It's a Spring Thing (I Think)!

Greetings, friends!

Welcome to our "Spring" breakfast area (even though it's in the brisk 40's outside ... blech), where I've made a few, fun changes!

While "Miss Bessie" (the cowhide rug) decided she'd had enough of the wear and tear on her while resting under the table and moved on over to our quieter sitting room, I think the most noticeable change is the addition of a new farmhouse bench! 

I've become a big fan of buying furniture "au naturale" and then painting it to match our decor.  Once my sweet hubs put the bench together, I gave the legs and frame two coats of Annie Sloane's "Pure White," layer of clear wax and then stained the top Minwax Dark Walnut and Red Oak.  I love how it adds to the French Country feel in here!

I'm not *quite* done with it though ... I'll soon be adding a cushion to the top covered in this pretty, checked fabric: 

I think (**hope**) the fabric it will tie in nicely with the panels, bamboo shades and parsons chairs.

Back on the table, I added a simple Spring vignette:

I started with one of my favorite wire trays from Pottery Barn ...

added another one of our cute bunnies from Pier One (that I gave a little burlap collar):

along with a glass apothecary filled with a few delicious *faux* green apples (yum), and ...

of course, added a vase full of *faux* fragrant tulips (thank you, Big Lots)! 

Annnd, well, *what* Spring vignette is complete without a stack of dishes,  colorful napkin and pile o' spoons ... as if we're about to enjoy a fabulous cold treat on a warm, Spring day!  (But, because Mother Nature has declared it still Winter here, that cold treat will have to wait!)  Boooo.

I also added a bit of bling to our chandie, since I don't need it anymore in the sitting room (can't wait to share what I did in there):

The bling chain is from Pottery Barn, and these lengthy *pretties* are actually Christmas ornaments that I simply hung from each arm:

And, there ya' have it ... our Spring breakfast room trapped in Winter!  If you are one of the fortunate ones to actually be warmer Spring temps, would you *please* send them our way?  Thank you!

And, as always, thanks for stopping by!

I'm linking up with:

Savvy Southern Style/WUW

Darling Bench Makeover

This is a project that I actually finished last month 

during one of those many snowstorms that we had.  

And boy, we have had way too many of them lately!  

We still have about 6 inches of snow on the ground 

and I am pretty much over it!  

I can't wait for the real Spring to get here.  

I found this sweet little bench at an Estate Sale last summer.  

I was going to redo it and put it around the house somewhere 

but Miss Beaux took a liking to it 

so we redid it for her room.  

Here is what it looked like when I found it.  

It had been painted over many times but the details 

were so charming.  

The seat cover was dirty and the fabric was dated and pretty ugly.  

When I took off the first cover 

there was another even uglier 

brown fabric underneath.  

Oh, and a few spiders too!  

EEEeeeeeKKKK! 

I bought new foam at JoAnn's (without spiders)

and glued that onto the seat board.  

Then I staple gunned batting around the foam 

before I put the new fabric onto the seat. 

I had this dusty pink velvet left over 

from a client's pretty tapestry pillows a few years ago. 

I painted the bench in Paris Grey and waxed it 

with clear and dark wax.  

I did a fair amount of distressing to retain the old charm.  

 The bench seat is still awaiting the final touch 

of being permanently screwed into the bench 

but it will happen eventually.  

Once we tighten it down a lot of the bumps will disappear.

I love the way that it turned out 

and it looks great with her Shabby Chic bedding. 

Unfortunately, this is the most you will ever see 

of Miss Beaux's room.  

She is a teenager remember?  

Until Next Time,

Beaux R'eves

XO Cindy

Sharing at:
Kim at SavvySouthern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays  

 Judy at DIY by Design

Fabric, Paint and Spring!

You know the deal ... you're in your favorite fabric store ... looking for fabric for, ohhhh, let's say, your son's bathroom, when, all of a sudden, you spot a fabric that would be perfect for your dining room!

Not that anything was particularly *wrong* with the gold fabric (shown below) that you've had in there for the past few years ... wait, on second thought, I guess there was.

There was just SOMEthing about this new fabric that called out to me ... perhaps it was the gorgeous patterns filled with beautiful shades of grey, white, slate blue and a deep "dijon" ...

or, maybe it was because I knew that it would nicely complement the French script fabric on our chairs ...  

along with our furniture and accessories!  

Oh, and don't let me forget to mention it's normally $30 per yard, but, because it arrived from the manufacturer in runs of 3 or 4 yards, it had been marked down to $16 per yard!  Obviously, that pretty much sealed the deal!

After the new panels were hung (and I squealed), I turned my sights on our humongous mirror that was now calling out for a bit of attention.  It wanted to be fancy like the new fabric.  So, with a small craft sponge brush, I gave it two coats of gold paint (that I had on hand) ... hurray for free projects!

Of course, I then had to add a few eggs to celebrate the season!

And, naturally, the table was next ... 

I brought out our sweet bunnies (from Pier One) ... 

and, scattered a few speckled eggs on the runner in pretty shades of blue, green and cream.

New fabric ... a *pizazz-y* mirror ... and a touch of Spring!  Just what the decorating doctor ordered!

Now, a-BOUT that fabric for my son's bathroom ....!  LOL

As always, thanks for stopping by ... come on over and party here:

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures

Savvy Southern Style/WUW

Staging Bedrooms Part II

I promised you all a look at the other bedroom 

that I had finished staging.  

