Before and After Archives - Page 5 of 25

Drab to Colorful Screen Porch Reveal

This Drab Screen Porch got a major Makeover with pops of Aqua and Green! Yummy Color!

On Monday you got a sneak peek of my stepmom’s screen porch when I showed you how to install low visibility cable railings. I can tell you now, that you “ain’t seen nothing!” This drab screen porch got an amazing colorful makeover and I can’t wait to reveal it to you!

The screen porch has been in need of a makeover and on my “want to do” list for almost two years! Having a screen porch is a top selling feature for any home in the South. Unfortunately my stepmom’s porch wasn’t much to look at with its drab decor and monotone color palette. (I may have told her that her cushions looked like the room threw up on them. Sorry Diane.) Luckily, I knew I could improve upon the view with some paint and some much needed color.

As an At Home Brand Ambassador, I knew this was the perfect project to showcase some At Home decor items. At Home graciously sponsored this project and provided me with some gift cards to purchase several of the items you’ll see. If you haven’t been to At Home yet, take a tour with me in this post.

The first task was to play with the furniture arrangement. I put the wicker sofas on the diagonal to help improve the flow and conversation area. Then I took some notes about what was needed for the porch (a few end tables, lamps, a mirror, etc.)

After snapping a few before photos, I cleared the room so I could get to work. My first desire was to lighten up the room by repainting the walls with a lighter solid stain.

You can see the original color against the new lighter color above the screens. Everything was the same color except the doors were a dark brown.

I painted the screen frames the same dark brown as the doors to help them disappear. I painted the supports the same light color (Sherwin Williams Woodscapes matched to Linen color.)

The new look is fresh and bright. Now the screens blend better into the surrounding trees giving the porch a more open feeling.

Next it was time to tackle that stained and ugly carpet. Not only was it ugly, but it was glued to the floor! UGH! Who does that?

To remove the carpeting I carefully scored the carpet at 3′ increments.

Then ripped the carpeting into strips. Luckily the glue wasn’t secured to the carpet any more.

I rolled up each strip and tied it up for disposal.

The porch looks so much better already! Except for the nasty glue residue on the flooring.

I rented a floor sander from Home Depot for a day. And it took me the ENTIRE day to sand the floor and get rid of all the glue. It was a real pain in the rear, but luckily the final result was beautiful tongue and groove flooring.

I stained the floor with Sherwin Williams Super Deck Bamboo color. The color has a yellow cast, but fits in nicely with the modern feel of the room.

I bet you’re ready to see the rest of the porch, behold the amazing Drab to Colorful Screen Porch Reveal:

The lamp and mid-century modern round table are from At Home. The brass hairpin legs don’t obstruct the view and keep it feeling light and airy.

Diane purchased new custom cushions for her wicker furniture after I told her she had to get rid of the old ones. All the accent pillows are from At Home, including the adorable zig zag pillow. Truthfully, I might just go back and buy the nubby green and velvet blue wave pillows for myself. I couldn’t stop stroking them as I passed by. The faux bamboo plant, behind the sofa, blocks a door that is never used and helps the conversation area feel more intimate.

The hexagon ottoman was also from At Home and it adds extra seating, a spot to put your feet or somewhere to put a plate of food. (The ottoman’s soft velvet fabric is another item I can’t help stroking.)

My stepmom, is Diane Chamberlain, a well known author. If you haven’t read any of her books, I have to warn you that they are addictive page-turners and might keep you up reading all night. I wanted to create an oasis for Diane to be able to sit and work on her books.

The hammered metal side table is larger and more sturdy for her to rest her laptop and food on. I was overjoyed when I found it tucked in the middle of a display shelf at At Home.

Across from her seat, I secured a metal and wood mirror to reflect the view off their deck and to increase the light on the porch.

Centered under the mirror is a beautiful zinc-topped console table I found at At Home. The “X” pattern on the legs pairs nicely with the hairpin and hammered metal side tables (without matching them exactly. I’m not a big fan of matchy-matchy stuff.)

Throughout the screen porch I had fun mixing metals. I love the silver from the mirror and table with the brass candlesticks and the gold geometric star from At Home.

