Nightstand Bench

This bench is a little more creative than if first shows. The footboard of the bed is actually attached to the bench! Since moving my Grangirls in meant getting really creative with using every possible space and almost everything must pull double duty....nothing can just sit around looking pretty, it has to be functional too. So before building their beds as you have seen on the earlier post, we (mostly meaning me) downsized three good sized dressers, bought a bed with twelve (smaller) drawers - six on each side, so that all I had left was a vanity and two night stands. My bedroom was too small for these standard size nightstands yet I still needed a bit more drawers, so I asked my handy son to do this design. He stood the two nightstands side by side measuring to the bed, and put shelves in the middle, and duplicated the shape from the old tops. Then my hubby came up with the idea of attaching the footboard to this bench since we have a long pull out drawer at the foot of the bed and did not want it sealed off. Let me know what you think?

Grangirls Kitchen Set

Added border and cut out flowers



"before"

  

  

hand painted black & white ribbons



     

Here is the completed set with the hand painted ribbon and the Englebreit flowers







Aren't these just adorable! Some of my girlfriends and I love to Thrift store and yard sale shop. Well on one of our trips one of my friends saw these as we were walking through one of our stops and thought with my grangirls coming for a visit that they could get some use out of them, she showed me the three pieces and said "I'm sure you can do something cute with them."  I bought them for $10.00 each and packed them in the van. I began by asking hubby to fix the doors a bit then I primed and painted white. I then painted the trim red and went on an internet search for some Mary Englebreit flowers. I found a place where I could buy a wallpaper border roll.....it was expensive though, about $35.00, but nothing else would do. So when I received the wallpaper border roll in the mail I cut the two measured pieces for the dish cabinet then took the remainder and starting cutting out the flowers. A few days later I took a pencil and marked how I wanted the black and white ribbon to look on each piece then using a black paint pen I went over all the pencil markings. I then filled in black blocks on the ribbon. After it was dry I took the wallpaper border and cut outs and wet them in a bowl of water, booked (which is folding the pasted sides together for a few seconds), and placed the two border strips on the shelves and the individual flowers around the ribbons. I think they really did turn out well and my granddaughters play daily with this kitchen set. The only thing missing is a refrigerator....which after much searching I found one on craigslist for $15.00 and with the left over flowers I will paint and decorate to match!

Danae's Room

I have a wonderful friend that has allowed me to practice my decorating on her home for years! And she has always been so inspiring that when she asked me to decorate her granddaughter’s room I was delighted! There were a couple of things Jeannie requested, she wanted a mural done of a large tree on one side of the room and not to use the color pink. So we looked over Danae's furniture pieces and what bedding she had.  I started getting ideas of red gingham, which was in the bedding, and my ideas blossomed from there. Being the trooper she is, Jeannie got right in there and labored by replacing the ceiling fan and applying the base coats of paint - yellow for the walls, and white for the dresser. So when I returned I was able to get started by mid morning. We started off by painting a slightly lighter yellow stripe around the room, and then I got to work painting the tree. These two were probably the most time consuming. I then completed the dresser with sunflowers and ladybugs. Jeannie had bought two solid red fabric shades and I added some red and white gingham ribbon on the front to tie in with the comforter. Working thru the night to this outcome...I think it has turned out really cute. We hung wooden bird houses to the tree, and ladybugs flying around her name spelled out in wooden letters and on the small dresser. Oh and to top this design Jeannie bought the cutest kitchen set in red and white! Danae just loves it all!



Before - Bed





Before painting room



Before dresser



My Grangirls Room



Three beds, six drawers, and corner storage



Notice the sliding drawer inside



When my son and our three grangirls came to live with us in our very small home some redesigning was a must! So my son, husband and I went into "creative mode" which resulted in this beautiful bedroom. After deciding the best way to fit three little girls in one room, Branden (my son) having worked in the carpentry trade did all of the labor (with love of course) building the beds and even designed the drawers for maximum usage of space. We cut all the beds mattresses, and made all the bedding and curtains. I already had the walls painted and the shelving on top holding lots of fairy and family decor accessories. I changed out the ceiling light for a small chandelier and added these great vinyl stickers. This room was originally a dressing area and not really utilized, but I think with us putting our heads together this design and my decorating really is working well.

Welcome

Hi and Welcome to my new venture!  I have lots of creative ideas and completed projects that I think you will enjoy. I also have redesigns in the works that I will be sharing my journey with you.

So please take a few moments to look things over and let me know what your thoughts are.

Thanks,
Andrea