Laundry Room Accessory

I've been putting this simple project off for too long... and now I know why.  Soon after I finished the cloth napkin wall art, I was visiting my favorite store (you know the one) and came across this cute striped towel on clearance for $4.  I didn't know why I was drawn to it at the time, but I decided to buy it anyway.  When I got home, I realized... it was the perfect match to the wall art in the laundry room.  I seem to do that often, buy things not knowing what I'll do with it, but then later find the perfect spot or idea.  Does this happen to you?  

 I've had this cute double knob piece for over a year.  I found it at Hobby Lobby and haven't seen one since, so I'm glad I picked it up!   At one point it hung in the laundry room, but it lacked color, so I took it down.  After reviewing all the colors in my new towel, I decided Krylon's Avocado would bring it to life.  The knobs would not remove easily, so I taped around them and gave it 3-4 coats.  My sweet boy "reading" in the background, I didn't have the heart to ask him to scooch.

I'm so glad it dries in 10 minutes because I was anxious to get it on the wall and see how it looked in the room.  

I'm not crazy about these next two pictures, this room is hard to photograph, so bear with me.  

Hopefully you can get an idea of the room in this shot... sorry, tight quarters!

Isn't fun?  I love the color.  My washer and dryer are hooked up wrong, washer is on the right, dryer is on the left.  We thought we could switch it when we first moved in, but dryer duct poses a problem.  :)  Makes doing laundry a little awkward, but I've gotten used to it over the years.  I like to have a hand towel close by after stuffing dirties in the washer, so this is perfect.

Oh, by the way, if you didn't guess... my favorite store is Home Goods!  :)

I'm linking up to:
Tuesdays Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After Party
Latest and Greatest Friday Link Party @ Days of Chalk and Chocolate

  

Impromptu Mantel Makeover

As I was looking through all the Spring linky parties for inspiration, I realized I couldn't really achieve the look I was going for with a wood stained mantel.  Here's my attempt at our mantel last year.
See what I mean?  It's just not doing it for me.

Everything I gravitate towards has a white mantel and mine was holding me back.  So guess what I did?  Yes!
I painted it white.  I was tired of thinking about it and just did it!  I used an interior alkyd semi-gloss enamel; it will take a good 24 hours to dry, but when it does, I can't wait to play!  I don't have the color of the paint because it is a custom manual match, but for those of you interested, here is the code:

Here's the before:

Here's a close up of the different types of trim they used and let me tell ya, this was REAL fun to paint!  

I used a sponge brush to get into all the crevices and a sponge roller for the top.  Both worked really well to minimize brush strokes.  After about two hours of painting, here she is in all her white glory.

YAY!  I'm so excited!  I'll be back tomorrow to show you my new Spring mantel.

Are there projects in your home that you keep putting off and one day you finally decide, "today is the day, I'm tired of talking about it."  Today was that day for me and I couldn't be happier with the results. 

Linking up to: 

Home Office Reveal

    After much organization and accessorizing, I am so happy to show you my completed home office.  

This is where I'll blog, craft and stamp.  Here are pictures of the before, during,

  and after!

Grab some coffee, take a seat and enjoy... there are LOTS of pictures!

 Every box, basket, jar and ceramic bowl holds my supplies.  I wanted it to be both functional and eye appealing.
When accessorizing the Expedit, I applied Beth's tips on how to decorate shelves, creating visual triangles.

 The drapes were made by me, using Bedazzle Silver Lining by Waverly.

 This super soft rug came from Home Goods.  My feet are in love!

The gallery wall was created using frames I had on hand and others I found at thrift stores and Home Goods.  

The lamp came from Home Goods and the dresser is a Craigslist find for $55!

My dear friend, Autumn (from my college years) sent me this card after our Pampered Chef weekend together.  

I love the message and the colors are perfect for the new space.

The mat will be framed with black and white pictures of the kids and will be hung above the light blue cabinet.  The cork boards came from Ava's room.  I will be covering them with this fabric, for my memo and inspiration boards.

