Digging through old pictures... I love remembering things that have been locked into a box or album until you open them up again. It's like being there again, the smells, the visions, the noises... all come back if you look hard enough. So today I am posting a few blasts from the past of our house. Whew, it's come a long way in my hunble opinion... Here are the oldies but goodies...

This room was the most exciting... tan carpet, tan walls, ugly fan, see through curtains and mini blinds from 1985. Nothing like it! Oh, let's get this house!!!

This was the kitchen faucet, whoever designed the faucet water filter I'm sure had some idea of clean, but seriously, how hideous is that!? And the wallpaper on the backsplash was quite, you guessed it... tan.
The basement... oh yes! Sign me up for a shower on brick stilts in the basement! Please please! Maybe the insulation will fall on me too! 
The attic. Okay, now, let's pick out the best color for the attic that is neutral... no, not tan, that's all over the first floor. Oh, I've got it! Mauve! Yes, that will add some real pazzazzzz! Seriously, it wasn't that bad, but it was too much for this long of a space. And it had little flowers. Again, nice touch in the 80s... but this was 2006!
This is 2006, right as we signed the papers. The tree that is here just actually got hit by the ice storm, so it will be replaced soon, the shutters are now bright blue, so I'll add those NOW pictures later... lots to still accomplish in our little abode!

Lilies from our yard. I have to say that there is no other peace than waking up and going into the kitchen to start coffee... and God whispers my name with just simple rays of sunshine. These rays were beaming through the window perfectly onto our lilies that I had just picked yesterday. They smell so great and between the light and the lilies, my day started out great. Letting a little bit of your yard into your house (even if you have bad allergies like I do...) will help bring a bit of peace and calmness to your day. And, invest in a sweet vase or two.

The nursery is school bus yellow. An idea: instead of buying high priced "art" that is found in baby stores, I decided to let the artwork be from little artists. My niece Etta made this fabulous piece and I have others hanging from my other niece and nephew. So, we decided to save a little and make it more sentimental. We also are going to hang art from when TJ and I were kids that we did... more to come!

These curtains I made. I know, I know, maybe you don't sew. BUT, if you have priced even just one panel of curtains lately and have an odd sized window, more than likely it will pay off to make your curtains. These were simple. The middle and top are actually quilting material. The squares of different material were precut and sewn. All I had to do was cut them and add panels. You can also use a product that you can iron on a hem. I have used Steam A Seam before and it works well. Just make sure to get the iron the right temp for both the material and the SAS.

The chest of drawers I bought at a "restore room" at an antique mall in Louisville. It is a Waterfall chest from the 50-60s... it was in pretty bad shape. I bought it for about 30 bucks, used red paint and black oil based enamel to paint the base and the handles. All handles were still there, which is a super rare find in a "restore room." The top was still really bad, so I took a Klimt calendar  that I loved the prints and cut them all up. 

~~You know the kind of calendar you buy, love for a year, then stuff into a box SWEARING to take the prints and frame them. Well, I now have a use for them!~~

Use Modge Podge to glue on the pieces. I just Modge Podged (to create a seal) the top and first drawer as the other drawers were okay. Plus, I didn't want it to be too overly busy.

Have fun! ANOTHER Modge Podge tip: Take those calendar pages, cut to the size of your ugly old tan light switch covers and you have a nice, custom look. I did all the switch plates in my old house and also added funny sayings from magazines. The new peeps like them, so I was glad not to have to replace all of them before moving!

This may seem silly but you have to love an old door bell ringer... right at eye level hanging in the microscopic place called a hallway. So, our's was a bit outdated... well, it still is... but at least it's not gold. It is now a nice flat black--oil based paint does wonders for small home problems, er, projects. Try it! Rustoleum is the brand I always buy and it's not pricey. Find the little half pint cans at any home improvement mecca or hardware store. Get ready for drips, so you need to apply with caution and also have mineral spirits on hand for cleanups.

A great tip: take off old handles from drawers, cabinets and such... dip them into the paint can, let the excess drip off, then lay them on a side that doesn't have paint to dry. Watch the paint just smoothe itself out. Fabo!

