My China Hutch Gets a Face Lift

We bought our china hutch five years ago at a thrift store for $35. It was painted hot pink when we bought it and it has been about six other colors since then.


A few months ago, I painted it a pale blue (above, behind the chairs) which I liked, but felt the hutch needed a little more. I never really liked the fussy hardware, so I bought new bin pulls and a couple knobs from this eBay shop on the cheap (I think it was around $30 for everything). The new hardware instantly updated the hutch and helped brightened the room.


Then I bought a few sheets of pretty paper for a couple dollars each from Paper Source, cut the paper to size (being careful to line up the pattern) and double-stick taped the sheets to the backs and sides of the inside of the hutch.


My original plan was to spray glue or even mod podge the paper in place, but so far the double stick tape has served me well. Which I've decided will make my life really easy when I will inevitably want to change out the paper in six months or so. {Is there a medication for whatever it is that I have?}


Have a great weekend! My parents are in town and I'll be busy taking advantage of full-time sitters and my mom's unfailing eye for home decor. See you Monday.

Triple L Fabric and Temporary Wallpaper - Waverly's on a Roll!

I've received a number of emails about this fabric (which was the photo backdrop to the books in my last post).

Believe it or not, the fabric is a $10.95 per yard indoor/outdoor print from Waverly! It's called 'Lovely Lattice' and the color is 'Lagoon'. The print comes in black and citrine as well.


I ordered 4 yards from here to reupholster my dining room settee. I was thrilled with the print, weight and feel - not to mention the stain-resistant qualities of indoor/outdoor fabric.

It's a tiny bit more blue-green in person than the photos imply (hence the name 'lagoon') and I think it is lovely.

It really seems like Waverly is trying to add trendy patterns to all their product lines.

Check out these temporary wallpaper solutions from Waverly (available online and through Sherwin Williams stores):

This black and cream ($24.49 per single roll), here, would be perfect for an entry hall or a small powder room. Or even framed out in molding for a bigger room. Comes in other colors, too.


This ($24.49 per single roll)


seems like a very loose interpretation of this (also available in black and white) from Cole and Son ($100+ per roll).


This leafy wallpaper looks awesome ($25.89 per single roll)


as seen here, via design*sponge


Never again will I associate Waverly with grapevines and antiqued roosters!

Special Delivery

I present to you the books, in all their glory...





Ordered on a Thursday night (with standard shipping), received on Monday. Not too shabby if you ask me.

And, of course, I love them.

{images by me, taken right after the books were received. So if you enlarged the photos and are wondering about the little particles on some of the books - it's just the shipping packaging stuff that I neglected to notice in my excited state. Sorry about that.}

Faux Bois Mirror

Like you already know, faux bois means "fake wood" {doesn't everything sound nicer in French?}.

I've been watching this auction for a faux bois mirror, originally sold at Gumps for $800. While it will certainly go for more, the current price is $66. Auction ends tomorrow.

In an effort to keep myself from buying this beauty, I'm posting it for the masses (well, for all 10 of you that read this blog). Please, bid on this so I won't.


Here are a few more favorite faux bois beauties on the market right now:

This faux bois rug from Pottery Barn is available on eBay in the khaki color.


Or the green version in 8x10, on sale for $299 at Pottery Barn stores.


I can't tell if this cake stand from Bell'occhio is hot or not. It doesn't really scream "sanitary" to my subconscious and I might feel weird serving an actual cake on it. I still think it's cool though. Maybe I'd use it for holding mail and keys on a console table instead?


Two's Company planters here and here via eBay


A pair of Martha's faux bois shams would make an awesome accent to almost anyone's current bedding.


Crate & Barrel makes this stunning console table ($699) that's worth saving for.


It was featured a while back in Elle Decor.


Feeling like a little dose of DIY?


Pick up a wood-graining tool and follow these simple steps from Martha('s minions). She's teaching us to make wrapping paper here, but most of the same principles apply to other faux bois painting projects.


If you're feeling REALLY ambitious, you could do a whole wall. I love that this wall is a peacock blue/green color. I think faux bois looks cooler when you're not trying to make it look like real wood.


via

Not feeling quite that ambitious? See how Abbey totally transformed her trashcan here.

Fabric Shades Galore

To further inspire you to turn your mini blinds into fabric shades, here are some photos meant to get your creative juices flowing.

Try using fabrics with prints for your shades. Notice that many of these fabrics are mostly white or cream with an accent color print.


Stripes are great on shades, too.


I love the big fat stripe right down the middle of this shade.


Try using a neutral fabric for the base of your shade and then add a printed fabric border.


I think it's hard to go wrong with a gauzy neutral fabric.


Solid colors are safe, but still a fun option.


If you want to kick it up a notch, add some ribbon trim.


This adorable shade for a little girl's bathroom looks classy and youthful with the ball fringe.


I almost made a fancy cut-out bottom on my DIY shades, but decided the look was too fussy for my room. Seeing these pictures makes me wonder if I should have just gone for it.


I love this little girl's room. The solid pink shade layered with the green and pink canopy is just about perfection by my standards.


Here's another fun print-and-solid layered shade. This one features a valence.

Layering shades and curtains in this room creates depth. An added bonus here is the black shades will make the room nice and dark when you're sleeping.


Love the look of shade-over-shade here below.


For a totally custom look, use the same fabric for your shades and curtains.


Isn't this a great photo below? I love the two different fabrics on the shades. Using only the print on these long windows would be overwhelming and using only solid colored fabric would be so boring. But together, the look is genius!


Hopefully you're inspired! Now get out there and invest a little money in fabric and glue and make yourselves some new shades!