Trophy Time

No, I will not be handing out end of the year superlatives.  But there will be trophies involved.  Ever solve one of those problems that you didn't realize was a problem until you found the solution?  Well I did last week.  My problem: A whole big wall with only a funky orange mirror on it.

My solution?  Well, white ceramic deer head trophies, of course.  Problem solved!

Who needs boring sconces when you can have faux animal heads glaring at your dinner guests.

They are a little quirky and I love them.  They help fill up space on that wall that I didn't even realized needing filling.  Actually this all began because I wanted the "large" deer head at Z Gallerie that was basically life sized and cost $250.  I wanted it so bad yet had no idea where it would fit in my house.  My compromise...2 small deer heads that only ran me $80 total.  And I might add, my office holiday bowling party winnings paid for these suckers.  So they were basically free!

So now I'm over the expensive deer head but now I'm kinda eyeing the $129 giraffe head.  He'd look really cute in my office.  I better start practicing my bowling. 

No actual animals were harmed in this post.

Temporary Fix

Now that I am obsessed with this hot pink console table, I'm afraid I'm setting myself up for a long and trying process for finding something that can measure up.

I'm going to try to be patient and just trust that someday I will find something similar that will work.  Until then I need a temporary fix for this situation.

This cabinet is just an eyesore and I hate that it is the first thing you see when you walk in the door. 

I pried off the rusty stars and used wood filler to try and even out some of the surface before going after it with primer and paint.

After several coats of Kilz primer and then white glossy paint I finally decided I could live with it...temporarily.

I still want to find something to replace it but now it is less offensive and blends in a little better.  I can definitely live with this until I find the perfect console table!

Summer Begins to End

The heat may be sticking around a few more months, but with the start of college football just days away it can only mean one thing.  Fall is on its way.  I thought I'd take this time to reflect on how my Spring/Summer To Do list worked out.

 1) I put a dotted line through 'Paint more ceilings' since I did get some done...like my master bathroom ceiling...but I still have plenty left to do.

 2)  I planted a garden and rocked it for a while!  For a first attempt, I think I was quite successful.  Right now the only thing still growing is okra and very small jalapenos.  I think if it weren't for the hail storm and the new dog, it would still be doing pretty good.  Now I have to come up with what to plant for winter.

3)  I remulched the front yard and had it looking pretty good until the scorching heat took some of my plants and the hail storm covered the mulch in more leaves.  I think next spring will be even better since I've learned a lot about what works in this area.

 6,7 & 8) I finally found curtains and redid my dining set.  The results turned out better than I expected.  Formal yet fun. 

So the only things I didn't get around to doing were fixing the faucet and saving for kitchen countertops.  But I did have a fabulous European vacation and get a new roof. 

Not too bad.  Now I just have to put together my Fall To Do list and figure out how to fit home renovation around college football schedules.

Stewart's Superpowers

This blog is quickly becoming more about the new dog than new decor.  This is not by choice but as it stands, Stewart is pretty much on a mission to undo what I've been working on during the last year.  Only kidding, sorta.  I was all ready to report how good Stewart was doing in his crate since coming home from the hospital on Saturday.  We had a couple of really good days.  He didn't protest his new position as Dog-In-The-Box and he was even taking his medicines (steroids and pain killers).  Then yesterday, I came home from work and he was there to greet me at the door.

He had escaped from his kennel.  He didn't figure out how to open the door.  No, instead he just bent metal and disassembled his house.  This is your dog on steroids.

Poor guy has some stomach related side effects that created a giant sense of urgency to get out of the crate.  It's hard to be to upset with him but it definitely was not fun cleaning up multiple accidents in various rooms, including several on my dining room rug.  All I could do was move it out back and hose it down.

Luckily you can't see much from this distance and this was after I'd hosed her down.  Thanks to my love of painting, I always have a spare tarp laying around.  It came in handy when I carried the rug back in the house.

I'm hoping the rug makes a semi-full recovery.  Can I tell you how heavy an 8 x 10 WET rug is?  In between cleaning bouts, I made it to the vet to pick up new presciptions for Stewart.  He's now also taking an anti-diarrheal and Valium.  Poor guy.  At this rate he'll be in rehab by September.  I reassembled his crate and put every zip tie in the house that I could find on its joints.