The little palm is a gift to Diane from me, but she’s afraid she might kill it. Only time will tell.

I found these adorable industrial string lights at At Home and they match the nautical lights already installed in the porch ceiling.

I can’t forget the real star of the porch, the beautiful blue and green outdoor rug from At Home.

Can you believe the transformation? From drab…

…to colorful and fantastic.

You’ll definitely want to see what happened to her ugly old ceiling fan. It was replaced with the most beautiful ceiling fan I ever laid eyes on.

I’m so happy with how her screen porch turned out that I’m thinking I might need to make some changes on our screen porch. Do you have a screen porch? If so, how much time do you spend out there?

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for At Home. I was compensated for my time writing this post. At Home also provided me with a gift card to purchase items to use in this post. All ideas and words are my own. I was not told what to write.

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September 2, 2016/40 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

Before and After, Build It, Furniture, Trash to Treasure, Tutorial, Upcycling

How to Make a Headboard Bench

my-repurposed-life-navy-blue-small-headboard-bench

Today’s Rockstar is one of the bloggers that I aspired to be when I started blogging. This gal truly paved the way for DIY Bloggers. Gail is here to show us how to make a headboard bench. Watch closely as she deftly converts an old headboard into a cozy entryway bench.

Gail is the rockstar behind the wildly famous My Repurposed Life! She has the ability to see beyond the ugly junk and trashed items on the curb. She has a way of seeing the beauty in all of it!

I hear the sounds of hammering, Gail is ready to take the stage! Give it up for this rockstar!

Hi there Pretty Handy Girl readers. I am so happy to be here, because I’m a huge fan of Brittany. I’ve followed her blog for a long, long, time.

I’m Gail from My Repurposed Life. If you don’t know me, the blog name sort of gives it away. I mostly blog about repurposing items; saving them from the landfill; and giving them a new purpose in life. Many people who find me through Google, do so by looking for headboard benches. It’s pretty much what I’m known for. Today, I’m going to share one of my all-time favorite headboard benches with you.

my-repurposed-life-small-entryway-bench

A supply and tool list is at the bottom for your reference.

bunk bed

I got two sets of these bunk beds for a steal at a thrift store. They’re not typical of the headboards I normally pick up—I prefer larger headboards.

You can see the piece in the back is slightly larger than the one in the front. That identifies it as the headboard.

twin-bench

You can see the headboard is in tact, but the foot board was cut on the miter saw right above the brace, leaving the top half of the foot board for another project. At this point you decide how deep you want the seat of your bench to be.

kreg-pocket-holes

I used scrap 1×4’s for the side that connects the headboard to the foot board. All of my boards are secured using a Kreg Jig and pocket hole screws.

side-skirting

See how easy? the bench is already formed with a few simple steps, you could stop right here and add a seat. However, I knew I wanted to do a little something extra for this petite bench. Read more

October 19, 2015/7 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

Before and After, Furniture, Guests, Home & Auto Maintenance, Home Decor, ReNew, renovation, repair, sander

Refinishing a Mid-Century Sideboard

Have you ever turned down a piece of furniture that looks ruined? Aha, today’s rocker is Emily and she has the superpower to make furniture look brand new again! On the Rockstar DIY stage today is a performance you won’t forget. Emily will single-handedly take you through the steps of Refinishing a Mid-Century Sideboard.

If you haven’t met Emily yet, she is truly a Rockstar! Emily lives in Rochester, NY and is ALWAYS working on an amazing home improvement project.

Emily can be found with a hammer, saw or drill in her hands at MerryPad. She has painstakingly renovated two homes. And, as if she wasn’t busy enough with home projects (and taking care of a baby and her step-daughter), she can also be found blogging at DIYNetwork’s Made + Remade. That girl is a machine!

Oh, I hear the sound of a sander, so put your hands together and give it up for Emily!

