Little Girls Modpodged and Antiqued Desk

Little Girls Modpodged and Antiqued Desk

contributed by Cullen Kids MUM

 Shhhhhhhhhhh remember it is a surprise!!!!! My best and most favorite work so far.  I just adore my little girl and when the time came that she needed her very own desk I began the hunt.  No mass produced, press wood/laminate, ordinary desk for my little girl, OH NO she needed a special desk that not a single other person has.  I have looked all Summer at thrift stores, antique stores, secondhand stores.  I knew with such passion the desk would eventually find me, but there was just one problem I had to convince my husband she 'needed' a desk in her very small room.  Not an easy task, so little by little, I would talk to him about looking for one and also keeping her room very neat so he could see that there was in fact space for a sweet petite desk.  He called me a few weeks ago to tell me she had written him a letter requesting that he please reconsider letting her have a desk.  How sweet is that, little did she know her mama has been redoing a desk all this time~
Here is the original desk.  I found it at my favorite antique shop just up the road from my house.I paid sixty-one dollars for it.  I knew that I wanted to paint it white and maybe antique it a little but then I found this blog post and this blog post by Lisa over at Recaptured Charm.  I emailed her and she gave me all the tips and tricks I needed to get started.  Thank you Lisa so much!

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Deck Remodel Before and After

Deck Remodel Before and After

Contributed by 

Redoing It - With DIY and ASE

Wow!  Things have been crazy around here.  We had WONDERFUL house guests last weekend: Ry's bro, Dave, his wife, Renee, and their son, Cayman.  And Ry's sis, Terri and her H, Scott, got to come by Saturday night, too.  

So much fun: talking, laughing, eating, drinking and making merry! And then the Chief's game! oh, yes. (sorry, Renee, but, at least this year someone went home happy!) 

As it always seems to happen with house guests, you rush-rush to finish up all those tiny details, which is great, but can be tiresome.  One of mine was to finish up the office (not there yet...but almost!), and in the midst of my getting organized, I ran across a couple of pics from the home inspection report that was done before we bought the house.   Here's the before and afters of the deck and under the deck. I think this gives you a really good taste of where this entire project began. 

Here's the upper deck.  The broken railings are obvious, but it's really hard to appreciate the sad state of the wood.  I don't believe the cedar had ever been retreated.  And there was that weird greasy/oil stained area in the lower right of the photo. Oh, and some rotting boards, too. 

We repaired the railing, replaced the rotting boards, powerwashed, sanded and stained the deck. 

Here she is now.

She'll need another stain job soon! 

Here's below the deck. This was great!  That's all gravel and tree-like weeds growing there.  The rotting hot tub was filled with grody water and tadpoles. yummy. 

The gravel was contained by the Pavestone blocks.  And the gravel wasn't really thick enough to cover all the mud and dirt, that's why we had so many of those tree-like weeds growing in there.  We cleaned, rebuilt and moved the hot tub, poured some patios, put in a stone path and landscaped under here. 

And here's the after. 

Man, looking at these before photos make me question our sanity.  I think I have forgotten the level of disrepair this poor house had been left to.  But it also makes me thankful that we have the opportunity to bring her back and really make her ours. 

And while we're at it, we are having some windows replaced in our bedroom. I was taking pictures of the workings of the casements for window guy, and got this pic by leaning out the window from our bedroom. 

It sure looks pretty from up here! Makes me want to add a door and a deck off the bedroom.  Think Ryan will go for that?

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Backyard Beauty; Deck Makeover Galore! Guest

I love seeing new projects, and when this one arrived in my inbox I knew that  I had to share it with you.  This project from Coco of Cococozy is absolutely stunning.  She had a great space to begin with and very nice pieces, but look at the difference, it is really incredible.  The colors are fabulous  and they weave in and out of the separate spaces bringing them together, yet the spaces are defined.  What are your thoughts, I really LOVE, LOVE it all....

All photos in this post by Coco of Cococozy

After a whirlwind makeover, my outdoor living room! My little deck in the Hollywood Hills refreshed! (above)

About two months ago, I received an email from a reader saying something like: "Coco, you had said you were going to makeover your deck at the beginning of the year. I've been waiting. Where is your deck makeover?". Meaning no disrespect at all, I archived the email...a haunting reminder of all of the things on my to-do list that I hadn't done. I do appreciate all of the notes I receive from readers...but for some reason, this one email really hit home (literally).

So rather than jumping on the task of doing my deck right after I received said email...I procrastinated even more...days went by...weeks...and then months. It was on my to-do list but I knew it would take weeks and weeks to makeover the deck the way I wanted...maybe even a month.

Well lucky for me CF, related to best of friend FF, popped into the picture. CF emailed me about a week ago saying she was coming to town and that FF had suggested she reach out to me...I was thrilled. I wanted CF to come stay with me at my tiny little house in the hills...lucky for me she accepted my invite for one night and then she was heading off to Malibu for a bachelorette party!

After CF accepted my invite, I started to think...this is so great...a friend from New Orleans coming to visit...lah dee dah...where will go to dinner...how much fun...we'll have a blast...!

