Metallic Christmas Table

Hello hello! Hope you had a lovely weekend!

I finished up our Christmas dining room today and I am smitten! Layla is kicking off our Holiday Home link ups tomorrow morning, so I had to share what I’ve been up to!

I’ve wanted to change up the centerpiece in the dining room for some time now – I love those glass candleholders in the framed out mirror, but it’s been a couple years now and I was craving something different!

I tried a few different ideas, none which were it. And then finally…it came to me.

I swear anymore I have to sit on a space mentally for about six months before the final idea comes into my noggin. But once I’ve figured it out in my head, I usually love the result. This time is no different. (Thank goodness. Whew.)  ;)

I started with a few trips to a few different Goodwill stores. I was on a mission – a mission for brass candlesticks:

You know – the ones you see gracing the shelves on every trip into Goodwill? And of course when I decided to do this project, they were harder than heck to find. Sheesh. It’s like brass is coming back or something. ;)

I have a confession to make…I actually kind of liked these as they were. Kind of. Kind of more that I’d like to admit. They were more antiqued brass than shiny brass. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

But I had a vision in mind, and that vision included spray paint:

I started by spreading them all out in the garage:

Then sprayed them all with a primer:

Then I put them into three groups and sprayed each one in a different metallic color. One group was Krylon Caramel Latte, one was Krylon Nickel, and one was Valspar Gold.

Let me tell you – that gold color was BEAUTIFUL. It is really awesome – although I hated the new nozzle. It was SO hard to spray with.

When they were dry, I just mixed the different colors in the mirror centerpiece, then filled it with bits of greenery and green and brown ornaments:

I tried to vary the heights as much as I could, but otherwise they are just on there, no rhyme or reason:

The place settings are pretty standard – white dinnerware I got from HomeGoods a while back (I wanted to brighten up the table so I sold the dishes and place mats that we used for years), my goblets from Goodwill and the sparkly brown bulbs that sit in the bowls were from Hob Lob years ago.

When I got it all together, I wanted to add the napkins to the table but didn’t have any napkin rings that worked.

I was standing in the garage when I saw my solution -- I grabbed a cardboard roll that some fabric came on, cut it down on my saw and got these:

After sanding down the edges and then spraying them in the gold Valspar spray paint, I got some very quick, very free DIY napkin rings:

And I gotta say, I really like how they turned out!

I love how the candlesticks give some height to the table, but you can still see through them:

The metallic colors are so pretty and I figure they’ll work all year round – it looks beautiful without the Christmas filler too!:

I wanted to keep the green and brown theme in this space to go with my Walmart ornament vignette I put together last year:

All of the ornaments were a buck and all of them are SO FUN!:

I was totally bummed to see that Walmart doesn’t have all of these ornaments again this year! They still have a bunch of pretty sparkly ornaments for cheap, but not quite as cute as these were.

Of course, just like any Christmas decor – the table looks most magical at night:

Wowza! I love it!!

Candlelight – I don’t think you can beat it! It’s just beautiful.

Makes you want to cook a four course meal at 10 p.m. on a Sunday for your husband and eat by candlelight beautiful:

Of course I don’t keep the candles lit if we’re not in here, which is OK, cause I love it when they’re not lit too.

But there’s some definite magic when the only light comes from the candles and the tree:

LOVE!!

The total cost was probably around $30? The candlesticks ranged from $1 to $3 each and I had all of the spray paint colors but the gold color. I think that one was $5. It took me about an hour to spray paint all of the candlesticks.

Not too shabby for a new look in the dining room – and one I’m a little giddy over:

Do you see those chairs? Yeah…that’s another project I’ve been sitting on (HA! Sitting on…get it?) for the past six months or so. ;) Can’t finish those till I finish the drapes, and I don’t want to finish the drapes till I decide if I’m going to repaint the room.

So…yeah. :)

Can’t wait to see all of your beautiful tablescapes at Layla’s tomorrow!

*You can see how I created the original centerpiece here.