Waverly Cross Section in Charcoal

Special thanks to Mimi @ Blue Roof Cabin for having a giveaway to celebrate her one year blogiversary.  

Sweet Ava Kate was chosen and this Pottery Barn globe came home with me.

My inspiration for this room comes from Megan @ Honey We're Home. 

 I fell in love with her home office, especially the drapery fabric and then it evolved from there.  

Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a great week!  

I'm linking up to these great parties:

Tutorials and Tips Link Party @ Home Stories A2Z

Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch 

Paint Color Party @ Involving Color    

Tuesdays Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Kids Bathroom Art

If you've visited the "Our Home" page, you may remember the kids bright and colorful bathroom.

I couldn't resist sharing this picture of Ava and her friend, Madeline playing dress-up!

The bathroom doesn't photo well, so please excuse the quality.  Before I show you the updated bathroom, here's a little background info leading up to my purchase.  When I was in the middle of decorating our home office, I decided I didn't want to use the grey trellis rug from Garden Ridge. 

Although very trendy and affordable, the quality just wasn't what I was looking for and I knew eventually it would be replaced.  So, off I went to Garden Ridge to exchange it for something else.

At the time of the return, I wasn't sure what I would get, so I've been holding on to a merchandise credit for the past two months.  I stopped by there today while both kids were in school... plenty of time to scour the whole store with no interruptions!  They have a fairly decent wall decor section, especially in the kid aisle.  

I found these adorable sea life prints for $14.99 each.  

Here's a close up...

Aren't they the cutest, most cheerful little creatures?  And just what this room needed, more color.  :)  

When Ava came home from school, she made a point of telling me she liked the new look... I'm glad she approves! 

Oh, and speaking of the office, I'm putting the finishing touches on my new organized space and can't wait to show you the reveal.  Hope you're having a good week!

I'm Linking Up To:

Hookin' Up With House of Hepworths

Laundry Room Makeover

Hey there!  My absence is due to the lovely weather we've been having!  Lots of time spent outdoors with the kids.  We're actually getting ready for Ava's first T-ball practice later tonight. 

 I wanted to share a simple DIY project that literally took me 20 minutes.  I feel like such a copy cat these days... I just love what I'm finding on Pinterest and saw this idea just yesterday.  Kate at The Small Things Blog (she is at Blissdom 2012 right now... so jealous!) showed this cute and easy way to create art from napkins.  I purchased these pretty mosaic napkins at World Market for $3.99 each.  The three frames were 40% off at Michaels', making them $4.99 a piece.  Project cost was under $30!  

The frames are 10x13 with a 8x10 mat.  

The napkins have great patterns, so I decided to feature my favorites in each frame.

I centered the design where I wanted, folded it inside the mat and secured the back.

My laundry room needed a pop of color.  This color palette was perfect!  Here is the result...

The other side of the laundry room has been updated too.  About two years ago, hubby custom built a shelving/hanging area for us.  We had cabinets in here when we moved in.  The house was a model and the realtors used this space for paper, supplies, etc.  One of these days I'll share what we did with those cabinets.  If you're a regular follower, you know me, I like to repurpose!  I'm always looking for ways to add more storage and those cabbies were definitely put to good use!  But for now, we'll focus on the laundry room.  Please excuse the photos, they are not the greatest, hopefully you get the idea.  

Believe it or not, I enjoy doing laundry in here.  It's come a long way from when we first moved in seven years ago.  Hope you have a good weekend!  I'll be busy painting the office and can't wait to show you details next week!  :)

I'm linking up to:

Spring Craft Link Party @ Centsational Girl

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Inspiration Friday @ The Picket Fence

Primp Your Stuff Wednesdays

Hookin' Up With House of Hepworths

SYS Blog Link Party @ Somewhat Simple

A Crafty Soiree, Every Thursday @ Yesterday on Tuesday

Under $100 Linky Party @ Beyond The Picket Fence

Thrifty Thursdays @ Tales From Bloggeritaville

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Days of Chalk and Chocolate

Sundae Scoop @ I Heart Naptime

Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

DIY Showoff Project Parade