Sweet Little Armoire

I placed a bid on this sweet armoire when I was at an estate sale recently.

The sign said to place a bid and, if the item did not sell during the course of the sale, “any reasonable offer will be accepted”. Weeelll, with a price tag of $300.00, I wasn’t sure my bid of $70.00 would be considered “reasonable”.

But here it sits in our Music Room. She accepted my offer with the contingency that I also purchase the other item I placed a tentative, again not-very-reasonable bid on, which I will tell you about later.

I love the lines and curves, and the carvings old wood furniture often has.

The design at the bottom of this armoire sort of mirrors an old chair I have nearby.

Details always seal the deal! This is the hardware for the cabinet and drawer pulls.

It took some time to spruce it up as I don’t think it had been dusted or really paid attention to at all for at least 30 years, maybe longer.

It had some bumps and bruises I mostly rubbed out, and the dust in the grooves where the carvings are was level with the top of the carvings!

I say it's little because it’s shorter than any of the other armoires we have. But it’s pretty deep, as you can probably tell by how far it stands out from the wall, and very heavy.

I finally have a place to keep my linens that actually makes some sense and keeps most of it in one place. It also has a hanging bar so I can hang up some items that need to be mended, stains removed, etc.

This is the same room where I have the Napoleon Dynamite Chair, where I often have my Quiet Times. I am not sure I have it permanently arranged in here, but I think I will end up putting a basket under the hanging bar where I can keep books, study materials and cookies other items I like to have at hand during quiet times to myself.

I loooove getting a good deal!

If you enjoy vintage items, you can see many more at Colorado Lady's

Vintage Thingie Thursday.

This ‘n That, Saturday Around Home

I am so thankful for a 15 year old who cheerfully helps me with chores that include heavy lifting and lifting at odd angles. Today he helped me get at some old tables we have that need work so I could see about preparing one of them for the school room. He also, with not one word of complaint, helped me with some other barn projects. He is really good about this. I took him out to lunch today to let him know how much I appreciate that about him.

That baby had beef, ham, bacon, typical veggies, two kinds of cheese, and an egg on it!

Remember when I referred to Sneaky Mama Hen making her nest where I could not get at them? Well, her babies hatched this week and we moved her, so I could finally get to the tables.

After looking today, I am glad to see that one table and a set or partial set of chairs looks promising. I am excited to get started. Oh, and I am indeed going to paint a red color similar to the red on that chalkboard topped desk I included in a post last week. I just love that it is red, yet still somewhat neutral because of the shade it is. And I think I will use a velvet looking gold fabric for the seats. I’m not immovably decided on this though. It depends on what kind of screaming deal I can get on fabric and how durable it is. Stay tuned.

Since today is Saturday – I thought I’d remind you that Soup’s On Saturday begins next month. So, if you love soup even half as much as I do, you will want to start thinking about it and getting ready to link your faves! Also, if you plan to post -- or even check it out, or if you have friends who love soup, please grab my S.O.S. button for your blog by cut and pasting the jibberish in the little box under my SOS button below. Clicking on it will also take you to the category schedule.

Yummy. Soup and warm bread are about the only two things that made me look forward to fall. Sort of.

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~The Soup's On Saturday carnival runs from October through May~

Date Night at the Forest Edge

We got to go to the annual Street of Dreams this year as guests of Elite Development NW

They won pretty much every award for Forest Edge, the home they built, including awards for their careful attention to the environment.

One of the builders is a dear friend of ours and she (yep, I said SHE) and her business partner (also a she) build really gorgeous homes. Now, who can anticipate what the woman of the house will enjoy using better than other ladies of the house(s)? Like these, for example…

Secret spice storage behind the leg in front of the super duper gorgeous, ohhhh the beauty, Wolf stove.

That little tiny button to the left of the auxiliary sink is for the garbage disposal.

Touches of glass and crystal in vignettes throughout the house add a clean, smooth texture and a touch of elegance

Just be careful not to place them where the sun can hit them!

There are layered looks worked into the construction of the home that add alot of interest.

One of my favorite features of the house is how they reclaimed and repurposed the wood from trees they had to remove, using them throughout the house.

Reclaimed wood shelves in one of the pantries came from the land that had to be cleared

This countertop, in a mini kitchen outside of the media room, was also crafted of reclaimed wood from the property.

