Bar Cart Reno

We've been looking for ways to add more color to our open living/dining area. We've been adding lots of green in small ways, but we wanted to add something a little more bold. We came across an old bar cart and decided its just what we need to make the room a little more lively.

We found it for a pretty awesome price. I think it was around $15/$20 at an antique mall. We found almost the same cart and a few other re-finished ones at another antique shop for around $75. We had thought about buying one until we saw the price tags, so this seemed like a great deal.

Jim took the bar cart apart and cleaned it completely. We decided to keep the structure the same and only paint the shelves. Once it was apart, it was easy to spray the shelves and not worry about getting paint on the silver area. After two or three coats of the green paint, he sprayed it with a clear protective coat. Jim put it back together and added new wheels and it looks good as new!

It's just what we needed to add a pop of color in the dining area. It's also fun to use it to style a bit and make the room look a little more interesting and put together. It creates a really fun vignette. We're planning to add an art piece over it to finish off this little nook.

Any advice on where to find good art work for a dining area? I love shopping on Etsy, so if you know of any great shops, please send them our way!

Update: Nana's Playroom

 

 

 We've been pretty quiet on the blog lately, but I have a fun update to share! Most of this blog has shared our adventures in turning our first house into a home, but I recently shared that I was working on a playroom design in my mother's home. I'm pretty excited about it, so I thought I'd share that here, too. I shared the inspiration awhile back, but we've started to make actual progress. I didn't take a before picture, but the room was all dark wood. I kind of love that rustic look, but to make it more inviting for my niece and future grandkids, we decided to brighten it up by going with a bright white paint and a lime colored accent wall.

We finished the first layer recently, so I thought I'd share a sneak peak. I think it's looking pretty awesome. It was tax free weekend here in Massachusetts, so we bought a bunch of fun accessories to add, which we'll be adding in in a couple of weeks! So, that's my excitement for the weekend. How is yours going?



 

Black Bookshelves

Last weekend we started our first project of 2013. It was a smallupdate, but something we've been wanting to do for awehile. We painted our built in bookshelves black. I love the contrast.

It helps tie the dining area and living room together. I like how the chalkboard wall gallery looks near the bookshelves.

We really want to paint the living room, but haven't found the time, so this is holding us over for now. Have you done any little projects with big impact lately?

Progress: The Guest Room

We're finally making progress in the guest bedroom. Until this weekend, it has been the holding spot for miscellaneous furniture and boxes. Since we gave away the way too big for this room queen bedroom set, we haven't had anywhere for guests. We really didn't think a guest bedroom was that necessary until we no longer had the bed and realized how much we actually use it.

Way back in November, we ordered the West Elm window daybed. It was on back order so we just got it this month. It was the push we needed to get working on this room. We ended up finding a rug this month and we finally painted the room.

We had been going back and forth between doing striped walls or one color. I was really pulling for the striped walls, but the more I thought about it, it seemed like it may make the room feel smaller. If we had a large room to work with, I would have gone with the stripes. I love how bold they are, but I don't know if it would work in this room. I'm thinking of other ways to work stripes into the design.

Once we made the decision on the stripes, we could finally pick out a paint color. I originally chose Benjamin Moore's Revere Pewter, but after spending time narrowing down our choices at the Benjamin Moore Store, we both thought Harbor Gray would be a better choice.

I know you're supposed to get paint samples and test the colors to see how they look before making a decision, but we tend to just pick our favorite and go with it. This is the fourth room we've painted without testing first and we've been 4 for 4.

I like the idea of going somewhat monochromatic. I think it will make the room feel brighter and more open. The Harbor gray seems to have done the trick. Here's a sneak peak:

I'm excited to add the rug and finish decorating the room. I think the white furniture will look amazing.

The room has already come a long way:

Have you found any design ideas you love that just don't seem to work in your space?