**The December Before and After Party will go up Monday evening!

Before and After Party: Goodwill table

Well hello all! It’s time for another partaaaay!

I’ve got another project from the family room redo to share this time. When I was sure we were going to order the sectional, I started measuring out the space to see what was going to be able to stay and what would need to go. One thing that needed to scoot (to another room) was the long Goodwill coffee table I had moved into the space last year.

It was just too long with the sectional, so I was on the search for something that was smaller and a square shape. (If I had only kept our $10 coffee table I wouldn’t have had this problem!)

And I found a major score at Goodwill a few months ago when I found another table for $25! WHOO! It was the perfect size, the perfect shape and I LOVED the look:

It was all worn and warm and lovely. :)

The only issues were that one of the hardware pieces was missing (it was one little piece – impossible to find) and it was a teensy bit too tall. I think it was meant to be a side table.

The legs on it were about four inches tall, so my first project was to cut down them down:

Arrh arrrh arrrrrgh…just call me tool man Taylor. ;) Uhhhh…woman Taylor. Whatever.

Because I cut off about four inches it was at a good height, but there was a little somethin’ I wanted to add. I had fun adding bits of different styles into this space and wanted to give this table an industrial feel.

I found casters at my local True Value and knew just what I was going to do:

They have a gorgeous copper finish – luuuurve!

They had a brassy tone as well that I quite liked (I know, HUH?):

And a bunch of other options including locking casters, itty bitty ones and honkin’ ones:

Because I cut four inches off the height, I could add a couple back and it was still going to be short enough to rest our feet. These were two inches tall and I just screwed them into the bottom of the table. (Make sure to get the screw-on type if you decide to try this – much easier to install!)

Then it was time to address the missing hardware. My True Value’s hardware aisle doesn’t disappoint:

Do you hear them? The birds singing? ;) I haven’t found a selection that compares anywhere.

I had to drill some some new holes to get them on, and that’s why I went with the pulls I did – so they would hide the previous (large) holes:

Did I mention all of the storage in this little baby? Those little drawers hold a TON of stuff. Perfect for remotes and notepads and pens and JUNK. Love it!

I didn’t get a great photo of the casters, sorry about that! You can see them a bit here:

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about using non locking casters, but now I’m really happy with them. The table doesn’t move when we put our feet on it, but we can easily move it around the room if needed.

You know, for when I need room to spread and take a nap work out.

Or something. 

This little Goodwill table fits perfectly in the space:

It’s not a huge transformation, but now it works for us and the casters change up the look just a tad. And it has all that storage, which is a huge bonus.

Here’s the before and after for this month:

And the room with Goodwill coffee table number one (or two?):

And now with number three:

;) If Goodwill keeps taking the awesome coffee tables, I’ll keep finding them!

Now it’s time to see your before and after! I can’t wait!!

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I was one of the bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program as well as my writing about my experience. I have also been compensated for the materials needed for my DIY project. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.

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Above the cabinets

Hello all! How was your Easter weekend? I hope it was wonderful. :)

We had a great one – as you can tell by the tuckered out Bub and dog:

:) Adorable.

I get asked a lot how to decorate one spot in particular – and it’s a toughie. High spaces in particular (plant ledges, above armoires) are hard, in my opinion. And the kitchen cabinets are no exception.

Our cabs aren’t super tall – we went with the basic height – so we have a ton of space above them. I tried leaving them nekked, but it just looks so unfinished and bare. And I love having a little somethin’ up there to add some personality and color to the kitchen.

I know some don’t like the decorating over the cabinets idea, and that’s cool. I really don’t need to know. Really…it’s OK.  :)

Last week I finished up another item on my kitchen to-do list…and it was a LONG time coming. I started our mini kitchen redo last May, and the looming one year “anniversary” is kind of kicking my booty in gear. I’d love to have everything checked off my list by the year mark.

You can see in this old pic that I had stenciled sayings above the cabinets:

I had a Tuscan theme going in the room and I chose words like “Family and Friends” and “Wine and Food” in Italian.

But a beadboard backsplash doesn’t exactly scream Tuscan, so I’ve wanted to get rid of those words foreva now.

