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Thursday, March 31, 2011

Sneak Peek on the office re-do!

Good Morning, Everyone!

I have been hard at work trying to finish up this room so we can move on to the next one!  So I painted the office yesterday and the rest this morning.  I chose the color by Behr called :Tide Pools.  It is a LUSCIOUS, FABULOUS color that just made me think "spa & relax".

Here is a sneak peek of the newly painted walls:

Ignore the mess in the hallway! Pretty color, huh?



A different view

Ok, so you are probably wondering what is that square looking thing on the wall.  Well, it is an easy simple to do "frame" or "art work" that you can do on your wall for...wait for it...FREE.  Assuming you already have painters tape (which you should to paint the trim, people!)  So all I did was I painted a huge section of the wall white (already had that paint from the desk) and once it dried, I marked out my square with the painters tape.  I then painted around the tape with the color of the walls.  Let it dry and then, BOOM!  You have a beautiful art looking frame on your wall.  I did another one that size right next to it (which you can't see because I JUST painted it so I'm letting the paint dry before ripping off the tape).  And then I did two small squares on top of each other next to the 2nd large square.  Just trying something different.  Here is a picture below, you can kind of see it:

Well, maybe not.  But just wait for it to dry!
 So, just give me by the end of today and hopefully I will have everything in place for the big reveal tomorrow!  YAY!!  Can't wait to put everything together!

Thanks again for reading!  Oh, here is a better close up of the square "art/frame".

LOVE IT!! :)

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

DIY Mirror Makeover!

Hello everyone!!

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!  Liam and I headed down to Jacksonville, FL to visit my bestest friend, Sarah!  We had a wonderful time and it was a nice break from my office re-do.  Now that we are home, I have continued to work on the desk (who knew it would take so long!) but decided to do a small little DIY project.  The best part is that it was FREE! I have an old mirror that I absolutely LOVE.  I've had it for about 4 years and it has gone everywhere with me.  I decided to give it a new look.  It has gorgeous detail and I thought it would look great in the office we are re-stylin'. :) 


Here it is before!!

Look at the detail




So here are the simple little steps.  Take some painters tape or masking tape and tape along the edges onto the mirror.  This will ensure that no paint will get on the mirror.  I went ahead and did a quick coat of primer.


This is what it looked like after the primer coat.  I decided to only do one coat (that should be plenty).  I let it dry for about 2 hours.  I went back out and painted it white.  I only did one coat (once again, that should be plenty).  I used the same primer and paint that I am using on the desk, thus FREE.

Here is our finished product:



Pretty, huh??  It look even better once the room is painted the light bluish shade I am going to paint the walls.  For now, its still drying out in the garage :)

So here is the cost breakdown:
  • Mirror - Free
  • Primer - Free (from desk project)
  • Paint - Free (also from desk project)
  • Painters tape - Free (have TONS of it)
And, Voila!  A free, simple DIY Project that will spruce up any mirror in your home!  Thanks again for reading!



Thursday, March 24, 2011

DIY Memo Board or Bulletin Board

Well I decided while the second coat of primer was drying on my desk, I would make a small project (for barely nothing!) for our new office space.  I decided to make a Memo Board or a Bulletin Board.  This is a VERY easy project and quite inexpensive.  This is what the final product will look like:


Nice, huh?  Well thank you! Let me show you how to do this simple, cute project.  
What you'll need:

  • A Frame
  • Paint
  • Fabric
  • Foam Board
  • Stapler
  • Exact o Knife
Ok, so here is a little secret.  The frame can come from somewhere like a thrift store.  It doesn't matter how ugly the picture is inside the frame, toss that!  You can easily prime the frame and paint it the color you want for PENNIES.  Unfortunately, all my thrift stores stink!  I couldn't find anything.  So I went to my FAVORITE store, Hobby Lobby and found a plain wooden frame for 50% off!  I spent $7.00 on a plain frame.                         



So the first step is to lay the frame down on your foam board (also from Hob Lob - $1.99) and trace the size of the frame so that the foam board will slip right in.  Now cut the foam board with your exact-o knife.  Take your fabric and now wrap it the foam board like your wrapping a present. 