Hey guys! Super nice to meet you. If we haven’t already met, I figured there’s one thing you should know about me: I really like getting my hands dirty. Building furniture can be fun, and learning how to maintain my home has brought me a lot of pleasure, but if you see me and you notice my hands and arms are coated by stain? Well, you’ll know that I’ve been having a really good time (and I’ve probably run out of mineral spirits, again). Refinishing and restoring furniture–and cabinets, and floors, among other things–is one of my favorite DIY endeavors, always a fun learning experience, and always an opportunity to bring new life into an item that was once beautiful. I’ve had some lucky secondhand finds over the years, from bedside tables to chairs, but one of my favorite transformations was this Bassett Sideboard that I scored from a garage sale for $15.

T’was one of my first refinishing projects, swoon.

If you’re tackling your first refinishing project (or just looking for tips), here are the products and tools I used for this makeover:

Detail palm sander and normal sandpaper to get into small crevices
Rags (general clean up cloths, and old rags or socks for applying the stain)
Tack cloths (the tack cloths are wonderful for cleaning all evidence of sanding dust before staining)
A paint brush and high-density foam roller (for application of the conditioner and polyurethane topcoat)
Pre-stain wood conditioner
Oil-based stain (for this piece I chose English Chestnut by Minwax)
Gloss polyurethane

An extraordinary amount of sanding went into eliminating the damage that had existed in the top surface. Scratches are relatively easy to cure, but you never know how bad the water damage is until you start sanding deep, as evidenced by this progress photo:

Elbow grease and a few more courses of low-grit sandpaper (80-120) helped to transform the surface of the sideboard into a raw wood state and eliminate the visible water rings. You might find that your water damage runs deeper – every case is different. Read more

September 21, 2015/6 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

accessories, Before and After, decor, Decorating, designer, Furniture, Home Tour, living room, mantles

Living Room Reveal

I’m so excited to finally reveal our living room makeover to you. I partnered with La-Z-Boy to furnish our living room almost exclusively with La-Z-Boy furniture and accessories. The furniture from La-Z-Boy arrived a while ago, but the rug was backordered for several months. My La-Z-Boy in store designer asked me twice if I wanted to chose another rug, but I’m so glad I decided to wait. I love the rug and can honestly say that it was well worth the wait!

Before we get to the tour, I think it’s only fair to show you a few pictures of the progression of the living room over the years. About a year after we bought the house in 2007, I painted the walls a lighter sage green and added sconces. We also paid a contractor to double the width of the opening to the kitchen. That made a huge difference. You can see the missing flooring where the small opening used to be below:

The sofa was a hand-me-down from my Godfather’s parents.

Underneath the red slipcover was this fabulously reupholstered sofa. Can you tell what year I re-covered it?

Ummm, hello 1990’s hunter green plaid. I don’t have a photo, but under this plaid monster is the original fabric from the 60’s. It was a floral woven tapestry fabric. I still can’t believe we sat on this sofa that was over 50 years old. It was hard as a rock.

In 2009, I pulled up the wall-to-wall carpeting and installed antique heart pine wood flooring. I also painted the previously painted white fireplace to look like brick again. You read that right, the brick is painted!

In 2011, I covered the sofa with a new slipcover, but it was still the same uncomfortable hard sofa. We also tried positioning the sofa at an angle in the room.

This past winter we moved the furniture around again and for the first time we felt that we had found an arrangement that worked for us.

If you recall, I took a little field trip to our local La-Z-Boy furniture gallery back in December. I met with Lexie, the designer, who was invaluable with her expertise and design advice. Then you all helped me by voting for your favorite fabric selection (big virtual kisses and hugs from me to you for that!)

The voting was a tie, so I combined fabrics from the two winners and ultimately chose this combination:

Ready to see how they look in the living room? Are you telling me to shut up already and get to the reveal? Your wish is my command, here is our living room reveal:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

August 31, 2015/36 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

accessories, art, arts and craft, Before and After, decor, Decorating, Giveaway, Home Tour, living room, sign, vignettes

12 Tips to Create a Perfect Gallery Wall

Tips for Creating a Gallery Wall | Pretty Handy Girl

When you Don’t Love It, a room in your home can become a place to avoid. Last week I hung our TV on the wall in our living room, but was cringing because that big fat TV was screaming “Look at me! Look at me!” It was killing the cozy vibe I wanted to create in our room. This is the place that my family likes to chillax. It’s the room where wrestling matches happen and the room where we curl up by the fire. We watch movies and sports in this spot. But, frankly, I didn’t love it. When I looked in the living room all I could see was a giant black elephant in the room.