He seems to be okay.  The valium is making him appear drunk when he walks, tripping over his feet and running into walls.  He has some cuts and sores on his muzzle from his escape and his front nails are desperate for a manicure.

I'm telling you, his cute face is the only thing keeping me from completely losing it.  Well, that and the fact that he checks in to the Pet Hotel in 36 hours. 

Musical Furniture

The dining room side of my front room is looking good but it is putting to shame the random area on the other side of the room.  This is the area to the left of the front door, now home to a coat rack, and the area directly in front of you when you come through the door.  Here are some older pictures. 

I don't take a lot of picture of the areas since they are just holding random furniture right now.  The tragic white cabinet will eventually move out to the garage for additional storage and the large TV cabinet is actually available for a new home, if I can find it one.  I decided having these pieces in my space was blocking my ability to make any progress so last weekend I moved things around a bit.

The armoire was moved into the guest room for the time being.  This is not a permanent move.  It is too bulky for the room but it'll do for now.

I cleared out my coat area so I could try to visualize what I want to do here.  I think it may end up like a tiny sitting area because it may be where I store my extra dining chairs (if and when I get some).

The tragic white cabinet is now acting like a place holder in my entry area.  I've got my Dallas aerial hanging approximately as it will be when I'm all done.

As I've mentioned before, what I want for this area is a bright, funky console table.  I'm having problems finding what I need because it has to be no wider than 39 inches.  Most are 40" and up.  Here's some stuff along the lines I'm thinking.

I'm willing to paint whatever piece I find but I just know that I want something semi-ornate like these tables from the UK.  I may go pink or yellow or purple, maybe orange.  I just have to find a table first.  Feel free to donate any Baroque 39" tables you have laying around the house. 

Bring on the Color Pops

This past weekend was all about color.  I had a shelf full of spray paint and wasn't afraid to use it.  First I tackled my T, E, and S with Rich Plum.

Much better than the black version that just blended into the sideboard.  I went pretty bold with my large mirror and painted it Fire Orange.

It is a pretty bright reddish-orange.  It's definitely loud.  I'm still getting used to it but so far I'm digging it.  The bowl on my table was recently ordered from CB2.com and ended up being a great pop of yellow.  And it works good with the random Z Gallerie yellow flowers that I threw on the table along with some mercury glass votive candle holders.

I'm not very good with tablescapes so I'll probably just shuffle things around until I find something that's perfect or I get bored.  I originally bought this mirror vase and flowers to go on the table when I was at Z Gallerie.

It's funny how things can look so small in a large store and then you bring it home and put it on your table...and laugh at how ridiculously oversized it is for your room.  But I love it so now it just lives on the floor.  My other new addition to my dining room is Mr & Mrs Muse.

I finally got to go by the Dallas Jonathan Adler store and had to buy something.  Most of it was way out of my price range but Mr & Mrs Muse weren't.  They are actually salt and pepper shakers but I'm going to pretend they're art. I think they rock and are right at home in my crazy dining room.

Dining Chairs are Done!

This weekend my dining chairs finished their transformation.  I ordered fabric online, just hoping that it would go with the other elements already in play in the dining room.  I got it for $8 a yard on fabric.com.  This will be the 4th recovering of this set of chairs between my mom and then me. 

I thought the curvy pattern would compliment the rug even though they aren't the exact same shades of grey.  Once I convinced Stewart this was not his new dog blanket, I was able to get my pieces cut and set up the staple gun.

It was much easier when I had recovered with the mustard fabric years ago.  This go round I had to worry about a pattern.  I tried my best to make all the pieces match without wasting too much of my fabric.  Since Stewart was scared of the staple gun, he hid in my bedroom allowing me to knock this part out fairly fast.

Once covered, I just had to pop them back into the chairs and screw them back in. 

As you can see, the aren't exactly the same color but they still work with the rug (and walls and curtains).

I love the way this whole project turned out.  Between the paint and the fabric it cost me $65.00 total.  Much more agreeable than buying an entirely new dining set. 

After about 40 years in service, I'd say this table still has a lot more to give.  I have a whole new appreciation for it.