Top Projects of 2008 (Makeover and Craft)

Rhoda at Southern Hospitality is hosting a "Top Projects of 2008" party... This party actually started a couple of days ago, so I'm a bit late on joining in (par for the course for me!)...

Be sure to visit Rhoda's beautiful blog to see all of her favorite projects. There's also a list of all the other bloggers showing off their favorite projects (what a fun way to get some new decorating or project ideas!!) Thank you, Rhoda!

Project 1 - Fireplace Makeover

(click on any photos to enlarge)
We enclosed our old brick fireplace (and by "we," I mean my husband - but I painted it!!)...


... so that I could have the fireplace of my cottage dreams!

I love the way this project turned out! (Here is a little 'step-by-step' from the original post.)

Project 2 - "Primitive to Cottage" Furniture Makeovers

These makeover projects have actually taken place over the past couple of years, but since I just started my blog this year, I guess I can count them! When the cottage bug hit me, I decided to give all of our old dark-stained 'prim' pieces a brighter cottage look by using paint, appliques, and glass knobs.

Nana's hutch went from this:

To this:

(I call it Nana's hutch because I have all my Nana's china displayed on it - and her photo prominently displayed in the plate rack above the hutch.)

The dining room jelly cupboard went from this:


To this:

Here's my old pie safe in its original state:

I found this mirror at a junktique shop and thought it might dress up the pie safe a bit...

So I painted both pieces and then mounted the mirror to the top of the pie safe:

A very old mirror I found...

... paired with this inexpensive black CD cabinet...

... became this:

The old pine corner-TV armoire...

....after white paint, appliques, and new knobs:

(You can also see from the above makeover pictures that I finally got my hardwood floors after living for two l-o-n-g years with plywood sub-floors [that I painted white after ripping up our ancient wall-to-wall carpeting!!] And although I can't take any credit for laying the floors, what a nice project to have completed!!!)

Project 3 - New uses for old windows

They make great picture frames....

...or bulletin boards...

They can add architectural interest to yards and gardens when mounted over windowboxes...

..or just propped up against fences or arbors...

Project 4 - The 'Roswell Crater' project

After dismantling our old above ground pool, this is what our little backyard looked like:

It's still a major work-in-progress, but this past summer we began planting a garden and built a patio in/next to the old pool area...

We still have a long way to go, but it's a heck of a sight better than what it was!!

Project 5 - Photo Pumpkins

This was a fun project - transforming fake pumpkins...

...into photo pumpkins of my girls (when they were little) and my black kitties (perfect for this Halloween project!). Instructions can be found here.

Project 6 - Recycling old Christmas cards

If you love sparkle and glitter, this is the project for you! Don't throw away all those beautiful cards you received!

Instead, repurpose them into glittery ornaments or gift tags (Instructions can be found here):

I hope you enjoyed some of my favorite projects. This year we will be giving our bedroom (which hasn't been touched since the mid-80's) a major facelift!!! I'd say it's definitely about time for a makeover in there! So here's to a year full of new and exciting projects!!!

Donna

To paint or not to paint... that was the question....

Welcome to anyone who hasn't seen this older post!

This is what our fireplace looks like now, several years after the 'makeover.'

This is what it looked like right after the 'makeover.'

And this is what it looked like right before the makeover!

I absolutely love the look of brick walls and fireplaces that have been painted white. My husband? Not so much! So we compromised on the idea of building a cover for our brick fireplace that I could paint white, and I think he did the most fantastic job! I love the way it turned out!




















He basically measured and cut a single sheet of birch plywood to cover the front of the fireplace, even cutting a hole for the flue knob.


















To make things really simple, we purchased decorative trim that was just the right width to cover both sides of the fireplace, and also used decorative trim under the mantel and around the hearth. We then applied some trim to cover the corners, wood puttied all the holes, and painted everything white. I have two king size ruffled pillow shams laying across the brick hearth until we eventually finish that part. Since we only burn candles in the fireplace, the material on the hearth isn't a problem and I've actually grown to like the way they look!



















And to cover the hole for the flue knob, I found the sweetest watercolor painting at a yard sale a few years ago - it's a tiny little masterpiece that's just the perfect size!

Yes, I couldn't be happier with our fireplace makeover, and hubby couldn't be happier that the brick fireplace is perfect intact underneath!

Donna