refurbishing: coffee table

A little over a year ago, I was looking on Craigslist for a coffee table that I could transform. And I found this one. I posted it here. It was about $25-$30. And I knew it would look amazing when finished.

So, here we are . . . one year later. Hey. At least it's finished. The main reason it took so long was that we had issues with the wood stripper I was using. So we decided to go out and buy a sander instead. It did the job wonderfully and now we have a beautiful coffee table! But there were months and months that we didn't even touch it. It just sat in the garage.

Before:

So, here is the awaited finished product. {I'm sure you've all been in total suspense.}

What project are you still in the middle of? {don't worry, I'll be the first to admit that I'm in the middle of many!}

I'll be linking to these parties here.

Better After

Ever heard of the blog Better After? I absolutely love it! They feature your design projects/makeovers. And they're featuring my family room today. Yippee! Check it out here. For those of you who've been following my blog for awhile, this is old. Sorry. You're probably getting sick of seeing my family room. I'm just so excited. Had to tell you all.

So, if you want your project featured, send Lindsey an e-mail.

And don't worry. I haven't forgotten about the coffee table. I'm still in the middle of working on it. Life has just gotten in the way . . . which I don't mind at all sometimes.

Refurbishing Obsession: Coffee Table

Found this coffee table on my favorite list in the world - Craig's (my hubby's least favorite, I think). Hopefully I'll be able to show off the finished product by the end of next week. That spot in front of my two slipcovered couches is looking mighty bare.

DIY Obsession: Hardwood Floors

Okay. So, I'm being featured today on an amazing blog.

My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia.

I'm so stinkin excited. Just ask my hubby. I was so giddy when I found out.

I found her blog a few months ago while blog hopping. After seeing her post on her kitchen cabinets (one of my next projects), I was in love with her blog and couldn't stop checking out her jaw dropping transformations. Check out her French Guestroom here. And not only is she gorgeous, but she's as sweet as can be. I'm the first one being featured on her "feature friday" and can't wait to see who is next! Thank you Kristin!

So, I guess there's not a better time than now, then to post about our hardwood floor DIY project. I'd been waiting a while to post until we completely finished everything (still waiting to complete two more rooms and I wanted to get the baseboards up - - anyone know of where to buy baseboards for cheap?), but can't wait any longer.

We love the look of hardwood floors and did our research. We wanted to do it as cheap as possible but of course good quality floors. We found an amazing deal at Simple Floors. They had a deal the week after Thanksgiving where they'd give you 10% cashback. We'd probably never see anything like this again, so we couldn't pass it up!

Due to our limited expenses, we had to do it ourselves. We'd decided to do it during my husband's 2 week Christmas break. But between going to Vegas and SLC during the break for Christmas to visit family, we'd only be able to do the whole house on a weekend. HaHa! My sweet hubby said that he and his friends/family would be able to do it all one Saturday. I just smiled and nodded. Oh sweet hubby.

One Thursday and Friday night my hubby and I did the demolition. Can I tell you how much I can't stand tack boards? Our backs were dying the next day. Where was our cute little girl? Oh, probably being hypnotized by that screen in the family room and running around on the cement floor. Poor girl.

That Saturday was the big day. We definitely couldn't have done it without 3 amazing family members. They were awesome (and so were their wives for letting them spend all day . . . right before Christmas . . . all day . . . did I mention all day? installing the floors) I was actually a little bummed that I had to work, but someone's gotta save lives I guess. I really wanted to help. They were able to get our family room, foyer, and both hallways finished. It looked beautiful! I love my floors.

A few days in January, my hubby and I put the floors in the guest bedroom and our daughters room (pictures coming soon!).

We were able to save thousands of dollars by doing this ourselves. Of course it took a lot of time and energy, but you can do it! It's definitely worth it. Oh . . . and I'm still loving my green walls (it's pretty funny to see people's reactions . . . "oh, it's . . . green" , "was this painted like this when you moved in?")

What DIY project are you working on?

Home Decor Obsession: Family Room Reveal

Well, I wanted to start getting the Christmas Decorations up, so I thought I'd take pictures of our almost finished family room/dining room. I'm still searching the thrift stores/craigslist for the perfect coffee table and also looking for more yellow accents. Almost everything in this room was either found in a thrift store, bought on craigslist, or bought on a really good deal. Below are pics of the before:

And the after:

(you can get these curtains at ikea for $15 for both panels!!!)




Hope you like it. I sure do.

