Haters Gonna Hate

Good Morning Y’all.  Thank you so much for your nice comments on Week Five of the ORC LinkingParty.  Sorry for being sneaky and only giving you teasers.  That’s just how I roll.

So, while sourcing finds for my room, I came across a ton of shizzle at a place I normally scoff.  Have you checked out Kirkland’s website lately?  I had written them off years ago as being filled with bad safari prints and faux magnolias.  But then I saw this:

Gold Splendor Table Lamp (imagine this with a black shade!)



Seriously?  Kirkland’s?  Granted, you still have to wade through your fair share of Kirkland’s-esque nonsense, but I’d happily do that to find a diamond in the rough.  Let’s take a look at some of my favorites, m'kay?

 

Silver Plated Table Lamp

 

Golden Sunlight Mirror, 28x28

Red Geo Wall Mirror, 20x20

 



Moonlight Mirror, 28"



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indoor/Outdoor Candle Sconce

Now I feel kind of bad for being a hater. 

Spiced Orbit Wall Mirror, 30x30

Monterrey Candle Holder

Well, maybe not. 


xoxo K


One Room Challenge - Week Five

Good Morning Y’all!  Welcome to Week 5 of the One Room Challenge.  Unfamiliar with this cruel method of torture?  Linda, from Calling it Home goodness, selects 20 bloggers to participate in a 6-week One Room Challenge to completely re-do a room in their homes.  Each week they report progress for viewers to ooh and ahh over.  This year, Linda decided to offer a Linking party for those of us that want to play along.  I am deranged enough to join the fun and am re-doing my master bedroom.  Click to see Week One, Week,Two, Week Three and Week Four. 

During week four I shared with you my premium photoshop skills.  I know, I know.  You’re welcome.  I was thinking that I was kicking ass and taking names.  Then today rolls around and as I type Week Five I am thinking holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshit.

This week a few things have happened.  Some art has been hung.

 

As have the curtains and bamboo shades.

 

 

 

Some pillows have been made.

 

 

 

Let’s look at my to-do list for the challenge:

·         Make Curtains

·         Buy/hang bamboo shades

·         Get dresser

·         Figure out lighting

·         Art

·         Make pillows

·         Paint headboard

·         Make bedskirt

·         Paint and upholster stools

·         Get round mirror

·         Clean room

·         Rug

·         Decorate

·         Keep kids & dogs out of my room long enough to photograph

·         TV cabinet

This is THE. LAST. WEEK.  And, let me just say, it isn’t really a full week.  Really, in order for me to photograph everything in good light and edit, I’ve got to finish this weekend.  Which gives me only a few more days.  holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshit

Especially since I have gotten a wild hair and have decided to attempt a MONUMENTAL diy for the room.  Because I am a fruitcake  a masochist  AWESOME.  Here is a sneak peek.

 

 

 

Yep, that’s all you’re gonna get until next week.  Same time, same place.  Be sure to check out the ORC posse here.  And the linkers here.

xoxo K

Y'all I am just SUPER honored...

I was recently asked to be featured on GritStyle.com as part of their "We Adore:  Southern Bloggers" feature.  Let me tell you, I was giddy when they asked.  Not only do I follow their every move on Instagram @gritstyle, but I also *adore* their website.  Seriously, check out the goodness they have to offer...

Daydreaming

Good Morning Y’all.    I hope that you are having a great day!  Mine is cat poop.  Seriously.  So, I figured that I would look at pretty things to make me feel better.  Unfortunately, looking at pretty things generally leads to new projects for the house.  Natch.

 

Here is my house. 

 

 
 

She is in desperate need of help.  And I keep thinking that help needs to begin with paint.    Now, stop gasping.  Everyone freaks out when you mention painting brick or wood.  Let’s look at some inspiration images, shall we?

 

 

 

 

See, that wasn’t so scary, was it?  Granted, I realize these houses are much grander than mine.  I was just too lazy to look for pictures of dumb houses like mine.

And...Back by popular demand is my mad photoshop skills.  Let’s see what she would look like with a little makeup on. 

 

 

Better, I think.  What do you think?  Do you think I’d be crazy to paint my brick?  Do you think I ought to finish unpacking the inside first?  Yeah, me too.  But a girl can dream. 

 

xoxo K

 

*inspiration images from Things That Inspire

One Room Challenge - Week Four

Good Morning and welcome to week four of the One Room ChallengeLinking Party.  If you are new here and are unfamiliar with the ORC, it is the brain-child of blogger extraordinaire Linda of Calling it Home.  Twice a year Linda selects twenty talented bloggers and gives them six weeks to completely make over a room in their homes.  They share it all weekly on their blogs.  This year Linda is also holding a linking party for those of us that want to play at home.  You can see Week One here, Week Two here and Week Three here.  All caught up?

So this week I’d like to talk about art.  If you want to read that as she-has-made-zero-progress-in-her-room-and-is-grasping-at-straws, be my guest.  Art is one of the most difficult things for me to decide on.  Why?  Because my art generally has to fit into three criteria:

1.  I like it to be vintage. 

2.  If it isn’t vintage, it needs to be original, or at least not mass-produced from Target.

3.  It must speak to me. 

Not asking much, right?  Sometimes, I know the perfect piece for a space.  Other times, I am at a complete loss.  Such is the case for the ORC.  I guess I have arters block.  So, I’ve put together a couple of boards to show you what I’m considering.  Don’t get jealous of my mad photoshop skills.