I agreed to let Pretty Handsome Guy pick out a big flat screen TV. But, I secretly devised a plan to keep me happy and let Handsome Guy have his big honkin’ TV.

And I Created a Perfect Gallery Wall around the TV to de-emphasize its size and dominance in the room.

15 Tips for Creating the Perfect Gallery Wall:

#1 Start with a Level Line

Determine the area you want to install your gallery wall. Measure down from your crown molding or ceiling to the top of the gallery area.

Insert a thumbtack or pin at that height. Run a piece of string from the thumbtack along the width of your gallery wall space. (It helps to have a friend hold the free end of the string, but you can use a piece of painter’s tape to hold it temporarily.)

Level the string and secure the opposite end with a thumbtack.

#2 Create Paper Templates

Pull together all your frames and art. Create a paper template for each object. (Craft paper, butcher block paper or old dot matrix printer paper works perfect for this task.)

Use painter’s tape to secure the templates to the wall. Step back and look at the wall from across the room. Take a picture of the wall with your mobile device and look at the picture to see if you see any issues. Or face away from the wall and look at it in the mirror to look at the arrangement from another angle. Play with the templates until you Love It! I will be honest with you, this process takes a while. In the long run, you’ll love your gallery wall if you live with the arrangement for a few days before the final installation.

#3 Pick a Color Palette

Choosing a color palette of 2-3 colors will help you create a cohesive look and make it easy to create a visually pleasing gallery wall. The easiest palette to work with is black and white, because you can use black, white and a variety of grays.

You can also add a bold color to the mix and know that everything works with black and white!

#4 Use a Variety of Shapes and Sizes

For more visual interest, use a variety of shapes and sizes. Gallery walls that use the same frame for the entire collection can look stunning and orderly. But, for a more organic and eclectic gallery wall, feel free to play with many shapes and sizes. Your color palette of 2-3 colors will keep it looking unified.

#5 Balance Larger and Smaller Objects

When working with several shapes and sizes, it’s important to balance your arrangement. Space larger items away from each other and preferably on opposite sides. Pay attention to collections of smaller objects as well. Your wall would look unbalanced if all the large objects were on one side and all the small art on the other.

While spacing the object templates, use the trick in #2 by taking a photo or using a mirror while playing with placement.

#6 Use Consistent Spacing and Align Edges

Use consistent spacing between your art. Smaller collections can visually work as one large object if you space them closer together. But, use a larger space outside the collection that equal to the rest. Try to align horizontal or vertical edges with adjacent art. They don’t have to be hung in a uniform grid, but creating a shared horizontal or vertical line can help create a pleasing installation.

#7 Group Like Objects

As mentioned in #6, you can group smaller objects together to fill a larger space. Use objects of the same color, material or shape together as a collection.

#8 Mix Textures

For lots of visual interest, introduce several different materials and textures into your gallery wall. Break up black frames with wooden art, metal signs and even natural elements like feathers, branches, found objects, etc. The ~~sky~~ wall is the limit (ha, ha). Have fun using your imagination.

#9 Use Good Wall Anchors, Hangers, and Bumpers

While hanging artwork, be sure to use picture hangers or anchors strong enough to hold your artwork. It’s so important to use a hanging hook or anchor that is designed to hold more than your art weighs. Watch the video on “Testing Drywall Anchors” to see why this is so important:

Way to go Build.com for performing this test!

#10 Mark Hanging Hardware on Templates

This trick will save you time and save your walls from turning into swiss cheese! Set your template on the back of your art (the back side should be up) and poke a hole with a pencil where the hanging hooks, holes or wires are. Hang your template back on the wall.

#11 Hanging Your Art Perfectly

Ready to hang your art perfectly the first time? Grab your picture hanging hardware, nails and a hammer.

Make sure that each template is level. For art that has visible holes, line up the art on top of the template. Hammer the nail or hook through the hole.

Then simply pull and rip the template off the wall from beneath the art.

For hanging hardware that is hidden. Hammer your picture hardware through the template lining up the hook or nail with the hole you poked through in tip #10.