Giveaway results: price my spot

So. I know you have all been in suspense. You want to know what I paid for this cute Pottery Barn-ish spot. But I just want to say how fun it was to see what everyone thought I bought them for. I guess I need to step up my game a little, cause most of you guessed pretty low. I wish I were that good. Anyway. Here goes . . .

Mirror: I found this mirror in my favorite little thrift store in Vegas. I guess I have a thing for mirrors, cause I walked in the front of the store and immediately saw it all the way at the back. I was hoping the price agreed with me. And holy moley. It did! It was . . $15 (background music of heavenly choirs singing)! Yes way. I didn't even have to wheeler-dealer!

I didn't buy it that day. I told my sis-in-law that they had to get it for their daughter's room that they were re-doing. It would be perfect. But I couldn't talk her into it. So. What's a girl to do? I went back the next day thinking that if it was still there. . . it was meant to be mine. I think I have a love affair with mirrors. And whatdaya know? It was there. I was thinking about making it into a chalkboard for little girl A's room, but quickly decided it'd go perfect in the family room. (You should have seen me take this from Vegas to Cali in our Ford Fusion. It was quite a sight.)

And it does. I didn't even spray paint it (imagine that). I love it's weathered, rough edged look.

Desk: I found this at the same little thrift shop that I found the mirror at. I loved it. I imagined it to be in a little nook or in little girl A's room. Or maybe under a beautiful, weathered mirror.

The price tag said $50. No way. I asked the store manager if I could buy it for $15. There was one right next to it that was similar (I think plastic though) and cost $15. She said she'd give it to me for $20 (due to it being real wood). Score! I sanded it down, primed, and then spray painted a few times. I went to Target to look for a knob that looked more elegant than the wooden knob. I chose this one and it looks perfect! It was $4.99.

Decor thingy: I went to a Goodwill store in Vegas and discovered that this paritcular Goodwill had a bunch of Target items. Tags were on them still. I guess items that were on clearance that never sold? Anyway, I loved this decor thingy the moment I saw it. I bought it for $4.99!It was dk. blue though. It didn't fit anywhere, with the color it was, so . . . I got out the spray paint. I primed it first and then spray painted a few times. I love it!

So that brings the grand total to : $44.98

And who is the lucky winner? Well, the winner is Stofam! (could you leave your e-mail address in the comment section? Thanks!) Here's what she said:

"Amy! I am already a blog follower and LOVE all your ideas! I cant wait to be in a house of our own so we can paint and spruce up the place. I think you paid $38 bucks for all 3 pieces! Oh, and just so you know who I am, I grew up with your hubby!!"

Congrats! And thanks for playing everyone!

Giveaway - price THIS spot

To launch my new blog, I'm doing a giveaway. Because I love decorating and bargain hunting, I just wanted to show you how you can decorate on the cheap. It's easy! You don't have to shop at Pottery Barn to make your home look Pottery Barn-ish. So . . . price this spot and whoever comes closest (not going over) to the price that I paid together for these three items (small desk, mirror, decor thingy) will win . . .

. . . one of my cupcake stands that I've been making - cupcake not included :) (and they'll be in my new etsy shop soon).

So . . . all you have to do is:

1. sign up to follow my blog (on the side) or . . . add it to your blog roll. (If you have already done so, let me know.)

2. leave a comment with the price you think I payed for these 3 items all together (leave your e-mail address so I can contact you if you're the lucky winner)

This giveaway will end on Friday, Nov. 20, 2009 at 1:00pm (Pacific Time Zone).

I will send the winner an e-mail. And the winner must e-mail me their home address by Sunday Nov. 29, 2009 or the second closest to the price I paid, will be chosen. Open only to U.S. residents

The winner will be announced on this blog on Monday, Nov. 23, 2009.

Happy guessing!

Painting Obsession: family room

We just moved into our new home a few months ago. And let me just tell you that I'm in heaven! White walls for the past 3 years of renting?! I'm definitely ready to get some color going. Although, when I had those white walls, I wish I would have seen this blog (which has quickly become one of my favorites and is now why I have white slipcover couches - love them!).

We're still in the process, so I can't show you any "after" photos yet, but here are our before pics:

And these are our inspiration photos (and I'm really sorry . . . I just got these photos off the internet and don't know who to credit them to. need to be better at that.) So this might give you a little sneek peak of what our family room might look like . . .

When I told family members that we painted our family room lime green . . . you KNOW the comments we got (you just might possible be thinking them right . . . now!) But after people have seen it they love it (or at least that's what they tell us - - well, they see it through skype . . . so who knows how accurate the colors are.)

But . . . I love the feeling I get as I walk through our family room. Simply put, it just makes me happy. Can't wait to show you the after pics!