DIY old books and a question

So I have this giant empty bookshelf in my front room that I have been meaning to style for awhile now, but without some pretty books that isn't quite possible.  So I finally made my way over to the thrift store to pick some up.  I was hoping for old ones because I like the used, beat up sort of look (not too beat up, we want to stay classy here) But all I could find were some books in pretty good condition that didn't fit my criteria.

So, I decided to make them old myself. I picked out some books that have a canvasy-fabric type cover in some colors and titles I wouldn't mind having around.  A lot of the books at the store had that shiny yet removable paper cover like The Great Leap above.  If at first glance you don't see any books that fit the canvas discription, peek underneath that cover to see what you might find. Next, I didn't take pictures but I figured it was  pretty self explanatory.  I took some fine grit sand paper and just sanded the entire cover focusing on the edges and any other places that would naturally get wear over time.  

On some of the books, I sanded right down to the binding so they have a really really old worn look.

And voila!! 100+ year old (looking) books :)

Now for the question.  I picked up this lantern-style light fixture that everyone seems to be giving to goodwill lately. Literally they had 5 or 6 on one shelf.  Anyways, I love the lantern look but can't decide what to do with this.  Should I paint parts of it and hang it somewhere? Or, should I take it apart and use the shell as an actual lantern prop? I originally bought this for a client but we ended up finding a more fitting chandelier. I'm voting take it apart. We'll see how it goes.

Meet Stella

Once upon a time, a young couple went to the animal shelter to just "look around and play with some puppies".  As they walked around the stinky room full of kennels, in the very last kennel on the very last row, a puppy stole their hearts. "Let's just take her out for a walk" said the husband. As they opened the kennel door, the puppy tackled him and started licking his face. The more time they spent with the puppy the more attached they grew. Without another thought, (I don't think the wife was even thinking at this point) they were driving home with the puppy in the front seat.  

Meet Stella:

Okay, I lied. This is a real story and we happened to be that couple. But can you blame us?? She was only seven months and fully house trained when we brought her home which was a HUGE plus. She has been the best little puppy (aside from chewing my brand new pair of Hunter boots the first month we got her) :(  Anyways, she has the sweetest little heart and is the biggest cuddler I've ever met. 

And now you know my inspiration for my blog name. I mean come on. She's black and white with a gold collar.  Can you get any more classy? I think not.

Stay tuned for a major chair redo I've been doing the past 5 days! (Don't you love projects that are meant for a few hours, but that turn into DAYS??) Hoping to finish it by Thursday!

Little Girl's room Inspiration: Pink

A client of mine just built a home and we are taking it one room at a time to make it look unique and custom. The first room we are tackling is her little girl's room. She loves pink but her mom doesn't want it to look too "little girl" you know, with all the pastel pink matchy matchy everything. Not that there is anything too horrible about that if that is your style, it is just not the look we are going for. One of her requests was pink walls, something that my client doesn't want to commit to. Here is some inspiration I have found that  incorporates some more colors to make it a little more grown up.

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I love the mix of navy and coral/pink.  Also gold fixtures and details make any room feel more glam.  The pop of green adds even more depth and interest. 

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I think a pink ceiling is the perfect answer to the no-pink-walls rule her mom has set. 

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Wanting taxidermy without the cost? This is a great tutorial to make your own from newspaper. You can be eco-friendly AND trendy! I would paint it white with maybe some gold accents.

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I love this confetti wall! It is the perfect statement without committing to wallpaper.

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See how cute these colors are mixed?

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That LAMP!!!! And I'm also hoping to find some modern art to hang.

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Also, I found almost this exact light while thrifting the other night.  It will be added to her room in one way or another. 

I can't wait until my vision finally comes all together!

Fireplace

So this is my fireplace. Kinda cute, huh? Our house was built so long ago, they added the electricity later. AKA there is ALOT of character already. (example: the multi colored brick behind the fireplace) Also, our landlord is wayyy nice and when I asked about painting the doors and fixing a few other things he said "pretend the place is yours and do what you want."  What??? I'm not moving until we build. Basically I live in a renting interior designer's dream. So back to my fireplace. Right now I am obsessed with black paint. Obsessed.

I used some of the leftover paint that I told you about in this post.

And I painted it black. I like that it makes it look more like one piece, seperated from the wall. Plus, it totally makes my mirror stand out more. (not that that beauty could be ignored) What do you think? I figured if I hated it, I could repaint in a few months. But so far, I like it!

Pig Dog

I found this at the D.I. for $1.  At first I was telling Tom about the dog I found, then without thinking, I told my mom it's a piggy bank and I saw it in a whole new light.  I guess it can be whatever I want it to, that's the beauty of it. Either way I decided I needed some color on my shelves and spray painted it green with leftover spray paint from another project I haven't quite finished. (I just need to make a cushion and I will show you)

I wasn't sure how it would look with the spray paint but for $1 I didn't really care. I really like the way it turned out. It still has it's ceramic glossy look which is what I was going for.

Spray Paint found here. Color: Emerald Green Gloss

Gold Side Table

I have been wanting a gold side table for a few weeks now. With my budget, (which is next to nothing since we're trying to save for upcoming vacations) I knew I couldn't afford all of the beautiful ones I had seen and I would just have to keep dreaming. But I found myself staying awake at night trying to figure out a way I could even build one... I wanted one like this but I couldn't figure out how to achieve that look on my own. Well this last week my trip to D.I. proved more successful than I would have imagined. I went to find a lamp to paint for our bedside table, when I saw this across the store:

The EXACT table I was dreaming of, only in black.

It was dirty and needed a few screws but nothing I couldn't easily fix.

So with a few coats of this Krylon 18kt. Gold Plate Spray paint,

This was my result:

 

Isn't she so pretty?? Ahhh I am in love!

Oh, did I mention I only spent 5 dollars total?!

That's right, this beauty only cost $5. Bless the D.I.

I already had the spray paint on hand and borrowed a screw from my dad's collection.

P.S. The vase is one of the many DIY from my wedding. I will have that tutorial soon.

Front Door Redo

This project was the best because I intended on doing it for cheap- meaning I wouldn't buy a 13$ quart of black paint. So I tried it with a 3$ "sample size" of black paint.  It worked great! ...Except I ran out with one coat to go on the inside of the door. So I went back to Lowe's to get another sample. Well, they told me they were out of sample sizes and would have to give me a quart for the sample size price.  (I tried my best not to act too excited.) Sooo after using an 8th of the quart, I tucked it away to be used in many other projects :)

Here is the Before:

This one really shows how yellow and gross it was (and scratched)

And After:

(don't mind the scratches from my dog... I WILL break her of that habit.)

It's amazing what a few coats of black paint can do!