Desk

This post is really for my sisters. A while ago I updated my desk area. The projects included spray painting the black filing cabinet orange and updating the folding chair, which I got the idea from here. The chair used to be tan, so I spray painted the frame yellow and reupholstered fabric to the cushions. It's a small frivolous thing, but a nice change. 

BEFORE

AFTER

Loft Makeover

This summer on the Vineyard we spent a lot of time updating the loft, which is above the garage. It used to be the girls room, shared by my sisters and cousin Heather and has come a long way. Since it's separate from the house it became the catch all room, but now it has a cohesive theme and a modern look. Here are some of the before pictures and during. We are so pleased with it and now it's become the favorite room.

We did a lot of painting, sewing (well, I didn't, but my sisters did) and painting. Did I mention painting?  Pretty much everything has been repainted, which means lots and lots of coats. The bathroom was a big project by itself as we created a paneling style on the walls and luckily found another chart to use as the backing for the shelf as well as framed pictures. It's finally completed and the pictures don't do it justice.
Obviously I'm so proud of us because it was a lot of work.

Painting Weekend

Last weekend I went down to the island with my sisters and worked on the room above our garage, which we call the loft. It's a large room that used to house the girls (my sisters and cousin) but has been needing a change. It had a complete makeover and still needs some more. We painted A LOT, got a new bed and some furniture as well as new decor items. We plan on making some pillows, adding curtains and side tables and eventually replacing the dressers. So, it's not 100% done yet as we plan to fix up the bathroom this summer, but it's already a huge difference. 

 The painters

Before 

 After

Writing desk

Before

 After

Reading nook 

Before

After

Grandma and Ruby

VH Harbor

Around the House....

There are times I like to pretend that I am creative and crafty, so a couple weeks ago I tackled a few different house projects.

1. Made a necklace organizer. This was incredibly easy and I love how it turned out. I already had the white frame and the fabric, so I bought some foam core board and cut it to fit the frame and then stapled the fabric to the foam core board. Then I attached it to the frame (like you would with a picture - keep the back of the frame) and then hung it on my bedroom wall behind the door. I have clear push pins holding the necklaces. Now I have tangle-free necklaces.

2. Rearranged some items in Charlotte's room. I moved her mirror above her little jackets and added this poster of Martha's Vineyard ABC's, which I actually bought years ago when I was in high school (not really sure why).

The frame was originally black, so I spray painted it white.

I still love this mirror so I put it above her jackets, but her jackets needed to be lowered so she could reach them.

3. Updated baskets. Instead of buying a new fruit basket (which sits in the corner of our kitchen) I spray painted it grey and now it seems brand new. Before it was the same color of the wood paneling. I also spray painted our laundry basket the same color grey (no picture) which was an improvement.

4. Kitchen island makeover. This project took more time, but received the biggest change. I painted the island grey, got some new baskets (which are still on trial), reorganized kid dishes, and put up new art above it. The picture I got from Etsy and framed it with an IKEA frame.

Before

After

Overall I think the updates are not bad, considering I mostly used what I had. Buying new things would be wonderful, but isn't always feasible.

More Projects

These aren't great before and after photos, but I did paint and fix up our little bench and kitchen stool (which is the first thing you see when you walk in our door). It adds more color to our drab kitchen and is more pleasing to the eye.

This is the during shot. The bench is wood and I spray painted the sides white.

After

I added some batting and then stapled fabric to cover the top.

The little stool was a cherry wood color before I spray painted it yellow.

I'm happy with how it turned out.

A Baby Shower

In May a couple friends and I hosted a baby shower for our good friend Amelia and we had a lot of fun planning everything. Pretty much all the decor and creative ideas are from my friends Bonnie and Kate - I just helped. Even these pictures are Kate's. But the food was great, the company even better, and we had fun celebrating the upcoming arrival of baby S.

Paper mobile - inspiration from here

Fry containers - inspiration from here

Matrix - inspiration from here

The mother-to-be. Photo booth inspiration from here

Props - inspiration from here

Bubble chalkboard talk - inspiration from here