My main problem is this long white wall where my faux bamboo dresser resides.  I have a ton of space on each side, plus the area on top.  It is a looong dresser, so I thought about putting a round mirror above it, flanked by lamps then stacking two framed pieces on each side.  But what to put in the four frames?  Kinda like this.
 

 

Problem is I have loved large art lately.  So moving my dresser down and putting a big statement piece next to it also sounds good.  In a perfect world, I’d enlarge an old picture of my sister and me circa the early 80s and use it.  But I’m having trouble getting it enlarged. 

I have two gorgeous vintage Gracie silver-leafed chinoiserie panels that have perfect colors that can go on either side of the dresser, but then what in the middle?

 

Or should I put them next to one another and move the dresser down?

 

 

It’s definitely keeping me up at night.   What do you think?

Be sure to check out the other ORC Linking participantshere.  And the ORC posse here.

xoxo,

Kimber

My Train Wreck

You know the old adage “If at first you don’t succeed, try again”?  In the case of my 1920’s sideboard, it was more like try again…and again…and again…and…





 

 

The moment I decided to paint it (a tough decision because I loved the wood but it was in REALLY bad shape), I knew I wanted to do black and white.  I had a definite vision for this sideboard.  It has sexy legs and excellent carved areas perfect for accenting with paint.  So, armed with my favorite Rustoleum paint from The Home Depot, I happily got started.

I painted the main part of the sideboard black and waited (and waited! oil-based paint takes a long time) for the paint to dry to start on the white.  Yes!!! This was going to be SO GOOD. 

 

 



After two coats of white paint in the detailed areas, I had this train wreck.  Keep in mind …two coats using a tiny artist’s brush to get in the grooves, cleaning up eleventy billion drips, plus dry time…and I hated it.  WTF

 

 



Maybe I had too much white?  Out came the black…again.  Train Wreck.

 

 



How about not highlighting the carved areas?  More black…AGAIN.  TRAIN WRECK.



 

 

I seriously was about to hang it up at this point.  I decided to try one more thing.

 

 

 

Now we’re getting somewhere.  But we still aren't done.  She needed some jewelry and detailing.

 

 

 

And she finally (finally!) was finished.

 

 

Just noticed the dog hair under her...nasty.  Too busy painting to vacuum...don't judge

Do you love her as much as I do?

Hope you have a great weekend!

Kimber



One Room Challenge - Week Three

Good Morning Y’all.  Welcome to week 3 of the ORC Linking Party, where we have six weeks to make over a room in our homes.  If you missed the previous posts, you can read about week one here and week two here. 

I’m feeling pretty good about the progress I’ve made so far.  But I know that when week 5 rolls around, I’m going to be FREAKING OUT wondering what the hell I’ve been doing the last four weeks. 

Do you ever walk through a store and see someone who is a hot mess and wonder if he/she doesn’t have a full-length mirror at home?  I did not have one in my room and really needed one.  Since I am on a tight budget (read:  zero), I looked around Narnia (a magical world where my friend Kristen swears I have access to and store my decor) and found a large mirror I bought from Kirkland’s about 10 years ago, you know, when I actually shopped at Kirkland's.  I originally planned on painting the whole thing gold, but then remembered I had purchased this a few weeks ago.

 

 

Martha Stewart’s Precious Metals line for The Home Depot.  The Conch color spoke to me when I was in the store and I bought a small thing of it on a whim.  This paint is very thin and actually kind of goes on like a glaze.

 I laid the mirror on my sewing table and messily simply painted the flat surface between the moldings to give it a bit of substance.  I love how it turned out and am so excited about the coral sheen it adds to the mirror without screaming C-O-R-A-L.  I am also excited that I now have a full-length mirror so I don’t go out looking like a hobo.

 

Speaking of Martha Stewart’s Precious Metals, I also re-painted the headboard for the room.  I had previously sprayed it using my favorite spray paint, Rustoleum Brass, but it wasn’t holding up as well as I’d hoped.  Please note this probably has zero to do with the spray paint and everything to do with a couple rambunctious boys that like to play “Sumo Wrestler” on mom’s bed.  Anywhoo, I gave it a quick coat of Tiger’s Eye from MS and love how the gold is a bit deeper than the spray paint was. 

 

Another new item in the room is this vintage faux bamboo dresser.  I originally planned to paint it, but really needed some wood tones in the room and decided to leave it as is.  I am still a bit on the fence about painting the pulls.  What do you think? 
 

 

 

 

The other side of the room has a pair of faux bamboo chiavari chairs and a little Dorothy Draper action happening. 
 

 

 

 

I cannot wait for you to see it!  But first, I must finish the other eleventy-billion things on my To Do List.

·         Make curtains
·         Bamboo Shades
·         Paint Headboard
·         Find Bedside tables
·         Make Bedding
·         Upholster bench for end of the bed
·         Art
·         Mirror
·         Rug
·         Dresser
·         TV cabinet

Come back next week to see more progress (hopefully) and be sure to visit all the other One Room Challenge participants and ORC Linking participants.

xoxo,

Kimber