings the whites and creams lend. There just isn't anything not to love. I was going to go along that route when I gutted and redid the kitchen. But at the eleventh hour, I didn't feel it was the right thing for my particular house. I mean, I'm nowhere near water except for the ditch out back. But then again, I'm not exactly on a farm or near tall log cabiny pine trees either...

Things just started to transpire and fit together like a puzzle. The current look really does suit this house. However, perhaps some accessories need to lighten up abit...




And I totally know that can be done. Take for example, my fireplace mantel. It can be the funky chicken kitchen or the log cabin by the lake look, depending what you put on it.

Here's where I'd love your input if you care to play. If you'd like to see abit more of the house at it's current state, click on this very not coastal picture below, of what my counters and cupboards and hardware look like close up... the link will carry you to my home reno blog where you can browse at your own leisure to get a feel for what's going on around here if you need more visual.

And I'd like you to tell me, if this was your place, what would you do to accessorize it?

And fess up if you're brave. Do you wobble back and forth between current trends wondering what if? Or am I the only one on this universe that wishes she had two kitchens with two very different looks just so I can have it all?

Honestly, I think the moral to this story is, those that have this thing for decorating like our types do, simply are inspired by many different looks. And we can be happy right where we're at with just the right tweeks to make it truly ours. I think if nothing else comes out of this, I can always girly up my office downstairs...

A dreamy kitchen made out of recycled materials

Take a good look at this picture. It's my bet you won't pick up even half the details without reading the amazing way it was built. The kitchen was done with recycled materials and doing the labour themselves, the cost came to $3800.00. For the WHOLE kitchen.

Check out this hutch. It's totally custom from repurposed odds and sods. Here's the writeup...

“Hutch” bottom is 2 sets of vanity drawers and one desk drawer. Add legs. Frontdoorjunkin cut out the centers of the upper doors (that girl can do anything!) and I had the glass put in. I added beadboard and a shelf.

I mean, oh my gosh. The ideas, the look, the finish on the cupboards, there isn't anything I don't love here! And it gets better. Look at this island.

The writeup doesn't say how the top is made, but it sure looks like an old door to me.

When you pick up a decorator magazine, you tend to gloss over many details until you read the writeup. It's only then that each detail comes into full view, allowing you to appreciate the magic that went into the project.

This kitchen is worth such a read. I wish the writeup had even MORE detail. But it's worth a peek all the same.

I spotted this gem in HGTV's Rate My Space.

http://www.roomzaar.com/rate-my-space/Recycled_Remodel/detail.esi?oid=1465495&cObjId=1466612

Do you have any idea how bad I want to take creamy white paint and a hammer to my cabinets when I see this?!? I must go. I can be so weak.

Update: I often wonder how others are feeling when their work is featured on a blog. Check out Front Door Junkin' on Becca telling Debra Renee that her kitchen is now famous. :) Too awesome!

When a 9 yr old boy helps decorate

While I was busy this Saturday AM cleaning up the 'nests' my 9 yr old son had made everywhere in sight upstairs, he disappeared downstairs. And it got VERY quiet. He suddenly came bombing upstairs, bursting at the seams to share with me what he created. (I so know that feeling)

Ah. I was greeted with a sign that told me to knock please. Now polite!

The room he chose to decorate is my newly renovated office downstairs. He found a fold out table and a stack of games that were suppose to come upstairs LONG ago.

The very dusty games are laid out onto a blanket, graced with a roll of firetruck reflective striping along with some sign samples and a perfectly placed pen. Yes, that's very new!

I was immediately treated to Christmas music on the keyboard. He found a prerecorded song he fell in love with and played along. Oh. And he got newly tatooed for this special revealing as well. (don't you just love those young little arms and hands?!? melt)

I'm not quite sure what you'd call this, but it apparently was pretty special. You have to admit, the lamp shows well against that chair.

Yes, that is a Christmas tree on the far right. He found it in the storage area under the stairs. It went with the Christmas music. (this is April by the way, never hurts to start early!) And later, the lamp got some hearing protection on it. I couldn't keep up with the changes.