So I started priming:

And I figured it would be an easy project, but like pretty much ALWAYS, one thing turned into another. That is how I roll.

Two coats of primer and two coats of paint later, and you could see where I had touched up the paint:

I was hoping that wasn’t going to happen, but it did so I rolled with it. :) I repainted the area above the cabinets with a quick coat of the lovely Sisal color from Ralph Lauren (Home Depot can still mix it for you!)

LOVE this color.

And then I moved onto another project I’ve been wanting to address for some time now – updating and rearranging the accessories on top of the cabs. And I wanted to get it done without leaving the house. (Or spending any cash!)

I started with Goodwill frame I’ve had for ages:

Brand new baby!

I found a Target placemat a couple of months ago that I loved, and knew just what I was going to do with it:

It’s plastic and was only $1.99.

I cut it to fit the frame, and ended up with this:

So cute!!

You can see my little secret for propping up stuff up there:

Our little-used NYC book and my old AP Stylebook have a use again!

I only use old paperbacks, but on occasion Hubs will ask where a book is and I’ll answer, “Did you check above the cabinets honey?”

No lie. :)

That’s what it’s like living with me. He loves me so. (He must.)

:)

Anyhoo, next I focused on the blinding green tray I spray painted back here:

It. was. BRIGHT. Sheesh. Pretty much as soon as I did it, I wanted to change it.

I pulled it down and sprayed it with some yellow instead, but that pesky “S” was still showing through. So I thunk and I thunk, and came up with a (free!) fix to cover it.

I took some poster board, cut it to the size of the inside of the tray and then used a stencil to dress it up a bit:

It is SO not perfect – but remember it’s up high! And it was FREE. Me likey. 

I may get a piece of plexiglass cut to fit over it eventually, but it’s not going to be used so for now it stays as is.

I had to keep at least ONE word up there – the Italian was gone, but I had to add one more that’s near and dear to my heart:

Yes, I love to eat. I needed to proclaim my love, loud and clear.

These are cardboard letters from Joann’s and they’ve been sitting up there unfinished for months. First I tried covering them with fabric, then paper, and then realized they were way too busy.

You can’t go wrong with good old black. :)

I saw this cage at Stein Mart a few weeks ago and couldn’t resist it!:

It was $20 and they had a smaller size too. LOVE!!

I also picked up this cutie little stool a few months ago (for $12) at TJ Maxx:

UGH, I love it! It matches the blue tray I used in the living room. I love how it pulls out the blue in the little cafe curtains I made a couple of weeks ago.

Some of the pieces I’ve had for a long time – the pear art used to be a wrapped canvas:

I cut it out and framed it in an IKEA frame.

Last year I picked up the round platter from IKEA as well:

And the herb crate was a little DIY project from last summer. I adore that little crate!

I learned while working in the decorating biz that your eye should travel up and down when looking at accessories, and I try to apply that above our cabinets:

One tall thing, one shorter thing, one tall thing…you get it. ;)

Because we have so much space above our cabinets, I try to go with larger pieces to fill it:

And like any hard-to-decorate space, I always say to be PATIENT. Areas like this can’t be forced – it’s the kind of thing you fill as you go, when you find items you love, that are the right size, that apply to the space. (Trays, baskets and platters for a kitchen.)

You may notice one more little change…the ball started rolling and I couldn’t stop it.

I resisted, but it always wins out. :)

I FINALLY installed the crown molding in this space:

And I’ll tell you more about that when I finish the other half of the room (the family room).

I’m SO glad to have this done! Or at least up. “Done” is a bit of a stretch. :)

I may add a little detail to the bottom to chunk it up a bit, but for now, I’ll be happy if I don’t see our ladder again for a very, VERY long time. :)

So that, my dears, is how I decorate above our cabinets! If our cabs were taller, I’d do a lot less – probably wider, fatter items. But I love it and will probably not touch it for another year or five. And my kitchen list to-do is dwindling – WHOO!

How do you deal with up high spaces? Do tell!