                                                    


You will use your stapler to secure the fabric to the board.  Now you'll want to paint your frame.  It literally took me 10 minutes to paint this wooden frame.  I decided to use a gray paint that I already had in a sample color I got from Home Depot about 2 months ago.  It'll look really pretty with the light blue color I am painting the room.  



Once its done drying, just take your foam board and press it into the frame and make sure its nice and snug in the frame.  I went ahead and hung it on the wall just you could see the finished project on the wall, but I'll be moving it soon when I paint. 
VIOLA!


Finished product!  Like the lamp next to it??  Me too!  It's staying! :)  I bought a gray rug from Ikea that will really compliment this new memo board and lamp shade (more on the rug later..)

So final costs on the Memo Board or Bulletin Board Project:
  • Frame - $7.00
  • Foam Board - Free (Already some left over)
  • Paint - Free (Already had sample)
  • Fabric - Free (Left over from headboard project)
  • TOTAL - $7.00!!
Now, if you need to buy these items, go over to Hob Lob and these are the estimated costs:
  • Frame - $7.00
  • Foam Board - $2.00
  • Paint Sample - $2.95
  • Fabric - (3 yards around $3.00 per year) = $9.00
  • TOTAL - $20.95!!

WOW!! Even if you have to purchase these items, it'll still only cost around $20, maybe less if you get the fabric you want on clearance.

Thanks again for reading Re-Stylin'!  The desk should be finished in no time.  :) 

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The Office Re-do! In Progress...

Ok, first off - Excuse the mess!  So this is the first project I will be sharing with everyone on Re-Stylin'!  

My goal is to restyle this ENTIRE room for under $150.  We just moved into this house at the end of December 2010.  Let's just say that we haven't had time to do much to the house.  This space is our office or study.  This room is the first room you see when you walk in, so it kind of has to be awesome, right?? :)  It's off to the left as soon as you walk in.  We have three beautiful windows that face the neighborhood (I'll get a shot later) and we want to move the desk into the middle of the room so we can see outside and not stare at a wall.  So you'll see that the room already has gorgeous hardwood floors AND crown molding.  Not touching any of that...The first re-stylin' project is going to be the desk.  Here we go!





Ok, so we bought this desk at Office Depot about 3 years ago and it has been moved about 3 times.  It has scratches all over the top and lets just say it's been through a lot. Well I decided that I wanted to make our new office space a "spa" like look and feel.  I know that sounds silly...A "spa" like office?  Well, if I'll be spending a lot of time in there, I should feel relaxed, right??  So I am going to be painting the room a beautiful light blue shade (more on that later).  I thought with that color, we should make the furniture a crisp white color.  Since buying a new desk is NOT in the budget, I decided that I was going to paint it myself.  I also want to mention that this desk is not real wood.  It's in fact particle board.  "You can paint and refinish particle board, Kristine?"  Why, yes you can readers!  I am going to show you how!  Here is the desk in the garage (thanks hubby for helping me carry it outside, quite heavy I might add).  Let's get started on how I am going to do this!


Things you'll need:
  1. Screwdriver
  2. Sand Paper
  3. Primer and White Paint (Paint brushes)
Ok, now that you have all your supplies, let's get to it!  First thing, remove all the drawers and doors and take off the hardware using your screwdriver.  I wanted to sand and prime my drawers first.  You can begin wherever you want. Once you finish sanding the area you started with, get a paper towel and just wipe off the dust and begin priming the area you just sanded.  Let the first coat dry and while it's doing so, go ahead and start sanding another part.  I waited about 15 minutes then went back and primed the next coat.

The two drawers after TWO coats of primer
Desk door and shelf after TWO coats of primer

I started to sand and prime the rest of the desk but my little man decided it was time to wake up from his nap so I hope to get the rest of the desk primed maybe tonight or tomorrow when the hubby is home. 

Please stay tuned for the rest of the desk re-do!  Thanks for reading my FIRST post on Re-Stylin'.