Affordable Art for the Family Room

I'm joining Transformation Thursday over at The Shabby Chic Cottage!

The first decorating blog I ever saw was The Nesting Place! I was just blown away by her style, her ideas and her philosophy! I felt like I had found a friend! My favorite idea was when she used doors on the wall as art! Brilliant!

We had lived in our house for over a year and I had yet to put anything above the sofa in the family room. I wanted something with a big impact. And I wanted to create it myself.
I knew this was the right idea for me because lo and behold - I had a set of doors just sitting out in the shed! They were left here by the previous owner! Perfect!



I used some exterior green paint I found out in the shed, too! They were in pretty good shape, just needed a good cleaning. Sorry I don't have any before photos - this was before I had ever thought about doing a blog! But, I just painted them green and then roughed them up a bit.


I found the metal art at Hobby Lobby - 50% off of course! Everything just kind of came together and worked! I can always change out what I put on and around them, but the doors are not going anywhere! It took hubby and I forever to hang them! The big obstacle was the fact that there are 2 of them and I wanted them hung tightly together! It was a chore, but we got through it!


I showed the fireplace in this room for Thrifty Monday. And some other parts of the room here.

I'm going to head on over to The Inspired Room and see what everyone is posting for her Fall Nesting 2009!

Happy Fall Ya'll!

Thrifty Monday

Well, I didn't make it to the yard sales this week! My partner in crime is under the weather! (Hi Mom - Love You!) So, I thought I would show my fireplace. It's chocked full of thrifty treasures!



I have kind of a nature/bird theme going in my family room. The tile, brick and paneling were all recently re-done when we moved in. They were well thought out and look really good together. Unfortunately, they have a bit of a pinkish tone. That's not exactly what I would have chosen for my Autumn color scheme. I decided to go for it anyway and I think it still works.

Here's the rundown of what I have on my fireplace starting on the mantel going from left to right:


Oops...left a couple of candles on the mantel, didn't mean to do that! The topiary has a match on the other end. I got one of them at Michael's with a coupon and the other I found at a yard sale shortly after! Bird house art from Hobby Lobby - when they had one of their framed art 50% off sales! The green pineapple candle holder was from a yard sale. I love the yellow bird candle holder! I got that at a thrift store for $6. I thought it looked good with the pineapple 'cuz they are the same kind of metal.


Okay, so confession time...see the little metal sign that says FAMILY? Well, it's hanging on a big fat nail that I can not take out! I didn't want to do a traditional centered piece of art, so I just had to find something to hang there. That's what I came up with for now. Got the FAMILY metal sign at Hobby Lobby when metal stuff was half off. I love the mini topiary and white iron bird! Those are from the thrift store, paid a couple of bucks for each of them. The LIVE-LAUGH-LOVE is from Kirkland's. I bought it with a gift certificate I got as a house-warming gift. They still sell a similar sign with those words, but they changed the design a bit right after that. I like this one best.


So I really like things made of wire, like little chairs, birdcages, baskets...I've had these a long time and I don't remember where I got them or how much I paid. The lamp was a gift from my mother-in-law, she couldn't use it anymore. The metal square art is from Hobby Lobby (50% off) and the "C" was a gift.

That is a one-of-a-kind original watercolor painted by my Mom! It's one of my favorite things and it is in a place of honor so I can look at it every day! Thanks Mom!
More little chairs, bucket was a gift. I just stuck some fake Hobby Lobby grass and berries in it. Those are extra pillows from our sofas.


So, that's a peak at my family room! I wanted to do it now, because I've started decorating for fall. It's all different now!

I'm joining Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch and Today's Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality! Let's head on over and check out all the treasures and transformations!

Thrifty Monday and Met Monday

One day my hubby and I happened into Furniture Row just looking around. I noticed this sweet thing in the clearance section! I got so excited! Then I noticed one of the doors was just leaning against it. I proceeded to ignore that, because it got in the way of my excitement over this bargain in front of me! They had a price tag of $89 on it! Woohoo! I really wanted it and I had no idea where I would put it. Hubby didn't think I was serious and wasn't sure it would fit in our Honda CRV...I let him talk me into leaving with out it.

But, after we got home and he left to run another errand I figured out EXACTLY where I would put it! So I called him and talked him into running up there at 10 minutes before closing! He's such a sweet guy!

Long story short - he soon found out why that door was leaning against it and not installed. It seems there was a problem with the way it was made and it is missing one row of grooves. So, the door can never be installed. I thought about it for about 10 seconds and I said - let's get it anyway!

After getting it in place and all accessorized I decided you really don't notice it. It kinda looks like it was made that way!

I even found a place to use that missing door...

I stuck it on the side table in my dining room! Maybe someday I will get over to Hobby Lobby and have them cut me some cute mats and stick some photos in the window panes! The table is also full of yard sale finds and bargain roosters! I will post more about them for the Rooster Party on August 28th over at Bella Vista.


There are plenty of thrifty treasures on the black bookcase, too...

