Special Little Touches {Fun Ideas}

I shared a peek into my daughters' room recently and I wanted to share one of the special little details I added to the room. When I stumbled across their dresser at a garage sale the family was hesitant to sell it because they had recently found it in the attic of their grandmother's house after she passed away.  I assured them it was going to be well loved and they sold it to me for only $30!  The dresser has great details like key hole locks that actually work and Knapp joints; I added the cream ceramic knobs since the original ones weren't looking so good.

I wiped down the drawers but they still didn't look quite clean enough. I figured the easiest solution would be to line each drawer.  I didn't want to line the drawers with regular ol' paper shelf liner. No, this dresser was too special for that. It deserved a unique touch.  I decided to use fabric to line the drawers.  I simply removed the small nail holding the bottom of the drawer in place. Then I pulled out the wooden bottom and used some fabric I already had in my stash to wrap over the edges and secured it with a few staples on the under side. Next, I slipped the piece of wood back into the bottom of the drawer and nailed it down. This only took 20 minutes total and it's so fun to see when I open the drawers!

I always find that the simplest of things can add so much!
P.S. The chalkboards I used on the girls' baskets are actually wood cutouts painted with chalkboard paint. We drilled small holes in the top and strung lace ribbon through the holes onto the basket.

It's Just So Charming

I usually like to wait and show pictures of projects I'm working on after they're completely finished and just the way I want them.  But, for the sake of this blog (and wanting people to actually read it), I'm going to do a tour of our home even though it's a work in progress.  
My friend, Kristin (I may have mentioned her on here before!), came over and took some pictures for me since we're in the process of buying a camera at the moment.
I flip flopped on whether I would show my favorite or least favorite room first. I decided I'll share our little girls' room first since it's my most favorite room in the house, it's just oh so charming.  Maybe once you see it you won't think the rest of the house is quite as boring as it may be (I've got some great things planned).
Here it is!

Everything two little girls need packed into a little room.  My style always tends to be a little bit of old and a little bit of new, mixed in with stuff we make, that's how I like things!
I took the large doors off the girls' closet cause they were too hard for them to open on their own.  In their place I added sheer white and grey flowered curtains.  The girls have their baby bed and kitchen in there as well, the rest of their toys and books are stored in baskets under the bed.  Stacked on the shelves are some of their larger toys and baskets full of scarves, tights and hand-me-down shoes that don't quite fit Ruby (my youngest) yet.

I keep a few dresses and sweaters hung, other then that everything fits nicely into the dresser drawers and baskets.  The white baskets with their names on them are their pajama baskets.  I like to keep them out in the open so it's easy for them to grab a pair at night.

I made the curtains, spruced up an Ikea mirror (more on that coming up), and sewed some pillows.

My hubby made these bookshelves, they've been so perfect and I enjoy them every time I see them.  We modified these building plans which were pretty simple to use and they hold a good amount of books which is a must in this house!

Ribbon strung on two World Market hooks is perfect for hanging the girls' artwork.  And the little chalkboard easel was a great find from a yard sale - $10.

Close up pic of the DIY curtains.

And lastly, THE bed!  My mom saw this in an alley (in a sketchy neighborhood), told me about it, and we went to get it right away!  It was very dark, old, nasty wood but the lines were so great I knew it needed a home.  It's a King size bed frame. I wanted to use it for my girls' bed but there was no way we could fit a king size bed in this room, so, after a while I realized a full size bed turned sideways is the same width as a king size bed, we shortened the side rails, painted it a pale blue and Voilà!!  Perfect, chunky, short & wide little girls bed that looks like it popped right out of a fairy tale!

Well, there it is.  I hope you enjoyed it.  Let me know if there was anything I missed that you were interested in.  Up next, I'm thinking it will be the living/dining/school/library/computer area.