tv stand

We have a smallish living room which has absolutely no space for our lovely coffee table. So, since we had no space for a coffee table but were also in need of a new tv stand at the same time, we used the table as a temporary place-holder until we found a new tv stand. I think we all know what happened next. We never bought a tv stand. For like 3 years. Mostly because I think they are really boring unless you spend 300 plus dollars, and I just didn't ever think it was worth it.

Witness the boring boringness of boring.

Recently I was bitten by the we-need-a-real-tv-stand bug (I mean, who hasn't been bitten by that thing, right?!) I mean look at this mess. Cords everywhere. (Side note confession: my first instinct is to always spell it "c-h-o-r-d." Music major problems amIright?) And so much dust! And it's so small and cluttered! Yikes.

Witness the awful awfulness. For the sake of full disclosure.

I immediately had visions of a nice, refinished old dresser. I figured it wouldn't be too hard, but I quickly found that the biggest problem was finding something with very specific dimensions because it needs to sit next to that small wall, almost in the corner, but not blocking the bookshelf. Too many restrictions! So I started carrying around a tape measure with me.

I finally found the perfect dresser for $40! I really lucked out. Mostly because I was so excited that it was the right size that I didn't check the condition of the dresser. I mean, I could have gotten it home and found out that all the drawers were glued shut. Or found out that one of the sides had water damage.....which it did. But I was lucky and it wasn't bad at all. The water only ruined the finish, which I was covering anyway. So yay! It also had ridiculously unstable legs, but I took those babies off first thing. I didn't even get a photo of them. (but you can see the big mirror it came with. I have no idea what I'm going to do with that thing, but it seems like a waste to just throw it out just yet. And I removed the mounting hardware from the dresser, so I have that too.)

Upon closer inspection (which didn't happen until I bought it, took it home, and unloaded it) I found that the drawer handles (which were awful) were actually nailed in. NOT screwed in. And NOT easily removed. But with a little elbow grease I wriggled those babies off and filled in the holes with a little wood filler. Like they never existed.

Since it was going to need space for all our tv stuff I planned to remove the top drawers and paint the whole inside with some of the leftover charcoal-colored paint I used to paint our door. And I lucked out again because instead of having to make-shift a shelf under where the drawers were, this dresser was old enough that it was already built in! I don't know if any body else has noticed, but most dressers don't have that any more, which means that you can't usually just remove drawers and replace them with cute new baskets. (Or in my case, you can't put too many socks in a lower drawer or they will block the upper drawer form closing all the way.)

So all I had to do then was remove the drawer tracks. They came off super easy, which is ironic since the drawer handles were like cemented and nailed down. Seriously. Maybe my muscles were all strong from using a hammer and pliers and putty knife and screwdriver repeatedly to get those handles off, but just a little flip of the wrist with my stubby little screw driver and they were gone.

I painted the rest of it red. I won't go into the problems I had with the paint. Let's just say I won't be buying Valspar brand from Lowe's for my next projects. (Seriously.) But after it was finished it looked so boring. And still pretty bright.

So I used an old Encyclopedia of Concert Music and some Mod Podge and did a herringbone design on the drawers and finished it all off with some old porcelain drawer pulls. I also drilled a 2" hole on each side for the cords (chords) to go through.

 

I painted the inside of the drawers too. (ok, well the girls painted them. They always want to help out, but painting my living room furniture requires a lot of trust, so the inside of the drawers it is!)

BA BAM! I love how it turned out!

I was still worried the red would still be too bright but I think it really pulls the whole living room together. Also, two words: cord (chord) management.

new bedroom art!

my new bedroom art revealed! i know, i know, you've been sitting on the edge of your seats for weeks just waiting for the big reveal, and i did my very best to get some decent photos, which i'm not thrilled with, but whatever. the time has come! 
here it is:

 a couple weeks ago i found this amazing artist and was completely inspired by one piece in particular. i like to think i'm a unique person with my own ideas, but i just felt the need to recreate this for my bedroom. it's slightly different, of course, but very obviously not my original concept. with that said, i still really love it!

piece of tan linen from the remnant bin, plus a couple skeins of embroidery floss and a frame i already had on hand made this a cheap project! and much more cheery than it appears in my photos...

i had some leftover materials, so i grabbed an empty frame from the vintage store in town, painted it black, and made another one.

lyric from one of our favorite songs {mentioned before because i love it!}

 this is the most accurate photo for the color scheme. and while i'm still a novice embroiderer, i think my stitches are getting better!

little change #2

i got this adorable little lamp a couple months ago and i love all it's kitschy character. unfortunately the color scheme seems more suited for a nursery than our living room, so i decided to make some changes.

