Pretty Handy Girl Living Room Reveal | Pretty Handy Girl

Cory Rolling Storage Ottoman from La-Z-Boy | Pretty Handy Girl

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:

doorwayopenedup

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

Xmasmorning

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

plaid_sofa

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!

livingroomdone2

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.

living_room_vertical

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.

Pretty Handy Girl's Holiday Home Tour 2014

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:

La-Z-Boy Living Room Mood Board | Pretty Handy Girl

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.)

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Make Your Own Finger-Printed Star Pillows | Pretty Handy Girl

Make Your Own Finger-Printed Star Pillows | Pretty Handy Girl

Personalized finger-printed envelope star pillows are an easy and fun gift item to make. My boys and I enjoyed making these pillows for their home room teachers. We got the idea from Cristina’s beautiful seaside themed thumb print pillows.

Materials:

Make Your Own Finger-Printed Star Pillows | Pretty Handy Girl

  • Fabric (I used bleached and washed leftover drop cloths)
  • Pillow insert
  • Thread
  • Sewing machine
  • Freezer Paper
  • Fabric Paint
  • X-acto knife
  • Small Flat Brush
  • Permanent Marker
  • Scissors
  • Piping (here’s the tutorial to make your own piping)

Instructions:

Cut your front fabric with 1 inch excess around the pillow form. Cut the two back pieces of fabric with a 1 inch excess on all sides, plus allow for a 3″ overlap in the center.

Make Your Own Finger-Printed Star Pillows | Pretty Handy Girl

 

Fingerprinted Star Tutorial:

Here’s a great way to customize your pillow for the recipient. Let your little ones finger-print inside the star. Read more

Pros and Cons of 4 Types of Picture Hangers

Pros and Cons of 4 Types of Picture Hangers

Hello! It’s Jessica, from Decor Adventures and I’m back this month with some very handy tips to help hang items up on the wall. Do you ever wonder which picture hanger to use? Did you know there are several ways you can hang things up? From curtains to art and mirrors to lightweight decorations — there are many options for hanging (and sometimes you don’t even have to put a hole in your walls.)

I live in a 115 year old house that has both plaster and drywall, and I’ve experimented with many types of ways to hang items on the walls. Today I’ve compiled The Pros and Cons of 4 Picture Hangers.

1. Picture Hooks and Nails:

This is probably the most common way to hang up items. Simply mark where your item will go and hammer in your nail and hanger. Brittany shows you how to hang up items when putting together a gallery wall here.

insert-nails-into-hanger

Pros:

Hooks and nails come in many lengths so they can work well in most walls and are easy to use. They are also affordable and go into a wall quickly. All you need is a hammer.

Cons:

Hooks and nails don’t always work in every wall type and can rust. They can’t be used in plaster walls. When hanging heavier art, you need to find a stud to nail into. Read more

Make Your Own Clock Sign | Pretty Handy Girl

Make Your Own Clock Sign | Pretty Handy Girl

Making a clock is an easy project. All you need is a flat surface that you can drill a hole into and BOOM, you can make a clock. Let’s get started and I’ll show you How to Make Your Own Clock Sign.

Materials:

Make Your Own Clock Sign | Pretty Handy Girl

  • Chalkboard sign (I purchased this chalkboard sign at Tuesday Morning.)
  • Clock mechanism
  • Ruler
  • Drill
  • Drill bit
  • Chalk
  • Damp rag
  • Vinyl lettering and numbers
  • Plate or circle template

Instructions:

Use a ruler to mark the center of your chalkboard sign near the top. (Center from the sides and use the same measurement down from the top for a balanced look.)

Make Your Own Clock Sign | Pretty Handy Girl

Use a plate or circle template to trace a circle for the clock face.

Make Your Own Clock Sign | Pretty Handy Girl

Disassemble the clock hands and parts. Lay them out in the order you removed them.

Make Your Own Clock Sign | Pretty Handy Girl

Insert the clock mechanism through the back of the hole. Read more

Faux Aged Metal Pulley | Pretty Handy Girl

Faux Aged Metal Pulley | Pretty Handy Girl

Do you love rustic metal pulleys, but don’t like the hefty price tag? Wouldn’t you rather have a rustic metal pulley for less than $5? Ah, I have a secret. That beautiful rustic metal pulley above is actually:

Faux Metal Pulley | Pretty Handy Girl

Plastic! Ready to see how I secretly transformed that black plastic pulley into a gorgeous faux aged metal pulley?

Faux Aged Metal Pulley | Pretty Handy Girl

Materials:

(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.)

Faux Metal Pulley | Pretty Handy Girl

Instructions:

Paint Metal Primer onto the plastic pulley. Read more