From the top:

• Little wire basket that I put my coasters in: $2 at antique mall
• Candle dish under brown candle: 25 cents at yard sale
  
• Green placemat and beige placemat: $1.50 at Pier One on clearance
• Bird on a stick: $1 at yard sale
• Cute vintage picture frame holding my precious Penny: 25 cents at yard sale
• Cloth napkin under photo: $1.50 at Pier One on clearance
  

More bargains from the dining room:

• Black metal shelf and letter "C": Hobby Lobby on 1/2 off
• White metal basket on the wall: 25 cents at yard sale
• Green berries: 25 cents at yard sale
• Chicken: $1 at antique mall
• Red vases: Hobby Lobby 66% off sale
• Leafy little framed art: $1 at yard sale

Thanks for looking! Please check out what everyone else is showing over at Between Naps on the Porch and Southern Hospitality!

This Humble House

This is our Humble House! It was built in 1958 and sits in the middle of a beautiful old neighborhood full of tree-lined streets and gorgeous homes. It's just the kind of neighborhood that I always wanted to live in, like something out a TV show. I love to just go on walks and just study the houses. They all have such character! So many details to look at - the gabled roofs, the multi-paned windows, the landscaping! I can't say enough about how truly Blessed we feel to live here! We waited a very long time to buy our first home and it has meant so much to us!

We searched on-line every day, but in the end it was up to us to hit the streets and just drive up and down looking. That's what we did! We drove and drove and drove some more. That is how we really narrowed down where we wanted to live. And, once we had the neighborhood figured out - we just tried to be patient and wait.

We only found our house by accident. Our on-line searches were for 3 bedroom houses, not 2 bedrooms! My hubby found it by driving around the neighborhood.

At that time our house was built, 2 bedroom floor plans were still popular. But, thanks to some remodeling over the years, the front living/formal dining was divided into 2 parts. The old dining room was changed to an office and the door was added. This created an extra room with out a closet. Because of the missing closet, it can't be called a 3 bedroom. (If we ever move, we will probably put a closet in before we sell)

As for what we did about the missing closet in what is now our son's room...
We gave him a section of a large closet located near the hall bathroom. It has worked out just fine so far. If it does become a pain for him, we can always build a closet in his room. He got his bunk beds that he always wanted and he likes the location of his room, near the action. So he's a happy camper right now!

Here's the floor plan we were given by the appraiser:

It is the classic floor plan, with the formal area across the front and the big picture window. I am so thankful to whomever it was that decided to close up the dining end of the front room! We would never have been able to consider this house if they hadn't!

Here's some photos I took on the day of closing and right before we moved in:

This is the family room. I really love the beams across the ceiling and the tube skylights. The fireplace had been painted, and I really liked how it looked.

To be honest, I was not a huge fan of tile floors. I would have much preferred hardwood floors. But these are really pretty! I love how they laid them in a diamond pattern. On the right side of the picture you can see the opening to the sunroom.



The sunroom is what really sold us on the house! We really wanted some kind of extra room or space to have a home office and just another place to hang out in the house. I asked for the furniture as part of the deal and they agreed! They even threw in the rug! This is my favorite part of the house. I really enjoy the views of the backyard and all the windows.

The dining room also has the beams across the ceiling. Like I said before, this was the formal living area when the house was originally built. It makes for a pretty big dining room! That's a good thing, because I have a large table and hutch. We can keep the leaves in the table now and it fills up the room. It was already painted the perfect green for my country Italian theme. It just needs a new light fixture and maybe a different window treatment that is less formal.

The kitchen was remodeled by the former owners. This was a huge plus for us, all the work was done! The appliances were all new and they really did a nice job. I actually liked the wallpaper, too! I have been able to work with it - I like the colors and the grape theme just fine.

This is the corner bedroom and guest bath. Both the bedrooms have a pink-toned carpet. Not my first choice! But it is a neutral tone atleast! This bedroom has the lovely multi-paned windows that I always wanted!
The really neat thing about the bathroom counters is that they are the extra tall height. It is really nice to stand in front of to get ready in the morning. The wallpaper has to go and eventually we hope to replace the sinks, toilet, tub and tile. But with a little paint and some accessories we can live with it for a while. It is a nice size for the kids to share and I love that it has 2 sinks. There is also plenty of storage for them to each have a section of drawers.

Another really cool thing about the house is the doors! If you look closely in the photo of the dining room above you can see the hall closet door. All the doors in the house are solid wood multi-paneled doors. They are so beautiful! I think they really add charm to the house.

Lastly, this is the master bedroom. We really liked the size of it. It also has 2 large windows and nice his and hers closets. The bathroom is a good size for a house from this time period. I don't mind not having a tub, the shower is really nice. Notice the octagonal mauve sinks! There is also a mauve Kohler toilet to go with them! More ugly wallpaper that had to go. But in this bathroom the tile is a nice clean white. I can work with that for now.

Well that's a little "before" tour of our house. I will post the "afters" soon. Thanks for looking!