If you have not been following along 

I have been busy staging my house for sale this Spring.  

We have three bedrooms upstairs 

plus a room adjoining the boys rooms 

that they used for video gaming and homework.  

OK, who am I kidding?  

Mostly video games.  

When the boys went to college they left a skeleton of a room that we never changed.  

I wish I had taken a "Before" picture but I guess I didn't.  

This bed used to be angled in the corner of the room.  

It is a very large room so there was still plenty of space.  

Placing it against this wall makes the room 

look so much larger.  

I used bedding that I already had on hand.  

This was a "bed in a bag" set.  

I used a white quilt and folded down the comforter.  

This is a great staging tip to make 

the room brighter and lighter.  

This is the matching table 

to the one that is in the "Boys" room.

Here they are before I painted them in ASCP Old white.

And more painting!  

 This desk was the same wood as the chair but the top had a 

lot of scuffs and water stains on it.  

A little paint and it looks so much better.

I found these drapes at Lowe's on Clearance for $14 a panel.  

I knew they would be perfect for this room.  

I had this artwork in my storage area.  

It makes a statement without being overwhelming.  

I love the way it all looks together.  

Oh and I forgot to show you my favorite part of the bedding.  

I found these vintage pillow cases at an estate sale.  

So cute!

I placed this chair and vintage suitcases in here 

because the room is so spacious.  

And the colors were so perfect!

And here is a look at the room from the doorway.  

Total cost for this room was about $50.00

The door on the right leads into the "extra room".

Here is a peak into that room.  

Whew!  

I am almost finished with the whole house!  

Until Next Time,

Beaux R'eves

XO 

Linking up to:

Roeshel  at DIY Showoff    

Stone Gable  Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits 

Sherry at the No Minimalist Here Open House Party
Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage
 Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Heather and Vanessa at At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday
Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
Sherry at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday
Jen at Tatertots and Jello for the Weekend Wrap-up Party

          Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special

Staging Bedrooms

Well, unfortunately a cold has slowed down 

my "Getting the House Ready for Sale" 

progress.  

But that gives me time to Blog about it I guess!  

A lot of people have me asked why we are selling.  

We just want to downsize since we moved into this house with 3 kids and are now down to our last one who will go to college in a years time.  

And since we are talking about kids, 

I thought I would bring you up to date on the kids rooms 

that I have staged so far.  

I showed you some of the progress (see here)that I had made in the "Boys" room. I am happy to report that the room is complete and ready for showing. 

I wanted to share with you what my process is when I am staging a home for sale.  

What I would normally do is make an appointment 

to visit the homeowner and take pictures of each room.  

No appointment necessary so I just snapped away!  

I like to stand at the doorway of each room  

to take my pictures.  

This is what a potential buyer would see.  

YIKES!  

This is NOT sale ready!  

So, after reviewing my pictures 

I make a plan for the sellers.  

My advice would be to:

Declutter- Take down all of the posters, remove the band equipment, remove extra furniture

Paint- This room is too dark.  The lighter and brighter a space is the bigger it feels.  

Pick a focal point- The bed is the focal point in most bedrooms.

Re-accessorize- keep personal items to a minimum.

Let's see how I did.

Keep in mind that Staging is NOT Decorating.  

It's Staging your home for the sole purpose of selling.  Decorating is personal and often involves lots of ordering of fabrics and furniture and such.  

Typically when Staging you would use existing items 

or as little money as possible.

 The Staged Room

Lighter and brighter and ready for sale.

I had most of this bedding on hand.  

The pillows were purchased at Target on Clearance.  

They were the jumping off point 

for the blue and white color scheme. 

I painted the headboard in  

Old White and Cocoa.

I thought that the space above the bed needed something 

so I stole the license plates from Miss Beaux.  

I swear, I think she is a hoarder.  

Push pins are holding them on the wall. 

No sew drapes and homemade artwork 

coordinate with the bedding.

We mounted a simple rod above the window 

about 6-8 inches.  

This gives the room the height that it needs.  

I used Target tablecloths for the drapes with clip rings. 

They were on Clearance also.  

The best part was that they came in the package with the 

"tie backs" buttoned around them.

I just attached it to the wall with a push pin.  

I bought the frames and mats at Michael's and 

Googled images of blueprint horses for the artwork.

I painted the base of this Estate Sale table with ASCP in Old White.  The matching table is in the other bedroom.  A lamp and a "boy" accessory sits on top.

I painted this old chair and re-upholstered the seat in the same tablecloth striped fabric.  

I love the crisp white with the blue. 

 A few things on the desk (I removed the upper hutch that my son had) and we are ready to go.

The total cost for this room was around $100.00.  

I probably could have done it for less but I sometimes get my mind set on something and I am not happy until I get the "look" that I want.  

Before and After Time 

I'll show you the adjoining room tomorrow.

Until Next Time,

Beaux R'eves

XO

Sharing at:
Kim at SavvySouthern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays  

 Judy at DIY by Design

 Roeshel  at DIY Showoff    

Stone Gable  Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits 
 Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage

Sherry at the No Minimalist Here Open House Party
 Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Heather and Vanessa at At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday
Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
Sherry at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday
Jen at Tatertots and Jello for the Weekend Wrap-up Party

          Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special