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Screen Porch Tour

You know the saying about not waiting for your house to be perfect to invite people over? Well, I realized that even though my porch is not 100% complete, I shouldn’t wait to invite y’all over.

I have wanted to spruce up our screened porch for 3 years now. Screen porches like Between Naps on the Porch have beckoned me from afar. I always knew I wanted to do something similar to Susan’s porch.

So, after living here for 4 years, I finally got around to giving the screen porch a much needed makeover.

This is basically a representative “before” picture taken the month before we bought the house.

After we moved in, it stayed the same except we had a white square table and chairs for meals on the porch. Slowly I have been furnishing and decorating the porch with fixtures and accessories like: Ladder Display Shelves, Beachy Coffee Table,  Minnow Trap Lights, Bamboo Painted Rug, Dream Big Butterfly Window, and my Garden Bench. My budget for this makeover was next to nothing, which presented a little bit of a challenge.

So, are you ready? Here is a tall glass of sweet tea with lemonade. Please come join me on my porch:

The two side chairs are actually from the table and chairs set. I just dressed them up with IKEA throw pillows. Someday I want to buy some wicker rockers to put in their place.

Remember the disgusting moldy coffee table I saved from the trash? There she is!

My favorite spot on the weekend. My Dad gave me this hammock for my 30th birthday and it is still in good shape after 10 years! Thanks Dad!

My semi-famous ladder display shelves I built from a $15 rickety old ladder.

The minnow trap pendant lights add the perfect amount of light after dark.

Were you wondering where I hung my Dream Big Butterfly window? Here she is:

That chippy little cabinet is the most expensive piece of furniture on the porch! I paid $85 for it at the flea market. It used to be a table, but someone cut off the legs and nailed boards to the sides and added a door to the front.

Such a great spot for catching up on my favorite magazines: Country Living, Better Homes and Gardens and Flea Market Style (the issue Layla and Kevin were recently in.)

Can you believe a neighbor was trying to get rid of this little decorator table? I gladly sprinted over to her house to pick it up. Then I draped a clearance shower curtain from Target over it. Yup,that is a shower curtain!

{Sigh} My favorite flower, blue hydrangeas.

Remember that purple garden bench? Well, she wasn’t weathering the constantly changing weather conditions, so I brought her in the porch and gave her some TLC and a few coats of paint. I just need to sew a cushion for her.

Thank you so much for coming over. I enjoyed our time together. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a date with a hammock. Zzzzzzz.

 

 

 

 

 

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Painting a Bamboo Rug

Painted Bamboo Rug

 

Back story and my ramblings:

Sleeping outside on the screen porch was nice until I woke up with a sore neck. So, I won’t be doing that again for a while. But, I won’t complain because we are lucky to have a screened porch and I am really loving it after the recent makeover.

The makeover was spurred on by this Pier One bamboo rug that I scored for $25 while thrifting!

It’s nice isn’t it? Especially with the splashed paint on it. Yes, I was the sloppy culprit who dripped paint while repainting my garden bench. But, no big deal, I had bigger plans for that rug.

So I sat down at my computer and spent a few minutes hours on Pinterest to research some patterns for my rug – seriously addictive site! But, it is also proving to be a huge organizational tool for my blog. I can pin ideas I want to create. Or I pin other bloggers projects that I want to make sure I give credit to when I steal borrow their ideas.

Once I narrowed down the designs I liked, I used my photoshop skills to change color palettes and design to create a sketch for my painted rug.

Then I ran over to Ace Hardware to purchase some paint. I ran into my good buddy, Mr. Paint Dept Guru – and guess what he did! He told me he had just finished going through the mistinted cans and hadn’t even priced them so he let me have my pick of some cans for….FREE! That is why I love my Ace Hardware. They are a small neighborhood store and all the employees know my face. The cashier and I even have a running joke. She couldn’t remember my name once (how can she, there are only 300 customers in there a day), so I told her that I’d give her a hint. I told her that I share the same name with a famous pop singer. She laughed and said, well, I keep thinking Beyoncé but I know that isn’t your name. So, now she calls me Beyoncé everytime I walk in.

