Master Bedroom Facelift

When we moved into our home, I was very much in love with a gray and dark purple color combination. I should have known I would quickly get sick of it considering our wedding was dark purple, our master bedroom was dark purple and gray, and our bathroom was dark purple and gray. 

We bought espresso furniture, used dark purple curtains, and accented with dark purple pillows. While we chose a lighter purple for the walls, but our bedroom was still so DARK. And for years, I loved it that way. Recently though, I started to dislike walking into the room and seeing how dim and dark the room was. So, I decided to make a few changes.

Here is the room before: 

And here is the room after it got a little face lift:

I got this drastic difference from only making TWO minor changes to the room.

Change #1: Remember those dark purple pillows? I exchanged them for these light blue and light purple ones. I bought these years ago at TJ Maxx in a 2 pack for $20. I always thought they would find a spot on a pretty chair in our home office, but then I never found the perfect chair. The pillows hung out for a few years and one day I just decided to try them in the master bedroom. 

Change #2: I swapped out the dark purple valences for white, semi-sheer curtains. These also came from TJ Maxx, for $20/set. That's only $40 total!

Isn't the difference amazing? And I only had to spend $40 for my new curtains to create this new look! I do plan to add more blue accents to the room and paint the trim white eventually, but for now I am just thrilled at what a difference curtains and pillows can make!

Is there a room in your home that needs a minor face lift?
What are some of your inexpensive tips for a dramatic new look?

Black & Red Valentine's Decor

My Valentin's decor this year was inspired by some table runners I came across in Target's Dollar Spot around Christmas time, a black striped one and one with red hearts. I bought them without knowing really what I would do with them. Then I came across these pillow covers and it was settled. With the table runners and the pillow covers, I was able to find some other decor from previous years, and came up with this black, white, and red theme. 

Source List:
Hearts table runner: Target
Wicker tray: Meijer
Lantern: Goodwill
LOVE pillow covers: Amazon

Black striped table runner: Target
"Welcome to our happily ever after" printable: View from the Fridge

Heart dish: Target
White jar: Michaels
Red Plate: Target

Projects: 

Wood Plank Coffee Table
White & Whimsical Chalk Paint Buffet
Burlap Valentine's Day Wreath

I really like the way these simple, understated decorations turned out.
How do you decorate for Valentine's Day?

Happy Tuesday!

A White & Whimsical Buffet Makeover

Ahh, it's been a while since I had a big project to show off, and it feels so refreshing to have finished this one! When we moved into our first apartment together, we got all kinds of hand-me-downs that still fill our home today. This buffet was own by my grandparents, followed by my parents, and then passed on to us about 5 years ago.

I really liked it in our living room, especially all the storage it offered. BUT, I wasn't really loving the look of it anymore. I felt like it didn't really match the living room or my vision for my home. I didn't want to get rid of it, but I didn't want to keep it the way it was. I debated for a while, and then I finally got out my chalk paint and went to town!

The process of chalk painting is really quite simple. While this gem required 3 coats of chalk paint, it dries within about an hour, so I was easily able to get it done in little to no time! After sanding and waxing, I picked out some new knobs and this piece was good as new! 

I found these blue knobs at Hobby Lobby and fell in love!

I now have the urge to attack every piece of furniture I own with some a paint brush and some chalk paint! I'm not crazy, I swear!

What fun projects have you been up to lately? Have you fallen under the chalk paint spell yet?

Exterior Update with Vinyl Siding

Today I am sharing with you a recent update we completed on the exterior of our home. When we purchased our house three years ago, we knew the front of the house would eventually need to be repainted and we had planned to replace some of the wood siding. We put it off for quite a while, but it became obvious this Spring that the time had come to give the exterior a little update.

We decided to cover the wood with vinyl siding to update the house and avoid repainting in a few years. Since the back and sides of the house already had aluminum siding, we decided to keep them and only side the front of the house. 

The process began with power washing the whole front of the house and removing the shutters and light fixtures. In the process, we uncovered that beautiful black paint that used to cover or home. 

Next, J channels were placed to outline the sides, doors, and windows. 

Once the J channels were in place, Starter strips were used at the garage area and placed at the very bottom of siding. Then, we were able to begin the siding nailing in the siding every 4-5 inches. 

Where the siding meets the gutters, we used finishing strips to finish it off and a snap lock punch too  was used to create lugs (see image below)

source

Finally, we oohed and ahhed the results with drinks in hand.

What do you think?! Do you love it as much as we do?

Happy Hump Day!

Garage Door Makeover

This summer, Adam and I decided to tackle the outside of our house. We gave the pre-existing siding a color change, added vinyl siding, purchased new lighting, and put a fresh coat of paint on all the doors. Once the garage door got a fresh coat of paint, I was finally able to put up the brackets I bough two years ago for the garage door. 

Here is the BEFORE picture:

And these are the AFTER pictures:

It makes a world of difference to the exterior of the house, took less than a half hour and only cost $10.

Happy Friday!

DIY Outdoor Pallet Bar

Warmer weather is upon us, and I am loving spending my weekends and evenings outdoors. We love to entertain in our backyard on warm summer days. This year, we decided we needed a space to place food and beverages while we are outside, so we decided to make a bar.

Adam gets free pallets from work, so we chose to make our bar out of wood pallets. We spray painted two pallets, screwed the together, and added a scrap piece of wood to the top. I decided to paint the top with chalk paint to write fun thing or to label specialty drinks. 

It was a pretty simple project, but I love the final result!

Are you working on outdoor projects for summer?

We are definitely looking forward to a few outdoor updates and many days full of BBQ's and corn-hole tournaments.