Some of you are thinking, what? I can't build anything... I'm not a carpenter! Well, neither are we! But, there are simple ways to rejuvenate an old piece of furniture.

This cabinet was abandoned by the previous home owners. Covered in ridiculously ugly contact paper, I almost felt like throwing it out to the garage. I don't know about you, but I don't even use contact paper in my kitchen cabinets, let alone to COVER a piece of furniture! I decided to see what it was about and if it was even salvageable. I ripped all the contact paper off, and underneath was a nice real wooden piece of furniture. It looks homemade, but it has a beadboard door, so that adds a funky charm. I used paint that I already had from walls and put a coat of paint on it. (or two) The key was to make sure to sand off the stinky gunk that was left from the contact paper. 

Words of wisdom: if you have a piece of furniture, for the love of God, please don't use contact paper! Call me, I'll rescue your piece.

Now, this little jewel was one TJ spotted at a yard sale at my Mom and Dad's neighbors! We weren't even really going to go shopping again to find a DVD case, but it showed up for us...

This was quite a hideous piece at first, but we knew it was solid wood, and it was a steal for $15 PLUS a new rug and stool were thrown in to boot!

We tore off the ugly 1980s veneer covering off the top, sanded it and the doors and put a stain that we both liked on it. (Remember, sanding doesn't take that long AND you are toning your arms, girls, who has to go to the gym? Blah!) 

We found knobs on clearance at Lowe's (for about a buck each) that we both like along with one strip of trim ($3) to finish out where the front looked a bit unfinished from ripping off the veneer. Again, it didn't take that long and it didn't need much work. Total cost on this including the rug, stool, sandpaper, finishing trim, knobs and stain was about $27! 

I don't know where you can buy anything made from real wood for that price.

A great way to display images and a little touch of your family history is to make color copies and frame them. This frame cost maybe $7 with the matt, so there is instant savings... it also is a nice wood, so it can be used for many different rooms in our house if we choose. I have a box of pictures that are of my grandparents (Melissa's Granny and Pa Mann) and they made sweet notes on the backs of alot of them. 

I love that they would do that, so I copied each side and framed it in this less than pricey frame, but it still looks like a piece of nice artwork. It's a great way to talk about your family (that is, if you LIKE your family history....) and to have another neat piece on a wall that normally might just have a mirror hanging on it.

One of the first things you may find yourself doing when you own a basement is fishing around for the steps... especially if you have a basket of piled-to-your-eyeballs laundry in your arms. On numerous occasions there have also been times that we almost skipped a step because we didn't have a light turned on so the steps all faded together visually. 

Solution? One day I was looking through all the half-empty paint cans we had acquired and made a brave choice. I painted the steps! Yep! Two toned, as you can see... the dark gray and the lime green wouldn't normally "go" together, and purposefully so if you don't want to keep mis-stepping down to your basement. 

So before you take that next step, put a coat of paint on the steps and alternate colors so your inlaws also won't fall. You'll gain love from every visitor. Trust me.

Today I was inspired by the magazines I borrowed from a friend. This magazine tells how to get the look in a room you want, but I have to say that for those of us on a budget we really have to go to other shops to pull off some of these ideas... 

So that inspired me to create a blog to show you how easy it is to think BIG for iddy biddy spaces.

First of all, I started buying things I like in college... going to junk stores, yard sales and discount outlets at the age of 17 really made me think that I would keep this style of living up for decades. And I have!

You don't have to be rich to have a cozy place to live. After all, your home is your haven. It should be the place you not only sleep and eat, but a place you're proud to have friends over and not feel ashamed if the house is not spic and span. OR doesn't look like a catalog.

There are plenty of ways to save and also create a warm, inviting place. So you're saying you aren't creative? No way. We're all born creative, it's just that we grow up and some of us don't USE our creativity. It's like anything, the more you practice it, the better you become at it.

I will show you plenty of things that will get your creative juices flowing and also save some cash so you can go buy something fun for yourself, your family or for a friend in need!

Save, save, save and splurge on things that are really worth it!

Peace and Joy in 2009!!