Tutorial:

If you just came here to find out how I painted the rug, I’m sorry about my story-telling. Anyway, here is the tutorial, you found it!

Materials:

  • Kilz Clean Start Primer
  • Stir stick
  • Drop cloth
  • ScotchBlue Painter’s Tape
  • Gloves
  • Paint brushes (thin and thick)
  • Paint roller
  • Butcher paper
  • Chalk
  • Scissors
  • Latex paint colors
  • Minwax Polyurethane
  • Mask Yeah! No need to wear a mask with the new KILZ clean start primer!

The good people over at KILZ recently sent me a gallon of their new eco-friendly primer* (yeah, I thought that was an oximoron too.) I’ve used KILZ 2 latex primer for years and have been very happy with the product, so I had serious doubts that some “green” primer could perform the same. Well, I stand corrected! Love this stuff!!! No face mask necessary, no need to worry about off gassing. The primer had no smell that I could determine.

And it sticks like glue to the surface that needs to be primed. It worked just as well as the regular “stinky” primer. I even scouted out my local Home Depot to see if they stock it (for when I run out) and they do! (My local Lowe’s hasn’t received a shipment yet.)

Just in case you didn’t see this: Zero VOCs!!! I like that!

Sorry, I get side tracked easily.

Start by laying down a drop cloth and putting on rubber gloves.

Stir your primer well. Roll on the primer onto the bamboo rug.

Then smooth the primer in the direction of the slats with a brush.

Tape off the inside edge of the canvas border using your painter’s tape.

Roll on the border color. Yup, that pretty blue gray paint was a mistint and therefore FREE!

After the border color dries, remove the painter’s tape and then put tape on top of the border.

Roll on the base color for your rug. Then use a brush to drag the paint between the slats. You may need to apply a second coat of paint.

Using the chalk and butcher block paper, draw out your rug design.

And lay the design on top of the rug.

Cut out the largest shapes first. And trace inside the cut outs onto the rug.

Paint inside the chalk lines with the flower color.

Next draw the vines and branches onto the rug using chalk. Chalk can easily be wiped off if you wish to work with the design a little bit.

Continue tracing flowers, vines and leaves and fill them in with paint.

When your rug is completely painted and dry, wipe it off with a damp rag. Then roll on at least 2 coats of water based polyurethane. I prefer Minwax, but use what works for you.

One word of advice when painting on bamboo slats. Don’t try to be a perfectionist. Just relax and have fun. The inconsistencies will make your rug look more authentically hand-painted!

I love my new porch rug! Even better, I love the price!

It looks fabulous with my beachy coffee table I made last year.

I promise – a photo tour of our screen porch will be coming soon.

 

 

 

* Disclaimer: I was sent a gallon of Kilz Clean Start Primer for my honest review. I was not paid or compensated for the review other than with a gallon of primer. My thoughts and opinions are authentic and my own. In other words, I respect you and will not lead you astray with false product information.

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Creating an Outdoor Oasis – Guest Post by Frugal with a Flourish

Yesterday we had a 78F day in NC. I spent most of the day raking leaves out of our planter beds. I was so thrilled to see little green plants poking through the soil. I don’t know about you, but I am sooooo ready for Spring! Old man winter better be packing his bags pronto.

In anticipation of warmer weather, I have a special guest to help us with “Falling in Love with Your Home” on the outside! She took a ho-hum patio and created an outdoor oasis with trellis planters!


She is none other than Jess from Frugal with a Flourish!

Jess is so down to earth and a pleasure to talk to. After 5 minutes talking to her, I felt as comfortable as if I was talking to a long time friend. Her blog is just as warm and friendly. If you haven’t been to Frugal with a Flourish, you have to take a few minutes to peruse her blog.

