Handles

Here's a before and after of the cupboards in my bathroom.  They had some really space-age-looking handles, but I was having a difficult time finding replacements because of their odd size.  Apparently all of the hardware from the '60s was a different size than they stock now...  (Also, everything in my house seems to have been pale pink, blue, or mint green at some point.)  I finally found some handles at the hardware store on clearance ($2.78 with a $2.78 rebate - so, free!), but they were brass.  So I bought some matte nickel spray paint and fixed them up.  (Oh, and I had to buy some appropriate-sized screws.)  Do you think it's an improvement?

 

Footstool

We need a small footstool, and they're surprisingly hard to find.  Everything in stores these days is big and bulky or made for storage.  I found this one on Etsy, and it gave me an idea...  What if they made unfinished footstools?  Apparently they do!  The one on the bottom is sold by DIY Upholstery Supply and is made in Italy.  (The price is not too bad, either.)  I may have a project on my hands...

New Handles

Our house is very 1960s and needs quite a bit of modernizing...  One of the first (simplest, easiest) things I did was to change out the handles on the kitchen cabinets and drawers.  They were copper, and they are a strange size - so I found some oil rubbed bronze handles online.  These pictures aren't great, but here's a before and after.  (Next I'll have to spray the hinges bronze...)

Fall Leaves

Things have been so pretty around here.  We were pleasantly surprised to see one of our trees turn a very bright red.  (Most of the leaves have fallen due to the rains of the past few days, though.)  I really love this time of year.

Bathroom Shade

Here's another peek at our bathroom.  I found some great fabric at JoAnn's to make a semi-Roman shade.  It's not the most professional, but it is functional, and I love the fabric.

Shelf Paper

Our house has about 10 different kinds of shelf paper - all from the '60s (and possibly '70s).  It's terrible.  I looked all over for some cute new shelf paper and finally found some at TJ Maxx.  This design is by Laura Ashley.  Our bathrooms have nice big linen closets.  This shelf looks so much better now - don't you think?  (Top=before/bottom=after.)

Front Door

We're still working on getting our "new" (1961) house into shape.  Here's a peek at our front door.  It's very mid-century and probably needs to be replaced, but for now we've spruced it up with a lovely boxwood wreath from White Horse.

TJ Maxx Rug

I found this rug at TJ Maxx and had to have it for our second bathroom.  We're working with a Turkish theme, and I thought it was perfect.  This photo does not do the color justice.  It's a beautiful wool rug - and it cost about the same as a regular bath rug!

Fire Pit

We just got this fire pit for our back patio (on sale).  Our new house has gigantic trees that keep dropping branches.  We decided that we should burn them - safely.  It should be fun!

Rejuvenation

If you have some extra cash to spend on home improvement, you need to know about Rejuvenation.  They offer beautiful classic lighting and hardware.  They're on the expensive side, but their pieces are lovely.

Skylands Collection

I'm glad that Home Depot has so much Martha stuff these days!  One of our first projects was to install the Skylands collection towel bar and towel ring in our funny old bathroom.  It was a bit of a challenge, but I like how they turned out.

Young House Love

I've found a blog to inspire me as we try to update our new (old) home.  Young House Love has tons of great DIY projects - although the couple of things that we've tried so far have turned out to be more difficult than expected...  I think Sherry's post about painting wood paneling might come in handy down the road!  (These are the homes featured on the blog, and they are actually kind of similar to ours - I'll have to post as we go.)

Friday Featured Etsy Seller: Dodres

I suppose I should announce that we bought a house last Friday!  Things have been kind of a mess, but I have big plans.  The kitchen has some old linoleum that I'm not thrilled about, so I'm thinking of getting a lovely rag rug to cover it until we have the money for new flooring.  I like the simplicity of the rugs made by Kristine for her Etsy shop: Dodres.  She's in Latvia, though, so the shipping is kind of expensive...