But then the thoughts got a little more involved (a little darker perhaps)...hmmm...CF lives with FF and CCF in a huge mansion in New Orleans...I live in a tiny cottage in the Hollywood Hills...I have a guest coming to visit who lives in a house that is about 18,000 square feet...I live in a flea size cottage with all rooms in under 750 square feet...hmmmm...oh no...my house is small...oh dear...hmmmm....ohhhhhh dear....oh no.....ohhhhh boy ohhhhh boy....

It was after this mansion vs. cottage realization that I went into literal shock. Inertia set in. I was frozen with fear.

Well dear readers...fear is sometimes the best motivator. Remember my deck that I had not redecorated for 6 months...well, for no apparent reason, I decided a deck redecorate in less than a week would be the solution to the mansion vs. cottage issue. Makes no sense...I know...but this is the way my mind works. (Btw, one person at my office laughed at my dilemma and said I should just put up a bunch of mirrors around the house and maybe it would give the illusion of more space...grrrrrrr)

All of this to say...here is the Part 1 of a series on my deck redecorate...will share with you details on fabrics, accessories and costs in upcoming post(s).

It took me exactly 5 days to do it all...deck refinished, fences painted, all furniture reupholstered, teak furniture refinished, custom pillows made, accessories bought and flowers added in...

Take a look at the before and after...I actually liked the way it looked before...very rustic...canyon style living...but I think this new look is good for a bit of change.

BEFORE, my deck was rustic and woodsy and covered with leaves!(above)

AFTER, a corner of my deck is more tailored and bright colors nicely contrast with the white fence. (above)

AFTER, my new outdoor fabrics in a mix of playful prints! (above)

WAY BEFORE, my deck back in 2002 when I first moved into my house...it was well worn, dreary and was about to collapse. (above)

BEFORE, back in 2009 when this photo was taken and until last week, my deck was monochromatic in browns and tans...it blended right in with the natural setting (I liked that by the way...the blending). (above)

AFTER, I introduced a color palette of greens, browns, off whites and blues to compliment the outdoor hillside setting. (above)




AFTER, a tall centerpiece floral arrangement on the dining table of white Daisies and Pom Poms blends well with the setting and these flowers last for eons outdoors! (above)

BEFORE, the main seating area in this outdoor living room lacked style or pops of color. (above)



AFTER, the outdoor living room area is grounded with a geometric cane pattern outdoor rug and reupholstered cushions on the teak outdoor furniture. (above and below)

I love a pretty white daisy! (above)

I know this outdoor room makeover did not turn my house into a mansion...but I'm pretty happy with the results!

Please let me know what you think...good or bad...(you are welcome to not like the results too...if you don't just let me know...I love hearing all opinions and feedback...). Comment below.

Also, thank you to the reader and CF who both motivated me to hop into action.

xoxo
Coco

P.S. I struggle a bit with this makeover as I did like the rough unfinished look of the deck before...now I feel like I'll have to polish and shine and wash and primp the space all summer long and into the winter. Before, I just let the leaves pile up, let the furniture get dirty, let the teak weather...it was what you might call the "lazy look". LOL!

P.P.S. Stay tuned for more posts on the deck including resources on where I got everything and a post on how the deck can go from colorful to all white - I'll tell you how later! - (this will be on Coco's blog linked at the top of the page!)

Is your jaw on the floor too?

I LOVE the new look and hope to someday have an awesome space like this too!

What do you like the most?

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New Deck and Patio Makeover: Guest

Alexson @ Bigger, Better, Best has been hard at work revamping her new deck.  Check it out.

It's official - Deckstravaganza and Patio Palooza are complete, done, kaput, finito. After two months and two days of constant scheming, hammering, crying and trips to Home Depot, it's over. We had a little par-tay this weekend to celebrate the doneness and even with 30 people on the deck, it didn't collapse, so I'd say we were successful.

Blood + sweat + tears + 1,000s of pounds of lumber and brick = 

Outdoor oasis fit for two upwardly-mobile Iowa newlyweds a king.

But, you're not here to read about how much everyone loved the Jalapeno Popper Dip I made for said fiesta, or how much the neighbors fawned over our hard work, or even how the night ended with a phone call from a friend who left his unmentionables on our fence after a dip in our awesome pool. No, you're here for the tour. Well, here you go:

see video on her blog here

That was nice right? Now, how about a trip down memory lane. Yes, friends - the before and afters!

Here's what we saw this winter from inside. A blizzard left us with a literal ice box. Not cool.

But, really, when all that ice melted, it wasn't much prettier.

Now, ohmygoshIloveitsomuch. That trellis makes my heart skip a beat.

The old view from the yard:

And the new view. This one almost has me choked up.

We used to just have these stairs. Inviting, right? They really said, "Come on up here and get tetanus and a PBR."

We kept the side stairs because they open right to the driveway, which is nice. Now, they're saying, "I like your shoes! Come relax and have a homebrew. No need to fear for your life here."

This sad little garden was under our bedroom window.

And now, it's perfect! We're going to add some cascade hops to creep up the deck and trellis, too.

Thank you all so much for following us as Hubs and I took our yard from a space we barely used to one we couldn't love more if we tried. It's been a fun ride, but man, am I glad all we have to do on the deck now is chill. Anyone else finishing a big outdoor make-over? I want to see your pictures! Because I'm nosy.

That is a nice change. 

Dosen't it make you want 

to spend more time outside?

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