Andi at Home

Last Minute Nesting

Andi — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:02:08 +0000

The baby is due any minute, and I’ve been looking for pretty little things to add to the bookshelf in her room. I found this precious bird at Home Goods on clearance for $6.

I thought she’d look great on the top shelf, but unfortunately she disappeared with all those patterns:

So I found an old piece of wood in a closet, cut up an old pillow case, and stapled it to the wood. Then we attached the bird with some screws, added a little stand to the back, and now she sits proudly (and so pretty!) on the shelf.

Love it! A $6, 20-minute project!

Baby’s Room

Andi — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 15:37:25 +0000

Our newest little one is scheduled to arrive in about two weeks, and her room is all ready for her! Here’s her nursery:

This is what you see when you walk in the door:

The room used to be Gloria’s under the sea room. I kept a lot of the same elements, like the paint color and curtains (which took me forever to make). I was so glad that the baby was a girl JUST so I could keep these curtains! Notice that I put big, fake flowers in the ends of the rods rather than the little decorative things that came with them.

When it was Gloria’s room, I refinished that toy box and added Gloria’s initial and starfish. To make it work for the baby’s room, I used the same color paint and added all of the girls’ initials, two sweet little hearts that I found in the wood section of the craft store, and a pillow. I plan to add a few more pillows and maybe a cushion.

Her little rocking area has a white bookshelf that was originally a bathroom cabinet. I added pink polka dot craft paper to the back and changed out the pulls — they’re now pretty pink glass rather than white plastic. Here’s what it looks like now,

and here’s the cabinet before the mini makeover.

Here’s her changing area. Normally I wouldn’t love all the big pieces of furniture pushed together, but I think it works because it fits perfectly, has that gradual step-up feel, and since I don’t love the furniture anymore, I like that it’s kind of tucked away and out of sight when you walk in.

The baby can look at pictures while I change her — they’re hung on a clothes line with birdie clips and two birdhouses, which I got for $12 at Target.

There’s also a spot to hang all of her little hair bows. I got this from Etsy seller LindsaysWhimsiesTutu (look under Bow and Clip Holders).

Here’s her red crib! I just love this crib. The decal behind it is from Etsy seller walldecors, although I don’t really recommend it. The flowers are curling up away from the wall, which I’ve never experienced with any other decal. I was going to paint over the “seaweed” painting that we did when this was Gloria’s room, but I think it works. We just won’t call it seaweed anymore — now they’re just cool plants!

Her bedding is also from Target. I was nervous about mixing pink bedding with the red crib, but I think it works. Notice the adorable owls on her boppy.

And her name will be Clara! I made these letters from round wooden circles that I got at AC Moore. I glued scrapbook paper to them to make her name.

Each letter has three different papers: a fun background, white letters with little white hearts on them, and a little purple shadow.

And that’s it! All I need now is the baby…

Wallpaper Project

Andi — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 18:54:19 +0000

When we moved in last summer, we spent the first week scraping wallpaper off most of the walls in the late-August heat. This year, we put some wallpaper up (I never thought I’d see the day!). Check out the transformation of our living room. I need to get rid of that brass fireplace screen, and we need furniture!

Before:

After!

The wallpaper is on one wall, and the other walls are a gray color from the paper.

Closeup of the paper:

I’m so thrilled with this! I also freshened up the fireplace with a fresh coat of paint, and we added recessed lighting and ceiling-mount speakers. Can’t wait to start hanging out (and entertaining!) in here!

I fought the Singer, and I won!

Andi — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:45:10 +0000

One of my resolutions this year was to learn to sew, and it has not been going well. I just cannot figure it out. But finally, I finished my first major sewing project: curtains for Gloria’s room. My machine constantly comes unthreaded, the underside of my fabric is always too loose, my bobbin door thing now doesn’t seem to close properly, and I can’t seem to cut in a straight line. It’s just one problem after another, but I’m determined! Here are G’s curtains (notice I put flowers on the rod ends instead of the hardware that came with them — a cute way to bring in some color!):

Click the picture to enlarge it.

A Room of One’s Own — A $100, one-day makeover

Andi — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 23:13:35 +0000

We have a tiny room upstairs that we call the nook. Originally it was designed as a sewing room, and the previous owners used it as a nursery. For almost a year, we’ve been using it as a small play room for the girls, but today I decided to take it over.

This was a one-day, $100 make over (but I was about $30 over budget). Still, let’s call it a $100 makeover to keep my husband happy.