i love how it turned out! and it really wasn't that much work.

i sanded it, primed it, and spray painted it {while the neighbors looked at me like i was crazy} and recovered the shade {using this tutorial}

it's still just as charming and unique, and i think mozart here looks much better in yellow! 

little change #1

yellow doilies + old cans + art supplies

{with a little double stick tape thrown in there}

  i've been looking at so many photos of beautiful rooms this week and have finally figured out that the secret is in the details. so i'm working on changing our details around.

i think this is a good start!

violins as decor

i display my love for the violin around my house. 

like these beautiful bookends i got from my sister-in-law a few years ago:

love them! 

and i love this print, a gift from a student:

{i keep it up here and i know how badly it needs a frame}

and the other day i got this little beauty from my favorite vintage place. i think it looks just like an f hole {i just need to figure out where to hang it!}

i'm excited for the day when i have my own craft/music room and i can hang my instruments on the wall, too. but for now, they're better in their cases.

kicking the knitting habit

today i made my first non-knitting craft project since novemeber! {although i did check out a couple knitting books at the library}

i finally made myself a jewelry organizer. my sister-in-law and i made one for her {tutorial here!}, but i haven't felt the need to make my own until recently. i don't have a ton of jewels- just enough to start getting messy.

my bathroom counter:

cooped-up in the english pub ash-tray that husband's grandpa gave him. things get tangled.

 side note: this is the glass frog votive i've had since sixth grade that holds husband's wedding ring:

my bathroom wall:

 i found a beat-up-price-reduced frame at hobby lobby and painted it green {to match our other bathroom decor} i added the black ribbon to disguise a few major gashes, and hung with grosgrain ribbon. i like it. although the black doesn't exactly fit the color scheme, but i was working with what i have. and i'm really trying not to let the fact that one necklace in particular is just way too long. sister-in-law would never allow this to happen to her...

 and since it's already out, i thought i'd show you one of my favorite christmas gifts: this cutie from my bestie {she has one, too!} 

i wear it most days :)

although husband is always awed {thrilled, impressed, pleased...you get the idea} with all of my many {and messy} projects {he's so supportive}, he really thinks i should add some of these to my shop.  

opinions? i'd love to hear what you think!

a bestie crafty banner

last year around this time, my bestest bestie sent me a wonderful handmade paper bunting banner. unfortunately, it's too small to fit over our large living room window, but it's perfect for our little kitchen window:

{forgive the weird photos, i had to take them in the evening with all the lights on since the sun usually shines in so brightly} 

so, inspired by that wonderful window treatment, i made a slightly larger one for the living room window. 

someday i'd like to make a fabric one, but this was so quick and easy. and i do love paper.

 

  it's these little things that make our house feel like a home.

vintage couch love

this weekend we got an early christmas gift from my mom and dad

it's a couch. and it. is. awesome!

i walked into one of our local vintage stores {second thyme around} and there it was. it's in excellent condition and fits perfectly. {and it totally matches the vintage gold chair we already have}

{the price tag}

and besides the fact that husband and i have been without a couch for over a year {and our previous couch was a futon} the kitty loves it, too.

yeah, we stayed inside all weekend cuddling and sleeping on our new couch. 

awesome.

monogram extravaganza!

we've been in our new apartment for just over a month, and so i've been doing a lot of crafting lately. and furniture rearranging. and general "nesting" stuff. it all started with the wallpaper, and now i have totally redone our livingroom artwork.

i've gone monogram crazy!

i went bigger, i went better, and i used the existing nail holes! {which explains the random placements} i'm really digging the whole thing. and since our last name won't be changing anytime soon, i'm thinking these little jewels will work in all our future housing.

my favorite part? i used craft materials i already had around the house. nothing new needed! i'm all about using what you have on hand.

{a stenciled "m" on a burlap coffee bag in an old record frame}

 {husband's favorite. this was an {ugly} metal wall-hanging. i covered it with contact paper with a scrap paper "m"}

 {my favorite. this is actually a frame which the glass was broken out during the move. i covered it with a piece of wool to make a stretched canvas of sorts, and embroidered the "m"}

  {a blank canvas i already had. it's just wine corks sliced up, painted, and hot glued on.}

 {another blank canvas i had on hand. painted, with buttons hot glued on}

{a frame that was already on the wall. i used my exacto knife to cut the "m" out in white card stock, glued that to the dark green, and glued that to the bright green}

{another frame already on the wall. just a variety of "m"s drawn out in tan fine-point sharpie}

i want to add a few more that aren't square or handmade by me, so i'm keeping my eyes peeled for vintage "m"s-  something along these lines.

i've definitely got a few other things going on in our place {both big and small}, so this may just end up being a week of apartment posts!