A post from Lily Winnail, our CMF Style Coach:
My home is an extension of me. It’s ecclectic, old-soulish, quirky, and ever-changing. Yup, that pretty much sums me up in a nutshell. And as much as I don’t want to get attached to the physical things of this life, I do enjoy life’s little treasures – and the many ways I can change my house around to reflect my ever-changing moods.
Keep in mind, my frugal self loves to do all this on a dime. Scared yet? Thankfully, I have a pretty laid back husband who can roll with our ever-evolving home palette. I think most husbands would have flipped at my hot pink sideboard. I think feathering your nest is a fun way to reflect your personal style. It’s our little haven tucked away from the busy world around us.
I used to be inspired by touring model homes, looking through home décor magazines, and going antique mall shopping. Now with the help of Pinterest and Olioboards we can be inspired in an instant! This can be very dangerous at my house! Do you ever want to makeover a room in your house or make a big décor style change but think you can’t do it alone and that hiring someone would be too spendy? If yes, I want to encourage you today. You can do it! I’m one of those people that changes her house around all the time. I love incorporating new home décor styles to my existing pieces, or taking something old and making it look new. It’s not as hard as it seems, and I’m convinced a can of paint, a little glaze and some fresh new fabrics can go a long way to making a space look new.
My latest project was my great room. When we first moved into this house, I thought the 20 ft ceilings made the space feel too open, and I wanted to bring in warm colors to make it cozy. The walls were builder grade beige, so the first thing I did was paint the walls a warmer color. I bought tapestry fabric for a steal off ebay, cut it, and hung some drapes within weeks of moving in. I had an old pine armoire that was over 10 years old, that I stained dark, and even handpainted the insets to make it look customized. I brought in warm fabrics and sewed up some throw pillows (if you can sew a straight line, you can sew a pillow!), and voila I had a warm room that brought the large space in. We enjoyed it for a while, but pretty soon I was ready for a change.
Painting that big monster cream was the best thing I ever did, and it served as my inspiration piece to change the whole space into something lighter and more modern. I found this $10 side table at an estate sale, and with some $2 mistint at Lowes, created a piece that was uniquely me.
I honestly used a sponge brush and some craft paint mixed with some other leftover paints to do the armoire. You don’t need anything fancy. I mixed up some brown paint and glaze medium to go over the edges with a little antiquing. I found a glass door knob at Hobby Lobby which worked out perfectly for the new hardware. And a little tassle from the Nester (www.thenester.com) and voila I had the cottagey feel I was going for. If you ever have any questions on how do re-do a piece of furniture please contact me. I’m not an expert, but I know how to make things look good – and I won’t steer you too badly in the wrong direction!
Stay tuned next month, when the great room may be transformed yet again – hmmmm…. How does Paris meets the beach sound?
***Lily is the lady behind Padalily! The fabulous infant car seat cushions! Have any comments, feedback, or topics that you’d like to see Lily give advice on? Leave a comment below! She’ll be answering any questions you have and would love to hear what you’d like to see her blog about!***
Gorgeous!,