One of my favorite projects that she shared was creating these beautiful bird silhouette plates for $5!!! Yup, you read that right. One Abe Lincoln!

I really need to get my act in gear and make some of these! I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

Without further delay, put your hands together and give Jess a big warm Pretty Handy Girl welcome! Yeaahhhh!

Hi guys! I am Jess from Frugal with a Flourish and I am so excited to be guest posting at Brittany’s today! People like Brittany helped to inspired me to take on this project! Today I want to talk about loving your outdoor space even if what you have isn’t a whole lot. We are so close to spring that I know that is going to be an area that will be on all of our minds soon! Because of that, I would like to share with you my Patio Redo I did last spring!

What we started with was this – the world’s smallest patio. Isn’t it just pitiful?? I decided that I wanted to turn it into a book nook, since a single chair was almost the only thing that that would fit out there.

So what did I do to transform it? Check it out!

Ta-da! I love it! Here are some more pics! A view from farther away. It looks great from the street! (And per the hubby – my neighbors confessed to being a lil’ jealous of it!)

Now how did I take this from a lonely slab of concrete to a lush little getaway? Let’s break it down.
First, I added these fantastic lattice planters. I built these with my own two little hands – with very little assistance from the hubby – mainly moral support!

These planters were the first thing that I had ever built or conceptualized in my head after looking at a picture. And I have to tell you guys that I have been HOOKED on power tools ever since! If you are interested in how to build them – hop over and check out my detailed tutorial. I hope it inspires you to want to get out there and pick up a nail gun too!
I also got some brackets and hung my PB Knockoff Mason Jar Lanterns out there! This provided two important elements. One, they gave off a lovely glow as it got a little closer to dusk. But more importantly those were citronella candles! So they also provided a little barrier around the patio to ward off those nasty mosquitoes!

Now, to block off the corner a little more from the street, I also added two shepherd’s hooks with hanging baskets and some other planters. Having all the flowers out there was fantastic over the summer months!

Speaking of flowers – I am in love with the ones I put in my planters! They are called Mandevilla or Brazilian Jasmine. They have the most gorgeous blooms! I am actually trying to winter them. We will see how that works out!

They bloomed all summer long and can climb a trellis to over 15 feet high! Here is a pic from later this past summer to show you how well they grew up! Aren’t they gorgeous?


And of course, every book nook needs a place to sit and read. Here is mine. My chair is a rocker – which I love. I also have an umbrella for the stand under that table that I can use to shade my fair-skinned self if it is too sunny! Oh and I have a comfy pillow! It was a no sew pillow I made with some clearance outdoor fabric – the perfect cozy touch.

Ahhh… I just loved getting away out there this past summer and escaping into a good book! I can’t wait to get it all cleaned up again this spring. I hope this post inspires you to create your own beautiful space outside. Just remember, it doesn’t have to be big to be an oasis! Thanks again for having me Brittany!

Thank you Jess for sharing your backyard oasis with my readers. I too hope you have inspired them to create their own private paradise in their own yard.

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Camping Themed Boy’s Room

NolanBedView
Today we are going to talk about our Camping Themed Boy’s Room, But first, I have been having the best time meeting most of my favorite bloggers at Blissdom.
Dear sweet Home & DIY bloggers, y’all really rock!
A few of those rockin’ women bloggers:
Sandra (Sawdust & Paper Scraps), Rhoda (Southern Hospitality), Shaunna (Perfectly Imperfect), Ashley (Pure + Lovely), Erin (Two Story Cottage) and Layla (TheLetteredCottage)

While I am here, I figured you might love a good before and after. Here is my son’s bedroom shortly after we moved into our home.

