Mirror, Mirror On The Wall...

Yesterday I had what I'll consider a karma moment. After a very long and hard couple days I sat at my laptop and thought to myself that I should look on Craigslist for a mirror that I could paint and hang in my foyer. (see previous post) I opened the local furniture and link and, I kid you not, the first listing was for a 10 mirror. It was perfect. I emailed right away and the mirror was mine as soon Mr. H woke up from his nap! Thank you, universe! It just needed a little paint spray taken off the glass with a razor blade and I had to re-wire the back. And here it is, in all its glory.

While my mind was on mirrors, I was sick of looking in one mirror in particular and that's the hideously simple mirror that came with the powder room. The builders really spared some expense with this thing.




It's actually an adorable little powder room. I love the pedestal sink and layout but the oval mirror had no personality. Luckily, I had a mirror just laying around. I didn't even have to paint it since it matched the stainless fixtures. It was set to hang horizontal so I had to change the screws around and rewire it but it didn't take too long. And here it is:

It's amazing what a simple frame can do for a mirror! The picture comes out a bit yellow so you can't see how well it matches. Next year I will work on painting it since I can already see where house settlement has popped a few nails in the drywall. Thankfully the builders come and repair any wall stuff. That would certainly NOT be something we could do ourselves!

Making the most of the tiny foyer

We have an eeny weensie tiny wall to work with in our foyer. Since we have an entrance from the garage into the kitchen, we mainly store things like shoes and coats in that area but when guests come to the front door there is nothing to welcome them. Today I totally got a steal on a storage ottoman at Target. I thought for sure it would work well against the wall with a mirror above it but it was awkward and not at all what I expected. Then I had the light bulb moment. These little white side tables shown below! I bought them years ago at West Elm on clearance and while they went pretty well with my furniture at the time, they were totally overpowered by the new couch. Not knowing what to do with them, I forced them in time out on either side of the TV until further notice. The little cubbies have been storing stray DVDs and diapers until today, when I finally called on them.
And here they stand, proudly fulfilling a much greater purpose! They need a decent paint job and maybe something to put underneath so they are perfectly flush but even as is... it isn't half bad. Erik might be a little upset I used his beer jug to stick some branches in to give the display some length but he'll have to deal. It can always be washed!


But what will become of the $15 storage ottoman, you ask? It too found a purpose. Where there was once a lonely wall with just a picture...

Now has a little otto for a friend. The random throw pillow happens to match perfectly and cozies it up a bit! Whew, all in a days work. I will note that I excel at DIY shopping.

House Graffiti (or fun with spray paint)

Our house came with all brushed nickel fixtures which contradicts slightly with the oil rubbed bronze theme we have going on with other accessories like our new cabinet hardware. Typically I would just want to buy some new hardware and replace it but after counting up all the switch plates and door knobs, it was turning into a much more expensive venture than I wanted. The DIY solution was a 7 dollar bottle of Rustoleum's Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint. After finally getting the bossy toddler down for a nap, I put out a few things on a flattened cardboard box to see how well they took to the paint. The metal knob I sanded a little bit but didn't bother with the plastic plates. I did about 3 coats waiting 20-40 mins in between. I also lined up the screws and took a swipe at the tops of them so they would blend in. (The tops of mine were white from when the contractor just spray painted everything in his path.) The end result is very pleasing and as much as I complained about how annoying spray painting is (the smell is terrible, buy a mask!) I will definitely do this again!