Before, the girls’ nook:

As you can tell, we didn’t put much time, thought, or energy into making it look very nice. We just tossed some toys in there.

After! A relaxing, quiet room all to myself! A cozy chair, an iPod dock, books, candles…. Who wouldn’t want to hang out in here?! I plan to add art on the walls, a new curtain, and a new light fixture. I might try to convince my husband to take down the wall paper and paint the room (red?), but for now I’m not pushing my luck.

The chair was a Craigslist find ($25! But I splurged on a new cushion), and the table was $20 on clearance at TJ Maxx because it was dented (it wasn’t on clearance, but when I saw the dent, I asked if it could be. They said yes!). Everything else I already had in my house. To the right of the table are large built-ins for plenty of storage.

Hey, wait! This is MY room!

DIY: Upholstered Headboard

Andi — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:45:36 +0000

Finally, I’m starting to work on our bedroom! Your own room is always the last project on the list, right? This weekend I finished making an upholstered headboard. It was easy: I got half inch plywood cut to size at Home Depot. I covered the plywood with a layer of foam, then batting, then fabric. I stapled it all together in the back, and that’s it. A padded, upholstered headboard.

Here was the work in progress:

And here’s the finished product:

I wish we hung it a bit lower, and I need to get decorative pillows for the bed now. Above the headboard are 3 1920′s lithograph prints of Venice, Florence, and Rome, the three stops on our honeymoon.

I can’t decide if I should add a little something to it. I went with a plain (but so soft) fabric, because I love the print of the blanket. But I might add nail head trim. Or maybe frame it with moulding? Or leave it simple? I haven’t decided just yet.

Now I’m on the Craigslist hunt for a dresser next to my side of the bed, and then the room will be pretty much done. Stay tuned for before and afters…

DIY Chair Makeover

Andi — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 12:45:24 +0000

This month’s Martha Stewart magazine featured an article about painting and reupholstering dining room chairs. Within 4 seconds of reading it, I was sanding a chair that we had sitting in our basement, left here by our previous owners. Here’s the transformation!

Before, a plain ol’ chair:

After! I painted it a grey/blue color, reupholstered the seat, and added pewter nail head trim.

Its new home is at the desk in our kitchen.

Here’s a detail of the amazing fabric that I am so in love with. It’s a taupe print with a little surprise of a robin.

Craigslist Find: Round Rug

Andi — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:33:56 +0000

I’m so happy to show off my latest Craigslist find: an eight-foot round butterfly rug for Charlie’s room. Grand total: 60 bucks! I patiently scoured Craigslist for more than six months for a round girls’ rug. I’m so happy this one came along!

Half Bath: Before and After

Andi — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:33:05 +0000

I’m bummed that I don’t have any before pictures of this bathroom. The reason is I was cleaning the bathroom one day and decided then and there that the wallpaper had to come down, so I just started pulling at it, and before long, I was standing in the room, pouting, with a pile of wallpaper all over the floor (and half-glued wallpaper still on the wall — who knew this wasn’t a bare hands job?). I did grab a cell phone picture of the wallpaper border, which was all hummingbirds:

And the rest of the wallpaper was this white paper with tiny flowers. That’s your feel of the before.

And the after! I painted the room B. Moore Clinton Brown. I found that mirror on clearance at Home Goods for 24 bucks!

The framed photo is a picture I took of Gloria checking out a ladybug at the park:

Here’s the other wall of the bathroom. I spray painted the existing light fixture a satin nickel color and am looking for new glass shades to put on it. I don’t love the tiles, but for now, they have to stay.

The curtains are made from an Amy Butler fabric and trimmed with awesome beads (which cost more than the fabric!). I got a sewing machine for my birthday and spent $300 on fabric for the house. 3 months later, I still haven’t figured out the stupid machine, so my amazingly talented friend Kara sewed up the curtain for me. Thank you, Kara!

What’s a pretty way to keep a bathroom smelling fresh and clean? A vase filled with soap!

And that’s our new bathroom! Amazing what a coat of paint and a few accessories can do!

DIY: French Memo Boards

Andi — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 13:12:43 +0000

I made french memo boards to go above the kids’ art table in the play room:

Close-up:

The room is starting to pull together!

These were easy to make. I got plywood cut to size at Home Depot. Then I covered it with batting (I wish I used two layers) and then fabric, using a staple gun to attach it all to the wood. I stapled the ribbon in place, and then used decorative nail heads on the front each time the ribbon crossed. They’ll be even prettier when the kids’ art projects and photos are slipped on!