Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Cafe Shelves Tutorial

Happy Hump Day!  Over the last couple of months, I've received quite a few e-mails asking how I made the cafe shelves in our kitchen.  Sooo, I thought I'd take a moment to I share what I did! 

Honestly, I can't take any credit for how I made them.  I simply followed Traci's(Beneath My Heart) fabulous tutorial.  In fact, you can just go ahead and stop reading my post now and head on over to read her super easy-to-follow steps!  BUT, if you choose to keep reading my post first, here are my "ingredients:"

1 handsome hubby and friend/neighbor ("the handy fireman")
1 crazy decorator
3 kids
3 1x12s (that were cut by the nice folks at Home Depot down to 30" long)
2 long pieces of case molding of your choice
6 corbels of your choice
Miter Saw
Wood Glue
Finishing Nails
Zinsser Primer
150 sanding block
AS Old White chalk paint
AS clear wax
Hot Tub
Cocktail of your choice

First step was to convince handsome hubby and "the handy fireman" to take the cabinet down (oops, and, yes, folks you can see that I'm a lazy painter who never painted the inside of her cabinet doors):


While they did this, I set up shop in the garage with my supplies (having already primed my shelves). 


Once the cabinet was down, it looked like this (ugh):


I was worried that we were going to have to paint the entire 18' high wall all over again, but was pleasantly surprised that after my handsome hubby spackled and sanded, and I painted, you couldn't tell that we only painted the exposed dry wall (SW Ivoire)!


Now, the hardest part ... cutting the case molding, especially because I had never used a miter saw before!  After practicing on extra wood making the 45 degree cuts (and failing miserably), I decided to let the true *professionals* handle it ... kids rule!


Seriously, though, once I (and a neighbor) figured out which way to angle the saw in order for the corners to sit flush against one another, it went really smoothly (although, your arms will ache after you're done ... this is where the hot tub and a drink came in handy)!  LOL


After the cuts were made for each shelf, I simply added wood glue to the back of the longest piece of molding and pressed it against the front of the shelf.  While I held it, my hubby added five finishing nails.  We then did the same for each side piece (only adding three finishing nails to the side pieces).  

After that was complete, I added a fingertip full of spackle to each nail hole ... sanded after the spackle was dry and then painted the shelves with AS Old White chalk paint (propping each one up on various soup cans), followed by distressing and waxing.  I did the same to the corbels, as well:


After they were dry, it was time to hang them.  This was the second hardest part because I am OCD when it comes to measurements being exact (and I fail miserably getting said exact measurements on the first, second and even fifth *trys* (lol) ... that's when the frustation come into play.  In fact, I'm surprised that this picture isn't out of focus from my husband laughing at my use of "not so pleasant" language as he took the picture.  I ended up placing the corbels 7" apart.


After I mounted all of the corbels, I placed the shelves on top and added two flat head screws (one on each side towards the back, seated into the corbels) so that the shelves would sit firmly in place.  Once that was done, then came the fun part ... accessorizing!

Let's look back one more time ... BEFORE:


AFTER: Here is how they look today, with splashes of Easter added:


So, I leave you with this ... if there is a place ANYwhere in your home where you've wanted to add shelves or just a blank space and you're not sure *what* to add ... truly consider adding cafe shelves that you can build yourSELF.  If I can make them ... YOU can ... I promise (but, if you need to borrow my husband and/or Jax and his precious buddies, you may)!  LOL!  And, don't forget to check out Traci's tutorial (linked above)

Thanks for stopping by! 


Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Easter Mantel Snippets ...

Greetings, friends !!  What a GORGEOUS day it is outside ... I'm off to enjoy it !!
But, first, I thought I'd share a few sneaks at our Easter mantel.  I'm not quite done, but considering how truly *Spring-like* today feels, I thought I'd share a few of the goodies I've included so far.

Spring "faux" florals that I almost want to sniff:


A sweet birdcage from Michael's (the fact that it was 40% off made it even CUTER):


Yet another *ca-ute* bunny from Pier One:


Annnnd, a fun banner full of Spring colors!


I'll be back soon to share more of that and our *almost* complete master bath!

Thanks for stopping by!


Saturday, February 25, 2012

What Is It ...

So, one of the items on my "to do" list this year is to go through my bazillion pictures and either delete them or save them to a thumb drive so that I'm not suffocating my "C" drive anymore!

As I was doing so, I came across this picture of our dry bar from Fall 2010 ... notice the warm and darker colors splashed around ... the "tuscan" feel ... the "wine" vignette ... the warm, maple cabinets.  Back then, I could've never imagined wanting a lighter color palette.


Especially using almost ALL lighter pieces ... such as this:


or, this:


nor, could I have *ever* imagined picking up a paint brush and using these on my cabinets!


Or, removing glass cabinets to expose open shelves:


And, adding a cute, little "moo":


And, this:


All, to achieve ... this!