NolansRmBefore2
NolansBeforeRoom
Pretty boring, huh? Poor guy didn’t even have a bed frame. But, frankly, it let me sleep better at night knowing he wouldn’t roll out of bed.
Two plus years later, we moved beyond the rolling out of bed phase AND something divine happened. I met a “real” mural artist and it was like finding a clone of myself! I promptly hired my clone to help me paint a mural in my son’s room.
A beautiful woodland and mountain theme!
DayWall
Tom Barber (mural artist in Raleigh, NC) painted most of the background and I painted the animals (because wildlife illustration was my major in college.)
NolansNightWalls
I bought some corner rounded shelves at Home Depot and installed them in the corner where Tom painted a big tree.
SecretCloset
A perfect spot to curl up with a good book.
CornerNook
The closet is my son’s super secret hideaway.
HiddenCloset
When you open the door you are met by a tent.
Tent
Pretty Handsome Son can either close it up or secure the tent flaps on the sides with the velcro tie backs.
Tieback
The tree is made from some crepe myrtle branches that we had to trim from our trees out front.
Tree
The lantern in the tree was an old oil lantern. I drilled a hole in the bottom and inserted a candelabra light kit. It is the perfect amount of light for him to read stories by.
Lantern
I used a larger branch for the curtain rod. And tied the rod to the shelf with some rope knots.
WindowView
CurtainRod
And I had to add this adorable bird that my son made in preschool. No kids room is complete without his or her artwork.
KnotandBird
He sleeps soundly under the light up moon on the wall.
BedView2
The bookshelf was re-painted and I mod podged old US Geological Survey maps onto the back.
mapbookcase
Thumbtacks
I wish I had a room like this when I was a child. Heck, when he outgrows it (which I hope he never does), I’ll move into his Camping Themed Boy’s Room!
Before:
After:
BedandTree
Bedding from Target Woolrich collection.
Feel free to tour more of my home’s before and after transformations!
home_tour
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Hanging New Blinds

Happy New Year! I love January 1st. It is a new beginning, with new goals, resolutions and a chance to start fresh.

We had an open house style party on New Year’s Day. I was talking with my friend Leslie about how little changes can really make a big difference in your home and attitude. It is better to make some small alterations to your home instead of waiting to make bigger changes. We all have many reasons for waiting:

  • Lacking Money
  • Lack the skills
  • Lacking a vision
  • Lacking time
  • Lacking motivation
  • Insert your own reason here!

When we first moved into our home I didn’t want to do anything to our master bathroom because I knew we would need to gut it one day.

But, I can’t tell you how awful I felt every morning as I stepped into that hideous bathroom.

Finally I stopped waiting and made a few changes. I didn’t rip out the tile, I just added some paint, stain and new fixtures. And it really made me happy! Sure I still have to step into a harvest gold tile coffin to shower. And I will have to wait until we have the funds to renovate the room one day. But, at least that room makes me happy for now.

So, in the spirit of a fresh start, I decided to give our Master Bedroom a little face lift this week.

Our bedroom was the first room we painted when we moved in, and I stopped loving the room last year. Especially when these showed up!

Yuck, I’m not sure how our roman shades got stained. I think it might have been from the vaporizer I run in our bedroom because I can’t find any other places where water could have penetrated the window.

I admit, I was in a holding pattern. I found myself stalling, thinking that I had to wait until we scraped our ceilings. Then we could re-do that room.

The truth is that I had all the supplies to give our room a mini-facelift. Back when Layla posted about her new window treatment in her master bedroom, I was all eyes!

Our bed is situated in the same location as her’s (in front of two windows.) I had struggled with what to do with our bed and those window until I read her post. Luckily, I was able to find these natural grass shades at Bed, Bath & Beyond on clearance. $9.99 per blind! SCORE!

Thank you Layla@TheLetteredCottage for sharing your window treatments!

But, I waited another 2 months to do anything with those blinds! Sheesh, I can’t believe it took me that long to pull on my big girl “go ahead and do it” panties?

I started by removing the old stained blinds. Sadly I sewed them myself only three years ago. Sniff, sniff.

