antique dresser gets a Swedish facelift
i picked up this antique dresser on Craigslist. it had been with the family for a few generations, but it was time for it to get a new home. it was a perfect shape with great bones for a new sink pedestal in the kids’ bathroom. the top had a ton of wear and tear, […]
Get a Swedish Gustavian look w/ Annie Sloan chalk paint
oh. my. word. i’m absolutely in love with this look right now. i found this perfectly-shaped headboard with a matching dresser on Craigslist. it was a lovely Bombay piece in pitch black with gold details. just not my style, but the shape and detailed wood work were perfect for my next Gustavian-inspired pieces. i usually […]
Duncan Phyfe drum table gets a Gustavian makeover
my latest obsession is Gustavian furniture. whites and pale grays all inspired by the bright cheery homes found in Sweden. makes sense given they have very limited light during the winter months. this Duncan Phyfe drum table was one of the very first furniture pieces i refinished…all prior to discovering Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. you […]
Annie Sloan painted home
given that i’m pretty much done painting every piece of furniture in our house, i figured it was time for a house tour! these pix aren’t mine, but were taken by someone who specializes in HDR photography. figured i’d see what results it would produce. basically, the camera is set up on a tripod, and […]
MMSMP kids’ dining table redo and halloween DIY
i don’t get out much. so when i walked into Pottery Barn Kids last week and saw adorable Christmas chair backers, i thought, “i should make these for Halloween!” figuring i don’t have enough time to make Christmas chair backers, i bought them at $20 a piece and said “Self, you can make these […]
a gorgeous, romantic, Napa wedding
we just returned from the most gorgeous and romantic wedding….ever. the setting was idyllic with the changing leaves and warm breezes. i wanted to practice my photo skills, especially in low lighting. and there’s no better place to do that than in napa at the pristine Beaulieu Garden, which i believe is the private family […]
vintage mini bar :: cocktail anyone?
i was driving through a fancy newport neighborhood with a friend a few weeks ago and we spotted this vintage metal thing. we thought it was an ironing board, but upon closer inspection, it was what we believe to be a mini bar. i wish i had before pix, but i don’t. the entire thing […]
my hoarding issues
do you hoard? i’m actually pretty good about purging stuff. i don’t like clutter. but there are some things that get me. mason jars. wood scraps. and old architectural digest inspiration mags. i ran across some old mags with post-it notes tagging pages. i thought “good grief. these will be horrid.” and i was pleasantly […]
simple, white, beachy mantle
i still get a lot of questions about the sea fan windows i made a few years ago. i found some vintage wood windows on craigslist from a guy who had replaced all his windows. i hot glued some super large sea fans that i purchased online to recreate the ones i’d been seeing in […]
dyeing fabric with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint
our shabby chic room is such a happy room. the colors are pretty, cheerful, and frankly, this is the only feminine room in the entire house. with 3 boys in the house, i specifically designed most things to be durable enough to withstand Hot Wheels, baseballs, and general dude stuff. but this room is all […]
painting oak to look like Restoration Hardware :: mud room diy
let me start by saying that i’ve absolutely saved no money by doing this project myself! if i account for the time spent, mistakes made, injuries sustained, and my hourly billing rate, i’d be better off having purchased the Restoration Hardware version. BUT, this has been a great project and i feel that my painting […]
sand room mishaps :: my attempt at wood working with a steak knife
sometimes i get hair-brained ideas in the middle of the night that keep me awake. my husband and i call this swirling. several months ago, i got this idea that i’d build a sand room. it’s like a mud room, but is really more for sand, since our family tracks more beach sand than mud. […]
Restoration Hardware inspired work bench
our neighbors had this piece in their back yard. it reminds me of my old place in w. hollywood. before married life, i restored a cute spanish-style home in west hollywood. the previous owners had redone the 1920s home in a very tacky home depot fashion. pink walls. cheapo pedestal sinks. linoleum floors. so […]
so cal garden explosion
we’ve got rogue tomato plants all over the garden. take exhibit A. i didn’t plant this one and look how amazing it is! i’m sort of insulted, to be honest, b/c the tomato plants that i staked, trim regularly, and talk to, are basically ignoring me. but these rogue plants which my friend never picked […]
harvesting potatoes grown in coffee sacks
howdy! several months ago, i stalked a bunch of gardening blogs to learn how to grow potatoes. while spring isn’t the ideal time to grow potatoes in california, i was impatient and wanted to give it a try. typically potatoes require cooler weather. my intent was to plant these around halloween, but life got away […]