One thing that won't ever change is my love for adding feathers:


Nor, creating fun vignettes (and using my cheese knives from PB whenever I can):


Quite a change, isn't it, from this:


To this:


What is it in our brains that causes our decorating tastes to change?!  If you come up with the answer, please don't let me know because I kinda like the color palette my brain is enjoying right now!  :)

PS: While you are thinking about the answer, I'd love it if you'd look over on my right sidebar and "follow" me through the "Linky Follower" option that I just added ... I'm sad that I may lose some of you once once Google Friend Connect does its thing next month.

Happy Saturday, friends! 


Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Hello ...

my name is Becca, and, yes, I have already started to decorate for Easter!  Trust me, if you just purchased this cutie (and his twin), along with a few of their smaller cousins (from Pier One), you'd do the same, too!


That is all.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Elements of "Little Man's" Room ...

Happy Monday ... hoping for better weather today than we had yesterday, for sure! 

I thought I'd share Jax's room today, even though this room is barely used.  When we transitioned his nursery into a *little boy* room (*sigh*) a few years ago, I knew I wanted to do it in a colorful sports theme. 

Handsome, classic sports bedding from PB Kids became my starting point, along with a white simple down comforter (from JCP):


That led to adding vibrant art (from Home Goods):


Soft sports balls cradled in a sports net (also from PB Kids):


Fun, vintage art (from Land of Nod):


and, a little spot to "READ" (book rack from PB holds just a few of his many books ... vinyl words made by a friend, and the NY bench a gift from his Aunt):


I then added little embellishments, like memories of Disney:


A fish tank that, okay, sits empty, waiting for "Otto" to come back visiting his friends in the ocean.  (Yes, I'm *that* Mom who still doesn't have the heart to tell her son that his fishie died ... a YEAR ago!):


Cute sports lamps from Target ... love the whistle pull:


Mailbox numbers from Lowe's (already with adhesive on the back) to embellish his dresser drawers:


A coat rack, placed low, to serve as an easy spot to hang little hats and medals:


And, of course, Jax had to add something, too ... his handcrafted T-Rex to scare away the "yucky monsters!"


All of these elements come together to create his *2x2* space.  Paint colors:  SW Blonde and SW Rain (accent wall).  Roman shade also from PB Kids:


Shelves from Lowe's:



Now, it's time that I give his playroom a tad bit of a makeover ... graduating from *little boy* to *big* little boy.  I'm going to retire the vibrant primary colors and use a softer palette of navy blue, tan and white.  Imagine my excitement to have recently found these at Good Will ... two 80" valances, matching pillow and three bedshams, complete with Dillard's tags ... ALL for only $11.  Score!  I can't wait to get started!


As always, thanks so much for stopping by!

I'm joining Thrifty Decor Chick/Show Us Your House

Saturday, February 11, 2012

The DEETS of The Master Bedroom Mini-Makeover

Happy Saturday, friends!

Thanks so much for your thoughtful comments about our "refreshed, yet not done" master bedroom ... I truly, truly appreciate each and every note you shared!  As promised, I'm sharing the details of elements I used for our mini-makeover:


And, I apologize in advance because, not only am I sharing the same pictures as my last post, BUT, I'm also sharing a little video (don't laugh)! Please forgive the sound quality (that's what happens when you spill hot tea on your keyboard) and that, apparently, I have two black eyes ... yikes!


I know, I know ... you're still laughing at my big hair crazy self, aren't you?  LOL ... I am, too!

Okay, back to the *deets* ...

The paint products I used are:

Walls: BM White Sand
Trey: BM Palladian Blue
Ceiling: BM Ballet White


The white down comforter and matching duvet are from IKEA (last summer), and, the "Dream" pillow is from SteinMart.  The bedskirt is made from budget-friendly dropcloth!


The nightstands used to have the same finish as the bed, but, AS Old White chalk paint took over and, voila:


At the foot of the bed is the bench that normally sits in our dining room.  It used to have a cherry stain, but, last Spring, I painted it BM White Dove, followed by distressing/glazing/waxing.  I also recovered the seat in burlap:


The mirrored chest used to be in our sitting room. Isn't it fun to *shop* your own home for *fer-ee* ?! And, the slipcovers on the parson chairs are from SureFit (on sale):


The window treatments were made by me (*cough*) ... and, like I said in my video, I'm a cheater when it comes to decorating! Let's just say that there were a lot of straight pins involved in making these! Adding metal scrollies in between the curtain rod and top of your window is a fun way to fill in a bit:


As for the dresser ... this used to be on the wall where the armoire is now ... it's amazing what a big difference a little change can make! (The "Always Kiss Me Goodnight" sign is from my fave, Home Goods.)


The lamps *used* be red with flowers on them. Last year, I painted them Stratton Blue, but then, recently, added a coat of AS Duck Egg Blue. Such an easy way to make a fun change (and, yes, look at my cutie patootie who is about to turn six ... where does the time go?):


The pink wreath layered over the mirror above our bed is a recent 40% off (yippee) purchase from Michael's.  I love adding a soft, contrasting pop of color to our spaces:


As for the little blue plate above the amoire, if you're *really* lucky (NOT), I'll post a video on how I made it.  LOL


That's all for now, friends ... thanks again so very much for all of your thoughtful comments.

Happy decorating and have a fabulous day!