Modern House Minimalist Design

As always, I want to kick off the reveal with a reminder of the before.  This is where we started on move in day.  I’d never in my life laid eye on a tri-fold shower door or a tri-fold mirrored medicine cabinet until I became the proud owner of such lovely items.  All jokes aside, I was very appreciative of the updated counter, sink and faucets and was pleased that the “vintage” honeycomb tile was white and in good repair.  So before we moved in, we removed the medicine cabinet and shower door contraption, gave it a good scrubbing and painted the walls and vanity.  We had all of the Pottery Barn Alphabet Soup decor from our old house and just made it work in the new space.  See more of the Baby’s Bath here . So now the teeniest space in the house has seen another update!  With all the basics done, this before and after was really just about changing the decor.   Sources: Paint – Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray (walls) and Alabaster (vanity and trim) ...

I’m still chipping away at the baby’s big boy room !  I started with two mismatched size tables that I liked for their height and similar sizes.  Unfortunately, that’s where the like ended.  The white table was picked up at an antique store (though it was more “junk” than “antique”) and the demilune was in my foyer many moons ago. Last week the baby “helped” me chalk paint the tops of these two tables in Annie Sloan’s Old White and coat them in clear wax.  We then stapled on a few yards of burlap to cover the mismatched legs.  The whole thing took a couple of hours…but I’ll be the first to admit that we didn’t do the most precise job (see the size of the pleats, for example.)  Mother will laugh at the fact that my “good enough” quickly went downhill to just “get it done” in the matter of about fifteen minutes.  The whole thing took place on our front porch seeing as it took nearly all my energy to just carry the two things down the stairs and this ...

At long last, I have finally completed the project for which I originally purchased my Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue Chalk paint…nearly a year ago! I piddled around with a mirror , a frame , a monogram , a chair and odds and ends and finally bit the bullet and painted the dresser for the baby’s big boy room .  I’ve never re-done a piece of furniture like this and was terrified!  But boy am I glad I finally did it because 1) it was incredibly easy and pretty much fool proof and 2) I ADORE the new look. I started with Honey’s childhood dresser.  It’s a solid, well made piece but the wood color didn’t go with the rest of my stuff.   Here’s how it all went down… 1. I stripped the finish off the top by following the directions on the bottle of Stripper.  It took two rounds of it and was incredibly fast and easy.   2. I sanded it down to a smooth finish using Honey’s handy dandy sander. 3.  I applied two coats of Minwax stain in Jacobean, by following the d...

    Hi everyone!    I hope you are all doing well.   A couple of days before leaving for Florida I purchased this vintage wire planter.  I have always loved these but I could never find one that was not too expensive. I bought this one at an auction for $15.00!     There wasn't enough time for me to really style it before my trip but I wanted to share it with you anyways.      There are two identical mirrors hung above each other on the wall.  The mirrors were a very bright gold color until I painted them gray with DIY chalk paint .       Isn't she a cutie? The salt (sale) jar was purchased on a trip to France.    Thanks for dropping by and for all the sweet comments you leave me.  I so appreciate your friendship and your prayers for my dad. Hugs, Sherry 

The minute that The Nester’s monogrammed canvas popped up on my Pinterest feed, I knew then and there that it was the perfect piece for my guest bathroom.  (Picture from The Nester) You see, I had a large space of wall to fill and not a whole lot to spend!  I already owned the large canvas (24"x30") from a previous DIY painting project gone bad so all I needed was the monogram. After scouring the internet for the lowest possible price, I ended up ordering the 18” white vine connected monogram from Scrappin Plus on etsy.  With shipping, it rang up at $32 – pretty cheap compared to prices upwards of $75 that I’d seen on other sites.  It arrived about a week later and, after rubbing some sand paper over the edges, I gave it a good coat of Annie Sloan’s duck egg blue chalk paint.  This took quite a long time to get all the little curves and crevices, but was well worth it! Honey used a little trim paint (Benjamin Moore White Dove) left over from the porch and gave...

