DIY Trials and Tribulations

As most of us DIY homies know, doing it yourself sometimes means doing it (shittily) yourself, or sometimes scrapping the whole thing and starting over.

This is one of those times.

When I bought our amazing craigslist coffee table I knew I wanted to build a box wrapped in brass to make it taller. A lot of you said I should just leave it but we eat dinner at ours a lot so we need something taller.

We started with a box my husband built in the appropriate dimensions. I spray painted it with a gold paint that was supposed to look like plated metal. It didn't. Then I bought a roll of sheet metal from the craft store.

We covered the box in ultra strong carpet tape and cut the metal with an x-acto knife.

We ruined about half of the sheet trying to figure out the right method. Then we got it right and got one side covered pretty well.

The problem is since the metal came in a roll it doesn't look flat. Being rolled up created little bumpys which are hard to see in this photo but it real life it's less than ideal.

So its back to the drawing board again.

I got some shiny gold wrapping paper we are going to try.

Have you had any DIY trials and tribulations lately?

Please tell me I'm not alone.

P.S. I got sooooo much done over the three day weekend. Its amazing what one extra day off can do. I will have a few quick changes to share with you this week. Hooray!

Dreaming of a New Entryway

The entryway is one of the first rooms I painted and decorated when we bought our home. And by first I mean I finally made a decision a year after living there.

I'm slow on the uptake I guess.

Well that was two years ago so naturally I'm ready for something new.

I'm sure many of you with a decorating compulsion can't believe I've gone that long without changing it already. I've been focusing on other rooms though. So now that the rest of our home is more planned and decorated I think the entryway could be better.

The color is pillow mint by valspar. I know I know, mint is all the rage right now (i did it before it was cool? Am I awesome enough to claim that?)

I've come to know I'm more of a dark and moody jewel tone lover now.

And with a small space I am craving some boldness here...

 But then the issue with that is its right off the hallway which has these stripes you see.

So my questions are;

Can I do something like a stencil right off the striped hallway?

If not should I repaint the hallway in favor of going bold here?

I also need to look for a new console.

This one is from Target from my college days (fuh-eva ago it seems now)

Its done me well and my paint job has extended its life greatly but its time for it to go!

Some inspiration...

This is one of my favorite entry ways of all time. Its not dark or moody at all I know. I just like the simplicity of it I guess. 

This wall stole my heart.

As did this one. I think the gold stencil might be more subtle to blend with the rest of the house. Remember my living room is right to your left!

The black wall with gold accents and a colorful painting is a wonderful thing in Naomi's loft.

Same vibe here.

I love love love the idea of a floating console. This could be an awesome DIY or Ikea hack too!

My collection of vintage mirrors is going to stay either way. I love it too much to let go yet.

Thoughts on the whole shebang?

Have a wonderful weekend!

Latest Thrifts

I went to my beloved Canton Flea Market last saturday. As it was already hotter than hell I doubt I will be going again until the Fall, le sigh.

I wasn't looking for anything in particular but I did come away with a few treasures.

Some great little bottles to use as bud vases. Both for $5.

A rather large sized blue ombre pitcher. Only $12.

Little teacups to hold some jewelry, both for $4.

This beautiful little scarf that looks like watercolors. Only $1!

I plan to wrap a canvas with it and hang it as art. So pretty!

Any latest thrifts you are excited about?

Quick Change Time: Finally, A Proper Living Room Rug!

We've been living with a rug in our living room that was all kinds of wrong. Color didn't work, way too small for the space, slid all around the place.

Before...

And now!

It's a beautiful navy blue dhurrie at a whopping 9x12.

I am so happy to finally have a proper rug. Scott really likes it too which says something. I got a great deal on it at work since its a discontinued item.

PS If you are in the Dallas area stop by the Wisteria store for the weekly flea market, tons of stuff at cheap cheap cheap!

What do you guys think?

Oh Hello!

I haven't posted on over a month. Yikes!

At least I can say I posted once before April is over.

Here's whats new. A man came by my work selling awesome things from Africa. It was hard not to spend a bajillion dollars.

I took a picture of an awesome fully beaded chair to show you but unfortunately that disappeared since I dropped my phone in the toilet.

Thats right, in la toilette. Luckily it was pre-use. Oh well....

I did snag this beaded panel for $25. 

It was hard to choose my favorite.

I've settled on this fabric for the Danish chairs in our breakfast nook. It's $45/yard but I don't need a lot so I'm going to go for it soon.

The most exciting thing is this vintage Turkish rug I scored on Craigslist. It's about 6x3 for only $120.

I super duper love it. I'm not sure if the kitchen is meant to be its home but it works for now. 

I might move it into the bathroom when its finished, which looks like this now...

It already feels so  much bigger without the fur-downs in there. I will never understand why they built homes with them. Next to come out is that weird little half wall next to the sink. 

I ordered two of these in the two light version for in here.

They are from here.

Tiling will be next after construction is done and the lighting is installed so we can see in there.

My father in law brought me these hand dyed Batik fabrics from Malaysia. They are super awesome. He is on a mission from me to score textiles from all the countries he visits. That includes India, China, Morocco, and various European nations. I'm ridiculously excited about it.

My name is Brandi and I'm addicted to textiles!

I'm working on painting yet another awesome piece  of furniture I found in the trash. Hopefully it will be done by the end of the week to show you guys.

What have you been up to lately?

My Biggest Painting Ever!

I finally tackled that big empty canvas staring me in the face this last month.

It was quite intimidating for this non-painter but I am really happy with the results!

It's really layered so I had to do several "sessions" over a week or two to get it the way I wanted.

I ended up adding the dark gray in towards the end because I thought it was looking too sweet.

I'm really glad I did, it helps to give the painting some weight.

I think it's the perfect thing for my office now.

I also got in a sample of this inky blue tile we are going to use as the accent in our hall bathroom reno.

If only the tile place in town would get their stupid subway tile in so we could get started!

Finished any projects lately?

Happy Thursday!

The Search is Over! Found my Coffee Table!

Like many other pieces in our home, I wanted our coffee table to be special. It had to be the right size, the right color, it couldn't be wood, I preferred it to be vintage.

With requirements like that I knew it would take time. I'm sure many of you check craigslist on the daily like I do. The two things I look for are coffee tables and mid century credenzas.

The other day I found a real contender. The price was right and it had a unique look. I went to view it and am now the proud owner of a vintage coffee table!

One thing about vintage coffee tables is they are EXTREMELY short.

Scott is going to build something to raise ours up. In the meantime we are using these risers.

It's ghetto fabulous.

We can still enjoy it until that happens!

Look at the pretty burled wood. LOOK AT IT!

The plan is to build another box underneath the bottom one and cover it in brass sheet metal.

I think it will be quite nice.

I've already eaten dinner on it and enjoyed it thoroughly. It's super easy to clean, which was a must for us.

In other news, the bathroom is coming along nicely. Scott was supposed to start tiling today but they were out of subway tile. WTF!

It already looks so much bigger with the ceiling raised. I can't wait to see how much bigger it looks when we take the other fur-downs out!

Happy Monday Lovers!