Easy Patio Table Makeover

When we moved into this house there were a few items the previous tenant left behind. Most items were junk that he just didn't feel like disposing of but he did leave behind one thing that was awesome: a patio table.

Now, mind you, it was in rough shape. The glass had been broken out, it was wobbly and really dirty, but still, these sets go for hundreds of dollars so we were happy to have it for free even if it meant we had another project to tackle, and honestly this one was so easy, anyone could do it. The first thing we did was purchase 5.5" x 6' pieces of fencing from Lowes. Why fencing? Because its already made for being outside so there's no added sealant needed. Then, we laid the pieces down and flipped the table over and laid it on top of the boards. From there, we measured the width of all the boards and cut two pieces to fit snugly inside the lip of the table, like so.

We screwed each board into this bracket from the top, then added two pieces on either end and screwed those in for added stability. [sorry no pic of this but it would look like this]

After that, we tightened all the bolts, sanded the top, [first with 80 grit then 120 to smooth it all out] then I stained it with Winwax English Chestnut and that was it.

Its definitely one of the fastest and easiest project we have done in this house and yet its been one of the most useful already! Just goes to show it doesn't have to be a big fancy makeover to make a huge impact.

xoxo,
Jackie

Kitchen changes

We are planning to have an end of summer BBQ this weekend for my co-workers but there were 3 things we needed to address before then: the lighting, paint and door knobs. Now, so far we have changed 2 of the lights in here, painted the doors and painted SOME of the walls, but one major eye sore was the fluorescent light fixture that had a huge hole in the lens and several burnt bulbs.

 Originally we planned to just get a new lens and bulbs but once I saw this photo, I knew I wanted track lighting.

pin from original source here 

We went to Lowes with the plan to buy one already put together but once we got there, we realized all the styles we liked were way out of budget and we could "build" our own for much cheaper. So, we picked up a track, the power source, and 3 spotlights, total came to around $50. Zack ended up installing it that night and I am totally in love!

The other major issue in here was the fact that I had half painted the kitchen and then left it.. for 9 months. I knew it had to be addressed sooner rather than later so I thought this would be as good a time as any. We used our leftover paint, Valspar Frappe and finished up the kitchen.

The last item on the to-do list was the knobs. Oh the knobs. The ugly, brass knobs. We just picked up the most affordable brushed nickle ones at Walmart and installed them. I was so glad to be rid of them, but now I have all the ones upstairs I need to do. Ugh, the work never ends does it?

you can purchase the same ones here 

xoxo,
Jackie

Living Room Reveal

I promised that Id give a proper tour of the living room once we found the perfect rug and I finally have so now I can make good on my promise! I actually didn't end up choosing any of the rugs I was considering at all! I happened to be walking through Ross one day and saw this rug for just $59.99 for a 6x9 so I snagged it up and it really works much better than any of the other choices would have.

Before I show the afters lets go back to the beginning when we first moved in....

and once we painted and added our furniture  ....

And now the afters....

A million times better right? I am so in love with it! Of course we don't really hang out in here much since we have the nice, fancy TV in the man cave but its so nice to come home and walk through this space everyday!

We also made a small change in the master, I know, I said I was done but I cant help myself!

Once we added the Vittsjo bookcase in the man cave I sorta fell in love so I knew I wanted one in the corner of the master. I have not been super happy with the hanging baskets as the handles started to wear really bad so we grabbed another bookcase and its way more practical AND beautiful!

Well, just a couple more weeks till I'm changing the whole house to fall so stay tuned!

xoxo,
Jackie