Decorating Cents

I have this habit of buying these cute little candles every time I go into Ikea.  They're cheap and they smell good. I had been keeping the used ones and not throwing them away.  They were piling up in a drawer in the kitchen.  I knew there would be a use for them one day.  I began searching for ways to remove the remaining wax and re-use them.  I found that this way works best. 1. Boil a pot of water.  Pour the water into the candles.  Be very careful.  I sat a plate underneath so I wouldn't have water all over the counter.  The wax will start to melt and float to the top. 2.  Let them sit for a while to give the wax a chance to harden.  I left mine overnight simply because I started doing other things.  The wax will become a hard layer on top.  3. Take a knife and pull the layer out.  If the wick is stuck at the bottom, use the knife to pop it up. 4. Pour the water out.  NOT DOWN THE...

One of the biggest elements for the bathroom for me is the shower curtain.  It will be the piece with the pattern and is larger than the other components in the space.  I want a curtain that has a graphic, complements the wall color, and isn't too busy. I've narrowed it down to these four. 1) West Elm grey shower curtain - I love the bold stripes on this one and the gray would be a nice contrast to the gray blue walls. 2) OTTO modern shower curtain - I think I like the colors in this one.  This room will one day be occupied by my son and the playful pattern would be versatile. 3) InterDesign shower curtain - Again the grays would play nicely with the walls. 4) Floral shower curtain - I saw this in a bathroom done by Kate and fell in love.  I love the simple white background and I'm thinking it pulls all the colors in the bathroom together. I've got a couple already and will play around to see which one I like best.  Any favorites? ...

Something about Target red clearance signs gets me all excited.  I don't know what it is.  Maybe it's the sudden rush of knowing I'm about to save money on things I wasn't intending to buy in the first place.  Does that make any sense?  Save money when I'm actually spending?  I know but some of you can relate.  But think how much I would have spent if I got the item full price months before.  I go into Target for tissue and walk out with more kid clothes and home decor items, all because of those darn red signs.  I need to learn to put blinders on when I walk in. While on a recent trip, I stumbled across this little guy.  Another bird figurine.  This one is a tea light holder.  Pretty cute and for $2.00 I couldn't pass him up.   He sat on the dresser for a month until I decided his fate.  I was actually going to leave him white but I wanted a little color.  Since I had some nickel spray paint on hand for anothe...

Last year, we made over our kitchen using a Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations kit.  It has by far been our largest project to date and has brought the most traffic to the blog.   I shared the project on Hometalk and have gotten so much positive reponse.  What's Hometalk you ask?  It's like Pinterest but it's everything for your home.  Thousands of homeowners and professionals go there to ask questions and post their own projects.  Hometalk asked me to put a clipboard together of all the Rustoleum Transformations projects on their website.  Simply click the picture below to go see some other brilliant transformations.  You may be inspired to transform your own kitchen or bath.  

From the start, I wanted all the bathroom cabinets to be dark like the master bathroom .  I began my usual search online for more ideas. As I was searching, I came across bathrooms with gray cabinets.  I must say, I love the look. I have seen plenty of gray kitchens but never thought to have the bathroom cabinets gray as well. source   source source   I'm a little torn now.  I like the gray cabinets but with all things, my tastes change, so not sure if I would still like them in a couple years.  If I go this route, it would totally throw a curve into the plan since the walls are already painted.  Gray walls and cabinets would be overload. What do you think about gray cabinets?  Are your cabinets a color you don't see often? 

Well, the painting is done.  I had a free day last week to get it on.  I thought it would only take me a couple hours since it's such a small space, but with all the turns and small nooks, it took me several.  I was tired and almost wanted to give up.   On the first brush stroke, I was hesitant on the color.  I kept going just to see how it dried and give it a chance.  Once it dried, I loved it!  It went on really blue but dried more gray like I had hoped.  The color is Dutch Boy Pale Blue Spring.  I wouldn't normally choose Dutch Boy but I had an offer for free paint and I couldn't pass it up.  It was easy to work with and went on smooth.   It feels so much more relaxing in here now.  The builder beige was a little stark and cold. It's hard to capture the true color in pictures.  There's only the one window in here so the lighting isn't great.  This is probably the best angle to show color....

It's time to start another room.  I don't know why I'm doing this since there are other rooms that aren't finished.  Whatever. This bathroom is in the hall, right before you get to the nursery.  It would be shared by my son and any guests that stayed over.  There is a double vanity with that lovely maple wood.  I am going to paint that but not sure what color.  I want to keep the room fresh and not add any boy elements or themes. There's a large mirror which is definitely getting framed.  I like that the toilet and tub are separated by a door so someone can be showering or doing their business while another can use the sink.  It would be perfect for multiple kids but my daughter has her own bathroom so they'll never have to share. If you zoom out, you can see two doors in the sink area.  What you can't see is that there are two more doors behind those.  So in total there are four doors in this one small space.  Ther...