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The Media Room is equipped with a 3D capable HDTV and is altitude controlled, as is the Master Sleeping Area, so if an athlete is in training, their body can get used to whatever altitude their event will be held in. I thought that was fascinating!

Parts of the Master Suite were also reclaimed and repurposed as closet space. I found it interesting to hear that they custom stained the wood in each room according to how the light hit it.

I would totally take a soak in that tub!

But, if I had the choice, I’d probably head for the pool.

In foreground is (unlit) tabletop fireplace. At the end, through the doors, is the workout facility.

There was lots of classic whimsy for inspiration. Did I just coin a new style term?

And you know whimsy is my favorite…

And, talk about whimsy!!!

This bookcase is a secret door and opens up into a huge unfinished space above the garage

A copy of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was a fun touch too!

I love this rain chain, used instead of a plain old gutter for a downspout.

Beautiful job Jamie and Natalie! And thank you so much for the personal tour –

not to mention the free date night!

When I tour magnificent homes and admire the design and decor, I love to glean inspiration for inexpensive ways I can mirror the same look to create a warm and inviting home for my family. I hope this gave you some inspiration to brighten up a little corner of your home this Labor Day weekend!

Chalk It Up To Cheap!

I might be addicted and am going to have to be careful. Too much black would be dark and gloomy.

I have it in both spray paint and in a little quart can.

It goes really well with alot of Goodwill and garage sale finds. And it looks super cute paired with bright colors.

chalkboard paint

You can find it at your local home improvement store in a spray or paint-on. I used both. I am still working on a couple other things with this paint (as well as another paint I am excited about trying!), but here are the two chalkboard projects I have done so far.

I decided to use these banker’s boxes for some of our storage. But they didn’t look very good on the shelf. The print added more “clutter” and we have enough of that on our own!

I figured at about $2.00 per box, it wasn’t a huge risk. So I painted right over it. The cardboard held up really well. You could also use boxes your paper comes in if you buy printer paper by the box. Then they’d be free.

Labeling each box with bright chalk colors adds some fun. I also like how they sort of “anchor” the shelves.

We used to have the boys’ computer on a sweet old antique desk. But we moved it into the school room and decided to use a computer desk someone gave us. It was pretty tired and plain, but had the shelf for the accessories, and a big surface area, so it was practical.

I painted the body of the desk the darker shade of the wall, and the surface area with chalk paint. Since it is near a computer, we probably won’t be using chalk around it, but I thought it looked cute for a school area anyway.

The car screen saver is subject to change without notice (do you hear me kid?).

I am also ordering a new mouse pad, and the art is still waiting to be moved around and arranged. I can’t bear to totally take that sketch down as it is a vacation souvenir from 11 years ago.

If only I had bothered looking around online before I started my projects.

Using a tutorial or two *might* have saved me some irritation and some extra steps I had to repeat a few times been helpful.

Here are some other fun ideas for using chalkboard paint:

The color of this desk almost made me change the colors in the room altogether! Love that shade of red. I also love how they kept the chair the wood color.

OOOoooo, Ahhhhh. Love the black and white. Love the retro. Love the stools.

Wouldn’t this be a fun way to teach your kids the correct way to set a table? Drawing placecards right on the table would be a super cute way to arrange seating too! (Lots more pictures on her site).

This lady made her own chalkboard labels for canisters.

You can also buy chalkboard contact paper and cut it apart if you don’t want to make your own labels.

Organizational Dresser

I set these on our very narrow mantle last year. It’s a hard to decorate space that we plan to reface, so I didn’t want to spend much.

Paper Source has several adorable chalkboard frames.

You can also find placemats, picture frames, wall decals and all sorts of other stuff. I love, Love, LOVE this wall decal. You could do it yourself with a stencil if you are artistic.

Even more simple, you could paint directly on the wall and hang an empty old frame around it.

If you have an ugly old fridge or freezer, wouldn’t it be cute to write your menus directly on it? Or diet reminders …ahem.

Someone suggested using it to paint faux tiles behind a sink as a backsplash. Maybe once I find a cabinet and we can get the farm sink in I will give it a try. Well, my husband might. If I tried to paint faux tiles they’d likely look more like a tyrannosaurus. Cuz I’m just that bad.

You could paint an entire door, maybe a pantry? Or even an entire wall – the possibilities are endless.

Where are you going to start? And, um, where am I going to stop?!!

I hope you don’t “erase” everything I’ve shared here today and you have a day that’s “chalk”full-o-summery goodness!