I’ve had this wooden plaque from AC Moore hanging out in my craft closet for months on end.  So, I carted it down to Savannah, along with my chalk paint and waxes to finally make use of it.  When I saw a board painted with “Today I’ll be Happier than a Bird with a French Fry” in Seaside Sisters down at Tybee, I knew then and there that it was the perfect contender for my plaque and would make a fantastic addition to the new porch! You’ll need: - A piece of wood - Upholstery tacks - Picture or saying - Paint and supplies - Plate or book stand for displaying on a table or picture hanger to hang 1. Paint your board.  I used Annie Sloan’s Duck Egg Blue with both clear and dark waxes. 2. Center your picture and adhere at the four corners with the upholstery tacks.  If you want to use mine, download it for FREE here! Happier than a Bird 3. Swap out your picture as the fancy strikes!  Here’s my 4th of July version…   I bought the board with a 40% off coupon ...

I am afraid this post will make some of you cringe…a few years back, Mother travelled to China and brought back these gorgeous hand carved plaques from an antique store near the Great Wall in Beijing.  The were promised to be hundreds of years old and taken from a bed.  (Can you imagine?!?!) As you well know, I am in the throes of a little guest suite gussy-up and, as I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, the plaques were not left unharmed.  Rather, they received a fresh new coat of duck egg blue, natch.  That’s right gals.  My name is Amanda and I maimed two who-knows-how-old antique relics from China just so they’d look  pretty in my guest room. Seriously, I positively mad for the new do!  After all, it was either a fresh coat of paint or the rest of eternity in the bowels of my closet. Just a few more tweaks in the room and I’ll be ready to share!! xoxo Before & After Chair Chalk Paint Mirror Find me at: Between Naps on the Porch , My Uncommon Sl...

I'm slowly starting to redecorate our guest room in a color scheme that flows better with the rest of our house.  Believe it or not, the guest room as it stands today is almost an exact replica of my bedroom in my first college apartment.  I have the same furniture, much of the same bedding and the same pictures and accessories.  I only updated the wall color when we moved (knowing that I wanted to redo the rest) and added a new rug. The first project on the long list was to trade the red on this sweet chair to BLUE!  Annie Sloan's Duck Egg blue to be exact. Here's the before... Armed with two tiny paint brushes, mother and I simply painted over the red with the blue in no time at all. I then glazed the whole chair with clear wax, dabbed on dark wax over the blue parts and then buffed. I think both the before and after are equally as gorgeous. But the after will go with my plans for the room MUCH better! And speaking of the after, here she is (along with a sneak pee...

Before I show you my newest project I want to thank each and everyone that sent their congrats on my Romantic Homes Magazine Feature .  I so appreciate your friendship and your support of my blog.  Without all of you this feature would not have happened. Thank you! Lately I have been working on several projects to lighten-up our  house but I only have one completed to show you today.  Below is a picture of the family room taken prior to painting. The darker art work wasn't going back up so I ordered original antique french letters from Vintage Paper Attic's    Etsy shop and then went on the search for frames.  Michaels  had some very shiny gold frames I liked and I knew they could  be painted with my  DIY Chalk Paint .  White craft paint was mixed with calcium carbonate to create the chalk paint.  The frames were painted, distressed and then glazed. I didn't want a brown glaze on these so I used a ...

I've been reading about the wonders of Annie Sloan's chalk paint on every blog I visit for at least a year now. I finally gave it a whirl and I couldn't be happier with the outcome. I know my strengths and capabilities and let me just assure you that painting is not one of them.  So I started small on this adventure.  This mirror used to hang in the basement bathroom of my old house.  When we moved, I never found the perfect place for it, namely due to it's too silver finish. I've been drooling over Duck Egg Blue since I first heard mention of the famed chalk paint.  When the Honeybee ( a west side must-shop ) started carrying the line, I literally bee-lined to the shoppe to make it mine. And, just three months later, I finally put brush to paint.  One of the fantastic features of the chalk paint is that no sanding or priming is required.  So, I taped off the mirror and set to it.  I didn't really know what I was doing so I started slow.  I basica...