dresser in distress.

I came across this lovely dresser (beauty is in the eye of the beholder right?) and it was pleading with me for some TLC.

It had some peeling wood on the sides...

...but that is an easy fix. I just attached a piece 1/4 inch wood that I measured and cut down from a 4x8 sheet. (and by "I", I mean my husband)

I also use this stuff to replace the backs of furniture if they aren't in good condition. I then when onto painting & distressing. From the moment I take the sand paper and start chipping away at the paint I fall in love! I love the instant character and appeal it brings to the pieces!

I love the small square detailing it has running along the top of the piece. The new hardware... antique looking cup handles that are rubbed oil with some flecks of gold coming through. Aged just like the dresser.

I love the feel of mixing old & new together so I think this piece would fit nicely into any style home. Don't forget to think outside the box either. This could be a dresser for a bedroom but also a server piece in a dining room or even a piece to greet you in an entryway. It can store games, blankets and extra tableware!

rainy days.

Sorry it has been a few days but with the all the rain we've been having I haven't had much of a chance to get my pending projects done. I have a great one to reveal soon in Avery's room. I did it with a little help from this guy:

remember him!

And here is what my Birdie was doing while I was stumbling around her room!

Off to my workshop (aka the basement) I'll be back soon!

metal box.

I have a slight obsession with things that are galvanized metal. I can't quite explain it. Maybe it's the texture or the look or how it can pretty much fit into any style space. I recently discovered an amazing store near me that is packed to the gills, I mean floor to ceiling with stuff! Everything from antiques, to glassware, to knick-knacks to old bingo cards I mean it is like the mecca of antique shop meets yard sale. I had to stand in one spot and take it all in to make sure I didn't miss anything. The place is cleverly corky (can that be a saying? I think so we'll roll with it!). They priced some things with cards from a deck of cards (how smart!) and bins had old metal house numbers defining other prices.

The shop clerk said the turnover on the stuff is really high as they usually get at least 300 people through there on a weekend day! So that means I need to stop in quite often, oh well!

As soon as I walked in I spotted this magnificent beauty!

I'm sure some of you are saying that looks like a tetanus shot waiting to happen but I LOVE it!

It's old and rusted and has a pretty pinkish tone too it. I'm not sure if it was painted at one point or eroding.

I scored it for only $34. And if you are into metal things like myself you know that is a a great deal considering PotteryBarn sells metal buckets & bins for at least $100. I think I plan on using it in my office for storage. I'll be sure to take a picture once it has an official home!

Now I'm off to the basement to work on a bookcase project for Avery's room. The idea just hit me this morning so I'm going to roll with it. I'll be back with a completed project & a step by step how to!

P.S.- (can you have a P.S. in a blog?) Does anyone have a blog account and a MAC and Photobucket? I can't upload images so if you know how please email me! (recklessglamourdesign@gmail.com)

thanks.

stripes.

I love stripes in a room. They can be bold the can be subtle, vertical or horizontal, colorful or quiet. One of the first painting projects I did when we moved into our house was paint the family room. We didn't even have furniture yet, we sat in beach chairs patiently awaiting the arrival of a couch but in the meantime it sure was easy to paint without anything getting in the way.

Although I love to be bold and eye catching... I wanted to do something more subtle in the family room since it is where we spend most of out time unwinding. So I decided to do a tone on tone horizontal stripe.

Have you ever heard of C2 paint? It is amazing! Make sure you check it out for your next painting project! They even have 18" x 24" paint chip samples. (www.c2paint.com)

Anyways the color I chose for our room is "reindeer".

Here's a peek at the stripes:

(sorry for the not so great picture the lighting wasn't that great this morning!)

And here is the painstaking process but well worth the result!

What you'll need:

Paint (flat and semi-gloss)

laser level

painters tape

ruler

pencil

We first started by painting the entire room in the flat paint. Once that had a few days of drying I started on the stripes. The measuring & taping process is tedious so I tackled one wall a day so I wasn't overwhelmed and frustrated.

I knew I wanted fat stripes so I measured the height of our ceilings and decided to go with 11.5 inch stripes.

{note: make sure you start measuring your stripes from the top down because if the last stripe isn't exactly the same width as the rest is will be down low and most likely hidden with furniture}

I measured 11.5" down in a couple spots along the wall and marked a dot with the pencil. Our laser level has a small tack on the back so you can stick into the wall which makes it easy when you are working alone! I made sure the laser beam was lined up with all my dots and then I taped along the line and worked my way from ceiling to floor.

{note: make sure you alternate taping above & below the line so the stripes are the correct size depending on whether that particular stripe will be gloss or flat.}

Does that make sense I'm not always a great explainer. Basically once the whole wall is taped your tape stripes will be fatter (the ones you will be painting with the gloss paint) and skinnier (the ones that you are staying the same as the flat wall).