Then, I held up the new blinds to the height I wanted them. I hung them higher than the window to give the illusion that the window was taller, and also to be sure not to block too much natural light from the room.

Made a mark on the wall with pencil.

Next, I used a level to mark a line across the whole window.

I measured the width of my blinds and held up the first bracket at one end. Lucky for me I had already located a stud near the one end of the blind. (Read about stud finding HERE.)

Here is the first trick you NEED TO KNOW about hanging any window treatments! Those screws that come with blinds will not hold up your window treatments over the long haul even if you are screwing them into a stud. Especially if you have small children that may try to play Tarzan on them one day.

The wimpy 1″ screws are not long enough to go through the drywall and into your studs. And DO NOT expect them to hold if they are simply screwed into drywall either.

Be sure to purchase some extra drywall or wood screws that are 2″ long.

Also have some of these wall anchors on hand at all times! They screw into the wall when a stud is not behind your bracket. I can’t tell you how much better these are than those cheap wall anchors that you get for free.

Next I drove the screws into the bracket using my cordless drill. (Finishing off at the end with a screwdriver.) I used two of the wimpy screws and two longer screws.

I repeated the process to hang the other bracket. Then followed the directions for hanging the blinds I bought.

I was able to hang the other side the same way and used my level line to make sure both blinds were hung at the same height.

Next I adjusted the cord stop and pulls to fit our windows. Because the blinds weren’t custom made for our windows, they hung down below the window sill. I started by closing the blinds to the bottom of our windows. Then moved the small stop bead to the top of the cord.

Next I moved the pull knobs to a location in the middle of the blinds, added new knots to hold them there and then cut off the excess.

Next up on Pretty Handy Girl. How to hang curtains and a no-iron way to iron your curtains!

Plus, I have some more frugal changes that cost me – ummm – nothing! I added a big graphic element to the side wall (Tutorial HERE.) I know, sorry to tease you like that, but if you follow me on Twitter, I gave away the secret there.

Until then, I encourage you to embrace the New Year by making a small change to a room you really don’t like.

  • Try hanging a new picture.
  • Try hanging new blinds or curtains.
  • Cover up something you don’t like with fabric.
  • Buy some new throw pillows.
  • Change around your accessories.
  • Or switch out your bedding.

If you have a little more time and energy, It really is amazing what a new coat of paint can do for a room!

So, please don’t wait. Make yourself happy! Change out something today! It doesn’t mean you have to buy something new.

I am planning on swinging by our local Goodwill this week. You should have seen the lines of people donating their items before the new year (myself included!) I bet there are some treasures to be found this week.

Addendum: Monique sent me an email asking if she would be at risk of electrocuting herself when using the longer screws. Good question Monique. Here is my answer:

When I used the 2″ screws I was screwing them into the studs. See THIS post to determine how to find a stud. It is about halfway down the post past the bench assembly. Electrical is not normally in a stud, occasionally it is run through a stud, but the 2″ screw is actually only penetrating the stud about 1/2″ to 3/4″. Sometimes electrical wires are fed through a hole in the stud, however, it is normally centered in a 2″ x 4″ stud, so about 2″ back. But, normally electrical is not run up near the ceiling through studs (where I was hanging the blinds). The electricity for your outlets is down near the outlets. The electrical for your ceiling light would run vertical from the switch and up through the ceiling. Most of those wires are either loose in the cavity between the studs or stapled to the middle of the stud (about 2″ back).

If you are mounting your bracket into the drywall cavity (not a stud) I wouldn’t use just the screw. That is where I would use the plastic toggler anchors that I showed above. The cavity in the drywall is 3 3/4″ deep (the width of a stud.) Should an anchor touch the electrical (which that would be rare, it is sheathed in thick plastic and would normally flex away from the anchor. Plus, because it is plastic it wouldn’t conduct electricity.)

In other words, long explanation short, you don’t need to worry about shocking yourself if you are using anchors in the hollow areas and 2″ screws into the studs.

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