My boy is excited about his new digs! Except for now he's back upstairs playing Lego StarWars Wii in the middle of MY living room. Making those nests again.

Do your kids take over the decorating from time to time? Do share! I wana know I'm not all alone in this... please?!?

Taking care of windows and music

What's behind the cow? Can you guess? If you guessed screens, you're only half right. The deal is, what am I using the screens FOR?

I've yet to get some curtains hanging in this newly renovated home. When I came across these used screens for $20 a pop at Value Village, I had other ideas for them. However, when I placed them in front of my very naked massive picture window, they FIT.





What's really cool is, the rice paper/fabric allows light to penetrate right through by day, while offering you total privacy at night! The wood on the screens gives architectural interest in a very large and bare room as well.

And the possibilities are really endless. I thought of painting out the screens white and throwing burlap inside once I get the curtains of my dreams to drape on either side of them. But I'm not doing a thing to them until my one day curtains are installed. For now, I'm enjoying the screens just as they are.




Here's an extra for you. See these old boxes situated in the middle of the screens? They do more than hold that cow.

They are hiding the technology in this room. My stereo. The main black box (which is a black trunk on it's side) holds the woofer thing and main unit and the smaller box besides has two speakers stacked one on top of the other. No, I haven't hooked them up all yet. I imagine the sound would be slightly muffled through the boxes. I had planned to simply open and lift if that proved to be a big deal when used.

So there you have it. Unique no sew no painted (so far) curtains, plunked into place and easy to open and shut at will. Think of the possibilities with all sorts of lightweight screens!

And no typical ordinary stereo prefab stereo cabinet.

Hey. Just say no to normalicy. Think of what you need, and start looking for those unique solutions. You'll be glad you did!

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What small things enhance your day?

Check out A Beautiful Life April 17 2009 Edition at

The Inspired Room to see what others are up to.

http://theinspiredroom.net/2009/04/17/capturing-the-moments/

I am back!

I'm not even sure how long I've been off blogsphere, but it's felt like a year. My laptop died and therefore so did my opportunity to download photos and browse blogs and and and and... life without my laptop was intense!

For you diehard bloggers, thanks for hanging in there and not giving up! I've been busy creating while being offline so I'm looking forward to sharing what's new!

Now, I must browse to see what everyone else has been up to. I feel so out of date!

Happy Easter all! May the weekend bring you some enjoyable new memories to cherish.

Picture idea - when photos say way more than one word

I have a really really adorable project to show you. I discovered Ryan's blog yesterday and he's working on an art project.

Subject: his daughter.

Project: decorating his daughter's wall with something memorable and something other than pink.

So, he went to a store, bought a few t-shirts and sharpies, and set out for a photo shoot.

That's some adorable subject matter, wouldn't you agree? (melt!!)

Anyway, when you place the photos side by side in order, that's where the magic happens.

The plan of action is to get the series framed side by side and hung. You can check out the full story in his words and the how to at

http://www.thisisreverb.com/2009/03/love-project.html

What a cool project! I could only imagine what the shirts of my 9 yr old rough and tough son may spell out. Probably JUST SAY NO TO HOMEWORK. Somehow the magic just isn't there with that one, is it?

I'll swoon at the adorable little girl for today. Sigh.. Thanks for the inspiration Ryan! Very clever idea!

Any blog gurus out there?

ARG ARG ARG

Please click this picture for the most recent post.

Edited to say: I learned to link pics! Check!

Now here's where the guru request comes in.

I so need a lesson on how to redate a draft post. Or try and get a previous post to show up as my current default post. (are you feeling the pain?)

I also need lessons in linking things behind pictures within posts. Anyone up for these monumental tasks?

And that's about as techy as this gal can get. No need for the black rimmed with white tape in the middle nerd glasses with matching pocket protector quite yet. But I'm getting there... you just wait! I mean, that side of my brain is just so brand new and all. That's gotta be worth something...

If you can help point me in the right direction somehow someway (where's the manual on this blogging thang anyway?!?), feel free to comment here or email me at

signmakergirl@hotmail.com

Thanks!

Edited to say: thanks ladies! I received some help from Rachel and Gina. You gals rock. :)