I then rolled the stripes with the semi-gloss and removed the painters tape pretty much right away so I would have a clean line.

I LOVE the results and people are always commenting on it. Depending on the time of day you can sometimes barely see them and sometimes they really stand out which is cool because the room is always changing. We've had people over who have not noticed them one time and they next time say "have those always been there?"

Here is a close-up; again not a true representation of the color!

I'm looking for a little area in the house where I can do some two-toned striping... maybe at small landing at the top of or stairs...

family love.

I love catching families interacting rather than posing pretty for the camera with forced smiles!

Momma & Baby!

I love this one with just mom & dad's hands!

You can never have enough daddy & baby girl shots! They just melt your heart!

Not sure what she caught a glimpse of but darn is she cute! And I think the drool adds a nice touch!

upside-down could be right-side up.

We recently installed Maple hardwood floors throughout our house. We absolutely love them for many reasons and dislike them for only one, scratching. Although we know they will get worn in over time it's tough to see brand new floors getting dinged up, mainly because of this guy:

Who we love more than anything but weighing in at almost 100lbs. he cannot control his excitement when you mention words like "hike, swim or ride". So the solution is an area rug. Not only will they protect your floors and add warmth & comfort under foot they add texture to your space and anchor your furniture.

I recently found a great jute area rug on Overstock.com where not only do they have great deals they ship ANYTHING for $2.95! So I ordered a rug, that from the web photo had great texture and nice cream & tan striping. I liked the stripes because in a smaller space they elongate the room and draw your eye in. And the stripes come into play with another element I have going on in the room which you'll learn about soon!

The rug arrived and I excitingly unwrapped it. The colors were perfect and the texture was great! I threw it down on the floor and I liked the idea but it made me go a little cross-eyed. You see there was more detailing on it than what I could see from the internet photo. What I did like though was the back side of the rug, the part you are supposed to have face down. It still had the striping and the texture but in a more simple way so I flipped it over and instantly knew that is how it should be!

The true top of the rug which is now the under side! See what I mean about the extra detailing I wasn't expecting.

The under part of the rug which is now the side facing up! A bit more clean and not as distracting to the eye.

So there you have it. Who ever said upside-down can't be the right side up. And down the road if it gets stained or if I ever want to flip it around I can! So the moral of the story is to have an open mind because what you see isn't always what you get and what you get could be something more!

I have 2 great furniture transformations to show you real soon so stay tuned!

tasty.

A couple shots of Avery tasting her toy & her toes!

baby legs.

I honestly can't get enough of baby legs and baby feet and baby toes! Avery has recently discovered her feet and they've made their way into her mouth. Sometimes I can't resist giving them a little bite myself, is that so wrong?

So in honor of those adorable and chubby little legs:

avery's chandelier.

I waited to start decorating Avery's room until she was born for two reasons. The first being we didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl and the second being we were finishing up the upstairs of our cape and ended up wrapping up construction shortly after she had arrived.

This is me (and Riley) laying the floors on her due date; April 2nd... four days before she actually arrived via emergency c-section but that's another story for another day.

(pardon my appearance)

Anyways I said if we had a girl she needs a chandelier in her room, it just wouldn't be right otherwise! I wanted to do something a little different, a little more unique so check out what I came up with. My mom always says I march to my own drummer!

a view looking up from underneath.

What you'll need:

AN OLD CHANDELIER

(I got mine at an antique store for $25, it was brass and ugly!)

STICKS

(I just walked around the yard and gathered branches that had a lot of smaller branches coming off of them and made sure they were somewhat bendable and not to dry so they didn't snap when I was attaching them to the light fixture.)

ZIP TIES (I love these things!!)

SPRAY PAINT

I first sprayed the chandelier & the sticks before assembling anything. That way I could get in all the grooves and get better coverage. Once everything was assembled I hung it from a tree outside and re-sprayed it to give it one more final coat and fix any dings that may have occurred when I was assembling.

I placed the sticks haphazardly and attached them to the fixture with the zip ties. It was a little tricky but I had the zip tie rather loose until I put 4-5 branches in and then I would tighten it.

I worked my way around until I had the look I wanted. Once the chandelier was hung by my husband who hates hanging chandeliers (we have 3 in our house... so far!) I wrapped the chain and the bulb casings in twine.

And there you have it Avery's chandelier! I have a lot of cool things going on in her room so be sure to check back to see other projects and eventually I'll do a full room reveal. There are still a few things that are a work in progress but that seems to be always be the way!

sam.

I recently got together with a lovely lady I went to high school with and took some pictures of her son Sam. Sam just turned one and he is on the verge of walking! He is a typical boy and loves getting down in the dirt and exploring farm equipment!

We also visited the goats.

See, he is about to walk just needs a little help from momma still!

I can't resist baby feet & baby legs!

We ended our photo session with some swing time. Sam loves the swing!

Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek there are plenty more where that came from!